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A bathroom!

June 8, 2016

As much as I would love to say HOORAY! IT’S DONE! it’s not. But it’s close so that’s something. I figured I should take pictures now while it’s still newish because have you ever tried to keep a bathroom spotless with a toddler? And before things get all marked up and water-spotted, let’s remember the fresh new feeling that is right now and then plunge into using it how it should be used. Asking guests to please wipe down the sink after washing their hands just so it stays pretty isn’t exactly the kind of home I’d like to run, so without further ado, I present a currently new-almost-finished-bathroom!

Wait, first let’s take a look at our bathroom situation. We have Greg and my master bathroom which has lovely brick flooring that soaks up all liquids and always smells something like urine with a hair (among other scary things) riddled shower drain and many questionable stains etc – ants also love to make their home in the pipes so expect a few of those shooting out each time you turn the water on. We have the lower main bath which is a charming 60’s green that everyone over 54 begs us to not touch. This bathroom is a beauty complete with rust stains and ripped walls, boasting a lovely tub in desperate need of a new glazing and a rotted out shower that has never been turned on because the people that sold it to us said not to and we obey. Oh and it’s dark. I don’t like dark. And then we had the upper half bath (this bath) located between the nursery and the guest room, that was actually the nicest of the bathrooms we had to offer, yet had no place to bathe which means if you want to shower, you have to go into our master bath which I should mention is a bit open concept to our bedroom, OR brave the dark scratchy tub that shoots up dirt from the drain. So, although the least scary option, having guests or just bathing Abbie wasn’t ideal. And with this new baby coming and planning on doing another home birth, it made the most sense to renovate that bathroom first even though I so so soooo wanted to get rid of one of the more icky bathrooms. ONE DAY. So anyways, let’s just take a look at how this little space used to be! IMG_2351 (2) copy

Oh the cuteness. Please note, the blue tint from the blue window panes casting that lovely dreary glow. The charm, the charm. So we kept things in relatively the same place, got rid of that little cabinet along the window with the 4″ deep drawers that were surprisingly hard to open, reversed the door swing so we could fit a bigger sink and all of a sudden this tiny little bathroom felt huge!

Honestly, it was so good for me to see how long these sorts of things take because 1) I’ve been painting my house for almost a year now and want to just bury my head in a paint can, it’s taking so freaking long and 2) I honestly thought this would be a weekend project haha (we started at the end of February) so watching this process unfold was a bit reassuring to me. My dad said it would take longer and cost more than we expected and in my heart I said no no no! but he was ever so right. So, good things to note for future renovations if they ever come about :) We bumped out the right wall to accommodate a bath/shower combo and add a bit of storage back in and I just love how it turned out! IMG_2356 (1)

Obviously still waiting for the toilet to be hooked up (I CAN’T WAIT to have a toilet up there again. Who knew what a luxury that was…) and have the curtain rod installed. I’m so tempted to try to install it ourselves but I’m so afraid of cracking the tile when drilling into it so I guess we shall continue to twiddle our thumbs and wait. You might be thinking oh but Hillary! They have such lovely glass doors that would look so sleek up there! And to that I say, heck no. This bathroom is mainly for the kiddos and what kiddo do you know that will squeegee that lovely glass door each day?? I see caked on water spots. PLUS with a curtain, more than one kid can get ready in there at a time which is necessary with one bathroom and x many kids. I’ve thought this through. Now gimme a high five.
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Bye bye little frilly curtain and the mysterious stained wallpaper! Bye blue glass and cut up linoleum floors! Our house is old (1886) with a bit of Victorian farmhouse flair so I wanted to do something that was classic, that adults would feel comfortable in, that could grow with the kids, but also had some fun quirks that were a bit more playful as it is still a kids bath. I found a fun hexagon marble online that was WAY cheaper than anything I found in the store and although it isn’t the best looking marble (if you were a critical expert), I think it looks just dandy and is just what I had in mind. Although once it was installed, I read something along the lines of “it would be very strange to have marble upstairs in the 1800’s” haha so… someone didn’t do her history lessons… BUT it’s MY house and I like it. Also, it’s not the 1800’s anymore. So there. And then we added some wainscoting and a giant quirky mirror and I think it’s quite the lovely space to hang out ;) I find myself going in and looking around every time I put Abbie down. It makes the stair climb more bearable.
We also added a little medicine cabinet to the left of the sink for a touch more storage. When it first went in, it looked a bit mmm.. square, circle, should we add a triangle over there? But now I like it. It feels awfully sparkly in there :]
Why would you put the soap on a shelf and not by the sink? Because it looks better. What a silly question.
AND Greg and I only got in one big disagreement the whole time! Those towels. He says it’s gross to have them that close to the toilet. I say it balances the room better. You can move them if you come over and are grossed out. And give Greg a knowing look of sympathy. I normally will always choose function over beauty but actually that’s not true at all so there you have it ;) A little bathroom with a whole lot of love poured in. Thank you to EVERYONE who helped us out with this little space! I just love it and Greg and I can’t thank you enough! Now come visit!!!

A babymoon, an ER visit and a whole lot of life lately

May 25, 2016

by hillywoohoo

comments 3

terrific trips / the daily life

Guess who’s falling behind again…. I was looking through my pictures and had no idea where to start because I’ve missed so much lately but hey! let’s start here. Weeks and weeks ago Greg took me on a delightful little babymoon! We tried our best to not only talk about Abbie but to focus on this new little one that is COMING IN LIKE TWO MONTHS!!!! How! HOW?? Every day I tell Greg what I think it is – last week it was definitely a boy. Definitely. This week, by jove, it’s a girl! It’s sort of fun not knowing but I don’t think I’d do it again.. I feel like I’m sort of missing the bond I had knowing Abbie was a girl – picking stuff out and dreaming what our family was gunna be like. Although, I’m glad to have done the guessing thing one time. I’ve been going through all of Abbie’s old clothes and picking out the gender neutral stuff which is you know, making me all sorts of excited. I even got baby a new little crib sheet so if it is a he, he doesn’t have to sleep in pink. The cultural horrors! Anyways, babymoon! It was so nice to get to spend some time with my beloved and not be completely zoned out like I usually am these days. We carried on real conversations, ate and ate and ate delicious food, and slept in as late as we wanted which was just dreamy. Some pictchas below!
Oh wait! how did she get in there?? This was before we left ;) I always have to take a million pictures before we leave so I have something to look at while we wait for HOURS till my mom sends us something. ;) You ask her where baby is and up goes the shirt with the little pointing finger. Clearly baby is under the shirt.
View from our first room ;) We ended up going down to Carmel to try to save a little money (ha ha). Greg got us the HUGEST suite that we walked into and both felt overwhelmed by it’s ginormous size so we ended up switching the next night to a new room that was about 1/8 of it’s size ;) But he was so sweet to try to accommodate my growing size with his former room choice ;)
Second room! So cozy with even better views!! We loved it :)
They had the BEST waffles there that I clearly had no trouble holding back on. Made me sufficiently sick each morning but so so worth it. I want another one.
There were the most lovely walks along the beach where we met a wonderful dog named Bandit who just sits there and waits for his master to come back from surfing. At least that’s what his collar said. Whaddagooddog <3

And the most delicious meals. Apparently the only things I take pictures of though, are coffee and cheese.

And then we came home to have a day at home by ourselves which, at the time sounded so luxurious (no kids or dog WHAAAAAT!?) but in the end just seemed really lonely. We ended up playing chess, because we are 80, and clearly don’t know what to do with ourselves these days. It was actually really fun. Greg won. I let him. Don’t tell. I kinda wanted to look up chess strategies after and make it a thing. We’ll see ;) I did convince him I was in the chess club in high school so that was fun.
And then the next day we got to see our lil girl again and it was the best. She was so smiley and sweet and was really into giving lots of hugs and kisses. I noticed she was a little warm but she generally runs pretty hot so I wasn’t too worried. By the afternoon I decided to take her temperature and sure enough, she had a small fever – only about 99 but it explained the extra cuddly behavior. By that night it had gone up to I think 103 and I was praying it would be down in the morning. And it was! So we went to church, she screamed through childcare, and her teacher said she thinks she might have a fever again. By the time we got home she just seemed so limp and was getting hotter and hotter so Greg ran out and got one of those ear thermometers that takes a temp in like a second (OMG how did we not get this sooner!? she hates getting her temperature taken and squirms SO much) Anyways, by the time he got back with motrin and the thermometer, it was up to 105! We gave her some medicine and called the nurse on call (because these things never happen during office hours ;) ) and she said the meds should help but if it doesn’t go down, take her in. So we put her down for her nap and when she woke up she was on fire! I took her temp and it was up to 106.7 so we jumped in the car and headed to the ER. I’m not much of a worrier when it comes to fevers because I truly believe they are helping fight off something and with proper rest etc, you’ll normally be fine – but this one was just SO high and for the first time I got so scared that something really bad could be going wrong. But her tests kept coming back good – they didn’t know what was causing it which was still scary, and she was extremely dehydrated so she was put on fluids all night, but she seemed to be hanging in there rather well. She was the bravest little girl, I was so proud of her. We spent the night there which is rather a joke – they wake you up ever couple of hours to poke or test or generally disrupt your sleeping baby ;) but in the morning her fever was down and they said we could go home since they had ruled out the severe viruses. I was so worried it was meningitis or something super scary so it was rather a relief to know it was most likely none of those. When we got back home, it shot back up to 105 but we just kept alternating her meds and gave lots of cuddles and got her to sleep a lot and by the evening it was down to 101 and she was eating/ drinking again! (She wouldn’t take anything for 2 days so this was a huge relief too)
^^she got a little monkey for being so very brave :):)

^^could those hospital cribs look any more like prison??

^^BEST cuddles // the one perk of having a sick baby

By the next morning she was all smiles, her fever was gone, and she was back to her happy self like nothing ever happened. We went for a follow up at her pediatrician and I noticed the tiniest, mildest little rash forming on her back. She said to watch out for it and if it spreads, it was most likely roseola. I have to watch myself when I tell people that cause I’m pretty sure I’ve told people she had rubella haha. Pregnancy brain. Anyways, sure enough, she got the mildest little rash all on her tummy and back that was gone the next day but luckily confirms that was what she had. My midwife said that in order for the rash to break out (which only happens when you are on the mend and your fever is gone) your fever has to go above 105 which is kind of crazy so when people try to keep the fever way down with this particular virus, the kids end up getting more sick! Anyways, so happy that is over and she is well :)

Let’s see, what else. I’ve been painting away, trying to get our bathroom and guest room ready for our next guests and because BABY IS COMING holy goodness so very soon. Abbie’s been like this most of the time.
She needs as much attnetion as mommy. So I’ve been trying to take a couple days off to go to the park and actually see the outside lands. Seriously cannot wait for all this painting to be done. IMG_1132 copy
^^is that not the happiest cookie you’ve ever seen?? When she sees yummy things now, she goes “ooOo!! num num!!” It’s pretty adorable if I do say so myself.

There was a beach day which is just so good for the frinkin soul so here’s a million pictures of her walking on sand.

And let’s see, she’s been helping me in the kitchen a whole lot more which is just the best. I always dreamed of cooking/baking with my kids and IT’S HAPPENING! and it’s so fun :):)

And as of recently, she is now best friends with dada! It’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen! Just look at that love in her eyeballs when she looks at him. I can’t even get her to look at me during dinner anymore – she only has eyes for him. And I don’t mind because I get it. He’s the best and them together… I can’t take it. It’s too good.
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So there’s just a smidge of life lately. I hope you all are well and have a WONDERFUL HUMP DAY!!!

Happy third trimester baby! // 28ish Weeks

May 14, 2016

by hillywoohoo

comments 6

baby #2 / pregnancy

How far along? 28 weeks although midwife now thinks 30… oh this is exciting, isn’t it?

Weight Gained: My scale said I weigh 122lbs heheheh I’m the skinniest pregnant woman of all time! And then I went to my prenatal appointment which corrected my broken machine to reflect that no no, you’ve gained 29 pounds. Holy my.

Symptoms: Pregnancy symptoms are embarrassing.

Movement: This one is the most active little thing – especially in the middle of the night. But if you ask to feel, he or she will play dead. You have been warned.

Food cravings: Not particularly. Mexican still sounds good. As do sweets. As does steak.

Food aversions: Nope

Sleep: You guys! I’ve been staying up past 9:30! I’m sorta proud, sorta very sleepy. Apparently I now cannot fall asleep before 1. I am not in college anymore. This is no longer fun.

Stretch marks? Not that I’ve noticed

Belly button in or out? In

Miss anything? Not really

Mood? Been pretty stable in comparison to previous weeks. But then again that’s not saying much… ;)

Maternity Clothes? I need a stylist. I’m bored with all of my clothes.

New baby items: Heck yes! Can you even either believe this sweetness will be happening oh so soon??
MATCHING FOOTY PJ’S!?! My goodness I can’t wait :) Also, we got some smaller more adorable pj’s that I’m too lazy to take a picture of right at this very moment and the softest little newborn onsie with no stains from big sister ;) and a hat (WHY?? I HAVE SO MANY HATS THAT ABBIE NEVER ONCE WORE) but it resembled a giraffe and was begging to be bought, AND Gregory picked out the most adorable stuffed animal that I’ve been hiding from the little girl that loves her stuffed animals. We’ll see how long that lasts. Sharing will be learned early on I think.

Exercise: I walked to the park yesterday. It’s a start.

Best moment of the week: My love took me on a lovely little babymoon. And Abbie became well again. And THIS.
IT’S SO PRETTY!!! And I know what you’re thinking… I’m so surprised she went with all white… hardy har har. But anyways this sink! it has running water and it’s beautiful and I can’t stop staring. And I gave Abbie the most luxurious bubble bath in her new tub last night and I couldn’t stop smiling. But the toilet… the SECOND toilet we’ve purchased for this bathroom is giving us grief so it looks like the finish line is still forever away but until then I’ll just keep turning that faucet off and on and smiling. Because it’s pretty.

Looking forward to: I’m really so looking forward to meeting you, baby!!

This Week

May 3, 2016

by hillywoohoo

comments 2

the daily life

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This week a kitty decided to start leaving us presents on our doorstep. Three days and three half eaten rodents later, I think we have a pretty solid friendship in the making.

This week a red crayon and a yellow crayon appeared in the dryer and as life tends to work itself out, melted on all the new clothes and miraculously and mysteriously didn’t mark any of the “around the house” clothes. It does baffle me how this seems to be a universal law.

This week our bathroom did not get finished.

This week Greg had to take a whole day off work because his wife was too hormonal. He should know by now that if he doesn’t want this to keep happening, he shouldn’t take me to lunch by the sea.

This week I laid on the driveway sobbing that we were going to lose our baby because one big dog was scared of one small broom and took off, knocking this pregnant lady into the air and directly onto her back. I now have a cool shackle tattoo around my ankle and a special new hobble to my walk but our midwife was sweet enough to come immediately over and make sure everything was okay. That little one is a trooper.

Last night Abbie was alternating between squealing giggles which is, I’m quite certain, the best sound God ever invented, and whining-tugging-sad girl. Greg didn’t get home till 10 and I was too tired and mentally fried to face anything on my ever expanding to do list. All that to say, I’m so thankful that God gave us night and new mornings every day. Can you imagine if days never ended? I love that despite not one thing being different, today is a new day and we get new energy (even if it’s not abundant ;) ) and a new outlook to tackle whatever is before us. I’m awfully thankful for that. And I’m thankful for nap times and that my baby girl is a napping rockstar these days. I’m so SO thankful for that. Despite all those instances above, this week was a good week and has made me so thankful for my family and all the blessings He has so generously lavished on us if we just keep our eyes open and peer beyond the obvious UGHS and see the gifts instead. Like that we have our own doorstep that people and kitties can leave things on! We have a dryer and don’t have to go to the laundromat which is my least favorite thing ever! and that the crayon really could have been way worse and now I know. Check pockets. Always check pockets. WE GET TO DO A REAL RENOVATION! That still blows me away. I got to spend a whole work day with my love and reconnect on a day I was feeling particularly hurt and distant. Our baby is a little warrior and kickin away in there. I seriously cannot wait to meet him or her. I’m so excited for Abbie to be a big sister I could burst! Seeing her care for her dollies every day is just… all the heart eyes. I can’t describe it ;) And tomorrow, we get to have a mini little babymoon and I can’t wait. I don’t know why thankfulness seems to be so quickly overshadowed by other things but I do know that there are way more blessings chalked into our days than negatives if only we are willing to look for them. Anyways, all that to say, I hope you have a great week searching for the treasures :) Happy Tuesday!

24 Weeks

April 15, 2016

by hillywoohoo

comments 2

baby #2 / pregnancy

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How far along? 24ish weeks – last time I went to my midwife she was convinced we were farther along so 24-26ish weeks ;) This should make for some interesting betting when the time comes…

Weight Gained: 21 lbs. boom.

Symptoms: I have so much to do but I’ve been using Abbie’s second nap to take my own MUHAHAH and it is so lovely. A couple weeks ago I had the fun sensation of feeling empty yet super full yet hard as a rock yet yet yet… I kept moaning and Greg would say what’s wrong?? And I would just start crying cause I was in so much pain but I couldn’t describe it. That was fun. I think baby just burst into big baby in there and my belly wasn’t ready for it. We’ll go with that cause the other option is more embarrassing. Oh and hi, sciatica. I remember you. Oh! and pregnancy brain! I almost forgot ;)

Movement: This one is a busy bee! And they aren’t like little jab kicks… they are the rolling kind that kind of tickle. But hey, second children have to fight for attention so I get it. Our midwife mentioned something about this one “running us ragged” since she can never get a heartbeat cause it’s constantly kicking away so *deep breath* come on energy! don’t fail me now!

Food cravings: I think Taco Bell has been on the top of my cravings list this entire pregnancy. Who knows why? but mmmm the melty cheeeeese. I could eat it all day every day. Kinda gross to type that out but anyways. Today we had 0 food in the house so we stopped there for lunch since it was, you know, right by the grocery store. So then we walked over to the grocery store and left our car on their side of the parking lot since we were only picking up a few things. Out we come with three bags of groceries only to have our cart wheels lock 50 feet from the car. Apparently Safeway’s parking lot does not extend to Taco Bell’s parking lot even though THEY LOOK THE SAME. Noted. That was a funny sight – big ol pregnant lady trying to carry three heavy bags of groceries, praying they don’t break cause double bagging is a thing of the past, with a gallon of milk and a baby that wants to get down. We made it! We held up some traffic. I was embarrassed. I will not stop going to Taco Bell. I’m thinking about it right now. Aaaand moving on.

Food aversions: Does cooking count as a food aversion?

Sleep: I will take this opportunity to announce that MY BABY GIRL SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT IN HER VERY OWN CRIB FOR THE FIRST TIME I THINK SINCE WE FIRST MOVED HERE! And she’s been going down for her naps better and better! First day she cried for mmm two hours? Poor tile guy that was here heheh… Second day, only 10 minutes! Third day 5-10 min and TODAY only 3 min. I’m so impressed. I know this is supposed to be about my sleep but my goodness. Also, I slept really well last night, thanks.

Stretch marks? I keep asking Greg, “do these count as stretch marks?” thinking he’ll be all sweet like my mom and say “no, hunny – that’s nothin!” But he just says “yes” and goes back to checking emails. MEN.

Belly button in or out? In

Miss anything? Not having sciatica was nice.

Mood? Mostly just feeling incredibly overwhelmed and find myself doing nothing instead cause I don’t know where to start. I have a very understanding husband. I love him so.

Maternity Clothes? Feeling so frumpy these days. The nothing fits stage is now.

New baby items: Not yet :/ well boy do I feel like a lame parent.

Exercise: I almost got inspired to start working on that the other day…

Best moment of the week: The Klein’s came into town last weekend! And stayed in Abbie’s nursery cause guess who still doesn’t have their guest room back… or a guest bath for that matter… hehe The guys went golfing real early one morning and Greg THREW BACK THE COVERS AND DRAGGED ME OUT OF BED and then made the bed behind me so I couldn’t get back in! so that Klein could use our shower. I’m looking forward to having another bathroom :) And then our water went away completely and sand filled all the pipes and the rodents decided to make their home in Greg’s liquor locker and the ants thought now would be a good time to charge on in. But I’m glad we have good, understanding friends that are totally fine with our old old problem house. And we had a great time with them. Hence, best moment of the week.

Looking forward to: The weekend!!! I’ve been so tired lately so I’m very much looking forward to having someone else here to take an Abbie shift :):) Happy Friday everyone!!

My Sentimental Month

April 11, 2016

by hillywoohoo

comments 2

Abigail Elizabeth

hillary and abbie My baby girl turned 15 months old today! This month is special to me because my sister and I were 15 months apart and even though we didn’t get these two that close, I still think they will have just as special of a relationship. I hope. I hopeIhopeIhope. No pressure ;) And in honor of National Sibling Day, I just wanted to take a moment to say how thankful I am to have a sister that has been my very best friend my whole life. She’s been such an encouragement, best role model and biggest cheerleader and I have no ideaaaa what I would have done without her. I hope and pray these two bring each other as much love and comfort as my sister brought me. Siblings are the best :)

My friend asked me, way back before we were pregnant, if Abbie and I would be willing to do a lil photoshoot together since she is hoping to transition her business over to more motherhood portraits, so of course we said YES! I normally hate getting my picture taken but I hardly ever get to be in pictures with my baby girl so these are so special to me – especially since it worked out that by the time we actually got around to doing it, I’d get to be in there with BOTH my babies :) She keeps sending me snippets and I just love them all.

Since this is my sentimental month and Abbie just seems to be skyrocketing into adulthood, I figured it’s time for a little update to remember the little things :

She’s a little cleaner! She loves to take any napkin she can find and start wiping down any surface she can reach. And it’s mighty adorable.

She is FINALLY sleeping allllllllll the way through the night! But only in our bed. We tried, for like a week, to get her to sleep in her crib and we’ll probably go back to it once this renovation is done but man that stuff is rough. She’s got an iron will and does not like losing. Many many tears were had and absolutely no sleep was included so I’m not really looking forward to starting that up again. She ended up catching her first real cold (I’m blaming partially on the lack of sleep and no more nursing ..sniffle) and got a 102 fever, so back in with us she came so that we could all get better asap. We are lovers of sleep over here. And wellness.

She’s weaned. This one is bittersweet because I truly loved nursing her, but I don’t know if she just wasn’t getting enough milk with the pregnancy hormones kicking in there or what but the biting kinda got outta control so I figured if this next baby has any hope of having a nursing journey, this needed to end. Although there are times she gives me that look that makes me cry a little inside and think that I made her do it before she was ready, I think it was for the best because did I mention SHE IS SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!? And this momma needed that :) Also, I love being able to wear a real bra again. No one tells you what a luxury that is ;)

She’s super aware of what’s going on around her. This one’s not really new cause I feel like since she came out of the womb she could just dive into your soul and understand everything around her BUT now it goes beyond that knowing look and comes with sweet little actions! Like, the other day I was just a mess – seriously, I feel like this pregnancy has been a lot easier physically, probably because I’m not obsessing over every little thing, but WAY harder emotionally/hormonally. I’m a friggen basket case every day. So the other day I was just off the charts and couldn’t stop crying and everything was SUCH a big deal and she kept coming up to me and crawling on my lap and taking her little hands and playing peek-a-boo! to try to cheer me up! And then she would give me this big smile and then a big hug with lots of back pats included. It was the dearest.

She likes to fall asleep on mommas neck. I mentioned we will be taking another stab at crib training shortly.

She got her number called for the first time in church today! The kid that won’t stop crying? Yup, that’s mine. That scream you heard in the middle of Easter service? Also mine. Dropping her off at any sort of childcare is proving to be a challenge. She only goes to the ones at BSF and church but I’ve now had to start going to get her from both places because she’s inconsolable. (I mentioned the iron will ;) ) She’s going through a major momma only phase and although that is not always convenient, I kinda like it and know I’ll blink and it’ll be gone.

She’s the friendliest little thing! (when she’s fed and well rested) Whenever we go to the grocery store, she sits in the cart and waves at everyone, and I mean everyone, we go by. And gives them big smiles. And flirts. I gotta say, it’s pretty cool to see some really sad looking people all of a sudden light up when they see this little ray of sunshine coming towards them. I feel so honored to get to see little glimpses of her spreading joy around to other people. It’s truly so special.

She gives good, slobbery, kisses. And will always give Bentley kisses if you ask her to.

When she wakes up in the morning, I say, Abigail, why don’t you go give daddy a good morning kiss? And she makes her way over to him and plants one on him and it just makes my heart burst every time. Yesterday, she was giving Papi all the love with lots of kisses, hugs, and of course, back pats which was just so sweet.

She nods with her entire head. And she nods at everything. Do you want milk? yes. Do you love Grammy? yes. Do you wish you were in prison? yes.

She totally knows what you are saying! I’ve been asking her to go into the other room and get her book and she does it!!!! Crazy sauce. I’m so blown away by her brilliance.

She mimics everything. She does this adorable panting thing that we are milking for all it’s worth. She loves to play drums on the table like daddy. She tries to do the popping sound that daddy does with his mouth but ends up just opening and closing it which is equally as amazing to me. She just does a whole bunch of cute. She says hi, momma, dadda, dog, doggum, doggy, llama is mama, “more” sounds something like “mo” and a whole bunch of her own special language. She jabbers about all day and is getting pretty good at communicating what she wants. She does “more” in sign language too which is pretty cute. And throws up her hands in her infamous W when she’s done with her meal.

She loves music and dancing. Not full body dancing. Seated dancing with hand movements. As soon as the music comes on, the hands start going and I wish I could just record each bit of it! Even though I take about a billion pictures and videos a day, I just can’t capture it all and am forced to try to take in the moment and do my best to store up all that cuteness in my memory banks. Also she has a special shy face that she gets when she’s embarrassed. It’s beyond cute.

She’s starting to get into everything, cleaning the house takes 2x as long on account of the little piles that keep forming behind me all day, she thinks being told no is either funny or the end of the world, and life is a whole lot more exhausting, but my goodness she’s made my heart grow about a billion times bigger and I can’t imagine a greater gift. Seeing her with her daddy just makes my heart explode every time and I’m just so thankful for my little family. Happy fifteen months little monkey! We love you so much!

Happy Halfway, Baby!

March 17, 2016

by hillywoohoo

Sometimes I Avoid Things

March 15, 2016

by hillywoohoo

comment 1

the daily life

And look at the millions of pictures I have saved on my desktop instead. Like this one. How much better would our Christmas card have been if Greg had let me post the back side?? 2015-Christmas-Card
heheh that little face :):) Gets me every time. Just your friendly reminder that CHRISTMAS IS COMING! and that I’ll be holding a little bundle of baby goodness this year and I freakin can’t wait. Because I’ve also been watching back all of Abbie’s newborn videos and I can’t possibly take in how much she’s changed! She hardly ever makes this face anymore! Screen Shot 2016-03-15 at 11.46.57 AM
So I’m hoping there will be much of that. Plus, not to sound like an alcoholic over here but let’s not forget I haven’t had a Christmas cocktail for the past two years so there is that little perk as well ;) But on a more accurate note, spring is coming in 5 days!! And I just love spring. Happy Tuesday!

You know you’re old when

March 8, 2016

by hillywoohoo

comments 5

terrific trips

…you go to see one of your favorite bands yet another time and get tired and slightly anxious that it’s standing room only. But hey! We went to a concert for the first time in forever so be proud of us. And here’s your token lame concert picture. IMG_7747 (1)
And another just because these are actually way better than my flip phone days.
Just look at that young, hip crowd, holding that fine gentlemen on that light-up mattress thingy… the smell of bodies and sweat is still lingering in my memory and now I so vividly remember that I do not miss that part of those days ;) Greg leaned over and whispered the sweetest words to my ears: you smell so much better than everyone else in here. I beamed with pride. I initially made fun of him for wanting to get there early so we could get a seat and not have to stand but then as it turns out, there were no seats and I panicked a little inside since my body doesn’t do well with the standing. I’ve actually seen a doctor about it but it kinda just starts shutting down if I stand in one place for too long… I get all hot and shaky and then start to black out unless I lay down. It’s really fun. It’s happened on the bus, in a museum, in the grocery store, in the grocery store parking lot, practically every day doing dishes etc. The doctor said just like how some people pass out when they see blood, I pass out when standing. Now you know ;) I can walk and walk for days but standing is no bueno so I figured if I just kept moving, we’d be good. So there I was bobbing about awkwardly, convincing people I was that into the music, but really just trying to stay upright, but body said HA I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING — YOU CAN’T TRICK ME! and I had to go sit in the bathroom for a good portion of the show since those were the only seats available ;) I’m the best date. But we had the best time. We walked there from our hotel in the raging wind and rain and arrived completely drenched with an umbrella that did not have one remaining spoke to hold it up.
I was so glad I took the time to do my hair. But when we got back to the hotel, they had the deepest soaking tub I ever did see and it was the most lovely treat to warm up in before jumping in bed wayyyyy past our usual bedtime of 8:30. And we got to have a whole night of uninterrupted sleep and breakfast in bed and MY I could get used to this.
And this is what happens when you are pregnant and can’t decide and your husband lets you order all the breakfasts you want. :):) I love him.

We walked around Old Town and enjoyed a lovely lunch with no wailing baby and it was glorious.

Oh look! ^^casually ordering a cocktail because there isn’t a screaming child seated next to us! How rare. Our last time in a restaurant with her involved quickly ordering everything to go because she was, you know, mad that she couldn’t put all the sugar packets in her mouth so I took her outside to cool off which resulted in her falling, hitting her lip, and blood streaming everywhere as I rushed her back through the restaurant, with the blood still going strong, wailing at the top of her lungs. Her lip swelled up to the size of her nose. It was fantastic. So anyways, this date involved none of that for us. We got to hold hands and carry on a conversation and shoot flashing lights. The best! IMG_7745 (1)
Myyyyy husband got them all. So proud.
So overall, being old isn’t so bad. And to top it off, I got to come home to sit in my new bath and dream and dream. My giddiness level is off the charts. IMG_7758 (1)