Sobremesa Stories

Five on Friday: A Big First And A New Routine

April 7, 2017 By Lauren

It’s been a crazy last few weeks and this is the first chance I’ve had to write an update post in a while. Here are some stories and pictures from our last few weeks!

1) A “Weekend” Away

One of Jordan’s closest friends got married in Des Moines, Iowa a few weekends back and Jordan got to be a groomsmen! He headed up on Thursday night to be there for the rehearsal dinner and other festivities and I drove up on my own on Saturday. The wedding was so much fun and we loved getting to celebrate these two sweet friends. The dance floor was ROCKIN’ and even though we stayed up much later than we normally do (total boring grownups over here!) it was so fun to stay in a hotel, sleep in, and enjoy a brunch just the two of us before heading back to KC Sunday morning. I’m a big fan of forever brunch/wedding date and hope we get a full weekend or trip together just the two of us soon!

This grainy snapshot is the only one we got the whole weekend – woops!

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How My Fears About Motherhood Panned Out: A One Year Reflection

April 3, 2017 By Lauren

When I wrote this post back in January 2016, I was eight months pregnant and both nervous and excited to become a mom. I knew that God would use the birth of our first child to shape me and draw me to him in so many ways, but that didn’t stop various fears and anxieties from swirling around my head as his due date got closer.

As I look back on these fears I had, it’s so evident that God walked with me and held me every step of the way his first year. He held me through the sleepless nights, the sometimes frustrating and long days, and all the moments where I thought my heart would burst with the joy of being a mama to my sweet little boy.

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Five on Friday: First Week Back To Work

March 31, 2017 By Lauren

I don’t have five fun thoughts or stories with pictures for this week because if I’m being honest, it kind of rocked our world. On Monday I headed back to work to teach a friend’s maternity leave for 6-7 weeks. I teach German at four different middle school buildings, traveling from school to school throughout the day. Caleb is staying with my sister-in-law so Jordan drops him off in the mornings (bright and early around 7) and I pick him up in the afternoons. The arrangements really couldn’t be better but man…we are only a week in and I already feel SO frazzled! How do you working moms do it?

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Five on Friday: Spring Break Adventures

March 24, 2017 By Lauren

It feels like spring has sprung here in KC and we are so excited for all that lies ahead in the next few months! Here are a few updates from our last few weeks.

1) Soaking In My Time At Home

I start back to work on Monday and I’m both nervous and excited. I’m excited to see what it’s like to be back in the classroom surrounded by other gronwups, but I’m also pretty nervous about missing Caleb and adjusting to this new routine. I’m sure I’ll write more about that as it all starts to unfold but for now, I’m trying to soak in every minute with my kiddo. I love the slowness of our days at home and will definitely miss it. Even if all we do is play with sticky notes to pass the time until naptime, I love this kid and watching him grow is a beautiful thing.

Seriously, how could I not miss this sweet face?

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Five on Friday: Vegetarian Recipes And A Practice Day Back To Work

March 11, 2017 By Lauren

Since I’ll be heading back to work for 6-7 weeks starting in late March, we are soaking in the last few weeks of “normal” before we adjust to a new routine with both of us working for a while. Thankfully we’ve had lots of sweet time together these past two weeks!

1) A Practice Day Back To Work

Like I just mentioned, I’m heading back to work to teach a friend of mine’s middle school German classes while she’s on maternity leave. It’s at the same buildings in the same district where I used to teach and I’m excited to be back at my old stomping grounds. I had my shadow day with the teacher I’m subbing for to talk about lesson plans and all that good stuff and it made me both nervous and excited to get back into the routine of working. It was kind of a whirlwind getting Caleb and myself ready for the day and I definitely missed him. I’m curious how I’ll like this short stretch back to work but I know it’s already giving me so much respect for you working mamas!

I sure was glad to snuggle this kiddo when I got home!

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Caleb’s Twelve Month Update

March 6, 2017 By Lauren

Holy moly…twelve months. We are officially crossing the line from babyhood to toddlerhood and I’m not really sure how to feel about that. Instead of trying to capture all the thoughts and feels in one post, I’ll save the sappy, sentimental stuff for another day and just jump into this month’s update!

The Numbers

We had our one year checkup yesterday and Caleb is weighing in at 18 lbs 4 oz and measuring 29 inches long. He’s pretty much followed the same growth curve this whole year so even though he’s teeny, he’s growing well and we are happy with that!

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Five on Friday: First Birthday Celebrations And Decor

March 3, 2017 By Lauren

With Caleb’s first birthday, my parents visiting, and another round of illness, it’s been a fun and crazy few weeks. Here are some pictures and updates from all the festivities!

1) Grandparents In Town

My parents flew out to KC this past weekend for Caleb’s first birthday and it sure was fun to have them in town! We spent lots of time playing on the floor with Caleb, reading him books, and just basking in his silliness with occasional breaks while he napped. We also had some yummy barbecue at a local place called Q39 and an amazing brunch at Gram and Dun, a restaurant in the plaza (although I had a super-rich burnt-end mac and cheese which maybe doesn’t qualify as brunch…).

First taste of KC BBQ at Q39!

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The Motherhood Truth Setting Me Free From Control

February 22, 2017 By Lauren

It’s been almost a year since my green-eyed, redheaded little boy made me a mama. From the exhausting months of newborn cries and snuggles to the giggles and tantrums of the late baby stage, this journey has grown me in so many ways. Just as I might have predicted, one theme keeps coming up over and over again: control.

I quickly fell into one of the sneakiest traps of motherhood: the belief that everything my child is, does, and says is within my control and therefore my responsibility.

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Five on Friday: A Yucky Few Weeks

February 17, 2017 By Lauren

Whew. I don’t have a normal Five on Friday post for you all this week because honestly, it was just a rough one. Our house has been rocked with illness the last month and we are all pretty worn out. Caleb has been sick at least 1-2 times a month for his entire life, so we’re used to that, but a month ago he got his first stomach bug and it is a whole different ballgame. His few days of throwing up and yuckiness quickly passed on to me and Jordan and we were both knocked out with 24 hours of throwing up, achiness, and just general misery (can you tell I hate anything stomach related?).

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Five Essential Books For New Parents

February 13, 2017 By Lauren

I’m a big reader and a big planner, so I’ve jumped into quite a few parenting books in this first year of being a mama. Some of them have made me laugh, a few have made me cry, and almost all of them have challenged me to think deeply about how we want to raise our son and any other littles that follow him.

I don’t know that there’s one book that will ever perfectly describe our parenting philosophy (and I’m sure it will constantly evolve as our family grows anyway), but these books have been essential to this whirlwind first year of being parents. I won’t vouch for every sentence of every book, but these books would easily be on my top five for new parents.