Date night

It is kind of amazing how much you learn to eat your words when you finally become a parent. While I was pregnant, I remember reading articles about how important it is to stay connected to your spouse after the baby is born--easy, right? Ummmm, harder than I thought. I always just assumed that this is Brady and I, we are different...best friends, partners, soul mates (I know you are probably gagging right now, but it is true:). What I didn't count on is how tired you are and how you are both just trying to get everything done and spend as much time with the baby as possible. Working and being a parent
is exhausting. We are both so tired by the time
we hit the pillow that we almost fall asleep instantly. This means we don't get as much time to talk as we used to (I know, I know, your mind was going to the gutter). More than that, when we do sit down to dinner together, Parker is right next to us--oh and don't forget about Piper begging--so our conversations are either constantly interrupted or they return to Parker.

We are both so happy to have Parker and can't believe how blessed we are, but we did decide that we need to make time at least one night a month to spend time with just each other. That night was last weekend. I leave Parker every day while I'm at work, but it is so hard to leave him at all on the weekends because you feel like you have to cherish every minute possible! So, after leaving him with my mom, we decided to go to Sumo's--our favorite! It was so nice to just spend time together and catch up on what is going on at work and everything else. I did embarrass Brady a little after having one glass of wine and "over-sharing" with our table mates. He can't be too embarrassed though because he did know this about me before we got married!

I can't wait for our next date night!

For sale: female yorkshire terrier

I have a dog. Piper is like my first born; I love her and completely spoiled her when we first got her. That small misstep is coming back to bite me in the butt. Piper is now going through her terrible two's and completely jealous of her little brother. When we first found out I was pregnant, we were very worried about how Piper would react. She doesn't exactly make friends very quickly with other things her size--she is a little too hyper for most other dogs. Most people love her because she is so friendly, but part of what they like about her is that they get to leave her at our house when they go home, ha. She can be crazy!! For example, a bad word in our house is "kitty". If anyone says kitty, Piper immediately goes to the back door and starts barking up a storm and then runs back and forth from the window to the door. She also has a bad habit of gnawing on our hands when she has to go to the bathroom. She is so bad that my dad even made a comment--pre-pregnancy--that we should wait to have kids because we didn't discipline our dog!

In comes Parker...at first, Piper was pretty well behaved. For the most part, she just ignored Parker, but at the same time, wanted to be where he was. For example, when I am feeding Parker, Piper will come and lay right behind his back, sometimes half-way on top of him! She is just always right there. Lately, she has been going crazy (literally, just imagine a dog going crazy) for attention. I have been buying bags of busy bones every week just to bribe her to be good. Her other method of getting attention has been pooping on the rugs. Yesterday, I actually threw Parker's rug away. This is normally Piper's favorite place to poop in the house (I know what you're thinking, and no, she did not poop there before Parker was born), but this time I accidentally stepped in it and it was smushed beyond repair. I am kind of at the point of wondering if she will ever get better! So, if you're interested in a cute yorkie, even just for a couple of days, let us know!

Probably too much information...

A couple of weeks ago, I was talking to my friend Kelly and she told me that her aunt not only pumped in the car as a passenger, she pumped while driving! I couldn't help but think how that would save so much time and prevent me from missing a pump if I have a meeting outside the office. Today was the day to try it out. I usually pump at around 10:00, but I had a three-hour meeting at 9:00 so I decided to pump on the way to the meeting. I just want to give you a mental image...shirt pulled up to my chin, and 80's Madonna-like attachments on my chest. Not to mention the fact that the radio is turned up especially loud so that I can hear it over the sucking. I'm not going to lie, there were a few moments when I hit stop lights that I was very nervous of being seen. I guess next time I'll plan ahead and bring a blanket!

I guess the moral of the story is to always look straight ahead when driving; you never know when you will get more of a show than you bargained for!

My how life changes!

A year ago, I would still be working out at this time in the morning. In fact, if i missed a workout, I would worry about it all day long. I know this sounds crazy, but I was slightly obsessive-compulsive. Running was my outlet, my way of just completely getting away from my thoughts and world.
Sidebar...In fact, a year ago, Jamie and I were running 13 miles in the snow--uphills both ways, ha! Ok, so I'm kidding about the uphills part, but not about the 13 miles in the snow, we thought we would never warm up!...
Now, I have to plan my morning just right to make it to the gym. If Parker eats for an extra 10 or 15 minutes or if he won't go back to sleep right away, I don't get to go. I even switched gyms and joined one that is only 2 minutes away as opposed to 8 because those 6 minutes make that much of a difference. This morning was one of those mornings. The combination of me hitting snooze for 10 minutes (4:55 opposed to 4:45) and Parker eating for a little longer now has me writing a blog instead of working out. The craziest part of it all is that I don't really care. Now, I take what I can get, but if I don't get to go because I have to spend an extra 15 minutes with my son--wahoo! I can't get enough of him and he changes everyday! I would rather wish I had a flatter stomach when he is five than wish that I would have spent more time with him.

Do mommies get sick days?

I feel like crap. Headache, body ache, earache, sore throat, runny nose....you get the picture. I can't seem to kick this cold and now that I have Parker, there is no time to be sick. Work has been super busy too, so it is just bad timing. I guess I never thought about what my mom did when she was sick; silly me just assumed moms didn't get sick, ha! Before, I would make it through the day and go to bed early when I got home. Not so much now. Now, I have to pick up Parker, let Piper out, make dinner, change Parker, feed Parker, eat, bathe Parker, feed Parker, get everything ready for tomorrow, sleep. Sprinkled in there is a little cleaning and reading for the Koch program. Normally, Brady is a giant help with everything, but this week he has been working until 9 or 9:30 so he doesn't get home in time to help with a whole lot. Not to mention, he is exhausted--that makes two of us. So, I guess I will just keep taking my tylenol AM to get through the day (too afraid to take the PM at night, what if I don't hear him cry!) and hope for the best tomorrow!

Christmas

Our little family!

Parker and my cousin, Sierra's baby Kayli.

Parker and his wub-a-nub!

"I wanna be like Mike!"

I know, I know, baby's first Christmas and it takes me two weeks to post anything. I can't believe how quickly time goes by! It is kind of amazing how having a baby can make you realize the importance of tradition. Brady and I struggled this year trying to figure out what our family traditions would be with baby bug. I grew up spending every Christmas Eve with one side of the family, every Christmas morning with my parents and brother and every Christmas lunch with the other side of the family. I never realized how lucky I was to have that consistency until this year. Brady and I never spent actual holidays together until we got engaged because neither one of us wanted to miss out on our own family traditions. Once we were engaged, we decided to solve our double-booking problem by switching who we spend Christmas Eve with every year. This means we spend Christmas Eve with one side and then drive on Christmas Morning to see the other side. I have been really lucky that my mom has accommodated us and either made a super early Christmas breakfast or a late dinner so that we still have our immediate family time. This year, however, I realized now that because we are essentially in a different place every Christmas morning, Parker will be too. I know this is silly, but it makes me sad that he won't be able to run to the tree at our house every Christmas morning.
This Christmas we got stuck in Wichita because of the weather and weren't able to go to Mankato until this last weekend so we spent Christmas morning with just the three of us. It was so nice to have that time alone. Poor Parker, we didn't know what we should get a 3-month old, so he just got a wub-a-nub--a pacifier with a stuffed bull attached to it, hilarious! Brady says that technically, we paid for him to come home from the hospital so his new home was also a present, ha.
For Christmas day, I bought Parker a Santa suit to wear. Brady hated it, but I figured it is my right as a mom to dress my child in ridiculous clothing. Brady eventually won because Parker had a blow out and didn't get to wear it for very long. Parker's other favorite present was from Uncle Landon. My brother got him Nike Air Jordans (black and purple of course) and a little stocking cap. Parker now looks like part of the team when we go to games!
All in all, Christmas was great!! I can't wait for next year and maybe I will have traditions for our little family figured out!