Life

Things happen in life that we can only take as a reminder to enjoy each day as our last.  Late last night I received a text from Tracy that a friend of ours from the past had drowned earlier this week.  She was 31 years old, and 5.5 months pregnant... just enjoying a vacation with her husband at Nags Head.  I was not close with Jill by any means, but we shared a quick friendship in 2005 when I first started working at CFA Institute, and I have a photo of my friends Amy, Kate and myself with her on my desk still today from our holiday party that year.  From what I knew of Jill, she was the kindest and brightest soul.  Her smile was huge, and she wore it all the time.  She was elegant... simple, but one of those women who was just completely put together.  She was the type that you envied deep down because she had everything: beauty, brains and modesty.  All that I can think is that God had bigger plans for her and her soon to be born daughter, that what they had to offer was too great to just be beings of this world.

I couldn't sleep last night.  First came the shock of it all, then the sadness for her family, then the realization that I have never lost someone very close to me unexpectedly.  If the tragic loss of someone who I knew briefly and years ago has impacted me so much, I cannot imagine how it would feel for this to happen to someone I hold dear.  So today, I mourn the loss of Jill, I pray for her family and those close to her, and I appreciate and hold close to me all of those that I love, because I cannot bare the thought of losing anyone... my family and friends are my world... everything else is just a distraction.  Put all of your material things aside, all of the stresses of jobs and money and worldly things, and tell all of those that make you who you are that you love them.

Thank you, Jill, for being part of my life, as brief as it was!

Life These Days

Life these days is going by in the blink of an eye... and I know why!  There is NEVER a down moment.

Our weekday routine:
5:30 am Ron and Erin wake up
5:30-6:10 Ron gets himself and Kensy ready while I get myself ready
6:10 Erin feeds Kensy while Ron takes care of Javier's morning rituals; Ron packs Kensy's bottles
6:30 Ron helps load Kensy and I into the car for departure
6:40 Everyone is out the door
7:05 Erin drops off Kensy
7:30 - 4 Erin works (this includes 4 trips of pumping in the fantastic CFA lactation room)
3:30 - Ron gets off work and heads to the gym
4:20 - Erin picks up Kensy
5:15 - Ron gets home from the gym and Erin leaves for the gym
6:45 - Dinner time
8:00 - Bathe Kensy and put to bed; iron for the next day; pack for the next day; study for any classes to teach at the gym
10:00 - ZZZzzzzzzz (hopefully; and hopefully sleep until 5:30 the next day, though this hasn't been happening lately)

Next day: Repeat

No wonder everyone says kids grow up in the blink of an eye!  Who has time to blink!

I don't want to complain, because our weekends have been an absolute blast, but we have not been using them for R&R... that's for sure!

As wonderful as it is having a family and being a real adult I think sometimes about certain feelings that I miss that I never appreciated at the time.  I miss waking up on a Saturday morning and lazily planning my day... go for a run, grab lunch, catch up with a friend I haven't seen in some time.  I miss that random Tuesday evening after getting home from a ride or the gym and deciding to fix a bowl of spaghetti and drink an entire bottle of wine curled up on the couch watching So You Think You Can Dance.  I miss saying yes to that friend that asks me to go on a random day trip to Short Pump shopping.  I miss sitting by the neighborhood pool all day long on a Saturday, taking a quick nap and hitting the town until 2am.  The list goes on and on, but what I realize as I type these things is that none of these days moved my life forward, made me a better person, challenged me etc. the way being a mom has in just 3 months.

Being a mama and a baby mama is the best thing that has ever happened to me.  For the rest of my life I will have something more to live for than just myself.  I have opened my heart and my life to a challenge that not all people get to experience, and no one will ever experience in the same way that I will.

Maybe someday a day will get longer or we will win the lottery :)  Until then, don't blink!

Quarter Year Birthday!

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

I hate to keep posting the same pictures over and over again, but I just love seeing how much my little lady has grown and developed! :)  They say that the first 3 months of life for a baby is their "4th trimester;"  meaning that they are still developing as they would in the womb, but obviously the human body wouldn't be large enough for them to continue their growth for an additional 3 months.  I believe it!  At three months, Kensy has become her own little personality.  She is so even keeled... she must get that from her daddy :)  Our baby is so happy unless she is hungry, dirty or tired.  If she gets fussy, we go through that cycle and she is a happy camper once again.  

This month she has become quite the chatterbox.... she gets that from her mommy :)  She talks to her animals, to the television, and if nothing else is around, to herself.  Ms. Bonnie at daycare says she just talks and talks to herself in her crib.  She smiles and giggles, has gotten super strong (but still no rolling over), and even can sit up in her Bumbo!

Oma and I agree that she looks like daddy in this photo (it may or may not be the ears)!

She can track things with her eyes now, and is interested in watching EVERYTHING.  She is NOT happy if she is in a position where she cannot see everything going on around her.  

This weekend we took her with us to Ron's friends, Pete and Susanna's, annual 4th of July party.  It was a blast as always!  Tons of kids, food, fireworks... oh and of course 105+ degree temps this year!  Kensy hopped in the baby pool for a bit and is really seeming to like the water!  Here is her cute outfit that was given to her by my co-worker, Becca!  It's her first 3-6 month outfit!  Also below are some outtakes from her 3 month photo shoot, and a cute sleepy pic that reminds me of her last ultrasound :)  

Happy Quarter Year, baby girl!

My First 4th of July