My First Tuesday Topics!

Okay, you all know how excited I am to be doing my very first link up! So excited I can barely stand it.

Thanks Tiffany at the adorable http://theaustinfamilydiary.blogspot.com/ for teaching my how to link up. You are the best! Do you all follow her blog yet? She is the craftiest, happiest, new momma. And her little guy is so precious! I'm dying to meet up with her in real life ASAP.

I am getting in on this fun in the middle of her series, but I'm excited nonetheless. So here we go!

Red

Chiefs!! David and I (re)met at a Chiefs game 4 years ago. We love going to games and watching them on Sundays. And you all know how thrilled I am that MWSU hosts camp each year. I love it! And this year we got to take baby Belle to camp with us! She may be wearing pink, but it does have a Chiefs logo on it :) 

Orange

I love pumpkin everything! I love pumpkin pie, creamer and lattes, candles, bread and muffins, and any other things you can think of! I love it! Fall is definitely my favorite season!

Yellow

Let's agree to call this gold, shall we? And if we can agree on that let's just agree that MU and MWSU are the best schools around!  Fabulous.

Green

I have a green tea obsession! I love it warm or iced. I drink it every single day!

Blue

I get two for blue. One, our first little house was blue. I loved that house and each and every memory we created in it. 

And two, the Royals! Duh. Annabelle got David Royals tickets for Father's Day this year and she will each year so they can go together. 

Purple

Purple is my favorite color. My poor husband has put up with a ton of purple all over our house. I am drawn to it. I love purple clothes for both Belle and me and purple decorations. It was my wedding color and Belle's nursery color. What I think of the most in this color is this big bow we always make Annabelle wear. She wore it home from the hospital and in her newborn photos. And I still periodically put it on her to take pictures. She will wear it in a few family pics this Fall too.

Thanks for stopping by my very first link up! So fun!

Summer Baby

Annabelle was born a winter baby in the middle of one of the worst flu seasons in years. She was also born with a fever that made the doctors take her away from me in the middle of the night and have an IV put in to start antibiotics. 

All of this made me a constant nervous Nancy. (As if I needed any reasons to start with.) Every one that came to visit my baby was stopped at the door with hand sanitizer shoved in their face. Have I mentioned that I have the best friends and family. Bless their hearts for putting up with me.

Anyway, I figured one day, about eight weeks after Annabelle was born that she hadn't really ever been outside. We loaded her in her carseat completely covered in blankets and took her straight to the car in the garage and then were dropped at the door wherever we were and rushed straight in. I washed her carseat cover twice a week. 

One day that she was fussy I decided to get over myself a little and step on the porch with her (willing away any germs and viruses that were out there just ready to attack my tiny sweetheart). Annabelle immediately stopped fussing and just looked around and relaxed. 

Since that day we have tried to spend every possible minute outside with her. We are summer girls for sure. Today we woke up and had breakfast on the deck. Then after her nap we swam and had strawberries for a snack. I think she loves everything about being outside and summer.

David announced today that this might be our last week of real summer since Labor Day is this weekend. I plan to soak up every last minute of it! 

Look at this sweaty, sunscreened, strawberry faced beauty.

Fakin' It

Okay. So many of you have been kind enough to text, email, and message me about how to join in on your fun link up parties. Thank you, thank you lovelies! 

Next week, you better believe I will do my first 5 on Fridays post because I love reading those.

If I had figured out how to do it this past week, here's what I would have posted:

One - have you had zucchini chocolate cake?? Um, yum!

2 - I know I'm about four months late for this, but I'm loving these bright pants. And what I'm loving even more is that since I'm so late on this trend, I bought these from Old Navy on sale!

3 - we took sweet Belle to have some pictures taken and she had so much fun! I can't wait to get them back! Here's one of her outfits.

4 - okay so I had a small breakdown today. I had to put away Annabelle's six month clothes and I have loves these sweet Jammies forever! Tonight I pulled them back out of the box and squeezed her tushy in them for one last time because I was too sad. Poor girl!

5 - Yea, I am posting a picture of my pump room at work. I have spent a whole heck of a lot of time in there over the past 8 months and felt like showing you my daily supplies - my cooler, big drink, and the pump. Now you know where I am tucked away for a half hour every day.

There you have it.. My first (un)official 5 on Fri(Satur)day post. 

Bo and Belle

I love watching my sweet dog and daughter play. We have THE most patient and gentle dog in the world. He's always been my baby and I was a little worried when Belle was born that he would feel left out, but instead he loved her and protected her from the beginning. In the early morning hours when I would get up with her, Bo would be right by my side. And if I laid her down to go to the kitchen he would sit right by her pack n play until I came back. He has been her protector and best friend. Don't mess with his baby.

Kardashian shmadashian

Honestly, I couldn't care less about the Kardashians, but you have to admit baby North is adorable!! And I love the name Nory. In fact, we considered the name Eleanor and would have called her Nory.

Blog Ignorant

Okay, I have to admit something here. I have absolutely NO idea how all of you “link up” and do fun things. I am jealous of your Tuesday Topics and 5 on Fridays. Does someone have to invite me to be a part of these things? Honestly, I am completely ignorant on how to run a good blog…but, I have a really cute baby and dog, right?

 

Anyway, if anyone could enlighten me on how to do these things, I would love, love, love to participate. I am such a nerd that I have even drafted some posts from your fun topics and prompts and just not posted them because I don’t get it…

 

Today on my way to work I was thinking about how it really smelled like Fall with my windows down. And that got me so excited about my favorite pumpkin scented candle. It’s the cheapy, WalMart brand, and it smells fabulous and scents the entire room! I think they are like three bucks! It’s one of my very favorite Fall steals.

 

If I knew how to do 5 on Friday it would be one of my picks today.

Help!

Daddy's Girl

I always knew if we had a baby girl that my husband would be in big trouble. He is the most sensitive and caring man (don't tell him I called him sensitive).

When I was in the middle of labor the doctor and nurses kept commenting on how wonderful of a coach he was and said they wished he would be at all their deliveries. When I finally was able to kick him out of the room long enough to tell our families that she was here and that we were doing great he ran to the hall and shouted, "Seven thirteen!" Which was her birth weight. He was too excited to say anything else.

Anyway, some nights I watch them together and can't believe how lucky I am. They completely adore each other and have since the minute she was born.

Good luck to any of her future boyfriends.

Dinner time

Dinner time is quite fun around here lately now that Annabelle is trying lots of new foods. She is a great eater! We have been feeding her her normal homemade baby food and then trying one new thing for her to chew on and try each night. 

Tonight we made big salads with leftover chicken from last night and fresh veggies from our neighbor's garden that they SO generously shared with us.

And Annabelle's favorite? The fresh cucumber. Bo was pretty fond of it too. 

On Kindness

I get so overwhelmed with gratitude for my life when I’m nursing Annabelle in the morning. There is something too precious about a little baby when she first wakes up. She smells a little sweeter and looks more precious in those first minutes somehow. I can barely pray, thanking God for picking me to be her mom, without crying and messing up my make-up. Today I was looking at her and hoping that everyone I know is this happy, as happy as I was right then, at some point in their day. I always do the most of my praying and thinking right then. Today, I thought again during this time about how I need to be more kind to the people I see throughout the day. I am constantly in a hurry and have really been trying to slow down and listen to people so that I might understand their needs better. I need to be more kind.

You know who is really kind? My husband. I am not just saying this to brag on him, I am saying it because I have learned so much from him about kindness and relearn it every day. I thought I might share some with you.

He has been really pushing himself to do kind things for others that are maybe out of his element. He has been challenging himself to think about what would be an act of kindness to the other person, not just what we think is kind. I was talking to Sister #1 about how often I will volunteer to help someone with something, and then they suggest a way I can help them that isn’t exactly what I offered. Now, you have to all admit with me that at times you can feel inconvenienced. It’s like, I want to help, but I want to help in only the way that fits perfectly into my schedule at that exact time. That’s not really kindness though.

I want to be more like my husband, so I thought I might start trying to do little acts of kindness each day. I know this is not a new idea. And this is something I should be doing without having to actually think about doing it, but I thought to get me started I might try to be more conscious of these moments and really put some effort into them. And maybe by writing some down you can hold me accountable?

I will try for a week to do something each day and tell you about it. You might have to cut me some slack here as I show you how selfish of a person I really am.

Tonight I am going to make a dinner and deliver it to a friend who is having a hard time. This is not a big deal, I know, and isn’t overly “kind”, but if you know me at all you know that I’m not the best at making dinners for people. I’m much better at ordering 54^thStreet or running a pizza by. This will help me take some time out of my “busy” schedule, think and pray about my friend while I’m cooking, and hopefully save her a little bit of time in the evening that she could be spending with her family.

What ideas do you have for me about little acts of kindness that have blessed you in the past that I can send on to others?

Random Post About Lunch

Last night I asked my oldest nephew what he was most excited for about his first day of first grade. He didn’t hesitate before responding with his Angry Birds lunchbox. I love it. I love packing my lunch and Annabelle’s lunch for the next work day. Most of the time I feel like a first grader when packing my own lunch, and I can’t wait until I get to be more creative with Annabelle’s. I have been trying to make Annabelle’s food for the week on Sundays. I freeze batches of peas, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, and other things. One of my best friends watches Annabelle, as you know, so I am lucky that I get to leave food for her there at the beginning of the week. 

Each night I pack up a vegetable, some fruit, milk to mix with her oatmeal, and a bottle for drinking. Then in the morning I just have to mix together a fruit (she really like prunes and applesauce) with some oatmeal so that my friend just has to heat it up and serve. You know I’m already excited for the day that I get to switch this up by adding sandwiches in cute little shapes, yogurt, different fruits, and fun little treats.

 My mom used to write us little love notes on our napkins. I loved it! 

And what does this 27 year old pack up for herself? I have eaten almost the same lunch every day of my life, with just minor modifications to the sides. And no, I’m not talking about Taco Bell. Although on average I bet I eat that once every other week. I have always eaten a peanut butter sandwich, chips, an apple, and something else – usually string cheese or yogurt. I call this my lunch, but if you’ve ever worked with me you know that I eat this by about 10 a.m. And then throughout the rest of the day I love packing fun little snacks (that some might call meals). Today I ate oatmeal and raisins for my “snack.” And then sometime this afternoon I will probably eat some popcorn or almonds. I also drink a green tea almost every day at 2. 

What do you all pack for lunches and snacks?

Closer to 8 Months Than 7

If you can't tell, July has been a whirlwind for us. I know that sweet summertime flies by in a blink, but this month even more so than usual! But, better late than never, right? Here are some pictures of my sweet, wiggle-worm Belle at 7ish months. She is more fun than we could ever imagine. (And apparently, I'm too tired to avoid cliches. Stick with me. <--- Hey look, there's another!)

Princess Annabelle

See this smirk? It's because the baby of Cambridge is a Prince so she can go on being the littlest princess in the world.

Lucky Annabelle

Annabelle is so lucky and blessed to have the most amazing and loving people surrounding her. One of my favorite people is David's cousin, Suzy. Suzy is this creative, beautiful, fun, cousin that I am lucky to be related to through marriage. She designed our wedding invitiations! She is super talented and lives in Chicago doing what she loves. Her blog is the best! Follow her here: http://suzannewilliamsdesign.blogspot.com/

This past week she came for a visit and brought with her this amazing gift for baby Annabelle.

I can't get over how much I love it. And how much Annabelle loves it! I'm already daydreaming about her "big girl" room and what colors I will use from this quilt to decorate with.

Daddy's Girl

It is totally appropriate that my little Daddy’s Girl said her first official word last Thursday (the 18th) – and that word was a definite, clear as day, “Dada!” And she said it with an exclamation point. She has been jabbering non-stop the last week. She says “Bobobobo,” “Mamamama” and “Dadada” but not like this. We were playing and David walked in and she squeled with joy and said “Dada!” It makes my heart so happy to see how she loves her dada and the way he loves her! It is the best thing in the world.

Just a Few Minutes

You know what? Being a mom takes a lot of commitment. Duh, right? Just like any relationship, it takes work and perseverance. What I’m specifically thinking about today is that this nursing stuff has been such a commitment. I feel so blessed to get to do this for Annabelle, don’t get me wrong. However, I have never been one of these women that has seen nursing as something I need for the closeness to my baby and I do believe that formula is great too. Annabelle has been exclusively breastfed, but this is not because I think that formula is wrong in any way

Nursing hasn’t been easy for me, but pumping has been even harder. If it wasn’t for my wonderful husband and my job and boss, I don’t know how I could have lasted this long. I am to the point that I only pump once at work. One other time during the day I use my lunch break to go nurse Annabelle. How amazing is that?  All aspects of nursing have been a little hard for me. (Please don’t judge me for what I’m about to say.)

I’ve had a hard time committing to the time aspect of nursing. It isn’t just sitting down with your little baby and feeding him or her in a few minutes and then going on your merry way. My nursing story is a bit different. Mixed in with those precious moments during the day that I do get to just sit with her and nurse are a lot of things that are less precious: finding a place and time to pump, cleaning those pump parts, sterilizing and washing bottles, stressing over my production (will she have enough for the next day?), stressing over whether she will take a bottle from someone while I’m gone (most of the time the answer is no way, José ), and really, more stresses about my body than I care to share (tell me you’ve looked in the mirror and thought, those aren’t mine!).

I’m getting off track here (like usual). This was intended to be less a post ranting about nursing and more a post about the lack of time I’ve given to myself since beginning this new relationship. I think it is so important, in any relationship, to take time for yourself. I remember that there have always been two things that have helped me center myself and re-energize me, and I’ve been doing very little (okay none) of either of those things. When I’m doing these two things consistently I’m more focused and in turn, much better at my relationships.

I would encourage you, and in doing so hopefully I’m encouraging myself, to take a look at your day to day life right now and get organized enough to work in something you love to do just for yourself each day. I’ve made every excuse to skip this step. I work full time and strive to be the best wife and mother…and if there’s time, hopefully, I get to check in with my friends and sisters. That’s totally messed up. There is plenty of time if you prioritize. If I’m not taking time for myself with God and doing things I love, then there’s no way I’m being a good mom, wife, friend, sister, daughter, anything. It’s cyclical.

So here’s what I’m doing. Last night I picked up the third book in a series it has taken my 5 months to read; this is not a series that would have taken me more than a month total in the past. And I’m going to finish this book in the next week or so, and then I will pick up another one. One of the things I love.  The second, today I texted my dear friend to ask her to be my running partner again. This Thursday, I’m going to not stress that running lowers my milk supply (hence the rant about nursing above) and I’m going to put my baby to bed, pump, put my headphones in blaring some Pink, and hit the streets with Molly. And by this Spring, you better believe I will be running a half-marathon again.

You see, I truly believe I’ve changed since having Annabelle. For the better? You betcha. But there are some minutes in my day that I can take back just for myself. I cherish that time, knowing that by taking some time to read and write and run, I will be better in those minutes I spend playing with Annabelle and talking to David.

I hope you can take some time today just for yourself.