Hello everybody, it's been awhile!
So much has changed since my last post and I've been meaning to sit down and write for quite awhile now... Would you laugh hysterically if I told you I'm typing this on my phone while sitting in the Bed Bath & Beyond parking lot because Brian is at home with Tatum and I don't know what to do with my freedom out of the house by myself? That's ok, I'm laughing too.
Since my last post was in the first month of us being in Florida, it's been a solid two months since I've updated! For starters, we got a little townhouse apartment to rent and have had the biggest hassle in the world trying to get the movers to deliver our stuff. The whole thing has been such a nightmare that when I'm more levelheaded and less livid, I fully intend to write them the worst review they've ever gotten on Better Business Bureau and anywhere I can. NEVER, EVER use Phoenix Transportation Services out of Las Vegas. There's your warning.
To avoid letting myself be clouded with negativity for the rest of the day, I'm going to avoid all the details of our struggles with them, but it's been one of the more frustrating experiences of my life. I never want to move cross country again. Along with that, I'm LOVING being back on the east coast.
Summer in Florida is like being in a permanent sauna, but I guess since we knew it would be hot, it hasn't bothered us that much. It's been a much more pleasurable summer, since I've been enjoying it with Tatum instead of throwing up as a result of being pregnant with her hahaha. Our days are mostly spent at the beach or swimming in our complex's pool.
We spent the weekend of the 4th of July with my dad and stepmom who came down for the long weekend. We went to the beach with them every day and then spent the evening grilling and setting off fireworks with my cousins, Joe and Julie, and their boys. It was a wonderful day celebrating our country's independence surrounded by family and food.
Later in July, we spent a week and drove home to see my Mom, stepdad, and Dad. My stepmom unfortunately was out of town on vacation and we missed her, but luckily we saw her not too long before that. Brian worked with my stepdad a few days which left my mom and Tatum and I home. It's true what they say that you never fully appreciate your mom until you get older. We used to drive each other nuts, but we've always been close, and now I could honestly sit and talk to her for days on end, which is exactly what I did and loved every single second of it. I also got to see one of my best friends from high school. By sheer coincidence she was home visiting her family as well before heading back to Oklahoma City for her final year of Teach for America. I'm so proud of all my friends and how far we've come, and scattered all over the country... (Florida, Oklahoma, NYC, Virginia Beach, etc). I wish I had been able to visit more people but for anyone reading this, I'll be home at Thanksgiving!!! (maybe sooner, but that's an uncertain surprise...)
Brian got a new job that he worked temporarily while he continued interviewing for other positions and now has a great new job that will be so good for our family and for his resume for grad school.
Tatum is growing like crazy! At her 6 month appointment she was almost 16 lbs and is 26 inches long. It feels like she should be in a higher percentile but she's pretty average haha, like 50th percentile for everything. She started crawling a little before she turned 6 months, she can sit up on her own and can be crawling and sit herself up from a crawling position! We started giving her vegetable baby food at 4 1/2 months and real fruit in her mesh feeder. We waited until she turned 6 months to give her fruit baby food to make sure she really liked veggies first and it seemed to have worked! She loves alllll food, but we've discovered her favorite seems to be watermelon in her mesh feeder! She's obsessed and it's so cute to see her get so excited. I can never stress enough what a water baby she is! She loves the ocean, the pool, and the bathtub. Around 5 months she started blowing raspberries constantly. It used to be cute but now it drives me insane hahaha. She's still adorable though and I can never get mad at her.
About a month ago, she started getting really bad separation anxiety. If I walk out of her sight she would wail! Basically this meant showering or doing anything in another room was out of the question unless she was napping or I could take her with me. As much as I tried surrounding her with my favorite (elephants), her favorite stuffed animal is the kangaroo Brian bought her the day she was born. It has a baby kangaroo in the pouch and she holds onto it and strokes it when she's falling asleep. She gets so excited if I take it out of her crib for her to play with and she giggles and squeals. I love our pre-bedtime cuddles and she's getting much better about going to sleep on her own. Usually I put her in the crib when she's almost asleep or drowsy and she'll roll over and hold onto her kangaroo and fall asleep. Sometimes it's not that easy, but she's such a good baby and we're getting into a rhythm and routine! She's still the happiest baby and smiles at people everywhere we go! People are so much nicer when you have a cute baby, it's hilarious!
As for me, I'm doing so good. Transitioning into being a stay at home mom was kind of hard at first. That sounds so dumb, but in all reality, I'm such a go-getter that I felt like I wasn't ever accomplishing anything and without a schedule I felt so lost. Structure has definitely helped me. I set a routine of exercise, eating healthy, and getting out of the house everyday that's really helped me feel accomplished! My Lipsense business has really started taking off and I LOVE doing it. I love sharing the products with people and I love having a small business of my own. It keeps me occupied and it's something of my own that I get to focus on outside of being a wife and mom. I've discovered my new passion (still second to traveling and being a travel agent, I would be lying if I said I didn't miss that!) and that is home decor! I think it started a few years ago when I developed an HDTV obsession and has only grown from there! I can't wait to be able to spend more time crafting. I could honestly spend every day walking the aisles of Bed Bath & Beyond, Home Goods, etc. (missing At Home soooo much. Come on, Florida, get with it!). I miss sitting down to write these blog posts too! It's almost therapeutic to document all that's been going on and I need to get better at it. Tatum won't always be this little and I don't want to forget to document all these times for her.
We thought about going away for Labor Day weekend but I'm not sure if it'll happen or not! One good thing about moving to a new place is exploring new places constantly! One weekend we went to Tarpon Springs which is this cute little old Greek town and explored the Sponge Docks. They have tons of cute shops and restaurants and they sell the sea sponges and homemade soaps and crafts. I found one of my favorite soaps EVER at this little place called Lori's Soap & Sponge Market. We also ate at an amazing authentic Greek restaurant which made my heart (and stomach) so happy.
We've explored closer to my aunt and uncle's where we've been staying before we got the apartment around Madeira Beach and John's Pass, and have been to St. Petersburg multiple times. Every time we've tried a new restaurant, we've gone back to our favorite... a hole in the wall, authentic little Cuban place called Bodega on Central Ave. SO. GOOD.
We're counting down the days until Randy and Sabra come visit for a week and I cannot wait for all the fun we have planned! I have more recipes to save on here but I'm not sure when I'll get around to that truthfully. We have so much to look forward to in the next couple months and I know time is going to fly by with the holidays coming, so I will try to update this more!
Thanks for reading!
XoXo
