Yesterday, Nathan and I invited several friends over to play. And by “Nathan and I”, I mean me. And by “play”, I mean all the moms corralling five kids (four who were under one year) while chatting about the joys and excitements of diaper changes, breastfeeding, pureed foods and finding time to shave our legs while keeping the kids from grabbing each other’s hair, eyes, cheeks, lips, gums, toys, clothes, legs, toes, shoes, ears and ADORABLE little hair bows that made me wish I could put one in Nathan’s hair.

And leggings. Let’s not forget the leggings and tunics and precious little sweaters. Or the skinny jeans. I kid you not – all three of the baby girls that showed up were wearing either skinny jeans or leggings and I just wanted to keep them all just so I could play dress up. The babies, that is. Not the leggings.

But. We have a boy. So no leggings. And even though I think Nathan looks cute in just about anything he wears, Jon most likely would disagree. Or at least that’s what I figure since I casually mentioned that one of my friends had a 6-12 month snowsuit that we could borrow for our upcoming ski trip.

“You mean it used to be Julia’s?” he asked.

“Yeah. I guess it’s in great shape.”

“What’s it look like?”

“It’s just pink with purple polka dots.”

Then he launched into lecture-mode. “No SON of MINE is EVER going to wear a snowsuit with PINK and PURPLE polka dots.”

So, lucky for Nathan and his dad, his Gammy found him a nice navy blue snowsuit on sale. I don’t think they realize how lucky they are because me and my money-pinching ways would have definitely borrowed the snowsuit. Pink and purple polka dots notwithstanding.

I figure you guys can handle my honesty. My mother called me stingy this morning on the phone (and she didn’t say it all mean like that, I just casually mentioned that I wasn’t going to blow $50 on dinner out and she said something about how that doesn’t shock her and I was like, I know I’m becoming stingy and she said “becoming?”. So I guess she didn’t TECHNICALLY call me stingy, but I feel like the implication was definitely there.) Anyway. So, thank you so much, Gammy!! Nathan will look like the adorable little boy he is now!

Speaking of dinner out, Jon and I will be celebrating our third anniversary next week. Which I think is a great time to wrap up the story of us, so I’ll be posting that on our big day, the 15th. We’ve planned to get dinner out and I’ve planned to get my hair cut that afternoon so I don’t look quite so much like a more-straggly version of that old country singer who wears blankets around all the time. Not that it matters too much, because with how much Nathan is into grabbing everything that is and is not moving nowadays, I have had COUNTLESS chunks of hair ripped out of my scalp so I tend to keep it up more than down these days. However. Since we’re doing a nice dinner out and might even potentially spend that $50 on dinner, I will probably actually do more with my hair than put it in a ponytail.

And this is another side note, but waaaaaay back when Jon and I were dating/engaged/married-without-children, I liked to watch What Not to Wear (and no idea why I just used the past tense of that because I still like to watch it, I just never do). And there were always these shows about these ladies who used to be all stylish and cute and then they had a baby and became that Poor Young Mom who only wore sweatpants and their husband’s undershirts. And I used to tell Mom and Cayce this: “If I EVER become like that as a mom, will you PLEASE just slap me really hard? So hard that I fly back into a decent pair of jeans? I do NOT understand why it would be so hard to actually look nice even if you DO have a baby.”

Well. I say this as one who is sitting here in sweatpants and one of her husband’s undershirts, I now know, Poor Young Moms. I now know.

And speaking of young moms, I just want to say a big THANKS to all my sweet friends who came to visit yesterday. Not only was it so much fun laughing with y’all about all the fun things we get to do nowadays, but Nathan crashed for a great nap yesterday afternoon and Jon got to hear a 45-minute breakdown of the clothes that all the baby girls were wearing. So I know that he’s now scared to death that we might have a baby girl someday and I’m going to spend our last dollars on a pair of skinny jeans and leggings for her.

Which won’t happen, really. Because like my mother told me today, I’m stingy.

Or implied. If you want to get all technical about it. 🙂

Y’all have a great day!

Good news!!!

Nathan is gobbling up the homemade baby food. YAY! This is seriously a huge answer to prayer, you guys, because this will save us so much on our grocery bills! He was getting to the point where he was eating two of those 3.5 ounce containers for breakfast, lunch and dinner. SIX jars a day! My boy can put away food – I’m already worrying about how we’ll afford to feed this kid in ten years!!

Side note, but have you noticed how prayers change during your life? Five years ago, I would have never ever thought that I would be praying for my son to eat a pureed sweet potato. I told Jon the other day that praying has become one of the only conversation throughout the day that isn’t half baby-talk. So thankful that God listens to us always!

Anyway, I’ve been very excited about him eating homemade food now. You can ask anyone I’ve seen in the last few days and they’ll agree, mostly because I haven’t been able to stop talking about it. 🙂

We went to Costco this weekend and they had a little wagon out on display, so naturally, we had to try it out. 🙂 Doesn’t he look like such a mini man in this picture??

He LOVED the wagon. And I thought it was awesome that there are cupholders in the side of it. Too fun – I know we had a wagon when I was a little kid, but the only thing I remember pulling in it was lemonade for our lemonade stands on the driveway. 🙂

I’m sitting here on my loveseat while Nathan is napping and I just looked up and saw this:

Oy. Again something that five years ago I would have never imagined my floors to look like. I’m a pretty neat person all-in-all, so sometimes this mess gets to me (it looks worse in person than it does in this picture, just so you know). Just noticed I’ve got one slipper on one side of the room and one on the other.

It was a crazy morning learning the fundamentals of crawling. 🙂

Has anyone been watching American Idol this season? I’ve got my bets on Lauren, but I thought Pia did a great job this last week too. Crazy how many people got cut last week, though!! Who is your favorite?

Thursday was my father-in-law’s 50th birthday! And we are experiencing one of the bummer times of living so far away from them since we didn’t get to help him celebrate – not that he would have wanted us there – as of right now, he and my MIL are on vacation by themselves. Yeah. We would NOT have been welcome! 😉

But I think the Nater-Tot might have something up his sleeve for when they come visit us in April. 🙂

Yesterday, my friends Leigh Ann, Melanie and Eryn (yep, that’s how she spells it. Isn’t that fun??) and I all went to lunch at Chick-Fil-A and then to a kids sale at a local church (no, they weren’t selling kids). Nathan TOTALLY made out and got some new toys and I found a jogging stroller for a great deal! I’m pretty sure I heard my stroller sigh with relief when I pulled the jogging stroller out of the car – we have been taking nightly walks since it’s been so nice out and it’s been a killer on ours. 🙂

It was such a needed time of laughing and talking with ladies who are in the exact same place as me. And especially having some conversation that doesn’t go like this:

“Nathan, can you say, ‘BUH BUH BUH BUH?'”

“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHGGHHHH”.

“Close. It’s BUH BUH BUH. Like BUH-aby and BUH-lack.”

I didn’t have to enunciate any words at lunch. 🙂 We all had such a great time that we decided to do it again next week, except minus the kids sale.

Then we had Clint and Leigh Ann over for an impromptu pancake dinner. SO fun. Nathan has decided that everyone (and anyone) everywhere (and anywhere) exist purely for him to entertain. So he danced and laughed and talked for us.

Crazy bean. 🙂

BUH-ean, that is.

Not to sound too much like Rafiki off of The Lion King, but…

It is time.

Time for sunless tanners, that is. What can I say? I’m getting a little tired of people spontaneously bursting into “White As Snow” whenever I pass by them. Or pulling their sunglasses out at the sight of my arms. And since the weather has been SO nice lately, the arms have been a lot more visible to the general public.

In the past, I’ve used Jergens Natural Glow, but I’m not the HUGEST fan of the scent that seems to follow me around after I put it on until I take a shower.

My friend Jen uses Banana Boat Summer Color (and she’s got gorgeous skin, so I can’t really argue with her!). Plus, I’ve been around her after she’s put it on and she still smells as pretty as she always does.

You guys have any suggestions?? What’s your favorite sunless tanner?

We’ve been laying low the last couple of days, recovering from the madness that was our weekend. 🙂 Nathan has discovered that he can pull himself up to a standing position, so now anything and everything exists just so he can try and yank himself up on it (my robe was the lucky winner earlier this morning).

I took his walker outside to the back porch yesterday so we could enjoy the pretty weather. He loved it and was too busy playing for me to get a decent picture of him!

I’ve been roasting a sweet potato for his lunch today – he’s been eating jarred baby food, but I’d really like for him to eat homemade stuff. It’s WAY cheaper (though, it’s a lot bigger hassle, so we’ll see how long this lasts!). He hasn’t been a fan of homemade stuff yet, so we’ll see!!

Another question for you budget-conscious people out there – how do you keep yourself to a grocery budget?? I try SO hard every single month and every single month I go over. Any advice is VERY welcome!!

Have a great Wednesday!

Saturday, my sweet friend Elisa got married to her equally sweet fiance – now husband! – Mario. 🙂

See? I told you. So sweet! 🙂

So, last weekend was a crazy, crazy time filled with friends, tears, overflowing happiness, and insane schedules to try and fit nursing into. I will tell you this: It was a LOT easier being a bridesmaid before I got the new title of “Mom”!

The wedding was beautiful and we had a fabulous time. Jon and I even got to get a little bit of dancing in – yay! 🙂 And Elisa and Mario are so ecstatic and so in love.

It makes me happy. 🙂

And I’m SO thankful – my parents kept Nathan while Jon and I were at the rehearsal Friday night, and then also during the wedding and reception most of the day on Saturday. Thanks so much, Mom and Dad!! We just had to arrange a couple of nursing dates, because someone doesn’t take breast milk from a bottle. Silly baby.

It sounds like he did wonderful with Gammy and Pops! He got to play in the toy basket…

He got to sit in the tub like a big boy…

And he even had a little bit of fun…

🙂 What did you guys do this weekend??

My dear friend Elisa is getting married on Saturday and tonight is the bachelorette party. I can’t wait!

Was it really almost THREE years ago that Jon and I were in that same place?? Here we are at our rehearsal dinner.

Ha! Don’t we look excited, nervous and completely, completely freaked out?

And a few days later on our way to our honeymoon in Durango, Colorado:

The honeymoon vacation is the best invention ever after the whirlwind of planning a wedding and getting married. I told Jon we should just do a honeymoon every year. 🙂

Now I’m curious!! If you are married, where did you go on your honeymoon? And if you’re not, where do you dream of going?

It’s almost 9PM and I’m sitting here listening to Nathan wail away in the next room and so I’m trying to focus on something else because that sound just KILLS me. For whatever reason, he’s just been having a rough time getting to sleep lately. He’s been doing great for naps, just bedtime has been an issue. Whenever I try to stay in there with him while he falls asleep, he thinks it’s time to play. So, we’ve been trying a mix of crying it out and swaying him to sleep.

It’s frustrating, but he’s still sleeping about 12 hours a night, so I can’t complain too much.

I did have a couple of things I wanted to mention to you!! 🙂 Not really enough to write a full post about, so I’m going to do a checklist because numbers are fun.

1. I’ve done some spring cleaning on the blog and I think it looks SO cute! I’ve been learning all kinds lately about HTML and CSS and OCD. 😉 Hope you like it too!

2. I couldn’t stand it and went in and rocked Nathan to sleep. Go ahead and tattoo it to my forehead: I AM A SOFTIE. I did put him down before he was totally asleep so that’s something, isn’t it? He just started whimpering, so now I’m praying really hard that he goes back to sleep.

3. There have been lots of naptime snacks happening around here lately. As in my snacking, not Nathan’s. I’ve got to keep up my energy somehow, right? And I’ve decided that a) the new Sun Chips bags could most likely wake the dead, therefore they are not good naptime snacking material and there is no way that the lady is holding a real Sun Chips bag in the commercial for them because you wouldn’t be able to hear anything she was saying and, b) Ritz Pretzel Crisps are quite delightful and, c) I love, love, love Welch’s Fruit Snacks. Which Jon thinks is hilarious and very third-grader-ish of me.

4. If you have a child, know a child or have seen a child between the ages of in the womb and middle school, you should definitely get the Jesus Storybook Bible for them. It’s my new favorite book (Go, Dog, Go! is a close second) and Nathan and I read from it before both naps. It is SO good. I think I’ve mentioned it on here before but it’s good enough that I’m mentioning it again. We got Nathan’s when we dedicated him at church. It’s wonderful.

5. Nathan apparently went back to sleep. Thank you, Lord!

6. I was poking around different blogs today and found this super cute earring holder idea:

The lighting is horrible in this picture, but it’s late and I’ll try to take a better one tomorrow. It took me about thirty minutes of work (not counting letting the paint dry) and less than five dollars. I just bought a plain wood frame at Walmart for $3, took off the back and the glass, painted it with a few coats of Antique White acrylic paint, then twisted some ribbon and pushed it in with cute little pushpins that I found in the clearance aisle. And ta-da! I love it! The one I saw online used wires and a staple gun – either one would turn out cute!

7. I think that’s all I’ve got but I felt weird ending on a six-pointer. No idea why.

If y’all could also keep my sweet friend Leigh Ann in your prayers – she’s almost 36 weeks pregnant with their first baby and I remember being SO nervous at this point with Nathan. Such a fun, scary, overwhelming and exciting time!

Have a great night!

Before Jon and I got married (and I’ll do the next installment in that story soon!), I couldn’t imagine what it was going to be like to be married and to be a wife and to do all the things that I hated doing as a single person that I figured I would love doing as a married person (vacuuming my OWN house! Washing my OWN dishes! Cleaning my OWN kitchen!). Then I discovered that it wasn’t quite as exciting to do all those things as I thought – actually, it was pretty similar to before, except this time I also had the added bonus of coming up with what meal we were going to be cleaning up.

Then when I was pregnant with Nathan, again, I couldn’t imagine what it was going to be like to be a mom. I tried to think about what my days were going to be like – snuggling with my little guy, serenely rocking him to sleep, kissing those chubby cheeks.

And now I’m discovering that being a mom is also completely different than I thought it would be like. While I kiss his little cheeks so much that I’m amazed he doesn’t just have two holes in the sides of his face from his cheeks wearing off, there is no “serene” rocking and about the only time nowadays that I can get him to snuggle is when he’s nursing right before bedtime. Otherwise, he’s up, moving, working out his vocal cords, rolling over to the entertainment center to poke at all the buttons, yanking DVDs off the shelves, grabbing for my laptop cords, and spitting up green beans and peas all over everything.

Going anywhere has become an adventure in itself because I have the tiniest window of opportunity after naptime and before its time to eat. So we run everywhere. And while he’s gotten a little easier going places just because he can now sit in the cart, he’s also reaching for everything he can possibly (or not possibly) get his hands on.

He’s SO funny – he laughs and makes faces and tries to clap and copy sounds that you are making, but he also requires a TON of energy. My boy does not sit still! He is constantly, constantly moving and I’ve heard warning after warning from people about what he’ll be like once he starts walking! He also does not play well by himself – he needs an audience and a playmate, whether it’s me or Kody (poor Kody suffers horribly now that Nathan can roll over and grab his fur). He’s pulling up on everything now and toppling over and learning how to hold himself up on his hands and knees.

He’s figuring out where his toys are and his new favorite thing to do is sit in front of the toy basket and pull every single toy out and throw it on the floor. And he’s such a ham for the camera and anyone he can get to watch him – he squinches up his face, he laughs, he giggles, he growls, he flaps his arms and is learning how to clap. He baby talks ALL. THE. TIME. and I am just already bracing myself for the nonstop chatter that is going to come out of this kid once he learns how to really talk!

About the only time it’s quiet in my house in when he’s sleeping, which is when I’m racing around trying to get everything done that I used to have the whole day to do.

Devotional times have become a quick read and lots of prayers just throughout my day. Writing happens on Thursdays when my mom is helping me with him and during naptimes. Vacuuming has become a one arm job because Nathan thinks it’s fun to “help” me. I do a day’s worth of dishes and kitchen clean up while Jon is giving Nathan a bath. And dusting…that doesn’t usually happen unless we’ve got people coming over.

It’s taken me almost a month to get halfway through a book I’m reading. And I have become the worst email-responder ever because by the time I have a chance to write people back, I’m usually falling asleep on the couch and I forget to.

Being a mom has been an interesting change. And it’s JUST starting!

I want to remember every minute of this. Life crazy and exhausting and I know that if I don’t write stuff like this down, I just won’t remember.

Today I went to go get a pedicure with my friend Elisa who is getting married on Saturday and Mom kept Nathan. It was such a great girl time! He fell asleep in the car as we drove home and I pulled him out of his car seat and he snuggled his head on my shoulder and I just held him for a little bit before I put him in bed for a nap. And he was all warm and cozy and smelled like spit up, but even that smell has started to grow on me.

I pray all the time that I won’t ever, ever forget any of these days.

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Nathan’s new favorite thing to do:

🙂 He just laughs and laughs the whole time! We’ve got twice in the last two days to a park sort of near our house to go swinging. But it’s very, very windy today so we’ll probably skip that this afternoon.

What have you guys been up to?

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This is a great day to answer some of the questions y’all had for me!! 🙂 I posted Nathan’s seven-month post below as well.

How important are looks? Don’t you have to feel some sort of attraction and spark?

I think looks are extremely important and not important at all. 🙂 I do think it’s important to be physically attracted to someone – after all, typically the first thing you notice about someone is a physical quality. The first time I saw Jon I thought he had really pretty eyes and – glory be to God! – he was TALL.

Much appreciated when you are tall as well. I like wearing heels without worrying about towering over my date. 🙂 Likewise, the first things he noticed about me were physical attributes.

Now, that does NOT mean that everything needs to revolve around looks. Most people, I’ve noticed, tend to get either better looking or worse when you get to know them more. Have you noticed that?? Their personality starts to come through and you start to see them for the whole person instead of just the outside.

So, I guess my answer would be no, you don’t have to feel some attraction or spark, but USUALLY you will. And if you don’t, ask yourself why? Could it be that you are trying to force a relationship to happen when you really shouldn’t be?

What book were you writing when you met Jon?

I was working on the edits for Match Point when we met. We started dating a week or so before Miss Match was released. So, I had completely finished the actual writing of the entire Lauren Holbrook series before we met. I wrote Lauren and Ryan’s story with the prayer of someday meeting someone who would be such a perfect fit for me.

Such a sweet surprise then to realize that God was already orchestrating that story!! And, I totally believe that God has a sense of humor – Jon’s middle name is Ryan. 🙂

How long was your engagement?

We got engaged the middle of November and were married the middle of March. Almost four months exactly. I totally, completely, 100 zillion percent recommend SHORT engagements. If you are convinced enough to marry this guy, then the engagement time needs to be short. Prepare for your marriage, prepare for your wedding and then just do it. Engagements are SO hard. It’s a time of so many conflicting emotions and the temptations are HUGE. Seriously.

When is your next series coming out?

The first in my next series is coming out in May!! I’m so excited about it! 🙂 I’m going to do a post on that soon!

Are there any elements of Lauren and Ryan’s relationship or Jack and Maya’s relationship that are similar to yours?

A few things! Like I said, I wrote Lauren’s story before Jon and I even met. So a lot of that was just hopes for what could be. And Jon delivered on ALL of those hopes – he brought me coffee and chocolate, he always had sweet things to say about how I looked (even when I was running 104 degree fever), and he loved me for me – even with all of my faults and shortcomings.

I only knew him for two months before we started dating but even while we were falling in love with each other we were also building that friendship. Jon is my best friend and I love being with him more than anyone else. And that is HUGE in a marriage – you’ve got to be friends as well as romantic.

When was your first kiss?

When we got engaged. I promise I write the whole engagement story down soon!!! 🙂

What are your plans for Valentine’s Day?

Well. Since our little Nater Tot is here, our Valentine’s Days will probably look a little different!! 🙂 I think we’re planning on a candlelit picnic in the living room after Nathan goes down for the night. 🙂 We’ve done these periodically throughout our marriage and I cannot wait for tonight!!

What did you do on Valentine’s Day when you didn’t have anyone?

I was asking my sister about this earlier because honestly, I don’t remember Valentine’s Day being a big deal growing up. I never really felt like I was missing out or anything. My mom did a great job of making Valentine’s Day more of a family thing – she would make a heart-shaped strawberry cake that was TO DIE FOR and give us all chocolates and Valentine’s cards and fun socks at the dinner table. 🙂

Did you like the wedding planning process?

In a word, NO. I am not a detail-oriented person and it killed me to have to think of all kinds of details. If I had to do it over again, I think I’d do a destination wedding and have someone plan the whole thing for me.

What was your wedding song that you danced to?

Our first dance was to “Amazed” by Lonestar. It was the first song we danced to at another friend’s wedding – Jon held me close and sang the whole song to me in my ear while we danced there. So it was the obvious choice for our wedding! We are not good dancers by any stretch of the imagination, so I wanted a nice slow song.

How did Jon propose?

Like I said, I’ll write a proper post about that soon!!

Did you ever feel really really really depressed on Valentine’s Day?

No, because like I said, we celebrated it differently. Valentine’s Day doesn’t need to be just a celebration of romantic love – my bet is most of you out there have parents, siblings, grandparents or friends who love you tremendously. Celebrate that today!! Don’t forget what God has already blessed you with in the absence of what you think is His best for you. I am SO thankful that God protected me from lots of pointless relationships before I met Jon. He has amazing plans for your future – remember and thank God for that today!!

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