The request to wear her sister always seemed to come at the worst time: Lucia was hungry, tired or the house was just chaotic. I’d said no and not right now and maybe tomorrow too many times to count, so I prepared her:
“It might be quick. She’s pretty hungry and tired.”
As I helped Harlow wrap her, Lucia was fussy and squirmy. I was nervous that Harlow would get overwhelmed by it all. After only a few minutes, I told her I should probably just take her out to feed her and calm her down.
“No mommy. I can do this.”
And with that, she walked away, bouncing gently, patting Lucia’s back with one hand as she held her pacifier with the other. She sang in her ear and whispered,
“I’m right here, Lucia. I’m right here! It’s okay. It’s okay.”
Within seconds, Lucia had calmed. And within minutes, she was asleep.
That sister magic is real.
Things have changed a little bit around here! We welcomed Lucia Jane into the world a few weeks ago, and our lives are so much sweeter. Her labor and delivery was all her own — I hope to share it with you soon. I’ve been sharing so much of what I would have been blogging over on instagram, if you care to follow along.
I’d been waiting for the right way to jump back in. Do I apologize for taking such a break? Do I just pretend like I didn’t? So here I am, acknowledging the needed break and moving on. I’m ready to give this space a much needed makeover. I’m anxious to share what we’ve been up to. I’ve miss you all.
Thanks for sticking around and being patient with me.
So many things to say, not really sure where to start. I feel as if I’m going for a run after a year long hiatus — I’ve missed it, yet it takes somea lot of motivation to get there….and to keep going!
A lot has been happening since my last post in this space ….almost three months ago. Whoops! After moving to a new town, moving again, reprioritizing, and really just realizing I needed to let go of some of the mental stress I had going on, I stepped away.
Distance makes the heart grow fonder, right?
This long deep breath has been so good. So many little changes that have amounted to a lot. The biggest change was simply a moment to get my health – both mentally and physically – back in order and also see what I missed the most.
I’ve taken a break from creating….almost entirely! (Well, except for this baby zapping all my energy!) It’s been hard, but it’s been good. I sound like a bit of a broken record, but I just needed to miss it! I had gotten to a point where I didn’t feel like I was creatively being true to myself. I was constantly feeling behind, due to not giving myself adequate periods of time off during packing and moving from Pittsburgh, living in a temporary apartment, and packing and moving again to our home. I think part of that was to keep me distracted from dealing with all the change and missing so much back in Pittsburgh, so forcing myself to face everything head on has been…you guessed it: hard, but good.
I have so many idea whirling around my head, and we have changes ahead for us as a family, and I truly have missed you all. I’m not going to put crazy pressures on myself to create the most pin-able projects or crafts. I’m not going to stress about perfectly formulated posts and schedules. I want to get back to just sharing some favorites and finds. I want to get back to opening my front door a bit and saying, hey! come see what our crazy little life is like.
As the kids get older, I’m more and more aware of the internet space. I’m not sure exactly what that means, so it’ll be a process, I’m sure.
I could keep going – I mean, really! 3 months to catch up on! But I’ll end it here, with some photos to follow, of course.
announced on instagram a few months ago — surprise!
“Just to show me how much he loves me. They are even pink!”
Thanks for sticking around. I truly have missed you all.
I recently changed web hosts, and in doing so, realized that my email was down for about a month. I’m so sorry if you emailed and had your email message returned. It should be up and running now — please email me again. I’m so sorry! xo
Taking time to slow down is not one of my strengths. I remember chatting over dinner with some good friends of ours back in Pittsburgh when I mentioned a change and followed it with, “oh, I’ll find something to fill up my time, I’m sure!”
He replied with, “why? Why do you need to fill it?”
I teeter-totter between Santa elf cheer and Scrooge during the month of December. The race down the stairs to turn on the Christmas tree lights each morning. The giving of gifts, the sending of cards, the joy of walking to the mailbox to see papers with faces of those I love. Yet, the schedule fills up too quickly, and my desire for a simple and slow holiday as a family seeming further out of grasp with each passing day. I load up the guilt, I lay on the pressure, and I’m constantly reminding myself to just stop the doing and choose to be still.
We’ve been reading almost every morning, and I love seeing Harlow’s imagination come alive as she pretends he is indeed hiding quietly inside her carefully constructed house. She and Andy worked on the construction together, meticulously wiping away excess frosting (otherwise known as an excuse for a sugary treat). The construction began in the evening before bed, and as soon as the sun was up, Harlow raced into our room before Andy left for work, asking him if they could please go put the roof on her house.
Andy and I talk often about — how can we improve the ways in which we love each other, but also how can we speak the . I think part of the reason it’s always a conversation piece is due to my inability to decide on one, or even two. Is it possible to just want love in every language possible? That’s a rabbit hole I will ignore for the moment.
Observing the way our children naturally love others is one of the surprises of parenting I hadn’t thought about before. Gifts and time are most definitely the languages Harlow speaks and receives best. I remember Christmas when she was 2 and you would have thought every gift she opened was pure gold.
Gifts is pretty high on my list too, so I love that we speak that language well together. Time is the tougher one for me. I think out of all of the defined Love Languages, quality time is one of the lowest on the list for me. Maybe that’s why I’m so good at filling my time with a myriad of things? I need to process that more.
Lately, I’ve been coming to her room during quiet time to ask her if she wants to come read with me instead. Her face lights up, we grab a handful of books, and we head downstairs to the fireplace to curl up together and read. I’m working to stop and ask her specific questions about her art work, clay creations or playmobil set ups. How are they related? Why did you use this color? What is this special spot over here?
Even as I type these words, the perfectionist in me rears its ugly head — I wish the giving of my time came easier to me. I wish I was able to slow more easily. I think, however, because it takes such intention and discipline for me, those times end up being all the more impactful for me. When I’m just sitting — without scrolling something on my phone or even reading or listening to music — my mind feels uncluttered and able to think. It feel awkward, to be honest, but I’m committed to carving out these times, even if only a few minutes, because I know it’s needed and important.
So we decorated that gingerbread house. We played Christmas music in the background, I frosted, she placed. And while I was surprised for a few seconds by her meticulous directions for me with my frosting application and tedious candy placement (followed by frosting swiping, of course), I then laughed as I remember who her parents are, and that the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
And after we finished, I asked her to share with me her favorite parts of the house. She giggled as she told me about all the frosting she licked.
A new staple for our holiday home will forever be mistletoe. I made some felt mistletoe shapes, cut them out of various shades of green felt, and glued mismatched colors together. I used my , of course, but you could definitely cut with a scissor too. I added some floral wire to wrap them at the top and create a loop to hang it. The felt balls I purchased from, along with the felt I used for the mistletoe as well.
It took a few hours to make two — I highly recommend it. The extra smooching this time of year is definitely necessary.
Give thanks in all circumstances. I Thessalonians 5:18a
Praying you have a wonderful day with family, focusing on blessings more than the material and edible, but the immense blessings we cannot see as well.
My baby is one. The obligatory, “how did time go so quickly?” is required, but man it feels true. (I also wasn’t going for the on-purpose-crooked-“artsy”-photo in the cake pics above, but it was so bright, I couldn’t see very well as I was trying to avoid sitting on the sand. ha! So Rachel, don’t yell at me. ;)
Jones, in your one year, a lot has changed. One change that is probably the biggest and best (besides you just being in our family, of course), is the simple fact that we spend more time together. Less long days followed by late nights working. Saturdays are spent together instead of trying to finish up more projects.
We headed down to the quiet beach just a half mile from our apartment for a morning celebration. Harlow proudly carried the presents and then disappeared playing in the sand for the rest of the time. For the kid that used to hate how messy sand can be, she is turning into quite the beach bum. She would go to the beach daily, if she could, and I’m excited that summers can be full of beach and sand if we want them to.
Jones, you are following suit, and I’m not surprised. You love being outside. You love rocks and sand and water and adventure. Sometimes I look at you while your nursing or just snuggling, and I feel just as shocked that you’re here as the moment we found out little Jones Lauritzen was growing inside of me.
Jones, you bring so much joy to our family. Your smile is radiant — you love showing off those teeth! You want to walk everywhere and follow your sister wherever she goes.
I still sometimes feel immense guilt somehow that the two of your aren’t closer in age, but then I see the two of you together. If I’d gotten pregnant earlier, we would have missed out on you — God knew and our family is perfectly spaced and perfectly us.
Jones, you show your emotion in big ways. We never really need to wonder, because you have your smile and your lip pout perfected. You’re pretty easy going, until something you want is taken away. Then you show off your set of lungs, vocal cords and pout.
You are babbling up a storm these days. “Mama,” “amen,” “Dada,” “nanas,” and lots of copying all of the noises Harlow makes trying to get you to talk. She loves telling me, “mommy! Jonesy just said “Harlow, I think!” And on your birthday, she asked if you’d be able to start talking now that you were one. She is so eager to build forts and go on adventures with you! (She also has her 10 more siblings planned out, but I’m not sure she’ll be able to cash in on that anytime soon.)
You love playing peek-a-boo, although you usually cover your ears instead of your eyes, but I think it’s because you don’t want to miss out on our faces as we play. You giggle the entire time. You love “how big is Jonesy,” tickle time before bed, and Harlow’s favorite “drop your paci” every time you wake up. You usually drop your pacifier from giggling at her before reaching up to pull it out.
Jones, you fill our life with joy. You fill my days with anxiety….from how fearless you are. You like to run everywhere and climb everything. Flying with you has been …. interesting: you like being on the move.
But Jones, when you snuggle, you snuggle. You are such a good snuggler.
You light up when you daddy comes home. If I say, “go find daddy!” you run right to him. I love seeing your adoration for him and his adoration for you. He takes being a daddy to your sister and you so seriously.
I wrote this Sunday night, as I was nursing Jones before bed.
Jones, I’m putting you to bed as a one year old for the first time. One year ago, I couldn’t believe a day had already passed, but in this moment, the year has gone just as fast. This past year has been full, it has been hard, it has been good, and it has been incredible, because you are in it. People are drawn to you in a way I can’t describe. It could be your perfectly bald head, or your toothy full faced grin. I think it’s more than that, though. Your joy is so contagious, and it is one thing I pray that you never lose. Jones Lauritzen, we love you so. You may only be a tiny thing, but you’ve already changed our world in a huge way.
The ScanNCut2 is going to be on HSN today! Super excited to share more of the new features of the ScanNCut2 with you–working on tutorials as I write this!–but today is a great day to get it at a good price. My friend Julie is going to be sharing the new machine and features today on HSN. The tentative air times are 10am and 2pm, and you can stream it live online if you don’t get the HSN channel!
We are still pulling ourselves out of long weekend land – it was full of outdoor movies, swimming, frozen yogurt, and morning cuddles.
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