olivia's 3rd month!

man, i have really got to get better about writing these in a timely fashion! i have no excuse, but i have had a lot on my mind lately so i'll blame it on that. and, as every stay-at-home mom knows, babies are just exhausting! anyway... 

i'm 3 months old! 

 this month brought lots of exciting things, including your first birthday party for your buddy emmett and memorial day. emmett's party was originally going to be a pool party and mom was SO EXCITED to see you in your adorable yellow bathing suit. sadly it ended up being quite cool so you rocked a denim mini skirt and leggings instead. 

chillin' at emmett's

happy memorial day! 

this month also brought lots of fun visitors! "aunt" mindy, "uncle" jason, and "cousin" connor came first. you just loved them all and mindy and jason couldn't get enough of you! jason called you "princess" the entire time they were here! 

lovin' on aunt mindy

after the layman's left nana came for a whole week! you, mom, and nana had lots of fun cooking, sewing, and shopping. nothing too exciting, but it was wonderful to have nana here for so long! nana definitely spoiled mom by being so helpful, and of course she loved holding you and dressing you in frilly outfits! 

nana loves you so much!

after nana left "aunt" jackie, "uncle" matt, and "cousin" lukas came for a long weekend! we had lots of fun going to the nearby park, hanging out, and watching lukas run around! he's so fun! he loved you so much and was slightly disappointed that you weren't more exciting, but he loved to hold you and love on you nonetheless. :) 

so cute! 

happy with uncle matt

the following weekend was daddy's first father's day! we spoiled him with a new blue ray dvd player (!), a couple movies, and some other goodies. and of course mommy cooked lots of yummy food for him! 

we love you, daddy! 

mom insisted on getting a descent family photo since we pretty much don't have any! here we are after church on father's day! 

so cute! 

on your 3rd month birthday we went to the park with briana and fiona! you were very chill but you seem to just love being outside! mom even put you in the swing that you are way too tiny for and pushed you the tiniest bit! you're so cute! 

enjoying the breeze

hanging out with mom

olivia, you are getting more and more fun every month! you smile all the time (except when mom goes to take your picture!) and are starting to giggle. you're also getting better about entertaining yourself now that you are grabbing onto your toys more. in the mornings you love to kick and play with the toys in your pack and play! 

partied too hard this morning :)

you also love to look at yourself in the mirror. it's so cute to watch you smile, looking back and forth between yourself and mom or dad. you still love being held, of course, and being up close to mom in your carrier. you also enjoy looking at the fan, being outside, having your belly kissed, and anything that involves lots of attention. oh! and your favorite song is "head, shoulders, knees, and toes." you crack up every time i wiggle your toes!  

you are also becoming quite the good sleeper! you usually go to bed around 9, wake up around 4 or 5 to eat, and then go back to sleep until around 9! just one nighttime feeding - woohoo! we don't have a great daytime napping schedule figured out, but i can always count on you at least taking a morning nap after you play for about an hour. how you can get tired so close to 12 hours of sleep i have no idea, but whatever makes you happy! you do nap during the afternoon but the length and time varies greatly.

you are still 100% breastfed, and despite my attempts, you are just not into the bottle. mom tried pretty consistently for a couple weeks and then gave up and decided to wait until you got a little older, so we'll see... i really shouldn't complain though because you are a great (and fast!) eater, as evidenced by your plump cheeks and adorable rolls! :) 

seriously how cute are you? 

in addition to "talking" more, batting at your toys, and slobbering, you are rolling onto your belly! it's been obvious for a while now that you prefer to sleep on your belly, so mom started putting you down on your belly for naps and checking on you lots. you were trying to get there yourself at night and for several nights we witnessed you turning in a circle in your crib as you tried to roll over. it was so cute! we thought you might do it while nana was here and one night the three of us (mom, dad, and nana) gathered around your crib waiting for the big moment. it didn't happen, and you ended up getting really frustrated so daddy got you back to sleep. sure enough, within a couple nights of nana leaving (june 10th) you rolled onto your belly yourself, and you haven't looked back since! mom always puts you down on your back but within in seconds you are on your belly! you're getting so big!  

olivia, it's unbelievable how fast you're growing! mom and dad just love everything about you. you are so sweet and fun, and i honestly couldn't imagine my life without you. it's so neat to watch you grow and figure things out - like this month you've really been working on your hand-eye coordination and you can now successfully chew on your hands. before that you would just stare at your hands and sometimes when you would try to get your fist to your mouth it would end up by your ear or eyebrow! how cute! anyway, we love you so much and everyday we thank God for such an amazingly perfect daughter! we're excited to see what fun your fourth month brings!

34 weeks!

what’s new with baby: olivia now weighs about 4 and 3/4 pounds and is almost 18 inches long! she is continuing to put on fat and her central nervous system and lungs are developing. fortunately, if olivia was born now, she's likely be just as healthy as any other baby in the long run. this week was also special for olivia because she now has a cousin!!! lily preeti-kay borggren was born on february 10th at 6:23pm (local time) to my sister! she's a little early, and she's currently in the nicu, but her and mom will be just fine! 

what’s new with mom: mom is getting more uncomfortable and more tired unfortunately. my back is hurting a lot and this week has brought the return of an old pal, acid reflux. good times. but overall i'm doing pretty good. i haven't had any swelling, and my weight gain has been pretty much on track. at my check up at the beginning of the week the doctor said everything looked great and i measured 34 cm exactly. and olivia's heartbeat was in the upper 140s. despite no signs of an early delivery, i'm still freaking out about getting everything done asap. within the past couple weeks 3 girls i know have had their babies pretty significantly early, one being my sister! i've been doing lots of baby laundry and organizing, but i still feel overwhelmed with everything i need to get done. ugh. but it will happen. and if for some reason i go into labor and the nursery isn't perfectly organized oh well. as long as olivia is healthy, that's what matters. 

wardrobe: no changes here. 

cravings: i've still been wanting asian food. i think thai or indian is in order for my birthday. 

anything hard? definitely being tired and uncomfortable. i'm not ready for olivia to come yet because the perfectionist in me wants to have everything done before she does. so i'm thankful for the time i still have. but i do feel myself nearing that just-get-out-of-me point. and i'm fighting the urge to just be more irritable in general. poor josh. i'm trying. 

best moment(s) of the week: definitely becoming an aunt is at the top of the list! i'm so excited for my sister and brother-in-law. i know their labor didn't go as planned, but God was definitely working and little lily is going to be as healthy as can be soon. it sucks not being there for sure, but that's just where our lives are right now. they've definitely been in my thoughts and prayers, and hopefully soon we'll all be able to skype! 

i actually found out about lily while josh and i were on our mini babymoon in raleigh, which was another highlight! i had hoped for a long weekend in the snowy mountains, but we just seemed to run out of time. one day... but raleigh was great because i wasn't in the car too long, and we stayed at a nice hotel (for free with points!) and ate a yummy dinner. we also ordered room service and saw a movie sunday afternoon. it was great to get away and relax together before olivia comes! 

pregnancy through the ages

just for fun, i started asking my grandma about what her pregnancies were like back when i was first expecting. she was so excited to share and tell me how the best feeling in the world is when you first feel a kick (back before i felt any of olivia's jabs!). she also talked about how prenatal care was totally different, no one knew what they were having, and you didn't breastfeed because that wasn't "in" then. these conversations lead to her sending me some pics from when her and my mom were pregnant!

my grandma 8 months and 2 weeks pregnant with my mom in November, 1958...

and here she is pregnant with my uncle dave, with my papa holding my mom all dressed up and precious! 

 and again pregnant with my uncle brian! such a foxy lady! 

 fast forward... here's my mom pregnant with me! she was tiny and i was ginormous (9 pounds, 1 ounce) so i'm sure she was quite miserable! 

with my precious sister! 

check out that hairstyle! gotta love the 80s! 

this is the day before i was born - march 3rd, 1985! i would be sitting too! 

it's amazing how pregnancy care and trends change over the years! regardless of what was "in" then or now, i'm proud to be part of an awesome line of women blessed with this amazing adventure of growing a baby! it really is like having a front-row seat as god performs this amazing miracle in front of your face inside of you! i wouldn't trade it for the world! 

baby showers part 2

the second shower was with josh's family in the afternoon. josh's sister hosted and his mom did the food. it had a lovely tea party theme. 

how precious is this? 

 me and mom ready for round 2! 

why does my face look ginormous? 

some pics of family...

and lots more present opening...

my sister-in-law marci made the cutest "about to pop" popcorn favors!

precious! it was another great shower for sure! 

baby showers part 1

would i recommend your average pregnant girl have two showers in one day? probably not. i was overwhelmed and exhausted when it was all said and done. but i also felt totally thankful and blessed by the generosity of friends and family! and when you live 8 hours from home, you do what works! 

the morning of the showers we woke up to this! 

the first shower was for my side of the family and it took place in a local church's fellowship hall. the great thing about this shower that was my sister was there! well, as there as she could be via skype! it was definitely different but super awesome to do a joint shower with one person on the other side of the world! my morning, her evening. you get the picture. 

of course my mom, aunt, grandma, and cousins did an awesome job on the decorations and food! 

here's a bad picture of me helping krystal greet everyone! 

the grandmas (or great grandmas!) took turns opening krystal's presents. 

and krystal watched everything via skype! 

here's the quilt i made for baby b! i hadn't posted about it because i wanted it to be a surprise. i hope my niece or nephew loves it! 

lots of friends and family in attendance! 

here's a fun pic of me, krystal, mom, and our grandmas! 

the flash and smudgy computer screen is kinda a bummer. 

thanks for driving down in the snow, shannon! 

belly shot with my sister! 

in addition to lots of clothes, our pack and play, and our stroller, my mom gave me the crib skirt and pillow she made for the nursery! i'm so excited to start getting the nursery all together and set up! but that's definitely another post! :) overall it was definitely an awesome morning!

sweet goodbyes

well, today has been hard and good. there were no forced goodbyes last night, but we were able to spend some nice time together walking and taking pictures at 2 Rivers park/bridge in Little Rock. we all managed to hold ourselves together relatively well at the airport. several days ago i decided to buy a card and write in it instead of sobbing and blubbering my way through what i wanted to say. i think that was a good decision. several others decided to do the same, and krystal had cards for each of us so we all had the same idea, i guess. i hope she liked her card. the goodbyes weren't perfect. maybe there was more airport stuff than what my sister wanted. but they were good. nothing is perfect when you have imperfect people who really love each other trying to handle really intense emotions the best they can. i hope krystal and brad look back on those airport hugs and tears with joy. we all love them so much.

we love you krystal and brad! you can follow them here! 

ah yes, the blog.

i haven't forgotten you, blog! but i have been extremely busy! since my last post several big things have happened, the biggest being that i actually finished my internship. after an extension or so i had a pretty strong goal to finish before our 5th anniversary/going home for christmas and i did! yipee! one last little unit to go and i am completely done with grad school! finally! four and a half years later! but more about that later.

since finishing my internship on the 21st we celebrated our 5th anniversary on the 22nd, and left for home on the 23rd. we had a great time with both of our families, and then yesterday i departed with my parents, sister, and brother-in-law to arkansas. josh has stayed behind in kentucky to spend a few extra days with his family and then drive back to north carolina. why am i in arkansas?! well, that long awaited (or dreaded?) time has arrived: my sister is leaving for south asia on the 1st. just typing that makes me stop and think. my only sister. south asia. three and a half to four years away.

OMG.

how am i handling it? well, as good as expected? better than you might hope? probably not. i don't really know. how am i supposed to handle this? i'm not sure. i'm not going to lie, i've shed a lot of tears, and i know more will come. my sister wants to have all serious goodbyes take place tomorrow night and have quick, happy goodbyes sunday at the airport. that's a great idea, but i'm really not sure how i'm supposed to make that happen. i don't know how to really say goodbye saturday night when i know i'm going to eat brunch with her sunday morning. i will probably be able to manage a few tears in the airport and then save the real sobbing for once i get in the car. with my parents. to drive to nashville. what a fun trip that will be! three depressed people. driving five hours. lord help us. i'm praying that i will say the right words and act the right way. i'm praying for a less selfish perspective and a more godly one. i'm working on it. promise. but when it comes down to it, i'm really going to miss my sister.

a big day i'm not a part of...

today is a big day for my family, particularly my sister and brother-in-law. unfortunately it's in orlando and i'm not in orlando, i'm at home in north carolina. but my parents and grandparents and brad's parents and grandparents and his sister are all there, so i feel like a crappy sister. remember that missing out post? yeah, i'm really feeling that today.

you see, today is a big step in the process of my sister and brother-in-law leaving for south asia. i am not handling this well. my only sister... across the world... missing out on christmases... and our children being born and growing up... i could go on but i'll stop for now. but let's be honest here: i had "south asian" cuisine a couple of weekends ago with josh on a date (it was really yummy!) and i balled in the restaurant before we had even got our meal. i am an awesome date!

but regardless of how i feel, i'm excited for my sister and brother-in-law and the new life they are embarking on. i'm in awe of their fearlessness with this new adventure, and i know that no matter where we are in the world or how long we go without seeing each other, we will still be family.

krystal, i'm sorry i couldn't be there today, but i also can't wait to see you in a few weeks!

never satisfied

i was staring at the broken clock on the wall earlier. it's broke in two ways: it needs new batteries and the time is off (except for twice a day, of course), and the glass (or plastic?) cover is missing, it was broken several years ago. that actually happened when we first moved to columbus (right about 4 years ago now) and my parents came to help us unpack and settle in. i had the clock sitting on the mantle resting up against the wall. my dad accidentally knocked it off or slammed the door a little too hard, and it fell, breaking the cover. for quite a while we had the clock in the closet, it was broken, after all. then when moving to greensboro we decided to put it on the wall in josh's office. a cover is not necessary for a clock to work, right? this got me to thinking about my dad and him accidentally breaking the clock cover. he felt really bad about it, and he even left money for us to go buy a new one. i've spent a good portion of my life questioning my dad's love for me, but i'm realizing now that he has just showed me love in different ways. he was there to help us unpack, and he felt bad about breaking something so trivial. he's a hard worker, and he primarily shows love through work. if you need something fixed, he's your man. as a young girl i wanted a hug and someone who would listen, but that just wasn't really him. and now i'm a woman and i have a wonderful husband who will always give me a hug and listen, but i want him to go take out the trash. why is that?

i think i'll go put new batteries in the clock.

yes, i've moved!

not to a different state, thank God, just my blog has moved.

why, you ask? well, i feel like i needed a revamp for one thing. i hadn't been posting much lately. of course part of that was just because i was busy, but i also just wasn't feeling the old blog. wordpress also got on my nerves (sorry wordpress). i was done with the layouts, and uploading photos and getting my page to look nice always seemed to be a pain! so here i am at blogger!

as for the new name, if you know me, you know that i am (or was) a perfectionist. it's something i've been struggling with since day one. i do like to think of myself as a RECOVERING perfectionist though, meaning that i'm working on seeking balance and experience more that perfection these days. it's a process. :)

my sister just started a blog, as she is making some big changes in life and i'm insisting that i stay in the know. after months of bugging her she finally started one, so i figure i need to hold up my end of the bargain and blog as well. i hope this will be a way for me to stay in touch with my sister, my family, and my friends all over the country. welcome!