what they say is true, but let me explain.

I think we have all probably heard someone (who is already a parent) say,
Your whole life is about to change
to an expectant mom and dad.
And the tone used is similar to the one used when we whisper Don't go down in the basement or Look behind you, when a character in a suspenseful television show or movie is about to die.
And that's that. They don't elaborate or explain themselves. They say it, half smile, possibly chuckle, and then either change the subject, or walk away.
In their defense, those "already parents"  are probably completely oblivious to the fact that they just left the soon-to-be parents in a mental panic.
What did they mean by that? What did they mean by change? What else changes someone's life? ....TSUNAMIS! Oh my gosh, we're going to die!
Maybe everyone's mental panic is not as dramatic as mine, but you get the picture.
What they say is true, but it's not scary, and it's nowhere close to being a natural disaster.
I'm going to do a little elaborating for them.
They are telling you that, you haven't met your best friend yet...but you're about to. You haven't experienced the true depth of love yet...but you're about to. You haven't met the most beautiful person in the world yet...but you're about to.  You haven't met the smartest person in the world yet...but you're about to. You're about to smile more than you thought possible.  Laugh more than you thought possible.  Pray more than you thought possible. Change more poop-filled diapers than you thought possible ;) You're about to be so incredibly proud of someone, just for being who they are. You're about to care for someone so much, that you will willingly put their needs before your own 24/7. You're about to hug and kiss someone from the time you get up, until the time you go to sleep. Oh and have people told you that you'll never sleep again? They're exaggerating. You won't sleep as much as you used to, but guess what? You won't mind. With every precious smile and every sweet giggle, your heart will explode and melt all at once. You're about to meet your whole world. And you're about to be someone's whole world. In their eyes, no one will ever, ever, ever compare to you. You'll be their hero. 
Yes, you're about to be tired and, most likely, un-bathed; but you are about to experience more love and more joy than you ever knew existed.
Your life is about to change, but you won't remember what it was like before, and you won't want to.

dry shampoo.

Baby girl turned 8 months old yesterday.
EIGHT months old.
That absolutely blows my mind.
She's so big now. And buddy, does she have one sassy personality. Or should I say, attitude?
Either way, she sure keeps me on my toes these days.
She is the most incredible little human I've ever met.
For the life of me, I can't figure out where the time has gone.
I've watched her, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week....and somehow, she grew right before my eyes, without warning.
It feels like she should still only be a few days old....but she is currently STANDING right in front of me with the sweetest bottom toothed grin.

One of the biggest reasons I can't wrap my mind around the fact that she's two thirds of a year old, is because I feel like I am no where close to being a two thirds of a year old mommy.
In 8 months, she's learned to smile, laugh, suck her thumb without poking her eye out, roll over, sit up, pick things up, play with her toys, talk jibberish, say mama and dada, clap, give hugs, point, high five, hug, eat some big girl food, hold the phone up to her ear, say hi, crawl, pull herself up. She's gained 13 pounds, grown 8 inches and has 2 bottom teeth.

And me?
I'm an awesome milk maker, I body shower daily, use dry shampoo frequently, remember to eat 50% of the time, and 9 times out of 10 one of my boobs is flopping in the wind because I forgot to put it away after a nursing session. I have a mountain of laundry that could compete with Everest, and a sink of dishes that could be featured on an episode of Hoarders.  Kick butt diaper changer used to be on that list, but I'm currently having to change my technique because she changed it up about 2 weeks ago, and changing her now is like changing a greased pig....that is log rolling.

If you kept count, you saw that Adi is awesome.

Some days I may feel like I'm failing and doing everything wrong, and I might look like a hobo....
but when my little girl looks at me, she sees a mommy that can do anything. A superwoman. A woman that she is head over heels in love with. And I'm thankful for that, because I'm head over heels in love with her, too.

Unconditional Love

I thought I knew what love was, but then I had a baby.
We've all heard that, or something similar.
I never understood what that meant.
But then I had a baby.
And within the first few minutes of meeting my daughter, I said it.
I've said it every day since then.
For the past 5 months, I've wondered why people say it....why I say it.
I loved my husband before I loved my daughter, right?

I've never heard someone say, I thought I knew what love was, but then I got married.
Why? Do we not (really) love our spouses? Of course we do!
The love between spouses is wonderful. You better one another, encourage one another, look past one another's imperfections...you CHOOSE to love one another, every day.
Imagine what married life would be like if one spouse woke up one day and decided they weren't going to choose love? The whole day would be filled with being angry, unforgiving, and seeing every single imperfection their spouse had. That's how divorce happens.

After 41 weeks, I finally met my beautiful baby girl. I held her for the first time, looked into her eyes for the first time, kissed her for the first time, and I felt an overwhelming emotion that I had never felt before. I knew the emotion was love, so I said it,
"I thought I knew what love was."

I finally understand why parents say it. Why I say it.
It wasn't just a baby that grew inside me. Unconditional love also grew.
Unconditional love. That's what's different. It's not a love you choose, it's a love that's birthed.
It can't be defined. Every time I try to define it, tears fill my eyes. It's incredible and terrifying. Incredible because I had no idea I was capable of feeling a love like this. Terrifying because my heart is now outside of my body. It's a love that is completely overwhelming.
No matter what she does or who she becomes...my love will be constant.
Even when she's 40 years old, I will see her as the tiny baby who is sleeping in my arms, right now.
And just when I think there is no way this love could be more overwhelming....I remember,
this is how God feels about us- His children....His babies.


"Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother's womb.
I thank you, High God-
you're breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration- what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day."
Psalm 139:13-16 (MSG)
 

you are umbrella?

On this lovely winter day,
I have decided to talk about one of my pet peeves:
when people don't know how to use "a" verses "an".....or "your" verses "you're."
I'm not going to lie.
If I am browsing through my Facebook or Instagram, and I see someone say something like,
(example 1) "I took my kids to the zoo and they got to pet a elephant."
or
(example 2) "Your awesome."....
that person immediately loses all of the 100 intelligence points that I subconsciously give everyone.
I assume everyone is intelligent until proven otherwise.
It just really annoys my inner English nerd.
Don't worry. If you use those words incorrectly, or you know someone who uses them incorrectly, I have 2 simple rules that are sure to clear up any confusion.

a vs. an
If a word begins with vowel, use "an"....if it doesn't start with a vowel, use "a".
And you're gold.
...an apple...
...an egg...
...an igloo...
...an octopus...
...an umbrella...
The only word I can think of that doesn't go by this rule is: uterus. It's a uterus...not an uterus. Weird.

your vs. you're
Rule? I don't know.Your is possessive and you're means YOU ARE. That apostrophe takes out the "a" and joins the two words and saves you a millionth of a second when you're talking/typing.
SO when you're (you are) typing a sentence...before you insert one of these two words....say it out loud before you post it.
You're (you are) awesome? Your awesome? ...YOU'RE AWESOME!
Your umbrella? You're (you are) umbrella? YOUR UMBRELLA!

So now that you know the rules, if Adi and I see you use the wrong one, we're going to look at you and laugh like this...

That little love just woke up from her nap, so this mommy's got to go!

Hello there, 2014

There have been many days that I have wanted to blog, but decided not to.
It just seems like there is never enough hours in a day, here lately.
Time is passing so quickly, I feel like I'm going a million miles an hour most days.
I mean, I blinked and my pregnancy was over.
Then I blinked again and my baby girl is going on 4 months old! CRAZY.
She's now wearing her 6-9 month clothes, holds her head up like it's no big deal, and  plays like a professional.
I can't tell you how many times I've just stared at her and thought, "baby girl, slow down..."
So when it comes down to either blogging or snuggling with my sweet girl, this mommy always chooses the latter.
But my husband gave me a Christmas gift that will give me a little bit of extra time.
It's a gift I never knew I wanted, but after meeting Adi, I wanted it more than anything.
Starting this February, I will be a STAY AT HOME MOMMY!
Tyler got an amazing, promotion that was most definitely an unexpected blessing from God.
I can't wait to spend every day with my girl!
And hopefully I will be seeing a lot more of you guys, too :)