Valentines Day - Pre & Post Kidletts

A Pre-Kidletts Valentines Day Story:

Husband wakes up wife with kisses and a morning romp.
Whispers and promises of more fun to come later.
A sweet ado, and off to work he goes.
Wife spends the afternoon doing whatever the heck she wants and, most importantly, getting ready.
And when pre-kidlett Wife gets ready, she does it right.
Long hot shower, carefully shaved legs, lotion and perfume, curling the hair, curling the eyelashes, make up; the works. And of course, picking out that hot little number, most likely black. Black is slimming.

Husband arrives home from work with a bouquet of favorite flowers adorning his arm.
Husband is super pleased with the hotness of wife. Wife is pleased husband is pleased.
Some flirting, some kissing, and they leave on-time for their romantic dinner.
They drink wine and take long, slow bites, fully enjoying every piece of food that touches their lips.
They look lovingly and longingly into each others eyes. They whisper some more.
They return home, Husband carries Wife over the threshold, and...if you have any imagination at all, you know what comes next.

All in all, a perfect romantic evening.


Post-Kidletts Valentines Day Story:

Wake up bleary eyed from a long night with a newborn.
Husband says, 'I love you'. Bleary eyed Wife says 'Happy Valentines Day babe' and sticks a boob in the baby's mouth and falls back asleep.
Instead of a whisper waking her up she hears ' Mom!! MOM!!! MOOOOOOOOOOM!' thundering from her toddlers room.
She stumbles down the hallway, changes a massive poop diaper and totes toddler downstairs to watch Sesame Street. With both kids spoken for, she bolts into the shower.
Showered, dressed, make up & hair thrown back into a messy chignon in under 4 1/2 minutes.
Wife spends the afternoon changing diapers, nursing, and building skyscrapers with toddler and his blocks.
Husband texts Wife on the way home from the grocery store 'Got into an accident. That was fun.'
A few moments later Wife learns it was minor, Husband is fine and it wasn't his fault.
Wife breathes sigh of relief, then feeds toddler, toddler gets oatmeal everywhere, Wife bathes toddler. [What do you call a woman who bathes a kid and nurses at the same time? SuperWoman.]
Bleary eye and tired Husband arrives home mildly annoyed from the accident, with a slightly crushed single rose adorning his arm. Husband kisses wife, puts away groceries, opens a beer, takes baby from Wife's arms and sits on the couch.
After putting toddler to bed, Husband and Wife start cooking. It's 8 pm. Baby wakes up crying, Wife straps baby in the Moby. With baby finally asleep they finish cooking and sit down around 9 pm to a tasty and hot meal of filet mignon, risotto, and mozzarella caprese. Baby wakes up, of course, so Husband eats meal one handed while holding baby. Toddler rouses, and which parent went to soothe him; this story teller doesn't remember. Wife drinks wine too quickly.
Husband starts to say something romantic, when he is cut off by Wife. Not by her lips, or saying something romantic in return, but rather a fart. Wife had a baby 3 weeks prior and she doesn't have full control of her sphincter muscles yet.
Husband and Wife break into laughter. 'Were you going to say something romantic...and then...I farted???' she sputters in between laughs.
'Yes.'
'Well....let me finish your thought. All.....things.....considered........I  love....you.....aaaaand....?
'...this was a really nice evening.'
'I love you too. Welcome to life with children. Happy Valentines Day babe.
'Happy Valentines day love.'

Husband and wife crawl into bed, with baby, and with a quick kiss, they crash.
No romping for this tired, kidlett-clad couple. There's always next year.

17 months

Rue.

You are 17 months.

And so far summer is amazeballs.

You are so fun.

Water is your best bud, as can be clearly seen in the picture above.

Last week I took you to a 'splash pad' and you were in heaven.

You talk gibberish all the time, and more and more we can hear clear words starting to form.

"UP"

"Apple"

You even said High Chair yesterday...of course it wasn't super obvious but I heard the effort!

We have nicknamed you Caption Destructo because, well, as the name implies, you love to destroy. Throwing things down the stairs is your favorite activity as of late.

You are still my little shadow, following me around the house. It's cute and annoying. But I am choosing to focus on the cute ;)

You love puppies and kitties and motorcycles and trucks. And sidewalk chalk.

Enough gushing for one day, but I just want you to know, we love you A LOT. And we like you too. I think we'll keep you.

xo, Mama

itchy itch

I wrote this post a week ago and it's been sitting as a draft. Waiting. Waiting for me to hit publish. After a week of processing and pondering aaand....more processing, I'm ready to hit publish.

So...here goes.

I am getting the baby itch.

I see pregnant bellies and my heart swells a bit. In the card section buying a 'congratulations on your baby boy' for my cousin and her son Luca I got a little misty eyed. Then I got a smile and a big-big-oh so big lump in my throat. I told my husband and he said 'well... you are already at a better place than the first time. Cause we weren't ready at all then. See how I spun that for you?'

So.

I don't know what this means exactly! I don't know if this means: let this little seed/idea simmer and culminate and grow and take over our hearts and if we get pregnant, celebrate? Or...should we decide 'let's make a baby' and put on my bedroom eyes and get husband to jump on me and give me everything he's got before we have a chance to change our minds? Haha. [I hope that made him blush]

I'm curious friends, what did you do, if I may ask? Did you decide to try? Or just let the chips fall where they may? Did you try for a specific gender?

.

.

.

Well, regardless, I'm just glad I'm finally at this place. Those of you who have been around HGBB for the last year or so can vouch that I never thought this day would come. And for my real life friends who I haven't told yet...well, now you know!

Big heart swells, xo.

Y

1 year old!

You aren't just 12 months, you are ONE.WHOLE.YEAR.OLD!

It makes me smile...and apparently makes me cry too. As I was checking out at the grocery store I told the cashier 'I am buying all this food for my sons first birthday!' and then totally.started.bawling.

I know being your mother makes me partial to liking you, but I think you are pretty dang remarkable.

You wake up with craaay-craaay morning hair. You must take after your dad in that department because my hair looks perfect every morning [at least that's what your daddy tells me]

You can walk now...just this week! But it's not a normal front walk - it's sideways like a crab! 'Walk like an Egyptian' is your new theme song :)

You say 'mama' now...just this week too!

You share your food with me [which as times is really gross because you like to put things in your mouth then share with me]

I can see your little sponge brain soaking everything up.

You and I roll your favorite ball back and forth...it's a game. It's crazy to me that we can play games!

You absolutely LOVE peek-a-boo and when we play you belly laugh. It's my favorite.

You have totally rocked our world this year little man. Daddy and I are better humans, and a little more grown up too. Today we will give you lots of gifts, but you are our greatest gift -

The one and only Ruehl Grayson.

I love you.

xo, Mama!

ps...does this mean I have to say my baby is a 'toddler'?

i'm such a cougar

one year and three months after I was born, my husband was born.

yes. that means that I married a younger man.

yesterday he turned 25! a whole quarter of a century.

in all seriousness, you are the coolest person I've ever met and I am so happy you chose me. hopefully we can celebrate *at least* 75 more birthdays together.

happy birthday christopher.

xo, yana 'cradle robber' brink

7 months old

sitting like a pro.

crawling like mad.

squealing with delight.

scaling the coffee table.

standing up in his crib.

getting his fair share in bumps and bruises.

fearless.

happy 7 months little dude!

sentimental gushy wooshy

I began drafting a post yesterday to commemorate Ruehl's '6th months on the outside' and as I looked at all the photos [of my very skinny baby who resembled Benjamin Button; such an old soul] and videos [wow, does my voice really sound like that?] ... can I just say, YA'LL, I got so freakin ooshy gooshy melty sad happy feelings going on.

In my mind, he was just born yesterday! [sort of] and now WHAM-O, he's half a year old.

6 months:

He is such a chilled kiddo.

He loves to sleep 11 hours a night, sans interruption.

He rolls all over the place.

He started eating brown rice cereal.

He can feed himself a bottle.

He is a HUGE flirt.

He cuddles.

He began 'rocking'...I think crawling is just around the corner.

He doesn't like to sit though...too much of a mover.

He's my little bebe webe.

I'll continue working on a photo/video blog...let me just get a Costco sized tissue box out and I'll finish it.

cute attack

Little Rue & Little Thomas,

You have only know each other for 12 weeks, and you are already best friends, fighting bad guys and saving the world.

Rock on shark buddies.

xo

walkin' on sunshine

the last few days of summer linger on, and I'm savoring every inch of it. I've never cherished a summer so much in my adult life! Lazy evenings with my husband, and being pregnant have made this such a special summer for me.

knowing that this time next year I'll have a little crawler on my hands makes me smile! Another reason so savor this last season is that it will be my last with Chris...with just the two of us. So goodbye sweet summer. I will savor fall with every ounce of my being and enjoy the snowfall and being cooped up in my house. I will NOT complain that I have nothing fun to do. I will enjoy it all.

my belly grows every day and my little boy moves, kicks and nudges me throughout the day. I am the happiest pregnant person alive!!

what else is on my mind? the unknown of it all. yet, oddly I have no fear, no anxiety. Which if you know me, is SO unlike me. I love to know what's next around the bend, and how to anticipate it. But i feel like having a child is so unknown. In a moment's notice my life will change. In just a blink of an eye I will begin loving another person more than my own life....

My friend katie said that having kids is like watching your heart run around on the outside of your body. Watch out world...I'm growing up.