What He Wore On Wednesday

Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday!

This happy mama is brought to you by a BABY WHO SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!

I woke up at 5:30am, feeling giddy

and then I got to sleep some more because the baby wasn't awake!!

Exclamation points!

Here's what we found when we went into his room this morning:

All surrounded by his animals friends.

Cruz starts with the elephant.

Double fists both pacis.

And finally ends up with the frog.

Party. Animal.

We love going swimming!

Today, Ashley and Rand came over for a pool party. 

Doncha love these baby swim trunks?

However, their manly effect is slightly spoiled by the baby sun bonnet I cruelly force Cruz to wear. He spends a significant amount of time trying to take it off. 

Get used to it, buddy.

And we finish off the day with a cute outfit from Gram B!

Please note the delicious chub that is spilling deliciously over the kneecap.

Mmmm. Delicious.

Guest Post: Confessions of a ...

I want to tell you about two things today.

The first is about my friend Sarah.

Sarah has taught me  that so much grace and love is available when you let your bad parts show. 
Like, she loves you even when she knows the worst thing about you.
I don't even clean when she comes over anymore.That's how convinced of her love I am.

Amy, me, Colette, Sarah 

The second thing is about confession.
Over the last seven months, I have grown to love this particular sacrament.
It is so freeing to tell the world what's really going on.
I love confession so much that I want it to be a regular part of this blog, 
and I am extending the opportunity to you!
It seemed perfectly fitting that our first guest post would be from the gal who has taught me so much about confession.
Sometimes the posts will be funny
sometimes serious
always written in truth and love.
So here's Sarah.
Sarah, thank you for being brave this morning!
Let's leave her some love in the comments, shall we?


{do you have something to confess? email me at reliasen@gmail.com}

for anyone who knows becca and i, you know we both enjoy a good schedule. predictability of what's next accompanied by a good organizational design which leads to an accurate set of expectations. maybe it's because we're j's but lately i've been thinking my need for a good schedule comes from my great joy in the church calendar. becca and i count down to advent like a 9 year old counts down to the double digit birthday. and lent, don't even get me started on lent. there's something so comforting about the church's seasons: advent, christmas, epiphany, lent, easter and pentecost. they happen every year, just like the year before. during advent we learn to wait. and in lent we learn about suffering. and year after year i take out my advent book or my copy of " the irrational season" (by madeline l'engle) for lent and i read about waiting and i read about suffering. and i pray, that just one of these days, i'll embrace waiting and suffering outside of advent or lent. the beauty of these two church seasons is that there is a prize at the end. the birth of our savior, the pretty lights and the gorgeous decorations. the birth of our savior. his life celebrated, year after year. we wait in anticipation and we learn to be patient. and lent, we recall jesus' suffering, sometimes partaking in our own humble, meager attempt at suffering, and we learn to be patient. but come easter sunday we get to rejoice, and take our alleluias out of their box and we are grateful for the resurrection. advent and lent remind me every november and february what i love about my mysterious lord.

but did you catch my mention of the p word? yup, that word patience which sings in my ear, day in and day out. patience is supposed to be a pretty word isn't it? its perfect pitch singing in my ear, gracefully poised, with a perfect pink bow on top. but sometimes i feel like that p word is taunting me, mocking me. surely this must be the devil masked as patience because the angel of patience is the one clothed in the pretty pink bow. but patience stares me in the face, each day causing me to partake in lent and advent all year long.

after dating jon for 3 1/2 years (insert charlotte's exclamation regarding big and carrie's engagement) he proposed. i was engaged, and becca was pregnant, and we coined our summer and fall "advent". the season of course continued for me until march, and now it's april, and i'm married, but i still find myself waiting. i'm no longer being patient. i think all day long about where we will live and when jon will be done with his huntington beach contract work. i plan, i scheme, i daydream, i get distracted easily. i dream of granite counter tops and hardwood floors. a leather couch and a long dining room table to enjoy good food and good wine with dear friends. i wait for the day that i get to come home and cook a meal for my husband. i want a schedule, people. remember, i crave that? i am not patient, i am done waiting. i'm ready for christmas and easter and i've convinced myself that i've waited so long that i deserve both the christmas tree and the easter basket in the same day. i've been so busy feeling righteous about the amount of time i've been waiting, that i forgot to pray about it even. it's ok though because i'm remembering to pray about it again, and i'm remembering that with every lent and every advent there is easter and there is christmas. they come every single time, and the lord will not disappoint on this season for me either. i love a good schedule but i'm going to keep on embracing my waiting and remember that god's work happens in all the days leading up to christmas and easter.

For the May Bride

One week.

One week left to look at seating charts, 

get your nails done,

think about your hair,

place-cards,

playlists,

I dos.

One week.

One week until we walk down the aisle with you.

We'll stand at your side.

We'll remember our vows as we whisper along to yours.

And we promise to help you remember them too.

You won't even believe how big our smiles will be.

One week.

One week until we stop counting weeks or days or hours.

And just start living life. 

{And we can't wait to live this life with you}

One week.

One week until Ms becomes Mrs.

Until me becomes we.

Until what has been hoped for is seen.

{Hey remember when we were in college and we would eat sammies from Vons on the Biltmore wall and you'd tell me about this guy you liked? Remember how he'll be waiting for you at the end of the aisle? Love that}

What He Wore On Wednesday

Good morning, friends!

Yesterday was a weird day. It involved a couple of  frantic embarrassing calls to the pediatrician, weaning off the swaddle (like a champ!), adventures in infant probiotics.

And apparently a lot of orange.

I won't even tell you what happened to his first outfit of the day. Unless you're my mom, and then you already had to sit through that fun play-by-play. 

Thanks for the romper, Auntie Co!

Off to watch the Fulham game!

Last night Chris Harrison tweeted about the Fulham match... it was like a twitter representation of our marriage. Worlds collided.

Thanks for the cool soccer sneaks, Tia Milady!

Cruz is obsessed with this orange cup. Let's be honest, I am too.

xo

Getting Pretty Comfortable Up Here On This Bandwagon

Or...

Can I bore you death with a talk about cloth diapers?

Last weekend two of my closest girlfriends were spending the weekend with us. We sat around in the living room chatting one morning, and later that afternoon I realized, 

"I talked to them about cloth diapering for thirty minutes. Thirty minutes. Do they even want to stay friends??"

Suffice it to say that there is very little I don't l-o-v-e about cloth diapers.

Get out of town. The diapers match his room!

Here are some other things that I've gotten on the bandwagon with:

Greek yogurt. That stuff is awesome!

Sleep training.  After several {rough} nights, I realized that I have spent weeks making excuses for why Cruz is no longer sleeping through the night. 

Time to get it together, people.

Our method du jour is The Baby Whisperer. 

Cruz hasn't slept through the night using it yet, but I am feeling much more in control of the situation. 

And I get it. Sleeping through the night is not necessarily the goal.

The goal is happy, healthy baby and a semi-coherent mum.

Cruz is allegedly taking a nap in this very crib.

Katy Perry. Cruz is a huge fan, so I have become one too. Weird, huh?

Meal replacement bars. I mean seriously... who is eating three great meals a day these days? If I have a bar for breakfast or lunch, I notice that I snack way less. This is good, because who has time to snack? Also, we are going to Hawaii in a few weeks. Are we crazy? Am I expected to wear a swim suit six months after giving birth? Don't get me wrong-- I am quite excited to go. But it wouldn't hurt me to keep hoppin' on the meal replacement bar bandwagon. Here are my faves

Well, I think that's about it for today! Wanna see a cute face? I thought you'd never ask!

What {We} Wore on Wednesday

Guess who I saw this morning?

A Chunk.

Where did all this delightful chub come from? He must be eating crackers in his crib.

This was our first all cloth diaper day... so fun! 

When you are five-and-a-half months old, the world is {such} an interesting place. Cruz loves to look out the windows!

Bride and Baby

Oh wait... did you ask what {we} were wearing today?

It's my fab new headband from WallflowersInc! And you can have one too. You can win the accessory of your choice by doing one or more of the following (each items gets you an entry into the drawing):

1. Leave a comment letting me know which accessory you'd like to win!

2. Become a follower of While You Were Napping

3. Like this post on Facebook

Seriously, you should enter. I got like a bajillion compliments on my headband today. And when this is your other accessory, that says a lot. 

For The March Bride

The invitations are sent.

Your dress is ready to be picked up.

Your mom is coming. Your bridesmaids are packing their bags.

After years of dreaming, after months of planning, you will walk down the aisle and say two words that will change your life. 

I do... promise to put your needs before mine.

I do... promise to put God before both of us.

I do... promise to trust that you'll do the same. 


I will stand up there for you, a witness to the miracle that occurs when you and he make a marriage covenant with God. 
Truly, it is a miracle.
Treat your marriage like a new baby... guard it, protect it, look at in wonder.
Tell strangers about your marriage and nearly burst with pride.
Google its milestones incessantly.
{nope, wait, that's me}


And because every brides needs something old and borrowed...
Love never gives up.
   Love cares more for others than for self.
   Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
   Love doesn't strut,
   Doesn't have a swelled head,
   Doesn't force itself on others,
   Isn't always "me first,"
   Doesn't fly off the handle,
   Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
   Doesn't revel when others grovel,
   Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
   Puts up with anything,
   Trusts God always,
   Always looks for the best,
   Never looks back,
   But keeps going to the end.


{with love}

What He Wore on Wednesday

Over the last few mornings, Cruz has woken up early, just to chat with us.

He sits in his crib, babbling, until I come scoop him up.

I really wanted to snap a picture of my happy morning baby.

But those jammies were in no state for photography, ma'am.

Hopefully this will tide you over.

What is with baby shirts with pockets? Should he be stashing his tiny cell phone in there?

Now there's a happy dude. Auntie Co gave these jammies to Cruz when we found out he was going to be a Cruz! The day before her birthday, we had found out that we were having a boy. When we arrived at her party, she had a pink present and a blue present for us. I think to a lot of surprise, we chose the blue! And these sweet jammies were inside. 

Goodnight, y'all!

On Love

There are moments in this life when my soul wants to burst with love. 

I sit here thinking of you, of what you mean to my heart and I can barely get the words out. 

Utterly overwhelmed by blessing and goodness and kindness. 

This little chunk is teaching me so much about love, but so many of those lessons are echos of what the people in my life have shown me over the years.

My dad... who lives 1 Corinthians 13. Who prays to truly love those he disagrees with. 

My mamae... the greatest cheerleader a gal could ever have. She makes me feel like I can conquer the world! As I learn to love my son, I am learning just how much you love me, and it is dizzying. 

Cruz's aunties... you know who you are. Your daily doses of honesty and affirmation keep me grounded and challenged. I am seriously blessed by your friendships. 

Tovi, Tovi. We have been together for almost eight years. You are my rock, my strength. You dream big for me. I could not ask for a better husband, best friend, partner and father for our baby. You love me with patience, hope, humor, forgiveness and grace. I love spending forever with you. 

CruzKid, you were born into family with flaws and quirks. But man oh man will we love you all the days of your life. 

What He Wore On Wednesday

This is my second week back at full-time hours at work. While not everything is how I intend for it to be, I think we're doing alright! Frankly, it's a pretty empowering feeling to know that I'm working thirty hours a week, raising my son, cheering for my husband, writing a blog, being a bridesmaid and occasionally going for a run (re: fitting into my bridesmaid dress!).

Just don't ask me about my kitchen floors or the last time I plucked my eyebrows.

Want to see some pictures of a chubby baby? I thought you'd never ask!

These dog jammies are the cat's pajamas.

Do you agree the babies in handmade beanies are the cutest thing ever?

Hanging out at work, chewing on stuff, making sure Mama stays on task!

We came home at lunch to change, play and then Cruz hangs out with his babysitter. Who knows how long he wore this outfit...

because when I came home he was wearing this one!

As I took this picture, this outfit was finished for the day. True story. So then we were off to Auntie Sarah's house!

And finished off the day with new striped jammers.

A Friday Afternoon

Cruz and I went to visit Carrie at Westmont College last Friday after work. The Mont is one of my most favorite places in the world. My four years there were some of my most formative and joyful. I take every chance I can get to go back up to campus. Unbelievably, our five-year reunion was last October, just one week before Cruz was born. 

{Apparently, I had passed the "looking cute while pregnant stage" sometime  during Homecoming.} So it was with great anticipation that I brought Cruz to his first campus visit.

It was a gorgeous day; something stolen from summer. Reliving our student days, Carrie and I spread a blanket out on the lawn and ate cupcakes. Back when we were students, we would have taken a nap in the sun, waking up only when it became dark and dewy and it was time for dinner.

We all have our hopes and dreams for Cruz. Cruz owns more soccer jerseys than is imaginable {we all want him to be a soccer player like daddy}. Cruz owns shelves and shelves of books {we all want him to be a voracious reader like mama}. Forget about trying to see who he looks like, we're always trying to figure out his personality and future based on Tovi and I. 

Cruz seems to like animals. They really capture his attention. He also likes looking in the mirror. And doesn't like smiling for pictures. 

Do I have a vain yet morose zoologist on my hands?

The truth is that I don't care. Cruz, your whole life we will say things like, "You're a soccer player, just like Daddy." "When you go to Westmont, you'll want to live in Armington, right? And be an RA just like Mama?" But don't listen to us.

You know my prayer for you-- That you will be healthy, happy, and strong in the Lord. That you will love God and love people.

Everything else is just cake.

But if you chose to eat that cake out on the Westmont lawn before taking a nap in the sun with your best friends, well, that's just fine with me. 

Advent When It's Advent

We sat together in a dark church, as bundled up as we could get away with in southern California. Baby in between us. Singing Christmas carols. Yes, it's finally Advent.

...a people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light...

Here he is, my darling boy, the culmination of a nine-month personal Advent. The time of watching and waiting is over. Sitting in church, my heart felt like it would burst with thankfulness. In my pregnancy there were months of darkness. Months of "Lord, help me get through this day, this hour." In the midst of one of the most humbling and trying seasons of my life, I was blessed to journey with a dear friend who was also experiencing her own Advent. Together we commiserated over the trying nature of Advent, grumbled about the darkness, but also looked forward to the celebration.

Cruz, I hope you experience the celebration of Christmas! I can't wait to raise you as a boy and a young man who knows the true meaning of Christmas, who understands the value of going through the darkness to get to the light.  I want to show you that in life there will be times of trial, of sadness, of frustration, but that the reward of walking through that darkness is light and joy and celebration. Celebrating you every day of your life has been such a sweet journey over these last few weeks. Each day you astound me, and I feel awe that God picked us to be your parents.

And my sweet friend. Your Advent is coming to an end. Soon we'll be counting weeks and days instead of months. And you better believe that we're ready to celebrate.