thank you, baby girl.

Just wanted to take a little minute, while you're sleeping, to say thank you to my most cutest bestest little friend, baby girl.

Thank you for standing up in your crib - it makes me have to check on you more often and gives me more excuses to peak in on your pretty little face. Thank you for having a head full of brown hair - I'm able to have fun accessorizing you with bright bows. Thank you for crawling everywhere in record speed - you keep me on my toes and teach me that every second matters. Thank you for getting excited with your newest toys - you remind me of the joy that exists in learning something new. Thank you for giggling when I tickle your toes and make raspberries on your cheek - I would do anything just to hear your little giggle. Thank you for smiling at me and reaching out for me to pick you up - I'm pretty sure that's your way of saying, "I love you." And thank you for always giving me a new reason to say thank you - because these few reasons don't even scratch the surface of all my thankfulness for you.

::

done wishing.

We don't wish for things we have since we already have them.
We wish for things we don't have hoping we can one day have them.

But when most wishes take attention away from today and place emphasis on tomorrow,
prayers of gratitude and appreciation for today get lost in a wish or a hope for tomorrow.

Instead of wishing for more and feeling less, searching for blemishes I'm sure to find, and desiring that of another by ignoring all we have...today I'm surrendering - I'm done wishing. 

My grateful heart is appreciating where we are today and I hope & pray you and yours can follow suit and do the same.

::

crazy.

So, we did it. We moved. And I was correct in thinking it would be crazy. We packed up the remainder of our things (with the help of friends), dealt with some weird movers who complained about moving our stuff (is the definition of a mover not someone who moves things?), caravaned through the worst storm we've ever driven through (me with baby girl in the back seat and husband following behind driving a 26 foot UHaul -big kudos to Joseph), arrived at our family's house at almost 10 that evening (Thank you, God, for safe travels), where we will be staying till we find a place. Crazy. 

What's also crazy is the organization of our stuff. I'm an organized and neat person, or I like to think I am. But if I'm ever messy, it's usually a very organized mess. Well, this move has served me a slice of humble pie, in the nicest of ways. I attempted to pack in an organized fashion, packing boxes according to rooms and type of possession. But about half way through packing, I realized I had very limited time because my 4month old required constant attention, so instead of an organized and neat packing experience, we ended up with a chaotic shove whatever you can in whatever box it could fit in packing nightmare. Needless to say, your guess is as good as mine as to which box my shoes are currently lounging in. Maybe I can rock it out barefoot for a while? Yeah, maybe not.

And baby girl turned 4 months on Saturday, and you should know what I'm about to say...Crazy. She's babbling, discovering her feet, and almost rolling over. Everyone always says enjoy every minute because they grow up so fast. That lovely advice can become somewhat redundant, until you realize every bit of it is completely true. Not only did she turn 4 months, but with the move and her growth spurt, she said goodbye to her bassinet and hello to her big girl crib. Somewhat depressing, I'm not gonna lie. But, as emotional and reflective as I am about her Speedy Gonzalez growth, it never dismisses the fact that I am incredibly excited to journey with her and witness all the things she's yet to discover about herself and life. Like watching her find her feet the other day was the cutest thing ever...I mean, I wish adults could get a kick out of realizing we have feet we could play with, but that would be incredibly strange and grossly awkward.

I would love to post some 4 month pictures, not taken with my blackberry, but that would require me to have my camera usb in hand, and as you could only imagine from the rest of this post, I'm not entirely sure where it is at the moment. Surprising? Not so much, but completely and 100% crazy.

big girl crib.

babbling away.

:: victoria marie

goodbye: part 2

Off we go...

Tomorrow morning we say goodbye to Tallahassee. It's crazy. Really, really crazy. I'm forcing myself to write this tonight, despite the fact that we still have SO much to do and SO much more to pack. But I'm making myself sit here and write this because so often we get caught up in going, going, going and doing, doing, doing that we don't ever stop to think about or embrace what's happening until it's already happened. Well, {deep breath}...we're leaving Tallahassee. Crazy daisy.

This place, this city, and this community has meant so much to us and our little family. So much so, that if it weren't for this place, this city, and this community, our little family wouldn't have come to be. And for that grand circumstance, I am forever indebted to this land of Southern charm and natural beauty. 

Are we excited for our new adventure that puts us closer to family, not to mention the beach? Totally. As per goodbye: part 1 - goodbye's can most certainly be good. And even though it's a good move, we're leaving with grateful-for-Tallahassee tattooed hearts. You don't ever really realize when you go away to college the huge potential you have to explode with discovery and growth. But Tallahassee has given me wings, as gross and cheezy as that sounds. I thought I had it all figured out when I first moved here, little did I know the plans God had in store for me on these Spanish moss draped hills.

It's even harder leaving the place baby girl was born. Mom and Pop moved from my birthplace when I was 11 months old, so I obviously had no recollection of my baby days there. But West Point, NY has been and still remains my absolute favorite place in this whole wide world. Not only was I born there, but Mom and Pop met there...sound familiar? Well, I wonder if Tallahassee will be her favorite place since it's the same story for her and Tallahassee.

I really could go on and on about Tallahassee, how wonderful it is, all the people and places we'll truly miss (especially our 1st home as a little family) but we're exhausted, sweaty, and really should probably get back to work...as enticing as that sounds. We'll make it exciting by toasting to our new adventure while recapping our favorite Tally memories.

So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you Tallahassee. You've given me experiences that stretched and challenged me, a community that was a home away from home, friends with my best interest at heart, great people to look up to, a deeper more appreciative faith, a love and marriage I couldn't live without, a daughter more precious than words could ever say, and the woman in the mirror who stumbled upon the person she was created to be. I owe you big
Talla-classy....I owe you big.

job well done, Tally. job well done.

 :: victoria marie