This Unfamiliar Road

Wow, 2014 was a great year! It's pretty awesome to think back to January 2014, when we decided it was time to add another member to our family....and by the end of the year, our little Bean was in our arms!
Here are my favorite memories of the year:

I had fun playing with my new mixer: Making cookies with the cutest taste-tester there was!

Recipe here

We experienced some crazy winter weather and I was stuck at work for 4 days straight. Thankfully, the husband was able to stay at home and work....and enjoy P's first snow!


 We traveled to Nashville to celebrate a dear friend and to help her prepare for the arrival of baby Scarlett!

Guess what! There are 2 preggos in this picture :)

In March, we shared some exciting news. Oh, and Peyton got her first haircut. :)


A trip to Chattanooga to visit our buddies kicked off springtime!



We celebrated Mother's Day and watched the baby bump grow and grow!




We celebrated the marriage of dear friends. And Peyton enjoyed her first gig as flower girl!



In June, we celebrated our sweet Peyton's 2nd birthday, and partied Mickey Mouse style!



As the days grew hotter, the belly grew bigger! We attended our 10 year high school reunion and I accepted a job promotion and returned to night shift!





I blogged about my new favorite recipe


We got really brave and decided to potty-train Peyton! Using the 3-Day method made it easier, but it was still a lot of work!


 I celebrated my birthday and counted down the days until Bean's arrival! (Little did I know those days would turn in to weeks!)


We welcomed our sweet baby GIRL into the world and became a family of four!






Fall was a busy time with the fair, pumpkins,Halloween and Thanksgiving! Being on maternity leave allowed me to really enjoy this season at home with my family.





We enjoyed a visit from the Michigan parentals and Ben competed in his first BBQ competition and won FIRST place for sauce!


Christmas was a blast this year!




We celebrated Ben's 30th birthday, then I rang in the New Year with my work family!

We recently celebrated Ben's birthday...it was the big one: 30! (Although if you know Ben, you've heard him claim he's "almost 30" for about 6 years....now he says he's "pushing 40).

I really wanted to have a big celebration for this milestone year, but Ben's wish was to put the party on hold until the spring so we can have a giant pig-pickin'. Since he's really enjoyed barbecuing, he would rather wait for nice weather and celebrate with a whole hog :) Everyone is invited!

So, I settled on a surprise birthday lunch and brewery tour with our closest friends. He had no idea, which made it all even better!

We started our afternoon at Wildflour and enjoyed The. Best. Sandwiches. Seriously, if you're in Alpharetta you must try!
Afterwards, we headed to Jekyll Brewery for some beer and bonding :) This brewery has been operating for just a few years, but they've grown quickly! The tour was funny and informative, the beer was tasty, but the companionship was the best part!






It was a nice way to celebrate Ben's 30th, and I am really looking forward to an even bigger party in the spring!

Another month of milestones! Here's what our little Liza has been up to!

Terrible lighting this month :(

Eating: Still about every 3 hours, with longer stretches at night. Although not on a 'clock' schedule, we have a very nice routine of eat, play, sleep and she's becoming a little more predictable!

Sleeping: Little Bean typically goes to bed around 8:30-9:00, wakes up at 3:30am to eat, then sleeps in until 9:00am. We had 4 nights in a row of 8-12 hours straight, so I'm hoping consistent sleeping through the night is around the corner!


Skills: She is great at manipulating toys (to make them rattle, play music, etc) and has really started to enjoy tummy time! Eliza rolled from tummy to back twice in a row this week :)
Her core strength continues to amaze me as she always seems to be doing crunches!

Happy Times: Most of her day! Bean's new favorite is to "sing-along"...especially 'Let it Go'. I have decided that she's an old man trapped in a baby's body. She loves to eat, is perfectly content just sitting in her chair, and LOVES watching football!

Unhappy Times: We have definitely discovered that overtired Eliza is no fun. She really only stays awake comfortably for 2 hours MAX, and often less. If she doesn't get adequate sleep, she's kind of a bear.


Stats: No doctor visit this month, but according to our home scale, she weighs 14.6 lbs. Quickly outgrowing those 3 month outfits and spends most of the time in 6 month clothing!


Liza Bean,

Time is so strange as a parent. Part of me feels like you've been in our world forever, but the other part cannot believe you are already 3 months old! I love that with good rest and a full belly, you are pretty much on auto-pilot. I'm learning so much from you about being content in this world :)
We love you sweet girl!