a MEGA memorial day post :)

we're home from an UH-mazing memorial day weekend!! in honor of the holiday, my parents 30th wedding anniversary, and my upcoming birthday.....we packed up and headed to palm coast for some good old fashioned fun in the sun!

i realized as we were packing up that this would be emma's first "real" vacation. we started a new july 4th beach tradition with friends last year but emma was just shy of 6 months old at that point and wasn't able to quite appreciate her surroundings as much.  nor was she mobile yet....a MAJOR difference ;)

she was very interested and a tad confused as we packed up the house. and by "the house"...i mean THE HOUSE!  my goodness. who knew the smallest member of our family would require the most gear for this trip!!!



we timed the start of our adventure to coincide with naptime.  SOMEone isn't the biggest fan of long car rides....not mentioning any names....just sayin'.  she opened her eyes as we were pulling into palm coast. the resort we stayed at is one i've been hearing about for a while and have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to check it out.  hammock beach is absolutely beautiful and i don't think i'll ever stay anywhere else again! there was so much to do and i can imagine it only being MORE fun as the kids get older.

our condo was fabulous. we had a view of the entire resort and the ocean and a huge wrap around porch.    emma spent the first hour running around and checking out every last nook and cranny....and trying her voice against the echo in our huge space! so cute.

we were so excited at emma's reaction to the ocean. i'm trying to think of the best word to describe it.....enthralled??? obsessed??? it was like a giant sandbox + water....two of her favorite things.  she literally went running head first into the waves....it was awesome! she was throwing wet sand around and rubbing it into her skin, digging with her sand toys, and squealing with sheer delight as the small waves crashed up against her thighs.  she is a generally joyful child....but THIS was over the top :)

one thing i've come to realize is that, as a parent to a toddler....especially a toddler with as much energy and interest in novelty as emma....vacation is actually more just like a change of scenery.  with all this new stuff to check out and a pretty fearless lady on our hands....there wasn't much sitting still to be done.  those magazines i brought? that book i thought i might start? sleeping in? yea right, mommy!!!!

despite coming home probably more exhausted than when we left.....we couldn't have had a better time if we tried.

the girls at daycare always comment on emma's uncanny ability to get as dirty as possible. see above...case & point.

this later devolved into emma shoving a ketchup saturated hotdog piece {ew} into mommy's mouth. what can i say, we're a classy bunch! and you think THAT's messy? you should have seen the white tablecloth when emma was all done with it ;)

....not really having it with my family photo idea....oh well, i guess the other 2 billion photos we took will have to do! ;)

something about this weekend was just magical.  i keep saying it because it's true. experiencing our young family grow, raising our little firecracker, and getting to do it with my best friend is just an everyday blessing.....making memories like the ones this weekend are what my life is all about.

and the icing on the cake....how wonderful it feels to be home. isn't that the best feeling? of all the places i've been in my life.....the coast of italy, the greek isles, and now hammock beach.....nothing EVER feels as good as coming home and that feels really good to me.  emma is unpacked and starting to catch up on sleep lost this weekend, laundry is going, the house is clean, and i've got a hot dinner date on the couch. talk about the perfect weekend ;)

this week i am SO grateful for un-interrupted time with my family. they are my everything.

silent sneak peek

making memories!

we are in the midst of a magical weekend. sun kissed skin, the beach breeze in our hair, and the most joyful  little girl on the planet.  we are filling our hearts with memories.

please can this long weekend never end??! :)

sweet kisses

...me and my babies...

my kissy loving princess is 16 and a half months old. she is just so sugar sweet and i can already tell she's going to be the best big sister. the little man is growing at warp speed inside at 18 weeks today. his kicks and jabs are the real deal these days but he is treating his mama very well. 

life is sweet and beauty full. 

SO delicious!

mealtime is funtime {and messy time} in the murphy house. we need to get like ten of these straight away!

one of emma's favorite new phrases is "soooooo big!". she throws her hands up over her head to show you what a big girl she is.  it is only fitting, then, that her favorite new treat is an dairy free ice cream sandwich called "So Delicious".  i've been on the prowl for healthy lower cal treats for my little muncher and this certainly fits the bill.  she devours these things....and thankfully with only 90 calories, no harm done.  well, maybe to her clothes....but not to her ;)  

one of my absolute favorite things about being a parent is learning to appreciate the things we typically take for granted. not the greatest example but, watching emma learn to eat with a spoon and fork is kind of amazing. a simple thing to you and me, but watching her little brain try and figure out how to use this tool is pretty neat in her nerdy mama's eyes.  i'd venture to say she gets about 75% of her meal where it belongs....but it's that other 25% that brings all the fun :)

our nighttime routine, as i'm sure you can imagine, has bathtime immediately following dinnertime ;) 

her transition to the big girl classroom is going pretty well.  this is her first official week there and i really love her new teachers. i can already tell a difference in her vocabulary which is crazy....she's speaking in phrases these days!  we're going through a little separation anxiety phase right now....she melts down when i leave her in the morning {yea, thats the sound of my heart breaking} and bedtime has been a bit of a challenge for the past couple of nights.  once i'm 5 minutes out the door she's fine....i think it's just that initial "woah, this is different" when she looks around at all the different faces at the breakfast table.  with bedtime, she won't sit still for our bedtime story and keeps trying to play even though she knows its "night night" time.  i have to remind myself what a big change she's undergoing right now...

....i'm always happy to snuggle more with her or spend extra moments rocking her to sleep. i know it's important that she is able to put herself to sleep, which she normally does....but i also know that i won't get moments like this forever...so i relish them {and sometimes tear up while she falls asleep in my arms for its those sweet little moments with my girl that always get me ;)}

we are headed to the beach for a long memorial day weekend and this mommy's gotta get things ready!!!  is it sad that the preparation for this....getting myself, ryan, AND emma ready....is starting today when we aren't even leaving town until midday friday?  it takes a lot of planning to make sure we are all accounted for for 3 nights away from home...i'm telling you!  how is it that the smallest member of our family packs the biggest punch when it comes to the amount of gear necessary?? ;) oh how this girl has us tightly wrapped around her little fingers!

forever friends

oh my my what a wonderful weekend it has been.  we played with friends. we soaked up the sun. we ate yummy food. we laughed hysterically. we told stories about life. some of us sipped on beverages of the adult persuasion....while others of us just giggled as if we had ;) between dinner with the girls, emma snuggles, and visits from friends it was a weekend to remember. 

and at some point, saturday night resulted in a bedroom invasion.  way more PG than it sounds.....everyone just wanted to tuck me in, you see, and it resulted in another hour of funny stories, laughing, and me realizing yet again how much i love our friends ;) we didn't want the night to end.

emma got to sleep over at mimi & pop's house on saturday night.  she very rarely spends the night away from home ~ basically because ryan and i are obsessed with her and never want to share ;) but, when she does....she has the funnest of times.  we picked her up this morning and it was CLEAR that this time was no different.  from yummy sweet potatos and avocados {which, if you weren't aware also make for a wonderful body and hair treatment a la a certain 16 month old!}, to wee sing dance offs, to grandparent snuggle time....this child was in heaven.  she was still so happy to see us though which totally made our morning.....she was pulling my hand to get me out of the seat to have me come and dance with her before we left for home. swoon.

i'm one tired mama so this post is short and sweet. i love the quote in the image below because it completely captures how i feel about our friends.  life changes in crazy and wonderful ways and takes us all far and wide....but time stands still when you're with your true friends :) we love you guys.

whoa there crazy lady

this morning sort of came out of left field...

i dropped emma off at daycare....for her last day of "transition". she is moving up classes, something that is traditionally done when the kids are about a year old but because of space issues at her daycare has waited until now.  this is met with a constellation of emotions from our vantage point.  any parent with a child in daycare understands that while {i believe} it is is so wonderful and formative for them from a social and developmental standpoint....it's still damn hard to leave your precious child in someone else's hands.  emma has been in her classroom since she was 7 weeks old.  she has grown from a chubby stationary newborn to a bright ball of giggly twirly talkative energy in that classroom.  she has been with the same teacher for that entire time....they know my emma through and through, maybe not as well as me and ryan, but well enough for me to trust them with her life.  {granted, by the grace of god, her daycare is attached to the hospital so i am there at least once a day checking in on her like any good neurotic mother would} each day this week she has spent gradually more and more time in the new classroom and has been loving it. she's ready to move up....she's loving the "big kids" and the new environment....and today she will spend her first full day there.  

i pulled into our driveway, put the car in park, and tears just started rolling down my face.  i'm not sure why really...again, a constellation of emotions fueled, in part, by pregnancy hormones.  this has been a big week in our famiy and it has flown by so fast that i haven't really been able to process it.  the process of having her tubes put in was tough on us {easier on her!}!!! it's funny because in the grand scheme of things, it's such a minor little procedure that is going to afford such an improvement in quality of life for us all, but as a parent it was absolutely excruciating in a way i can't describe.  to have to trust yourself that you're making the "right decision", to hand your child over, and to pray that everything goes well.....those words don't even begin to do the emotion justice.  it was just exhausting. i had a stabbing headache by the end of the day from simply trying to be strong and keep it all together.

learning that we will have the absolute joy of raising a little boy yesterday was like the opposite of the emotions from the previous day! i had my hunches for a while that there was a little guy in there, but it was so exciting to confirm it.  the outpouring from our friends and family was lovely and really appreciated. this entire experience, while certainly not as overwhelming as the first time, has been no less amazing. the first heartbeat, the first kick, and now this.  it's also terrifying because, while i'm learning the ropes of being a new parent, i feel comfortable in being a mom to a girl. i don't know how to DO boy! that sounds silly as i type it out but it's the way i feel. i stood in the department store yesterday looking for boy clothes and just had no idea what to do ;) and not only having my emotions to sort through but to also have to make sure that we explain it right to emma, that she doesn't feel "replaced".....also a lot to process. 

we have some of our favorite people in town this weekend and are planning to get together with them and a group of our closest friends.  yet another set of emotions to draw upon. i am SO excited that my schedule this month allows for me to have the days set to a schedule I make....and my weekends free.  i actually get to see my friends.  this is something you normal people take for granted ;) in a busy life that makes room for my insane work schedule, raising a toddler, and fostering a marriage.....it has been my friendships, for the past 3 years, that have truly fallen to the wayside.  very few of my friends have jobs quite like mine, a schedule like mine.  i'm the friend that constantly can't be there because of work.  i am ridiculously happy with what i know my training will afford me and my family someday very soon....both from an experience standpoint and a financial one.....but it hurts to know that your friends often expect that you won't be able to make it because of work. yuck.  

thankfully, i have a small group of amazingly wonderful and understanding friends who despite my physical absence have stood by me through all of these moments. friends who put up with me and my crazy life. friends who i sometimes feel i don't deserve.....but who remind me what friendship is really and truly about because they are here anyway.  my cup runneth over with gratitude and love.  so, this weekend is really important and special to me....even though its super simple.

phew. so thanks to the culmination of all of those random scattered emotions...the tears poured out of me while i listened to some sappy song by the script. nothing like a little sentimental music to really push you over the edge!  i promise i'm not going crazy.  just needed to get that out. thank you blog for putting up with me while i did ;)  i feel all better now.  

emma: mom, you're weird...

...but i love you anyway.

thanks baby girl....mommy loves you times a bajillion and even more than that!

wishing you a fabulous friday and a weekend filled with fun :) between dinner with girlfriends, fun in the sun, family time, and a get together with our favorites.....i'm already grateful for this amazing weekend!

oh boy.

here's emma's face when she received the news that come october, she'd be getting a little BROTHER!

actually, i'm lying. this is just the smiley wonderful sun shiney-ness we wake up to in the morning.  it's pretty hard for me to believe that just yesterday, this child was doped up and getting tubes put in!  i just want to squeeze her :)

her real reaction was pretty funny, in fact. ryan and i picked her up from daycare together today and broke the news that she would get a baby brother.  her words, i'm not even kidding, were "ohhh nooooooo!"....of course with a huge smile on her face.  not quite sure what that means ;)

we're ecstatic. over the moon. it will be SO fun to have a new twist on the experience of parenting that we've had thus far. we have our little princess.....and now our little man can join the fun!  i see catcher's mitts and baby toolbelts in our near future.....and probably ones in pink too since little emma is not one to be left out ;)

oh joy. now if we just had any clue what we are gonna call this little dude we'd be in business. i'll have to get back to you on that!  hope everyone has a great friday and start to their weekend. we've got a great one in store full of dear friends and fun times!

XO

our little rockstar

hi everyone! ryan and i aren't ones to boast....but we are so proud of our little rockstar today.  she was such a big girl this morning and did so great with getting her ear tubes.  we are so grateful that everything went smoothly and that this will hopefully be the start to a wonderful ear infection FREE future ;)

we woke up early and got to the surgical center a little before 7.  the hardest part of the day was keeping emma distracted and occupied so that she wouldn't be super fussy over not being able to eat or drink....this is, afterall, the first thing she does in the morning!  it took a while to get checked in so we were a little worried that a meltdown was in store.  but, she was very interested in her new surroundings...making sure to check out all the "toys" {i.e. expensive breakable medical equipment!} in the pre-op area. she charmed all the nurses and doctors and didn't fuss one bit.  the staff and doctors were all so great with her.  we were only away from her for about 15 minutes before we were paged to the recovery area to receive a very groggy emma. she woke up in my arms and we were able to go home after 10 minutes of observation.  the doctor told us that he removed quite a bit of fluid from behind her ears, that the tubes went in very easily, and that {and i quote}...."she did awesome!!". yep, that's our girl. our little rockstar.

she spent the morning snuggling on the couch with me while the anesthesia wore off.

all of a sudden, around 11:45, she just popped right up, wriggled off the couch and was ready to go!! she stuffed herself with some crackers and applesauce and got some playtime in!  i just put her down for her afternoon nap and am about to grab one myself....i was a nervous wreck last night and woke up just about every hour on the hour!  we are so happy to have this behind us and, like i said, are so grateful that everything went as well as it did.

boy do we love this little girl....words fail to cover it!  thank you for all your kind words and thoughts....we are looking forward to A LOT less time at the doctor's office :)