Hey friends! One of the biggest goals for blogging this year for me is to get more consistent with actually getting real time updates live on here. A way for me to do this is monthly round ups to keep you in the loop with all we have going on! Each month, I plan to do a ’round up’ of the previous 30/31 days and all that happened. I also think this will be an awesome way to document our life so we can look back on it one day and remember all that happened. Hope you stick around and enjoy these each month, too!
The First Month of a New Year!
So….WOW! The first month of 2022 – GONE! It was an extremely busy one for us, as I’ve mentioned on IG that 3 of our 4 kiddos have a birthday this month. So that in itself was a lot, and like I’ve shared before I am always a little bit emotional on each of their birthdays. The first birthday (for my last baby) definitely hit me big time, but every January for Conner and Cole I’m usually a mess and just can’t believe they’re another year older! I am so thankful to be able to witness it, but it still pulls on my mama heart. More on all of this later!
KIDS
Everyone returned to school after a couple weeks off for Winter Break. Cole participated in the school’s spelling bee as he was a finalist for his class. We took a little break from sports after the holidays but things are starting back up soon, it was nice to kind of catch up and not be running from field to field multiple days a week and enjoy a slower pace. Colly went from 0 teeth to cutting 6 at once…FUN TIMES!!! We are thankful they’re coming in (finally, after many months of hard teething!).
HOME UPDATES
We wrapped up a couple more home projects and finally completed the downstairs family room and kitchen updates we started back in the fall. I plan to do a reveal here on my blog and will show you all then but I am SOOO excited that’s done! Here’s a little sneak peek of the floating shelves C built for our family room. We had this idea to make a little DIY built-in entertainment center in lieu of a store-bought one, and I am so in love! They turned out great, and it’s brought me so much joy in this new year to decorate them and add updated pics of the kids to them! We have a few more small projects to get done, but we are slowly checking them all off. I love how home-y and cozy everything feels here lately. We added a new light fixture-fan hybrid thing (it’s so cool!) to our room and added another accent wall, which I’ll be sharing more about soon as well!
LIFE STUFF
The weather has been pretty perfect in Phoenix this last month, I can’t lie! The kids have been riding their bikes and scooters and we even got to go to the big park and ride the train. We’ve had lots of dinners outside (picnic style on the turf and also at our table out there!). The girls have really been enjoying their swings and Honey has been playing with her newly-updated playhouse (promise this reveal is coming this month too!) almost daily.
Alright, so now onto the birthday madness! Cole is 1/13, Colly is 1/14 (certain if I would’ve gone to the hospital when I started contracting on Cole’s birthday last year, they would’ve preformed my C Section that day, and they would’ve shared a birthday!), and Conner is 1/28.
COLE
It’s cliche, but I just cannot wrap my brain around the fact he is 7!!!!! SEVEN! My 5.7lb 34 week old preemie is S E V E N and thriving! So many emotions thinking back to the day he was (unexpectedly born 6 weeks early) and his 8 day NICU stay. He’s a little fighter through and through. He’s currently doing SO well in school: loves reading and just participated in the school spelling bee!, loves Roblox and Legos, and loves loves his siblings more than anything. If you’ve been here for a while you know what an awesome big brother he’s been to Hun over the last 4 years and he is just the same with Colly. So consistent and loving. He is the little family caretaker, still bringing us blankets when we’re relaxing as a family and falling down the stairs at home/turning around in the drop off line every 3 steps to blow us kisses and say “I love you”. Him and Conner are super close as well, he adores his big bro and thinks he’s the coolest. So proud to see him turn another year older and be able to enjoy his bright, happy smile every day.
COLLY
Whoa. She is ONE! Wasn’t I just pregnant with her? No, it seriously feels like it was yesterday I was praying so hard for us to complete our family. Well, she was so worth the wait! This last year was one I will never forget with her: lots of hard moments (being admitted for FTT, dealing with reflux, doctor and ENT follow ups, lots of struggles and sleepless nights) but she was worth every bit of it. She’s made huge improvement (probably another post for another day) with her reflux, and while it’s still happening, it’s so much less severe and more manageable now. Colly loves food – she’s tried it all at this point! – and I can’t say there’s anything she’s turned away, haha. As I mentioned, she loves being in the swing, loves when her sibling are around (so much entertainment and stimulation, #4thbaby), and LOOOOVES (like, LOVES LOVES LOVES) the show Do Re Mi on Amazon Prime. That show is so comforting to her – if you’re not against screen time, definitely check it out. She doesn’t actually sit the entire time and watch it, but something about the songs and all of the singing it has really calms her when she’s crawling around or playing with her toys. Colly isn’t walking yet, and I think she may walk closer to 15-17 mo like Honey did. The boys walked by their first birthdays while the girls definitely took their time to reach these mobile milestones. She’s actively crawling (she is done with her “lazy” crawling at this point haha) and getting around the whole house when we let her but isn’t near walking right now. She’s in bed by 7/7:15 and sleeps the night in her crib. She truly loves her room, too! It’s her little happy place and I’m so thankful for that. Who knew my office that once housed hundreds of screen printed tees for my business would now be the sweetest nursery for our 4th and final baby!? It really makes me soo full just thinking about that. Anyway, Colly Girl (aka “Mugga Root” or “Mugga” as the kids nicknamed her) had her first taste of sugar for her birthday (frosting and some cake!) and needless to say, that was a hit for her, ha! Excited to see her bloom more and grow this next year…just hopefully not TOO fast!
CONNER
Gah. My sweet baby boy. The one who made me a MAMA!! He’s 9, friends!!!!!!! It’s so wild to me. Thinking back to the day he was born, I think I was somewhat in denial that I was really going to have him. I mean, I obviously knew I was pregnant…and would be having him…haha, there’s just literally no way to prepare yourself and when you finally do meet them, your entire life is changed forever. And now, 9 years later, I almost feel like I’m in denial again. There’s no way that petite 6.9lb baby is already nine. Almost a decade! It’s been the biggest blessing of my life to see him grow up these last 9 years, and I feel like I’m trying to hang on to all of his “little kid”-ness now. I was talking to C today and telling him how 7 feels so old, like ‘big kid’, but 9 is basically like…you’re almost 10, and THAT is so close to 12, which is so close to being a teen. AHHH. I’m not trying to get ahead of myself, but more of be aware so that I can be truly present for these next several years. I know it’s going to go just as fast as these first 9.
Conner is the ultimate sweetheart and our sensitive soul. He feels big, and when he listens to you, he listens with such intent. He is genuinely the best big brother to his little brother and sisters, the way he’s taken on this role again with Colly is nothing short of amazing. It’s so touching to see how gentle he is with her. His love for people in general is what makes this kid so freaking special. I worry because I don’t want him to be too much of a people pleaser or look for that sort of acceptance, but I love how tender his heart is. I pray it always stays that way, but he is able to protect it, too.
He loves Fortnite (still), soccer, puzzles and brain teasers, football, and really all competitive sports. He is in running club again this season and really enjoying it. He’s doing awesome in math and soaring through all of those tests, which we are so proud of him for. We love doing find + search books (we love doing the big Waldo books together!) and he has the same critical thinking brain as his Daddy. Love this boy, and while I’m excited for his next chapter I’m also a little scared. I don’t want to be stuck in that scared place though, but embrace all of these new changes we’re about to embark on and pray we always stay close. I know he won’t want to tell me every single thing like he does now in these next few years, but I hope he knows I’m here and I’ll always be there to listen.
What’s Ahead
It’s officially February now, and I have some fun things planned for the blog! Home projects, more DIY, the boys’ birthday party with friends (and then we will officially be done with birthdays until Hun’s in July, woohoo!! ;)), and a couple of really cool partnerships I’m excited to share with you all! Thank you for following along with our fam and if there’s anything you want to see or know about, be sure to leave a comment below!!
