Three things in three years

Happy 3rd Anniversary my honey bunches of oats! Thank you for loving me unconditionally (especially when I’m off my rocker). Here’s to a gazillion more.

It’s hard to believe that three years have passed since that stinkin’ perfect day back in 2011. We said our vows, we kissed, and we danced the night away. I may be a little biased, but that was one of the best weddings in the history of all weddings (well maybe more than a little biased). I can still picture Paul’s face as our eyes met and I walked down the aisle. Swoon.

Look at that goofy face.

So three years is not that long in the great scheme of things, but to us, it sure feels like a lifetime already (in a good way, I promise). Things are not always perfect, but they are wonderful. Besides the whole, thou shalt honor your husband/wife thing, there are a few things I’ve learned in the past three years which (I think) will help other couples out there. 

1 // BE SPECIFIC. This is a somewhat broad topic, but it sure does apply to a lot of things. Be specific in compliments. Say, your hair looks nice when you put it up like that or I love your smile when you laugh at my cheesy jokes. Just saying, you look nice is good enough, but being a little more specific makes it more special and really shows your spouse that you notice the little things, don’t cha think? Also, be specific in your requests, criticisms, etc. Say, I need you to help me take out the garbage or it hurts my feelings when you text at dinner. Being specific takes the guess work out so you can stay on topic and reach resolutions more quickly. Ambiguity is the enemy. 

2 // NO GENERALIZATIONS. This applies more to arguments and the tougher times. Saying “always”, “never”, or “not ever” is rarely true, and never helpful (hehe I said never, whoops). No, he doesn’t always do that and no she does not ever do things. That is too broad and leads to more problems. Trust me on this one, mmkay? 

3 // SERVE ONE ANOTHER. Marriage is a partnership and service is the center of it. Be giving and generous with one another. I love when Paul cleans the apartment when I am just too tired. He loves when I make him dinner and serve him a plate when he has to take work home with him. It’s all about serving your spouse in a completely selfless way. Key word here: selfless. Do not keep tally, do not be demanding, do not be resentful, do not do it with a frown on your face.

There are plenty of marriage lessons I’ve learned these past three years and a million more I need to learn. But that’s the beauty of it. AMIRIGHT? 

What are your marriage tips?

BLOGLOVIN | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

Life 365 | Week 29

Just when I feel that I am getting the hang of the whole not being on maternity leave anymore thing, Emma does something especially wonderful/adorable and I never want to leave her. She has been so vibrant this week! She is becoming her own little person. I think she is also going through another growth spurt because she’s been ravenous lately. 

This week and next, I am on my oral surgery rotation. This will include a whole lotta teeth extractions. Yippie. 

So remember how I told you of my horrible news?? (My iPhone camera broke) I thought that I could make it without it and it has been torture. You don’t realize how much you enjoy immediate access to photo taking. Because Emma has been so stinking cute lately, I want to be able to take all the pictures I want to without having to borrow someone else’s phone. I am just going to fork over the insurance money for a replacement. 

Yesterday, I had a major freakout about not having many clothes that fit me anymore. My fit included yelling, crying, ripping things from my closet, and throwing them on the floor. Yup, I’m a child. Move over Emma. My body is stuck in a flabby state due to my breastfeeding fat stores (mumble mumble, breastfeeding). My old clothes “fit” close enough. And by fit, I mean they all go on just not necessarily button or zip. Thankfully, Paul was level-headed and took me to downtown to go shopping. My post-baby body appreciates these new items. 

Here are last week’s photos. 

FOURTEEN This girl is constantly turning over to her belly. Then she screams about being on her belly. Um, high maintenance much? 

FIFTEEN Does this remind anyone else of a Marc Jacobs ad?

SIXTEEN This. Smile. She’s all, “Oh hey, yes I’m cute. Now buy me stuff.”

SEVENTEEN Even her grumpy-sleepy face is cute. GAAAHH.

EIGHTEEN She’s getting ready for try-outs. Quick step!

NINETEEN Here is how it goes. 1. Place headband on baby. 2. Baby keeps turning head wondering what the heck is on her head. 3. Begins to cry. 4. Remove headband. 5. Stops crying. Interesting…

TWENTY “Guys, this mobile is blowing my mind." 

Wednesday is our third wedding anniversary and Sunday is my 25th birthday. WOAH.

Have a wonderful week my friends!

BLOGLOVIN | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

Life 365 | Week 28

What a week, what a week. Last week was my second week back from maternity leave and I really dove right in. I still need to write 98234 more emails to sort everything out but it looks like I’m heading in the right direction.

My sister came up Thursday so it was a full house! After two weeks with Emma, my mom was very emotional leaving today. She was a great help for us these two weeks and I know Emma loved spending time with her Mamaw. Paul’s mom is on her way up for the next two weeks. We are pretty dang lucky that our moms can take time away from their busy schedules to spend time with us and to watch Emma. 

Okay guys, HUGE NEWS. Emma rolled over! We were hanging out at Grace and Brian’s today to watch the World Cup Final and Emma was just rolling all over the place. She went from back to front at least six times. We were all screaming. Well, Grace and I were screaming about Emma and the boys were screaming about soccer. She was really impressive. Shoot… I better start baby-proofing the whole apartment. Hmmm…how much bubble wrap should I get? She’s also slept through the whole night about 4 or 5 times this week. This may be the start of something beautiful my friends. 

For the sad news… my iPhone camera broke! I am devastated, hashtag firstworldproblems. The front camera still works but the back camera is just showing up black. SOUL CRUSHING. I am still deciding whether I want to fork over money to replace it with my phone insurance for now or just hold out and wait for my upgrade/iPhone 6 release. I may have to be that person who takes photos with their iPad. GAG. Thankfully Paul’s phone works and Grace is happy to take photos and send them to me. WHEW.

Here are last week’s photos.

SEVEN I absolutely love to watch my mom paint. She is ah-mah-zing. I did NOT get those genes. 

EIGHT She is getting so big. STAHP IT. Be still my heart. PS, those eyebrows KILL ME.

NINE She has been so chatty lately and we have very long conversations. I think in this one she was telling me all about teaming up with the stuffed animals to riot if she didn’t get her milk on time. 

TEN I cannot tell if she enjoys daddy’s kisses or is thinking, peasant, I will poop on you. What do you think?

ELEVEN Sister, sister! We went to dim sum. Yum! (Oh hey, that rhymed)

TWELVE Okay, this one wins all the awards for best selfie of the universe. My sister was an expert at making Emma laugh. We will take our trophy now.

THIRTEEN GOLLLLLLLLL, Deutschland! No joke, Emma loves sports. Her head always turns to the TV when sports are on. The force is strong with this one. Paul’s genes really took over here. 

As always, follow along on Instagram for more photos. 

Have a wonderful week everyone!

P.S. My birthday is coming up on the 27th. Start thinking of gift ideas, ya?

BLOGLOVIN | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

We're on a train

So Emma insisted that we get out of the house and do something fun for the 4th. Since I wouldn’t let her go parasailing, we settled for a mountain train ride. We started in the Santa Cruz mountains and traveled through the redwoods and ended on the Santa Cruz beach board walk. It was a beautifully sunny day and we learned all about the history of the area. 

Emma seemed to be enjoying herself. This is either her happy face or her poop face. It’s hard to tell sometimes. Of course, I had to dress her in a 4th of July outfit that my mom got for her. She was somewhat less than amused when I tried to put the hat on her. Please don’t run away from home. 

We posed for some family photos. Then Emma wanted to talk about the impact of the California gold rush and lumber harvest of the on the ecosystem of the area and its economical implications, but then spit up and fell asleep. It’s hard to be a baby. 

Seriously, it was a beautiful day. It was sunny and slightly breezy, but when we got to the beach there was a blanket of marine layer right over the water. My arms were glow in the dark white so they my skin cells were happy to soak in those rays.  

I was checking out this one guy’s cute butt while we were walking down the board walk. Good thing he ended up being my husband. There were so many people there, so it was hard to tell.  

When we got off the train, I made a bee line for the Dippin’ Dots cart. I may have knocked over two children and an old lady but true love waits for no man. I got the biggest size they had and I grudgingly shared some bites with Paul. Jerk. I also saw the deep-fried treats stand. It took all my human energy and several Our Fathers to stop myself from buying one of everything.

See? I told you. My arms are whiter than marshmallow fluff. You don’t even want to see my legs. They could guide planes down the runway at night. 

I really don’t even know what to say about this picture. 

It was a fun trip and I would love to do it again. Next time, I’m going to have a date with that deep-fried twinkie.

BLOGLOVIN | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

Life 365 | Week 27

First of all, can you believe that we are already half way through 2014? WHAT? I am flabbergasted. Where did the time go? I guess I was living under a rock for a while doing this whole baby-making thing.

This week was quite eventful I must say. I am pretty dang tired today. I plan to spend the rest of the evening just relaxing with the family. As you may know, I went back to school last Monday. I’ll say it again, thank GOD that my mom is here to help us during this transition. It would have been much harder to drop her off at the daycare instead.

Wednesday night, Paul and I went to a Giant’s game with Grace and Brian. Two words: heated balcony. If I could watch all sporting events in a suite, that would be just fine with me. Anyone else?

Friday was good ol’ 4th of July. We took a wonderful train ride through the redwoods of the Santa Cruz mountains and walked around the beach boardwalk for a bit. I ate my weight in Dippin’ Dots. I wanted the funnel cake and deep-fried Twinkie, but I held myself back. Sophie’s choice. It was a beautiful day and the weather was perfect (I’ll post some pictures soon). I actually got a little pink on my shoulders. I didn’t think my skin knew what melanin was anymore. That evening, we had dinner at Grace and Brian’s and played cards against humanity. I am pretty sure I gained an ab or two from all the laughing. That game is HILARIOUS. If you’ve never played, I highly suggest doing so (but only if you aren’t easily offended haha).

Yesterday, Paul, Grace, Brian, and I saw the La Traviata opera which was live telecasted from the SF Opera House to AT&T ballpark. It was incredibly fun. We brought a picnic and some blankets and sat on the field. Thankfully we were able to get a little spot on the grass. I was about to bowl people over if we didn’t get a space. We agreed that next time we need to bring 50 more blankets because we were freezing our little butts off. Snuggling only helps so much. 

This morning, we went to a quaint, local church for mass. It is my favorite Catholic church in the city because it is small, intimate, and the stained glass is gorgeous.

This week is going to be another busy one. I’m still trying to get back into the swing of things. Hold me.

Here are last week’s Life 365 photos!

THIRTY I weep just looking at this photo. Man alive, it was hard. Keep it together, Samantha.

ONE She managed to grab her pacifier, pull it out, then stick it back in again. We were quite impressed. Now that she’s starting to reach for things, please keep all hair and earrings inside the vehicle at all times. 

TWO But first, let us take a selfie. What a good sport.

THREE And here ladies and gentlemen is exhibit A as to why her nickname is bubbles. 

FOUR USA! USA! USA! 

FIVE What a fun night! They even gave us subtitles for the opera so we knew what the heck was going on.

SIX This church has the most beautiful stained glass windows. I could stare at them all day. If you are ever in SF, check it out (St. Teresa of Avila in Potrero Hill).

Have a wonderful week everyone! I don’t know how often I’ll get to posting this week so be sure to follow along on Instagram and Twitter.

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