ThingsDaily

ANNIVERSARY JUNE & FIRST DATES

This Wednesday McKay and I celebrate our third anniversary. Because I wasn’t much of a journaler or blogger back then I’ve decided to record some memories of our dating and engagement over the next week while I still remember the details. Feel free to skip over these posts if it isn’t your thing… but everybody likes a good love story, right?

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Salt Lake City. McKay’s birthday, 2008.

McKay and I met on a Sunday morning. Sunday, June 8, 2008 to be exact. He walked into our sunday school class in church and took the empty seat next to me. This was his first time meeting me, but I had been aware of him for weeks before that. 

The first Sunday of a new semester at BYU is always exciting for single girls. A fresh new crop of prospective boyfriends to scope out. I first spotted McKay the first Sunday of spring term. He had just moved into the house across the street from my apartment complex. He was wearing a new pinstripe suit and a classy pink tie. My room mates and I were sitting on the row in front of him and I discreetly pointed out “pink tie” to her as an potential love interest. As I kept my eyes on him during the meeting I was disheartened to notice him practically glued to his Blackberry {yes, he used something other than an iPhone once upon a time}. 

So he’s one of those guys. I thought. 
Texting during church. Lame.

And just like that I crossed him off my mental list and shifted my focus to other eligible bachelors, never even catching the attractive texters name. 

Fast forward to June. My room mate had started dating our neighbor, Jake and was always talking about setting me up with his room mate, McKay. 

“He’s a great dresser!” she kept saying. As if that was the only requirement. I was wary. People in love are always trying to set you up and are rarely successful. One night Jake was over at our apartment while I was wearing my Obama T-shirt. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Provo, UT, it is one of the most conservative places a liberal 20-something can find themselves. Needless to say, my Obama-love stuck out like a sore thumb.

“Hey, you should meet my room mate, McKay. He is a huge Obama fan” Jake said. This piqued my interest.

“Who is this McKay you guys keep talking about?” I asked. “Do you have a picture?”

Jake then tracked down a picture he had on his phone and lo and behold, McKay was the church texter.

Come to find out, McKay was actually taking notes on his blackberry. So not only was he not a lame church texter, he was actually interested in gleaning insights from church.

All of a sudden he was back at the top of my list.

That night there was a cookout up Provo canyon. I went, along with a bunch of other couples, hoping to find McKay there. He didn’t show up. But the next day at church I was ready to meet this liberal stranger.

As luck would have it, he walked into sunday school the next day and sat right next to me.

My first words to him: “So, I hear you’re a lib.”  

“uh, yeah…”

“You’re McKay, right?” 

“Yeah…” he replied, clearly a bit taken back by this odd introduction.

“I’m Stephanie. Kristen is my room mate” I said. “You know, she and Jake…”

“Oh yeah, they’re…. trying things out” he said.

And that’s how it began. We sat by each other for the rest of church and we walked home together afterward. I invited him to my apartment while I made cookies {which he later admitted to not liking} and we chatted and flirted for the rest of the afternoon.

For me, there was an obvious chemistry between us right from the start. McKay insists that I was so forward, but I felt like I was just following his lead. He was the one being forward! This is so easy! I thought. He’s clearly interested. I think we’ll always disagree on who was the more forward one, but he obviously liked it…

The next day I left for Washington with my family for my grandma’s funeral. I could not get McKay out of my mind and was secretly hoping for some facebook interaction while I was gone…  

MY FIRSTBORN

I was reading a fellow startup wife’s blog the other day. She recently had a baby girl and has a 2-year-old son. Kinda like our soon-to-be family of four. A recent post of hers got me thinking about these last couple months I have with Harper before she’ll never be the only child again. 

It’s been a wonderful, singular experience spending the last 19 months with Harper. Every day McKay heads to work and Harper and I spend the day together. And though I’ve been in love with her from the day she was born, we’ve really developed a relationship since then. Watching her discover her hands, introducing her to new foods, reading story after story together, her first steps, countless moves and airplane rides, sleepless nights and eventual sleeping successes, days exploring, days being lazy.

She’ll be our only first child. The only one to be brought home by completely inexperienced parents. The only one to have all the attention on her.

Although this past month has brought a new level of tired to my growing body, I’ve realized that these are my last weeks just one-on-one with Harper. And though I am beyond excited to add a baby brother to the mix, I realize also that these days are precious, few and will soon be a memory. I want to make those memories good ones.

ready to be a big sister. stories and powder for her “baby”.

Yesterday was a grey day. I decided early to ignore the dishes. Harper and I met up with a few friends for a morning play date at the indoor playroom. We read books and played with blocks and toys in the afternoon.

We visited more friends after taking naps {both of us} and took an unusually pleasant trip to the grocery store. If you’ve ever taken a toddler to the store, you know it is rarely an easy task. For some reason, she was an absolute gem at the store last night. Chatting, smiling and sitting pleasantly in the cart {getting from the car to the elevator with full grocery bags was another story, however}. We had an extra long bedtime routine and just enjoyed each other. 

It was a really simple day, and a really great memory. 

AHOY, LITTLE BOY

One of the perks of having a girl followed by a boy, and living, say, in a different country for each pregnancy is getting a second baby shower. My fabulous sister-in-law and cousin-by-marriage {read: Wendy and Asialene} threw a darling nautical themed baby shower for me this past weekend. It was so fun to open up soft blue blankets and striped polo rompers. We ate delicious food and enjoyed the company of a totally mixed group of ladies: church friends, baby.com.br wives, Portal friends, and piano lesson moms.  We can’t wait to add trucks and dinosaurs and monsters into the mix of flowers and polka dots around here. 10 weeks to go!

“a lovely and relaxing massage” don’t mind if I do. 

Thanks again, ladies. You really outdid yourselves!

LATELY

Lately I’ve been tired. 

I assume I was this tired when I was pregnant with Harper. But the absence of a toddler to keep up with plus the ability to nap any and all the time made a big difference.

People toss around“I’m tired”  all the time. And I believe them. School is tiring. Work is tiring. Life is tiring. But man, being the pregnant mom of an 18-month-old takes things to a new level. There are days when I stay in my pajamas until the late afternoon dreading, with all my soul, the one item on my To-Do list: the dishes. 

Harper scatters toys and cooking utensils while I read birth books and lay on the couch planning how productive I’ll be… later. 

But we’re surviving! And we even get outside to play most days {but not without much mental preparation}. 

Lately we’ve been eating a lot of eggs.

Apparently my amniotic fluid levels told on me: I like treats, okay? I guess it’s on the high side of normal, which basically means I just need to cut back on the sweets add more veggies and protein to my diet {so cinnamon rolls with extra frosting for breakfast and lunch doesn’t count?}.

Lately we’ve been enjoying pretty fall sunsets. 

I’ve heard that pollution creates prettier sunsets. Whether that’s true or not, I consider it a perk of living in São Paulo. We get to watch a lot of gorgeous sunsets from our 14th floor living room windows. 

Lately I’ve been conjugating verbs.

I’m at a tough spot with Portuguese right now. I blame a lot of it on the foggy state of my brain. I feel like I have learned a lot and I understand a lot. I can write decently and my reading comprehension isn’t bad. But when it comes to speaking, it sure is hard! I feel like everything I’ve studied goes out the window when it’s time to open my mouth and say something. It sure gives me a new appreciation for people who are truly fluent in more than one language. And who spend most of their time speaking in something other than their native tongue.

Happy Memorial Day weekend to my American friends. And happy regular weekend to the rest of us!

DIA DAS MAES

It’s really close to my bedtime. This third trimester/18-month-old combo is really wearing me out! But, I can’t let today pass without a mention of the moms in my life.

I’m so grateful to my own amazing mom for the woman she is, the relationship we have and the example she is to me of what motherhood can and should be. I couldn’t ask for a better mom or a better grandma for Harper. Read more about her in last year’s Mother’s Day post.

With three of ten grandkids at a Christmas sleepover

I’m grateful for a fantastic mother-in-law. In-law horror stories are a dime a dozen, but I fortunately lucked out with mine! It seems like Monta does it all- a marathoner, an AP teacher, a quilter, an outdoors-woman. I could go on and on, but beyond her skills and education, she is a true example of giving to her children and grandchildren. I can’t list all the times that she has devoted hours, money, food, knowledge and advice to her family. We love Monta!

Grandma and hours-old Harper.

Finally, I feel so blessed to be mom to this little girl:

And to be able to meet my new son in just a few months:

And, of course, I wouldn’t be a mother without my sweet husband, McKay. I’m so grateful for our marriage and our little growing family. Also, it should be mentioned that he did a lovely job of commemorating Mother’s Day. A long nap, a clean house, delicious crepes… it’s been a wonderful day. 

Whether you’re an empty-nester filled with nostalgia, a 40-something confused by your teenagers, in the trenches with toddlers, figuring out life with a newborn, or a soon-to-be mother, here’s wishing you a happy mother’s day, and a good night’s sleep tonight.

HOME

I was skyping with my mom earlier tonight and we were talking about her upcoming trip to visit us at the end of July. She’ll be down a couple weeks before the baby is due and my dad and brother, Randy will join for another two weeks at the beginning of August. I can’t wait to show my family around this place that has become as much my home as the house I spent 16 years in. I just hope somewhere between being 9 months pregnant and feeding a newborn I’ll have enough energy to play hostess as well!

My mom made a comment about how much she is anticipating the trip and how exciting it will all be. And then, as time has a way of doing, it will fly by and the family will be back home and the trip will be a happy memory. I remember having this same train of thought when we were planning our Christmas trip to Utah. There was such excitement and anticipation surrounding our visit: surprising my family, seeing loved ones, enjoying missed American treats and traditions, re-introducing Harper to everyone. And yet, I worried a little bit about returning to Brazil after the big trip. I had been looking forward to this event basically since arriving in Brazil. What would happen when it came and went and was all just a memory? I worried about missing family and home even more after coming back. I worried about getting back to daily life without that upcoming visit home to dream about.

These thoughts didn’t plague me, but I considered them time and time again as the trip approached. 

A funny thing happened though.

Maybe it was the fact that our trip was more than twice as long as we had anticipated, due to visa delays. Or maybe it was just a natural stepping stone on the path of life, a kind of rite of passage into adulthood. Whatever the reason, I feel more at home here in Brazil now than before our US trip. By the end of our visit I couldn’t wait to get back… home!

And it had nothing to do with being sick of my family or anything. I couldn’t ask for a better relationship with my parents and my in-laws. Yet, there is something different about life now. I feel more settled here than I did before. I feel secure here. I feel at home here.

Sure, I miss my family. But it’s not an anxious, achy miss. I am beyond excited for them to come visit, but I know that when the trip is over and they head back to their home, I’ll be where I am supposed to be here in my home with my husband and kids {kids!}.

It’s nice to be in this place right now. Yes, life is still life. Bills still need to be paid. Dishes still need to be done. Naps are still too few and far between. But I feel at peace.

I feel at home.