The Birthday "Man"!

Isla is calling him the birthday "boy" but since he's hitting the big 3-0, I think its safe to switch over  to birthday man!

This main man of mine makes my heart skip a beat every day. From his even temper to his sarcastic remarks, I 100% believe he was designed just for me.

He keeps me grounded, encouraged, enthusiastic and most importantly he puts a smile on my face every day.

He's always slow to anger, quick to love and forgive, gentle and humble. His humbleness amazes me! I look up to him and try to be my best for him.

I'm so thankful God allowed our paths to cross 8 years ago. Happy birthday my love!

So Proud!

This weekend, we are heading to Whitelake, NC for a little R&R ,time with family and friends and... for my husband to compete in his second triathlon at Whitelake!

He has been training for over 18 weeks now and everyday he amazes me with his dedication and strong will. His commitment to be great and do great is just one more reason why I love him. Not only has he been committed to training, but his commitment to being a great husband and father has never wavered as he was undergoing a demanding training schedule. His dedication to our family, his work, my honey-do list and his personal endeavors is so admirable and I know I can always count on him.   I am so impressed and proud of all of his accomplishments.

 Isla and I are looking forward to watching from the sidelines and cheering him on as he conquers yet another great milestone.

Not sure why, but the clip from Robin Hood came to mind when writing this post - YAY DAD!

 

Making the most of your time together…

Once you become a parent, let’s face it… your marriage takes a backseat to get through the first year. You’re both up running around in the middle of the night searching for something to help soothe your little one or walking the halls bouncing, swaying and cuddling the babe back to sleep. Your days are just as hectic with everything from sanitizing to bottle prep time to bath time… needless to say there’s definitely not as much marriage time than before your bundle of joy arrived. And at first you are both in survival mode. You take things you’ve learned from your own parents, grandparents, family and friends. You go off of your instinct, gut feelings and things you’ve read and you PRAY – you pray a ton! 

Now that we officially survived the first year of parenthood, we realize more than ever the importance of cultivating and nurturing our marriage. 

Here are a few things we do to make sure we are making time to stay connected in our marriage while also making sure we are maximizing our time with our daughter:

Day dates – these have been great for us! Working close by or with your husband definitely has its advantages. It’s been so nice to plan out our days and know when we can take a lunch date together, take a long stroll outside together or just run errands and be with one another – just the two of us. We also get to carpool together and there is a lot to be said while stuck in traffic on I-485.

Nap times – Isla doesn’t always take 2 hour naps, but when she does we make the most of it! We use this time to reconnect, communicate and catch up on what’s going on, plan our day or the next date and listen to music together. Something that has always been a shared interest between my husband and I is our love for music… while we don’t get to go to as many shows as we once did, we still have time together to check out new bands, talk about the music we love and share a new found artist.

Planned date-nights – this one was really hard for me to come to terms with and really due to Isla’s colic and just me being an overprotective momma bear… my husband and I didn’t have a lot of one-on-one time away from our daughter until more recently. I will say though, it is so nice to be able to plan an exciting date for your significant other and surprise him/her…and since we cherish this one-on-one time now more than ever, it makes it that much more exciting!

New Territory

Being a new mom comes with so many new responsibilities. Life as you know it changes and what was once a simple task becomes a difficult one. Seven months in to motherhood, I still feel like a new kid on the block. The hardest thing for me though has been balancing my mommyhood with my wife duties. 

After I had Isla, my daily thoughts… that were once focused on my husband, our home, my family, my friends, my free time…all changed and were consumed with BABY!  Being with Isla, keeping her happy, helping her as she develops and just spending time with her have been all I could think about. But I’ve learned, I have to create a happy medium. I have to ensure I am making my hubby feel loved too. I have to take some time for myself, my family and my friends. It’s a balancing act and no one said it was going to be easy, but I know as time goes by, I will find my rhythm.

Four years and counting...

Four years ago today, my hubby and I shared a scoop of ice cream and a bashful kiss under a gazebo in Blowing Rock. This was the first year we celebrated the Holidays together. Little did we know, we would soon share many more things together including a house, marriage and a beautiful little girl. I’m so thankful that our paths crossed and my crazy choices in life led me to him. 

 

Happy birthday hubby!

Happy birthday to my wonderful husband. You are an amazing dad and hubby and we feel so lucky to have you.

I'm looking forward to celebrating many more birthdays with you. Our birthdays, our loved ones birthdays and our kids birthdays.

I'm so thankful that I get to spend every year with you and look forward to what the next year holds for us.

I hope you have a wonderful day! I love you.

I'm thankful for my husband...

Do you wear your emotions on the outside or keep them buttoned up? It’s not hard to detect what kind of mood I am in on any given day. If I am stressed, happy or sad, I have the tendency to show it in my expressions, tone of voice and mannerisms. My husband on the other hand can be stressed to the gills, but no one would ever know. He is so calm and cool. I doubt he even knows it, but I admire that about him. 

If I am happy, I am usually on cloud nine. If I am sad, then my whole demeanor is droopy. I wish I could be more like my husband, but I am a highly emotional being. I pour myself into feelings. When I love, I love deeply. When I am saddened, my heart aches.  I am also extremely sensitive. I’m sensitive in my feelings, but also to others. I get my feelings hurt easily and often take things the wrong way. As you can imagine, this can cause some hurdles in a marriage and well, in life.

My husband has really been helping me to work through these challenges and helping me to see things differently. He helps me to be more light hearted, less sensitive and take things with a grain of salt. I’m so thankful to have someone in my life that is encouraging, reassuring and patient. I’m thankful to have someone who helps me work on being a better me without insulting me, but by lifting me up. I’m thankful to have a spouse that does not judge me, but loves me unconditionally. I’m thankful that my husband’s personality is the opposite of mine, or else we would be living in a high strung household! I’m thankful my husband makes me remember to slow down, breath and let the little things go. I’m thankful that my husband is slow to anger and forgives easily. I’m thankful for God’s plan for my husband’s heart, my heart and our little family of three!