Things only a father would say...

Jeff and I were beginning our task of sorting through all of the amazing gifts and baby gear that we have received for our baby girl, to get the nursery prepped for her arrival. We started with the clothes, sorting them all out by size, and I already had everything else sorted into categories.. feeding, bathing, books, bedding, personalized items, hair supplies (she has enough to fill an entire basket!), safety, the list keeps going. Every so often, Jeff would stop and look around the room and just sit in amazement that there will be a little girl sleeping and playing in here very soon. He was making me laugh, nearly making me cry, and making my heart swell bigger than big, with the sweet and funny things he was saying.

These are some things that only a father would say...

While taking a quick break to scan the room in awe: "I just can't believe there's a crib in here, and a dresser, and a mirror!" So I said, "a mirror?" He replied, "Yes. A mirror! Can you believe that?"

Looking through her hair bows: "She better still be a girl when she gets her. I know we saw her parts but I don't know how I'll handle that. I need this girl."

While passing him the newborn clothes: "I can't believe how tiny she will be. These things won't even fit on my hand. OH my goodness! The hanger won't even fit in here!"

While passing him the 24 months clothes: "Um, what just happened? These are so big. Two minutes ago this wouldn't fit my hand, now it might fit part of my leg. My little girl is growing up too fast. Please stop."

While handing him a Christmas shirt: "Ok, can we put this in a special place? This will definitely be her outfit when we're decorating the tree. It's really special, I want to make sure I don't forget it."

While sorting through her sweatpants: "Oh, this is great! These will be her lazy Sunday outfits. Do we have a place for lazy Sunday clothes?"

While handing him some bigger onesies, he looked at them funny. I said, "She'll be in onesies for at least the first year." He responded with, "She'll be in onesies until I tell her she can stop wearing onesies!"


I love, love, love this man with my whole heart and I know how big his love is for our little family. I cannot wait to watch him fall in love with our daughter. She already has him wrapped around her finger! He is going to the best Daddy.

Rocky's first day with us, snuggling with Dad.

{Look how teeny he is!!}

TBT: Our Honeymoon!

This time last year, I was on the most amazing vacation. My husband and I celebrated our honeymoon in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic for ten glorious days. We were married in April but due to my schedule, as a teacher, we had to wait for the summer to take our honeymoon. I'm so glad that we did because it was really nice to have something to look forward to after the wedding. Of course, we were thrilled to be married but wedding planning is so time consuming and then it is over in one day. This way, we still had this trip to look forward to even as life began to settle all around us. 

Jeff planned the entire honeymoon and told me on the day of our wedding, in the limo after we were married, where we were going. He could not have picked a more perfect place. It was the best mix of adventure and beach bummin'. People told us not to leave the resort but we did and every time we did, we had the best time. These pictures are just a teeny tiny fraction of the pictures that we took but looking at them brings me right back. Here are some highlights from our trip...

First day @ Macao Beach

We rented dune buggies and had to spend $10 on bandanas to keep the dirt off our face.

Bad.ass smoking a Dominican cigar

Swimming in a cave with the locals

Ziplining {and I forgot sneakers!}

We swam with this guy

Borderline terrified

Shark Week enthusiast

We survived :)

Saona Island

We spent a lot of time doing this, too.

Our honeymoon suite :)

Hibachi? Don't mind if I do!

Catamaran cruising.. drinking that Mama Juana

My handsome hubby catching starfish in the Blue Lagoon

Dreams Punta Cana

last night

Pregnancy has taught my husband: A guest post from the Mister

Today I am so excited to link up with Courtney and to let my husband have a guest post on the blog. Jeff is a man of few words so I was thrilled when he agreed to write a post. Here's what he had to say...

I found out I was going to be a dad seven months ago. Monday, January 14, 2013 at 6:43 pm to be exact. It was a pretty standard Monday evening. The wife and I retired to the living room after dinner to relax and watch some television. About 30 seconds into the television show we selected, she told me she had some news. "I took a pregnancy test", she said. I gracefully grabbed the remote and muted the television and asked, "what?" After a controversial home pregnancy test, I sent her to the nearest drug store to pee on another stick while I grabbed a beer and pondered what this meant for us. The second test was more clear than the first so we set up a visit with our doctor to confirm the oven was on.

Though the list is short, I will share a few stories that I encountered during this pregnancy;

"The Bob" - I bought "The Bob" about five years ago prior to Sarah and I buying our our home in 2010. "The Bob" is a memory-foam mattress produced by a local New England furniture manufacturer. It is known as his, "Bob-O-Pedic." My 6'4" frame claimed rights to half of "The Bob" and Sarah's 5'1" build balanced out the equation. It was my little slice of heaven, until Sarah's restless legs began to drill me in the back, losing a little of my domain. Not a big deal. Then the body pillow is introduced. Great idea, but what the hell? We also have a 16 month old boxer that tries so hard to make it into the starting sleeping line-up in "The Bob". He has been very successful so far, and who do you think is sacrificing territory? Sarah has been hounding me to upgrade to a King, but to be honest I may just buy a cot.

Central Air - Summers in the Boston area are typically hot, sticky, muggy, and miserable. Central air is a must, especially with a pregger in the house. Our condenser unit froze up just last week during a stretch of some of the most humid weather this summer has seen yet. Thank god I had a back up window AC unit buried in my 130 degree attic. Father's-to-be! May be a good idea to get a window unit as a back up plan if your wife is pregnant in the middle of summer. Just don't bury it in your 130 degree attic unless you are planning to audition for ABC's, Extreme Weight Loss. Basement or a closet will do.

Throughout my wife's pregnancy, my responsibilities and duties have not changed much from when she wasn't pregnant. They haven't changed not because I haven't been actively participating in this journey, but because my wife is a very strong and passionate woman, who has desired to become a mother for as long as we've been together. We have been extremely fortunate and blessed that our pregnancy has been fairly easy and smooth thus far. Both the health of my wife and my baby are in great standing, and I am very grateful for that.

Best to you and yours,

Jeff



How cute is he that he even has his own blog signature? I couldn't love this man more!

The Coach's Wife

I have been a "Coach's Wife" for about five years now. I know I've only been a wife for a year, but Jeff has coached baseball for five. I've learned that being the Coach's Wife is way more difficult than having a spouse that plays a sport. I know this from personal experience since as long as I've known Jeff he has played or coached baseball. 

Jeff was the starting catcher for our college team and it was fun to head to the games with my girlfriends and sip on iced coffees. Of course, I was also a member of the elite 'Baseball Wifeys Club'. There was also something so special about the way he looked at me or walked over to me after the game; I could tell that he really loved that I was at his games. You also can't go wrong lovin' a boy who wears baseball pants. Am I right or am I right? Sigh. 

 {via}

In 2007, a month after we graduated from college, Jeff was drafted as a free agent for the Toronto Blue Jays. Even dating a professional athlete was not as all-consuming as being the Coach's Wife. Yes, Jeff lived in Florida during the season and for spring training but we talked every day and I visited so it wasn't too bad. Dating a professional athlete was also quite appealing and certainly has it's perks. And the baseball pants got even better. Tighter and whiter :) Then he played for a fun league in the summers when he came home and I loved going to the games and then hanging in the bleachers after with pizza and beer. Sometimes we'd even venture across the street to the pub and continue our post-game celebration. Summer baseball at it's finest.

When Jeff started coaching, it was a totally different vibe. He was very serious and of course, most of the fans at the game are parents and it just had a different feel. I still enjoy going to his games but it's not as fun when he isn't actually playing. Luckily the other coach and his wife are great and we've always enjoyed it, but volunteering to coach a team is so time-consuming. From meetings to practice to games to prepping and recording stats, he has a big job. It is all volunteer, too, which is what really makes it hard on a Coach's family. He doesn't bring home a paycheck to make up for all the dinners and family events that he misses. Not that money can even replace those things but it definitely helps. From the pre-season to the post-season, we miss a lot of our life. Last year on our honeymoon, when the season is usually over, we were even getting Facebook updates since his team made it to the playoffs and ended up winning the league title.

Last year, Jeff took his first paid position as an assistant coach for our Alma mater. We both love our college and we were excited for the opportunity and the extra income doesn't hurt. That ended up being way more than he bargained for so this year he took a position as the assistant coach for his high school team. He is so much happier in that position and we both really love the head coach, who was a college classmate, former teammate, and dear friend of ours. As much as we love the school and the team, it still takes away from so much. Especially considering he still coaches the volunteer team so the two seasons are literally back to back.

Last night, I helped out at the end of the year banquet and it was really amazing to watch how it all came together and see how appreciative and respectful the players are. I guess the team hasn't had a banquet in a few years and since both Jeff and the head coach were new to the team this year, they not only brought it back but they totally rocked it. They had a certificate and really nice things to say about every player, which was awesome. They also presented engraved bats to the seniors. It was very clear the minute that the bats were revealed, that the players and parents were so grateful for the gesture. They really did a great job with everything. I would have taken pictures but I was working the raffle table and it was go-go-go all night. Jeff was so taken back and proud when the seniors presented their gifts - new bats, a senior picture, and a team picture signed by each player. It was the first real gift that he's ever received as a coach.

You can imagine my surprise when the coaches were thanking people and took the time to personally thank their wives. They presented us with flowers and mentioned how grateful they are that we give up our husbands all season and put up with late dinners, early mornings, missed events, and sometimes a grumpy husband after a tough loss. I was completely moved by what a simple but thoughtful gesture that it was. I admit, I'm not always the best about his schedule and I sometimes complain that he misses out or that he's gone too long but it was nice to see that it is recognized and that they appreciate being able to have the time to do something that they love.

 

Being a Coach's Wife is a title that I wear proudly. Regardless of the hectic schedule, I am so grateful and proud to have a husband who is so passionate about what he loves and that he has the heart and talent to share that passion with these young men.