A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS

10:00 PM Tuck Marin into her crib.

10:30 PM  From our spot on the couch, Marin's chattering all of a sudden sounds louder. A tiny, slightly terrified, but mostly proud, toddler comes running down the hall to two stunned parents. We laughed so hard, we frightened the poor girl. She had done it. She had climbed out of her crib and this was her Rocky victory dance.

11:30 PM Still awake and trying to climb out of crib. Except now she moves like spider man and scales the crib in two seconds. flat. Punish? Don't punish? Coax? Sing? Lay by the bed? Re-arrange the entire room and set up toddler bed? Don't think so. I wasn't quite ready for this. Tomorrow. Tonight, we sleep...or so we hope.

11:30-12:00 AM Andy and I take turns coaxing Marin to lay down.

12:00 AM Spider man must do what spider man was made to do.

12:01 AM Decide to bring spider man Marin into our bed.

12:01 AM Convince Andy the couch is a better spot for him to sleep (you know because work tomorrow and all)

12:05 AM Rub Marin’s back 

12:15 AM Hear heavy breathing. Victory is mine! Now, how to get up and pee? Hmmm.

12:20 AM Stuff my runny nose with tissue so I don't sniffle all night

1:00 AM Toss and turn oh. so. slowly.

5:00 AM Wake up to Marin wiping her runny nose on my cheek

5:01 AM "Mommy! Wow!"

5:02 AM Try not to think about peeing again. Pretend I am asleep.

5:15-6:40 AM "Marin, lay down. Mommy will scratch your back." Sing a song. Sing another song. Feel baby sister moving inside. Avoid big sister kicks and turns on the outside. "I love you Miss Marin. Lay down. It's not time to get up yet."

6:45 AM Chubby, soft Marin arm wraps around my neck. Sigh.

7:00 AM Heavy breathing.

8:00 AM Alarm. Smile and wake the sweet girl next to me.  

and for today's trick...toddler bed.

Taking Stock (and bathroom selfies)

Making: Plans for a nursery, color scheming and budget assessing.

Cooking:  A ton of crock pot meals.  By noon I’m like “Bam, dinner is made!”

Drinking: Pomegranate tea

Reading: Just finished Desperate.  Breath of fresh, guilt-free, lord-seeking, joy-giving air for moms.

Wanting: To meet a certain little lady

Looking: For a dynamite rocking chair.

Playing:  In forts all the livelong day

Wasting: Andy’s been raising his right eyebrow at me for all my meal leftover ill intentions.  Must work on this.

Wishing:  He was home from work early today

Enjoying: Vance Joy’s entire album

Waiting:  On Spring

Liking: Tea tree oil on my skin, in my washer, etc.

Wondering:  How I can be a better mom and wife.  All. The. Time.

Loving: The way Marin plays pretend now with an occasional “nom, nom, nom” and “Ot, ooh ot.” (hot)

Hoping: She loves being a big sister.

Needing: A new brassier. The girls are on the loose, friends.

Smelling: Barbecue ribs. Crock pot strikes again.

Wearing: The new maternity clothes my mom so graciously sent to my house via Old Navy.

Following: So many amazing ladies on instagram. Inspiring, hustling moms.

Noticing: Another tiny layer of blonde hair coming in across Marin’s hairline.  

Knowing:  A toddler bed is in Marin’s near future.  One big sigh for the 98^th percentile. Those legs!   

Thinking: About how much I miss my college friends.  I’m thinking a bi-annual reunion would suit us better.

Bookmarking: Anthropologie magazines.  It will be the most action they get from me.  

Opening: My heart to the beauty of the unfinished things in my life…it’s a long list.

Giggling: At all Marin’s new words. Gink (pink), bue (blue), D (the letter D said with more enthusiasm than any D has ever seen)

Feeling: Kicks, rolls, punches, jabs, jigs…oh, and indigestion.

Hope everyone is having a happy Tuesday!

BANO, COMMODE, BATHROOM

pictures/shower curtain/jars/candle

In true nesting fashion, I hearby present to you a small but finished room in our home: el bano, the commode, the bathroom.  I always love seeing home tours out in blog world, so here is a humble look at a small but mighty room in our home.  

25.5 weeks

And for your daily dose of awkward, this post is brought to you from the gyno waiting room. Maybe I'll throw out the word uterus in a minute and call it a real date.

I'm not sure how we got to twenty five weeks so quickly. I guess there is nothing like a fun little toddler to keep your mind off the waiting and worries of pregnancy. And in that way, this pregnancy has been so different than the last. There are all the same worries for a worrier to worry, but my heart and mind are on other things (mostly). I'm just enjoying the time that is all my own with this growing baby, all the secret kicks and hiccups. I'm also soaking up my days with Marin, my little comrade who follows me to the loo everytime I so much as think of peeing by myself. What is it about that first one that makes you want to declare, "Oh but this one here was my very first." She made me a mom. So very bittersweet when waiting around for a sibling.

Besides my mind being a bit more occupied with non-pregnancy things, in every other way this pregnancy feels so similar to the last. I'm craving the usual: sour patch gummies, bagels with cream cheese, salad, Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a big glass of milk, oh and butterfinger blizzards. Yes! Symptoms have been the same too: skin gone wild, restless legs at night, bouts of sleepiness, slower hair growth (strange but true). 

Nesting has gone into full force and I have plans, big plans. Which always somehow translates to money signs in husband dialect. Hmm, not quite sure why.  

Let's see what else? We've been trying to prepare Marin as best we can for a baby in the house. She already loves babies and squeals whenever we see one, so we're hoping the affection stays around for baby sister's entrance into the world. We've been practicing diaper changing, bottles, and burping with her baby dolls which she also seems to enjoy. She is a nurturer that one, and I just want to help prepare a way for her to feel just as valued and loved when our affections are being shared with sister. We are trying to navigate that one and would love any peals of advice ya’ll have for how to prepare.

Welp, that about does it I think. Until the next bump update, friends. 

Chattanooga + An Anniversary

Andy and my anniversary falls right at the end of January.  Oh thank you, young and in love couple of our past for planning a momentous reason to celebrate during the normally dreary, foggy, post-Christmas blues of January. I need those sorts of things, you know?  Well, this year we decided to celebrate a bit early because Andy had last week off work and there was a grandmother present and able to watch Marin for the day.  We left early. And made our rainy way up the highway, chatting and holding hands (yeehaw!).  We always get a little giddy in moments like this because they help us remember that we are those same in-love cheese balls we’ve always been, just a few hundred diaper changes later.  That moment usually happens just before we spend the majority of the following moments talking about the sweet baby girl back home.  “Oh, let’s bring her back a souvenir.” “I miss the moo.”  Then we pitifully round off the drive in Marin language. “Bi wa wa!”   

When we got to Chattanooga we drove to the art district for breakfast at Rembrandt’s, a coffee shop I worked at my senior year of college.  We roamed around a puddlle-filled Coolidge Park and browsed through the nearby shops.  Andy was an unusually happy shopper that day too.  Happy anniversary to me.  We grabbed lunch on the other side of town at Mojo burrito, a frequent (embarrassingly frequent) stop during my college years.  We finished the day with a movie and dinner at a new restaurant downtown.  

And over the olive appetizer, Andy, the man who hates olives, spontaneously ordered out of an act of love, we talked.  We talked about our New Year’s resolutions for ourselves, for our family, for our marriage.  We finished our meals, and I took one more sniff of Andy’s wine before we called it a night. 

I love you, best friend. And I love these moments with you. Happy five whole years! We'll have two babies to miss at this time next year. ;)

AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year, friends!

Well, it's safe to say we stepped up our New Year's Eve game this year. Although, that isn’t saying much because I don't think we were even awake for the strike of midnight last year. Marin was in the middle of her infamous sleep regression, so Andy and I crashed early with a "see you next year" (hardy har har) and a smooch.

This year we were determined to at least see the stroke of midnight. Andy picked up a pack of sparklers while at the grocery store so we asked the neighbors if they wanted to bring the kiddos over for sparklers with toddlers. And on that note, how do we always hit the neighbor jackpot? They are so fun! The kids chased each other around the yard with a string of Christmas lights while we tried to capture slow motion sparkler pics. We laughed a ton over the impromptu celebrations and eventually headed in with an exhausted and happy little girl. We skipped bath time and squeezed her into her only clean pair of jammies, two sizes too small. Andy and I watched the ball drop, smooched, and called it a night.

What an amazing year! Cheers to all that God's creative plans bring our way in 2015, friends!