There is nothing more precious than time

Today marks mine and Saul's two year and seven month wedding anniversary or seven year and seven month dating anniversary. We just celebrated our 8th Halloween and 8th Thanksgiving together. You would think that after being an item for a pretty considerable amount of time that a-ha! moment would stop happening at some point and maybe it will? For now, it still trips me out that we are getting dangerously close to 30, our precious Teagan is closer to one than not and it seems like just yesterday we were 19 years old. 

Every time I log on here to blog the first thing that comes to mind is this concept of time that is relatively new to me. There was a point in my late teens/early twenties where time seemed to sit still. "Like omygsh," I would say. "We've been dating for three months!" Or "The concert is two months from now. That's sooooo far away."  Since becoming a parent, maybe even since we got married, quit our jobs and moved to Samoa, time is FLYING by. I literally can't even remember if something happened one, two, maybe even three years ago because it's all just gone by SO fast. I always want to start my blog with the cliche "Where has the time gone?" but then realize that I'm being mundane and need to dig deep for some creative inspiration. However, when I take a step back and analyze why that's always the first thing to come to mind when I sit down to write I realize it's because my life is so full right now, so busy!

I've just been so extremely busy since 2013 or really, since 2012 when Saul and I got engaged that everything seems to be in hyper-drive. Having a child has increased this "time-flying" sensation even further. I sit and look at pictures of my baby girl from seven months ago when she was born and have many-a wtf moments. She has grown and changed so much. I remember being in the throws of new parent hood (don't get me wrong I'm still very much there) but I'm talking like three weeks in and everything was SO new to me and seemingly difficult. My days felt never ending! Now just like that, Ms. Teagan is quickly approaching her first birthday. 

My parents would always say that it feels like yesterday that Josh, Addy and I were kids. I never really understood that because up until a couple years ago time moved at an almost stand-still pace. I remember being in elementary school, jr. high and even high school and feeling like a two month summer break was never ending! So how could five, ten, fifteen, even twenty years feel like it was just yesterday when my last week didn't even feel like it was just yesterday? I'm finally beginning to comprehend what they meant and it's terrifying. I'm terrified that I'll forget what Teagan's gummy smile looks like and just like that she'll have a mouth full of braces. I'm scared that her baby giggles will soon be replaced with confrontational words and I'll forget what a beautiful sound those giggles were. I'm terrified that all of a sudden she'll be off to college and I won't remember the weight of her little body in my arms.  I'm realizing that I'm at a point in my life where time is moving so very quickly and I'm trying my very best to enjoy and soak up all the moments however big (or small). 

-C

Since it's been so long since we last blogged here's a photo catch-up. :)

Teagan turned six months in October. We decided we'd try to make it a family tradition to go to the Irvine Railroad Pumpkin Patch. It's a great park that even has a zoo! Entry to the pumpkin patch/park area is free aside from the $5 parking fee. We got Teagan's bitty pumpkin there and a nifty grey pumpkin but we got out big carve[able] pumpkin at Costco. 

Cutest pumpkin in the patch!

 

So appropriate lol

Already two feet and some change!

Teagan's first time on a swing.

She was happy to watch mommy and daddy carve her pumpkin

Photo bomb by Teagan haha

My sweet girl and our pumpkin. Saul carved the eyes (which are Teagan's hands). I did the nose and mouth

We were a family of monsters haha :) Teagy was the cuddle monster

Tea's bedtime always coincides with half time at Clippers Games so we walk around until she falls asleep.

Time for the six month photo shoot!

Thanksgiving came and went! My parents, Josh and Addy all came out to CA and we spent the day at my Grandmother's house. A day spent with family and good food (doesn't get much better)!

Matchy matchy with the little sis.

Opa and Mimi playing with their grand daughter.

Auntie Addy teaching her niece how to play the piano.

Mile Square Park

Acro Yoga with Addy 

Saul, Teagan, Addy, Dad and I went to a Clippers game and then did a little DTLA exploring. Addy and I even got on the jumbo-tron! :)

Reppin our Clips at Yard House before the game

selfieee.

And now the holiday season is upon us along with the end of the year! Yikes. 2015 was by far the fastest year of my life but was so so amazing.

Decorating our first Christmas tree as a fam. Saul and I have never had a real tree until this year!

 Teagy before her Santa pics at South Coast Plaza.

Our little one is seven months!!

5 Months and Counting

5 months!

She was over her 5 month photo shoot by the end

I can't believe how fast Teagan is growing up! She is just under 6 months, but it feels like she is already growing up too fast. At her 4 month appointment she was 26 inches (98th percentile!) and 13 pounds 4 ounces (60th percentile). Gone is our short and chubby newborn; our little baby is officially long and lean like mommy and daddy. Her 6 month appointment is coming up soon already. Hopefully we'll have some more positive stats then.

She isn't quite crawling yet, but she is definitely getting around on her own. She scoots, rolls, flips, and pulls her way around almost as efficiently a fully grown small animal. Like Chelsia says, “there’s no stopping Teagan. She might not be able to crawl or walk but she can move.” She sits up on her own probably easier than a full grown adult at this point, which makes sleeping difficult. It’s a common site to look down at our baby monitor to see our little baby sitting up and looking around.

Gone are the days when she would fall asleep against my chest. She is far too interested in the world to lay still there long enough to fall asleep now. She will have her head cranked up and whipping around in less than 30 seconds if I even try that now. Then she puts one arm to the sky and flips off with full force and complete confidence that I will catch her and prevent a harmful fall.

That turning power is quite amazing. You should see her on the changing table! I can't get through a diaper anymore without her flipping over onto her stomach while I'm holding her legs together in the air at least once. It leaves her with her face down on the changing pad with her feet strung up in the air pressed together at the ankles and her bare bottom swinging violently from side to side. It's actually really cute, but incredibly frustrating at the same time. It can also get messy! Gross, I know.

We have started feeding her solids every night. It's been interesting seeing what she likes and doesn't like. She didn’t like much at all at first, but she is starting to come around and appears to even enjoy her nightly feedings now. Her favorite food so far has been butternut squash. She hated pears, and something about the texture of avocados made her scream like Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone (you know the scene where he puts the after shave on). You could tell that she didn't mind the taste, but the sticky texture didn't tickle her fancy. Starting solids early seems like it was a good choice as they seem to really be growing on her. She is starting to happily eat more and more and leaves less on the table/floor/high chair each time.

Not a fan of rice cereal

But she loved butternut squash

We finally got her sleeping in her nursery, but that only lasted for less than a week before the California heat wave came raging back with full force. It's okay though, we missed her in our room anyway. It's hard to put into words how much we love our little baby Teagan. We are enjoying having her as part of our family more than we ever knew we could.

-S

Aquarium of the Pacific

We saw giant clams just like these snorkeling in Fiji.

Live shark egg. Amazing exhibit at the aquarium!

American Samoa is the tiniest land mass near my finger. The larger land masses are Western Samoa.

Spider Crab!

Jelly fish petting exhibit.

Teagan knocked out by this point.

She does wake up like this.

Teagan's first Clippers' Game (Preseason vs Nuggets). We were able to trade for two more tickets to the game so my parents were able to go too.

Clippers Open Practice at Galen Center. CP3 said Tea is a very pretty baby :)