adventures with airbnb

Good thing I'm such a good blogger! It's whatever ha.

Nash is like "wtf guys"

So when we went to Yellowstone back in July, we decided that our cheapest option would be non-hotel. Which left us with camping (with a one year old, no thank you!), or something like airbnb/vrbo (so many acronyms!). Airbnb it was! Our first night we stayed in Rexburg, and it was great. Except for the large collection of stuffed animals, it seemed like your run-of-the-mill basement apartment.

Enter our second night in Gardiner, Montana.

Alright, so going into this, we knew it had the potential to be uncomfortable. It was a single room in this family home, and it was um... friendly. Like share the kitchen all together friendly. I knew we would be in and out quick, so I honestly didn't care. I was definitely second guessing myself upon our arrival, however.

Out walks our host *Edgar, and I know we are in for an adventure. He's a snaggly tooth feller, absolutely reeking of cigarettes. He welcomes us, and proceeds to show us to our room, which coincidentally was right next to the room that their newborn daughter was sleeping in. Oy. I don't think he was too pleased to see Nash with us, because after Christian went out to the car to get the rest of our stuff, I heard Edgar say to his mother in law: "And they have a one year old."

Her response: "OH NO."

Feeling right at home!
And speaking of mother in laws, theirs lived with them. Also she was Bulgarian, and spoke almost no English. It wasn't hard to interpret her feelings about Nash being there with us however. Eyes are the window to the soul after all, and her soul was full of daggers and other sharp things each time I looked at her and attempted a feeble smile. Double oy. Also, the house still smells terribly like a casino.

So by this time, it's about 7:45pm and Nash has gone literally all day without a nap. We proceeded to put him down, our plan being as soon as he fell asleep, we could just go hang out in our car and read for an hour or so, and then we'd head to bed as well (since we were all sleeping in the same room). I don't know guys, really shooting from the hip in that situation! So of course Nash took a bit to calm down and stop jabbering enough to fall asleep. I didn't feel comfortable leaving him inside while he was awake and being "loud", so we literally just SAT IN THE HALLWAY pretending not to watch the SNL episode Edgar had playing, while he awkwardly ignored us. This would have been fine and good, had we not been sitting only about 50 feet from him.

I'm still dying that we did this. Seriously, laugh-crying emoji for days.

After 20 excruciating minutes of whisper-talking and trying to avoid making eye contact with Edgar, Nash was finally asleep and we felt comfortable going and sitting in the car (which was only a marginally less weird thing to do than sitting in the hallway, at this point.). THEN another family shows up, Asian of course, and we were like "WTF are we now sharing a bathroom with another family?!". Thankfully no. This casino house was just steadily turning in to a hotel. Because every good casino is also a hotel of course!

So after retardedly sitting in the car for about a half hour, we decided to be productive and fill up with gas and get ice for our cooler, lest we dawdle in Gardiner Montana any longer in the morning than we have to. I force Christian to be the errand-runner, as the ever pushy wife,while I head back in to casino de la Edgar and proceed to get ready for bed. Their newborn is still sleeping, as is Nash, so I'm tiptoeing and trying to go as fast as possible without being seen, because Edgar is still watching SNL and in eyesight of everything I'm doing. Nothing like letting a stranger see you run around IN HIS HOUSE in your pajamas, am I right?!

About 15 minutes later, I get a call from Christian. He has locked his keys in the car, because of course he has! So he's currently trying to find his was back to casino de la Edgar (FOLLOW YOUR NOSE, HONEY!), while I sit in silence in our dark room (lest I wake Nash) trying not to move (lest I sweat to death because again, no AC!) and wait for Christian to tell me to come outside and give him the keys. This is approximately the 18th time we've gone in and out the front door, and I now have flesh wounds all over my body from the shade Bulgarian mother-in-law is throwing with her dagger eyes. At this point, that is the least of my worries. I'm pretty sure I'm going to die of heat exhaustion and second hand smoke any minute.

ONE HOUR LATER Christian finally returned, lucky to find me alive and not drowning in a pool of my own sweat. I have been sitting in dark silence in the room by myself this whole time, and I've never been so happy to see another human. This is only a slight exaggeration. Except by the time Christian actually climbs into bed with me, I'm practically building a fort of pillows around myself lest our skin make any contact as we slowly burn to death... I mean, drift off to sleep.

The morning went much more smoothly. Bright and early wake-up call, silent showers, sneaking out unseen.... we were basically spies. Honestly the whole experience didn't seem terrible as it was happening, just super funny honestly. It's definitely something to laugh about in hindsight. And laugh and laugh and laugh we do.

surviving (and thriving!) in the first year of parenthood

Becoming a mom has simultaneously been one of the most difficult and most fun things I've ever done. Isn't it funny how all the best things in life seem to work that way? And yes, parenting is no exception. I'm certainly not an expert mom, and I'm sure when the rest of our kids come along my world will be completely rocked again. BUT I've learned a lot this last year or so! We've done a lot of things that worked (binkys!), and a lot of things that totally didn't. Like teaching your baby that he has to be rocked to sleep for every single nap and bedtime otherwise forget sleeping, suckas! Oy. Here are some of the best things I learned that helped Christian and I survive, and ultimately thrive, in our first year as parents.

+ Don't read as much as you think you should
This is certainly not for everyone, but I'm going to be real and admit that I didn't read a single pregnancy or baby book before I had Nash, and since then I've only listened to HALF of one. Im ridiculous, I know. I did learn something very valuable in this though. You will have instincts as a parent, and especially as a mother. Even though you've never done it before, you will come to know your baby very quickly! Trust yourself, and don't turn to the books or internet for every little question or worry. First, it will make you second guess your instincts. Second, it will very likely worry you more than necessary, and no one needs more worry on top of having a new baby!

+ GO ON DATES WITHOUT THE BABY PERIOD END OF STORY I BEG YOU
This one has been HUGE for us, which is why I yell-typed it at you. I've said this before, but we were terrible about going out without Nash for about 11 months. We went on maybe 6 dates just by ourselves in that time period. Yikes. It got especially hard when we moved to Salt Lake, because we left all our siblings who were close and willing to help. I started losing my mind over this a few months ago, especially when I saw our relationship was suffering because of this, so I tracked down a couple teenagers in our area who I love (um, not an easy feat, let me tell you), and we've been going out every Friday night since. It is the best thing ever. I've found that it helps to have the date planned at the beginning of the week, so you can look forward to specifics everyday leading up to it, ie. "I can't wait to go see this movie with you on Friday" etc. Your relationship NEEDS to be taken care of when you have a new baby, and this is a vital step in doing that. And on that note........ make time for sex! Seriously! Just do it. (har har). I could go on about this, but at the risk of getting weird.... I won't. Seriously, just do it.

+ Have a sense of humor
At some point, you will be covered in poop, pee, spit up, AND boogers all at the same time. And it will probably be mingled with your own blood, sweat and tears. Parenting is a serious job, but it doesn't mean you can't laugh about it sometimes. You should! Through all the sleep-deprived delirium, the nonsense of changing yet another diaper, the mess of toys and onesies and books and burp cloths, you just gotta laugh. Parenting is serious, but it's also fun and amazing and should be treated as such. I mean look at your baby! They're so cute and tiny and wonderful and hilarious!

+ Remember that it takes a village 
Don't be afraid to ask for help. This is one I've struggled with, but I know it's true. Some of you may live close to family, and it's so important to take advantage of that! Spend time with your parents, your siblings, your friends, whomever it may be. Ask for help! Don't feel silly if you have questions. If you need medication for more serious issues, talk to someone about it! Parenting was never meant to be done completely solo, and you will benefit so much from spending time with people you love, and reaching out when you need help. We don't have many close friends and we don't live near a ton of family, so I can speak from the other side. If you DO have these people close by, use them! I promise, they want to be there for you. 

+ Take time for yourself, and DON'T feel bad about it!
It's so important to take care of yourself as you are making this huge adjustment to parenthood. If you aren't happy and functioning well, it's almost impossible for your baby or spouse to. For me, this was exercise and cooking. I love going to the gym, and in order to feel my happiest, I had to take that hour at least 4 times a week to exercise. Additionally, even though it was a pain to cook a meal every single night (yes! I did that! While we were in school and working full time!), it was so theraputic for me. Maybe for you it's photography, or watching a favorite show, bike rides, or regularly spending time with friends. Whatever it is, find it and make time for it, even if it's just an hour a week. 

+ Communicate, communicate, communicate
 Man we saw the good and bad sides of this! I'm sure not every couple is like this, but we've found that we needed to regularly check in on our relationship and talk about how we were doing. Talk about how you're feeling as a new parent. About your job. About your relationship. Ask questions like: Are we spending enough quality time together? Are we working on the things that matter most? How am I doing as a parent? How can I help you? These conversations have been so important for us over the last year, and when we ignored them or went a long time without discussing them, we felt it big time. Having a baby is a big adjustment, and it's easy to fall into your patterns and habits and suddenly, youve stopped communicating with your spouse. Don't let that happen! Remember you will feel happier and function better as a parent when your relationship is in a good place.

+ Have a schedule
This is another thing that may not work for everyone, but it helped us so much. Not everything will always be in your control, of course. BUT you can feed your baby and put him down at the same time every day, as often as possible. I'm of the opinion that even though babies are little, they are still people. And people tend to function well with a routine. We still do this, actually. It's hard to feel tied to the house sometimes, but sleep deprivation wreaks so much havoc. For us, having a schedule with Nash has helped him be a pretty good sleeper since day 1. This has been so good for him! And avoiding the crazy exhaustion as much as possible has been a HUGE help for me especially. If you are interested in doing this for your baby, I used the schedules from this website.

+ Shake up the routine
Alright, so this absolutely contradicts with my last point, but it's important too! Like I mentioned, it's really easy to fall into the routine of naps and feedings and baths and cleaning and diaper changes. It didn't bother me most of the time, because I'm a total sucker for schedules like that, obviously. And it's fun to just spend time with your little one doing those simple things! HOWEVER, there were some days when I started to feel a little stir crazy, and all it took were simple things like going out to dinner in the middle of the week instead of the weekend. A spontaneous walk. Lunch with a friend. Just do something a little out of the ordinary here and there to keep things exciting. Thankfully, when you've got a little one, it really doesn't take much :)

+ And above all.... Just reeellllaaaxxx
I'm actually amazed that this is something I learned because I didn't think I'd be capable of it AT. ALL. I'm a huge planner. I like to feel like things are in my control. All I have to say in regards to that and having a new baby is HA. HA. HA. You will no longer have control over a lot of things in life, and the second you start to get all wound up about stuff, it all goes majorly downhill. I will never forget an especially poignant example of this: About 3 weeks after I had Nash, Christian was starting an internship. My mom had just left, and I was going to be majorly on my own. 13+ hours a day with a brand new baby. Christian was also stressed to the nines about this job; a lot was riding on his performance, and our nerves were both frayed at the thought. Things had been going really well until the night before this internship started, and then WHOA did the fit hit the shan. I don't remember all the specifics (thankfully!), but Nash slept terribly, which led to both Christian and I being up a large part of the night. I think we might have had an argument in there too (probably), and it's most likely I was crying at some point ha! The stress and the lack of sleep were just too much, and it was definitely the roughest night we had there at the beginning. I remember at one point I was sitting in the dark living room holding Nash for like the 12th time, probably only in my skivvies with spit up down my front, and the thought came to me so clearly: "Nash has had a rough night because we've been so stressed. He could feel it. We need to relax, and it will all be okay." I just KNEW that was what had happened, and let me tell you, I've seen it time and time again in the last year. I think Nash is especially sensitive to our emotions, and not every baby is like that, but they certainly feel it when a lot is going on for mom and dad. Now, you can't control everything. Life will get stressful sometimes. But if you can try your best to just relax and relinquish control where you can, I promise it will help so much!

You guys, being a parent is amazing. It's so fun. It's hard. It stretches you and shows you your strengths and weaknesses and everything in between. And gosh you will love your little baby more than you thought possible. There are so many amazing days, but there are a lot of hard days too. And hopefully some of the things I've had to learn over the last year aren't just for my own benefit, although heavens knows I need all the help I can get!

routine

I'm always fascinated when I learn something nitty gritty about a person's life, especially their daily routine. I love knowing how people live their lives, right down to the shampoo they use and which brand of cereal they prefer. Since the world revolves around me and everyone thinks the exact same way I do, I thought I'd share what an average day looks like for us! You know. To satiate your burning curiosity, or whatever.

(why aren't there sarcastic face emojis?!)

7:00-7:40 - we start the day, making breakfast and Christians lunch. Eat together, read scriptures, enjoy a few minutes before Christian has to leave for the day. (EDIT: I wrote this post awhile back and I'm sad, but also happy to say that this no longer happens. Both of my boys are kind enough to let me stay in bed until about 7:45 these days, which is a good thing because this angry mama bear needs her rest otherwise... RAWR. So I'm now a terrible wife and Christian makes his own lunches. Can't win em all I guess!)

7:41- the worst moment of the day, saying goodbye to dad! Boo work!

7:45- 9:15 - I try to make it to the gym, out on a run or walk most mornings, so this time is usually spent finishing Nash's breakfast, some minor cleaning up, getting ready, etc.

9:15-10:15 - Gym/run/walk. I'm so thankful for the kids club and strollers ha! Anything to keep my little buddy contained for a while so mom can have some "mom time".

10:30ish - Shower and bath for Nash and mom. I don't know why we bother anymore, we are all dripping in sweat by the end of the day living in this inferno ha!

11:00- I usually have an hour to an hour and a half to do some stuff I want, shower, clean, etc. On days we are leaving the house again, I will usually just finish getting ready for the day, read my scriptures, watch a quick show, peruse social media, maybe some minor tidying up.

12:30-1 - Nash is awake! Change diaper, play with toys, make and eat lunch together. Most days I try to get out of the house during this 3 hour stretch between naps. I think we both go stir crazy if we don't. This is sometimes just the grocery store or Costco, but anything helps! I try to make it to Target at least once a week, because of course. I actually really love running errands with my little buddy. He's the best.

3:30-4 - Feed Nash again, and afternoon nap time! Same as the morning, I usually have an hour to hour and a half to do stuff. More cleaning, reading, blogging, tv watching, DIY-ing, etc.

5:30- 6:30 - This is the hardest part of the day for me. Christian doesn't get home until at least 6:30 every night, sometimes later, so we have a while to kill before he comes to rescue us haha. We usually turn on some Michael Buble right after Nash's nap because it puts everything in a much better mood! We play with toys, read books, maybe go out on a walk, and I usually start dinner.

6:30- 8:30 - Dad's home, yay!! We usually feed Nash his dinner, maybe if we're lucky I've also finished making our dinner. Then we get Nash ready for bed, which usually involves a tickle fight of some sort. Nash doesn't win those very easily, in case you're wondering. Then we give him a bottle again, sing songs, and he's down for the night. 

7:30- forever-  MAKE OUT ALL NIGHT LONG.

Okay so that last part isn't true. But a girl can dream right?

the stuff of today

+ Sharing Costco samples with my little.
+ Sweet comments from my husband about my hair and how much he still loves it. (can you believe that?! it's a good man who loves a pixie cut.)
+ The perfect smelling 
+ Playing outside with Nash, watching him struggle to drink from the hose, chubby belly hanging out of his diaper.
+ Early morning kisses from Christian as he heads out for a 5:30 am meeting.
+ Waving at familiar strangers on a walk through the park.
+ Reconnecting with old friends, and remembering why you loved them so much in the first place.
+ Receiving heavenly reminders about the ways I can be a better wife, mother, and person.
+ Finishing yet another wonderful book.
+ Obsessing over the Backstreet Boys documentary on Netflix.
+ Cold drinks, small errands, and chores with my little.

In life, I'm reminded again and again that it's the tiny things like this that make up the big picture, and bring me the most happiness.
But seriously guys, can we talk about that BSB documentary? Because it is about as good as it gets.

books i've read lately that you should read too

So I've been trying to read a lot more ever since my time as a stay-at-home-mom began. However, this post should actually be titled "young adult novels that I should be embarrassed about but am totally not, among other things".

+ "Blackmoore" Julianne Donaldson: I really loved this book. The "huge twist" wasn't as huge as I thought it would be, but all in all it kept me voraciously reading until the very end AND it made me cry. So, there you go.

+ "Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me" Mindy Kaling: Obviously I have a thing for this girl, because I'm obsessed with her show and this book, etc. etc. I really enjoyed this book. I don't love that she swears so much (not very feminine or becoming in my opinion, but you do you, right?). It was funny and lighthearted and real, which are three of my favorite things. Definitely recommend this!

+ "5th Wave" and "Infinite Sea" Rick Yancey: These are the first two books in a three part series. I LOVED the first one (5th wave), not a huge fan of the second. Apparently the movie is being released in January, so we will see how that is. Definitely read the first book, you will NOT be disappointed.

+ "Eleanor and Park" Rainbow Rowell: This was a cute book. It took me a while to get through, as it wasn't super gripping. But if you were ever in love as a teenager, most of this will feel very familiar to you, which I liked. Ah, young love!

+ "We Were Liars" E. Lockhart: I actually didn't love this book! It took me AGES to get in to it, and I actually wouldn't say I enjoyed it until the very very very end. BUT the twist is just insane. Like, I can usually predict books and movies pretty accurately, but this one had me like "WHAAAAA?". So if you like that, this book is for you!

+ "I Feel Bad About My Neck" Nora Ephron: I loved this book. If you like insights into New York City living, snark, punchy humor, and "You've Got Mail", you should definitely read this.

+ "The Visions of Ransom Lake" "Desert Fire" and "The Highwayman of Tangelwood" Marcia Lynn McClure: I've already raved about this lady, but these books merit a second mention. Don't be fooled by the ridiculous titles and cheesy covers.... I love them so so much! The blend of history, romance, and intrigue is such a perfect combination. She's a great writer, and her kissing scenes will blow you out of the water (yeah I went there!). The best part is, her books are totally clean (not even a hint of a sex scene, which I really appreciate). I'm telling you, you will not regret reading any of her books. I LOVED The Highwayman, and Ransom Lake was awesome too.

And there you have it. If you are looking for some great summer reading, I think you'd be good to go with any of these. And since I'm the world's leading authority on good books to read, you're welcome! ;)

life and stuff

Ah blogging.
I keep wondering if I will just stop one day and never look back, but I can't quit you just yet!

Actually this is happening because last week I was preparing a talk for church (sidenote: Elder Holland is in my ward and I was having an ulcer about what I'd do if he actually had to listen to me speak, because hello he's the best! Thankfully he wasn't there, and my nerves were spared. Anyways....) As I prepared my talk, I realized how much I miss writing. Thus, here I am.

So a few things:
+ I just finished watching The Mindy Project and GUYS. All the feelings!!!! I wasn't sure how I'd like it at first, because it is definitely a little crass (I'm not proud that I overlooked that and pushed through 3 seasons of sex jokes, but it's out there now and what are ya gonna do about it?). I just love that Mindy is such a real woman, who loves junk food, has her body issues and funny quirks and she still OWNS it in the workplace. I'm always so sad when I finish a good book or t.v. show, and this one especially left me anxious for the final season. What should I watch next? Aaaaand speaking of books....

+ Have you heard of Marcia Lynn McClure? I don't know why I was so late to the game, but I've been devouring her books and I LOVE THEM. They are the perfect blend of history, mystery and romancery (I mean, I had to...). I think the Highwayman of Tanglewood is my favorite thus far. Honestly I don't even care if they are the candy equivalent in the literary world because candy is the BEST, am I right?

+ We are now the nerdy, and proud, owners of memberships to the zoo AND the Tracy Aviary. Honestly though, I will always always always have a zoo membership because it's my favorite place in the whole world and Nash loves it too, so win win win!

+ And Nash! My little love bug is ONE! How is that real? The saying "The days are long, but the years are short" has been hitting me over the head for the last few weeks because it's so true! I'm having so much fun with him right now, and learning more about him and myself every day. It's amazing to see the difference in our bond on the days I'm not feeling my greatest, and it's huge motivation for me to give my all, even when I feel grumpy or tired. It's really hard, but really awesome.

+ And a shout out to my other guy, the one and only Christian D. He works so hard for our family and I love him to death for it! I'll be honest and say that this routine of "dad going to work, mom staying home with the kids" is A LOT harder than I expected it to be. I mean, I thought both of us being in school and working and having a baby at the same time was hard (and it was!), but this is just so different. At least when we were doing that, we had a lot of common ground: tests, projects, jobs, shared time with Nash.... Now we are just both so much in our own spheres that honestly it's hard to connect sometimes at the end of the day. I hate that! I'm only now just realizing the dire importance of regular, BABY-LESS date nights, and thankfully we found a consistent teenage sitter to help us out in that regard.
Also, teenage sitter? When did we turn 30?

+ And finally an anecdotal story, because I feel like that's actually the title of my life sometimes. So one night last week, I was having a terrible time sleeping (but what's new? It's so rude for moms to have to suffer through that. I mean, my child sleeps 12 hours a night and I'm lucky if I get 5 good hours! Hmph.). Anyways, I woke up at about 3am to a couple men like screaming at each other somewhere outside. I wasn't very lucid, but I definitely heard someone yell for the other to "get out". Anyways, the next morning I was out on a walk and I saw a police car and a CRIME SCENE van driving up and down our street and I was like "oh shiz did I actually hear a MURDER last night?!" So of course I waited inside until I saw the cops come back from talking to some neighbors, and then I casually slipped out the front door with the intention of being like "um excuse me, but what in the freak happened last night?!" Alas, they were all talking to each other and I couldn't interrupt, so I acted like I was on my phone and eavesdropped instead HAHA! Guys, I'm so embarrassing. Anyways, no one died but I gathered that there was some pretty serious punching, a dad, and also someone jumped a fence with a bike. So. This is just funny, because we actually live in a pretty decent area of Salt Lake, but then sometimes I see homeless guys wandering around our neighborhood and I'm like "yep, better lock the door more often". Also I really need to tell you about my crazy neighbor sometime. She has this awesome habit of banging on our door when I'm either in my pajamas or less than that (IT'S HOT!), and if I don't answer, she will literally go to our side door and knock for like a million minutes. Thankfully she's reasonably nice when she's not being cuckoo, so when I get locked in the back half of our apartment, I can climb out the window and ask her to let me in. You know. In case that ever happened, WHICH IT HASN'T. But just in case it ever did, it's nice to know my grumpy and niceatthesametime old lady ginger neighbor has got my back.

three

Christian and I have been married for three years!
The longer I'm with him, the more I realize how great this whole marriage thing is. It just forces you OVER AND OVER again to let go of silly things, be vulnerable, and put someone's happiness before your own. While we were away over the weekend, we had a conversation that made me so thankful to have such a rockstar husband. We'd left our hotel bright and early, without showering or doing anything, so we could hike before it got too warm. After a few hours longer than we'd expected being all outdoorsy, my greasy hair, unshaven legs, and broken-out makeup-less face were starting to drive me crazy. I said something to Christian about starting to feel embarrassed being out in public like that, and he sweetly said "Don't feel bad at all. You look beautiful to me, and you don't need to worry about feeling gross or dirty. It's intimate, and I love seeing you like this no matter how you think you look."

It just made me stop and think about how important and special that intimacy is in a marriage. Your spouse sees you at your literal worst sometimes, physically, emotionally, etc. It's so wonderful to know that despite all of that, they still love you and think you are the bees knees. I know it's how I feel about Christian and it's apparently the way he feels about me too, lucky girl that I am.

Marriage isn't a walk in the park, but it is pretty great. Happy anniversary to the funniest, most steady, best breakfast chef I know!

the week of all weeks (of all weeks!)

I am long overdue for an update (March and April were like just like "what is LIFE?!"), but we just wrapped up a super great week SO! Here it is!

Our families were in town from Michigan for our official graduation from BYU. I didn't think I'd care all that much about walking, but it was wonderful to have a formal "goodbye" from the university that I came to love so much. Cliche and cheesy be darned, it completely changed my life!

My parents are like "yeah we are smiling lol"

Saturday, we had an early birthday celebration for Nash with everyone in the family, and it was the BEST. Poor baby has been sick and teething for a few weeks now, so he wasn't as happy as I was hoping (he didn't even try to eat his birthday cake!), but it made me so happy to watch all our parents and siblings celebrate him with us. His official birthday is a week from today, and everyone is gone now, so I'm thankful we were able to squeeze that in!

Nash only poses for birthday pictures with his best girlfriend mom of course!

THEN! Christian and I took off to St. George for 3 days as a sort of anniversary trip/celebration of graduating and surviving the first year of parenthood, etc. etc.

It.
Was.
THE BEST.

To the point of being completely delirious with happiness the whole time, obviously.

We've been terrible about having consistent dates WITHOUT Nash. It's happened maybe 6 or 7 times in the last year. Getting 3 whole days with just Christian made me realize how important it is to take time for the two of us. You'd think it would be a obvious, but it's really hard for us to find babysitters since we don't have much close family here in Utah, so we usually just end up going out to dinner and bringing our little crazy octopus along. NO MORE! I have a new found obsession with "Brooke and Christian time" and my goal for the rest of the year is a date just the two of us at least 3 times a month.

Now, who wants to babysit?

10.5 months whaaa

Why am I doing a 10.5 month update you ask? It's because I just remembered I've actually been wanting to do his ten month update and just put it off for two weeks. More or less.

Here's a picture, hope you like our faces!

It's the most cliche thing ever to say about babies, but it's totally true. IT GETS SO MUCH MORE FUN THE OLDER THEY GET. I'm just gaga over this stage right now. Nash is currently:

waving
clapping
cruising along furniture
loving animals, especially his stuffed cougar (like mother like son!)
loves dancing (adorable)
loving the book little owls day (again with the animal thing)
will eat anything we give him (including tzaziki sauce, WHO IS THIS KID?)
flashes his megawatt grin at eeeevvvveryone.
will eat your purse if he can get there fast enough (and believe me, he can. Lightning McQueen over here).
loves to eat cords and break glass ("not impressed mom face emoji")
makes Christian and I laugh all day long.

Gosh. I just love this little boy of mine.

why christian is my soul mate: a true story

a little over 3 years ago when we got engaged, and the first time our families met.

If you are super close to either mine or Christian's family, you probably know this story already. BUT. In case you aren't, I just have to tell you what is easily the strangest familial circumstance I've ever heard of in my life. I'm not kidding. I will seriously pay you if you can tell me a weirder story. And with that, here we go.

Christian grew up just outside Detroit Michigan, in a city called Novi. He lived there for about 13 years.
From there, his family moved to Colorado and then to Melbourne Florida, where they were living when we got married.
At that same time, my family was living in Mesa Arizona. A few months into the summer however, my family moved down to Florida as well, about 3 hours South of the Carters. Just by total chance! It worked out amazingly though, because coincidentally Christian and I ALSO ended up in Florida the summer after we got married. One big happy family in the sunshine state, if you can believe it.

This isn't even the craziest part.
Last year, my dad was offered a job in Michigan. Total happenstance.
In which city, you ask?
Why Novi of course! 
And so last summer, my family moved to the same city that my husband grew up in. My brother goes to Christian's old high school. Swims on the same swim team. My family is in the same ward even.

And believe it or not, THIS STILL ISN'T THE CRAZIEST PART.

In January, Christian's dad accepted a new job.
Where at??
NOVI FREAKING MICHIGAN.
So now, our families live in the same town, our brothers go to the same school, hang out on the weekends. OUR MOMS ARE IN THE YOUNG WOMEN'S PRESIDENCY TOGETHER.

I mean, can you even!? It blows my mind when I think about it. It's been the strangest coincidence after coincidence, and I'm starting to believe it's not coincidence at all. In all seriousness, I think this has been a little slice of heaven on earth, demonstrating that it's a great thing Christian and I ended up together.
I mean, can you imagine if we hadn't?
AWKWARD.

a few things

I like how I was all "I'm totally blogging more from now on."
And then in all my free time I've been like "I need to clean! make food! lounge! Or maybe even SHOWER!"
To be fair to myself, I do have plenty to do while Nash is sleeping, which is why I think it's hard for me to get back in this habit. Sometimes (ALL THE TIME) showering just takes priority, you know? One post at a time I guess!
Anyways, here's some stuff:

+ When I started this full-time, stay-at-home mom gig, I was incredibly gung ho about keeping my house super clean all the time. Guys. That's just way too hard. So this is what my living room floor looks like all the live long day.

+ My all time favorite person to follow on social media is Natalie Hill Jensen (are you dying for her to re-launch her blog already?!). Anyway, she's started a 30-day Book of Mormon reading challenge for the month of March, which I've adapted for myself and I'm actually trying to just finish by general conference. I've been surprsingly on top of it and I'm loving it so far. I've really needed to make a big commitment to something spiritual like this, and I can't wait to see how I'm feeling at the end of the month! You should do it too.

+ Christian and I have gotten into a weird habit over the last few months. We usually put Nash down between 7:30 and 8 every night, which gives us about 3 hours of time together (sidenote: HEAVEN!). We've been playing a game of Quirkle almost every night, followed by a few episodes of House or Friends. It's the weirdest combination of stuff now that I think about it ha! But I totally love little rituals like that.

+ I just put together a new toy for Nash and what is he doing? Why, chewing on the remote of course. Hashtag babies am I right?!

+ Speaking of Nash, he started clapping last week!! Ah, my mom heart can't EVEN.

+ So the Bachelor! I just finished watching the season finale and I noticed something. At the beginning of every season, I make fun of it, HARD. Seriously you should probably watch it with me because I'm funny as everything. But EVERY YEAR without fail, I'm super invested by the last episode and way emotional and most likely crying at the proposal. Why is that?! It's the craziest show, and what they make those poor people go through is just terrible, when you think about it. But it's like a drug I can't quit. Along with the rest of America.

+ I'm cutting my hair on Saturday. And I mean like reeeeaaallly cutting it. No, like it will be all the way gone. It's only taken me almost a year but I CANNOT take this postpartum hair anymore. I totallly get now why so many moms have super short hair, and I'm about to be one of them. EEEK!

Well that's about it. I better stop now before my non-blogging self goes comatose from aaaaaaallll this writing.

is this thing on?

Almost 3 months of radio silence.
WHO AM I?!

In all honesty, the holidays and finishing school and moving and etc. etc. just got way too busy and completely sucked my desire to sit down and write anything. Plus I'm sure I was all "who has time to blog when there are cookies to be eaten?"

But I'm here!
We are alive! Alive and well! Here's a brief update on the Carter fam, in case you care.
(which you obviously do because you are reading this! Gotcha!)

Christian started working full time about mid-way through January. He's doing great work in the financial sector and really enjoying it for the most part. I can't tell you how proud I am of him. At the risk of being an overly gushy wife, I won't go in to too many details, but he's working his tail off and making his superiors very happy. It's still so strange to me when I realize we aren't students anymore. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't loving it. I mean, I miss BYU with a firey passion, but I do NOT miss tests and projects and grades and textbooks and tuition. I'm thinking 6 years was more than enough time to get my fill. Plus, the stay-at-home mom life and I were just meant to be. I'm absolutely loving the days with my number one buddy (Who is almost 10 months old, by the by. WHERE IN THE NAME OF EVERYTHING IS THE TIME GOING)

Nash is all "Mom step back, I got this."

Also known as his attitude, every single day ha.

So yeah. Here we are. Just living life in Salt Lake City, doing our thing.
I'm feeling pretty good about life at the moment, quiet and sorta boring as it may be. April and May are going to be a little more exciting (a graduation! family in town! an anniversary! a vacation! a 1st birthday!), and so I'm really wanting to use March as a time to totally charge my batteries and get ready for it all. You know, like a bit of an overhaul for my spiritual, mental and physical health.
As I've thought about it all for the last few days, I've realized it really helps me when I'm writing more, both in my journal and on this silly ol' blog. Old habits totally die hard. Also I guess it's like my one creative outlet, seeing as how I gave up professional singing like 15 years ago when I realized "no Brooke, you will NOT be the next Britney Spears". Ah, to be ten again.

What I'm trying to say is you will probably be seeing.... uh... hearing, a lot more from me in the nearish future.