Marin Turns Four!

Top photo: Marin at 3 years old. Bottom: Marin at 4 years old. 

On Sunday, February 18th, our baby girl turned four years old. It still seems like just yesterday we were anxiously awaiting her arrival and she decided to take her precious time....arriving 10 days after my due date. Marin is spunky, incredibly smart, and I am so blessed to be her mother. I look at her and cannot quite believe that she is ours and that we get to journey through life together, through every triumph and toddler tantrum. We get to be there with her along the way as she learns new things, soaking them all in like a little sponge. We get to be there along the way as she goes to school, makes friends, faces growing pains. 

She surprises me every single day with her extensive vocabulary and how she soaks in everything around her constantly. She takes it all in and doesn't let go. Sometimes, I think she gets frustrated because the rest of her world doesn't want to move through life at the same learning pace that she does. She loves Jesus and going to church. She loves preschool and I have watched her grow leaps and bounds through the classroom. 

Birthday Party Spread 

She currently is obsessed with all things involving space and can name all of the planets. She likes to talk about galaxies and moons.  She is in love with dinosaurs and My Little Pony. She loves to "read" books and dance around the living room. Bath time is one of her favorite times and she would stay in there all day, turning into a little raisin, if we let her. 

She is the most amazing big sister to Sullivan. She is always looking for an opportunity to help me by grabbing a diaper, comforting him when he's fussy, and picking up all of the toys that he constantly throws on the floor. Their relationship is a great one and I love seeing it grow.

She is the picky eater in our family and would survive on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chicken nuggets, cheese burgers, and yogurt if I let her. I've been trying to get her to eat different things, especially now that Sullivan is exploring the world of solid food. We are very far from having a grand and expanded palette but hopefully someday, her relationship with food will be a good one. 

Miss Marin, we love you and can't believe we get to be your parents. Thank you for making our lives a glorious adventure, one day at a time. I cannot imagine life without you and I'm blessed to be your mother. You have stretched me in ways I didn't think were possible and can't believe you are mine. 

Happy Birthday, Marin Ryan Hollen! 

Baby Sullivan | Week Eight

In a few days, we will have ourselves an adorable, chunky, pretty darn awesome two month old. The days pass by so quickly every single week. This week, I finally managed to capture a smile in a photograph! (Thanks Grammy!) 

We also had our first epic diaper blowout. He waited to poop for almost 5 days. I knew it was going to be epic. We ruined his cute outfit and the whole time Marin was by my side talking about how stinky it was. It was stinky. All the way up his backside stinky. Yuck. 

Geoff will never admit it, but he loves babies. 

He has mostly slept through the night lately. We've had a few earlier wake up times to nurse around 3:30am but then we go back to sleep. Lately, when he waits until 4:30am or 5:00am to wake up, I just get up after I nurse him. That's the time I actually get to sit down in my chair, cup of coffee in hand, and have some time to myself. It's glorious. Half of the time it doesn't work out that way...Sullivan doesn't go back to sleep. Marin wakes up early because she's figured out how to set her little alarm clock for 7am. Most of my time in the morning is spent with two children in very close proximity to me. I read my Bible on my phone most days because I have a cuddly baby in my lap and a toddler close by as well. 

I am officially back at work full time on September 10th. I've been working a lot from home the past few weeks but I'm ready to jump in completely. Sunday mornings will definitely be interesting with two kiddos since I am at work by 6:15am. I let Sullivan hang out with the awesome nursery ladies for a while on Sunday and he was a little stud. Total ladies man. He won't be the tough one. Marin still has a hard time right at first whenever she gets to her class. We are working on that one Sunday at a time. We took a break from church for the first chunk of my maternity leave and now I feel like we are back to day one with her strolling right in to her classroom with no tears in sight. 

Marin starts preschool this week. We have a trial run class on Thursday morning but parents are allowed to be there for that class. I cannot believe the school year is already here. We are in a preschool co-op and we get to find out which committee we are on. It's a lot of work but I think it will be worth it in the long run. 

Week Eight. 

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. 

Easter 2014

My husband and I are very lucky. Both of our families like to hang out with each other. This makes holidays a lot easier. Everybody wins. This Easter we spent the afternoon at my parent's home with my sister, my grandparents, my parents, my aunt and uncle, his parents, and our brother and sister-in-law. Too much food was consumed and Marin was so exhausted by the end of the day because she was passed around into a different set of arms every so often. I love my family. I am very thankful for them and I am very thankful for Easter, for what Christ did for us. I know our lives would not be the same without that amazing, undeserved sacrifice. It is good to get together and live in remembrance, to look forward into what God is doing in each one of our lives, and to sit there and soak in the fact that this big, crazy, growing group of people are family.

Looking Back at 2009

Before I get immensely excited about telling all of my goals for 2010 to the blog world, I decided that it was very necessary to look back on all of the amazing things that occurred in 2009, what a life changing year it was!

Last January, Ryan and I took a trip to my beloved Portland. One year ago today, we were on the road heading to the northwest. I dearly wish I could say that is what we are doing today, but sadly, it is not. I miss you, dearest northwest.

In February, I quit working at the most amazing coffeehouse on the planet, but began a new challenging job in a field I didn't think I would ever pursue. I began as a financial administrator for a a dental office. (Note: It is probably the most rock n roll dental office you will ever witness in your life.) I had moments of wanting to pull out my hair and wondered why in the world me, a creative, artsy-fartsy individual deemed it a good idea to go into a job with so many numbers. But, I'm glad I did.

I also have joined a number of bands this year. I love being able to just go help someone else out with their project and just be a musician for a change. It is so challenging, but I love it. I joined this band in the Spring of 2009. They are an amazing group of gentleman that are mega-talented!

The Nurses

The month of May consisted of us running around like headless chickens while preparing for a wedding, bridal showers, and the anticipation of beginning a new life together. I am blessed.

On June 13, 2009, I married my best friend. The most amazing day of my entire life. We then went to San Francisco for our honeymoon. He is the most amazing man I have ever known.

July was a month of beginning married life and moving into a place we could call our own. The process was a bit longer than expected, but well worth all of it.

The next month consisted of playing a Battle of the Bands competition against a 15 bands from FOCO and winning! It was so enjoyable!

Those couple of days opened up a realm of possibilities for us as a band. We won some free recording time, got my record on college radio, even had a radio interview! 2009 was a good music year.

We started recording at Pigpen Studios. This experience has opened up so many opportunities for me musically.

In October, I changed my job title. I know that the change was the best thing for me. I got my own office, now work as a corporate administrative assistant and do a lot of HR stuff. The position is FAR more suited for me and I still get to work for an amazing company.

The past few months have been spent continuing to work on our record, playing solo shows, doing quite a few more photo-shoots, having our first Christmas together, joining another band called the Piggies, playing with the Riflemen, and dreaming about 2010.

2009 was an amazing year. Looking back, I can't even imagine how my life got to all of these amazing places, especially since I went through a couple of very challenging years prior to 2009. Redemption rings true. I am truly blessed.

2010 goals up next.

Stay tuned.