Friday, September 28, 2012

first day/night out...

super/duper overdue but believe it or not -- DJ and I have [both] in fact left PJ on her own [well with family] and had a date or two over the past few months... I just have been extremely slack and haven't shared them with you, oops. so for the sake of not forgetting myself and being able to look back on this for years to come [maybe? hah] here are our first "day" and "night" dates away from Ms. P.

first, we took our day trip at the end of July and went for a 8 mile hike at Fort Yargo... it was so nice to just "be" with one another, no distractions, no cell phones, just walked and talked - it was good for my soul... it might have also been good for my thighs [holy workout batman, I was sore for a few days!] - it definitely helped though I've probably lost another 10-15lbs since those pictures were taken!

then, at the end of august - we left PJ at home for the evening and headed to a wedding... it was a fun night with family and friends [pumping in the car in the parking lot, not so much - but you do what you have to do I suppose, hah].

so that's that - we're trying to balance this whole "new parent" thing with taking time for ourselves and each other - it's definitely challenging but I think as long as we continue to make it a priority we can make it happen.

what can I say, I love my silly man and sometimes I like to have him all to myself! speaking of loving DJ - I swear, we will finish "the story of us" at some point - if anything because I want to have it documented for Pen and if not then my SIL Summer will probably disown me [hi summer, I haven't forgotten!] -- but life [and work] are pretty swamped for DJ and I right now and it has just been put on the back burner a bit, yikes. soon enough my friends, soon enough.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

more bulldog baby? ok.

I know the real reason you come here.... for a cuteness overload... because let's be real, the content has been lacking [oops]. well, I aim to please so heres the next chapter in our baby/bulldog lovestory -- I continue to be overwhelming overjoyed by how much Ollie is loving PJ [he's even started trying to share his toys with her, ADORABLE]. She's starting to reach out to him and pat him and grab at him so I'm just waiting for the reactions to continue... y'all I dream of the day that they sit on the floor and play together - I think my heart will burst.

anyways, here's the good stuff - pictures of our favorite the dynamic duo....

yup. he's eating her hand... I know, I'm a terrible mother. but let's get real - you see his underbite, he's not doing any damage - just getting her nice and slobbery!

kisses for PJ....

"sharing" his toy - he brought it over and dropped it in her bouncy chair - I DIE...

smoooooches...

brother/sister playmat/tummy time...

 bulldogs & babies who brunch...

guarding the door of the nursery while I feed Penelope...

oh my heart.
it explodes for those two.
I must say, they're the sweetest.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

what I'm loving wednesday & an update...

happy wednesday! forgot about this blog? apparently I did too - #oops. to say life has been hectic is an understatement but I have no complaints - life is AMAZING. the move has of course added small stresses here and there but we're pretty much all unpacked and settled in and just waiting on a few more pieces of furniture! we absolutely love our little apartment, community, neighborhood and new routine! also, I'd be remiss if I did not mention I am LOVING my new commute - if you can even call it that... it takes me less than 10 minutes to get to work/penny's school tops. oh yes, and Ms. P is loving her school and I love that she's so close and how developmental and caring they are. It's also pretty great that I'm only pumping twice a day -- once at 9am (when she gets a bottle at school) and then at night before I go to bed.  I am able to nurse her before and after work (and I walk to her school and nurse her twice throughout the day). It is AMAZING being so close and seeing her throughout the day... I can't say enough positive things about where she is.  so yes. life is pretty darn great.

so those are the major things I'm loving -- here is the bulleted/picture list because let's be real - that's more fun!

I'm loving... that I got to spend time with my sweet friend Sarah this weekend - and that she met Penny for the first time!

I'm loving... that we're getting more visitors this weekend and Kelly and Lindsey are coming to visit! It's been forever since the three of us have been together (DJ and I's wedding was the last time - almost two years, yikes!). I'm so excited to show them Atlanta and play tourist with them all weekend!

I'm loving... that we're going to a Braves game later this week [with free tickets too, wahoo]! crazy to think the last time we went was a year ago and I was pregnant with Penny!

I'm loving... my sweet, loving and sexy husband...

...our cuddly pup...

...and our beautiful sweet baby girl...


yup. loving life.
happy wednesday!
get ready... bulldog & baby pictures coming tomorrow!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Be reasonable, Mom! - A Guest Post


Hey Forever88-ers! While Annahita’s moving, I’m popping in to hang out for the day. My name is Kristi, and I blog at Table-for-Three. Annahita and I met back in 2005, while she was working on her Master’s degree and I was working for that Governor who said he was on the Appalachian Trail but was actually visiting his mistress in Argentina. It’s fine. What I remember from those days is watching The Bachelor while eating cupcakes and nachos. What more could you want from a friend?

Since then, we’ve both gotten married, moved, become puppy mommies, and baby mommies (not necessarily in that order). I have two little girls (one is almost 3 and the other just turned 1), and today I’m sharing about something I learned the hard way with my second baby.




Last December, my husband and I were invited to a fundraiser for a non-profit that works with high school students. It was going to be a dinner-and-a-show style fundraiser, where we would mingle and eat, then move into an amphitheater where they would tell us what they did with students by showing us; skits and all.

We wanted to attend, but we’d recently moved, and didn’t have many babysitting options. One friend offered to watch our two year-old and even suggested that she stay the night. We took her up on it, but ended up taking our other daughter with us. She was about three months old.

That night, we walked in carrying our best accessory – a baby in a car seat. We were a little self-conscious because we were slightly underdressed; oh-and-also we had a kid with us. But we saw some people we knew, strangers started ogling at our gorgeous daughter, and we started to feel more comfortable.

Dinner was great and we got ready to move down the hall to the amphitheater. We hung back, and as we started down the hall way, we heard loud music and lots and lots of cheering. We turned the corner and saw that the staff and created a fan tunnel, like at a football game, for the guests to walk through on our way to the theater.

You guys. I was a cheerleader in school, and will always be one in my heart. I can get. behind. a cause. Mkay? Throw some loud music and dancing in there and my instincts simply cannot be stopped. Plus, at this point my attitude about bringing a baby to a kid-free event had gone from “Um…so…we brought our baby…” to “WE BROUGHT OUR BABY, Y’ALL!”

The music and cheering took over my body, and I did what felt most natural. I lifted my fairly new baby over my head and danced my way through the tunnel. Everyone was cracking up and nodding and cheering me on. We were famous! We brought our baby to a kid-less fundraiser and she was a hit!

And then she spit-up on me. All down the back of my black cardigan. I’m not even sure when she erupted, I just know that by the end of that tunnel, I was getting concerned looks. And I felt really embarrassed.

Not because we’d brought a baby. Not because we were slightly underdressed. And not because I don’t exactly have the moves like Jagger.

I was embarrassed because I’d treated my daughter like, well, an accessory. An add-on to me, rather than my priority. I’d spent the whole night trying to figure out how to minimizer her presence until it behooved me to maximize it. And then she puked.

Dancing? Loud music? Holding her up like she’s Simba from The Lion King? Come on, Kristi. That’s too much for an infant. I should have known better.

And you know, the result wasn’t tragic. We stayed for some of the presentation and then had to leave because she started getting fussy. We slipped out quietly, and the night wasn’t a big deal to anyone but me.

But I felt stupid, kind of foolish and a little ashamed. I immediately recognized that I was trying to fit her into what I wanted to do, rather than taking both of our needs seriously. Balancing the needs of a family is so much harder when kids are introduced, but I think most of us have little radars that start dinging when we we’re pushing it. We just have to listen to them. And for a minute, I’d let the music drown out that helpful ding. I don’t want to do that again.

For at least the last year, we’ve been the only ones in most of our friend groups with kids. We’ve had to figure out how to be good friends and good to our family at the same time. Sometimes we aren’t sure if we’re doing it well, but we’ve had several of our childless friends tell us that watching us balance things has made them less worried about having kids of their own, because they see that you can still show up. We’re pretty emphatic about naps and schedules, and still, having children doesn’t mean we’re homebound.

But I hope they see the other side too; that sometimes it does mean that we willingly skip the fun things to put our kids first. Sometimes it’s okay to push a kid to skip a nap, but sometimes, it’s not. So much of parenting is about gauging where your kids are, where you are, and what should happen based on those factors combined. Before anything else, we have to be advocates for our kids, and our entire family.

My philosophy is basically this – our family is a team. But my husband and I are the captains. (Or should it be the coaches? Sports metaphors are not my strong suit.) In our family we all matter, and we all need to be taken seriously. Even the smallest of us. The world doesn’t revolve around the kids, but it also doesn’t revolve around us. Each member has a voice, even before he or she can speak. We try to make the best decision for the team, taking everyone’s needs and preferences into consideration.

If I’d done that well on the night of the fundraiser, I could have avoided spit-up soaked cardigan and a little emotional turmoil. We’re no worse for the wear, thankfully, but it was a good reminder that even the best the outside world has to offer can’t trump the feeling of taking good care of this sweet little  family we’ve become.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

bulldog baby.

that's right - just what you were waiting for, another installment in your favorite sibling lovestory... Ollie is still extremely infatuated with his sister and I'm excited to report Penny is starting to interact with him a little bit! She's still not quite old enough to "play" but she is definitely aware of him and not afraid of him... I swear, he's gentle with her but at times I am caught off-guard by him "chomping" on her hand... she's just sitting there calm as can be and her hand is halfway down his throat!? clearly, it doesn't hurt and he's not biting her, just slobbering but I swear my heart jumped the first time I saw it... but seriously. onto the good stuff, my favorite two cuties...
seriously?
aren't they the cutest duo ever?

Monday, September 3, 2012

mommy & me...

there are seriously days where I still can't believe I'm a mom.
seriously?
who thought it would be a good idea for me to be responsible for another human being?
I never thought that being a mom or better yet, a mommy would be something that I would excel at...
but I'm not going to lie, I don't think I'm half bad.
Penny is clearly loved, taken care of and smothered with kisses every day.
I like that think that I'm her favorite person in the world
[but we all know that's daddy]
but seriously, she smiles and giggles when she sees me, she cuddles and nestles into my neck when she's sleepy, she giggles at my voice - and I can't lie I LOVE that she recognizes/knows me
[even if she might just be looking at my boobs and thinking YES, DINNER is here]
there is nothing better than those sweet snuggles and that amazing little laugh.
at dinner the other night Danny said something along the lines of wishing we had kids earlier because we're having such a great time with P and he loves being a dad - I told him I disagreed, I thought that our timing was perfect - because it all happens for a reason and now we have our sweet Penelope.
with that being said, I'm glad we didn't wait any longer because I'm starting to get the hang of this whole mommy thing and I can't lie - I love it...

...and because DJ is the best dad ever - here are some of my favorite recent "daddy & me" shots...
yup.
we're in love.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

sweet pea, lately.

my dear friend Sarah reprimanded me for not blogging, I told her I'd try and do better - as I shared yesterday life has been quite hectic and my brain has been rather full... parter all of the "life" happenings with an extremely full plate at work, trying to find a daycare for Penny [still #4 on the waitlist for the one we were hoping for her to start at], oh yes and packing, packing, packing. SO, with that being said - more blogposts coming soon - probably, after we get settled in the coming weeks. BUT, for now - get ready for a baby photo dump! :)

Ms. Penny has been bursting with personality lately and seriously - it makes me heart MELT. She has moved on from giggles to full on gut-busting laugh and it is the most amazing sound I have ever heard. She's still sleeping well [knock on wood] and eating like a champ. Her little legs and cheeks are chunking up and gah, I just want to kiss her all day. Alright, alright - enough words - onto the good stuff... here are some pictures of our sweet, sweet Penelope Rose....
can you believe she's 15 weeks [3.5 months] already?!
time flies when you're in love!

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