Whoops. Has it really been six weeks since I last updated this thing? Goodness gracious.
OK, this blog was created to journal our lives, to act as a virtual scrapbook. Because Lord knows I don’t own — or have any intention of owning — scalloped scissors, bubbly borders or polka dot pages. So blog it is. Only problem with this is … it takes time. Time. What’s that, you ask? I dunno either.
Life is caa-razy busy right now. Two little nuggets running around, one rolling her eyes and the other rolling off beds. A part-time-ish work-from-home job. Bills to negotiate. A house to clean. Coupons to clip. Play dates to plan and doctor’s appointments to attend. I haven’t even had time to watch my beloved Real Housewives; I’m a whole stinkin’ season behind on both New York and Orange County, if that tells you how absolutely hectic life is at the moment.
Now, these are not complaints in any shape or form. I am so blessed. So so stinkin’ blessed. I have two healthy little girls that we (and you) prayed over for a very long time; one that continues to illustrate an ever-evolving side-splitting sense of humor and another that squeals like a banshee and flashes smiles that don’t even compete with the stars. I have a job. That, in itself, is a huge blessing in an economy like this. But, it gets better. I work for myself. From my home. And the people that I work for, and that I work with? They’re downright awesome. I love what I do, I love the people that surround me in my work, and I love that I get to do it from the comfort of my snugly slippers and poofy ponytail in between diaper changes and chicken nugget clean-up. I have an awesome husband that loves his family to pieces and absolutely busts his tail to provide for us so that we can afford said house and said doctor’s appointments; not to mention the occasional Andy’s cheeseburger and extra-chocolatey malt.
God is so good y’all. I couldn’t have ever even dreamed that I’d have a life like this. I am overwhelmed with that feeling every morning when I wake up. I am bubbling with blessings. Busy with life and strapped for time, but bubbling with blessings.
And so I am trying to soak in and savor every single second that seems to whip by. Because I know that, in 20 years from now, I will want to look back and remember every single moment of this super slammed, yet sweet and special, season that they call early motherhood.
So, in order to memorialize this time before we find ourselves looking at prom dresses for Aubri and college campuses for Taylor, let’s gets these memories on (virtual, non-polka-dot) paper. Here’s a snapshot of the past six weeks.
Taylor loves her little sister. Loves using her as a canvas. First it was a ballpoint pen to the cheek, now her sweet forehead serves as a sticker book.
Aubri started eating solid foods a few weeks ago (March 27 to be exact, 5 months adjusted age). Banana was the first attempted.
Before:
And after. Clearly, she’s not a monkey. The girl hated the banana.
One thing she does love, however, is the “Johnny Jumper.” In fact, the last two times that I have put her in it, she has bounced until she passed out — mid-hop, face down on the plastic tray, snoozin’.
I have attempted a few impromptu and informal photo shoots in our house. Shoved Aubri in a basket once and made both girls lay amongst prickly shrubs. All in an effort to get just one good shot of the two of them. All attempts ended in tears and no good photos. Except this one. This is one from the dreaded shove-me-in-a-basket-while-Taylor-holds-up-her-pink-blankie-as-a-backdrop shoot.
I’ve embraced my inner-Martha and have been making homemade baby food. It’s not too bad. And Aubri seems to dig it.
“Whoooooo’s hungry????”
Daddy had a birthday. Last year’s red velvet fault cake was a failure, but this year’s ended in sweet success. And, as you can see from the photo, Tay had consumed a good bit of frosting during the baking process. She’s a sugar-fueled nut. And Aubri knows it.
My parents came into town for Easter, which meant morning egg hunts, brunch on the water, afternoons at the pool and yummy dinners instead of my usual banana protein shakes. I love them. (My parents. Not the shakes.)
Because Aubri is itching to move, yet is not quite mobile, it’s a constant game of “where does Aubri want to play now” in our house. Johnny Jumper, activity mat, walker and in your arms. Those are the current “hot spots” for this active nugget.
No matter where she is, Tay is not far behind. Running circles in the living room, body slamming herself on furniture or whipping toys past Aubri’s noggin. See? She’s just a blur.
But she loves her little sister so so much.
And her little sister loves her. I think Tay gets more smiles than I do.
On a bittersweet note, we’re still healing from losing my grandma. It’s a daily struggle, but we remind ourselves and eachother than our grandma is now His most beautiful angel. One of the things that we did was plant flowers in her memory. As Tay was laying the seed-infused invitations to her memorial service under a layer of soil, the weather was doing amazing things. The sun was shining, then we’d feel a gust of wind and a sprinkle of rain, only to be followed by warm sunshine returning to our skin. Taylor said, and still tells people, that Great Nana was blowing her kisses and crying “happy tears” as she watched down on her plant the flowers.
At the end of April, we walked in the March for Babies, a benefit for the March of Dimes. Thanks to my generous friends, we raised $250 for the organization. It was really special to join so many NICU graduates in walking for such a great cause. We also got to hug on one of Aubri’s sweet NICU nurses, who couldn’t believe the size of her … you guessed it … cheeks. All in all, it was a fun event for the whole family.
Of course, now that it’s officially spring, you KNOW we’re spending lots of time at the pool. Here’s the bikini-clad sisters snuggling poolside.
We have also been strawberry picking not once, but twice. Which has resulted in four loaves of strawberry bread, two strawberry cakes, too many muffins to count and approximately 10 leftover pounds of fresh and now-frozen strawberries. Taylor, who is a passionate and aggresive berry picker (as you can see below), is also quite good at finding the perfect berry. It’s actually a lot of fun. And what was just as fun was getting an assignment to write about the experience in one of the magazines that I work for. You can read that here (click on Let’s Go Berry Picking).
We celebrated Cinco de Mayo with good friends at a local Mexican restaurant where the kids ate nothing but chips. OK, me too. I love chips.
And we celebrated Mother’s Day where I was treated to a full day of Daddy on diaper duty, time at the pool and, my most favorite, morning snuggles with my little nuggles.
Taylor had her second successful dentist appointment. (This was actually her third visit, but I wouldn’t exactly call her first appointment a treat by any means.) She got her first round of x-rays, which will likely not be her last seeing as though she comes from a set of dentally-challenged parents.
We celebrated my sweet grandpa’s birthday. Because Aubri is named after him (Aubri Lee), I thought that, naturally, the best gift would be, well, her. Only problem is that she wouldn’t stay in the box long enough for me to ship her off.
We also celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. Jimmy’s parents came to town and watched the girls while Jimmy and I went out for cheese and chocolate fondue. It’s was quiet, which was weird. A good weird.
And the next day, we celebrated our niece’s birthday. Tay ate mass amounts of sugar and ran like a wild woman through the park while Aubri and I hung out at the shelter and ate mass amounts of cake. Well, I did. I guess I can’t get away with blaming her for that … yet.
So there you have it! Lots of stuff going on in just six weeks, right? Now you see why I haven’t been sitting still long enough to write a blog post! Caaa-raziness! I do believe that Aubri says it best though:
“Sometimes, we just have to slow down, take a break from jumping all around the house. And pass out in a tray of toys.”
“Spit the paci out and pass out. Savor the season, Mommy. We’ll get our stuff done later.”
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Peanut and Poppy 