A New Adventure

.....in BOSTON!

2016 has been a pretty eventful year for our family! We welcomed Eden in May, and now we are moving to Boston! About two weeks after Eden was born, Robbie interviewed for a position at his current company, Boston Private Wealth. Ever since he started working for them in May 2015, we knew the long game was to one day get to their headquarters in Boston. What started as our long game, suddenly became our short game! Robbie got the job and was promoted to director of business development! He started his new position in June and has been flying out to Boston to work Monday-Thursday. It's been tough with just me and the girls at home, but it's also been a great growing experience for me! I have been surprised with myself and how much I'm capable of doing on my own. I have also realized the blessings that have come from accepting service from others. It can be hard to ask for help sometimes, and I'm grateful to the people who insisted on helping us, even when I tried to refuse! ;)

We sold our house earlier in June. It was on the market for 5 days and we had multiple offers, all over asking price! It was a huge blessing to sell it so quickly. The offer we accepted is allowing us to stay until September. Since Robbie is already working in Boston, we want to be with him as soon as we can. But it's also nice not to feel rushed during this process. We are currently trying to find a place to live in the suburbs of Boston. We keep going back and forth between buying and renting. 

Eden and I are joining Robbie for a long weekend to meet with a realtor and see a few places. I have decided to start this blog again now that we are beginning this new and exciting adventure! For a girl who has never lived outside the state of Texas, I know I'm in for a wild ride. I can count on one hand the amount of times I've actually seen snow! Ha! It's going to be crazy, but I am really excited. If anyone has ever lived in the northeast and has some good advice for us, please send it our way!! Hopefully after this weekend I will know more about our future living situation! Thank you all for your support and love during this crazy and exciting time!

Abigail- 8 Months Old

On April 24th Abigail turned 8 months old!! She continues to be our sweet and happy baby!

Size:
-Earlier in April, Abigail got really sick one week with a high fever. We went into the doctor and there she weighed 16 lbs 12 oz (41st %). Towards the end of the week she got a rash all over, and the doctor thought it was Roseola. Typically a viral infection that causes high fever and a rash. Even as a nurse, watching your baby get sick with a 104 fever is scary!! Her little cries and whimpers were enough to break my heart. Thankfully after a long week of Motrin, lots of naps and cuddles she was back to normal!
-Still in size 3 diapers
-Can no longer wear any 3-6 month clothes. Which stinks because she had a lot of those! I'm realizing we don't have as many 9 month size clothes or jammies!

Eyes and Hair:
-Still has gorgeous blue eyes!! Heres to hoping they don't go away!
-Her hair has gotten to the "fluffy" stage! Haha she has also become much more aware of her hair. She likes to play with it as she is falling asleep. It's also becoming more challenging to keep bows and head bands on her head!

Teeth:
-Just in this past month she had 3 new teeth pop up! She has a total of 5 teeth right now. Instead of getting the top middle ones (central incisors) first, she had both lateral incisors come in first. One of the top middle ones is making its way through. She looks like a little hill billy vampire! ;)

Sleeping:
-SO much improvement over the past month! She is now sleeping through the night again, and its been great for all of us. My milk supply was starting to decrease without me realizing it, so she was waking up in the night because she was still hungry! Since we starting supplementing with formula, she is sleeping great.
-Always sleeps on her tummy.

Eating:
-Lots of changes with this too lately. As of this week I have stopped breastfeeding her. Its been a bitter sweet transition! I loved nursing, but when my milk supply decreased I started to constantly stress about how much milk she was or was not getting. I really did not want to start pumping again, so I just decided to stop all together. Since I have a lot of breast milk stored, we have been giving her that and formula in the bottle. She is doing great with it. We have also been feeding her a lot more table food lately. Its nice not having to stock up on baby food as much. Some of her favorites: beans, eggs, pancakes, bananas. Lets be honest, she eats anything I put in front of her! Haha

Milestones:
-Army crawling! She is still trying to figure out what to do with her legs, but she's got the arm motions figured out. I turn away for a minute and she is on the other side of the room!
-She now drinks out of her sippy cup, and has also figured out how to drink from a straw.
-Likes to stand and hold onto something. I'm thinking she will be pulling up on things in no time.
-Clapping her hands! Its pretty cute.

Loves:
-Food! As soon as I start eating, she opens her mouth just waiting for her turn! Haha
-The piano! She loves to bang on the keys while Robbie's mom plays. She has a toy piano that she loves too.
-Looking at herself in the mirror
-Splashing in the tub
-Playing with her blocks
-Books
-Dogs
-People watching, I'm pretty sure she could do this all day!
-Tickles from Dad
-Rubber duckies
-Swinging at the park

    

                     

          

 

Thank you Abigail for always having a smile on your face and keeping us laughing!! We love you!

Abigail- 7 Months Old

On the 24th of last month, our little Abigail turned 7 months old! I really wish I would have done these monthly updates sooner, but oh well!

Size: 

-She continues to measure 50% on all the growth charts for head, weight and height. At her 6 month appt she was 16 lbs, 2 oz and was 26 inches tall. 

-She has been in size 3 diapers for quite some time. (Thanks to her big booty and thunder thighs)

-Her 3-6 month clothes are getting a little tight. She mostly wears 6-9 month or 6-12 month clothes.

Eyes and Hair:

-Over the past month or two her slate blue eyes have turned a deeper shade of blue! I love them.

-Her hair is really starting to fill in and somedays we swear it looks strawberry blonde! Its funny to see how fluffy her blonde hair is becoming. 

Teeth: Her 2 bottom teeth are completely poked through, and one of her top canines has started to come in. Poor thing had a cold last week thanks to that last tooth!

Sleeping: Oh where did my baby go who slept through the night, 12 hours straight?! Thanks to the teeth that have been coming through she has been getting up about once every night to nurse. Thankfully she eats for about 5 minutes then goes right back to sleep. But every night seems to be different. We are started to feed her more and she seems to give us longer stretches of sleep when we do! 

Eating: I am still breastfeeding her, but I am slowly starting to wean her off and she only does it about 3 times a day now. She loves all kinds of baby food but we are trying to incorporate more protein in her diet. She will eat anything we give her, but really loves when she can feed herself. This month I am trying to be better about feeding her things we are eating at dinner instead of just baby food. Thankfully she takes the bottle really well, so on days that I work I don't have to worry. 

Milestones: 

-Rolls over from tummy to back and vice versa. 

-Sits up on her own.

-She is getting VERY close to crawling! She gets so frustrated trying to figure it out. 

Loves: 

-Being surrounded by people

-Bath time

-Our dog Charlie (poor Charlie just takes the abuse! haha)

-To smile at Mom, Dad and just about anyone else
-Water bottles
-Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood
-Watching basketball with Dad (seriously she will not take her eyes off the TV when its on!)
-Sleeping on her tummy
-Sitting in the stroller, facing out to look around
-Any kind of music
-Mirrors
-Being tickled by Dad
-Her cousins Parker and Colton

Hates:
-Laying on her back
-When I take away food that she is chewing on
-Skipping nap time
(She is such a laid back and happy baby that is literally the only thing I can think of!)

Abigail has been such a great baby these past 7 months. Robbie and I feel so lucky to be her parents and watch her grow! I love being able to hand her off to someone and know that she wont make a fuss. (Hopefully this continues!) Here are some pictures from this month!

                                     

She is always crossing her legs, it cracks us up!

Miss blue eyes!

Can you see the terror in Charlie's face!?

We love you Abbers!!!

I'm Still a Rookie

Everyone tells you when you're pregnant how much your life is about to change. (Everyone who is already a parent.) By the end of my pregnancy I had to stop myself from saying, "I know already, please stop reminding me how crazy my life is about to get!!!" But to be honest, you really don't fully grasp the change until you are up at 3am wondering why the HECK your daughter is wide awake. Better yet, why its impossible to be mad at her when she is seriously screwing up your sleeping habits!

Even though Abigail is 7 months old, this whole parenting thing is still VERY new to me. I grew up babysitting and was around kids all the time, but there are still some things I was definitely not prepared for. Robbie and I have lots of moments where we laugh, look at each other and say, "Wow, we are parents now!" Here are a few moments I've had lately that made me stop and realize that my new title as Mom is pretty permanent, and pretty awesome.

1. Road trips are no longer spontaneous times where we say "lets just get in the car and go somewhere!"

No more driving to Oklahoma last minute for a concert we want to see. Road trips are planned weeks in advance, and packing takes me a lot longer than I am willing to admit. How can one tiny person need SO MANY things?? I am so grateful that Abigail does really well in her car seat. I know it could be much worse. But we have realized that her limit is about 3-4 hours. I'm sure I am not the only parent who has gotten really creative at keeping my child entertained for a few hours on a road trip. Road trips might as well be called road events.

 

(Thankfully, most of the time she looks like this!)

2. No matter how old your child is, you will "occasionally" seek help from TV shows to keep your child happy and entertained.

Go ahead and judge, but yeah I let my 7 month old watch TV. How else could I shower or make myself some food to eat?! I was the pregnant lady who swore I would never let my infant watch TV, but then I wised up and discovered shows like Baby Einstein and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. And to my surprise Abigail LOVES them. Watching her smile and be mesmerized by the adorable singing is worth the 20 minutes I need to get some things done around the house. One day Robbie and I were getting ready for church while Abigail was watching TV and we had one of those moments I mentioned before. "Wow this is our life now, kids shows playing in our house!" I have to say our personal favorite is Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. It is seriously adorable. Its one of the only kid shows that I don't mind having on in the background and that doesn't drive me crazy. My parents even bought her a stuffed Daniel Tiger that she loves.

One time we left Daniel Tiger at Nana's and Papa's house (Robbie's parents). The next day we got a few pictures from Robbie's mom...we were laughing so much! The poor guy was was rescued soon after. 

3. Everything takes longer. 

Simple things like, running into the grocery store to grab a few things, or going for a quick jog around the neighborhood. Things that used to take little or no preparation, suddenly become much longer because what if my baby has an accident in the store and I need diapers?! What if she gets fussy and I forgot a toy?! What if she throws up and I need a burp cloth?! With these silly questions going through my mind, I have to fully pack the diaper bag, or load up the stroller. Because heaven forbid I'm stuck inside Kroger and didn't bring her Sophie Giraffe for her to chew on! -_-

I realize some of these worries come with the territory of being a new mom. And I really am getting better about not obsessing over the "what ifs". 

(Errands sure are more fun when I get to stare at this little one.)

4.  Using a public bathroom will never be the same. 

I know this is a weird one, but think about it. Have you ever seen a mom go into a bathroom with a child or two and not come out for more than 10 minutes? I dread the times when its just me running errands with Abigail and nature calls. Especially the times I forget a stroller. (Which happens more often than you would think.) Lets just say that using the bathroom with your baby strapped to your chest in the carrier is not the easiest of endeavors. TMI? Well sorry, but I'm not going to sit her on the nasty floor. Haha please tell me I'm not the only one who has struggled with this as a parent. I also know that this is only going to get worse...

5. Love suddenly has a whole new meaning. 

The best part about being a new parent? Having a tiny human that you love more than anything in the whole world! I was not prepared for how much my heart would grow. The rewarding and loving feeling of nurturing and caring for Abigail is something I wouldn't trade for anything. I am grateful to be her mom, and I'm ready for all the fun and challenging things that come with parenthood. (I think!!)

Good Intentions

With this new year in full swing, I have realized that a lot of the goals I set for myself start to fizzle out by February. Surely this happens to most of us right? Or maybe just me? Err yeah, just me.

Well making a blog for our family, (and actually writing in it!!!) has been my goal since Robbie and I got married. Can you tell how I have one post a year?! Yeah, embarrassing. I've decided that since I'm starting this goal in February, it is much more likely to stick. Pretty sound logic.

Funny story, last time I got serious about writing in this blog it was August 23rd. Abigail was clearly taking her time coming into this world and I needed something to keep me busy while I waited. I asked a super talented friend of mine if she would revamp the header on my blog to make it more "me". She did an awesome job (right?! Thanks Brielle!) and I went to bed excited to post my first real entry the next morning! Instead, I woke up at 5am with crazy contractions aka: labor, and our little Abigail Taylor Park was born that night at 6:41pm!
         
........So I figured a new baby was a pretty good excuse to not follow through with the blog at that point. Ha!

But now that she is going to be 6 months old soon, I feel like she does something new and exciting every day! I don't want to forget these fun moments.

With that being said, this is me recommitting to writing in this blog and recording all the memories our family is creating! Thanks for following along!

Hannah

                                   (Just for kicks, here is my favorite picture of Abbie lately)

Charlie

     Since I haven't updated the blog in months, I figured now was the perfect time to start back up again. I was busy trying to graduate from nursing school and all, so please forgive me! (More on that later). I'm very happy to be done with school, but in other news......

WE GOT A PUPPY!!!!!!

Can you tell I'm super excited about it?! For those of you who know me even the tiniest bit, you know that I am obsessed with dogs. I don't think Robbie was fully aware of how serious this obsession was until he married me. Poor guy.

Pretty much ever since we have been married, I have begged and begged for a puppy. We live in a small apartment, so I knew my dream of owning a huge dog needed to be put on the back burner for a while. But I still had hope!! Small dogs love apartments! The only hurdle to get over was convincing him that it would work and that we would make awesome pet owners. When spring break rolled around we got a taste of this lifestyle when we had the opportunity to watch my sister and brother in laws Yorkie for nearly 2 months. We loved having Ivy, and could really see ourselves getting a small dog! (Thanks Adria and Julius for trusting us enough with Ivy girl!!)

Then one day out of the blue, Robbie said "When you graduate, we can get a dog." Hearing that, I fell in love with him all over again, and now Charlie is a part of our family! She is a Morkie (a Yorkie, Maltese mix) and we got her when she was 7 weeks old. We love having her around. She sleeps A LOT. She has a foot/toe fetish. Potty training has been hard, but she is doing great so far! I think we have finally reached longer than 24 hours since she's had an accident inside or in her bed. Progress!! She is very friendly and loves anyone who picks her up or plays with her. She has some of the sharpest puppy teeth I've ever felt! Her coat and size change every day, so we are very curious to see how she will turn out!

We are SO happy Charlie is part of our family!

Our Texas Wedding

     A few weeks ago we received a magazine in the mail called Texas Weddings 2013. I got really excited because a friend of mine happens to be the Logistics Coordinator for the Bridal Extravaganza show (who puts out the magazine). She told me to expect the magazine in the mail, and that there was a surprise in it! I couldn't believe it when I saw this...

....a 3 page spread of OUR wedding!! I was so excited, and grateful for this special opportunity! I love the article, and want to give a BIG thanks to my great friend/bridesmaid Jessica Darensbourg for writing it and planning everything. She knew our wedding would be featured in the magazine before we even got married! Props to her for keeping it a secret from me for nearly 8 months, it turned out to be a great surprise. Jess also told me the magazine would be sold in stores all over the state...I was shocked and blow away by that news! I would also like to thank the editor in chief of the magazine, and producer of the Bridal Extravaganza show, Laurette Veres for giving Jess the thumbs up to include our wedding in this issue!

Robbie and I were thrilled to be able to share pieces of our special day with many others. I plan on making some sort of collage out of the pages a long with other things from our wedding, but we'll see when I actually get around to that!