A letter for Marley

My dearest Marley,

Well, today is September 29th. Three years ago today I was in complete agony, tired beyond belief, and on the verge of punching your father. And if there was any indication of how you would be once you got into this world by how you finally came into the world then I should've known then. Terrible twos don't give you justice girlfriend. How such a huge personality can fit into that little body is beyond me.

          

You've definetly given me a run for my $$$. Despite coloring on my walls, coloring on your face with my favorite lipstick, throwing my iphone off the balcony (which I didn't find the next day and it had been raining ALL night), stuffing toys in your dads football cleats for him to find before practice the next morning, and sticking gum in my hair, (which if you've seen my hair you all know that didn't end well)---I still LOVE you. All the crazy moments in fact have become my FAVORITE moments And those are moments that I'll cherish forever. But I swear Marley if you give me grey hair I promise you I will walk you into school your first day of class every year from the 8th grade til you graduate from college...but can I? Would you mind? Lol I love you teine aulelei. Always & forever.

A few things being a mom has taught me...

#1: When sleeping with a toddler, the more you get hit and kicked in the face...the less it hurts.

#2: Sometimes, bribing a child is the easiest solution.

          

Child meltdowns are always a joyful time!

       

#3: Taking a shower or getting to use the bathroom by yourself is a vacation within itself.

#4: Once you become a mother, your Facebook, Instagram, twitter, myspace, blog, and every other social network known to mankind gets plastered with your child's face.

#5: You know that hobby you love so much called shopping? Well, once you have kids you'll never, ever buy yourself something again. Suddenly your kids will have 3x the amount of shoes you own and their clothes will be overflowing into your closet. Makes for really fun times with the laundry.

#6: Your toothbrush isn't safe. Seriously, don't leave it out.

#7: If your child has been quiet for more than 20 seconds chances are she is either coloring on the walls, sticking your toothbrush in the fish tank (see I told you it's not safe), unrolling every single roll of toilet paper, or squeezing toothpaste all over the bathroom counter. Silence means trouble and you should be afraid...very afraid.

#8: Toys. Toys will be everywhere. In the fridge, in your shoe, in the shower, under the bed, in the closet, in the toilet, in your bed. Everywhere.

#9: As much as you read and are told that electronics are the devil...I'll be the first to admit that sometimes the iPad is quite the perfect babysitter. Thank you for your services Netflix. You the real MVP.

#10: Being a mom is stressful at times and hard at moments---but by far the realist and most beautiful love you will ever feel in your life.

Yours truly,

Larissa

So it's been a while...

And by while I mean almost a year...lol. Hey life happens, blogs are forgotten, and babies are born. And by life--I mean we just recently welcomed our second beautiful, and healthy baby girl into the world on August 26th at 2:56 pm

   Reese was 8lbs 6oz && 21 inches long!

Labor was fun! Said no mom ever. But none the less finally getting to see your child after carrying them in the womb for nine months (plus an extra 5 days-but who was counting) is an awfully beautiful thing :) And every single night of walking, stair climbing, yoga ball bouncing, and  hours upon hours of contractions was worth it. Beyond worth it...&& Id do it over a bazillion times over and over if I had to.

              

            Daddy && daughter lovin'

Let's see..where to even begin. My Marley girl will be three in a few weeks. Acts more like two going on sixteen. Saying time flies is an understatement. Her personality is out of this world && she keeps Bruce and I on our toes...24/7. The other night Bruce and Marley were outside and Marley looked up and pointed to the sky && said "Look daddy the moon!" Bruce looked and said "Yep that's the moon Moo." Marley replied, "Daddy, I want it....." So good luck and best of wishes to any man who is interested in dating or one day marrying my daughter because yes--while flowers, chocolates and diamonds might be nice....my dearest Marley, wants the moon. 

        

I had my first O M G I'm a mom of two moment the day of Reese's first doctor appointment. Nothing says welcome to the world of being a mother of two than waking up late, running around the house like a chicken with her head cut off, trying to pack a diaper bag, get the girls dressed, hair done, teeth brushed, getting them both fed...well you get the picture....I was feeling stressed yet accomplished because after my calculations we were only going to be about five minutes late--and if you know me you know I am always five minutes early to everything--being late is such a pet peeve it literally gives me anxiety (all thanks to my father who never let us be late to ANYTHING growing up lol) Anyways, everyone's all buckled up and ready to go and it hits me...OMG I didn't even brush my own teeth. Go ahead people, judge me. Bruce literally made fun of me all day. Quite the humbling motherhood experience.

So there goes my vision of being the perfect, put together and punctual mom of two I imagined in my head...And I am totally ok with that.

-- Larissa