Hello hello! I hope you had a nice holiday weekend! We took it easy around here and knocked out a few more things on the to-do list of tasks to accomplish before Jamie comes home soon.
The very, very best thing that happened this weekend is that I became a first-time AUNT! My beautiful sister Jennifer and brother-in-law Josh welcomed Carly Grace on Friday afternoon down in Destin, Florida, and she is precious and perfect. I cannot wait to meet her later this summer, though I wish I could be there now. Congratulations, you two!
Today I’m back with another installment of “Real Parenting Moments”. Here’s a few stories from the last few weeks that stand out.
- Jamie left to go back overseas when Sadie was eight days old, and the first night that I was solo was a doozy in the most hilarious way. I put Sadie down to sleep around 9 p.m. and at midnight she woke up to eat. I fed her and finally put her back to sleep around 12:45 a.m., and within two minutes of laying her down I heard her let out a huge #2. I hated to wake this sleeping baby but knew I needed to change her diaper. I tried to do it as quickly and quietly as possible, but in the middle of changing her she started tinkling. Right when she finished tinkling she started pooping everywhere, and she wouldn’t stop! By the third or fourth “squirt” I just burst out laughing all by myself. Here I was standing in the pitch black trying to do things quietly, but now we were both a total mess. I hit on a lamp, got both of us cleaned up as well as her changing pad, and laid her on my bed to put on new jammies. As I was snapping her last couple snaps she spit up everywhere… ALL over her AND my bed. The whole thing was such a train wreck that it was funny. She ended up staying awake until 5 a.m. after this whole escapade.
- A few weeks ago I was brushing Hadley’s teeth and combing her hair before bed when she started singing. She sings all the time, but I knew this wasn’t one of her usual songs. I listened for a minute and thought I recognized it as Jesus Loves Me. I started singing it with her, and she filled in the words every time I stopped. This isn’t one of the regular songs we sing, and for some reason it totally took my breath away that she knew the whole song; She’d learned it at school. As we continued singing, my eyes completely filled up with unexpected tears. I can’t explain it, but we shared the sweetest moment standing in the bathroom together singing that song.
- Twice in the last month I tried to surprise people with a birthday cake – my sister and one of my best friends Mary Elizabeth, and both times Hadley has completely spoiled the surprise. Both times I stood in the kitchen lighting the candles in preparation to round the corner singing (of course with other people who knew what was going on), but both times Hadley has run into the kitchen shouting “Cake! Cake!” as I’m lighting the candles.
- In the last week Hadley has decided that being naked is hilarious. Whenever I’m dressing her she always giggles and shouts that she’s naked (like I didn’t know), and I can’t help but laugh. A few days ago she burst into my bathroom as I was walking out of the shower, and she slapped my rear and yelled “Naked butt!” She is a riot! Can’t make this stuff up. PS: She pronounces it “neck-ed” like a true southerner I want her to be. 😉
- Every time Sadie cries, this is the conversation I have with Hadley:
- Hadley: “Sadie crying.”
- Me: “Why?”
- Hadley: “Sad.”
- Me: “Why is she sad?”
- Hadley: “Cause crying.”
- Me: “But why is she crying?”
- Hadley: “Sad.”
- Repeat 10x.
- When I came down with Mastitis last week I had no idea how I would handle Sadie’s typical “witching hours” (5ish-8ish) when she’s fussy or nursing on and off the entire time. I had no energy and felt like death. Magically Sadie knew that her mama wasn’t feeling well and played and cooed the entire night. She didn’t fuss one time from 5-10 p.m. I was so thankful!
- Since Sadie is officially six weeks old, I gave myself the green light to start jogging. I use the Nike+ app on my phone to track my mileage (I have for years), so the last couple days I’ve just been running a half mile out and turning around. Starting off slow and it feels wonderful. Just a few minutes to myself to break a sweat and listen to worship music have started off my day on the best possible foot.
Old Spice Giveaway Winner
Using a random name picker web tool with all names that entered, the winner of Friday’s giveaway is…
Caitlin!
Caitlin, I emailed you with information for claiming your prize. Congrats!
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 three little girls (ages 7, 4, and 1) 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