Grand.....Parents

Interesting that we call them "Grand" Parents. 
Such a fitting name for what they do and who they are.

My Grandma Myrtle passed away several years ago at the wise old age of 97. 
She religiously tuned in at 6:30 each night to watch Pat and Vanna.....an episode of "Wheel of Fortune" was not to be missed.  She still did word search puzzles and she still hand-wrote letters to all of us, sealed with a stamp and a kiss.
This was a woman who wore skirts and fancy high heals to mow her lawn. 
She killed boxelder bugs in between her fingers during the spring time and always had a bag of snicker bars in her 3rd drawer down in her house.  I thought she just "happened to have them on hand"....I now know that a trip to Pamida before we arrived probably was always on the agenda.

When Maya was born, I took out the afghan that my Grandma crocheted.....because she knew. 
She knew that one day....one day....we would make the big decision to have a baby.
She knew the joy she had in nurturing and loving her own 4 children.
She didn't make a prediction to make the afghan pink or blue, but she knew that someday, a baby would get loved up on something that she poured so much love into.



I am fortunate to still have another Grandma in my life. 

She may just be sipping on that wine we sent her last week!

She and my Grandpa were the ones that showed their Grandkids that life was about having fun...making memories.  There was never a day they wanted to just "stay home and lay low".  Still to this day, my Grandma is running around, finding friends to have coffee with, lunch with, dinner with....any excuse to socialize, laugh and make a memory!

Maya will grow up knowing 4 Grandparents...lucky lad.

They're all head-over-heals in love with her and each will teach her life lessons that she'll forever cherish. 

They will truly put the "Grand" in the Parent.



Spontaneous Sake

I really wish you could plan spontaneous adventures.

They seem to be just a little more exciting than the, "We'll meet you 3 weeks from now at 6pm". 

Last night, we met Maya's cousins (and my sister and brother-in-law!) for a spur of the moment dinner outing to Osaka.  It was the little one's initiation trip to a Hibachi grill....otherwise known as "those places that bang on the grill, light big fires and throw food at you in hopes you'll catch that little piece of broccoli in your mouth restaurants". 

I'd planned for a night of leftovers that were getting a little stale in the fridge, some comfy sweats and had high hopes for a new 20/20 or Dateline episode.  Little did I know that a night filled with laughter, hugs, good conversation and love was in store for us.

We caught shrimp that were flung our way, took Sake shots from the crazy chef, ate so much we won't need breakfast tomorrow and loved up each-others kids. 

(***Please meet the new 2012 Sake Swallowing Champion.  He wears the title with pride.)

My leftovers in the fridge had nothing on this feast.  (Brooke said it was her new favorite restaurant ever....well, except, of course, for Noodles.  Little in life has as much pull as good mac and cheese.)

And no 20/20 episode, even in my sweats, could have topped this night.

 

There's something really unique about cousins.  They're a built-in playmate that over the years, develops into a friend.  A friend you get to see every holiday, for family dinners, for spontaneous sake adventures and for planned events.

I feel so lucky Maya will have 2 cousins that are going to love her to pieces...and her, right back at those little girls.  It literally makes my heart so happy to see their joy to see Maya. 

Growing up, I felt so excited to see our cousins on holidays and special get-togethers, especially the cousins that were younger than us.  We would cart them around like dolls and be the teacher, or the doctor or the mom and they had to be the student or the sick kid or the baby.  They'd always go along with it and do whatever we told them to do....I think Heather and I kind of liked being in charge and bossing them around.  I wish for these cousins that same excitement and love for seeing each other.....get ready Maya, I have a feeling they'll be dressing you up in Princess dresses and carting you around soon!

Shots and a Shot of Sunshine

One of my favorite quotes hangs on Maya's closet door.

 

This day took our breath away, from the moment we woke up, until our tired heads hit the pillow.
We started the day off with a weigh-in.  Twelve lbs; Twelve oz is the damage....the little lady is eatin' well. 

This calm, mellow, lower-lip-stuck-out-because-I'm-so-relaxed, happy baby was just minutes away from having a nurse, who I am sure is ordinarily pretty nice, poke her with 3 shots.  

Dan and I weren't loving the moment either. 

Our morning started out feeling a little blue.

But, the day delivered in a really big, really beautiful, really amazing way.

I wouldn't have dreamed that we would be enjoying the beauty of an outdoor walk at the beginning of January. 

When we found out I was pregnant and due in November, I feared we would be in hibernation until May, but this day showered us with some amazing simple moments that added up to a perfect day.

We planned for a walk around the block, but this little traveler was silent after that block, so we kept going. 

And going. 

And an hour later, I was giddy that she is going to love spring walks.



She got a breath of fresh air for a quick picture....you might see a glimpse of her nose here; otherwise, her view was a little dark. 

The fresh air fueled our lungs and our spirits.  I am in love with a good walk like that. 

By the time the clock hit 8pm, we had our calm and happy baby back. 

This day delivered in the absolute most beautiful way at the end as well.   

The church that we see in our backyard takes my breath away every time I see it. Whether its snowing, sunny, raining or a little hazy, I seriously love this church.  I've never been inside and ironically, don't really have any plans of stepping in, as I just love that outside appearance of the calm that this church gives us from our windows.

Amen to this perfect day. 

This day that took our breath away.

New Year...New You!

I am in love with making New Years Resolutions.

It makes me giddy to think of a new challenge to focus on, a new opportunity to conquer or a new hobby to attempt. I love writing them down and I love pondering how I'll start on them.
I love starting new things.

Pretty sure I have about 9 cross-stitch projects that are sitting in plastic boxes at my parents house....each were started right around January 2nd. I was thrilled to hop in the Pontiac 6000 with my Mom to travel to Joann Fabrics to pick out the new canvas, all of the different color thread, the plastic organizer for the thread, the new pattern and even the new roll of masking tape to keep the edges from fraying.
I loved putting that first stitch in......and by about January 16th, I was done. Packed it all up in the perfect plastic organizer and put it on a shelf in the basement. I didn't want to attempt another stitch.

I've come to be at peace with this sincere love for starting anything new and then quickly moving on to something else. In fact, I'm already at peace that I am completely head-over-heals in love with the idea of this blog and know that it may come to a screeching halt before Valentines Day rolls around, but for now, I'm loving capturing the simple moment!

Tonight, someone had a reservation at "The Cosgrove Spa". Maya loves going to the spa...she takes after her mom.

The first time we gave her a bath, we had to have the vacuum cleaner running during the entire bath, just to keep her from screaming. Looking back, we realize that was when I was starving her....I would have screamed too.

These days, her Burt's Bees baby spa bath is calm, relaxed and she loves it.

Tonight, as I was lifting her out of the tub, I heard Dan gasp.

"WHAT?!?!!" , I shrieked.

"LOOK." is all I heard.

WHOA.

Maya is making a resolution this year.

We're starting "Buns of Steel" tomorrow.

I also made New Years Resolutions...and I'm going to work really hard at them this year. I also think that putting them out so publicly just might be the kick I need to keep them.

1. Become a better writer, hence the kick-off of a blog. I now have an outlet to try this writing thing.

2. Become a better picture-taker, being able to capture special moments.

 

3. Get back in shape....the adidas are calling to be laced up again.

4. FOG.

I made up this acronym when I finalized the 'ol resolutions earlier this week. I think an acronym always makes things more fun. FOG = Focus On the Good.

While I believe I'm a fairly optimistic person, I want to focus on maximizing the positivity in my life, seeking the good in situations that might not be going the way I'd hoped and finding the joy in everyday life. I want to be really, really good at focusing on the good.

I told Dan if he hears me talking about what is wrong with a person/a situation/an experience, that I want his help by simply saying, "FOG". I don't know if I'll regret that I told him about it....I thought a little accountability might help. I'm also hoping I'm not going to have to revoke his FOG-saying-privileges before I make progress.

As the year goes on, I know I'll continue to add more....I'm all about targets, goals, new adventures...and all about starting new journeys! Cheers to the new year and the new starts!

Leopards out on the town

I got some new kicks this week.
They're a little crazy for my ordinary style.

But, I realized that when I'm adventuring around with such a stylin side-kick, I better forgo the herbergers-on-sale-plus-a-coupon-4-year-old basic black flats and opt for a little leopard in my life. 

Our first stop in our leopard day took us to the local post office to mail my Grandma her Christmas gift....I know its a little late, but I sent her wine and chocolates.  Pretty sure Grandma will have a glass and never think about the fact it was 11 days after the big holiday.  Its probably closer to being a Martin Luther King Day present, but I opted for the traditional belated Christmas wishes.

Just as I was leaving with Miss Leopard in hand, I saw something that made me so excited, I turned right around in my tracks to make another purchase!  I love the forever stamps, but think the flags are so boring.  While patriotic and so-American, it just feels ordinary. 

Feeling a little risque with the crazy shoes on called for a purchase of these...time for a little Celebrate in my life! 

Who wouldn't be excited about getting a greeting with this attached!

2 months later

11.2.11

2 months ago today, I looked down and saw this big, round, big, really big belly staring back at me. 

2 months ago today, I was on the phone with a nurse and typing into the computer at the same time with 1 simple question, "How do I know if I am in labor?"

11.2.12 

Fast-forward two months....to today. 

Looking down today, this was my view.  I still have a belly, but its on the outside now!

2 months have brought us a new sense of joy that we didn't know existed in this world.

We stare at her.

We touch her chubby cheeks, her chubby thighs, her chubby arms....her chubby everything.

We sing more songs than we've ever sang in our lives....and make up words non-stop.

We walk around the house and tell her about every nook and cranny, narrating what she'll do in each room.

We drink coffee....I mean, a ton of coffee.  This Keurig machine should make more than 'just a cup'.

We increased Pampers stock price based on the usage of wipes....wipes are like potato chips, "You can't just use one!".....and we rarely use less than 7 per time.





2 months ago, we were a husband and a wife....best friends.....life travelers....adventure seekers.

Tonight, we're also, "Dad" and "Mom"....and we truly could not be more proud and happy.



A First...on the First.

2012 is going to a year of firsts. 

We will be wowed, we'll be excited, we'll be confused and we're going to have to have bucket-loads-of-fun. 

We don't know what to expect, but we know that the first smile we saw was like winning the lottery. The firsts are going to be moments we'll savor.

Tonight held a few firsts for Dan and I.

The first time driving our car.... with just the two of us....nobody in the backseat.
The first time out to dinner together in the last 8.5 weeks....just the two of us.
The first time that someone other than one of us took care of Maya.

Shawn, Heather, Brooke and Jada helped us to create this special first...we are SO grateful!

The venue for this celebratory occasion? 
Nothing fancy, but perfect for this evening of firsts!