Good morning and Happy Humpday! We’re dragging a bit around here today after sending Jamie back overseas yesterday, but thankfully the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and we are nearing the finish line! I seriously couldn’t imagine finishing out the deployment without help from family. Having two little ones is serious business!
Today I want to rewind a bit and share a few pictures and details from our last weekend as a family of three. As you know from my previous post, Jamie flew in for his 11-day paternity leave last Friday, April 15th. I didn’t take many pictures thanks to pre-labor nerves, but here’s how the weekend looked before we had a baby. 🙂
Though I had numerous birth plans ready to go depending on when Sadie decided to arrive, our absolute perfect plan consisted of a couple days just the three of us to spend time as a family together before adding a newborn to the mix. It was so important to Jamie and me that he and Hadley have time where he could focus on just her before he shifted his focus to Sadie and me in the hospital.
We decided to book a staycation at The Westin for a couple of nights (Friday and Saturday) and have a full weekend of fun, which would include eating at different restaurants, letting Hadley ride the carousel and train, swimming in the indoor pool, of course sleeping in their infamous Heavenly bed, and more. We were pumped!
On Friday we ate dinner, walked around so Hadley could see all the princesses (a.k.a. girls going to prom – she’s obsessed!), and got one ice cream to share.
By 8 p.m. we both found ourselves exhausted from the day, so we went back to the hotel so that we could all crash early. Making a long story short, we didn’t get much sleep that night because Hadley was extremely unsettled. She had a hard time falling asleep to begin with, had an upset tummy but refused to go to the bathroom, and generally just wanted to lay in bed all night and watch The Little Mermaid.
By 5 a.m. Jamie and I were both wide awake and making the call to cancel the second night’s reservation and just get some rest at my parents. We checked out by 8 a.m., ate a delicious breakfast at Another Broken Egg in Huntsville, and were home by 11. Though I was a little bummed at first that our fun-filled weekend was a total bust, both Jamie and I were quickly joking about the situation and found ourselves just happy to be together as a family.
That Saturday afternoon we all rested up and got ready to receive Jamie’s parents who were flying in from Austin!
His parents arrived at my parent’s house around 4, and after all spending time together and catching up a bit we headed to downtown Huntsville to eat dinner at The Chocolate Bar.
Our waitress was pregnant too and was so excited that this was our last “big” dinner out before having a baby, so she spoiled us all night with surprises, including this dessert. She was a doll!
On Sunday morning Jamie and I were both wide awake again at 5 – him from jet lag and me from anxiousness for labor. We decided to get up and enjoy the quiet, so we grabbed a couple blankets and went to sit outside to watch the sunrise and talk. It was such a sweet, quiet time that was just perfect before the busy day ahead.
Later that day Jamie and I asked my parents to babysit Hadley so that we could go on a lunch date and run some errands. I was starting to become a nervous wreck about heading to the hospital that night for my induction, so I didn’t eat much on Sunday. We really needed and enjoyed a few hours to ourselves before heading back and receiving Jamie’s parents again.
A great time was had by all Sunday afternoon, and it was the perfect way to keep myself preoccupied before heading to the hospital. My Italian grandmother cooked a massive meal for everyone to enjoy and Hadley got to play with all four grandparents all afternoon. My best friend Amberlee even stopped by later that night with her son and her parents to say hello which was much appreciated. She helped calm my last-minute nerves before jumping in the car to go have a baby. 🙂
Stay tuned! Tomorrow I’ll be sharing Sadie’s birth story. It’s a good one!
Hi! I’m Erica, and I absolutely adore sharing my life on this website with you! I come here almost daily to blab about all of the things related to being a regular wife and mother in today’s ever-evolving society. I share about our new home, what’s on our kitchen table, what we’re hanging in our closets, where we’re traveling to next, my crazy 5 a.m. work outs, how I make time for girlfriends, our faith, and much more. We always have a lot of balls in the air and somewhat thrive on the chaos. I believe in the power of story-telling as a form of inspiration and entertainment, so I’m here to do both! I was born and raised in north Alabama and recently re-planted roots here again after my husband transitioned out of the Army (he is now in the Reserve and it’s going so well!) I’m a super proud mom to two little girls (ages 5 and 2) who seem to be the stars of the show around here (for good reason – they’re pretty great!) I’m so glad you found me and are here reading! I hope we can get to know each other here on the blog as well as Facebook and/or Instagram. xoxo
