It’s crazy to think I’m not such a rookie anymore. I’ve completed my third Mother’s Day and I must say, I am totally on board with this holiday! I keep forgetting that it’s about me, though. I’m so used to thinking about the older mothers in my life, that it slips my mind that I’m now in their company to be honored on this day. These past three years, it’s not until the actual special Sunday that I remember I’m part of the mom touting.

I was quickly reminded that I get to celebrate AND be celebrated, thanks to Madelyn’s wonderful preschool teachers who hosted a lovely morning for moms, grandmas, aunts, and other special ladies in the kids’ lives. My mom and I were Madelyn’s entourage as we noshed on some fruit and bagels together before heading off to the usual Friday morning Tot Shabbat service.

I love going to Tot Shabbat on Friday mornings because Silly Cantor, as the kids call him, does an amazing job getting them excited and involved in the music and traditions. Madelyn now knows all about lighting the candles — she even covers her eyes! — and pretends to drink the “juice,” and she can’t get enough of the challah! I love that my mom got to see her share what she’s learned over these short few months of preschool.

After Tot Shabbat, we went back to Madelyn’s classroom where all the moms were presented with handmade gifts from their kids. Madelyn was so excited for her teacher to call her name so she could go up and get my present. The teachers told all the moms to wait to open until everyone had their presents in hand. Meanwhile, Madelyn ran back to me and exclaimed, “It’s a box! I made you a box!”

We are going to work on keeping secrets and saving surprises.

She’s no liar. I opened the tissue paper and sure enough, there was a beautifully painted box with her mugshot picture of a very serious face in the frame. Inside was my very first piece of preschool couture that will forever put Tiffany & Co. to shame. (Bryan, you did not read that).

When I became a mom, I totally forgot to get excited about toddler-made jewelry. It never registered on my radar that along with diaper blow outs, I would also one day be covered in baubles from Baby. The collection has finally started, and I never knew that clumsily painted hearts drenched in glitter and threaded on ribbon would become one of my most prized possessions!

Madelyn’s preschool teachers made us moms feel so special and I am so grateful for what they do for her every day. They toasted us, commending us on what a great job we are doing as moms, but for a handful of hours a day, they are also our kids’ mommies, and I am very thankful for all the work we see and don’t see, during school and after school. It was such a special morning and one of my new favorite memories.

The preschool Mother’s Day party got my head in the game for the big day ahead. We still had no plans for Mother’s Day, but I found out my mom would be alone while my dad was at the Dodgers game, so she and I came up with the idea of visiting the Huntington Library and Gardens. Bryan gave this idea a thumbs up, and on Sunday morning, we drove down to San Marino and enjoyed a really lovely time.

Madelyn loves flowers and gardens thanks to the time she spends with my mom who also enjoys sprucing up her yard and watching the birds fly by. It was fun to watch the butterflies flutter from flower to flower and to literally stop and smell the roses on the gorgeous grounds. Madelyn had a blast exploring the children’s garden, which had beautiful features just her size to touch and run through. It reminded me of a little journey down the rabbit hole to Alice’s Wonderland.

We enjoyed an al fresco lunch, during which Bryan presented me with a gift certificate for a daycation to The Four Seasons spa and pool. He might have shot himself in the foot with that gift — I just may never come back home! He makes me feel special every day of the year, and I’m lucky to have a husband who honors and supports his parenting partner!

Madelyn saw her first famous pieces of art, checking out Pinkie and Blue Boy in the galleries. We also saw Remingtons and Cassatts, and lots of naked impressionistic people, and just like that, she’s a cultured toddler.

As we meandered through the detailed paths that bloomed something new every few feet, we came upon a small pond filled with lilies and koi… and the cutest little family of geese! They, too, were celebrating Mother’s Day with a swim, and they clearly loved showing off for all the people who stood and “awwwwww”ed. I looked down at Madelyn, who had finally dozed off in the stroller, and back at the mother goose (who did not tell any nursery rhymes. Very disappointing) and felt a little connection. No feathers, no webbed feet (well, not anymore), and I felt like a goose? No, I felt like a co-mother; a member of this really fantastic club on a really fantastic day.