10 months

She's 10 months old today.  While her growth has hit a plateau, her kissable cheeks have not.

I love her little cheese ball smile.  It is hard to capture because she is a stingy smiler for the camera, and does not like to hold still.

16 lbs 4 oz of Hartley Lane.  She is a mover.  Crawling, bear crawling, crawling while holding a toy in her hand, 

pulling to stand.  She hasn't started cruising along just yet, but it'll happen soon.  This girl is determined to keep up with her 3 older siblings.

  

 She is still just stuck on the word dadadadad, makes lots of noises, but I'm still holding out for the glorious moment she says mama.  

When she starts getting tired, she makes lots of noises.  Just opens her little mouth and says ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, continuously.  The noises do not cease until she is asleep.  This often happens in the car.  Kip and Jovie will say, "mom she is making her tired noise."  Then they give me the play by play of her falling asleep pattern…mom she is getting a bit more quiet…mom her eyes are closing…mom she is sleeping.

She puts everything, EVERYTHING in her mouth.  Drives me wild.  I'm a busy sweeping fool because of this little creature.  Our house has never been kept up so well before.

She's got petite little feet, just like her big sister.  Size 2.

And her hair is growing in beautifully.  Jovie insists that most days Hartley needs a bow, because Kip keeps referring to her as a him/he.  Despite our every attempt to correct him, he just doesn't grasp the whole him/her he/she concept yet.  He does know boy vs girl.  Jovie thinks if she has a bow on, it'll "help Kip to know Hartley is a her/she"

Here we are, just 2 months shy of one, and I am a mess about my last baby being so close to this milestone…life is so, so sweet with a baby in it.

Happiness at the park

Scooter crew: Loprinzi boys

OSSL #7

Life lately:

Games and books: He is a little game whiz, lately it is Uno, Skip-bo, and sequence with Ryker.  As a game lover, we just get each other.  I sure love that he loves to play these with me!  Also, he's been reading Harry Potter books, working on #6 which I'm sure he'll finish in a week just as he has all the other ones. 

Kids everywhere: Paul and I joke that every square foot of our current house has someone living it it.  Somedays, most days, it feels that way.  I snapped these quick picture as proof.  Truth is, though, that these four are usually always up in each others business.

and girls in matching clothes - Jovie's choice.  Truth.

Couch snuggles:  The fantastic 4 awaiting smoothie-popcorn-movie night.  The flick tonight - Big Hero 6, which was a big hit with these crazies.  And this picture, so much love right there on my couch!

Genetics: Daddy-daughter not thrilled with the photo op.  Same, exact, unenthusiastic, leave-me-the-heck-alone-smirks x2.  Just moments before they were laughing while doing their animalistic growls and tongue clicks at each other.  Weird duo, those two.

Mothering: Little miss wanna be independent randomly will come crawl into my lap for some reassurance snuggles.  This 9month age, so ridiculously fun.

 Photo credit: Kip.  That kid is the master of sweet mom-baby moments lately.  Swoon.

Position change

I found an internal job through the corporation I work as a hospitalist NP.

I haven't been at my current job for 6 months, and that was the requirement needed to apply for internal transfer positions.

But NP jobs in our city don't pop up very often.  That paired with my current nightshift work schedule: 7days on 7 days off, and the 1 hour 15 minute one way drive each way to work was, well getting exhausting.  An unbearably, not safe to drive, can't continue this for much longer sort of exhausting.  So I had to find a new job.

I wrote, what I hoped would be a convincing plea, to go along with my transfer request.

It was denied.

I was bummed. 

But the type A personality + the deep desire to be wife/mama told me to keep pursuing despite this big red DENIED stamp posted across my transfer request.

I figured out who the go to person in charge of transfers was, and contacted her via email.

The email must have been semi-convincing enough, as she told me "I'll allow the transfer request, but this by NO means guarantees a transfer"

The next day I got a phone call to set up an interview for the job I put the transfer in for.

The day later I "interviewed."  Which was more of like - a "so, you're licensed, you have the 720 hours required by the state of Mississippi to practice at facility without a physician present, so…when can you start?"

I did a jumping heel click on my way out to the parking lot.  They told me it would take about a week for the compensation department to work up my offer.

And exactly 7 days later, I got the phone call.  They offered $2 less per hour than I make, I said I was extremely interested but would appreciate if they could make this a lateral position change.  She said she'd talk to her people.

and today.  Today.  I accepted.  I'm moving to urgent care, which is really more of like a little clinic type of setting.  I'll be seeing patients age 18 months and up, diagnosing simple things, and getting paid exactly what I got paid with the hospitalist group to work.  and I am just.so.over.the.moon.excited!  I can hardly stand it.  This right her, this is why I struggled through grad school.  I honestly just landed my dream job, and I couldn't be more thrilled.

I am most excited for the perfect work-life balance.

Huge perks: no holidays.  For the first time since I started my career in healthcare I won't be working holidays.  Also, it is day shift.  I'll work an alternating schedule of 3 days on then 2 days off.  Then work two days and have 3 days off.  Repeat times infinity.  The hours are 9am-8pm Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm Sat, and 1-6pm Sun.

Also, it is just 10 minutes from my house.  10 minutes.  I've never worked a job since I've been married that was only 10 minutes away from my house.

No I just wait for the official transfer date that my old boss and new boss will have to agree on.

Step one complete in the mission to make life in Mississippi sweeter.  Coming soon…step two.

Bloom where you land!

 

OSSL #6

Our simple little life #6, their faces.

Their goofy little smirks, that just bring me so much joy.

 "this is the face I make when I can't find my kitty, Star!"- Jovie

 "this is my face if I was a cat."- Kip

 "This is the face I make when I'm crazy" - Ryker.  And the photobomber in this picture is just the icing on the cake.  I love being a boy mama :).

 "this is my face when someone farts." - Kip

"This is my face when I want ice-cream" - Jovie

and this is the face she does most of the time lately, girlfriend is busy with raspberry blowing

9 months

9 months has been a huge explosion of change for this little lady.  She's really crawling around.  Thanks to our hardwood and tile flooring throughout our house she's taken to bear crawling.  Her little butt perked up in the air paired with her always sock less feet is just about the cutest thing ever.  She is NOT a fan of hardwood floors, especially when her arms fail her and her face meets the floor.  Girlfriend wants to keep up with her siblings, and wears herself out.

She also has a tooth that came in this last month, and is working on #2.  Her tongue is wild exploring the new white mountains erupting in her mouth.  

 She shakes her head, like when you shake your head no.  Only her head shaking is not for any particular reason, other than to just be crazy.  We say Hart, shake your head and she just goes wild.  She also is mastering the wave, and has started high fives and giggles in delight with the noise her hand slapping yours makes.

In typical babyness, everything, I mean everything, goes in her mouth.  We've had to up our anty in cleanliness around here, which has been hard because this whole adjusting to not having carpet sure makes clean up a bit more lengthy.  Running a vacuum over carpet was sure a lot faster than sweeping hardwood.

 She likes balls, cars, and her stuffed Hartley puppy.  She also does a fantastic job tolerating the bow headbands that Jovie and me put on her perfectly shaped noggin.

 Despite my every effort to partake in the "back to sleep" always method, she is a belly sleeper.  I know there is absolutely nothing I can do about her sleeping style as she instantly rolls to her belly when laid in her crib.  So I pray, and hope, and try not to let the drilled in studies I've read about infant sleeping habits worry me to sleepless oblivion.  Lord protect this little lady and keep her safe, always.

 Her once fiery redhead has turned strawberry blond.  The sun really brings out the redness, but I have a feeling she'll sport strawberry blond locks like her oldest brother Ryk.

 and finally - her sexy baby pose.  Not sure what it is about, but she does it a lot, and it cracks me up.

 I spy a little lady who is starting to attempt pulling up.  WAY TOO EARLY little one, slow down.

A mama and her girls

When I was only a mama of boys, I thought there is nothing greater in the world than this.  

And there isn't anything greater, but there is something equally as great - 

Being a mama of girls.

And how lucky am I to get this experience.  Opposite gender, but similar ages.  Above Ryker was just shy of 4 years old, and Kip was 9 months and in this picture below Jovie had just turned 4, and Hartley is 9 months old.

This picture needs a description because the moment was just so, so good.  I was sitting in a sun spot, which felt much needed after a week of snow/ice, reading to Jovie.  A Biscuit book, one of the 20 she adores currently.  Hartley was just soaking me in.  Ryker was laying on his belly, 100 pages deep into his next Harry Potter book (the fourth one) that he just bought today.  Kip was busy with my camera taking in the world one shutter release at a time.  The usual busy-ness of our house was so calm and peaceful for about 25 whole minutes, which is practically a miracle.  Then Kip managed to capture this photo, while he had the camera upside down.  His belly giggles and his description of the picture - "all the girls are on their heads, and Hartley is gonna eat mom's face off"got the boys all rowdy.  The way I see this image though - mama of her two girls.  Such glory.

Two types of mothering, they are so different and yet so very much the same.  I feel so thankful that I get to be a mama of two boys and two girls.  

It stretches me, more than I ever knew I could be stretched.

Date day

I sent her a text a week ago, "can you watch our crew on Sunday from noon -5:30?"

She says "Of course!"

I feel a twinge of guilt.  Taking 4.5 hours out of our day we could be spending as a family of 6, to focus on time with my Mr.  

I had a week to cancel, but instead I just went with it - Date day was marked on the calendar.  He was so very excited.

I told him I felt guilty, he knew I felt guilty about it.  In typical Paul-like manner, "we don't have to go, honey.  I know you want to be here, with them."  I could see it in his eyes, the desire to have some solo, grown up conversation, but the empathy to know how hard it is for me to juggle this all.

Role overload is what it is called.  The deep desire to be amazing with every role I've been gifted with.  Somedays it is hard to find that perfect work-life, wife/mama/NP balance.  

I'm forced by the whole full time job thing to show up for work when I'm scheduled.  So on my days off, it is hard to pry myself away from home.  From them.  But almost 10 years ago this Mr. gave me a shiny married ring, and 15 years ago he crept forever into my heart, and just as much as I need to nurture and love on our littles - I need to focus on nurturing and loving my Mr even more.

And you know what, there is absolutely nothing selfish about that.    

So yesterday we enjoyed being P+K.  We deserved it, they deserve to grow up around parents who are over the moon in love, and you know what…when we were out I didn't feel one second of guilt.  At all.

Lunch at Newks - overpriced sandwiches, soda, and chips in a table squeezed between two other large groups.  Not an ideal setting for most out on a date, but for us, the calm of not feeding 4 littles, or telling them to use inside voices, or to sit up, or to stop the potty talk…yeah, this middle squeezed table was just fine.

Then a movie - Focus.  So good to snuggle up to my Mr. for the duration of the movie.

Finally, the best part of date day.  5 miles of trail exploring, puddle jumping, and rain running.  A very Paul and Kristina like adventure, just him and me, together.  Just like back home, but here.  In that soggy moment, I realized that maybe, just maybe Mississippi isn't so terrible.  Now it isn't Oregon, but it isn't terrible either.  And this is a good place to be at.