Dearest George,

Well, how do I put this? You're perfect. :) Your Dad and I just adore you. Every stage with you is my favorite...when you smiled at four months I thought, this is my favorite stage! Then you sat up at six months and I thought, okay this is it! And now here we are at 10 months and a day and I could just eat you up your cuteness is so delicious! This really is my favorite stage! ;)

Also, you are almost one and a toddler. Someone hold me.

You've been sick off and on for what has felt like months! But really it's just been a cough and cold that wouldn't go away. And then a high fever that stuck around for a few days. And then a sinus infection. Lord, have mercy. I am on a first name basis with the nurses at our pediatricians office. The last few weeks have been a blur! But, thankfully you're on the mend now. Praise the Lord!

You are into everything these days. E V E R Y T H I N G. Baby Proofing The House 2016 was in full effect a few weekends ago and we're still not done.  You're opening bathroom cabinets, pulling out every last item of my makeup from under the sink, unrolling the toilet paper, chewing on shoelaces, opening and closing and opening doors, picking up pieces of lint and dust off the basement carpet...you keep your momma busy. I am in no rush whatsoever for you to walk! The crawling is about all I can keep up with these days!

You love bath time (still), and eating broccoli. You'd probably survive solely on a diet of Cheerios if I let you. We're still nursing and you're definitely a fan of that! You want to try every piece of food you see me eating (or drinking). You're especially fascinated with my HyrdroFlask and you love drinking sips of water from it. You love your books (which makes me so happy!). And you love music...especially when your Dad plays Buck Owens.

You are obsessed with Admiral Byrd. And his tail. And his bones. And his chew toys. And his water bowl. And his bed. And his crate.

You take two good naps a day (most of the time). But nighttime sleep is another story! I feel like I've read everything there is to read about nighttime sleep...and asked every friend for help...and we still haven't figured it out. We'll get there, bud, we'll get there!

You adore your Dad. And seeing the two of you together makes my heart all soft and mushy. I love both of you so much. And I feel so fiercely protective of both of you.

Things people say about you:

-He's a live wire! (YES.)
-He's so serious. (This usually from strangers.)
-He looks like a George.
-He's such a happy baby. (This usually from family members.)
-He looks just like Andrew. (Until they see a photo of your Uncle Josh...)
-He's really tall!

You survived (and we survived) your first stomach flu in February. Your Dad got to watch about 14 seconds of the 50th Super Bowl before it was all hands on deck with the flu. We missed the entire game, but those Broncos still won!

Last week we went to the park with some friends and you went in the swing for the first time. You visited the Pentagon for the first time on March 1st when we attended our neighbor's promotion ceremony to Colonel! And you celebrated your first Easter last week--what a joy that was! I could barely keep it together in church...my heart was so full and so very thankful.

You've been outside in the world longer than I carried you inside me! We passed that 40 week mark and I thought to myself, "Time, slow down!!!"

I read something on one of those blogs making the social media rounds the other day, and it just made me teary:

Being a little boy's mama means seeing the little boy in all men, and feeling more empathetic than you were before. 

Being a little boy's mama will change you--harden you in some places, soften you in others--but will ultimately give the sweetest memories of when, for a brief period you were everything to a sticky-faced little man.

I love being your mom, George. As exhausting as it is...as life-changing...as heart-wrenching...I wouldn't trade it for the world. You bring so much joy to your Dad and I. It's so cliche--all the things they say about being a parent...how you would do anything for your child, and how you experience God's love in a whole new way once becoming a parent, and how your love for this little person just becomes all-encompassing and so incredibly sacrificial...it sounds cliche--but it's true. Every bit of it. The love your Dad and I have for you, George--you may never fully understand it until you're a parent yourself. But, still, we hope you know it and experience and feel it from your earliest days...we pray you experience God's love in the same way.

We adore you, our sweet, sweet boy!

Your Momma and Dada

Life Lately.

March has sped by! I took a little break from social media for Lent. It's been so refreshing. I've missed Insta, but not so much Facebook. I aways feel so back and forth with social media. I love it for keeping up with friends/family members, but hate how mindlessly I can start to scroll through feeds.

This little corner of our kitchen makes me so happy. Especially that morning light. Give me all the morning light!!

Andrew picked up Duck Donuts the other Saturday morning and I am embarrassed to admit he and I single-handedly polished off most of the box. #SHEERHEAVEN

George is into pulling every book off his bookshelf these days. Anything to help him become a reader! I love that he's curious about books. I love him period! He is such a joy...even with sick days and sleepless nights and teething fussiness... it is all so worth it. I love being his mom.

Is it just me or are Trader Joe's flowers the best mood lifter?

My friend, Emily, texted me this quote and I'm still laughing about it. Starbucks for the win!

My friend, Lindsay Ann, recommend The Nightingale to me, promising it would be a fantastic read, and IT.WAS. I read it in three days and still can't stop thinking about it!

My Mom and Sis and I traveled to Annapolis a few weekends ago for a girl's weekend. George got to tag along, too. :) It was so special to be back in Annapolis. We have so many memories as a family from time spent together there. I never get tired of visiting. My brother and his fiancée are getting married in Annapolis later this summer, and I cannot wait to celebrate there with them! 

Highlights from our Annapolis weekend:

T-Court selfies. The USNA Chapel. Crepes at Sofi's. Snuggling in front of the fireplace. Baby on the move! Conversation and the Kardashians. Sink baths. Lullabies with Aunt Courtney and Nani at midnight. McGarvey's and reminiscing about John Vorndick. Brunch from the Iron Rooster. Walks on the Yard. Shopping at the Mid store. Starbucks, Starbucks, Starbucks. Kilwins fudge. The Devil Wears Prada. Coffee break down Ego Alley. Sailboats. St. Patrick's Day parade two weeks early? The sun setting over the Yard. The Severn at dusk.

This week before Easter is always one of my favorite weeks of the whole year. I love every moment between Palm Sunday and the joy-filled celebrations of Easter morning. The older I get the more certain I become that Spring is my favorite season and Easter is my favorite holiday. I hope you're enjoying a beautiful week, too!

A Letter to my Mother-in-Law on my Husband's Birthday

Dearest Carolyn,

I spent many years praying for my future husband. I knew the kind of man I wanted him to be. When I was 15 I wrote out nine qualities I hoped he would have. 

I prayed, "Lord, let me marry this kind of man!"

1. A man who loves God
2. A man who is a leader in his workplace and church
3. A servant
4. A man who loves his mom more than any other woman
5. A gentleman
6. A man who respects my parents
7. A man who loves kids
8. A man who loves each of my siblings
9. A man who loves Jesus more than me

I found that list the other night and read it to Andrew. I told him, "Babe, you are everything on this list! And more!!" God abundantly answered those prayers that I prayed so long ago. And he answered so many of them through you.

Now that I am a mom myself I understand the work and the monotony and the joy and the exhaustion that comes with caring for a little person. For years and years you worked tirelessly to raise a son. And that son became my husband. Thank you for raising such an incredible person. Thank you for all of the years you sacrificed your needs on his behalf. Thank you for shaping and guiding and molding the man I prayed for.

I love both of you so much.

Your daughter-in-love,

Emily

Letters to George Fossen // Volume 7

Dearest George,

How ON EARTH are you almost eight months old? How are we this close to your first birthday?! Somebody hold me!!! Oh, how your Dad and I love you, our sweet, sweet boy. You are irreplaceable and precious and every good thing we ever imagined. And MORE.

I am writing these letters in my head to you all the time. Little records and snapshots of all your first milestones. I'm recording as many of them as I can in your baby book. Your first smile. First plane ride. First time you rolled over. First time you reached for me. My eyes start welling up when I think of all these precious firsts that your Dad and I get to be a part of and witness. We just adore you. I thank God every day that he's entrusted us to be your parents. We are so imperfect and have so much growing still to do. But, we treasure you beyond words and thank God for the great gift of being your mom and dad!

Every week brings new changes for you bud! But some weeks are bigger than others, and we've had a few of those this month.

Your first snow was on January 20! Just a few flakes in preparation for Jonas. ;) Your wonderful Dad joined my family in Maryland for dinner that night and what was normally a 20 minute drive home turned into a six and a half hour commute for him. Poor guy!

You said 'momma' on January 23. Your Dad and I were sitting on the stairs with you and you said it clear as day. Dad can vouch for me! You've been saying 'ba ba ba' for weeks now. Whenever we're with Nani and Grandaddy they sing the Beach Boys Barbara Ann to you, and you just eat.it.up.

Your Uncle Isaac came home for 48 hours last week. He's on a seven month overseas deployment with the Navy and none of us had seen him since we said goodbye to him last July. His sponsor dad from the Naval Academy suddenly passed away...funeral plans were made...a request was put in...flights were scheduled...and Brother was coming HOME! You'll never remember it, of course. But I will tell you, George, the rest of us were SO glad to see him! And we packed as many meals and memories and hugs as we could into those 48 hours. What a completely unexpected, bittersweet reunion! Not enough to tide us over until the summer, but it'll have to do. :)

A record snow hit D.C. last week. Winter Storm Jonas started on Friday and continued through Saturday. Church was cancelled on Sunday and the city plow didn't come through until Monday. Your Dad bought a snow blower the day before Jonas hit. And, my goodness, was that ever a fantastic purchase! He cleared our neighborhood sidewalks, then moved on to an elderly neighbor's driveway...down the street to his parents...and back! He saved the day for all of us.

I got a Facebook notification on Saturday as Jonas was raging outside that your Dad and I had been friends on Facebook for five years. It was so cheesy, but so cute! We've lived a lot of life in five years.  It hasn't been perfect, but I'm still so unspeakably grateful for five years of knowing your Dad. He's my best friend. And the man of my dreams. Truly!

What else? You LOVE baths. You get so excited when you hear me turn on the bath water. Your Dad says it's because you were born in the water. That makes me laugh. :) You are so strong. You're always grabbing and pulling and reaching for everything. Even when I'm holding you, you're lunging for anything within arm's length (as long as it's not a stranger!). You love to eat, but you're not crazy about being spoon fed. You like to hold and touch everything for yourself. You love Admiral Byrd, especially when he licks food off your fingers.

We spend our days at the library and Bible Study and our church's Toddler Friday's program. Nani comes over at least once a week to help me with...everything. Seriously, everything! That deserves it's own letter! :) Nani has walked Admiral Byrd, washed my dishes, mopped my kitchen floor, pulled dead plants out of my patio pots, scrubbed rust out of my sink, polished candlesticks, used WD-40 on our squeaky doors, brought me coffee, and even been down on her hands and knees vacuuming under our living room couches. She has helped me not just survive this first year of motherhood, but THRIVE in it! I am so grateful for her.

My absolute favorite part of the day is putting you to bed each night...nursing you and holding you beside your crib for just a second or two longer and watching you sleep so peacefully in my arms. If I could freeze time that's where I'd freeze it. I don't take any of it for granted. And I don't wish any of it would go faster. Every new season is my absolute favorite age with you. I treasure all of the moments.

Being a mom is so hard and so wonderful and so amazing and so draining all at once. Whenever I send gifts or deliver meals to mom friends I always send a note and include a sentence along the lines of, You are doing an amazing job! because they ARE. This is hard work and whether that mom breastfeeds or bottle feeds or practices attachment parenting or uses a pacifier or doesn't or works outside the home or stays home or cosleeps or whatever!...she loves that child best. And she is doing her absolute best. Being a mom has opened my eyes to a whole new arena of offering encouragement. Your Nani rarely leaves our house without saying, You are doing such a great job! And you know I'll support you in whatever decision you make! I think that's really all any mom wants to hear!

Perhaps our biggest update of all? You finally started sleeping through the night! PRAISE THE LORD!!! The snowstorm provided just the right circumstances for your Dad and I to be home together for a few days and really help you start getting into a better sleep groove. Any my goodness is it making a difference! It's still a little sporadic, but I feel like I have a whole new lease on life! And your Dad does, too, since he no longer has a crying baby and a crying momma on his hands. ;)

Oh George, you are growing and changing right before our eyes. You are such a handsome boy. Your smiles melt us, and we would do just about anything for those giggles. Your Dad and I are crazy about you. We love you SO, little G man! 

xoxoxo

Your Momma (and your Dada, too--always!)

Christmas & NYE 2015

Happy New Year! I love the quietness of January after the holiday season, don't you? It feels like we were just gearing up for Thanksgiving...and we didn't slow down until those NYE horns were blowing! George's first Christmas was a full one! We started with a Christmas Eve brunch my family hosts every year (what fun to finallyyy introduce George to my cousins!). After brunch we went to our church's 3pm family service for Christmas Eve. I remember thinking, "We're at the family service! This feels so surreal! I still can't believe we have a baby!" :) It was such a sweet service--so calming and sacred to have a few moments of (relative) quiet sitting with Andrew and George in the back of the auditorium...being reminded of the story of God sending His Son. I think I set a record for crying happy tears almost every single Sunday at church, but that Christmas Eve service just about did me in. I am so grateful to God for the gifts He has given me--and the greatest gift of all, His Son Jesus!

We spent Christmas Eve dinner with my in-laws and returned on Christmas morning to open gifts with them. After the gift opening with Andrew's family we were off to see my family. A busy, but joy-filled day! 

A few days after Christmas we went away with my family to Hot Springs, Virginia. It gets trickier to get all of us together with job commitments and limited vacation time and naval deployments. But, the majority of us were able to make it away for a few days of a family vacation. My brother's darling fiancé, Elinor, joined us, too! We missed my brother, Isaac, who is currently serving his second deployment overseas with the Navy. 

We had such a relaxing few days in Hot Springs. My Mom was so thoughtful to track down a hotel-recommended babysitter for George on NYE. Mom and Sis and I talked with Miss Peggy, who must have been in her mid to late 70s, the day before during an informal little interview. She was a Hot Springs local and has been babysitting kids at the hotel for over 50 years...amazing! Just a salt of the earth, old-fashioned, good-hearted woman. I still crack up when I recall asking Miss Peggy, "Do you have a cell number in case I need to get ahold of you while we're downstairs?" Her response, in a deep southern Virginia drawl, was "Well, now, I have a land line you could call." Haha! Things worked out wonderfully even without the cell phone--my brother Nate opted to stay back from the NYE festivities and he and Miss Peggy watched George together in the hotel room. Nate called us twice to let us know George was a tad inconsolable. ;) Even with the interruptions we were still able to ring in 2016 with my parents, my Sis, my youngest brother, and the soon-to-be-newlyweds! It was such a fun evening, and a really wonderful time away.