Emma Joy: Two Years Old

Our baby girl turned 2 at the end of July so I wanted to pop in here and document it before any more times goes by! We celebrated this birthday much like her first birthday, only inviting immediate family to our home for a small Trolls themed celebration. I'm so glad we've done her first 2 birthdays this way. Jonathan and I get to truly enjoy the party with Emma without feeling like we have a ton of guests to host and missing out on the whole reason for the party. We kept things super simple (this was also about 6 weeks after Jackson was born) with pizza, some of Emma's favorite snacks, a homemade Trolls cake and a ton of balloons. Emma woke up from her nap to a sea of balloons in the living room, her favorite songs from the Trolls soundtrack blaring and both sets of grandparents plus some of her aunts and uncles greeting her ready to party. It was a great day!

At 2 years old, Emma Joy:

- weighed in at 23 lbs. at her doctor appointment. After so many visits of her weight being on the low end, but not concerning, the doctor finally said she is too skinny. She gave us some suggestions on what we can give her to help a bit but also wasn't concerned enough to say there is anything wrong. We're just chalking it up to her being petite and not being overly worried about it. She's actually already gained a pound since then so I think adding some things into her diet and her generally being better about eating has helped!

- comes up to me, tilts her head and asks if I'm okay if she sees me upset or crying. The other day, she even brought a tissue and started patting my face to dry my tears. She also started patting our backs when we hug her, something she's picked up from us doing when we hold her. My heart can't handle this stuff!

- is getting more consistent with her taste in food. She loves bananas, cantaloupe, goldfish, fruit snacks, scrambled eggs, grapes, smoothies and literally anything mommy or daddy are eating/drinking

- Calls her blanket her "bop" and has become seriously attached to in the last several months. One of Jonathan's clients actually made this for Emma before she was born and it hung over the back of the rocker in her room until she was maybe 18-months-old when we finally felt comfortable putting it in her crib with her. It wasn't long before she absolutely needed it when she was upset. If she gets hurt or upset, she could be screaming hysterically but won't come to you for comfort until she has her "bop." That, and a lovey that my mom bought for Emma as soon as we found out she was a girl, go to bed with her every night and it's really sweet!

- holds hands to pray with us before dinner now. Once we moved Emma out of the high chair into a booster seat at the table, Jonathan would reach out for her hand and say "Pray?" before dinner every night and for a while, so always said no. Until one glorious day, when he did it and she grabbed his hand and held it as we prayed. It was and still is the sweetest thing. She just recently started repeating "amen" after us and it's pretty special!

- loudly and inquisitively says, "Daddy!?" when any of the following things happen: she sees/hears a loud truck or sees/hears lawn equipment

- loves to give hugs, kisses, high fives and 'knucks" and recently started patting us on the back when we pick her up because we always do that to her. It's so sweet!

- is copying everything I do to take care of her baby brother with her Moana doll or her baby doll. All day long, she "changes" diapers, tries to swaddle, puts my boppy pillow on her lap and pretends Moana needs to eat and puts them down for naps. Tonight she even gave Moana milk out of her sippy cup. It's really sweet (and so entertaining) to watch her mirror what she sees me do everyday!

- went through a stage of weird sleep that started just before her 2nd birthday and is really just now getting back to normal. She's always been a really good and predictable sleeper going down around 7:30 and waking up between 7-8 a.m., then all of a sudden she was waking up at 5 or 6 and screaming or waking up just after we put her down and crying for us to come back. It's been a week or so since she's done any of that and she's back to her 7:30ish wake up time, thankfully!

- started going to a Mom's Day Out program at church in August. She goes on Wednesdays from 9-1:30 and she loves it. I was nervous when I signed her up that I'd feel guilty dropping her off every week or that she'd be upset every time, but it's been great for both of us. She's been fine from day one at drop off and she is always excited when she realizes she's going to "cool," as she calls it. I'm able to spend some one-on-one time with Jackson, run errands or get work done at home and it's good to know she is getting interaction with other kids her age and learning, too!

- is not potty training yet. She showed some interest just after Jackson was born and her friend Asher came over and used the bathroom, so we bought a potty and have been keeping it in the bathroom ever since. She asks to sit on the "cotty" a lot but we don't think she really gets the point yet, so we're working on helping her understand what's what before we really try to potty train. I'm in no rush!

- absolutely adores her daddy, loves to roar like a lion, loves books and puzzles, will say "Hi" and "Bye" dozens of times to anyone that steps in our house, loves to help around the house with laundry and cleaning, still can't get enough Moana and Trolls, still loves to dance,  mostly loves having a baby brother and has been learning to count to 10 and it usually goes something like, "1, 2, 5, 9, 10!"

- is very two in the sense that temper tantrums are a thing now. These are super fun and it is crazy (and slightly funny) how asking Emma if she wants milk or juice, her saying she wants milk, me pouring milk and handing the cup to her can lead to a half hour of pure chaos. The craziest part to me is how after the screaming, throwing herself on the ground, flailing her arms in the air and basically going bananas, she'll look up at me and laugh or pick up a toy and move on like it never happened. I try to keep in mind that temper tantrums are basically her frustration at not being able to communicate her feelings at times and that sometimes, she doesn't even know what she wants. It helps me stay calm and not get all worked up when we are in the thick of a meltdown to remember that she is acting exactly how a two-year-old is expected to act. And for the days when these occur around the clock, there is always wine.

I could probably go on and on with little things I don't want to forget about Emma at this age, but then I'd never get this post up. I really can't believe she is 2! Bittersweet is the only way I can describe how it feels to watch her grow. It's joy and it's sadness for me! I love seeing her change, learn and evolve into her own little person, but it's just so painfully fast.

I'm so thankful for this sweet girl. She has such an easygoing, silly, fun-loving personality. I can't get over how much joy I get out of just watching her. I still close my eyes and thank God when we are out and about and she reaches up to hold my hand. I'm proud when I see her laughing at herself and dancing around the house like a total goofball. I feel humbled when I see her mirroring the things I do around the house - my reminder that she is watching everything we do and learning from us when we don't know we are teaching her. When I exercise in the living room and she thinks it's so much fun to hop around with me and jump on my back while I stretch on the floor, when I go in the kitchen to prep dinner and she wants to sit on the counter and "help" me, I see how in what I would normally consider ordinary moments, we are making memories and she is just as happy doing that as she'd be finger painting or playing with play-doh. She makes these "mundane" activities more fun for me, too and I'm thankful to have her as my sidekick.

I've already seen how she can spread immense joy to the world just by being who she is and I can't wait to see the awesome things she will do. Thank you God for making me her momma!

Jackson Luke: 2 Months Old

This photo pretty much sums up how we're all feeling about this past month with our sweet boy. I can't believe he's been in our world for two months now.

THE HIGHLIGHTS:

- At 2 months, Jackson weighs 10 lbs., 12 oz. and is about 23 inches tall

- We've been exclusively breastfeeding for 2 whole months! It feels like a huge accomplishment after the challenges we faced at the start.

- So many smiles! This happy boy started smiling like crazy and we can't get enough of it!

- Wearing all 0-3 month clothes and size 1 diapers

- Loves to stare at the big clock in our living room and the ceiling fan always catches his attention

- Started sleeping longer stretches at night -- just a few nights ago he went 8:30 PM - 4:30 AM and I felt like a new woman. We still have nights where wake ups are all over the place, but we're definitely getting more sleep these days than we were!

- Looooves sleeping in the Happy Baby carrier when we're out and about. After a few outings that first month where I hoped he'd sleep in the car seat and he wasn't having it, I caved and ordered this carrier which I'd had my eye on but didn't love the price tag. I'm so glad I bit the bullet and bought it because it is so comfortable to wear and he is so content in it. I've been able to wear it running errands with him and even through church service and he's slept through it all.

- He started napping in his crib for most naps during the day. I started putting him down in there mostly because if Emma is playing or Abby starts barking, it's hard to keep him from getting woken up if he's sleeping in the swing or in the rock n' play.

- Big sister Emma is pretty involved in this boy's every move. If he's doing tummy time, she is part of it. If he is laying on the play mat, she wants to be lying next to him. She kisses him, high fives and gives him "knucks" a billion times a day. If he's crying, she'll tell me he's crying. Sometimes if he's in the swing and he starts crying, she'll go over and attempt to get him out herself. The other day, he was sleeping in the swing and I was cleaning up around the house when I walked out and saw she'd put a teddy bear in the swing with him. My heart can't handle this stuff. It's so sweet seeing her love on him.

A few snapshots from Jackson's 2nd month:

Happy 2 months, sweet boy! We're loving life with you in it.

Jackson Luke: One Month Old

Hello! I should backtrack and say that Jackson Luke was born on June 20, 2018 at 12:02 PM via emergency c-section. Maybe I will share the full birth story someday (Emma is 2 and I still haven't gotten around to writing hers) but the short version is that the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. Every time I pushed, his heart rate went down and after only a few tries, the doctor made the call and rushed me to the OR. I'm so grateful to my doctor for making the call rather quickly and getting this sweet boy out into the world safely.

Jackson Luke Snyder :: June 20, 2018 :: 7 lbs, 9 oz.

Somehow this precious boy has already been part of our world for 1 month! 

THE HIGHLIGHTS

- One month stats: 8 lbs. 12 oz.; 20.5"

- We pushed through some serious challenges (i.e. mastitis) and made it through the first month exclusively breastfeeding

- Jackson gets tons of hugs and kisses from his big sister every day, but also gets poked in the eye and kicked in the head on occasion. There is no doubt he is loved by her, but she hasn't quite grasped how fragile he is yet!

- At one month, he's pretty much outgrown most of his newborn sized clothes and wearing mostly 0-3 months 

- At the end of his first month, Jackson was starting to sleep for longer stretches at night typically going down around 9:30/10 and waking up around 2 or 3 a.m., then waking up again around 6 a.m. Those middle of the night wake ups are totally manageable assuming he nurses for 30 minutes or so and goes back down easily, but that hasn't necessarily been the case every night

- At only about 10 days old, we took Jackson and Emma "away" (not really away, but about a 45 minute drive from us) for a staycation with some of our friends for a weekend. The timing was not ideal and Jonathan ended up taking me to the emergency room that Saturday night to get treated for mastitis, BUT I'm still glad we went! 

- Jackson loves to snuggle and does really well in my Happy Baby wrap. He's started to become more aware of his surroundings and we love to catch him watching me or Jonathan. 

A few snapshots from Jackson's first month:

 Jackson's first month was a serious rollercoaster of emotions, but I think we're all starting to settle into our new normal. We're all incredibly smitten with this sweet boy!

Baby #2: We're in the Home Stretch!

Hello! With less 2 weeks until our due date, I wanted to pop back in here with one final pregnancy update. I can't believe we are so close to meeting this boy!

Pregnancy is so weird. You go nine months counting down and being so ready for the pregnancy part to be over -- the back pain, swelling, heart burn, general discomfort and other unpleasant symptoms. You anxiously count down the weeks because you can't wait for what's next - loving on a sweet, tiny baby. Then as you finally near the end of this journey, you find yourself wanting to savor the being pregnant part because you realize any day now it could be over. There is no feeling like the feeling of a baby moving around inside you and suddenly you realize how much you'll miss those kicks and tumbles. Like I've said before, I don't know what the future holds for our family, but knowing that we could decide we are perfectly happy with two kids has me wanting to soak in these last few weeks even more.

I know my pregnancy updates have been sparse and pretty random this time around, so this post will likely be all over the place, too!

How I'm Feeling
My answer to this typically depends on how well I slept the night before because after a long night of little sleep, my coping skills fly out the window. Aside from sleep issues, I'm still dealing with regular heart burn and serious lower back pain most days, but otherwise I can't really complain.

On My Mind
As we've approached these last few weeks of pregnancy, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't feeling a bit anxious. The general anticipation and excitement is one thing, but I've definitely found myself feeling anxious about labor, breastfeeding, adjusting to life with 2 kids, etc. It's funny because I expected to feel so cool and calm this time around since I've been through it once before, but it's kind of been the opposite. Ignorance is bliss and I think with my first pregnancy, while we took a class at the hospital and did our best to prepare, I still didn't know what to expect so leading up to it all I remember feeling is excitement.

Emma's birth wasn't traumatic in any way, but circumstances like her being posterior, getting stuck on my pubic bone, me pushing for 2.5 hours and her having to spend the first 12 hours of her life in the transition nursery have me wondering how things will be different this time. I wouldn't say I'm worried as much as it just being on my mind a lot, but I'm reminding myself that despite the circumstances that didn't go as I'd hoped with Emma's birth, she is healthy as can be and I would go through it again in a heartbeat. No matter how things go down this time, the end result is all that matters but I definitely wouldn't mind being one of those women who say they pushed twice and boom! baby was here!

One thing that's helping me feel more relaxed as we near the end of pregnancy is Jonathan's schedule. He has more flexibility with work than he ever has before, which has been great in these last few weeks but will be a big deal when we go into labor and then as we settle into a new normal at home. It's easing my mind a lot to know he'll be able to manage his schedule and be available to help more, especially in those first few days home with the baby.

Nursery Progress
We just put the finishing touches on this in the last few days and I'm so happy with this space! It could maybe use a few more things on the walls, but I don't love to buy things for the sake of filling space, so if I come across something later on that I like, we could always add to it.

Final Prep

My hospital bag is about 90% packed aside from a few last minute things I'll throw in when it's time to go. I took a day last week and cooked a few freezer meals to have on hand. I spent an entire afternoon cooking and really only ended up with maybe 6 dinners but even if it gets us through the first few days back at home, I know it will be helpful. 

I need to get a bag together for Emma since she'll be with her grandparents while we are in the hospital. Speaking of Emma, I'm also working on putting together a little basket of fun toys for her that I can take out when I'm nursing to keep her entertained. She's been loving stickers lately and has started to get into coloring, too so I think a few fun things like this and maybe a puzzle will be perfect for this. I've heard this tip from a lot of moms and I think it might help especially in those first few weeks.

Other than those things, we are ready to rock and roll. In the meantime, I'm trying to stay on top of the work I do for Jonathan so that whenever the time comes, things don't fall too behind on that end. We're also hosting Jonathan's 30th birthday party (an old school field day with water balloon toss, dodgeball and other fun games) at our house this weekend and even though in a way, I felt like we overcommitted a bit planning this 10 days before our due date, preparing for this and having a few things on my to do list to get ready will be good for me this week. We also have so many people helping out so that I really don't have to do much so I'm thankful for that!

Right now I'm really trying to relax and enjoy this last bit of time before the baby arrives. I've heard from so many moms that the hardest part of transitioning from one to two kids is just missing that one-on-one time with their first born. Needless to say, I've been really trying to soak up this time with Emma before we add her baby brother into the mix. I know things are going to be fine and we'll have a new normal here very soon that we'll love just the same, but I'm certainly a little emotional about the changes coming our way.

Emotions are high right now and allll over the place, but I'm feeling so grateful for a healthy pregnancy, our beautiful little family and a husband who is all in 100% of the time. Emma is going to be the sweetest big sister and I'm anxious to finally lay eyes on our sweet boy any day now. 

The Scoop on Baby #2: Part 2

Is anyone surprised that it took me 6 weeks to get back here for the second part of this post? I'm not, but I'm glad to have some time to write today. My sister texted me late in the day yesterday offering to take Emma for the day so I could have some time to myself. I took her up on it knowing I could get in a few errands and squeeze in some writing time. 

I'm already in my 30th week of pregnancy, so if I don't get this post out now this baby boy will be here before I ever get back again! This pregnancy continues to fly by which is obviously great because we can't wait to meet this baby, but I'm also trying to soak up this time. I don't know what the future holds for us, but there is definitely a possibility that this could be my last pregnancy. That and knowing Emma's time as an only child is coming to an end have me wishing time would slow down so I can truly enjoy these last several weeks. 

I've obviously been horrible about documenting this pregnancy, so I guess I have a lot to share. 

It makes to sense to start with the question pregnant people get asked the most, "How are you feeling?" I'm feeling pretty good! At 30 weeks, my biggest complaints are lower back pain, crappy sleep and severe discomfort thanks to my boobs being monstrous (literally). Wearing a bra is torture lately, so much that we left a wedding fairly early in the evening recently because I literally could not keep my bra on another minute. 

I was dealing with some serious heartburn, but I adjusted a few things in my diet and it seems to be helping (with sleep, too!). I considered myself so lucky with my first pregnancy in that I didn't experience morning sickness at all and thankfully, this time around has been similar. I'd say the only big difference this time around has been the exhaustion and emotions being a little more intense, but I'm also spending my days with a busy, energetic toddler so I'm sure that's a huge factor. 

Is Emma excited to be a big sister? Well, I can't say she really understands what is happening. At 20-months-old, she's known the word "baby" since we found out we were pregnant and she's also happened to take more interest in her baby doll over the last few months. Whenever she takes her baby doll out, I've tried to encourage her to love on her baby and she will hold it up to her face and snuggle with it. When we see a baby out in public, she excitedly shouts "baby!" and is so eager to walk up to see up close. I'm encouraged by all of this, but as far as understanding that we're going to have a baby in our house soon that she'll have to share attention with...I don't think she's there yet and that's okay! 

I was in a really good place with my health/fitness when we found out we were pregnant. The timing is actually really funny because I had just made it back down to a smaller size in jeans, which I had ordered online and was so excited to actually need to buy a smaller size. Ironically, these jeans came in the mail just a few days after finding out I was pregnant. I joked with Jonathan that I'd be wearing them every day until I couldn't fit into them so I could enjoy them even for a short time. 

But seriously, I had come a long way in getting back to a happy weight and fitness level for myself. I've been pregnant and now seen that I can (maybe not super quickly) get my body back to (or better) than before, but I also knew I wanted to try to maintain healthier habits this pregnancy. With Emma, I I exercised here and there through my 1st trimester and it seriously tapered off after that. I'd recently realized how much better I felt when I was staying active, so I promised myself I'd try harder this time. 

I was able to keep up my routine of working out 4-5 times a week through my 9th week of pregnancy. I was doing an hour of barre and 30 minutes of spin once a week, running a few miles once or twice a week and mixing in some strength and cardio work throughout. From weeks 9 to about 20, I was still trying to get 2-3 workouts in a week and sometimes that just didn't happen and I did't get too worked up when a whole week went by with nothing. The last 10 weeks have been a little more sporadic. Some weeks I'm motivated and energized to at least get a walk in and other weeks, I've had zero motivation to exercise. I'm not overthinking it and certainly not beating myself up when I have those down weeks. My philosophy right now is exercise of any kind, at any frequency is better than nothing. Either way, I'm really happy with how I've done thus far staying fairly active through this pregnancy. 

As far as preparations for baby go, we have a name we are pretty committed to, but not quite ready to share with the world yet. In the last few weeks, we've made some major progress on the nursery, which used to be Jonathan's office. Once we cleared out the room, we painted and got the crib put together (I don't know why I'm saying we...this was all Jonathan. Last weekend, we got the dresser put together and I've added a few details here and there like a changing pad, toy bin and even picked up some wall decor. We'll be moving the rocker from Emma's room into the nursery and probably getting her a play table to put in that space, but I'm not ready to make that move yet. It may sound silly, but I'm not emotionally ready to move the rocker out of her room yet and we obviously don't need to do that until we're a little closer. 

I found so much joy getting Emma's nursery planned out and organized and I've been loving every second of it this time around. Folding itty bitty baby clothes and organizing toys and things really puts me in my happy place. Knowing in just weeks we'll have a sweet boy in this house is so surreal and I love anticipating it all. 

Things I'm looking forward to:

• After debating back and forth for a while, we decided on planning a short babymoon for Jonathan and I. I kept convincing myself that we didn't need to spend the money on a trip for us with everything going on, but in the end I'm so glad we planned something. We're headed to Jensen Beach in early May for a weekend getaway and I'm seriously looking forward to some downtime and sunbathing with my man.
• My sweet friend Jesse insisted on planning some sort of celebration for baby boy. I really didn't want a huge production seeing how we have most of what we need this time around and it's a huge undertaking to host a shower and deal with all the details of that. She suggested we plan on doing brunch at a fun place with a small group of ladies to celebrate and that sounded pretty perfect to me. It doesn't require a ton of coordination on her end and I'm really looking forward to a casual celebration with some special ladies. 
• We'll have one more ultrasound around 34 weeks. I always look forward to these! At my appointment last week, my doctor actually confirmed that baby is already head down, which was so good to hear. I remember Emma turned really early too and it's just nice to know baby is getting prepared! 

Memorable moments:

• My favorite part of this pregnancy has been the last hour or so of sleep in the morning when Jonathan inevitably finds his way to me in bed and lays his hand over my belly. This baby becomes so active as soon as Jonathan's hands are there and it's so so special. I love laying with him still half asleep as we both soak in these baby movements together. In the chaos of our day-to-day, I truly treasure these quiet moments just the two of us basking in the joys of pregnancy together. 
• Emma woke up from a nap last week and when I went to her crib to pick her up, she leaned over and hugged my belly. It was the first time it seemed like she maybe understood her baby brother is in there and it may have just been a coincidence, but it was so sweet!

Phew. I feel like that kind of covers it. I still feel so overwhelmed and grateful that we get to do this again. I'm so excited to add a little boy to our family. Jonathan has been pretty outnumbered thus far -- girl baby, girl dog and girl cat! 

Pregnancy is kind of a roller coaster - one minute you're up at 3 a.m. uncomfortable, having to pee... again, wondering how you're going to make it two more months and the next minute, your sitting on the floor playing with your toddler and the baby in your belly is bouncing around and you're wanting to bask in the joy of that moment. Emotions are high, to say the least! 

The Scoop on Baby #2: Part 1

When I think about pregnancy #2 so far, the first thought that comes to mind is how quickly it has flown by already!

That kind of explains why I have so little of this pregnancy documented. It's been so fast. I remember being pregnant with Emma and the weeks just dragging on in anticipation. The first trimester with Emma felt like 3 years of my life and it wasn't because I was sick or miserable. It just felt long and slow because it was my first time down this road and I was so focused on every little detail. Having a toddler Emma Joy running around keeping me busy probably has a lot to do with why it's been so different for me this time. My attention is on so many other things that I'm not so focused on things week-by-week.

I guess I should start with finding out we were pregnant. We'd decided in August to start trying for another baby and went into it being pretty reasonable about our expectations. Getting pregnant the first time definitely wasn't as easy as we'd anticipated and we wanted to be realistic this time accepting that it could take some time. We knew we'd be thrilled if we were pregnant immediately and also knew that if it took some time, we were okay with that, too. We were in a good place. We went into it not wanting to get wrapped up in the process and just let it happen as it's meant to. I'm glad we did because God blessed us with this gift rather quickly.

The only pregnancy symptom I felt early on with Emma was extremely sore breasts. I remember it wasn't a pre-menstrual kind of sore, but much more uncomfortable. In the first weekend of October, those same familiar symptoms arrived and while I hoped it meant we were pregnant, I also knew I was due for my period in a few days so it could be nothing. I shared this with Jonathan who was immediately convinced we were pregnant. He's typically one to play it cool and not get overly excited in an effort to help manage my expectations. He was convinced, though (and proceeded to share how convinced he was with our friends that weekend)! I have to admit his enthusiastic certainty was contagious and I prayed he was right.

Monday came along and since I'd been tracking everything for a few months, I knew I was a day or so out from my period. I didn't wake up that day planning on taking a pregnancy test, but we got home from the gym and after putting Emma down for a nap, I was about to jump in the shower when I decided I'd go ahead and take one. I had a few stocked up and figured if I was pregnant, it would show up on a test by now. I just had to know one way or another.

I took the test, laid it on the bathroom counter and went about my business shockingly not obsessing over it. When I got out of the shower, I casually picked up the test fulling expecting it to be negative and was so incredibly shocked to see the word Pregnant staring back at me. I couldn't believe it. I sat on our bed for a few minutes in my towel just staring at the test. One word. Just one word with so much emotion attached to it. I paced around for a good ten minutes repeating "OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD." It took everything I had not to call Jonathan and scream "You were right!!!" into the phone but I knew it would be more satisfying to tell him when he got home from work.

When Emma woke up from her nap, we busted out the crayons and made a little something to give him when he got home.

When Jonathan got home, I told him Emma made something for him so we headed to her bedroom and handed him this. We had a handful of friends who were expecting at the time, so his first reaction was to ask "Who did she make this for?' and before he got the whole question out, tears filled his eyes as he realized what it meant. It was such a sweet moment of pure joy.

We know what an incredible gift it is to conceive and for it to happen for us in such a short time is something I could never take for granted. Even as I write this, I'm right back there in that moment of pure shock and excitement finding out this news.

It turns out Jonathan was also right when early on, he was convinced we were having a boy this time. We found out baby #2 is a boy around 12 weeks and since I got the call from the doctor's office during the day, we were able to surprise Jonathan with this news as well!

He came home that day to Emma parading a bunch of blue balloons through the house and his reaction is just another sweet, emotional moment that I will never forget.

This is getting pretty lengthy, so I think I'll end this here and come back to share Part 2 (more about how this pregnancy is going and where we are on a name, nursery, etc). Thank you for sharing in our joy and excitement as we add another little one to the family! In the meantime, we are so looking forward to meeting this little boy and focusing on soaking up the time we have left with Emma Joy as as an only child.

I'm back after a not-so-brief hiatus!

Hello!

Holy cow. I did not intend to take several months off from posting here. I may not have a huge following or readers chomping at the bit for new content from me, but I have really missed writing and sharing. If nothing else, this blog serves as an outlet for me and an opportunity to document life as it flies by at a bittersweet speed.

Last time I posted on here, I had just finished a Whole30 (which I still have hopes of writing a post about) and Emma Joy had recently turned one-year-old. I was in the middle of a serious focus on health & fitness, which I posted in detail about right before I disappeared from the Internet.

I'm currently sitting in a Starbucks on a Saturday, sipping coffee, writing this post. I'm alone. I have a new library book in my bag and my only commitment today is a massage in the afternoon. I've needed this day for a while but we are in the midst of a busy season of life and this hasn't been important enough to me to make happen until now. My in-laws offered to take Emma for the day and since Jonathan was planning on working, I knew I had to get out of the house and do all the things I wouldn't do otherwise. Writing is one of those things. It feels good to be back here and I guess I should probably share a few life updates since it's been a while.

I'll start with the biggest news...

Baby #2 is on the way! I'm currently 24 weeks pregnant and obviously not doing a very good job of documenting my pregnancy this time around...oops! We are so thrilled to add another little one to our family and I definitely plan to share more in a separate post about this pregnancy so far. In the meantime, I will say my second pregnancy is flying by and I've been feeling really good but also really emotional all the time.

An Emma Update

Somehow our precious baby girl is 19 months old. Still precious as can be, but it's all been too fast! This stage is so much fun and so rewarding. Our girl has such a silly, fun-loving, easygoing personality and it is such a joy to watch her be her own little person. She loves walking hand-in-hand with us when we're out and about now, pretends to talk on the phone, loves wearing mommy and daddy's shoes around the house, gives kisses and hugs and thinks fruit snacks are LIFE.

18 for 2018

While listening to Gretchen Rubin's Happier podcast at the very end of the year, I was inspired by her suggestion to do an 18 for 2018 list, 18 things you want to do/accomplish/focus on in the next year. I've never loved the idea of one large resolution and coming up with a variety of small or not so small things for the year seemed like a great way to set some goals and expectations without committing to one large, perhaps too broad resolution. It's actually taken me 2 whole months to even complete my list, but I've really enjoyed taking my time to add things as they come to me and deciding what should really be on it. I'm not going to share the whole list here, but here are just a few items on it:

Create Emma’s 1^st year photo book
I actually bought a scrapbook and all kinds of fun supplies to make my own 1st year book for her and after getting one page in and forgetting about it for months, I finally admitted to myself that I was overcommitting. I used Mixbook.com to make a beautiful wedding photo book for Jonathan's Christmas gift and decided I would commit to putting together Emma's 1st year book using the same service. 

Follow a weekly cleaning schedule
One thing I didn't expect when deciding I would stay home with Emma rather than going back to work was how difficult it would for me to stick to a routine and manage my time effectively on a consistent basis. Sometimes I rock at time management and keeping up with all the things at home, but there are too many weeks where I feel like I've failed at all of it. I thought a general cleaning schedule would help me stay accountable and keep up with certain tasks more easily so it never felt like our house was a complete wreck. 

I only put things on here that tend to fall by the wayside and I would end up trying to do all at once. It's helped a lot already in making me feel a little more in control of the house chores.

Find my tribe
Pretty sure this one will get it's own post because I believe it's a topic worth digging into a little deeper, but in a nutshell, I want to make more connections, find new, real friendships with women I can call my people.

Continue exercising at least 3x per week through pregnancy
I was in a really great routine when I found out I was pregnant and I've been able to keep it up at some capacity throughout the last few months. I feel like 3x a week is a reasonable goal and one that allows for flexibility as the type of workout and intensity will definitely change as I get closer to the end. 

Get a prenatal massage
Guys, this is happening today. Praise God!

Read at least 2 books/month
I've always loved reading, but like many things in life, the less I read, the less I care about the fact that I'm not reading. I wanted to get excited about books again and create a habit of picking up a book when I have free time at home, rather than scrolling on my phone or turning on the television. This is going so well! I'm way ahead of my goal at 7 books read in the last two months and I'm so happy about it.

Get Emma baptized 
One unspoken goal Jonathan and I both had last year was to find our church home. We'd been somewhat regularly attending a really big church Jonathan had been part of since he was young. We did our marriage preparation course with this church and really loved the pastor, but knew long term, we wanted to find a smaller church where we could make real connections and feel a sense of community. We spent a few months last year trying out other churches in our area and found our home at Summit Church sometime around November. We love it there and we finally feel like we are part of a tight knit community. With that being said, we feel like now is the perfect time (and place) to focus on getting Emma baptized here. 

Keep a gratitude journal
I've done this sporadically over the years, but never seem to keep it up for more than a few days here and there. It does wonders for my heart and soul to intentionally take out my journal when I get in bed at the end of the day and jot down a few happy thoughts/things from the day. I want this to become a daily happiness habit for me this year.

What to expect here going forward...

I'd love to say I'll be back more frequently with new content and regular posts, but if I've learned anything it's that I can't commit to anything specific with this space right now. Days like today are few and far between...days where I decide to put a hold on everything else while I sit in a coffee shop and write, but I do know that it feels really good to do this. I want to develop a habit of opening up the computer and typing away whenever the mood strikes me so I don't need to set aside a day away from home to do this. Just like reading, the more I write, the more I am inspired and motivated to write. 

In the meantime, I will be back soon to share a more detailed pregnancy post, some home decor updates, a full update on Emma Joy at 19-months-old and more thoughts on finding my tribe and motherhood in general.

Thanks for reading and following along here!