Don't Blink

Lately life has been moving at a rate that I didn't know was possible.

I look at my tiny everyday in disbelief. 

It seems impossible that she is where she is. 

Not because I think she's a genius baby (well I think she is)

 but because I can't place my finger on how we got here.
The evolution is a grand, awe inspiring process to watch.

She's moving, playing, smiling, interacting and showing us her personality each day.

Just when I think my heart can't love anymore,

it does. 

I continue to wish I had some sort of machine

 where I could bottle all of these feelings up,

pulling them out for days when I'll really need them...

her first night away, her first date, college, wedding.

NOBODY can prepare you for this!

You can register for every toy and gadget in the store

 (which I may or may not have done)

but you can't be prepared for a love like this...

and even if you could register for it,

it would be so expensive to buy you would never receive it.

Because THIS. IS. PRICELESS.

And it literally is happening in the blink of an eye.

I love this stage we are in.

To be honest I am petrified to blink because I know it will then be over.

But if the next stage is anything like the past,

then I am sure it will have my heart bursting at the seams.

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Birthday America!

I hope you all enjoy the 4th of July very much.

Wordless Wednesday

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday,

where a picture is worth a thousand wordless words.

Happy Wednesday!

A Sleepy Morning

We awoke to a VERY early wake up call this morning.

Tiny was up earlier than usual...and this sleepy mama wasn't ready to get up.

I thought I had died and gone to heaven

 as my husband offered so kindly to get up and watch her while I rested a little longer.

That was until I came out to find this:

 A video gaming husband and a Baby Einstein movie watching baby.

Oh how our ideas of babysitting are different.

It is a good thing he's not getting paid to do this,

and I am sure they don't teach this kind of care at the local babysitting course.

But who am I to complain. 

I got an entire extra hour of sleep.

And It. Was. Heavenly!

And to make up for it,

he made me a heart shaped breakfast.

Who could stay mad after being served this?

And it's just another lesson in the game of parenting.

I've learned that parenting styles can be different.

I've learned that anything goes when it's papa and daughter time,

and most importantly: 

I've learned that who cares when your tired.

I could have stayed mad,

but this mama has better things to do...like sleep!

3 Generations

I feel so blessed.

Blessed to be a part of this trio of ladies.

 We have both inherited new names,

Mother turned to YaYa, 

and daughter turned to Mother,

they are new names that make us happier than before.

As the days pass and the years go on,

I can only pray that the wisdom that was once passed down to me,

can continue its journey to my little one.

 It makes my heart smile to know that one day,

the generations will continue and the positions will rotate.

3 generations of the greatest blessing;

 love.

Peace Be With You

Raising a child is no easy task, and as the saying goes,

it takes a village.

In so many ways I have seen this as the truth since tiny arrived.

We have been blessed with many helping and loving hands since the day she entered our lives.

But today I have such a heavy heart. 

A heart that feels like the village has failed her. 

It started with a joyful trip to our local park and ended with a scary robbery at gunpoint.

Thankfully it wasn't us, and thankfully the victim was not harmed,

 (the victim who happened to be a pregnant mama with a 1 year old on her hip)

but it has me on edge. 

As a mother I feel like I have the right to feel safe,

and it deeply saddens me to know that I have to watch my back wherever we go.

It saddens me even more to know that this is the kind of world I will have to teach Lucia about.

Having a child has already shown me a side of anxiety that I never knew existed,

but this might just be enough to send me over the edge.

Be safe and cautious wherever you are mama's.

Always be aware of your surroundings,

and may peace be with you wherever you go.

Half A Year

Dear Lucia,

Today you are 6 months old. I'm not exactly sure how it all happened.

People tell you time flies, and they aren't kidding.

These past 6 months have been the best, most entertaining, filled with love months,

I have ever experienced.

I have never laughed or loved anything more. 

I am in AWE of how much you have grown and changed.

When you were a itty bitty baby I would always secretly pray you would stay that way.

But now I find myself feeling the same.

Each stage seems better than the last.

You are a happy, content, sweet, baby.

You adore your papa and your dogs.

You are sitting up, rolling over, have no teeth yet and you aren't sleeping through the night yet.

 I assume it's because you are so busy thinking about what you will do next.

You are coming into your own personality,

many times reminding us of our own traits, but we know you are your own being.

You are slowly introducing us to who you are....and we can't get enough.

In honor of your half birthday, which I plan to make a tradition,

we gave you your first taste of food.

You were less than impressed.

Truthfully, that's just fine with me.

I'll admit I am not ready for you to move on yet.

What we have right now is perfection in my eyes.

I love you.

You will always be my tiny.

Insiders View

I feel like I have entered a part of my life that I always admired from the outside.

But I am no longer an outsider looking in.

I have evolved into an insider of the mommy play dates.

I used to see mom's sitting in the park with their babies,

laughing, chatting, sharing a picnic, playing.

 I always thought to myself "that looks like something I could enjoy".

And I can now say it really is something I enjoy.

For me, it is a beautiful thing to have other mom's to enjoy this ride with.

I could never have imagined the joy these picnics would really bring to my life though.

Seeing Lucia happy, makes me happy.

It really is that simple.

 Watching her make friends,

seeing her smile at the trees blowing in the wind,

is all it takes to make my day.

As the seasons change,

friends are added.

And suddenly my tiny has been replaced by the tiniest. 

(don't worry Lucia, you will always be my tiny)

And these meetings are serious business.

friendships are in the making,

and memories are being created.

And that my friends,

is what this wild ride is really all about.

Wet

 It's official friends.

We have a water baby.

In the past she winced and screamed if the water wasn't a perfect 78 degrees. 

But the conditions must have been to her liking because she loved it.

 She spent most of her time "chillin".

I often wonder if her love for water has to do with how she entered the world,

going from water...to water.

 A little help from her cousins,

and she will be swimming in no time.

but until then,

a little floating in the pool is all these tiny feet can handle.

Adventures with Sophie

If you haven't met Sophie,

let me introduce you.

 She is a giraffe made of natural rubber,

 She squeaks,

 and just the other day caused a massive dog fight between our two dogs.

But she is not a dog toy,

 and she has been described as crack for babies,

 and if that is any indication of my tiny's future,

 then we have some serious problems,

because this little girl loves Sophie.

You've Got A Friend

You've got a friend in me

You've got a friend in me

When the road looks rough ahead

And your miles and miles from your nice warm bed

Just remember what your old pal said

You've got a friend in me

You've got troubles, well I've got em too

There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you

We stick together and we see it through

You've got a friend in me

You've got a friend in me.

A Nursery Surprise

I love surprises,

and my hubs knows this.

On occasion, he will surprise me with things,

and although on this occasion I knew what was hidden behind that adorable paper,

I had no idea it was coming.

 I had spotted this frame awhile back at Marion's,
and always thought my tiny would really shine in it.
So we happily ditched this lady
 (no offense if your reading)

and filled it with the most delicious toes I ever did see.

Tiny baby toes could quite possibly be my very. favorite. thing.

So in honor of our tiny, 

we added her ten little piggies to her nursery.

It makes me smile every time I walk into her room,

and I can't help but think about all the adventures those toes will go on.

All the places they will take her.

But until then, these little piggies are right where they belong.
*Thank you to Carolyn Loesch Photography for creating such a beautiful memory*

Milestones

Today my tiny turns 4 months,

and it seems that each time we celebrate another successful month,

I become oh so nostalgic.

Just yesterday as I was rocking my little lady to sleep,

I caught myself staring with delight at the first picture ever taken of her, moments after she arrived.

I can't help but wonder how much she will change, or what the future will hold.

I sometimes feel like I'm having a constant battle with time,

 wanting it to go back, stop and fast forward.

Today however, I am going to focus on the moment 

and celebrate how far these 4 little months have taken us.

Rolls

I always said "I hope I don't have a big baby",
only for the fact that I am a smaller person.
But as the saying goes...be careful what you wish for.
My tiny (or not so tiny) is covered in head to toe with rolls.
Healthy, porker, and chubby are just some of the names people have called her.
At first, I wondered if I was to blame,
and my hubs joked that I needed to produced 2% milk,
but as time has passed I have come to adore her rolls.
This picture, courtesy of Pinterest, had me "rolling" with laughter.
Happy Friday.

The Simple Things

Some days it's the simple things that matter.

A walk through the neighborhood.

 

A snapshot with my tiny.

 A curious, growing mind.

and the sweetest smile.

This is how we create memories,

one simple day at a time.

Morning Sunshine

I have never (and I mean like since kindergarten kind of never) been a morning person.

I have always struggled to get out of bed,

and God protect the person who is waking me up.

But babies don't care. 

They wake you up without asking.

My pre baby days would have growled at you for this,

but those days are long gone,

and I could care less to ever go back. 

(OK I lied, there have been a few mornings that I wished I could go back)

 It's amazing how much I suddenly enjoy mornings.

This face is my morning sunshine and I couldn't be happier.

Good morning sunshine.

A Cushy Tushy

I received a package in the mail yesterday,

 filled with something I thought I would NEVER get excited about.

Diapers.

We have decided to give cloth diapering a try,

and to be honest I'm excited...who knew diapers could do such a thing.

It's not that our little love's bum is too good for disposables, 

and we aren't saying we will never use them,

but if I can avoid adding to the already over polluted landfills full of diapers,

then at least I feel like I'm trying to help.

I know, I know,

you are probably thinking why in the world would anyone want to attempt this

BUT...I promise they have come a long way.

We decided on using an All-in-one system by BumGenius (or AIO in cloth diaper lingo).

The system is quite simple and aside from being slightly more padded than a disposable,

the theory is the same. 

Baby does its business, you wipe the baby down, dispose of the diaper, and start fresh.

Except this system requires washing the diaper instead of throwing them out.

At first I thought, YIKES that's a lot of laundry,

 but then I actually had my tiny and realized I was already doing laundry nearly every day,

so why not throw some diapers in there too?

And if nothing else, they make for the cutest bum I have EVER seen.

Sleepy Time

I have never really been able to wrap my head around daylight savings.

I suppose since us humans created time, we think we can take it away,

I woke up thinking that last nights glass of wine really did me in,

and then I realized someone had stolen an hour from me.

How. dare. them.

Today however, instead of being bitter that an hour of my day has vanished,

I'm going to relish in the sleepy snuggles from my tiny.

I hope you can do the same.

Friday Funny

I made it my own personal rule to avoid certain baby clothes.

Baby clothes adorned with sayings such as "cutie" or 'I love my daddy" aren't really my style.

But some rules are made to be broken.

Check out these clever onesies from bad mouth baby.

*warning, some are a bit offensive*

They had me in serious chuckles.

A few of my faves include:

Happy Friday.

Together

I L-O-V-E being a Mother.

I love knowing that my tiny needs me, 

that she looks to me for guidance, protection and love.

(when she's not looking at me for food).

But I have noticed,

 there is something so special about her relationship with her Papa.

He lights up her day.

They take walks together.

They snuggle up together.

They share special moments together (She's wearing his baptism outfit).

They share story time together.

Together they are learning exactly what "daddy's girl" means.

He has stolen her heart, 

and she completes his.