Hello? Is this thing on?

Hi! Um, not even going to think about the fact that I last posted in December. What the what. Let's just say that between being unsure about how much I wanted to share about my baby and grad school starting back up after a semester off.. this mama fell off the track. 

So what have we been up to?

I am...

• enjoying being a temporary Stay At Home Mom! We decided, after lots of crying, praying, budgeting, crying, and praying, that I would take the rest of this school year off to be home with Noelle. So I haven't gone back to work yet. It has always been my dream to stay home with my babies and I am facing a harsh reality that it just isn't going to happen right now. Thankfully, Jeff and I were able to make it happen for this school year and we'll see what happens, though the plan is to go back to work in late August.

• back to grad school! I took two online hybrid classes, after taking the Fall semester off. The last day of class was May 11th and I have truly never been happier to end a semester, which was the last one before my practicum!! It was so hard trying to get a ridiculous amount of work done with a child who refuses to nap for more than 20 minutes, unless she's on me, so I've been allowing that for too long just to get work done. The work load this semester? B-A-N-A-N-A-S

• working on my fitness. I'm trying to get healthy and tone this strange post-baby body. It's flabby, it's stretched out, but it's lighter than it was before I was pregnant so it's just weird. I started T25, tried a few Stroller Strides bootcamp classes, and have been making a solid effort to eat well and take a 2-3 mile walk every day with Rocky and Noelle. Mama needs to get fit!!

• fighting cabin fever like whoa. I LOVE being home with Noelle. LOVE IT. But this winter was long and I felt like the sun came out and I didn't know what to do with it. We were inside so much because you just can't take a bitty baby out when it's 5 degrees out. Well, whaddya know, she's not so bitty anymore and spring has sprung, so we're out!

Jeff is...

• coaching baseball and loving it. His team is doing really well, too! It makes for a long day, though.. he leaves for work around 5am and isn't home until about 6-7pm. 

• working, working, working! This is his busy time at work as the nice weather peaks. So grateful for such a hard working hubby!

• L-O-V-I-N-G his baby girl! Daddy is obsessed!! Those two are just about the sweetest thing I ever saw. He was MADE to be a Daddy to a baby girl. Absolutely made for it.

Noelle is...

• getting big!! She is 7 months old, I'm guessing about 18lbs, 28 inches, and has two teeth! She is still deliciously plump but she is going to be tall like her Daddy. 

• starting to become more and more mobile. She is on the cusp on crawling but she sits and scoots on her bum to get where she needs to go. She can spin herself in circles, move from sitting to her belly, back to sitting, and she does baby planks all the time, which is hilarious.

• saying Dada!! I swear she said Mama first but the little stinker says Dada all day long.

• obsessed with Rocky and Princess. OBSESSED. Thankfully they both love her, too, but she loves hard! "Be gentle!" is our new mantra.

• such a happy baby!! I could just eat her up.

• not a good sleeper. We started partially co-sleeping because she won't sleep in her crib for long periods. She starts there and ends up in bed with us. It's working for now and she is seriously the best snuggler on the planet. She loves spooning. For real.

• eating solid foods but still nursing like a champ. She is independent and likes to feed herself but prefers mama's milk still.

I'm hoping to get back to blogging more regularly now. I love this sweet online community and I'm thankful for IG and emailing/texting with my blog friends but I have missed this space.