A little on learning and motherhood

Today as I scrolled through my Instagram feed I saw a sweet photo of a wonderful momma and her baby son. The caption, which was about how her little one was teaching her new ways to live/ look at life, resonated with me. I reflected on my experiences of motherhood and how much Em has been teaching me about  love, perspective, and myself. I really enjoy following these other momma's feeds and sharing in some of their experiences. Everyone comes from a different place, but it's a truly special feeling when you can look at someone else's experiences and relate it to your own. How we realize there is a bond in this thing called motherhood. I am thankful for this bond that becoming a mother has given me. 

I'm also thankful that there is much learning and even growing pains. It can be frustrating at times, but the knowledge and love you gain really is the greatest reward. Thank you, sweet Em,  for helping me learn more about being a good person. 

Life lately- Connecticut

We are finally done with most of the huge  changes that have been going on the last few months. We are all moved and settling into our new home on the east coast. Well, mostly, we accidentally forgot quite a few boxes in our whirlwind of a week at home.... Oops! 

Whew, driving a moving truck across the country with a 17 month old is not for the faint of heart! Luckily, my grandmother was able to join in and she drove our car with the beasty while I sat behind the wheel of the gigantic truck with all of our possessions. It was an experience that's for sure. I will say I am glad for all the time Em and I were able to share with my grandmother. It was strange when she flew back home. 

There are about 3500 miles separating us from all of our family. It always comes as a surprise when I think of how great that distance is. Until last December I had always end lived within about 150 miles of my family. It'll make visits home that much sweeter I suppose... And hey, at least the scenery here is much better than Florida! 

I really can't wait to start exploring all that is around us here. We are close to big cities, history and great architecture surrounds us, hopefully some new and rewarding friendships will take shape here as well. It seems like a great community and it'll be an adventure becoming a part of it. 

This is a little picture from our hiking outing last weekend! We've decided that one day a week should be dedicated to hiking and/or being outside...even if it's just down the road! 

Easter Festivities

Hello there! It's been awhile again. March seemed to fly by for us over here. We are still dealing with Spring Breakers, but they are almost gone! Hooray, for a slight decrease in the traffic craziness and less honking!

This was the first Easter that Em was able to participate in so, we went to Rosemary Beach and got a photo with the Easter bunny, looked at all the ritzy people in their Sunday best, and walked along the beach. After that we jumped back into the car and drove down the road to the little town of Watercolor. Clark got blueberry gelato and I had the BEST pistachio gelato (I think Em was a fan of both flavors). 

We then walked around for a little bit waiting for the one o'clock 15,000 egg Easter "egg hunt" to start. I don't really think it can be called a hunt when the plastic eggs are just laid out over an expanse of lawn... And let's talk about greedy little fingers and children stampeding into the egg filled lawn. Holy cow... And that's not even talking about the parents going crazy in the 1-4 year old section. One mother was running around filling her child's bucket, I mean that container was brimming with eggs. She had to have 50 eggs in there and for a 2 year old?!  

Clark went in with Em this year and I attempted to watch from the sidelines. When he got back out 2 minutes after the start they had six little eggs and he smiled a little as he told he how he had "accidentally" kicked over a woman's bucket that was overflowing. I shook my head and laughed a little at his use of the word accidentally, I know him a little too well for that, ha.  I imagine that woman was not happy about it since the eggs went flying in all directions and were immediately pounced on by crazed egg "hunting" children by the end of Clark's little incident recount. 

I don't know that I'll be taking Em to another giant Easter extravaganza, seems a little too crazy and corrupt. I think next year will be spent at home with real dyed eggs and you can bet they will definitely be hidden. 

Happy March 2nd!

Our family had a wonderful weekend and from the looks of my Instagram feed so did many others! I saw photos of friends snowboarding in different states, like Colorado. I saw beautiful art that was made, and lots of smiles. 

It was awesome to see so much positivity on social media and in our day to day life! 

Last week I met up with a group of moms (I found them on meetup.com) at a cute little trendy coffe shop, Chez Amavida.  It reminded me of home and I knew Clark would like the coffee and the vibe of the shop, so Friday afternoon we went in and enjoyed our drinks while Em napped in the car seat next to us. It was so relaxing to just be able to talk to each other and be out while she slept. I was quite pleased with Clark's review of his coffee and I think it is somewhere we will visit many more times in the next two months before we leave PCB. 

Saturday morning found us driving out on 30-A pretty early in the morning. It has a bunch of cool planned communities and four state parks along it. The area is gorgeous and we were excited to actually find multiple farmer's markets to stop at. We also explored a little art studio and got in a short "hike". It was really small and nothing like hiking back home, but it was still enjoyable and I liked the change of pace. 

We also saw a few awesome looking food trucks on our way back home and I cannot wait to go back and see what tasty food they have to offer. The weather wa pretty cold that day so, I'm also looking forward to going back visiting the beaches!  According to the online guide 30-A is supposed to have some of the most gorgeous beaches. All in all, it was a wonderful day. 

Sunday, we were more lazy and stayed home most of the day. Well, I was more lazy... Clark woke up bright and early and went and got groceries and made breakfast before Em and I were even out of bed. I love when he does things like that :) We did find ourselves back at Chez around noon and then walked around little St Andrews and played in the park for a good couple of hours. It is so amazing to see how well-and quickly!- that Em can make her way around now. She's not even a baby anymore sometimes, she's a tiny human! 

Well, that was our weekend and I'm really glad it was such a good one! 

Here are some photos :) 

We took selfies while the baby slept :) 

It's spring break (almost) in PCB

Here in PCB spring break lasts about 4-6 weeks. It is a giant hotspot for teens and twenty somethings to come party it up before going back to school for spring term. I've heard horror stories about the traffic, the crowds, the drugs, the noise etc and starting next week I'll get to experience it myself. Hopefully it's not as bad as I'm anticipating and all the hype I've been hearing is far greater than the real deal...probably not though.... 

My grandparents get here next week and I'm hoping that we will have beautiful sunny weather. This week has been cloudy and rainy. Tonight it is even supposed to be thunder-storming all night. I want to spend time on the beach with them and for some reason I feel like rain wouldn't make it a good experience... Hopefully that will be enough room for us out there and the sand won't just be taken up by crazy partiers. 

I'm feeling pretty darn homesick today. The crappy weather has me thinking about winters at home and sitting around my parents wood stove. Only two more months till I get to visit them and everyone else back home...I can't wait!! 

I'll leave you some iPhone photos below :) 

She finally is starting to look like me! 

Silly faces, baby laughs and sunshine

Some days just work out nicely; today was one of those days. The sky was bright blue, it was a tad bit chilly, but warm in the sunshine and Em and I  clicked. Lately, she's been whining over every little thing and testing every boundary she finds. Today was a nice reprieve. 

We went on two walks and played at our little playground. While swinging I got out my new iphone (thank you honey) and decided to get some photos of her laughing at the faces I made. I absolutely love when she smiles and laughs like this. Her little teeth and the gap between her fronts just melt my heart. 

Saturday is Clark's birthday and I've been busy trying to get ready for it in the calm moments when Em is occupied by toys or napping. Normally that would be easy, but with her new fiery independence and curiosity for new things I've been finding myself feeling overwhelmed and maybe even overusing the word, "no". Hopefully, I'll come up with new ways to keep up with her and not curb her personality. If I'm lucky I'll manage to make Clarks birthday a success as well. Wish me luck! 

Happy Valentines

We are spending the day together and it couldn't be better