Today, I am 37 weeks pregnant and let me just start with this: I'm feeling all the feelings. Whenever I prep posts about our little girl, I get so overwhelmed because I have so much to say and can never find the right words. She brings us so much joy, and I'm in constant awe of the person she is becoming. I cherish the time spent one-on-one with her, and I'm feeling more and more nostalgic that we won't be a little family of three ever again (six if you count our pups!). Don't misunderstand: I am beyond thrilled to meet our little boy soon. However, I know it'll be an adjustment period for all of us, and I just hope that it goes as smoothly as possible, especially for our little lady who is used to having our undivided attention. : )
Among the many park trips and wagon rides around the neighborhood, there are highlights galore from her life spanning one year to ~18 months. Here are a few of my favorites:
-We saw an Orioles game (my first time at Camden Yards - gorgeous ballpark!).
-I took her to Butlers Orchard to play in the flower field.
-Over the summer, we frequented the local water park because this child LOVES ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE WATER.
-We visited the local county fair to see animals and show her the rides (still a bit too young to participate!).
-We flew across country to visit Ryan's brother and brother's fiancée, who lived in Carlsbad, CA at the time. Such a fun family trip!
-Even though we're still Atlanta Braves fans, we took her to another Nationals game. ; )
-Brooklyn got to see her cousins (my brother's kids) during a quick visit on their way back home from vacation.
-We visited our alma mater (UNC) and got to see close friends who live in the area.
-Brooklyn's Mimi and Pappy visited from North Carolina for little man's shower.
-We visited the pumpkin patch a couple of times!
-Brooklyn dressed up as the cutest little cow for Halloween.
I have to start with my absolute favorite photo from our family trip to California. We were in the middle of walking around the San Diego Botanic Garden on an extreeemely hot day and stopped to take a break on a bench in the shade. Being the very active and inquisitive toddler she is, Brooklyn rarely looks straight into my lens anymore. I'm usually chasing her to get "the shot." So, this moment is a unique gem.
I have to pour my heart out to my husband here for a minute. Ryan is the most exceptional Dad to Brooklyn, and I treasure the bond they share. During the week, he gets her out of bed every morning, spends quality time with her before he has to go to work and races home (quite literally, I'm afraid) to do her bath routine every evening. I know he's exhausted 99% of the time but he doesn't show it. He cares for her in a way that makes me love him on a whole different level than before. AND he finds the time to rub my swollen, pregnant ankles and give me "time off" when I need it. Needless to say, I love these two with all of my heart and I'm so grateful for the day-to-day happiness they bring me. I thank the universe every day for my good fortune; I struck the family lottery! My heart can only grow with love from this moment forward. Heart eyes emoji.
There she is -- all seven pounds, 13 ounces of her. On her first day of life. Let's be completely transparent for a minute: this post will pretty much be ENTIRELY about the life of our sweet daughter, Brooklyn, who was born last May. In my opinion, pregnancy, birth & raising a child is the most rewarding and most difficult/time-consuming thing there is. All mamas probably would agree. So the hubs and I didn't "do" as much as we normally would in any other given year, but we "did" something pretty important. ; ) Life with Brooklyn has been a beautifully chaotic, imperfect journey. Before she was born, I received so much thoughtful advice from all the moms in my life (and I'm so thankful for it and them), but no one can ever really prepare you for motherhood. It is messy at times and leaves you in awe most of the time. There is no instruction manual and you're really just forced to embrace it all at once. And it's a lot easier if you do so with humility and grace (hindsight is a beautiful thing, am I right?). I read a quote this morning by Kristin Armstrong about transitions. Modifying it a little bit, I think it portrays the transition into motherhood pretty perfectly: "Times of transitions are strenuous, but I love them. They are an opportunity … to rethink priorities and be intentional ... We can make our new normal any way we want." I'm so happy and thankful that our darling girl makes our new normal. Now, before I launch into the multitude of photos of our firecracker that I've yet to share, I do want to point out some of our other pre-Brooklyn highlights of 2014...
Mimi and Pappy's house!
