Monday, March 14, 2011

Who Am I?

No, this isn't going to be some philosophical or existential post. It's just me deciding to give my blog friends a glimpse at who I am in real life (whether you actually care or not).

What's your real name? Kristin

So, where did "Hope" come from? When we were trying, month after month, to conceive our little miracle, each month, hubby and I would joke that we had "high hopes for" whatever that month was. So, for example, "high hopes for May." It became a cute joke between us. And, thus, I became Hope. And I live in Virginia. Duh!

What's hubby's real name? Michael

What's Emma's real name? Emma (haha, you thought I'd been tricking you on that one)

Tell us about your family. I have two older brothers, and I'm the youngest, and only, girl. My parents divorced when I was very small, and I was raised by my mom who did an AWESOME job being both mommy and daddy to us. All my family (but not my dad), as well as hubby's family, live in and around the town we are moving to in Southwest Virginia. Hubby is an only child.

What's your personality like?
Hmm, not sure on this one. I am pretty type A - organized, detailed, and, unfortunately, a worrier. I always considered myself to be outgoing until I got to college. And realized that the "outgoing" kids were much crazier than me! I'm not an introvert but I don't love being around tons of people. I'm pretty mellow. A good night for me includes pizza, Doritos, and a good movie!

I LOVE sports! In high school, I played basketball, volleyball and tennis, and considered playing tennis in college. Definitely grew up a tomboy, having two older brothers. I'm hoping Emma will be, too! Though a tomboy who plays sports with cute bows in her hair :)

Where'd you go to college? University of Richmond. Go Spiders! Watch out NCAA b'ball tourney!

What do you do for a living? I have to preface this answer by saying I love politics. I moved to Washington, D.C. right after college to work on Capitol Hill for a Senator. From there, I lobbied for a health care association and worked on several campaigns (including a presidential in 2008). Right now I work for a public relations firm doing "competitive intelligence" for a Fortune 8 company. Thankfully I get to work from home! While this isn't a purely political job, it is stable and I appreciate not living election cycle to election cycle any more. I also have my own research consulting company on the side that keeps my hand in political campaigns.

About your blog...does your family read it? No, my family does not read my blog. I've mentioned a few times that I have a blog, and even printed out a blog post for a few of them to read one time. But I view this as my private forum to talk about frustrations, hopes, etc. Hubby doesn't even read it!

So that's probably enough info about me for the time being! Kind of feels good to "come clean!"

Friday, March 11, 2011

So, what's new?

The answer, not much.

Moving date is set for March 21st and not a single box has been packed yet. Hubby's work schedule is insane right now. He hasn't been home before midnight in the past two weeks, working weekends, and off to work first thing in the morning. Pretty poor timing. Hopefully we'll get a little done this weekend, and then the following weekend, both grandmas are coming up to watch Emma and help. So hopefully in the end, it will all get done before the moving truck arrives.

Lots of work going on at the new house. The entire place has been painted and new carpet has been laid in the bedrooms. It will probably look like a totally new place from the last time we saw it. Oh, and did I mention that we sold our condo? Hooray! Perfect timing! We'll close just a few days after we move out.

On the 1st birthday front, preparations are underway. We are planning a little get together with friends in Northern Virginia the weekend before we move to say good-bye and celebrate Emma's birthday (it will actually be the day of her birthday). Then, once we move, we'll do a party with family, which will be her "main" party.

And did I mention that we have 50+ family members in town between the two of us (well, mostly on hubby's side)? Obviously we can't do a party that big so there might end up being some hurt feelings. But I'm ok with that. Better that Emma have a fun, manageable party than her parents lose their minds and baby be overwhelmed. Just my opinion.

We are going to do a pink and green theme for the party, with some cupcake decorations sprinkled in. I've bought several things from Etsy for the party, including a Happy Birthday banner and some cute favors.

I also bought this little onesie for Emma to wear to announce our news about the new little one to our parents next weekend when they come to visit.

Guess that sounds like a little bit more than "not much" going on.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

11 Months Old

One teeny, tiny month short of a full year.















New things in the past month...
  • Knows what a cow ("ooooo") and dog ("oo, oo, oo") say, though they kind of sound the same
  • Loves to "honk" mommy and daddy's noses
  • Pats her head upon command
  • Waves at absolutely everything and everyone, which has gotten me into awkward conversations at restaurants and the grocery store where I want to say "No, ma'am, you aren't special, she waves at the wall..."
  • Standing up very steadily. Sometimes lets go and then realizes she's not holding onto anything, promptly falling to the ground
  • Just today started making the "m" sound. Thought this day would never come. Come on, girl, give me a good, loud "mama"!
  • Starting to turn into a cuddlebug after 11 months of pushing us away all the time
  • Pats us on the back when she's giving us a hug
  • Loves to blow kisses and once in awhile will give you a proper kiss on the lips
  • Cries when told "no" and seems to know when she's doing something she's not supposed to do
  • Shakes her head "yes" and "no" but not always at the right time
  • Drinks well out of sippy cup and eats most any table food you give her
  • Starts dancing as soon as music comes on (unfortunately she seems to be copying mommy and daddy who are not good dancers!)
Those are the highlights. I just can't believe the next month post will be the big 1 YEAR!