little one

Well, hi there again!

It’s been a while since my last update, and with the holidays and then dealing with the sickies of the first trimester (YES!! WE’RE HAVING ANOTHER BABY!!), I certainly wasn’t feeling the creative feels, hehe. But thankfully I am now feeling almost back to normal and it makes me want to throw my arms around myself at random moments and say welcome back it’s so good to be you again. What is it about those first few weeks of pregnancy that just make you feel like a kind of foreigner in your own skin? It’s just a strange season for me with so many hormones raging and brain fog and overwhelming tiredness and the most random food cravings and aversions. I mean, I couldn’t eat avocados, chicken, or green, healthy things…but give me all the bread, pizza, burgers, french fries, and any other food that I didn’t cook (preferably as fatty and hearty as possible). I literally didn’t make anything in my kitchen besides egg sandwiches for four solid weeks…a strange thing for this foodie-mama who normally loves to cook, bake, and make things in the kitchen more than anything else. And bless my sweet husband who is the most gracious, kind soul who was basically mama and daddy for those difficult weeks, making his own meals, cleaning up the dishes, bringing me toast and hot tea and soda water with lime.

But now we’re almost into the second trimester and that, my dears, is a great feeling. Little baby is the size of a lime and we already love that sweet one so much. Ayla doesn’t really know exactly what is going on with it all, of course, but she does know to how to kiss and pat my belly when we talk about baby…although she then has to do the same to Ben (we’ll work on that one). Sometimes it does feel a bit surreal knowing that we will have two kids to parent and take care of, but yet it feels so right and we are overjoyed to see our family grow.

Besides growing a baby, we really haven’t been up to much else lately. It’s basically been a full-time job entailing mostly laying on the the recliner for the majority of the day and trying to keep Ayla entertained with things that require little to no energy (not an easy feat). She ended up spending a few days with my parents a few weeks ago, and while it was such a strange feeling to be at home without her, it was so nice to get some extra rest. And I think it helped propel me over the worst of the sickies and tiredness. We were more than ready to have her back with us after a few days, and it was actually such a good reminder and reset my perspective again that, yes, this parenting-mothering thing is exactly what I want to do with my life. It felt so odd and awkward to not have the normal routines of our daily life when she was away, plus I was just bored without her endless chatter and giggles and funny quirks filling up the hours of the day.

We had a great holiday season, and spent a few days in New York with Ben’s family and then a few days in South Carolina with my family. My mom and sister ended up coming back with us then after Christmas so we could have a few days in Nashville together as a girls-getaway to celebrate my mom’s birthday. I didn’t even know I was pregnant at that point yet, and was still feeling normal…so we had a great time doing fun things around the city:: shopping, drinking coffee, getting our nails done, and eating out. You know, all the best things.

I have to say, it feels good to pluck away at these computer keys again and update this little blog. I just literally could not summon the energy or the creativity to write anything over the past few months…it’s nice to be back.

What about you:: what are the funny/annoying/quirky things that you deal with in the first trimester??

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

It’s so much fun being the parent of a toddler. I love this stage so much, although YES, it’s not without its new challenges and frustrations. We have new attitudes and new demands, but right along side of it, we have new affections and new connections and new depth of relationship. I tell you, there is nothing else in the world like the feeling when your little one reaches out to give you a hug and a kiss and lays that sweet head on your shoulder and pats your back in comfort and affection. Or when she walks up to you with a book in her hands, asking you to read to her, and she sits down in your lap with the happiest squeal, pops the thumb in her mouth, and snuggles up against you as you read and read and read. Ok, in all reality, some days I get really weary of reading so many books, but I remind myself every day that these little moments with her are the ones that truly matter.

I’m working and learning to be so intentional about parenting and connecting with her. She loves connection already, and nothing makes her happier than when you are on the floor playing with her or chasing her around the house. Some days I get so busy…and she gets lost in the middle of the to-dos. And it’s interesting to me that on those days is when we struggle the most with the fussies and whines and meltdowns. I’ve learned to take time with her, and it makes such a difference in her happy levels when I do.

She’s turned into quite the chatterbox and I feel like she will be endlessly amusing once she can actually talk with words…because she’s already endlessly amusing with the unintelligible jabbers. She doesn’t miss anything and is the first to hear a plane flying overhead (and points up in the sky to let us know) or hear the school buses come by in the morning (and passionately says “kuh! kuh! kuh!” which is her sound for truck…close enough). She tries to repeat a lot of words, and has learned how to sign a few things like please, thank you, and more. My parents bought her one of those animal sound wheel toy things, and she’s learned how to do a sheep baa, a kitty meow, a cow moo, and a puppy bark. She does good with being able to point out where the eyes, nose, and ears are when you ask her, and has a fascination with sticking her fingers in your mouth and nose. We have our share of food battles sometimes, and for all my big ideas about how my kid was going to eat all the things, she mostly eats bread, avocado, pancakes, fruit, and eggs.

My favorite things about her:: her peaceful heart, her eyes, the way she leans in for a kiss after meal time prayers, watching her light up when Ben comes home from work, and the way she feels snuggled against my chest as we read books after nap time.

What about you:: what are your favorite things about the toddler stage?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!