Somebody is 2!

It was 2 years ago today that the most precious angel came into my life.

It was 2 years ago today that my dreams came true.

It was 2 years ago today that my life changed forever.

It was 2 years ago today that I become a momma to this most precious, sweet, sassy, and amazing little girl! 

Emmalee Caroline,
You are light of my life and the joy in my heart.  You are the sweetest and sassiest 2 year old I know, I get the honor of calling you mine.  Your smile can brighten any room, and your laughter is contagious.  You bring joy to everyone you meet, and you never meet a stranger. 

You are learning new things everyday.  You know almost all of your colors, and you can {almost} count to 10, and you're learning your ABC's.  You are a non-stop chatter box and you love to sing.  Your favorite foods are applesauce, yogurt, grapes, pizza, and ice cream.  You love to be outside and you love the slides at the park. 

You love everyone around you and you are so excited about being a big sister.  Your baby sibling has no idea how lucky they will be to have you as their big sister. 

Emmalee, being your momma is one of the most joyous things I have ever gotten to experience.  You fill my (and your daddy's) heart with pure joy and the past 2 years have the BEST.  We never knew how much we would love you! 

Happy birthday, my sweet 2 year old. 

Being a Wife, Being a Mom, and Still Trying to Be Me

There is a fabulous group of ladies hosting a series called "Build Them Up."  I love it!  They are just fantastic and I, personally, love the idea of us all rallying around each other to encourage and build each other up. 

http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/2013/04/remembering-you-taking-care-of-yourself.html

Today's encouragement is how to stay "me" when your are constantly surrounded with your children and families.  How do you keep the "you" in your life. 

Its funny because when I think of who I am, and who I have always been, its a mom.  My mother can tell you stories of me as a little girl and I was always toting a baby doll around or playing "house" for hours.  I've been known as the baby-hog forever, hence the name Aunt Grabbie.  I LOVE children.  I LOVE babies and I LOVE being mom. 

I think its this reason that struggling for infertility for 2 years was so hard on me, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  All I have ever wanted to be was a mom.  But I won't lie to and tell you that it fulfilled my every desire, because it hasn't.  What it HAS made me realize is that there is so much more to me. 

I think I put my whole self into being a mom because that was the desire of my heart.  For 2 year, I forgot what it was like to a wife, a sister, a friend.  So it wasn't until after I became a mother did I realize that I lost myself.

So, in order to keep the "me" in me, I do a lot of things. 

1) I work outside the home.  Don't get me wrong, I would LOVE to be a SAHM, but working is actually so good for me.  I have developed amazing friendships and have mentors that I can look up to.  I perform a role for my company that is essential - its keeps things "functioning."  and when I come home each day, I get to lavish hugs and kisses on my 2 favorite people, my daughter and my husband.  I love what I do, and for me, its been so important to have these adult friendships and relationships.

2)  I scrapbook.  Its my way of releasing all of my creative "juices."  For me, its relaxing.  One of my favorite times is getting together with my sister or several girlfriends and just scrapbooking.  There is nothing more fun than going to a scrapbook retreat.  I love it.  Its something I do just for fun, and just for me.

3)  Bubble baths!  They are pieces of heaven sent down to earth for our pure enjoyment.  Now granted, do not take a bubble bath when your toddler is awake because your relaxing bubbles will soon be all over your bathroom floor.  But when your house is quiet, and lights are turned down low, just fill the tub, grab a good book, and RELAX!   (and just FYI, my favorite bubble bath is "Sleep" with lavendar & chamomille from Bath & Body Works). 

4)  Last, but not least, find a girlfriend that you can escape with.  Get away for a weekend, or even just a night.  Its okay to work on your friendships too, even when your a mom and wife.  Friends are the people that will be there when you need to gripe because your husband didn't unload the dishwasher, but your pregnant so your hormones are crazy; when you just need to cry and have someone understand you...its them.  So don't take them for granted, and remember how precious their friendship is to you. 

Cousins and Friends

There are a lot of things in the world that I am thankful for: my Savior, my husband, coffee, jelly beans...you know, the important stuff.  In all seriousness though, I am incredibly thankful for my sister and her children, as well as Brant's sister Kristie.  And I can tell you that my sweet child is just as thankful!

If there is one thing that my child will do anything for - its to play with her cousins.  She ADORES them, all of them!  She squeals with sheer delight at the mention of seeing them.  Her innocent little 2-year-old world would not be complete without them.

If she could tell you who her best friend(s) are, I promise you she would tell you Mason, Connor, Kate, Ethan and Aeson! 

Just see for yourself the smile and delight on these sweet faces!!

We ran into my sister at the grocery store on a Sunday.  Emmalee RAN through half of Kroger just to get to Mason!

Playing with Aeson for his birthday.

Connor, Emmalee, Kate and Ethan at the pumpkin patch.

Emmalee and Aeson at the park.

This was at lunch yesterday - These two "E's" are a hoot together!

Good Friday at the Zoo

On Good Friday, Emmalee, Grandad (my dad0, and I had a fun trip to the zoo.  The weatherman predicted some scattered showers, but decided to take the chance and go. 

I'm so glad we did!  It was cloudy in the morning but warmed up for the afternoon.  It was a wonderful, beautiful day to be outside! 

This girl was spoiled rotten by her Grandad all day. 

Not so sure about the petting zoo!

I could just squeeze those precious cheeks!

We had to make a wish in the Wishing Well!

We watched the jaguars for a long time. This a mom & baby.  The baby kept trying to play with the mom, but the mom was trying to clean it.  We were very entertained watching their interaction.

Emmalee LOVED seeing the parrots.

This animal is absolutely beautiful.

The elephants are one of Emmalee (and my) favorite animals! 

Me and my girl!!!

Oh, I just love these creatures.

We couldn't leave without riding the carousel. 

One of Those "Guilt" Days

Are you a working mother?  I am .  Emmalee will be 2 years old in less than 2 weeks and I went back to work when she was 10 weeks old.  I'm used to it.  I love my job, and she loves her "Nonny" (aka Ms. Donna) and all of her friends at Nonny's house.

But I would be lying if I told you that there are not days where I feel guilty, because there are.  Even after almost 2 years, I still have a day here and there when I feel guilty for working.

Sometimes, I feel like Emmalee is missing out.  She doesn't get to have fun lunch dates, or do swim lessons, or gymnastics, or playdates.  Sure she could...on the weekends.  But our weekends always seem busy already with birthday parties, or baby showers, or family events.  Sometimes I feel like my working cuts out stuff for her.

Then I get pictures of my little girls playing baby dolls with her friends, and singing, and I hear her laughing when I go to the door to pick her up, and that guilt fades away.

My baby girl gets to have play dates every day.

My baby girl gets to have a special lunch dates all the time.

My little girl is having the best time with her friends every single day.

And on days where we get to have special time together, like Good Friday at the zoo, it just makes them that much more precious. 

So if you're a working mom, remember this:  There will be good days, and bad days; sad days and "guilt" days, but you will always be their momma, and NOTHING can take that away from you!  You're a GREAT mom!

12 Week Update

Well I you don't follow me on Twitter or Facebook, then you may not have seen this news yet! 

We are super-duper excited about Baby #2, although it was quite unexpected.  If you have followed my blog for awhile, you may remember that it took 2 years of TTC (trying to conceive) with Emmalee.  So to see this pop up...

...completely unexpectedly, we were shocked...a very delightful, joyful shock - but a shock nonetheless.  So Baby #2 is due on October 2nd, although my doctor suspects we may have a September baby.  Emmalee is so excited and loves to talk about the baby.  If you ask her what's in mommy's belly, she will say "Emmie's baby."  Let's see if she feels the same way at 2 am when the baby actually gets here!

So here is the first official Baby Bump Update for Williams Baby #2!!!

 

How far along? 12 Weeks - almost finished with the 1st trimester!  WOOHOO!!

Size of baby: a little over 2" long - about the size of a lime. 

Total weight gain:2 pounds

Gender: ???

Movement:Not yet, but I can't wait until I do.

Sleep: Ok.  I am pretty tired so I usually go to bed not long after we put Emmalee down - between 9 - 9:30 every night. But I'm already up once or twice during the night to go to the bathroom.

Maternity clothes: Some. My "regular" clothes are pretty tight already, so I either wear maternity or use my bellybands.

Symptoms: All of them!  Nausea, bloating, heartburn, acid reflux, headaches, fatigue, sore breasts, growing belly, food craving and aversions...the list goes on and on!!!  I will say that the nausea is finally beginning to fade and I could not be more thankful, but the rest of the list is in full swing.

Cravings:Every day is completely different. Yesterday all I wanted was a greek salad.  Today, I want Pei Wei, and who knows what I'll crave tomorrow.

What I miss: Feeling good.  I had a great pregnancy with Emmalee and always felt good.  This pregnancy is completely different.  I just don't feel "good". 

Best moment from the past week:Getting my fetal doppler in the mail and hearing the baby's heartbeat.

What I’m looking forward to: Hopefully beginning to feel better as I enter the 2nd trimester.

I will say my belly is definitely out there already.  Its true what they say - you definitely get bigger faster when its your 2nd.  

Favorite Picture Ideas

Today on Kelly's Korner "Show Us Your Life", she is talking about favorite picture ideas.  And in my opinion, there is nothing better than simply capturing life!  Not poses, not portraits, but life...the smiles, the laughter, the true emotion of seeing someone truly live in the moment.

When Brant and I got married, we had a wonderful photographer names Julie Robles. (now don't judge that I didn't use my sister because 1, she was my matron of honor and 2, she hadn't started her photography business yet!)  But Julie was wonderful and did amazing work.  But my most favorite pictures that she took were right after the wedding ceremony had ended.  As soon as we walked out of the santuary, she pulled Brant and I aside, and took us into the courtyard.  She said "You have 5 minutes to just think about what just happened.  You're married!  So I want you to take this 5 minutes with each other, and just reflect."  And so we did, but the moments she captured between us are, in my opinion, priceless.  

Scrap-Happy Weekend

We had a really great weekend, did you?  Friday night was the start of college baseball alt DBU.  It was the inaugural game to open the new Horner Ballpark.  It is really beautiful.  I'll try post pictures soon.  With the start of baseball season of course, come the start of my widown-ness!  HA!  I joke, but sometimes that is what it feels like. 

Brant's position at DBU requires that he is at all of the baseball games.  Since the majority of games are weekend, I definitely feel that I am often a single mom during baseball season.  But my husband loves his job, and that it what matters to me! 

With the two of us girls left at home on Saturday, we invited Aunt Cookie and Kate over to play.  It was so great having Kate around because Emmalee adores her.  The two of them played, and played, so Aunt Cookie had a chance to work on some new marketing tools, and I got to scrapbook!!!! I feel like I haven't scrapbooked in ages, but I have got to get caught up on Emmalee's book. 

Here's a few of the pages I got done this weekend.

You might recognize some of these pictures from my post the other day about our day at the park.  I LOVE the way this page turned out!

A Day at the Park

A few weekend ago, Brant's family came for a visit.  We had a great weekend, but Sunday afternoon was certainly a memorable day.  After church, we decided that the day was too beautiful to stay inside.  So we grabbed some sandwiches and made our way to the local elementary school where they have a great playground.  We enjoyed a great afternoon of conversation, which Aeson and Emmalee played until their hearts were content.

WARNING: PICTURE OVERLOAD!