Category Archives: Kids

A Living Record

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People ask me sometimes why I decided to blog. Motives to blog are different for everyone. Some do it to build their personal brands in the hopes they get famous & rich. Some do it so they can get sent free stuff by brands. Some do it because they are terrific writers and want to use the blog as a way to eventually write a book.

For me though, it’s simply about having a living record of my life. It’s a way for me to journal my thoughts and feelings so one day I (and my family) can look back and know exactly how I felt during each time of my life. I do it publicly on a blog because without the element of having readers, I doubt I would keep up with it. I also generally love to tell stories and share my experiences with other people.

That being said, I was thinking last night that I haven’t been keeping as good of a record of my thoughts during this very special time as I’d like. So here are some things I want to get down on paper so I remember them in the future:

– People keep asking me if I’m scared to become a mom. I don’t really feel any fear though. I think I’ve just always wanted to be a mother and if anything, I feel like finally I’m going to get to experience what I’ve always dreamed about.

– The one thing I am afraid of with becoming a mom though is loneliness. Isn’t that weird? I’m adding a person into my life and yet I’m worried about feeling lonely. I think it’s more about having this beautiful thing to celebrate, but being far away from the people in my life I want to share it with most.

– I’m not sure if this is hormones, or a normal thing mothers feel, but the other night I was daydreaming before bed about holding Lila in her rocker when she’s a newborn. She was so small and warm. Then I immediately burst into tears because I realized that she would only be that small for such a short time and that moment would be gone. (I’m tearing up now as I type this).

– I’m worried about the amount I am worrying about things. Will I always worry like this?

– I feel an intense amount of pressure to get everything in my life just right. My job, my family, my house, my friends, my health. Maybe it’s because I don’t want anything to distract me from my new role as a mom. Or maybe it’s that I want everything to be perfect for Lila.

– I think I am one of those women who loves being pregnant after-all  I am so proud of my body. I feel beautiful, healthy, vibrant and almost goddess-like (is that a weird way to describe it?).

– I have an overwhelming sense that my life is falling into place exactly as it should. That everything I did up until this point was designed to get here … and that I knew it all along. Where I went to college, where I lived after school, my career, my choice in a husband, my faith, somehow was all designed to bring me to this point.

– I really, really, really want to be a good mom.

Thanks for letting me share my life with you.

Baby Girl’s Name Is …

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I know a lot of parents these days opt to keep their baby’s name a secret until birth, but given I have zero capacity to keep a secret and I’ve already told most people I see day-to-day our baby name pick, I figured why not share it on the blog!

But I’m going to make you read a little more back story first. :)

I’ve been literally thinking about baby names for my future children for, oh, roughly eight years now. It’s a slight obsession. Before we were even engaged, I used to ask Luke what he thought of baby names. It’s a miracle I didn’t scare him away right then!

When I found out we were having a baby, and especially once we found out it was a girl, I was excited to REALLY get into the baby name game with Luke. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to indulge too much because the name we landed on was one of the first ones I brought up.

Me: “Luke, what do you think of the name <insert chosen name>?”

Luke: “Like it.”

Me: “Me too.”

Luke: “Good. Glad that’s settled.”

Lol. Seriously though. That’s how it went down. No “his and her” name lists to compare. No fretting over our decision. The name just fit and felt right from the beginning. Everyone we’ve told has said they love it too, which means a lot to someone who tends to be a waffler like me.

So without further adieu … the  name we picked out for our little girl is:

I’m in love with the name Lila name for several reasons:

– It’s unique but not weird
– It can fall into the “classic” and “throw back” categories
– It is short and easy to spell/pronounce
– It is lyrical and phonetically fun to say
– It’s cute for a little girl but sophisticated for an adult
– It is soft and contrasts nicely with a masculine last name like Batman

Kate was chosen to honor my late grandmother, my Dad’s mom – RoseCatherine. And I just adore the way Lila Kate goes together. Short and sweet. People can either call her just Lila or Lila Kate.

The meaning of the name Lila appealed to me too. It has a lot of various meanings, but all made me smile.

Hebrew Meaning: “You Are Mine.” One of my favorite songs to sing at mass is called “you are mine” and the lyrics are beautiful:

Do not be afraid, I am with you
I have called you each by name
Come and follow Me
I will bring you home
I love you and you are mine

This song has always reminded me of my other grandmother, my mom’s mom.

Persian Meaning: “dark-haired beauty” Given that both Luke and I have dark hair, I think this one will probably ring true for our little girl.

Sanskrit Meaning: “divine play” The definition I found along with this meaning was  “the universe as a playground of the gods.” I thought this was a pretty neat concept.

Swahili Meaning: “delicate, good” I’m not sure given how tall both Luke and I are, that she will be “delicate,” but I think “good” is a sure bet.

Latin Meaning: “symbol of purity, innocence and beauty” Isn’t it every mother’s dream that her little girl will embody those three adjectives?

The only downfall to the name Lila that I have come across is we’re getting into dangerously close to being the “All L Names” family. Luke, Liz, Lila. Nothing against those who choose to do that, but it’s not what we’re shooting for. We’ll just have to make sure our future kids have a different first lettered name.

It’s been really fun knowing her name so far in advance. It’s made getting to know her even more personal as we can call her by name, get some things embroidered and just think about her as her own little person. I can’t wait to meet her!

Bye Bye Second Trimester

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Sorry for the lack of posts lately. This month was crazy-hectic! I had to give three different presentations for work, one in front of 300 people. And I traveled to CO for work twice while Luke went to Mexico and Vancouver. So needless to say, it’s been a busy, busy month.

Anyway, this week I hit the 28 week mark, meaning my second trimester is officially behind me. I was thinking about how I wrote a post about my honest thoughts on the first trimester, so why not do one about the second?

The past three months couldn’t have been much better in terms of how my pregnancy progressed. I had a ton of energy, no sickness and generally felt great. I could be pregnant forever if it was always like the second trimester!

Sticking with the “things I love and things I hate” theme from the first trimester post, here we go:

Things I love about the second trimester:

– Finally looking pregnant! My bump is definitely out there and I have to admit it makes me smile when people see it and wish me well, or tell me that I’m glowing. Here’s a photo from the beach recently.

– Feeling healthy. I honestly would sometimes forget I was pregnant this trimester because I felt so good. I no longer felt nausea or tired all the time. In fact, last week we went for a six mile hike AND I hit golf balls. Here’s my prego swing.

It’s pretty funny seeing the reaction from all the men at the range as I walk by carrying my clubs with a bump. :)

– Finding out the baby’s sex. We found out around week 20 that we were having a baby girl and from my post about it, you can tell I’m pretty excited about it.

– Getting kicked. Ha that sounds like a funny one, but I really love feeling her move these days. At first it took some getting used to, but now it’s comforting to know she’s doing alright in here. Sometimes Luke and I will “play” with her by poking one side of my stomach and feeling her kick us back.

– Picking a name. We have decided on a name for baby girl and I’m in love with it! It’s not really a secret, and I’m planning to do a post announcing it here soon. Everyone we’ve told has said they love it just as much as us, so I’m feeling good about this decision.

Okay now onto the “thing I hate,” which is more like “things I could do without.”

– Heartburn. I don’t have it nearly as bad as some women do, but I have had some nights where sleeping sitting up has been a necessity. I’ve found that eating pineapple after a meal helps a lot. It has this enzyme called bromelain in it that causes you to digest food more quickly so it doesn’t sit in your stomach and cause an increase in acid.

– Spending money. This is the trimester we really started getting things ready for baby girl’s arrival. That meant dropping some dough on a crib, mattress, changing table, rocker, stroller etc. Seeing the money fly out of our bank accounts definitely brings some anxiety to the surface.

– More worrying. I think this is just a part of becoming a parent, but my worries these months include: worrying about not feeling her move enough, worrying about child care when I go back to work, worrying about breastfeeding and finally worrying about the whole giving-birth process.

– Dental Problems. I am learning the hard way about what being pregnant can do to your teeth and gums. Apparently the increased blood flow causes gum issues and your teeth can leach important minerals to the baby, making them weak. I chipped a back molar, which caused some decay and now it’s possible I will need a root canal! I am seeing my dentist for the third time in two weeks next Thursday.

In general, I will look back on the second trimester very fondly. One week into the third and I’m still feeling great. Here’s hoping I can avoid some of the discomfort I’ve heard women experience these last three months.

Woodland Themed Nursery

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My nesting impulse kicked in big time last week and I became slightly obsessed with getting things purchased for little girl’s nursery.

I decided awhile ago to go with a Woodland theme mainly because it made sense with where we live – in the mountains, surrounded by evergreens. That and it would work for any future babes regardless of gender (I don’t plan to redo a nursery with every child).

Here’s a look at some of the things we’ve purchased already:

Furniture:

Wall Art:

Bedding:

There are two more creative, crafty projects I’m going to take on (with the help of my artistic and awesome sister-in-law and maybe a few others):

The first is baby’s hanging letters. This isn’t her name or the colors we’re using, but gives you an idea of the look. I found the idea on BudgetForBaby.com. Time to go stick hunting!

The other project includes the creation of a “tree.” We have some wall space in a corner to fill and I got a wacky idea to make a tree out of paper poms after seeing some other nursery pictures.

The colors will be a mix of shades of green with pops of yellow, orange and red. We can’t paint or use a decal (grooved walls) so I think we’ll make the trunk out of cardboard wrapped in brown felt.

I have no idea if this will end up looking how I imagine or if it will look like a “giant, multicolored mushroom” as Luke put it, but Luke’s sister thinks we can do it and Lexi, the pom seller on Etsy has been incredibly helpful. So we’ll see!

The last thing I have my eye on for her nursery is this adorable mobile. But at $78 and an already blown budget, I’m on the fence as to if it’s really necessary.

I can’t wait to see how it all comes together! One thing is for sure, I am having a great time preparing for this girl to make her arrival.