Moms n' Tots

Our church has a fantastic program called "Moms n' Tots" that meets every other Tuesday. The moms have fellowship time with a delicious spread of food (what church event would be complete without grub, right?), listen to a speaker, and then break into discussion groups to reflect on what the theme of the day is. The kids have their own program and the volunteers who work with them are wonderful.

I was really nervous about leaving Brynn in the nursery since she' such a mama's girl and Moms n' Tots is during her am nap time, so I signed up to help in the nursery on my "off" week- we went last week and she did great, but I was still nervous to leave her for the first time today. I put her down for a nap and walked out of the doors of the nursery, shedding a few tears and listening to the nursery volunteers cheer me on. The time with the other moms was amazing- the woman who spoke was a seasoned mother and truly blessed us all with her words.

I always think it's crazy how the Lord works in our lives- last week I was at a baby shower for a former co-worker and one of the ladies I used to teach with asked if I knew a woman at our church that she used to have as a student- guess who is my discussion group leader for MnT? THAT woman. Also, there's a young mom in our church who has been battling a brain tumor. I've never met her, but I've been praying for her and her family since our local newspaper wrote an article about her. Guess who is is my discussion group? THAT woman. Some people may see these little things as coincidences, but I know better. The Lord is going to be working in me this year and somehow these women will be involved. I can't wait to see what He's planning!

When I returned to the nursery, Brynn was flapping her arms and legs in excitement to see me. She slept for an hour and a half there and the report was that she did great and had fun playing the rest of the time.

I find that with each new step I take in motherhood, I cringe with a bit of anxiety because I wonder how Brynn and I will cope. I feel more confident with each milestone that we pass together and it's never as bad as I anticipate. I know the Lord has much in store for me in this adventure of being a mama and I know some of it will feel easy and some of it will stretch me in ways I didn't know were possible.

Loving this adventure SO much.

Fall fun

Loving that it is finally fall, cherishing my days with Brynn, started swim lessons (she LOVES it!), Moms n' Tots at church (tomorrow is the first day of Brynn in the nursery without me- hoping she does okay!), lots of fun with family and friends, working on organizing and decorating projects while Brynn naps, enjoying the evenings with Mark after Brynn is in bed, and altogether just truly relishing in the reality that is my life right now- love love love it. I'm so grateful for what the Lord has given me and every time I look at Brynn, my heart feels as if it will burst!

The pictures with Brynn holding the pink hippo are from a series I took- she was obsessed with this toy one day and I just think her little expressions are so funny!

She turned 7 months old on the 17th and is doing great. Sitting on her own, starting to "creep" backwards, rolling over all the time, talking ("bop" has been her word of choice lately).

I have to document the fact that I'm pretty sure Brynn can read my mind...we went to a wedding last night that started at 7pm (Brynn's bedtime). The crowd that was gathered there would have been upset if we didn't bring her, so I said to Mark on Saturday, "I wish Brynn would sleep in tomorrow morning so I can shift her naps to prepare her to stay up a little later than normal). Guess what she did? Slept in on Sunday and took her naps exactly when I hoped she would! This doesn't happen often since she's a girl who loves her routine: up at 7, nap from 9-11am, nap from 1-3/4pm, bed at 7pm. She definitely won the "Best Baby" award for that! She's done this a few times before and so I'm convinced she can anticipate what I'm thinking. =)

What a good girl.

Summer fun

I've been absent from this space for what feels like too long...

It's been difficult for me to update this little blog because I've been going through some "mama stuff" lately and I haven't been able to decide whether to share that here or just keep things light and airy. I suppose I choose the third option, which is just not write anything. =)

Not to go into anything too deeply, but I will say that this whole experience of motherhood, nothing surrounding the care of Brynn has ever been much of a challenge for me...obviously, she's only 6.5 months old and I have a long way to go...what has been challenging is everything else...family, my emotions, expectations I've putting on myself, letting go of Brynn...I'm blessed with many wise mama friends in my life and I'm so grateful for the encouragement they provide, even when I seem to hang on to the same struggles, week after week.

What I've realized during the last 6.5 months is that stepping into motherhood is just like starting a new job- I can't expect to be perfect at every aspect of it from the get-go, or ever for that matter. It will take time to fit into my new role- a lifetime, probably...and I shouldn't be so hard on myself when my timing of being ready for certain things doesn't match up with other people's wants or desires. So, that's the dark stuff. =)

Amid all of that, I have never been so content in my whole life. I love my days with Brynn and being able to soak in every stage she is growing through...and yes, I meant "growing", not "going". teehee. I'm amazed at hoe much she loves me, I mean REALLY loves me. She's always happy to see me, thinks I'm ridiculously funny, and is such a snuggle bug. Mark and I look at her every day and have to pinch each other to believe that she is really ours.

The last few weeks have been busy with a wedding at Semiahmoo that Mark and I were both in (his cousin's- super fun, beautiful weather, awesome time with family, amazing location!), lots of playdates, planning fall projects and taking a million pictures of Brynn!

This was the first week of school and I've been thinking about what I was doing last year at this time, greeting new students with their crisp new clothes and backpacks full of sharpened pencils, and explaining to every parent that inquired (which was every parent) what my plan for the year was since I was obviously pregnant. I do love teaching, but I wouldn't trade that huge paycheck (ha!) for what my days include now!

Brynn turned 6 months old in August- she's 14 lbs, 4.5 oz, 26 inches long, takes 2 great naps every day, eats 3 meals of solid food, sits up on her own, is so happy and smiley and giggly all the time- we sure do love her!

Yippee!!!

4th of July fun!

We had LOTS of fun this past weekend at our family cabins in Spokane. The weather wasn't great, but we were able to: have great chats with extended family, take naps with Brynn instead of doing chores, enjoy a mostly "media-fee" 5 days, eating delicious creations from my brother, who has become quite the bbq master, and relish in the fact that Brynn will now be able to enjoy this place that I have enjoyed since I was her age! So fun!

Brynn has now chowed down on several fruits and veggies and the girl loves to eat- she almost snarls as she tries to catch the spoon in her mouth before it quite reaches her.

Mark enjoyed playing around with the camera and captured some awesome night shots- he is so talented!

On the way home, we experienced the biggest, and I mean biggest, poop in the history of poops. I mean...it was all over Brynn, head to toe, all over the car seat AND even went ALLLLLLLLL the way down to the car seat base! How does that even happen?! Super gross and definitely a two-person job to clean up...and then we had the 6-hour drive home. =) Brynn must have been on a blow-out spree because that night when we arrived home, she had pooped again, and then the next day as I was walking through the store with her in the front pack, I realized she had pooped all over herself and it was all over the baby bjorn and my shirt. Awesome. Of course, as I had just begun my grocery shopping, I had to keep going...clearly I have my priorities straight: food first, poop second.

busy busy!

Things have been a bit crazy around here lately and with a full summer of little vacations and wedding events for Mark's cousin (we're both in the wedding party), I'm learning quickly how to balance everything in this new role of mine. Brynn continues to amaze us with her constant cuteness and we can hardly believe that she turned 4 months old on the 17th. We've been doing some sleep training with her since Friday (another post altogether)- she's doing really well and it's been a huge weight lifted off my shoulders because it will be much easier to leave her with others now that she can put herself to sleep on her own.

We started solid foods last week- her pediatrician recommended skipping rice cereal and moving on to a fiber-rich veggie since her poopin' schedule suggests the cereal could make her constipated. Sweet peas were her first bite and I've been amazed that she's been eating all we've been giving her and not just swirling it around in her mouth and spitting it out. She likes to eat, just like her parents! =) I received the Beaba Babycook for a gift and I can't wait to start putting it to use with all the awesome summer produce starting to become available!

Definitely feeling the itch of needing to commit to an exercise routine- feelin' reeeeeaaaal squishy lately. I had to stop running a few years ago because of a back issue that I suspect had more to do with me wearing high heels every day. Now that I don't do that anymore, I'm hoping to try running again with some success.

We tore down our upstairs deck and closed off the door that used to lead to it from one of our bedrooms upstairs- it was starting to rot and a future kid-bedroom with a door to a 2nd story deck didn't seem like the best idea. That's our awesome "can do it all" neighbor in the picture. He's great.

The photo of Mark and Brynn in the Bjorn is from a little hike we went on a few weeks ago- there are some fun little trails close to us that are perfect for the spontaneous "wanna go for a hike?" line that comes from our mouths often. Mark is totally addicted to the Bjorn- he loves wearing it. I don't blame him- Brynn is so sweet and content when she's in there...she loves to look around and hold hands while she's being carried in that thing.

We celebrated our 7th anniversary on the 28th- hard to believe it's been that long! Since we got married before the digital age, none of our pictures are super accessible, so not as easy to post on here- but just imagine us thinner, tanner, and still going gaga over each other and that's pretty much what we looked like back then. =)

3 months

Brynn is SUCH a cute baby! I'm biased, of course. She turned 3 months yesterday and I still can't believe she's OUR baby. It's difficult to capture her smiling on camera lately because she seems mesmerized by the camera lens and just stares at it when it's pointed at her. So, although the pictures don't show it, she smiles constantly and my favorite thing is going in to get her after she's been sleeping and being greeted by a big, gummy grin and a little coo. She rolls, has great head control, is tolerating longer sessions of "tummy time" and is pretty content when she's awake. People told me the fussiness would mostly disappear after 6-8 weeks and it really has, which is so nice. It's easier to take her out and not worry about her having a meltdown. I think it's partly because she can see better and farther now, so she can observe and enjoy what's going on around her. She started laughing about a week ago and we have a video of it from this past weekend when she had her first real fit of laughter...THE CUTEST THING EVER! It's amazing how a baby's laugh just melts your heart and makes you want to laugh, too. She sucks on her hands constantly and has found her thumb, too. I sucked my thumb until the 5th grade (don't be a hater) and although it's super cute to watch her suck on hers, I don't want her to have bucked teeth and 4 1/2 years of braces like I did! We'll see. I'm thinking about making the transition from swaddle to sleep sack so she can soothe herself in the night with her fingers and also so it's easier for other people to put her down, since the swaddling is a bit complicated to get right. I'm nervous about it because Brynn always startles herself with her arms, so I'm not sure how long it will take her to get used to not being swaddled...tips and advice are welcome!
And as if on cue, Brynn is waking up from her nap, so I'll leave you with some of our latest photos!

uh oh...

The magic of being a mama

My friend Kristen, a beautiful woman and mother who also has a gift for expressing her thoughts in writing, has spent the last week or so sharing on her blog some reflections about motherhood, in honor of Mothers Day...I've passed my computer many times in the last few days trying to decide how I can encapsulate my own musings on motherhood in this little space. It's difficult to describe how I'm feeling this year, my first year celebrating the joy of being a mom myself, as well as honoring my own mother.



Brynn will be 12 weeks old in a few days. When I allow myself to daydream, the memories of my pregnancy and her delivery are fresh. I remember hearing, before I had Brynn, that as soon as the baby pops out, you'll want 12 more. Well, for me, even though I was in complete awe of Brynn the moment I saw her, the memory of the pain it took to welcome her into this world was so real and raw and recent that I thought to myself, "Let's just start with ONE baby at a time, 10 years apart". =) Of course, as the weeks have passed, I am ready to do this all over again a million times if it means having another gift like Brynn.



A friend recently said to me "Robin, I've never heard you complain about anything with Brynn. It's so refreshing". I've wanted to be a mom for so long and had always hoped it would be part of God's plan for my life, that I can't imagine complaining. Now, I know I have many years of child-rearing ahead of me and there will be plenty of opportunities for griping, but I really don't want complaining to be a part of my character as a wife and mother.



I've just recently started reflecting on what a gift it is to be able to nurse my baby. I cherish this time with Brynn so much, the way she snuggles up to me, makes little noises, grasps on to me with her tiny hands, closes her eyes...it's such a precious time and I sometimes have to remind myself to not watch tv or use the laptop during this time, but instead spend time looking at her, praying for her, and just being with her. I know this season of mothering is short and I want to be able to look back and remember every detail of my dates with her at 2am.



Although I can spend a lot of time talking about how wonderful my new role as a mother is, it wouldn't mean nearly as much to me if Mark weren't here to walk along with me. He and I were sitting on the couch the other night looking at a photo of Brynn on the wall and he said "that's our daughter...we're a family now". Crazy. Since we were married almost 7 years before Brynn came along, I already felt like we were a family, but having her here gives so much more depth to our relationship and love for each other. It's been so magical for me to watch my husband become a father.




These last 12 weeks have been the most challenging and rewarding weeks of my life, full of so much "newness". As I hear Brynn rustling awake from her nap, I'm reminded that "me" time is often cut short, but I wouldn't trade all the alone time in the world for even just one moment with my baby girl.

Happy Mothers Day to all the amazing moms in my life. You have encouraged me up to this point and continue to do so daily in our conversations and experiences together. I'm inspired and amazed by all of you- there is definitely an instant camaraderie with other moms the moment you become one yourself, and I'm grateful for the new bond I have with the women in my life.