The Big 3-0!!!!

This year, Ryan turned the big 3-0!! I had all these plans to do something big for him, but it seems like every year, something always comes up! And now with 2 kids, and one nursing every 2-3 hours, we are very limited to what we could actually go and do. 

I knew I had to nail it with the present. If we couldn't go out for dinner on his birthday (also since it fell on a Sunday this year), I had to hit a homerun for his present. Ever since we got to FSU, he has been dying for a football jersey. And I finally decided, yes, this year, it's jersey time. He just about died when he opened it, and directly from his mouth he said, "you are the best wife." A round of applause, please??

new tie from Jared and Cassandra

pumpkin pie for his birthday!

That night, we headed over to McAdenville to see the lights. It is one of our favorite traditions to walk the streets with lights. There is something so romantic about Christmas lights!

We were determined to get out for a dinner date over the holiday break, and finally, Friday night we made reservations at our favorite place, Firebirds, and left the house with plenty of helping hands and a full bottle for miss Ellie. We had a wonderful time out and it reminded me that the girls are totally fine when I'm not around. Why is it so hard to sometimes leave your kids with someone, even when they are family members? I have only been away from Ellie a hand full of times, so it is always hard for me to leave. So happy we did, and we both definitely needed the alone time out!

new crossbody purse I got for Christmas! 

"look! these golf shoes are only $77!" and bringing home chocolate caramel apples for the family for a thank you! 

Here's to a new year for Ryan being 30! He makes 30 look good :-)

Merry Christmas from us!

Merry Christmas!!!

see you after the new year.

(or when I get around to blogging after Christmas!)

Meeting Santa

This year, I was determined to get Brinley and Santa together. Preferably not at the mall. Malls at Christmas time make me so hot and anxious I always feel like I'm about to pass out. Last year, we wimped out after standing in line for 45 minutes. We had barely moved forward at all!! Boo. Luckily, at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens in Belmont, NC, Santa is there. AND barely anyone goes/knows about it. Win-win for everyone. The gardens are so beautiful and they have delicately put lights up all throughout. No obnoxious lights here. Sophisticated, romantic, subtle lights. My cup of tea.

This year, Brinley gets Santa. Last year, I don't think she quite understood, but we still did our best. She is now asking a lot of questions and we even wrote him a letter. She kept asking why Santa was here, but not his reindeer. Yes, my 3-year-old is very wise for her age. I have to be on my game 24/7 or she will catch something.

The moment she saw him, I seriously almost started crying. It was so beautiful. All this anticipation of seeing Santa and telling him what she wants for Christmas just filled my heart. It was of love and hope and excitement. It made me reflect on my childhood years of dreaming of Christmas and the excitement of what Santa was going to bring. The heart of a little child is so innocent. Her eyes were so big. Once she sat on his lap, she got right down to business. She told him her name. And of course, "a Cinderella pumpkin carriage  and a Cinderella doll. With a Prince Charming. and the Step Sister. and....a doctors coat." He gave her a few candy canes and that was that!

As we were walking out, Miss Ellie woke up, and so I had to get her on his lap too! Brinley was already in her stroller and as stubborn as ever not wanting to get out and sit on his lap again. One sit is good enough. I don't blame her.

So sweet, right? That little squish gets me every time! Then...Santa did that awkward, "ho ho ho, come sit on Santa's lap!" along with a pat. How could I say no in front of my children!!! It was weird. But fun at the same time. I can't remember the last time I sat on Santa's lap!

We walked around the gardens checking out all the beautiful lights. My adorb parents caught arm in arm. Almost 32 years later, and still madly in love. 

We took our time getting back inside the main meeting room for some hot chocolate. But once we were in there, an electronic wind instrument musician was jamming out. It was suuuuch beautiful music. He sounded like Kenny G. Yes, please!

sipping on our cocoa

extra squishy!

these three were killing me

don't forget the grandpa/granddaughter dancing

and the grandma cuddling

I'd say, all in all, this was a definite success. and a spot we will remember to come back to in years to come. It was romantic (I was sure missing my main squeeze!) and so beautiful. Really puts in perspective that Christmas should be calming and inviting. No more Mall Santa's for us!

WO: week 3

WO week one

WO week two

I knew going into this week it would be challenging getting to the gym. Tuesday was my only gym day and I tried to make the most of it. Over 3 miles and it felt so good! I am really feeling my body change and my endurance lengthen the more I run. And the longer I run. Last Sunday, I was able to zip up a skirt I haven't worn since before I got pregnant and I was so excited! It isn't my favorite skirt, but since it fit, I had to wear it. It was still tight, but it zipped up which means my body is starting to shrink! Hooray!

I'm trying to gear up for some cold runs outside in Charlotte. My poor lungs are going to burn. Or I need to figure out doing some work out things inside. Pinterest, here I come!

Trimming the Tree

The girls and I are finally in Charlotte and wehave a whole week before the rest of the Christmas groupies show up, along with Ryan. I'm keeping it together being away from him for this long, for now. He is still working until next Friday. But we are ready to celebrate the end of the semester! Last week was a CRAZY week. I am still recovering. Since we've been here, Brinley has been so attached my parents. They both just tire each other out! Brinley has been taking great naps and crashing out pretty hard at bedtime. Christmas at home is such a magical time and I'm trying to soak it all in.

Saturday we went to this adorable Christmas tree farm. It has been years since I've been to a farm to get a Christmas tree! There were TONS of farm animals walking around. Brinley was chasing a turkey and screaming at him. Poor thing. I think we found the perfect tree! It is one of the tallest we've ever had. Next week, we are visiting Santa. Brinley keeps telling me that I've been a good girl this year and that Santa is going to get me a present. Love that girl.



Ellie: 2 Months

Miss Ellie turned 2 months old on Saturday!! That little lady is such a gem in our family. We all just oooo and ahhhh over her all day long. I was nervous thinking about loving another child as much as I love Brinley, but what they say is true: your heart doubles when you add another child. We just love her dearly.

isn't she delicious?

She is such a good baby. She nurses great. And sleeps great. I really have zero complaints about the past 2 months. I am a woman who likes a schedule, and even more so, for her babies to be on a schedule. I read something somewhere, that you need to make the decision if you want your baby to wear the pants, or if you want to wear the pants. It worked with Brinley early on and now I'm already seeing the benefits of the schedule: eat/play/sleep adapted from the book Baby Wise. It's a great book if you need one to read. It teaches babies that after we eat, we play, and then we sleep. And for Ellie, it has worked perfectly so far. She has a "I'm ready to sleep" cry and if we catch it in time, she puts herself to sleep minutes after getting swaddled. She's a peach.

We have also started a bedtime routine in the past 2 weeks and it has been great. She has pretty much put herself on a bed time of 10-10:30pm. We have plans after Christmas to bump the time up little by little. We start with bath (soap every other day), dress her in a quiet setting, I nurse her but not to sleep, and then we get her in her Halo swaddle sack and rock her to sleep. Ryan seems to have the charm with getting her down the fastest, but I don't mind that one bit. It allows me time to finish my bedtime routine so I'm in bed by the time Ellie is asleep. After nights and nights of waking up to every little grunt and peep, we have kicked Ellie out to the front room during the night. Not having a 3rd bedroom is annoying, but we are making it work. When she is consistently sleeping 8 hour stretches, we will put her in the crib in Brinley's room, but until then, she is in the dining room. Her normal sleep stretches range from 5-7 hours. She wakes up around 4 or 5am to nurse and then falls right back to sleep until 8 or 9am. Now that I'm getting 6ish hours of sleep each night, I am feeling much more energized during the day.

Ellie at 2 months:

12.2 lbs

comparison to her one month chair shot:

Doesn't Raffi (as Brinley named him) look huge in her 1 month picture? I think so!

WO: week 2

week 1 here

Whew. This week was hard to get to the gym. Ryan=finals week. Me=home all day with no break to get to the gym. Don't get me wrong, it is tough to be home all day and night without the husband (trust me...) but it is only for 10 days. I would rather have him gone then be home and stressed out and itching to get back to studying. I did my best, though! 2 days is better than zero!

Tuesday:

Ryan got home a few minutes before 5, so I jetted to the gym. I left him with a crying baby and a crazy toddler with dinner simmering on the stove. I told him to eat without me because I had a church meeting at 7. I left the gym in such a hurry that I didn't go to the bathroom beforehand so imagine (or don't) a post-partum mama only 8 weeks out, RUNNING with a full bladder. It took me a good 10 minutes to stop feeling like I was going to pee my pants with every step. I was able to run 2.5 miles and stretch. It was great to sweat of course, but then I was scared to come home to hear how things went the 40 minutes I was gone.

Thursday:

Ryan finished his final in the morning and came home for lunch. I bolted to the gym right when Ellie was nursed and Brinley went down for her nap. I finally hit the 3 mile mark! Wooo! I am going to plan on reaching the 3 mile mark every time I run now. It felt so good and I really think I am getting into a running groove!

Bummed I was only able to get in 2 running days, but with Ryan's finals schedule taking top priority, and also the missionaries coming over for dinner on Saturday, sometimes things gotta take a back seat.

come on!!!!! in her sleep turtle face :-)

The first of many, Dip-Luck

Friday night we had our first of MANY, Dip Luck Girl's Night over at our place. Between getting Brinley to bed, and Ellie nursed, I was back and forth all night. Ryan was so wonderful to help me out and manage the kid chaos. Turns out, Ellie just wanted to be with the girls, and Brinley was just wanting to be challenging and be 3 years old! (post on that later...).

to familiarize you of what a dip luck is,

Dip Luck:

noun

various types of dips brought to a special dinner where women will eat and eat and eat and laugh and laugh and laugh until midnight.

Basically, I love all these women. There were so many dips, I don't even think I tasted all of them! and we sure did some fun story telling! Who is hosting the next dip luck?? 

the girls

Janette (and her baby belly!), Katie, and April

Melanie, Carli, and Hannah (she's due in less than 2 months!! eeee!!)

Darin, Mary Anne, and Joanna

Hannah and me