Five on Friday: New Life And A Beautiful Life Lost

Hi friends! I haven’t been posting in this space as regularly as we enjoy our last few weeks of summer, but know that I miss y’all and am excited to jump back into writing again soon.  There’s been a lot going on with both my family and Jordan’s family these last few weeks, so here’s a few updates!

1) A Sweet New Niece

Jordan has two brothers (and a twin sister, so four kids total), and all of them have had kiddos in the last 6 months! First was Merritt, Jordan’s oldest brother’s son in January, then came Caleb in February, and as of July 4th, little miss Piper! Piper did keep us waiting a few days past her due date but she was so worth the wait.  She’s so sweet and snuggly and my sister-in-law is doing a rock star job taking care of her and her two older siblings (even though her troublemaker older sister is pretty much getting away with murder these days).  It’s crazy to look at Piper and think that Caleb was even smaller than her when he was born.  Time flies by in baby world and it’s incredible how much Caleb has grown since he was a teeny-tiny little nugget like she is.  Anyway, I love getting to snuggle this sweet baby girl and can’t wait to watch her grow up with my boy!

2) A Sick Baby

Caleb caught some sort of cold this week and it has been so, so pitiful.  He’s been in pretty good spirits and his normal smiley self for the most part, but I hate the constant sneezing, snorting, and coughing, especially while he nurses.  He hasn’t been waking up every hour like he did when he was two months old and had pneumonia, but his normally amazing, 12 hours straight each night sleeping has still been off and both he and his mama are pretty darn tired (I almost feel silly complaining since he normally sleeps so great).  Side note: Holy moly, it is NO fun pinning down my screaming child to do the Nose-Frida on him.  It is strangely satisfying to do that thing (let’s be honest, mamas – it’s SO much better than the little bulb syringes!) but little man screams like the world is going to end.  I guess a mama’s gotta do what a mama’s gotta do, even when it makes her kiddos scream bloody murder!

3) New Bookshelves

Can I just brag on my hubby for a minute? We’ve been dreaming of updating our Ikea Billy bookshelves to make them look like built-ins for quite a while now, and Jordan has gotten after it these last few weeks.  This project was his baby and he dreamed it up, planned it, and executed it so well! I’m in the process of styling them now, so I don’t have cute pictures yet, but seriously…they look so, so good! I can’t wait to share more pictures soon once I get them more put together.  Our living room already looks so much more us and I am excited to keep working on it these next few weeks.  For now, I’ll just tease you with this quick snapshot of my awesome hubby at work!

4) Go-To Meals

I don’t know about you, but my desire to put lots of effort into cooking pretty much goes out the window during the summertime.  I find myself making a lot of the same meals over and over, where during the school year I love trying new recipes.  One of my go-to meals this summer has been a big quinoa salad.  I throw together a bunch of quinoa we made a while back and froze with some black beans, corn, bell peppers, onions, and big chunks of avocado and put it all on top of some spinach.  It is SO good, y’all! I may be pinning all sorts of yummy recipes, but real talk…I’ve mostly just eaten the same handful of meals for six straight weeks.

5) The Loss Of My Grandma

On Wednesday morning, my dad’s mom, or Granny as we call her, passed away peacefully at home.  She had spent the week before at home surrounded by her five children and any grandchildren that could make it there.  Granny was an incredible woman whose life was full of more stories and adventures than most people of dream of.  She was intelligent (and spoke multiple languages, which I love and admire!), quick witted, generous, hospitable, and deeply kind and loving.  I’m also pretty sure she didn’t miss her 5 o’clock martini even one time in the last 60 years! We will hopefully fly out to Baltimore for the memorial in September and it will be sweet to celebrate and honor her life with all of my family there.

Granny holding me as a baby – it’s crazy how much Caleb looks like me!

The part of all of it that brings me the most joy is her connection to Caleb.  There are only two great-grandkids on that side of the family: my cousin’s daughter Emma and Caleb, both born in the last year or so.  In the last months of her life, Emma was one of Granny’s greatest joys and visited her regularly.  We couldn’t make it out to Baltimore since Caleb was born, but my aunts tell me that Granny had his picture up on the fridge and would smile at it and stroke his little cheek in the photo every time she saw it.  As she lay in bed those last few days of her life, she did the same thing with his picture.  I love that my son represents a part of her legacy and hope that his life is full of even a fraction of the adventure and joy that filled her life with my grandfather.  We love and miss you, Granny.