#baseballwifelife: Annapolis, MD Trip

Harrison and I had the best weekend visiting Daddy and Mawmaw and Pawpaw! We had the trip planned for a long time and I had everything lined up to make the trip as easy as possible.  We left Friday morning around 6:30 to head up the Eastern Shore of Virginia.  The drive was beautiful and HC was an angel baby.  We only stopped once for him to grab some snacky and got right back on the road. 

The night before we left I decided that it was time to upgrade him to the next car seat! But he loved it and I knew he wouldn't need the removable carrier car seat anymore. 

We arrived in Annapolis to meet DJ around 11 and seeing Harrison look at his daddy is getting sweeter every time! We went straight to downtown Annapolis to eat a delicious lunch at Chick and Ruth's Deli - a classic in the city. 

We walked the streets of the city before heading back to the hotel to unload all the baby stuff.  Traveling with a baby is not easy, but I have definitely found the necessary traveling pieces for us! One of those being the wrap...HC seriously loves it! 

Y'all, can we take a moment and look at all that post partum hair loss?! UGH! 

Friday night we went to the ball game and we got to see my in laws! They are seriously the cutest with HC.  Harrison is the youngest grandchild on their side and it seems like forever ago that Bryce was this little! 

Saturday morning we decided to go downtown for crepes before we got crabs for lunch.  I am a big crepe lover. My go to is nutella, bananas, strawberries, powder sugar and whip cream. mmmmmmmmm. 

We took a quick walk around the outside of the Naval Academy and then we decided to take a tour of Annapolis by boat! HC slept the whole time - it was great! 

 After the boat tour, we headed to this restaurant on the water for crabs.  They were seriously the best crabs I've ever had! Very delicious, great company and beautiful scenery.  We couldn't resist taking some more pictures!

Can you tell that I'm the one married in?! Tall, taller and tallest!

The baseball games were super fun to go to because we got to see some of our favorite baseball ladies, Stassie and Ashley!

Overall it was a great weekend. DJ got to spend lots of time with us, my in-laws got some good quality time with HC and explored around another beautiful city that I will for sure be visiting again! Cheers to another ballpark and city crossed off my list and state #7 added to HC's state map!

My Post Baby Fitness Journey

The female body is designed to do amazing things.  Grow a life.  Birth a baby. Provide life for that baby.  It truly is amazing.  While I was pregnant, I embraced all the changes my body was going through - the weight gain, the back pain, the big(ger) boobs - it was all worth it to push that little bundle of joy into the world.

But being a mom takes a toll on your body. I gained around 40 pounds during my pregnancy.  I started at 135 and topped off around 175 I think.  Working out while pregnant was important to me. I tried my hardest to stay active, but once I hit the 7 month mark, workouts started to dwindle.  It didn't help that it was winter time and the motivation was not there.

I am writing this post to keep myself accountable. Not for you to compare.  Or judge.  Or wish you had what I have.  Or say anything about my journey.  Because that's what it is - MY journey.  Not your journey.  Everyone has different weight gain or starting points for their fitness journey.  I just hope by writing this post, I will inspire someone to get active or start their post baby fitness journey.

This picture is my motivation.  I don't know why, but I just love this picture of D.J. and I.  This picture was taken not more than a month before I found out I was expecting.  Heck, I was probably pregnant in this photo and didn't even know it.  Last summer I was in the best shape of my life.  I was working out hard almost every day, eating (somewhat) healthy and focusing on myself.

Now that I am 4+ months postpartum, I am trying to kick it into full drive with my workouts and eating habits.  I used July to focus on balancing work, life and working out and now that it's August, I'm trying to make sure that eating healthy takes more of a front seat in my priorities right now.

I am down to 152 pounds and hoping to be at 147 by the end of the month.  Given I am still breastfeeding, I need to make sure I am still giving my body the amount of nutrition I need, but focusing on what I eat much more. Oh and for all those people thinking "she's still breastfeeding, she should be dropping pounds left and right!" - well thats not the case for me.  I have noticed myself getting more toned, but the pounds aren't falling off like people say they should!

So right now, my post baby fitness journey looks a little something like this...

Body Back 2-3x/week: You can read more about Body Back here, but this program is truly inspiring.  Makes working out so fun and is really a challenge.  I really feel like this is the key to getting back in my pre baby shape. And we do it on the beach some days - who can complain about that?! BodyBack is a part of Fit4Mom - take a look and see if they have one in your area.  I highly recommend it!

Alexa Jean ab program: Alexa Jean is a quick and dirty ab workout four times a week.  It's 5 moves 3 times through for varying times on and off.  I like this program because I just need to dedicated 20 minutes of my day to it and then I'm done.

Healthy Eating: This is something I am struggling with right now.  Finding the time to go to the grocery store and get healthy snacks and dinners is hard.  But just by making smarter choices I have already noticed a difference in how I feel when I put good food in my body and not crappy food!

Right now I feel as though these things are helping me get back into things without overcommitting myself with D.J. still gone. To keep myself accountable, here are my numbers and everything before I started BodyBack a few weeks ago...

Half mile run: 4 minutes and 9 seconds
Bicep curls with red band: 41
Squats: 45
Push-ups: 26 (11 straight on my toes)
Full sit ups: 19
Plank: 1 min 6 seconds
Side planks: 40 seconds each side

41 1/4 bust
36 1/4 belly
39 1/2 hips

And here are my pictures...

If you ever question getting out and walking or getting a quick workout in, DO IT! 

The Day It All Changed

On August 2, 2015 we found out our family was growing by ten little fingers and toes, two beautiful blue eyes and what turned out to be a big ole' noggin of a baby!

I will never forget that day.  D.J. was upset about a baseball game and the position he was put it and we were on the last day of a trip in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  I had been feeling crappy for the past few days and was telling Maria about it and she was joking around about me being pregnant. I said "NO WAY! It's just a summer cold I bet".  So as the weekend went on, she finally made me take a test even though I wanted to wait till we got back to Lynchburg.  Sure enough, that (not so little) blue line popped up in less than 5 seconds and it was a LEGIT blue line.  No faint lines - dark blue lines.  I then proceeded to take the other two tests in the box, followed by two more the next couple days when I was still in shock! Cue the collage below.

So Maria and I had to go to the game with this big secret with my family there, D.J.'s family there and all our friends and not say anything! I had no idea how far along I was, so we wanted to keep it quiet.  I had all these great ideas in my head about how I would tell D.J. about the pregnancy, but this one sneeked up on us and I didn't have anything prepared. 

Since this day was the getaway day, Maria and I headed out from the game earlier than the bus and made a pit stop at Target.  I obviously got more tests because I was still in shock.  I also got D.J. some candy and a cute "congratulations" card. 

Getting him a little gift wasn't that out of the blue because he had a rough day.  Inside the card was the pregnancy test that said "If I'm going to get fat, then so are you!" It was the most precious moment ever to see D.J. find out he was going to be a dad.  I was nervous to tell him, because there were a lot of people that happened to come over after the guys got home.  But thats a moment in our life that we will never forget and we were happy to have our baseball family there for it. 

A few days later we had an off day and the Feyereisen's (cue the tears because JP was just traded to the Yankees!) treated us all to a day on Smith Mountain Lake on a pontoon boat! We couldn't keep the secret so we told the group and just enjoyed the day dreaming about what our life would look like a year from now. 

I cannot believe it's been a whole year since we found out our lives would change forever in the best way possible.  We love you Harrison!! 

4 Months || Harrison Cole

HC,

Another amazing month of having you in our lives and we are still so smittened with you! You keep us on our toes, always laughing, and so blessed to be your parents.  We miss daddy all the time, but at the mere age of four months, you are already a FaceTime expert.  I swear you associate the phone with daddy, but who knows.  Maybe I just think you are a genius child...either way, it's pretty cool! This is our last full month without dad home and I know you are just as excited to have him home every day as I am! Thank you for being my motivation, my reason and so much more!

Month 4 Memories:

Diapers- 100% of the time you are in size 2 diapers right now.  You switched over around 14 weeks.  Those ones were just getting a little to tight for you! I've been leaning towards the Pampers more often than not, but we will use any type of diaper we have! You aren't picky.

Clothes- We switched over from 3 month and 3-6 month onesies to strictly 6 months a few weeks ago. But you still fit in the 3 month t shirts and shorts.  I found the best deal for some summer outfits the other day at Sams Club and stocked up on some 6 month rompers for you.  I personally prefer the Carter's brand.  At night time I put you in a onesie that you wouldn't typically wear during the day and swaddle you up in the large velcro swaddles at night.

Sleep- Well right before you hit 4 months, you had a little set back in your sleeping.  I have found that you are taking less naps during the day (two 45 minute naps while I am at work) and then about and hour nap when I get home from work.  You were sleeping from around 9pm till 2/3 am then waking again around 7.  When you hit a little big of that 4 month sleep regression, you reverted back to every two hours.  I think if Dad was hope to help calm you during the night, you would go back to sleep, but since it's me, I just nurse you back to sleep. I did some reading on how babies your age should be sleeping and the most common thing I read is that I should be putting you to sleep earlier.  I've been trying to have you down by 8:30 these days.  Then the rest of the night is literally so up in the air on any given night right now.  Some days you wake up every two hours...others you sleep for 5 hours straight!

Other than naps and night time, you still love a good nap on mommy in the Solly Wrap! 

Eating- Mama's milk is still your favorite! I cannot believe that for over a year now, my body has grown you from a tiny spec to a big four month old baby.  The human body is truly amazing! While I am gone at work, you get three 4oz bottles.  Some days I give you a little more in each bottle, but I truly believe you don't need to have any more than that.  Lots of people say you need more or need to eat more, but I think once we start you on solids, you will start to be full longer and need less bottles.  I pump twice a day at work, anywhere between 10 am and 1 pm.  I get enough milk to get you through the next day, but I end up freezing the last bit and giving you the frozen milk I have stored up so I keep the stash fresh. 

Pacifier- Update from last month - you don't like the MAM brand.  Now trying the Nuk brand.  The pacifier does not calm you down when you are crying.  The only time you really will take it is at night right after you nurse and I pop that baby in there to confuse you.  You also really love to suck on your fingers and toes!

Weight and Length- At your 4 month check up last week, you weighed in at 15 pounds 6 oz (54th%) and 27 inches long (94th%). You have a big ole head measuring in at 17.2 inches (97th%)! 

This month you took your first dip in the pool and you absolutely LOVE it! We try to get in at least once a weekend and you have the cutest little float that covers the sun from your eyes. 

We had you in this little yellow one, but the shade is crucial, so we got you the one with the cover on it!

You had a lot of days with Gigi and Grandpa Bieber this month! They both love you so much! We are so lucky to leave you with people that enjoy having you around during the day!

This was my first day back to work and I wasn't as nervous to leave you as everyone else says I would be.  Maybe that's because you were with Gigi!

You love getting a bath at night.  Sometimes we give it to you during the day at Gigi and GB's house in the dog washing station since it's so much easier not having to bend down. Straight chillen here in this little rubber ducky! 

Before we left Akron, we took a family trip to the Zoo and Daddy signed some autographs! You looked so cute in your little jean hat!

We haven't been going on walks lately because it's been too hot to do anything outside other than get in the pool.  You love walks though. Cue the cutest baby smile ever below.

When we go on easy walk, I put you in the stroller like a big boy!

Gigi and Mom went to the Kenny Chesney concert on the Thursday I started back to work.  Grandpa Bieber (GB) was responsible for you.  I came home to find you "wrapped" in your swaddle like this!!!! I have no idea how you managed to get like this, but this is too funny not to remember forever on the blog.

You had your fist beach day with mommy's girlfriends and you did GREAT! You loved the sound of the water hitting the sand.  We haven't been back again because of the hot temperature, but I can't wait to take you when daddy comes home.

You celebrated the 4th of July in style with Raleigh and met lots of new family members this month.

You are already teething big time.  Lots of drool, chewing on toys and your fingers and definitely more fussy.  You also had your first ear infection this month :( It made me so sad to see you cry in pain! But it went away pretty quick, and at the check up appointment, you killed it in this outfit.

That big head of yours is still pretty bald. You have gotten more hair, but still a little bald baby!

I've been focusing on working out a lot more this month as well.  Thanks to Body Back and Gigi, I am able to get an hour two times a week to go hard for myself and get this body back to how it was before you were born! It's a long process, but I am confident, strong and happy to be on this road of motherhood with such great people to support me!

I swear every day you get so much bigger and learn something new.  It really is amazing.  You love tummy time (despite your face in this picture) and are getting so strong! I cannot wait to see what you learn to do in month 4 of your life! 

I close my eyes at night, 

wondering where would I be without you in my life

Everything I did was just a bore,

everywhere I went it seems I'd been there before

But you birghtened up for me all of my days 

With a love so sweet with so many ways 

I want to stop and thank you baby

I want to stop and thank you baby

How sweet it is to be loved by you

Summer Lovin'

Ok, I admit it.  The blog has taken a back burner.  But how can I resist spending every minute I can with this cutie?!

Our summer has been flying by, which I'm having mixed emotions on.  Every day that goes by, our little man gets bigger but in the same breath, that means D.J. gets to come home that much sooner.  The Minor League season lasts until Labor Day Weekend, if they don't make the playoffs, so hopefully about six more weeks.

Being away from D.J. hasn't been too terribly hard.  Except for when I hear "Dont Miss Your Life" by Phil Vassar. Cue the tears. We try to FaceTime every day before the game to make sure HC gets to see his daddy and hear his voice.  I know it's not normal to everyone, but this is our normal and we have to stay positive and keep striving towards that dream!

Our summer has been crazy busy.  Lets try to recap July in one blog post. Sorry for the photo overload.  July 4th Weekend was spent with lots of family in town for my cousins retirement from the Navy after 20 years! Way to go, Shawn!

Harrison had a blast in all of his July 4th outfits!

D.J. was able to come home for the All Star Break for three days! We are so blessed that the teams he has been on are relatively close to home so he is able to come home for multiple days off.  HC and daddy had lots of time together and we made sure to snap lots of pictures of our ASB....

 We cashed in our date night, thanks to Gigi and Grandpa Bieber! We enjoyed dinner at Watermans, a trip to Target without baby, and then came back to a sleeping kiddo! Tuesday D.J. and HC gave me a little taste of what night time will be like when he comes home.

Bath time with his favorite! 

Melt my heart, please.  Matching in their robes. <3 

Other than D.J. being home those days, we have only seen him two other times when his team played in Richmond, VA.  We were able to drive up after work and see him play which was awesome.  We have been spending a lot of time at the pool, over at our neighbors house for Sunday Funday and getting great workouts in! 

It really does take a village to raise a child and we am so thankful and blessed to have such amazing people in our village. From our parents and family to our friends and everyone else that helps with HC, we love you all! Thank you for making this summer (so far) one to remember! 

Happy 21st Birthday, Julie!

Y'all I am getting OLD! Wasn't my 21st birthday only last year?!

Today is my little sister's 21st birthday! Julie, you are the best little sister, aunt to HC, and friend anyone could ask for! You are confident, strong, beautiful and so much fun to be around.  Thank you for helping with HC when you were home this summer and we can't wait to celebrate with you in September and at the Auburn/Georgia game!

Enjoy your day and don't drink too much white wine :)!! LOVE YOU!

Pool Baby

Y'all, we for sure have ourselves a pool baby on our hands! Harrison absolutely loves the pool.  And I could not be happier.  Growing up we always had a pool in our backyard.  We used to spend our entire summers in there. Between the playground and mud pits we used to make and catching the balls when we jump off the diving board, we made so many memories in the backyard. 

Living three blocks away from my parents is the best thing in the world.  I cannot explain how fortunate we are that we live so close.  Harrison gets to see his grandparents pretty much every day and will get to make the same memories I did in the pool growing up. 

Summer days are here and Harrison made his first dip in the pool last weekend! It's hard because at this age they can't have any sunscreen yet, so we have to make sure he stays in the shade as much as possible. 

We are obsessed with the cutest little water hat by George Hats. I came across them on Instagram and knew that with all the beach and pool time Harrison would be having this summer, he had to have one! He seriously loved having his little toes in the water and being out there with everyone at the pool!

This weekend we spent both days at the pool and in the water.  We decided to try and see how he did in this little float, and he was GREAT! It's still a little big for him, but it's better than holding him by his armpits. I mean, does he get any cuter?! His little hair is growing in more and his personality is really coming to life these days. 

He is a giggling machine these days and those make the best little smiles ever. 

This kid makes my days so special.  His smiles, his eyes, the way he looks at me... I love it all. I hope he knows how much his daddy and I love him every day of his life.  I hope we can give him the life he will always dream of and more. 

Mama loves you little boy! I can't imagine summer pool days without you now!