Baby Marin | Week Fifty Two

This is it. We made it to one year. I am a few days late in posting this but I wanted to make sure we celebrated our little one's birthday, surrounded by family. I realize that she probably won't remember much of this party, but mid-party, Saturday evening, I took a step back and realized how greatly loved our little girl is. There was a pretty intense snowstorm going on outside and family still braved the drive to our home. 

Marin thoroughly enjoyed opening up her presents and playing with her new toys. Her attention span was shockingly long when it came to opening up her presents. She understands the concept pretty well, I believe. Marin received a lot of new clothes, which she needed. She also received some awesome toys, including a drum set, a circus tent to play in, and a little car to ride around on. She was given puzzles and books, bath toys and even the beginning of a college fund that family can place money in throughout the rest of her life. 

She is well loved. 

She also loved the cupcake, once she figured out what to do with it. She was a lot cleaner about that whole process than I expected. Granted, I still had to clean a lot of cupcake off of the floor, but we didn't have to give her a bath afterwards. 

She slept like a rock that evening and didn't wake up until almost 8 am. Marin has started her first year with a bang. 

Baby Marin. Week Fifty Two. 

Baby Marin | Week Fifty One

One more week until Marin is one. I just sent out the invite for her birthday bash. I am debating whether or not we should get her a smash cake or just a cupcake. I've already bought her way too many birthday gifts over the past few months. 

The weather has been abnormally amazing for February and we took full advantage of that earlier today. We haven't been out in the jogging stroller in far too long. Most of the time, the stroller just sits in our living room and our cat uses it as a hiding place when he is running away from our crazy baby. But, today I decided to pack us a lunch, bring my camera, and we walked to the park that is literally right across the way from us. 

I need to get our kid out more into the world, into nature. I want her to be the type of child that plays outside any chance she gets, dirty knees, sun kissed, and only coming in when the street lights start coming on. We played outside a lot when we were younger. I want Marin to not be cooped up in the house all day. I can tell she isn't outside enough. She's still not sure of grass and leaves. She is finally old enough to crawl around through the grass and she is constantly on a path of discovery. 

We ate our lunch in the sunshine. I would like many more days like this one. 

Baby Marin. Week Fifty One. 

Baby Marin | Week Forty Two

Well, I'm late in posting this, but I must show you this adorable little baby girl that we get the amazing chance to call our very own. We have been blessed with an amazing little gal and I can't help but realize how many ways she has changed our lives for the better. She makes everyday a new, wonderful experience. She has helped me learn more and more things about myself every single day. She helps me understand my weaknesses and my strengths as a mother and a wife. I am forever thankful for this little gal. She is my reason, for everything. 

I guess I'm feeling pretty sentimental lately. This time last year, I was very pregnant and all of the unknowns of parenthood and finding who I am in motherhood weighed heavily on me. Now I get to wake up everyday and be greeted by Marin's little smile. She makes all things new. 

I am so thankful that I get to be her mom. 

Baby Marin: Week Thirty Five

Fall is my favorite season of all and sharing it with Marin has been a blast. Today she experienced playing in some leaves for the first time. Her ultimate goal is to taste all of them and I have to watch her closely. She taunts Geoff, who is stuck inside, and he just looks out at us, pissed off that he is behind a screen. 

About an hour after we took these photos, I realized there is a massive raccoon just hanging out in our backyard. The raccoon is bigger than our cat. I think he's living underneath our porch. Great. 

We also had another first yesterday evening. Marin took a ride in a shopping cart for the first time sans her car seat. Target was a new land full of treasures (her mom feels the same way and so does her bank account.)  I think it's nice for her to not only be able to see the ceiling tiles whenever we go anywhere. 

Still no teeth but she's been pretty easy going the past few days. Nap time today has been awesome. We are currently on round two and she didn't fight either one of them. Amen and hallelujah. 

I love being able to experience simple, everyday things through the eyes of a child. 

Week Thirty Five. 

Baby Marin: Week Thirty One

What a crazy week this has been! I can't believe what day it is as I write these words and prepare this post for your eyes. I blinked and here we are at Thursday afternoon and my to do list is a mile long. Good things have occurred this week though. Things of change. Things of new life.

Just this morning, I held my new nephew in my arms. I cannot wait for Marin to meet him. I forget how little she was when she was born. I also can't help but remember those first few nights in the hospital, all of the unknowns and new experiences. We had no idea what we were doing in all reality but so far we have made it to week thirty one of Marin's life.

Our cat, Geoff, has seemed to really take a new liking to Marin this past week. He is becoming more daring and wants to be around more often instead of just hanging out in his garage. Yes, HIS garage. She is army crawling super fast nowadays and he has some surprises coming his way, of that I am sure.

Week Thirty One.

Baby Marin: Week Twenty Eight

This week was the twenty eighth week of Marin's life so far. We also celebrated the coming arrival of her cousin, Gunnar.  He will be here before we know it and Marin will have a whole new perspective on life and sharing all of the attention. I'm excited for that because I think it will be great to have her around some other babies. She barely has experienced that so far. When the time comes for us to have another child at some point, Marin will need to learn how to be a sibling. 

She is nearly mobile. Baby gates will need to be purchased soon and cupboards will need to be secured. She isn't crawling yet but either rolls across the room in the blink of an eye or I've caught her doing an army scoot-crawl. The days of having a child that stays in one place are going to be behind us very soon. 

She tried peas this week and isn't a huge fan. She gets so excited to sit down and eat, hopes it bananas, and then realizes that peas are what's for dinner and makes the funniest faces of disgust. Her face is like, "Mom, are you trying to torture me? Gross!" We are working on the whole loving vegetables thing. It is taking some time. 

She had her 6 month check up last week. She weighs just shy of 14 lb. and is 25" long. The pediatrician stated that she is a little petite but that it is nothing to worry about. She also predicts that Marin will be somewhere around 5'7", which is crazy to think about. Marin as a grown adult. I don't even want to take my mind in that direction yet, she is still our little baby for now. 

We also bought a jogging stroller off of Craigslist and I've really enjoyed taking her out in it. It is good to get out of the house more often when our days are just us together. I can get kind of stuck between the naps, feedings, and diaper changes. Fresh air does us both a lot of good. 

Week 28. 

Baby Marin: Week Twenty Seven

I've been really trying to make a point in the last week or so to slow down and take time to focus on Marin. Of course my focus is always on her in some capacity, but I'm realizing the importance of not always having my hands in ten other projects while taking care of our child. The days I spend with her are precious. She is growing quickly and every moment counts. I feel like I need to show her the world. I feel like I need to open up everything that I can for her and allow her discover everything that is around her, even in the mundane everyday where I haven't changed out of my yoga pants and my idea of makeup is a little bit of water proof mascara and some lip gloss.

I am thankful that in this season of our lives, I get to work from home for a good chunk of my week. Being in the office three days a week has been a gift and I need to not take it lightly. I have four days at home with Marin. Now that she is starting to become somewhat mobile and seems to be reaching new milestones every single day, I'm realizing that importance of getting out of the house. I want to go for walks with her. I want her to experience what grass feels like for the first time and hear the birds and feel the sun. I want her to not be confined to a play mat or highchair. I want her to learn new things and see new things everyday.

That is my new mission. It was there before but not in the same capacity that it is now. There truly is a whole new world out there for her to experience and I want to help aid in that discovery.

Week 27.