kids

They are all that I think about. From the time that I wake up until I go to bed. I am obsessed with my kids. That is normal, right?

Going back to work this school year has been bitter sweet. Sure, who doesn't love a little adult time? There were certainly days this summer that I felt like I just seriously needed a break. It seems though that the 'sweets' don't out weigh the 'bitters.' I miss my sweet little ones almost immediately when I walk out the door.

I miss those lazy jammie mornings. Some days this summer we didn't even bother to change out of them. We just played and played and played, no time for real clothes on those days.

I miss watching the kids play. You learn a lot about a child watching them play. For instance, this summer I learned that Abbott sticks his tongue out to concentrate, just like I did when I was a kid. It is pretty darn cute. I miss watching that little tongue work through difficult problems each day.

When my kids go to bed, I basically spend my free time 'pinning' kid things, or trying to convince Matt it's a good idea to get them back out of bed to snuggle.

I am almost positive I will adjust. I'll learn to spend the weekends and weeknights soaking up my baby time and the rest of my day focusing on other tasks. For now though, missing my kids serves as a constant reminder of how blessed I am to have so much to love, and two sweet babies who make me better everyday.

How are you other working mommy's finding the balance?

bath babies

We've been letting Laurelei and Abbott take their evening bathes together lately and it has been a blast! Abbott loves splashing in the water, and although L likes to pretend that it bothers her when he tries to take her toys, she rarely agrees to take one without him! I love hearing them giggle together.

One sweet, overcast summer day I decided to give the kids an extended bath play time since we couldn't do much of anything out of the house. They played until they were all clean and quite prune-y. After moans and groans I finally coaxed them out of the tub. As they were squirming around on Abbott's bedroom floor, giggling and playing, I ran to get my camera. I am so glad I did. I have a feeling I'll cherish these pictures forever. Prepare yourself for one-to-many pictures of the littles and their post bath time fun!

Love you bunches little bath babies!

11 whole months...

I may be a week late, but here we are. Abbott is officially 11 months (and one week) old! I cannot believe we are going on a year already! This time last year I was officially off of work again and back on bedrest. If my memory is correct, I was going into the hospital this very day with preterm labor. Getting steroids to develop baby's lungs and being dosed with the TERRIBLE magnesium sulfate to stop those persistent contractions. We held Abbott off for almost 4 more weeks, with 2 trips to the hospital in between!

Here are some special things about our little one this month...

growing...Abbott is 18lbs 5oz already! I can hardly believe how big he seems. He is getting taller and thinning out a little in the middle I think. He legs don't seem to have quite as much baby 'chunk' as they used to, and I miss them. We are still wearing 6 and 9 month clothes for the time being, although he has fit into at least one pair of 12 month jammies too! His hair is growing too! It is starting to curl at the ends in the sweetest way.

eating...We have almost officially stopped baby food. He is still eating some during the day at school, but he eats what we eat here at home in a sort of smooshed version. :) Spaghetti with turkey meatballs is his favorite!

cruising... He is all over the place, taking one, two, and even three steps at a time! I really think he would just take off if he realized he could. Abbott stands all the time alone, and takes a few steps before he realizes he isn't holding onto anything, and then immediately falls to his bottom. He is so close it scares me!

babbling... For some reason we are stuck on a constant, "da, da, da, da..." I've heard a 'ba' or even a 'ga' here or there. Certainly no 'ma' or better yet, 'mama.' I am confident that 'mommy' will be he first real word with meaning though, seeing as how I am his favorite. :)

playing...Abbott plays so much these days, it is so much fun! Him and L laugh and giggle all the time. They play side by side a lot. Abbott is quite the little destruct-or though, in true boy fashion I guess. L will be playing quietly with her dolls and he'll grab them by the hair and drag them down the hall. This always incites a sort of miniature baby riot. L is screaming while trying to save her dolls and Abbott is screaming back at her as she tries to pry his hands open. It's kind of cute in a funny, piercing headache kind of way... His favorite playtime is for sure in the bath. Abbott is a total water baby, loves to splash and dunk his head in too!

cuddling...Abbott, my favorite time with you is cuddle time. You are such a sweetheart. Crawling over to me to give hugs and kisses. You lay your head on my shoulder in just the perfect way. You rest there for a while, just looking around and taking it all in. Sometimes you fall asleep, but mostly you just rub my arm and hang out. Sometimes when I am feeding you before bed you just look up and laugh. We laugh together for a while before you rub your sleepy little eyes and I put you to bed. Those are the sweetest times, and times I know you'll grow out of before I am ready to let them go!

Happy 11 months baby! If it is okay with you, I am going to pretend that you are my tiny little baby for just a few weeks longer. Love you to the moon and back little abby rabbit.

celebrating another year and a little 'me' trip

I feel like there are a million and one things I want to post about. I keep getting further and further behind and can't seem to catch up! I have sat down to write a new post several times, but each time feel overwhelmed by the 'catching up' that needs doing, so I always just end up putting it off. I end the streak today, lucky you. :)

Way back in July I celebrated another birthday! I am now officially 27 years old. Gasp, sigh, I know. Super young. I promise to spare you any sentiment implying his birthday made me feel like I was getting so old, because it indeed did not. In fact, when I look back over the last few years I cannot believe how much I have done, and how much my family and life has grown. When I pictured 27, I never expected to feel this young yet have so much responsibility. It's a good feeling. I like this year already. The whole day was perfect. I got spoiled by Jess at breakfast, had a wonderful lunch with Matt, and enjoyed dinner with my family that night.

{a little birthday breakfast} 

The weekend after my birthday I left to take a little trip to visit Katharine and Andy. By. My. Self. Katharine and I had been planning all year to take a girls trip, and it ended up just being the perfect time for me to go visit them in Michigan and for us to hop around to all the little townships around Ann Arbor. I never knew how gorgeous Michigan was. And I am totally jealous of all the little towns they have around their house. We went to Ann Arbor, Birmingham, Northville, Plymouth...the list seemed endless! There were so many boutiques and little restaurants, it was so much fun. It seems like we shopped, ate, and laughed a lot. All things we do best. :)

The last night I was there we had dinner at a really cute place called the Sardine Room. Minus the snooty hostess, it was all wonderful. Andy even convinced me to eat and oyster, which was pretty a pretty big feat. I added oyster and lobster to my seafood list, and I was proud. 

We had so much fun. It was just what I needed. Great friends are so good for the soul! I cannot wait to go back and snuggle that new sweet baby when she arrives!

10 whole months...

We've entered into the double digits. Only two short months away from that big birthday! I can't say I am excited about time passing so quickly, but the last couple of months have been particularly enjoyable! It's hard not to look back at this time last year. All the uncertainty, pain, frustration, waiting. It was a hard time for me. I realize now each and every month what a blessing he truly is!

Here are some special things about our little Abbott this month...

moving... This baby is on the move big time. He is cruising around furniture more and more. We've actually witnessed a few seconds of standing alone too, which is particularly scary. I am seriously tempted to just {gently} push him over every time he does it! I am not ready for a little walker just quite yet! He is so quick crawling too. I can always see it coming, he looks down the hall into the bathroom and sees that someone has carelessly left the toilet lid up, and off he goes. Breaking record speed, just trying to beat me in there so he can splash around. Yuck. Alllll boy, this one. 

snacking... I would say eating, but snacking seems more appropriate a term. Little one is teething like crazy. He isn't one of those babies that you don't notice their discomfort, as he literally gnaws on everything. That, combined with a recent aversion to being spoon fed, has led to a lot of snacking. Graham crackers, zucchini, apple slices, bananas...they are all our best friends right now. 

cuddling... In the last month Abbott has become the biggest cuddler. He can most often be found snuggled up on mommy's shoulder, head tucked under my chin. I am not going to lie, I love it. I love rocking him, dancing around the living room with him, tickling him til he giggles, all with his precious little head on my shoulder. Such a sweet time!

playing... Abbott loves to play with Laurelei. He will crawl down the hall and into her room, aiming for her little pink kitchen. Laurelei is a very good cook and waiter, and Abbott helps out a lot by banging around the pots and pans while she is fast at work. I can tell they have a system down pat in there. We are also clapping and playing pat-a-cake, playing peek-a-boo and hide and seek. This is such a fun age! Abby is also really into trucks he can push around. It is sweet watching him crawl down the hall pushing his dump truck. 

growing...Last time we weighed in we were still hanging in the 17-18lb range. I can tell he's gotten taller though, when I hold him his little feet almost graze the very tip top of my legs!

Abby, you have the perfect temperament. You are happy and playful. You go with the flow and love on us all. Your little tongue is always sticking out, like you are hard at work or deep in concentration. You must have a lot going on in that little 10 month old brain of yours.We are so very lucky you are ours, forever. Love you little rabbit. Happy 10 months!

miscellany monday

school. Back to school is right around the corner, and I am not sure if I am ready! Just the thought of it makes me want to throw up. It doesn't help that, as far as I know, my classroom still looks like this...

I have lots of ideas for what I want my classroom to look like. They are all swimming around in my head and I can't seem to make any real decisions. I have made some fun prints for various spots in my classroom. If you know my well you know I love playing with Microsoft Word a little too much! Thank you Pinterest for some of these fun graphic ideas!

On top of work-school, I have school-school to worry about. I probably should be creating some sort of matrix as we speak, but complaining about it is way more therapeutic. :)

home. I've been avoiding my back to work to do list, but have been having a blast working on my at home one! We recently tackled a couple of projects we have wanted to take on for awhile. I am extra excited about our new hallway bookshelves. It gives the kids easy access to their favorite books and is a major space saver!

I'm also on this 'adding color' kick. Our living room has lived in the blues, greens, and neutrals for awhile now. I am looking for a way to bring in some corals and oranges. My latest plan potentially involves painting our dining room one of those colors, but I am having a hard time giving up the dark grey it is now. We shall see where that goes I guess! In the meantime, I am on the hunt for some warm-tone throw pillows. Anyone know where to get super cute ones? I feel like I've looked at all the big stores.

kids. They couldn't get any cuter. We have had so, so much fun this summer. I know I've said it before, but two isn't nearly as daunting as I expected it to be! Abbott adds nothing but sunshine to our days, and we love him for it!

Laurelei has become quite the little boss. We spend a lot of our days playing 'mommy.' This is a game in which Abbott and I are subjected to playing the role of brother and sissy, and Laurelei gets to boss us around. She takes her role as mommy on with an Oscar-winning ferocity, and rarely breaks character. This makes for an interesting conversation about nap time. No, I am not sleeping in your bed and yes, you will take a nap. :) She is hilarious!

other. I am so, so excited about this upcoming week! I get to spend the next several days celebrating my birthday with friends and family, traveling to Dayton, and then onto Michigan! I am spending next week with my great friend Katharine in Michigan, and I just know it's going to be filled with lots of relaxation, shopping, and great company!

Happy Monday!

a quiet 4th of July

This was our 'quiet' 4th of July in quite some time. For as long as I have been in Matt's life and for many years before that, Matt's parents have always thrown a huge cookout/ party at their house for the 4th. Both sides of their families come. There are games and prizes and fireworks and tons of yummy food. This year however, they decided to take the year off from party planning. So this year, instead...

We spent the morning and much of the afternoon working on projects around the house.

Abbott and I sat on the back porch for a while and retreated in doors when it just got too stinking hot. And Laurelei got a special trip to the pool with Gigi, which she LOVED! After avoiding naptime, L and A shared some cookies while we waited for daddy.

When we were all ready to go, we headed to Matt's parents' house to grill out. We enjoyed some great family time and yummy food.

Oh, and Abbott might have gotten to have a little ice cream too. I was holding him and enjoying my desert until he decided he'd rather have it. So he just grabbed the whole cone out of my hand and went to town. I am surprised how well he managed the cone actually! It was pretty impressive. He is most definitely mommy's boy. At some point daddy insisted I take it away (buzzKill!) and Abby was not so happy about that.

The ice cream social led to an impromptu bath time. Abbott loved taking a bath in the big tub! And because of the fireworks ban in town, we finished off the evening in the dark with glow sticks. Good thinking Grandma! At somepoint L stopped and announced, "This is just so much fun!"

 

It was a nice quiet 4th of July, just what the doctor ordered this year. 

Hope you had a fantastic holiday too!