Sobremesa Stories

Five on Friday: Long Naps And Fall Weather

September 30, 2016 By Lauren

Happy happy weekend, y’all! I don’t know about where you live, but our weather seems to have finally gotten the hint that it’s fall and this week was BEAUUUUTIFUL. Beautiful days in the 60s and 70s that were perfect for walks! I love this time of the year so much and can’t wait for all the fall goodness in these next few months!

Here are some pictures and updates from our first week of fall!

1) Long Naps (FINALLY!)

I shared Caleb’s 7 month update on Monday, and since I wrote that he has been doing SO great with naps. I don’t even know what to do with my stretches of alone time longer than 30 minutes, y’all. I’ve loved being able to have longer quiet times, to work on writing/blogging stuff, to catch up with friends and do other adulting things. And Caleb is so much happier and sleeping better at night now that he’s napping (which means Mama is sleeping better at night too). So basically this transition into better napping is amazing, even though I’m sure something else will happen to disrupt it soon enough. I’ll just soak in the goodness while I can!

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Womanly Wednesday: Loosening The Grip Of Fear

September 28, 2016 By Lauren

Welcome to this week’s Womanly Wednesday! In this series, different women share their struggles, bravely opening up about their stories so that other people would be inspired and encouraged. Today’s guest poster is my friend Camille. She was one of my closest Young Life girls when I led YL in college and it was such a joy to walk through life with her those four years. Also, check out the Womanly Wednesday archives to read other posts from this series!

As a child, I remember running into my parents’ bedroom every time there was a thunderstorm. I remember waking up in the middle of the night crying because I feared that our house was going to catch on fire. I remember making my mom double check to make sure the doors were locked at night just in case a “robber” was planning to break into our suburban home and steal my stuffed animals. As silly as these memories are, they are all rooted in one thing: fear. And as far back as I can remember, fear has been present in my life. It may have begun with an irrational fear of thunderstorms, but over the years, it’s grown much deeper than that.

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Caleb’s Seven Month Update

September 27, 2016 By Lauren

Seven whole months…what in the world? We are over half a year into this journey as parents and it has been such a joy, even as its challenged us and grown us. Enjoy some updates from the 7th month of our little nugget’s life!

The Numbers

Caleb is still our little peanut, weighing just above 15 pounds and measuring 25+ inches long. Baby rolls are obviously adorable, but I love that this slim little guy still fits right into the curve of my hip without killing my back and his little belly is oh so kissable.

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Six Things I’ve Learned In Six Months Of Breastfeeding

September 19, 2016 By Lauren

Before I start this post, I want to say it loud and clear: however moms choose to feed and love their baby is fine by me. I trust that every mom is ultimately making the best decisions for herself, her little one, and her family, and as long as our babies are fed, I’d say we’re doing great!

Since my sweet boy is about to turn seven months old, it has been over half a year since we started our breastfeeding journey. Six months was my initial goal for breastfeeding, and now that he’s past that, it feels so natural that I don’t see any reason to stop! Learning to breastfeed has had its share of hiccups for both me and Caleb and I as we’ve figured out our own rhythm, but it has been a joyful experience that has transformed me in so many ways. As I look back on these first six months, these are a few of the things I’ve been learning.

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Five on Friday: Husband Birthdays and Shopping The House

September 16, 2016 By Lauren

Another week has gone by and it’s time for another Friday post! Here are a few updates and pictures from our week…

1) My Awesome Hubby

In case you missed my Instagram post, my awesome hubby Jordan turned 27 this past weekend! He had a cross country meet on Saturday and competed in a Half-Ironman on Sunday, so we didn’t get to celebrate much this weekend but we are excited to soon! He rocked his Half-Ironman (1.2 mile swim, 50 mile bike ride, half marathon run – INSANE) and got 1st place in his age group and 6th place overall. Basically he’s a rock star and needs to be bragged on a bit! I’m so grateful for him and all the ways he loves me and our family so, so well. Here’s to many more years of celebrating you, babe!

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How To Upgrade Ikea Billy Bookshelves

September 12, 2016 By Lauren

When we moved into our house almost two years ago, one of the first things we wanted to decorate was the living room. We spend so much time there and wanted it to feel cozy and homey as quickly as possible! Like most spaces in our house, everything about it was pretty much beige and orange-oak colored. These are two of the only pictures I have from the very first weekend before we moved in and I painted it all (that was before my blogging days when I pretty much never took pictures).

Letting all of Jordan’s family check out the house on our first weekend there!

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Five on Friday: Baltimore Adventures And Solid Food

September 9, 2016 By Lauren

It has been a crazy summer with three different trips – a grandparents’ visit, a wedding, and a funeral, and after all those adventures I am so glad to finally settle in and just be HOME for a few months. I love summer but fall always comes just as I’m ready to settle back into a routine.

Anyway, here are a few pictures and updates from our last week or two!

1) My Grandmother’s Funeral

My grandmother passed away a few weeks back and we flew to Baltimore this past weekend for her memorial. She was an amazing woman – intelligent, generous, passionate, and deeply invested in her family and her community. I loved getting to celebrate her life and the legacy she created with my dad and all of my extended family in Baltimore. We spent the morning after the memorial visiting the house where my dad grew up, a beautiful home on a few acres that my grandparents built shortly after WWII.

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Five Unexpected Things About Marriage After Baby

September 6, 2016 By Lauren

When I wrote this post back in January about my fears about motherhood, one of the biggest ones was how having a baby would impact our marriage. How would we handle the sleep deprivation and new responsibilities? How would having a little one impact our intimacy, emotional and otherwise? What would life look like as a family of three instead of just us?

If I had to answer those questions in January, I would have guessed it would be pretty hard. I would have guessed that things would be tense, that we would feel some distance grow between us as we figured out our new normal. I would have guessed that we’d have significantly less time together and would see some challenges arise because of that.

And you know what? I would have been completely wrong.

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Caleb’s Six Month Update

August 29, 2016 By Lauren

Six months. Wow wow wow. It’s been over half a year since I headed to the hospital for this little guy’s rapid delivery (have you read his birth story yet?) and I feel like it’s gone oh so slow and flown by at the same time. This month has had lots of joy but lots of struggles, so if you’ve got a minute to read some long-winded ramblings…enjoy!

The Numbers

Caleb is our little peanut and I secretly I love that he’s still a little guy who fits in the curve of my arms. He’s weighing in at 14.5 lbs and measuring 25.5 inches, putting him at about the 5th-10th percentile weight and 10th-25th percentile for height. The doctor said he’s gaining fine since he was small to begin with (he’s more than doubled his birth weight, which is the goal by six months!) and that noggin of his is still in the 95th percentile, so he’s doing great! He’s still rocking 3-6 month onesies/tops and 0-3 month bottoms because anything else falls off his teeny little waist. This is exactly how Jordan was as a kid (and he still pretty much is) so we’re not surprised at all!

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Five on Friday: A New Life Rhythm

August 26, 2016 By Lauren

We are 1.5 weeks into the school year and real talk…I already miss summer SO much! Here are some updates from these past two weeks as we settle into a new rhythm of Jordan teaching and coaching cross-country and my being at home with Caleb.

1) A New Rhythm

This was Jordan’s first full week back to work (last week was partial teacher work days) and to be honest…it’s tough on both of us. He loves his job and I’m so glad he gets to teach and coach, but he’s gone for 12-14 hours a day and it’s a major bummer. I miss getting to see him throughout the day and since we have Caleb going to bed so early these days (I’ll share more on that soon), he hardly gets to see him. I think it will take us a while to settle into a new rhythm and figure things out. When Jordan finally got home from what was a long day for both of us on Monday, we sat on our front porch with our puppy and decompressed for a bit. I love those moments with him and want to cling to them when the days are hard and we miss the slowness of summer. I’m so grateful for our new normal, but it will definitely take some adjusting!