Sara Stoff: July 2012

Life lessons at the beach.

Towels? Check.

Chairs? Check.

Umbrella? Check.

Snacks? Check.

Swimsuit? Swimsuit... nope.

That's right. Last week we went to the beach, with our car packed to the gills, and forgot Lilly's suit. As a mom- I have developed this need to be the most efficient/effective I can be at all times. I can literally lose my mind over wasted time. I have trouble just relaxing and going with the flow. So when I asked Ben where Lilly's suit was and his face went blank- I almost lost it. No suit. At the beach. Without a swimsuit. 0_o

Ben suggested we just let her swim and play in her tee and panties. I'm pretty sure I stared at him for a good minute before I said ok. Did she look a little ridiculous? Yes. Did I have to swallow my pride? Most definitely. But here's the deal: who cares?!? She was happy. She was safe. Who cares that she wasn't in a swimsuit? (besides me...)

I could have let this get to me. It could have ruined my day. Thank God that my emotions are not in control of me (most of the time). We all had a great day and I managed to take another baby step towards responding to surprise situations like a normal human being.

♥

Family Traditions

Oh, Monday. Today is my first day back in reality. We have had family in town for a little over a week and Ben took a few days off. Now it's just me and my girls. I also had my post-op check up last week and was given the "all clear" to resume normal life. So that's that. Watch out reality! Ima round house kick you in the face! (Hopefully)

ps- We always take a picture with our tongues sticking out. Family tradition at its finest.

♥

Beach Day

On Saturday we took Rosie to the beach for the first time. It was a perfect day- sunny but not to hot and breezy. Lilly played in the waves with her daddy and her auntie and uncle who are visiting from out of state. Rosie and I hung out in the shade- she snoozed and I snacked. I love living so close to the coast. Knowing that my girlies will grow up playing in the sea makes me so happy. There is nothing quite like the smell of the ocean and the feel of sand between your toes.

♥

Baby Shower Sneak Peek

Here are a few snap shots from my baby shower. Amy took all of these with her phone. Girl has mad phone photography skills. I had such a fun time.

♥

One Month Old

Rosie celebrated one month of life on "the outside" on Saturday by sleeping, eating and pooping. I can't believe it has already been a month. I can see her changing and it makes me feel happy and sad at the same time. Happy because I am so excited to see her features and little personality develop but sad because it is already going by so fast. Only 11 more of these short time spans and she will be a year old! Too fast. Here are some fun facts about Rosie's first month of life:

Mommy was: wondering what color her eyes will be. They are blueish right now and I would love for them to stay that way and be like daddy's. The doctor said it isn't likely though because of my Hispanic blood. Fingers crossed.
Rosie loves: eating, her paci, sleeping in mama's or daddy's arms, big sissy's kisses.
Rosie likes: sleeping in her bassinet, being held upright on a shoulder, pooping.
Rosie dislikes: not sleeping, not eating and dirty diapers. Oh, and baby acne. Maybe she doesn't mind it but I certainly don't like it.

Time flies when you sleep all day.

♥

SOS: Dresses all around

Stepping out ~~Saturday~~ actually Sunday on a Tuesday. I have a new baby. I don't have to follow "rules" like days of the week. For church on Sunday Lilly, Rosie and I all managed to look nice at the same time so I decided we needed to record the event. These pictures may all look the same but there are some very subtle/funny differences.

1. Lilly and Mom are smiling genuinely. Rosie is starting to lose it.

2. Lilly begins to space out. Mom is feeling the stress of Rosie crying. Liberty joins.

3. Lilly is no longer present. Mom tries to shush Rosie.

4. Lilly returns due to the excitement of noticing Liberty is in the picture. Mom has readjusted Rosie and is genuinely smiling over how awesome her life is. (I really really love this craziness.)

♥

ps- Mom, Lilly and Rosie are wearing head to toe Target. It's a sickness.

Currently {7.12}

Loving: baby wearing. I don't have the greatest sling in the world but it works! Rosie sleeps while I have two free hands to do other things like standing at the bar in my kitchen typing this! I didn't really start putting Rosie in the sling until last week. I don't know what I was thinking! It has been a game changer for sure.
Reading: articles on disciplining toddlers. We really (like really really) got off track with Lilly during my last trimester and she has been taking full advantage of it. Girl is SMART! Too smart for her own good. I loved this article.
Watching: AFV. That stands for America's Funniest Videos for those of you who aren't as hip as me. Lilly enjoys watching it with Ben and I so we watch at night as a family. Her favorite videos are of cats! lol. She is so cool. And I am often feeding Rosie while we are watching which leads to a lot of jostling for her. I try so hard not to laugh but I can't. Still one of the best shows on tv.
Anticipating: My SIL and her hubby coming to visit this month! Yee-haw for adult interaction! Lilly is pretty excited too. She has asked about a thousand times what kind of snacks Emily is going to bring her. She obviously has her priorities in order.
Listening to: Kings of Leon's album Only By Night. I got this album right before Lilly was born and listened to it non-stop. Then I thought I lost it. I had downloaded in on my iPod Touch before I had an iPhone. Then we gave my Touch to my BIL and he reset it. I wasn't sure how to get the album back since I didn't sync the touch before giving it to him (rookie mistake). I contacted apple but they couldn't find it. Turns out I gave them the wrong account because I found it via the new cloud business. And I found it about a week before Rosie was born which made it even more nostalgic.
Planning: My rose tattoo. With all the lilies I have on my arm I figured it was appropriate to stick a rose or two in there somewhere. I'll probably wait until this fall or winter to get it though because the idea of having to stay out of the sun and water (both recommended in the tattoo healing process) is unthinkable in Florida summers.
Wishing: There were about 5 more hours during the day. I would sleep for 2 of them and work for the other three. Or just sleep for all five. At least once a day I find my self saying It's _____ o'clock already!?!

Thanks as always to Dani for the inspiration for this post.

♥

Photo an hour

My very wordy self wants to say lots about the below pictures but that kinda negates the whole point of letting the day speak for itself via the pics. So instead I will just ramble about rambling and really say nothing. Yeah.

Here is a photo an hour from Saturday.

8:00am Breakfast.