With our masks on and our hand sanitizer packed, we managed a few Spring Break adventures close to home.
First we decided to take Baby O to the downtown Houston Aquarium. It wasn’t a terrible experience, and Baby O seemed to enjoy himself, but I wouldn’t go back. It was overly crowded, people weren’t very kind, and honestly, there wasn’t much to see or do. Overall I give it 4/10.
Although the aquarium wasn’t a huge success we decided to try again the next day with a trip to the Houston Zoo. Other than getting caught in a chilly 40 minute thunderstorm, the zoo was a pretty good experience. It wasn’t too crowded ( we did have to book tickets online ahead of time) and there was plenty to see and do. Baby O saw lots of new animals and was even able to get out of his stroller and run around. I’d give it a 7.5/10.
We had a pretty good Spring Break and are already planning our next big adventure!
We did it! We all survived this crazy, unpredictable, hectic year and some of us actually came out on top. Well, the majority of us got our asses kicked, but I’m sure we can all find something positive. My positive is our perfect, thriving, sweet little one year old (I can’t believe he’s one!). Without him here to keep us grounded, 2020 would have been even worse.
2020 brought us a plethora of complications, stressful situations, and an abundance of anxiety but it also made me appreciate the things I do have.
I appreciate the extra time I spent with my littlest love during the quarantine.
I appreciate watching my husband become a father with such ease and patiences.
I appreciate watching my little one hit all of his milestones and accomplish every little challenge.
I appreciate the friends and family that kept their distance but still managed to become apart of our little guys life.
Although 2020 was nothing like we imagined for our first year as parents, I wouldn’t change it for the world.
As we say goodbye to 2020 my hopes for 2021 are:
My son continues to grown and thrive
I will remain positive no matter what challenges are thrown at me
We will continue to live our happy, healthy lives
We’re able to travel more, with necessary precautions
People are KIND to each other
And on that note, bye bye 2020, bring it on 2021, we’re ready!
It truly is the most wonderful time of the year. Between the bright colorful lights, the Christmas decorations covering every nook and cranny and my tasty peppermint mocha, there’s nothing about the holiday season that I dislike.
I am determined to make every holiday for my little guy magical, even if he won’t remember so we decided to take some mini vacations (following all necessary precautions).
I’m just going to start by sayings vacation is not like it use to be and probably won’t be for a very long time. As much as I want to relax and be carefree, this pandemic is no joke and I have to plan our vacations accordingly. With that in mind we packed up the baby and headed to Gruene to meet Kris Kringle and enjoy some holiday cheer.
Gruene was pretty successful, we stayed outside during the day and ordered take out at night. It’s my favorite tiny town and I absolutely love spending time there, but honestly, it just wasn’t the same. Overall we were happy with our trip and glad baby O met Santa!
Our next little adventure included more outside time. The Bearded One suggested we take baby O to the Houston Zoo Lights and it was a fabulous idea! We booked our tickets, reserved our time spot, and took the baby to sensory overload central. He loved it 😍
As much as I wish we spent our holiday in Mexico or Jamaica like old times, I can honestly say we’re doing the best we can to make our little guys holiday special. We had a great time, he had a great time, and the smiles and giggle will forever be worth it.
I never imagined our sweet little baby would be growing up in the middle of a pandemic. All of the weekend getaways and spur of them moment adventures we envisioned seem pretty far out of our reach given our current situation. But, despite the hell of a hand we’ve been dealt, we’ve managed to make the best of the situation.
Although baby O isn’t a world traveler quite yet, he has managed to have few little adventures of his own. (All precautions were taken for all of our small travels)
We were fortunate enough to get to go visit Baby Os great grandmother before the bearded one and I returned to work. It wasn’t an over the top-extravagant family vacation but it was a once in a life time experience and seeing the two of them together was worth the 10 hr car ride.
Baby O spent most of his summer at home but not even a pandemic could keep us from visiting our State Fair of Texas this year (we had to go, I bought matching shirts in December!) O got to meet Big Tex, taste a Fletcher’s corny dog and even had a bite of the infamous fried Oreo (we never give him sweets!)
We’ve had a few other outdoor adventures such as the pumpkin patch but nothing quite elaborate yet.
Sometimes I feel honestly feel like O is missing out. But, on the other hand, we’ve been able to spend so much quality time with our little guy. We’ve watched him grow and flourish and reach all of his milestones despite this never ending pandemic.
We will continue to take all of the necessary precautions during this unprecedented time and hopefully squeeze in an adventure or two. I know we have O’s whole life to travel the world and I look forward to what’s to come.
“Let’s drive 14 + hours with a 5 month old. It will be fun!”….said no sane person ever. But, that’s exactly what we did.
After packing up the entire house (mostly baby stuff) we loaded up the car and headed to Colorado for baby O’s first big adventure.
We had no idea what to expect. Would he sleep? Would he scream? How many times would we have to stop? Just like every other first time parent challenge, we jumped in head first and winged it.
I’m not going to lie, there were times in the car he was inconsolably upset, but those were few and far in between. Overall, he did pretty well, especially when I crawled in the backseat and kept him entertained.
Baby O’s loooonnnggg car ride
Other then the minimal stress of the car ride, Colorado was stunning as always.
The first few days we were there we had crazy weather. It snowed…in June. This was not just Texas slushy snow either. This was beautiful, huge snowflakes that actually stuck to the ground for a bit. We of course had to take all the mandatory snow pictures and let baby O experience his first snowfall!
Snow in June
Once the snow cleared up we were able to do what we do best, hike and enjoy the outdoors. In previous years we never really contemplated our hikes, we just lightly packed and headed to the mountain. Not this time. We thoughtfully and throughly packed for all of babies needs. We even bought a pretty neat hiking backpack for O….he lasted an hour in it…. Although we didn’t make it to the top of Hoosier Pass, we still enjoyed our time together and being able to witness baby O’s fascination with the great outdoors.
Baby’s first big vacation was a success and I can’t wait to travel the world with our little adventurer. First stop, Colorado, next stop….
Quarantine sucks. Okay, I said it. I’ve been safe in my house since March 10th (well technically baby O hasn’t left the house since birth ) and I have to admit, we’re getting pretty restless. I was already a nervous wreck when baby O was born; it was flu season and germs were EVERYWHERE. I did my best I keep him safe then this dang COVID hit and I feel absolutely helpless.
Im trying to find the positive in all this so here goes:
1) We get so much extra time with baby O. I love being his mom, I love seeing him hit all his milestones. He literally does something new and different every day and we are LUCKY enough to get to witness it all!
2) I love spending all this extra time with my husband. Believe it or not, we’re best friends, we rarely get on each other’s nerves and I enjoy all this time with him.
3. My house is clean and we have finished lots of projects.
4. I’ve watched my tiny little 11 week old (beginning of quarantine) grow into a perfect 22 week old with such a big personality.
Even though things are starting to open back up I do not feel confident rejoining the world quite yet. So until then, I’ll soak up all the snuggles and try to focus on the positive!
When I asked God to give me more time with my son, this is not what I envisioned.
Since December 27th I was already doing my best to keep our itty bitty baby locked up, and hidden away from the germs, flu, RSV, and all the other possible illnesses out there. I was TERRIFIED of our little man getting a sick. My anxiety as a new mom got the best of me several times, so I shut the door and locked my baby away from the big bad scary world.
When it was finally time for me to return to work the very thought of putting my son in daycare sent me in to hysterics. I cried and begged for a solution. We were about Halfway through our Spring Break when I learned we would not be returning to work. I have to say, I let out a huge sigh of relief. If I had only known 30+ days ago the extend of this virus I would have begged God for something different.
This is a crisis. Coronavirus: COVID 19 has rocked not only our nation, but the entire world and it makes me feel utterly helpless. Although my opinion may be unpopular to some, I firmly believe our government is failing our people. “We the people” are failing our own people. This should have been contained, there should be solutions, this is not and never has been a hoax. I know I can only attempt to protect my corner of the world but my heart aches for our healthcare workers and all of the people suffering right now. How did this happen? How did this get so bad? How is this happening in OUR front yard? How is there NO solution or relief yet?
This is a time in my life I should be celebrating the birth of my only son, his baptismal, his introduction to family and friends. But instead, I’m snuggling in the house, avoiding everyone, and praying each time my husband goes out he doesn’t bring back the virus.
Our adventures theses days consists of watching our son grow through his milestones and the occasional evening drive in the country.
I am thankful and blessed that we get this extra time with our son and that we are happy and healthy. For now the adventures of Messy Bun, Bearded One, and Baby O have ceased to exist. Hopefully, in the near further, we will be back at it. Until then we will keep soaking up the snuggles and enjoy every minute of this extra time with our perfect little boy.
It’s 8:30 AM and my Valentine is taking his first nap of the day.
My Valentine didn’t get me flowers or chocolates or make me heart shaped pancakes.
My Valentine is not going to take me on a fancy date or write me a sweet love poem.
There will be no oversized teddy bears or red and pink balloons.
There’s no time to do my hair and make up or throw on a cute red and pink Valentine’s outfit.
❤️💕❤️💕❤️💕
We didn’t exchange Valentine cards or gifts and that’s okay, because none of those Valentine’s Day cliches compare to the snuggles and smiles I will get today.
My Valentine doesn’t care that the shirt I’m currently wearing is covered in his spit up, my hair may or may not be clean, and I’m still in my pajamas.
My Valentine doesn’t need chocolates, balloons, or love notes.
My Valentine and I will spend our day soaking up the unconditional love I never knew I could feel.
One day I’ll make him heart shaped pancakes and he will follow the lead of his daddy and fix me the perfect morning coffee and kiss me goodbye. But today, on his first Valentine’s Day, we have a nap date on the couch, a warm bottle waiting, and all the snuggles and kisses in the world.
On December 27th at 1:20 AM our whole world changed. Just as I was getting ready for bed, my water broke. It was totally unexpected and 9 days too early. It was such a surreal, unexpected moment; I don’t think we were ready, but God had other plans. Ready or not, baby Beam was on the way!
We had a birth plan in place, but that went out the window as soon as I called Labor and Delivery. I had all intentions of laboring at home, comfortably, until my contractions were consistent but the LD doctor on call told me I had to come in since my water broke naturally. Around 3AM we headed to the hospital not knowing what to expect.
To be honest the whole process was pretty uneventful at first. We were admitted, waited for a room, and hung out for a few hours. My contractions were barely existent and I was only dilated to a 1 so they started the Pitocin to help my labor progress. The Pitocin was administered in small doses which they increased every hour. It was a very slow process. The Bearded One and I passed the time by watching football (of course) and playing Uno. Finally, about 12 hours after being admitted, they upped the dose and the real contractions started. I don’t know how women give birth without pain medicine because my contractions were so uncontrollably painful. As soon as they started I was ready for my much needed epidural. Unfortunately, the anesthesiologist had an emergency and I had to wait about 4 hours for my epidural. During that time I dilated to an 8 and was extremely uncomfortable and physically exhausted. Thank God for my husband because I could not have done this without him. He stayed cool, calm, and collected and helped me through the whole process.
I was finally given my epidural, and soon after I was fully dilated and ready to push. No one tells you how difficult pushing is (especially when you can’t feel your lower half). With the help of my husband and the encouraging words of the nurses and OB I pushed and pushed.
We were so exited to meet our little baby Beam. Would it be a boy? A girl? We had no idea and the suspense kept me going.
Almost an hour later we welcomed baby Owen Michael Beam in to the world; 7 lbs 12oz, 21 inches. Our biggest adventure started December 27th, 2019 @ 10:48.
1 beautiful announcement to our family and friends.
These last 8 months have been a whirlwind of laughs, tears, surprises, what-ifs, and we can’t waits.
With just a few short weeks left, we are ready to meet this baby and embrace the adventures that are to come.
For the past 15 years it’s been just the two of us. We knew we wanted to be parents but how could we squeeze a little human in to the life we’d created? Where would a little baby fit in? Can we travel with a little one? How do we put someone else before our own selfish needs?
With so many unanswered questions, we never had the “when” in mind. Over the last 8 months none of those unanswered questions seem very important. In fact, the overwhelming sense of unpreparedness has been silenced by the excitement and anticipation of our baby Beam.
The Adventures of Messy Bun and The Bearded One 