Baby Marin | Week Forty Nine

This week has been full of baby drool, baby snot, and working on baby teeth. We resorted back to wearing bibs for a while because this little gal is a drool producing factory at the moment. I believe she is working on a few more teeth. Marin hates having her nose cleaned out and wiped off. She battles against the Kleenex every single time. I can't wait until we get to the point of where she knows how to blow her nose. For now, we are all kind of snotty messes around these parts. 

I feel like Marin is so close to walking. Part of me isn't ready for that, it is all going so fast! She will stand on her own every once in a while and then quickly realizes what she is doing and she falls back to the floor. One day she is just going to walk and surprise us all, including herself. 

Also, these photos should be proof of the toy destruction that is usually found in our basement. Building blocks, toy pianos, baby dolls, stuffed animals. Everything must be out on the floor and should never be in the nice baskets that we have for the toys. That's at least Marin's philosophy on all of it. 

I only have a few more of these posts before we hit one year. I am trying to decide what my next plan is with the Marin photos. Creating these posts every week has been pretty time consuming. But, they do help me get out my camera and actually use it even within the chaos that is our life. There is never a dull moment when Marin is involved. 

I feel like this could be Marin's first "Selfie." 

Week Forty Nine. 

Baby Marin | Week Forty Eight

"Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it."  

Proverbs 22:6 NLT 

Music runs through our family's veins, it is in our bones. Even when we go through seasons where we aren't playing music as often as we once did, in our younger, childless years, we still always find it and it always finds us. I believe that Marin has music in her as well. She dances. She sings. She lights up whenever music is playing anywhere we are. 

The day will come in the not so far off future when I will sit down at the piano with Marin and teach her just like my grandma taught me. She will probably have those moments of watching the clock during practice and long for the time when she can go out and play with her friends. But, maybe in the further future, she will feel the freedom of playing in front of and with a group of people for the first time. She will feel the heat and nervousness but then also the moment of realizing that she is doing something truly special. There's nothing like it. 

Maybe she will be a drummer. Maybe she will play guitar. Maybe she will play piano. Maybe she will sing. Maybe she will write songs. 

I can't wait to see her love for music grow and morph. 

Week Forty Eight. 

Our Well Is Full | Our Roots Are Deep

We dedicated Marin last night, surrounded by many people, family and friends. The evening began with chili and soup, the breaking of bread and cornbread muffins, wine and beer. The sound of little children and adults filled the home and the chaos seemed fitting. We talked about what Marin's name means, "Little Queen of the Sea." Words were spoken over her life of "strength" and "authority." We ate good food, drank good wine, and managed to have Marin asleep in bed only a hour and half later than usual. 

Sometimes it hits me that our little baby will be an adult someday with her own hopes and dreams. She will fall in love. She may get her heartbroken once or twice. She will figure out her path one trial and triumph at a time. I already see so much of myself in her, which is thrilling and terrifying all at the same time. The words spoken over her last night are very similar to the ones that have been spoken over me, time and time again. As long as she grows up knowing and loving Jesus and the church, her strength and spunk will be directed in the right places. 

I made some poor decisions in my college days and I know many people tend to rebel at some point in their life. I just want to protect and guide her forever but also allow her to make her own decisions and learn through the seasons of life. I guess that's what parenting is supposed to look like in some ways, right?

It's so weird to think of her out in the world. Driving a car, heading off to college, dating boys, and working at a job. It seems so far off but I know it's really not. By that point, I will be around 46 years old. That's a strange thing to think about. What will be we be doing with our lives? Where will we be living? How many kids will we have? What dreams will have died and which will have survived all of those years of living? 

Such a strange thing to wrap my mind around. You only get just one life. It seems so small and fast in the grand scheme of things. The insatiable need to make it worthwhile and full of life is needed. I want to live a full, full life. I don't want to look back and see that I worked too much, lived too little, and didn't help my kids discover who they are and what they are meant for. 

Even as I journey through this year of "LESS," I still want to make sure that my well is full and my roots are deep. I only get to live this year once. I better make it worthwhile. I don't want to miss a single thing. 

Baby Marin | Week Forty Seven (11 Months)

Tomorrow Marin will be 11 months. We are barreling quickly towards having a one year old. I don't have a ton to say today other than the fact that she is growing like crazy and is keeping me on my toes. Marin loves to get into EVERYTHING. I can't blink without her crawling across the room and going straight for something electronic. 

She has decided that she no longer likes bananas and turned up her nose this afternoon at sweet potatoes. We are still trying all sorts of new foods, which is an adventure in itself. 

(Marin's hat is from Ember Kid.) 

Nap times have been hit and miss this week. She has been taking great morning naps but the afternoon naps have been a bit of a struggle. She's moving around in her crib as I write this. I have had to move the baby monitor way out of her reach. 

Baby Marin. Week Forty Seven. 

One Little Word | 2015

I've been trying to write this post for about two weeks now. It just hasn't seemed to grow into something of worth and I have just journaled about it just about every morning. The words I've scribbled on the pages in those early morning hours just haven't clicked until this morning. 

Many people I know pick one little word for their new year. This one little word becomes their mantra for the year. Sometimes the word finds them, sometimes they seek out the words. I had a word last year but didn't blog about it. My word for 2014 was BRAVE. This was fitting because within the course of 2014, we became parents. Childbirth was a daunting task. I knew I needed to be BRAVE. I knew there was no looking back once we reached that point. Being BRAVE as a parent is at the forefront of everything I have experienced in the past year. I also needed to be BRAVE when it came to quitting my job, the job I had for almost 6 years, and jump blindly into something new. BRAVE was a fitting word. I needed it. 

As I mentioned earlier, my word for 2015 just wasn't coming to me even though I was seeking it out. I wanted something positive but not cheesy. I wanted something that could be used in all areas of my life. I wanted something new. 

My word for 2015 might not seem like a very positive word when you look at the definition of it, but I think it carries a lot of power for this new year. 

My word for 2015 is.........

Less. 

LESS STUFF |  I want to go through everything we own and get rid of a lot of it. I'm sick of feeling like we are growing out of a house that should be just fine for now. 

LESS NEED |  I don't really need a new car, even if I want one. I don't really need 3 pairs of boots that are almost exactly the same. 

LESS WEIGHT |  I want to feel confident in my skin once more after having a baby. It will be a journey, of that I am sure. 

LESS MONEY |  We are moving into a season where I am not making the amount of money I once did. Frugality will need to be common place in our little home. 

LESS STRESS |  I want to wake up every morning and keep journaling. I want to know what is to not say "yes" to everything. I want more time spent with my kid and less time worrying about stupid things. 

LESS OF ME, MORE OF HIM | 

"He must become great and greater, and I must become less and less." John 3:30

LESS WASTING TIME | I want to make every moment count, especially when it comes to my family.  

Are you interested in finding your one little word? Check out this podcast and this blog. 

Baby Marin | Week Forty Six

I am becoming more and more aware of how soon Marin will be a one year old. My brain almost can't grasp that quite yet. I've been slowly figuring out what gifts we will give her. I want there to be a  smash cake. It will be here before we know it. 

Marin has finally mastered the art of feeding herself. I feel like we have been working on this for a while now but one day she just started picking food up and feeding herself. It was like something just clicked for her all of sudden. My current struggle is trying to figure out all of the things that I should feed her and then all of the things that she will eat. Marin eating food is great but there have been a few moments where the simplicity of breast feeding sounds so great but also so long ago. 

Whenever Marin hears music she starts dancing. That's probably my favorite quirk of hers. This girl loves music. Coming from two musician parents, we are obviously ecstatic and can't wait for the day that I begin teaching her how to play the piano or when she will get her first set of drums. Music is in her blood and I am forever thankful. 

Baby gates have become my best friend. Every morning, I pick up the house. I've been letting Marin roam the floor while I put away dishes and wipe up baby messes. She loves "helping" with emptying the dishwasher, has found a new love for anything that is stuck on the fridge, and still loves trying to escape out the kitty door. One day she will surprise us and just start walking around. It will happen soon. 

We also tried the nursery at church this past Sunday. She was fine when we left but only made it about 3/4 of the way through the service. I think it was pretty overwhelming for her to be around twenty other babies. Her existence usually consists of her family and her cousin. That's it. We will still keep trying because I know it's good for her to be around other littles, but we had some pretty epic tears on Sunday. Tomorrow will be a new day and we will try again. 

Week Forty Six. 

Baby Marin | Week Forty Five

Another week has past. The dust from the holidays is settling and our living room looks empty without the warm presence of the Christmas tree and lights. I always am sad when we pack away everything for the beginning of a new year. It is nice though to have our home back to normal once more. 

We have been fighting some gnarly colds around these parts and I feel like we are finally nearing the end of all of this sickness. We have spent many days at home lately and I feel like Marin is going a little stir crazy. She has been full of it. Aside from a runny nose, she seems to have bypassed the colds and I am very thankful for that. 

Marin has found a new love for Sesame Street. She has been trying new solid foods and is slowly learning to pick up her food and not just toss it on the floor. Don't get me wrong though, a lot of it ends up on the floor still and I'm sure it will only get messier as we try new foods. Someday we will try spaghetti and someday it will find its way into every nook and cranny of our kitchen. 

Marin's current word is "pretty." She points at everything and states that everything is now "pretty." All day, every day. "Pretty, pretty, pretty." 

It was snowing again today and Marin gets so excited about seeing all of the snowflakes. We need to get this kid out to play in the snow soon. I haven't quite embarked into that yet. 

Week Forty Five.