Category Archives: Liz’s Life

Vacation Time!

Posted in Liz's Life by

Tomorrow we leave for vacation – woohooooo! We are spending the week in Palm Desert with my parents, siblings and their families. Lila is going to get to hang out with her two cousins – Mabel and Reagan. The trip is to celebrate my parent’s 35th wedding anniversary.

We are staying at my parent’s time share in the JW Marriott. And I can tell you now, these are the two places where you can find me.

The current itinerary includes: sleeping in, eating a lot, catching rays, hitting golf balls, playing with babies, reading books, shopping, spa appointments while the daddy’s watch the babes and playing games/cards well into the night. I can’t wait!

I also set up a photographer to come capture our family in photos so we can all have more recent images to put around our homes. I can’t wait to see the photos and share them here with you.

When you live far away from family, these reunions are much more than just a vacation. They’re a chance to reconnect, celebrate and make memories with the people you care about most. A chance to fill up my “relationships” part of my soul.

I’ll probably be quiet the next week, but will report back once we are home. I hope you have a great week while I’m away!

Dear Luke : Happy Three Year Anniversary!

Posted in Liz's Life, Married Life by

Dear Luke,

Three years ago today, I made the best decision of my life. I married you.

Before we said “I Do,” I had heard that the first years of marriage were some of the toughest, that marriage was “hard work,” and to expect the butterflies in my stomach to fade with time. But obviously, the people who told me that didn’t know you very well. If they had, they’d understand that life by your side would be anything BUT “hard work.”

You are the kindest person I have ever met. You listen … like really listen. You always give people the benefit of the doubt. You understand how to live with gratitude and to be happy with what you have.

All the time I have girlfriends comment that they can tell you adore me. I always smile and say that I adore you just as much. And it’s true. I feel so lucky to have you in my life.

While many 31-year-old men hold making money, partying with friends, achieving power or driving their personal goals first, you have made it your #1 priority to bring harmony and happiness to our family. And you’re killing it. Our house is peaceful and our lives are filled with joy.

I know we said no presents this year, but I have to say thank you for your role in giving me the greatest present ever … becoming a mom to Lila. Sometimes I look at her and I can’t believe we created something so perfect.

Watching you become a father has been incredible to witness. Beyond changing diapers, washing bottles and giving baths, you shower Lila with devotion and a gentle, accepting kind of love. I don’t tell you this enough, but you are an amazing father already.

When I think about the future I want for Lila, one of the main things I hope she finds is a life partner who loves her the way you love me. She’s going to have a head start after having you for a daddy, because growing up surrounded by your love will teach her that she’s worthy and deserving.

If the first years of marriage are indeed some of the hardest, then I think we’re set up to have one of those epic love stories you hear about. And even when (if?) we run into roadblocks in our relationship, I promise to trust in our love and ride through the storm, because I know what waits on the other side is something I never want to lose.

Happy three year anniversary. I love you!

Liz

 

Mommy Brain at 4am

Posted in Liz's Life by

Pretty much ever since having Lila, my sleep has been bonkers. Not in the way you would expect. I’m actually getting a lot of uninterrupted sleep thanks to my baby who has slept 10 hours or more since 6 weeks. It’s more my new foray into sleep-walking.

Let me backtrack a little. When you get pregnant, you start hearing about all these things you shouldn’t do anymore. No eating sushi, having a glass of wine, skiing etc etc etc. The list doesn’t stop after the baby is here either. One of the biggest parenting no, no’s you hear about with an infant is unsafe sleeping habits … namely sleeping with your baby in your bed.

Now, we moved Lila out of our room to her crib at a month because none of us were sleeping well together. She’s a loud baby. So she hasn’t even been near our bed for four months. Yet this is how pretty much every night goes for me…

2:00 am :

(I sit up in bed half asleep in a panic)

Liz – BABE! The baby is suffocating!!

Luke – (groggy) What? You’re sleeping.

Liz – No I’m not! Get the baby out from the sheets!! (frantically pulling the sheets off the bed)

Luke – (shakes me) Wake up psycho!

Liz – (turns on a light. Looks around confused. Goes back to bed.)

Seriously, I have woken up in a panic that I am suffocating my baby in my bed about four nights a week for months now. It’s always some variation of the same dream … Lila is in bed, I’m hugging her and without realizing it I roll onto her and smother her.

Sometimes I even start to act out the dream in my sleep. Last night for example I woke myself up at 3 am and I was on my knees at the end of the bed frantically trying to get the “baby” (Luke’s foot) out from under the covers. Poor Luke was woken up to his foot getting mauled by his crazy wife in the middle of the night!!

I know SIDS is nothing to joke about, but I can’t stop laughing at what a lunatic I have become with my sleep. Especially since she’s not even in our room! I’m not sure what the deal is, but maybe it’s my brain’s way of releasing the pressure I feel as a new mom?

Either way, I really hope my dreams shift away from me killing my child to something a little more pleasant. And I’m sure Luke would appreciate an end to the middle of the night freakout sessions. I’m just going to chalk this one up to “mommy brain.”

In the Car with Lila

Posted in Kids, Lila, Liz's Life by

This weekend we drove to the Bay Area to visit my sister’s family. It was so nice to spend some time celebrating Easter around people we love. The weekend was filled with a trip to the farmer’s market, mass at the opera house, an Easter egg hunt at the park and finally a lovely brunch at my sister’s home.

Lila had so much fun being around her big cousin Mabel. She just kept looking at her with such adoration.

Around 3:45 on Sunday it was time to say goodbye and start the four+ hour drive home (depending on how many times we stop for Lila). I wasn’t looking forward to being in the car at all. About ten minutes into the drive, we hit traffic, that slowly turned into complete gridlock. Ugh.

Right about that same time Lila had a big poop, so while the traffic was at a standstill, I jumped into the backseat and changed her diaper right there in my lap. I was wiping her down when I looked out the window and a truck was right next to us, able to see everything going on in our backseat. Thankfully the driver smiled and looked away. We had a good laugh about that one.

With Lila all strapped back in her carseat, I jungle-gym climbed back into the front seat to settle in. We were in gridlock traffic for another hour and a half before we finally started moving. The whole time in traffic Lila was just staring intently at herself in the mirror we set up on the back seat so we can see her in the front mirror. Seriously for about an hour straight every time we looked back, she was just staring at herself with a blank face on. We cracked up every time we looked at her!

About three hours into our drive, I stopped to nurse her. We walked her around outside at a park to get her some fresh air, but all too soon we had to strap her back into her carseat. She didn’t like that AT ALL. Little sweetie was crying and complaining for about ten minutes when I got the idea to put on some children’s music on Pandora.

As soon as Journey’s “Open Arms” lullaby version started playing, girlfriend was ENTHRALLED. The crying stopped immediately. I guess she has a penchant for Journey just like her momma.

For the next 1.5 hours we shuffled through all sorts of baby music and assessed Lila’s preferences. She would smile and listen intently to anything with a xylophone (gag!) or children singing. She would squawk her disapproval for any slow lullaby or anything with an older man singing. We were thoroughly entertained.

That night after 5 1/2 hours on the road, we got home and tucked Lila into bed. I realized that what normally would have been a miserable day stuck in the car drudging through traffic, turned out to be five hours of smiling and laughing all because of our little girl.

I find that these days I can be happy doing the most mundane, even unenjoyable things, just as long as my baby is with me.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend!