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 Thirty One

We've all been passing around a cold once more in our little home. I don't think any of us have all been healthy at the same time in a while. I know a lot of other families are facing that this season as well, but dang, this flu and cold season has been a bad one. A lot of it stems from Ryan and I bringing germs home from work and Marin bringing them home from preschool. Poor Sully gets caught up in all of our germs as well. I've been trying to make sure we are washing our hands, covering our mouths when we sneeze or cough, and trying to stay out of Sully's adorable face. Hopefully this all passes again soon and we can continue on with regular programming. 

Sully rode in a shopping cart again on Monday and is just as chill as can be. I think being able to see all of those people and things is a bit overstimulating for him but I think he enjoys not being stuck in his car seat. Ryan and I haven't gone grocery shopping together with the kids in a very long time aside from Costco. But, it made me realize of my enduring love for King Soopers Clicklist. I don't have to deal with all of the people, I get exactly what is on my list, and stay within my budget. On Monday, we bought a few too many extras that I hadn't planned on and it was just stressful. The King Soopers right by our house will offer Clicklist in a few weeks and I am thrilled to say the least. It seriously has made my life so much easier with two kids! Now if we could just get a Starbucks drive-thru near by, then I will never have to leave my van again. 

Sully has been eating great and seems to be taking a liking to solid foods. I'm getting ready to start introducing more baby-led weaning foods instead of purees. It will be nice once he can start feeding himself more instead of me having to spoon feed him all of the time. I am going to start incorporating some bananas, avocados, roasted sweet potatoes, and some other steamed fruits and veggies for him. He really likes picking up and eating his Rice Mum Mums so I don't think he will have any issues with finger foods. He's all boy and loves to eat. I'm hoping he doesn't grow up being pretty picky like his sister. Her palette is always a work in progress. 

We celebrated my mom's birthday this past weekend and it was super fun to have so many kids around. We actually have a need for a kids table! It feels strange to be at this point in our lives but I love it. I love the chaos of it all and I love that I can sit at the grown ups table and drink my glass of wine. Win win for everyone!

Week Thirty one. 

Here's Marin at Week Thirty One. 

Portrait Four

As part of my 32 Things Before 32 List, I am attempting to take one self-portrait per month. This one is for the month of November. Yet again, we are well into the next month and I am just now getting this posted, but here we are.

Someday I won't question whether or not this is it and if it's enough. Looking back, I will realize it was always more than enough and long for the things I missed or overlooked because I was too busy trying to be super mom and super human, all while having a clean, well kept house with fantastic vacuum lines in the carpet and the absence of sticky messes on the floor. 

Someday I know I will miss having these hangry humans intensely dependent upon me with their unwavering devotion and need for a parent, for a life giver, for a nurturer. Our home will one day be too quiet and I will long for the dishwasher that needs to be emptied and the little clothes that need be folded and put away in tiny drawers. I will miss the bath time at night where the kids plead to stay in for far too long and their fingers turn to little raisins. I will miss reading the same book over and over again at bedtime, a book that Marin can recite by memory alone, with the same rise and fall of our adult voices reflected in hers, just as we aim to bring each character from the page to life.  

In this season of life, I am woman finding her way once more, finding more solid footing. I am a wife, a mom, an employee. I am someone that at times tries to hold on to her past in fear of losing the creative aspects of my existence. I am someone that is working really hard to be present in the moment and not veer too far off course. I am trying really hard to find a life that is more than enough. 

Someday, dinner time will look different and I won't stand over a pot of boiling mac n' cheese, stirring it so it doesn't boil over. This is all for the picky preschooler that literally would eat the same thing every single night. I will miss making the chicken nuggets or coaxing her to eat just one more bite of vegetables all the while she absolutely refuses to eat carrots. 

All of this is it and it is more than enough. 

Portrait Four.