Ingenue Mom

It was a really wonderful year! This was the year we became a family of 4! This was the year Isis really went from being a toddler to a child! This was the year I finished my first year of teaching & began my second year, which is wonderful because it's not considered an intern year anymore! Here was my top 10 for the year!   1. Isis turned 2 years old ! 2. We found out we were pregnant with baby #2 ! 3. I finished my first full year of teaching (& KTIP)! 4. Isis was potty trained !!! 5. Isis took her first swim lessons at the YMCA! 6. I joined the gym - which if you know me well you know that's CRAZY. 7. We found out we were having another girl ! 8. Lewis and I celebrated 8 years of marriage on October 2! 9. Lux Violet was born on October 12! 10. We celebrated 1 full year in our house, right before celebrating our first Christmas as a family of 4! And then in honor of the new year, here are 5 resolutions for 2013! 1. Read...

Christmas was really fun this year! I have never had a little baby at Christmas before. Isis was born right after Christmas, so she was almost a year old her first Christmas. It was really great having Lux there. It was also truly magical seeing the Christmas experience through Isis' eyes. Our festivities started on Saturday. My parents, my grandfather, his wife & daughter all came over for a brunch & gifts! I was excited because we had gotten my parents a Keurig! Isis got a super cute Coach purse from her Aunt Ellen! She loves it and puts her lip gloss and dress-up rings in it and carries it around. I didn't even know they made little coin purses like that, but it is just Isis sized! She also got a Sit & Spin! I loved those when I was a kid!! She loves spinning around on it while I make dinner in the kitchen now! Lux got a really cute little play mat. We are taking her old one to the babysitter's house when I go back to school, so we needed a cute one ...

2011 has been quite a year for my family. I slacked a little in the blogging, but mainly because there was so much going on! I love the New Year because it always makes me want to take time to look back & reflect on a year passed & then to look forward to possibility for the next year. January Isis turned 1 and we celebrated with a birthday party ! I reflected on what it meant to me to be a mother and what I was learning from the experience . We also put our townhouse up for sale in January!   February I found out in February that a bunch of my friends were pregnant ! Isis took her first steps ! I got a little frustrated that things had not yet regulated after having Isis. And I shared 10 of my Favorite Things ! March Isis dropped to 1 nap a day ! I shared some of her favorite books and some of her technology milestones at 14 months. I also shared why I think my choice to be a teacher was great for me as a mom and also great to my future stu...

My friends have a beautiful lake house & we've visited before, but yesterday was our first time where Isis was old enough to appreciate where she was & get excited about a ride on the lake! It was so fun!! She loved playing on the big porch & looking out at the water! We found her a little life vest to wear when she went down on the dock!  She wasn't crazy about the life vest, but she loved putting her feet in the water off the back of the boat! But then we found a better life vest swimsuit that she borrowed from her friend Reese! Now she was ready to go for a ride on the water! She LOVED being out on the water! I think we'll have to make it a more regular thing to go visit the lake!  Hope everyone is having a fun-filled 4th of July weekend!!!

Picture Source: Avenue D Photography This Mother's Day I told Lewis I wanted to go on a date. We are going this weekend! But the other thing I asked for was that we would give some money to help Adriel at The Mommyhood Memos make some Birth Kits! Every minute a woman dies of complications related to pregnancy and childbirth.  Ninety-nine percent of these deaths occur in developing nations.  For every woman who dies in childbirth, another 30 women incur injuries and infections, which are often preventable. (Source: World Health Organization .) Adriel lives in Australia and works with YWAM Medical Ships . They provide a variety of medical services to those in need in Papua New Guinea. This year, Adriel has started a campaign called Bloggers for Birth Kits. In rural Papua New Guinea, 1 in 7 women die in childbirth. Birth Kits can really help reduce these risks. Please go to Adriel's blog to read more about this.  As soon as Adriel emailed me about this, I knew...

For me, Easter is about life. Resurrection. Hope. Grace. Love. Sacrifice. Power. I don't know what Easter means for you. Maybe it's hunting eggs, little girls in spring dresses & time with family. Maybe it's what I described above. Maybe it's both. Wherever you are, whoever you are with, I wish you a Happy Easter!

Today I started my long term sub position!! It was a really wonderful day! But I'm tired & I'm going to bed early. I just wanted to share this picture of my cute little valentine all dressed up, helping me pick out her summer wardrobe at Old Navy this weekend!! Yay for the Kids & Baby Sale!!! My other valentine is taking me out for a celebratory new job/Valentine's dinner next week!! How did you spend your Valentine's Day?

2010 was a huge year for my family! The whole year was truly about Isis. I woke up 9am New Years Day with my first real contraction, so she was the first thing I thought about in 2010 and I'm sure she will also be the last thing I think about this year. It's also the year I graduated college. It's the year Lewis and I both were stretched to the limits of our love, patience, understanding, humility and perseverance. I can say with all honesty that this was one of the best years of my life. I never knew I would hurt so bad, be so scared, cry so much, but ultimately love so deeply. The struggles have been incredibly challenging, but they have also been what have produced in me an honesty and sincerity about who I am and who I want to be. I am confident in my role as a mom and I'm proud of myself and my family for how far we have come! What wonderful memories I will carry with me now from 2010! It was also the first year that I really took blogging seriously and made some ...

Oh, what a cheesy post title! But this Christmas was the best Christmas I've had in a long time! It was so relaxing and fun and everything was absolutely just a thousand times better having Isis there to enjoy it all! She is such a ham! She was just cheesing at everybody and then she'd giggle and laugh and wave and if people laughed at her, she just kicked it up a notch! I don't think we're going to have any trouble with being shy! Anywhere she goes, she's laughing and waving at everyone just like she did with family around the dinner table! I got a Nook for Christmas from Lewis! I've been reading so much over the break. It was the perfect gift!! I also got Glee Season 1 and I've been watching it non-stop ever since then. Isis got some cute clothes, some bath toys and one of those tables she can stand and play with. It was a really great Christmas! Her favorite thing was ripping the bows off all the gifts. She also prefers the gifts that are in bags so she ...

 Our first Christmas is just a good night's sleep away! I have loved this season so much! There's just something about watching your (almost) 1-year old play around on the floor next to a Christmas tree! It just really gets you in the Christmas spirit! Isis is at such a fun stage right now! I am loving that! She isn't quite walking yet. She just doesn't seem interested in trying it on her own. She'll get there. But she's so cute! All our gifts are purchased & wrapped & under the tree! We bought a new Christmas tree this year because our Charlie Brown one from last year just wasn't going to cut it. You definitely don't want a tree that looks on the verge of toppling over with a baby in the room! I'm excited about the next couple of days!! I look forward to sharing some Christmas pics! I hope your holiday season is just wonderful & that you get to spend plenty of time with family & friends! Merry Christmas!!