A Walk in the Park

This morning Josiah woke up at 5:00, which was nice since he usually wakes up between 2-3 am for a "midnight" snack. I felt the bed moved and realized that Steve was going to get up with him. Oh blissful sleep!!! I dozed in and out as I heard their noises before deciding to join them around 5:30. After he fell back asleep, Steve and I showered and got ready for the day. He encouraged me to go back to bed until they woke up again and I DID which brought my sleep for the night at 8 hours!!!!!

When I heard their noises around 9, I jumped up, fed and played with them and packed everyone in the car (as I had decided this day was too beautiful to remain inside) and ventured out to Laurel Acres Park. I didn't bring the nice stroller because it would have been incredibly cumbersome to unload the Snap and Go from the car, drag it upstairs, only to drag down the big stroller, move stuff around in the trunk and finally stuff it in. Other than that, the walk was perfect!

Laurel Acres is essentially one big pond with a walking path, pavilion, and several play areas for children. It's also where Steve and I had a big cookout the day before the wedding with family and friends.

The babies were largely interested in their surroundings, but succumbed to the movements of the stroller and were soon dozing in their seats. My goal was to walk around the pond 5 times and I finished the walk with 7 turns around the lake! The stiffness in my legs and shin splints wore off around the 4th rotation, so I was able to pick up the speed and get a decent workout.

Having eaten nothing yet, I was very hungry by the time I packed the babies in the car and decided to venture to SaladWorks (a favorite of mine and right around the corner from our house) for a quick lunch. The babies did a great job! I hurried through my meal talking to them between bites of chicken, carrots, cheese, cucumbers and lettuce.

All in all...a very successful trip.

They are both napping now (which- I won't lie- took a great amount of effort) and I relish the silence, letting the gentle hum of the appliances slow my pulse and calm my mind.

Here are pictures via phone from today and the last couple days:

Drool on the chin...yummy.

Love the Elvis lip on this one...

"What, Mommy? What you sayin'?"

...and the babies and both awake. Bummer.

Untitled

I'm missing college now more than ever. I was everything I wanted to be. The unknowns were frightening and yet exhilarating.

The move to NJ after graduation was hard. The adjustment to married life was hard. Learning how to stay in touch with friends who live far away was hard. Making new friends was hard. Putting every ounce of energy into my job was hard. Being pregnant was hard. Becoming a mom was hard.

I've spent the last 30 minutes browsing through pictures of my best friends and I. The sadness I feel over those days is natural and is often replaced with happiness in the life I have now, but that doesn't take away the "itch". It creeps up on me when I see pictures of other people having fun with their roommates, friends, boyfriends, etc., when I miss my buddies, and when I feel weighed down with responsibility.

Being an adult is hard.

Mobile Uploads

Swimming is hard work!!!

5 Month Milestone

"Who cares about the clouds when we're together?"

-Dale Evans Rodgers

Among the other June anniversaries this year, Steve and I (along with our parents) celebrated several years of wedded bliss. Can't believe we've been an old married couple for 3 years now! What a marvelous wedding celebration we had!

We have so much fun together, I can't wait to see what the future holds. We started our blog on our 3 week honeymoon in an effort to share our adventures with family and friends and it's remarkable to me that we've not only managed to keep it updated but that there are still people (thanks mom and dad!) interested in reading all the mundane things in our lives.

And in other news, today is Josiah and Lilly's 5 month birthday!!!!

WE CAN'T BELIEVE HOW MUCH THEY'RE GROWING!

Our sharp vigilance of their well-being has morphed into a natural parental omnipresence aka "eyes in the back of your head" syndrome. They're movements, reactions and sounds have become an extension of our own consciousness. It's very weird.

We made impromptu trip to Steve's parent's house to swim with the babies. This time went better than the last. If we time outings just right, they are almost always uneventful which is just how we like them. Steve's dad was kind enough to send me these pictures. I have several others from my phone, but am experiencing technical difficulties so I'll save them for a later post.

Mobil Uploads

Gum on the window....missed the grass by a mile.

On a walk

Visit with Britt and Cole!

Jumperoo!

"Horrible no good very bad day"

For a reason which I have yet to discover, both Lilly and Josiah (but especially Josiah) have had an awful week. Between bouts of excessive fussiness, crying, straining, sleeplessness and spitting, up things have been very difficult. I am weary, sore, foggy-brained, impatient, and out of ideas.

Steve suggested that they may be teething, but I didn't think it could happen so soon. I did quite a bit of reading (for example at BabyCenter) about teething and it turns out that they are within the age bracket to be experiencing it. Although I've tried Orajel and Baby Tylenol, it doesn't really seem to make a different. Our anniversary dinner (last evening) allowed us to get away and help from Michelle today helped to break up some of the monotonous struggling. I will be relieved when we move past whatever stage this is. I loathe bottles and spit up.

I'm not sure what I'll do if tomorrow is another day of this chaos. And..... of course, whenever we have someone stop by they are (almost) perfect angles.

Pictures now, writing later

More Father's Day Fun

Via mobile camera:

Just arrived at Daddy Steve and Grannie B's house for a Father's Day cookout. Lilly looks happy to be there, but Jay's still focused on his toys.

Aunt Michelle and Josiah

Catching some zz's in the pack n' play on the deck

Lilly practicing her standing