• Family & Motherhood

    pregnant with a toddler- the struggle is real

    I know pregnancy makes you tired, especially in the last month, but I was not prepared for how tired I’d feel this time around. My daughter had issues with me as her nutrition host and was a tiny, pre-term 3 lb. baby who just made me sick all the way up to delivery. But I could take a nap on demand (when I wasn’t nauseous), and plan her arrival calmly. This time is so different. While in hindsight I appreciate the fact that my daughter kept me just distracted enough to not have the luxury of feeling sick all day (the DayQuil commercials come to mind when the mom goes…

  • Family & Motherhood

    baby thoughts: lessons for our little boy

    I did a lessons for our girl when Liv was still hanging out in my tummy, so it was only appropriate to do a lessons for our little boy the second time around. With a baby boy it’s different. My focus on our little boy is to be a kind human being that is respectful and knows how to treat a lady. There is something different when I think about the fact that Justin and I are going to be raising a little boy who will someday become a man. While I desperately wanted Liv not to be a bratty kid, with a boy I want desperately for him to…

  • Family & Motherhood

    it’s really happening (baby #2)

    Alright, at 21 weeks and halfway through this thing. In a couple of months we’ll be knee deep in diaper changes, late night feedings and being parents of a newborn again. I’m wrapping my head around the logistics of bringing another baby into the world, and as I hang out with my little one and rock her to sleep while my obvious pregnant belly is getting bigger and bigger, I’m reminded to savor those precious moments of us as a twosome. Here’s how I’m doing this time around: 1. How big is the baby? Baby is the size of baseball hat or a baby bok choy. He’s super active and…

  • Family & Motherhood

    Happy Birthday Olivia!

      Our little one has made it a year. I can’t even believe it. As much as I’d like to take the credit for keeping our little one alive, sick-free and happy for a whole 12 months, I didn’t do it alone. We are a team. We’ll always be a team. So here’s what I have to say to you, my little one, on your first birthday: I never, in a million years, felt my heart so full as when we brought you home. Your tiny hands trying to hold on to my finger, hanging on my every move and trusting your tiny, 3lb. body with me to protect, comfort…

  • Family & Motherhood

    Baby Stations

    Before Kids: Master Bedroom, Living Room and Baby Room After Kids: Station #1, Station #2, Baby Room (Station #3) Walk into our house and there should be no question we have a kid. Our living room is packed with books, bead mazes and so many things that play music, sing songs and flash an obscene amount of lights. We know all the songs on the Playskool drum activity station (“yeah yeah!”) and VTech walker (“welcome to our learning farm, we have much to show you!”) it’s almost sad. But our little one loves it and it keeps her entertained without staring at a TV so we roll with it. Our…

  • Family & Motherhood

    halfway through the first year

    I blinked and our little one is 6 months old. Halfway through her first year. I can’t believe it. 6 months ago she was a 3 lb. newborn with no head control and wearing onesie’s that were too big for her small body. She struggled to keep her head up, couldn’t consume more than 2 ounces of milk and crossed her eyes now and then while they figured out how to work in tandem. It’s an amazing journey to see how much she’s grown, almost unrecognizable since the day we brought her home. She’s on her hands and knees, wanting desperately to coordinate her limbs to move forward, eats an easy 5…

  • Family & Motherhood

    A Happy Childhood

    My Fairy Godmother, The Little Green Elf, New Kids on the Block birthday song, New Year’s “shows”. These are just a few of the things I remember when I was little. I had a happy childhood. Every year on my birthday, one of my mom’s friends would dress up as our “fairy Godmother”, walk across the street to our house at the crack of dawn and sprinkle glitter on our faces to wish us a happy birthday. It was magical and at night we would look up at the stars and pick the brightest one because that’s where she lived. There was a little green elf that only my mom…