easter 2014

h a p p y e a s t e r !

Kyle and I decided a bit before Easter that we were going to keep it simple by staying home and just spending time as a family since we really don't get that time together with the whole opposite schedule thing.  Since Sophie is sleeping through the night now, we only get time as a family on the weekend, and it's usually about 2-3 hours before Kyle goes to work (one of us is usually napping), so to be able to spend a whole uninterrupted day is wonderful and meaningful to us.  The first year will probably be the toughest for us because of the opposite schedule, and as she gets older she's more aware that she only sees one of us at a time for most of the week.

I think for the most part, all of her first holidays and celebrations will be low key for this first year because she really can't do anything beside hang out.  But it's also very important to us to start building our family traditions.

Easter has worn her out.  You know all that eating, and peeing her diaper, it's exhausting being a baby.

Oh, and I'm engaged.

I'm engaged!!

Kyle and I had been talking about getting married since last year, before we found out I was pregnant.  We both knew this was it. And he was the one .

Then we found out I was pregnant and put our marrying plans on hold.  We bought my engagement ring and matching wedding band in early April.  And then this set sat in my jewelry drawer for five days. five long days .  Can you imagine how crazy I went knowing it was there, but not on my finger?  More crazy than I already am.  So on April 19th, after spending three hours in a car, meeting the Joiner side of the family, and him working, we kept it simple by watching the movie The Croods , which by the way is a hilarious freaking movie.

A bit of a back story, Kyle asked me to be his girlfriend on Easter 2013, so let me tell you, I was incredibly surprised when he proposed to me on Easter 2014.  I got worried that he didn't want to marry me and that he felt he was getting pressure from his friends and family to pop the question and I started doubting we were ready when he proposed.  4:13AM in the morning, Kyle said to me: " I love you so much, I love you more than I've ever loved anyone in my life, you're the one that I want to be with for the rest of my life." and then the most important question I've ever been asked in my life:  "Liz, will you marry me?"

I couldn't even say yes, because I was crying, blubbering like a fool, even though I knew it was coming up, I knew he was going to ask me soon, just hearing the actual words were what surprised me.  Because it meant that one day, soon we would be married.  I never expected him to ask on Easter at all.

Anybody who knows me knows this: I do not like surprises.  I am always trying to figure things out, should've been born a cat.  I'm curious as all heck.  I swear he couldn't surprise me to save his life, I'm that curious and nosy.  Neither Kyle or I are romantic, so the way he proposed was perfect for our relationship.

So what is the stone in my ring?  It's iolite which for you geology people is also known as cordierite.  I am not a big fan of diamonds (works out perfectly for Kyle), and didn't want to use my birthstone ( opal ) as my stone, because despite being so beautiful, it's a soft gemstone and can get scratched easily.  Iolite is a beautiful blend of blue and purple so it was the perfect choice without breaking the bank.  I love the ring.  It's simple, elegant and so me .

Oh side note: when we picked out my engagement ring I specifically said no diamonds, hence there reason it's a gemstone. and the picture pictured is actually a very recent picture, hence the band, this post was edited a year later to add in a better photo since I hated the original engagement picture.

sunday morning

With the exception of Saturday night (because Kyle works all night), I would have to say weekends are my favorite time.  This is the time where Kyle and I actually are able to see spend time with each other for a few hours before he has to go to work. But what I love most is the morning time before Sophie gets all crazy for the day, before I really get up for the day,  and before we have to start the day and we're all just chilling in the bed together.  It's the calm before the storm, because after the night we usually go through, it's nice to have that calm happy period.

Our schedule the night before usually looks something like this:

9pm: start the going to bed process
9:15pm: change diaper, because Sophie won't start a feed with a wet diaper
9:30pm: feed one last time

9:45pm: stop feed to change diaper because Sophie refuses to finish a feed with a wet diaper

10pm: continue feed

10:05pm: change the diaper because she's peed through the previous one

10:15pm: hold Sophie until she falls sleep

11pm: gently move her from my arms

11:05pm: wake up for a bit once she realizes she's not being held anymore

11:15pm: fall asleep for the night

She'll usually sleep a good 5-6 hours now, but it also means that when Kyle comes home, we're both sleeping so he has to be extra super really quiet until he falls asleep because I swear he wakes her up, he takes care of her.  On the weekends when she wakes up in the early morning (4-5am), I'll change, feed her and then bring in to the bed for a bit and we cuddle until both of us fall asleep then she decides to boss me all over the bed until I'm pressed against Kyle pushing Kyle off the bed because I have no more room on my side Sophie has decided to take up the entire bed with her 10 lb body.  Even though we have no more room on the bed, it's the cuddling that I enjoy the most.  Then around 9-10am, she insists to be up for the day, and demands I acknowledge her presence.  When she was around two months it was punching and kicking in the face.  Now, she enjoys screeching randomly to make sure that I'm up.  After I feed and change her and put her in between us she then loves making sure Kyle gets up as well.  The first thing Kyle sees when he wakes up is us and he smiles .  Smiles because his two favorite people are right there waiting for him to wake up.  She just trills, smiling and laughing whenever Kyle looks at her.  His first words to her in the morning are "Who's my happy baby?"

Of course she has to stick her feet in his face a couple of times before he actually wakes up.  It's these moments when Kyle and I can have Sophie time together.  We'll have this precious moment for about 30 minutes to an hour before she has a wet diaper, wants to eat, or Kyle has to get up to get coffee.  It's this time that I love because it happens only twice a week.  It's one of the moments I cherish the most. Because these moments won't happen again.