so now I'm 30.

Yesterday was my 30th birthday. I don't normally do much outside of our family to celebrate- my favorite dinner made by Nick, a pedicure, a day of hanging out with my boys. But this year I decided that since it was a big birthday, I'd have a little extra fun. We invited a bunch of our friends to brunch at Heirloom (quickly becoming my go-to spot in Athens) and spent a cool morning eating, talking, laughing, and chasing toddlers around :) It was a wonderful balance of my usual slow-paced celebrations and the fun of socializing at a birthday party. 

Alden got to see his BFF for the first time since they both changed schools and they were up to their usual mischief about 30 seconds later :) It's so fun to watch him develop friendships and to see them interact, especially now that they both talk so much more. 

B sneaking a look at me while Alden tries to figure out how to climb up the wall

playing at the table

My parents came in for the weekend to celebrate with me and I always love seeing Alden spend time with them. As soon as Mimi walks through the door, Nick and I basically cease to exist in Alden's eyes. Every few minutes we hear, "Mimi? Mimi?" because Alden wants her to do everything with him while she's here. It is so sweet :) Plus, we managed to grab a Mama Daughter pedicure on Saturday afternoon. It reminds me of all the times we would go to the nail salon together when I was still living at home and it's such a great way to spend an hour or so just us. I never realized how much I would miss time with just my parents after we had Alden. It seems like every time we see them now our time is so full of kid stuff that we don't get a lot of time to just hang out with them.

tickle monster! 

When you find yourself upon a milestone birthday, it's natural to think back on the years and evaluate where you've been. Whether you did all the things you wanted to, accomplished everything you wanted to, or are in the place that you had hoped to be by now. I can honestly say that while nothing has gone according to "my plan", I am so very happy with where I ended up.

I'm not particularly sad to leave my 20's behind. I'm really, really crazy excited for my 30's. I feel better about who I am, where I'm going, and the path that I'm on now than I ever did in my 20's. The last decade, for me at least, was spent doing a lot of self-searching, growing, and learning to follow my instincts. I spent a lot of time discovering my passions, learning to let go of things that weren't getting me anywhere, growing up, and adjusting to being on my own as a real life adult. I feel better about the surface things, too. I feel more confident in my style, I don't worry so much about the number on the scale or the labels in my closet, I can look at a trend and hate it and then feel fine about not embracing it. I can watch nerdy shows and read nerdy books and feel great about the fact that, somewhere, other people are enjoying the same things and that, in time, I will find those people and we will get along famously. I can walk into a room without knowing anyone, reach my hand out to a stranger, introduce myself, and feel good having a conversation with them. I can network, I can sell my skills, and I feel good about what I have to offer. Even better, I know that I haven't figured all of it out and that I can still get better at all of these things AND I feel okay about not being 100% there yet.

The pressure to find the job, find the guy, build the career, buy the house, etc., etc. is gone. I'm still working on some of those things but I don't feel like I'm racing anyone anymore.

My twenties were this:

sorority meetings and greek parties

meals in the dining hall

late nights in the library with study groups

my dad having open heart surgery and me learning what it's really like to be scared

my 21st birthday with champagne, good friends, and a kiss from a boy I was just getting to know 

lots of dancing

staying up to watch the sunrise with friends and drinks and rooftops

lots of bars

lots of studying (undergrad, grad school, various classes in between...)

lots of papers, tests, and grades

getting engaged

graduating college

my first bout of unemployment

moving home

breaking off an engagement 

my first "big girl" job with benefits, retirement, and all that good stuff

buying my first car

meeting my husband

my first passport

my first trip abroad

getting engaged on a bridge in Venice, Italy

our wedding

a house with 4 dogs!

moving to Georgia

buying our first house

grad school (for both of us)

watching family grow up, get married, go to college

amazement at the terrific scientist my husband has become

internship at CDC

pregnancy

graduating with my MPH

my second bout of unemployment

a new job

our first niece

saying goodbye to my sweet childhood puppy

childbirth

welcoming our beautiful boy into the world

complete exhaustion

falling in love with our new family even harder than I thought possible

finding my calling

celebrating 5 years of marriage with my soulmate

food allergies

breastfeeding

our first nephew

and almost 2 beautiful years of watching our son grow and learn

If you had asked me 15 years ago what I would be doing at 30, my answer would have been SO different.

I've never been so happy to be wrong.

Although, I wouldn't mind going back to before I had these little wrinkles around my eyes and starting some miracle skin care routine that would prevent them from ever showing up. I'm not that well-adjusted ;)

finally got a little smile :) 

much love, 

L&N

my favorite Alden words

Alden learned how to take a selfie! 

As I walked around the house with Alden this morning trying to get him ready for school I thought to myself, "I hope I never forget what his little baby voice sounds like." I've had that thought a million times and a million times I've immediately followed it with, "I should really write down some of his words so I at least have a record of how cute they were."

Well, now I'm actually doing it :)

Here are some of my favorite and most notable Alden words:
*note: I have no idea how to correctly type pronunciations so just run with it

Open= o-po
Bug= buuh
Please= pwee (usually in rapid succession because he has no patience. haha)
Thank you= tay-tay
Pasta= pah-pah
Far Far= sha sha (Nick's dad. Far Far is Danish for Grandfather)
Lizard= zhh-zhh
Water= ahwah
Milk= mih
Outside= a-side
Airplane= eh-pane
Scooter= coo-coo
Mavy= maa-my
Brinkley= Bi-Bi
Buster (his real beagle)= Buh-Buh
Copper (his stuffed beagle)= cah-cah
Paci= pappi
Book= booh
Door= doh
Shoe= joo
Sock=sah
Alden= A-do
Play= pway
iPad= eye pah
Phone= wohn
Mower= mow-mow
Stinky= teenky

He also says (in his own way):

All gone!
Bye bye (usually while waving and grinning like an idiot) :)
Mama
Daddy
Dog
Shirt
Light
Bright
No! No! (while shaking his finger at whatever is displeasing him)
Go, go. (Especially directed at the dogs when they beg for food or, more recently, at the sun when it shines in his eyes)
School
Mimi (my mom)
PopPop (my Dad)
Grandma (Nick's mom)
Down
Up
Chair
Bubble!
Ball


Just thinking about his little voice makes me smile :) I try to get him talking on video all the time but when he sees the phone out all he wants to do is call one of his grandparents! (Can you tell he's a kid that's grown up with FaceTime?!) We hear, "wohn. wohn. Mimi? Sha Sha?"

One day I'll be telling him how cute he used to sound when he wanted something really bad ("Pwee! Pwee! Pwee!) and he'll just say, "Ugh. Mom." and walk away :) He'll always be my baby.

much love, L&N

a new season

Hi everyone!

I've been pretty absent from the ole blog for a while. Part of it was intentional and part of it wasn't. I go through phases where the internet gets overwhelming. I think anyone who uses the internet a lot in their daily lives (especially people who blog for a living or run websites) periodically need a break from the interwebs. I know I do and I don't even generate a living this way! There are times when I purposefully step away from the technology because while I love what technology and the internet have given us (helllooo, FaceTime!), it's also the force in my life that drives me to post a cute photo to Instagram, or check out Facebook, write a couple blog posts, or check in on Influenster, or look in on a few of my favorite blogs, etc., etc. Sometimes I like to step away from the "public-ness" of it all and just live my life with my family in our own world, without the rest of the world knowing or seeing our days. This is a completely new problem in the world and it's interesting to me to watch how other Internet-public people deal with the constant pressure to be connected and "out there" for everyone to see. I read about some of my favorite blog authors doing the same thing- turning everything off, getting away from the tech, and soaking in the sweetness of just being. I've been really embracing the just being lately and making a conscious effort to pause and drink in my life more often.

We've also been really busy. That's the other part ;)

August has FLOWN by for us. We started the month with a week long trip for Nick to Madison, WI for a conference and my mom coming to visit for a few days while he was gone. Then, Nick got sick basically the moment he touched down at the ATL airport. So he spent the week after getting home on antibiotics and sleeping on the couch to prevent middle of the night coughing attacks. Alden and I had a couple routine doctor's appointments back to back (plus one early pick up from school for a fever) in the same week that we had meetings with his new teachers because he moved to a new school! His first day was August 18th and so far we all LOVE it. We've been eyeing this school since I was pregnant and are so happy to have finally gotten a spot. Along with the craziness of Alden switching schools comes Mama going back to class, too. I'm taking an undergrad level Anatomy & Physiology class to use as a prerequisite for nursing school (yeah, I guess an update on that is due, too...). So Alden's first day was also my first day :) So far, it's going well for me. I've taken this class before and am only retaking it because nursing school requires that it have been taken in the past 7 years. Since my undergrad classes are skirting that requirement, I figured I'd go ahead and take it to reset the clock. I remember more than I thought I would and am enjoying being one of the oldest people in the room. Haha, they all look at me with a mixture of wonder and pity..."Why is that grown lady taking this class with all of us 19 year olds?!" On top of the fact that I have another huge project underway at the same time as all of this!

Nick has also had a busy month; starting with the conference and now preparing for his yearly committee meeting. This year's meeting is a big one because we may get word on when his committee thinks he can start writing his dissertation/get ready to graduate! It's been a long road for him and I think he's approaching this new chapter with both excitement and a little dread. Things happen quickly in his type of PhD program in the last year or so; once your committee tells you that you can start writing there's anywhere from 6 months to a year to get your dissertation done, set your defense date, plan for graduation, and find a job. Most of the time you only have about one semester to make everything happen so we're eagerly anticipating this meeting. Or at least I am...maybe Nick's not as excited to hear about all this extra work ;) Without a doubt, it's both nerve-wracking and exhilarating to prepare for our family's next big adventure!

Alden is growing and changing faster than ever. We can barely keep up with him! He's talking so much, running any chance he can get, learning new things every day, and generally being an active toddler :) He left the school he had been at since he was 9 weeks old, started his new school, started a weekend gymnastics class, had playdates and birthday party fun, went through a sleep regression (which is hopefully on its way out), and has seriously improved his tantrum abilities ;) I have tons of photos and updates to write on his 16, 17 and 18th months (since we're almost at 19!) and probably have a few other things we could include, too. I'm hoping to get back to those soon since I love having our "baby book" updated.

Overall, it feels like we are entering a new season for our family. Along with the cooling temperatures and falling leaves that are right around the corner, we're moving into a year that may hold a lot of changes and growth for us. Alden is firmly in the "kid" category now (no more baby around here!) and we're really loving all of the new experiences we have with him. I am turning down the path that is ultimately going to land me in my dream career while Nick is in the last leg of his PhD journey. So many things to look forward to and so many things to sit back and enjoy while we can :)

All this to say that we are here, happily chugging right along, watching our little man grow up and keeping ourselves busy! More updates to come soon!

much love,
L&N