March GBOMB

G O O D
+We found out we're moving back to Arizona in May! We'll be in the Tucson area which is about two hours south of where our family lives.
+And with that news, we bought a house! It has tall ceilings, a beautiful kitchen, and it sits on almost an acre of land. We're hoping this is our forever home and I'm so excited to move in.
+Eliza smiles all the time now. It makes the fussing and whining a little more bearable when she's flashing smiles all the rest of the time.
+I think I forgot to mention this last month, but Taylor is potty trained! I was honestly afraid we'd never get to this point. Haha.

B A D
+We all got sick this month. Why is it that once you have kids, your home becomes a petri dish of illness?
+To find our house, we had to take a super fast trip to Arizona. We drove to Arizona on Friday night, house-hunted all of Saturday, then turned around on Sunday to drive home. The kids did great on the way there and the trip itself does not qualify for the "bad" category. The way back is what puts it here because it was so stressful. Our six hour drive turned into nine hours due to traffic, stopping frequently to get the newborn out of her carseat, and an unfortunate puking incident.
+Lately it has been a battle of the wills with Taylor. Overall Taylor is a great kid and has always been easy going. But he's been testing his limits recently to see what he can get away with and we haven't quite figured out what parenting techniques work for him.

O N  M Y  B R A I N
+How do I parent three kids? It's impossible to give them all the attention they need. Someone (mostly Eliza) always needs my focus. Hopefully as Eliza gets older and a little less needy I can balance everything better.
+Mom brain. I always thought it was a funny thing to say to explain away the effects of exhaustion on new moms, but there are actual studies that show a reduction in gray matter after pregnancy. I am feeling it so hard this time around. I will be in the middle of a conversation and stop mid-sentence because I can't remember a word. I will stand up to do something and immediately forget what I was headed to do. Sometimes I need to just stare off in the distance because my brain can't take anymore thinking. So if I ever look blanked face during a conversation, if I've ignored a text (or several), if I completely blown off something I told you I would do, take this as my blanket apology. I am slowly losing my mind and I blame it on my children. Haha.

February GBOMB

February went by in the blink of an eye. I guess that's what happens when you have a newborn. As quick as the month passed, I still managed to think of a few things for the GBOMB (the Good, the Bad, and what's been On My Brain).

G O O D
+Andrew was home on paternity leave. That meant lots of outings and activities and one-on-one playtime for the kids. He is the "fun parent".
+We took a quick Disneyland trip because my brother Carl and his wife Kara were there. It was a little colder than we expected and a bit rainy, but we were able to watch the new parade. It was also Eliza's first Disneyland trip at only two weeks old.
+We met up with our friends Michele and James at Laguna Beach. They have a son who is about the same age as Olive and we used to have play dates all the time with them when we lived in Chandler. It was fun to see them and cool to explore the tide pools at Laguna.
+Grandma Snow came to see baby Eliza and help with the kids. We always love when people come and visit us. I think the kids appreciated being spoiled by Grandma and getting out of the house with her most days she was here.

B A D
+Not as much sleep due to a newborn. She's been a pretty good sleeper so far on the nights she's not suffering from some extreme gas.
+We got sick at the beginning of the month - very briefly luckily. But that still meant a newborn with a stuffy/runny nose which is so sad.
+There's a lot of monotony with a newborn. Most of my day is spent sitting in the same chair and holding her. That is somehow extremely exhausting? She's starting to be awake more and give out smiles so hopefully she'll want to do more than be held all day in the next coming weeks/months.

O N  M Y  B R A I N
+I haven't had to parent three kids solo yet. I had Andrew home for the first three weeks and then my mother-in-law came for Andrew's first week back at work. I'm a little worried for how our days are going to go when I'm on my own. Check in on me on Monday to make sure I survive my first day alone.
+We're nearing the end of our time in California, but where we're headed next hasn't quite been decided. I'm anxious to find out what's in store for us.

January GBOMB

G O O D
+ELIZA'S ARRIVAL! The very best thing of January.
+Nesting finally kicked in once we got home from our Christmas break spent in Arizona and I got a lot of things done around the house. After not being very productive this entire pregnancy, it was nice to get some things off my long to-do list and done before Eliza showed up.
+All the Snows minus Michelle came to visit. We went to Disneyland and the beach and just had a great time. While at Disneyland, I started having contractions and thought that maybe Disney was going to put me into labor, but unfortunately they stopped later that night.
+My mom timed a visit to us perfectly. She said she was going to come the weekend before I was due just in case the baby came and she could be here to watch the kids while we headed to the hospital. I honestly thought the baby was going to stay put and her trip would be in vain. Luckily Eliza decided to be polite and make her appearance during my mom's trip.
+Watching Taylor and Olive meet their little sister was the best. They have talked and talked about how excited they were for Eliza to get here, but I was still a little worried (mainly about how Olive would react and adjust). Despite my worry, both have been great and are obsessed with "Baby Eliza".

B A D
+We were all a little sick the beginning of the month. Luckily, it wasn't too bad and we recovered fairly quickly. Now to stay healthy for the sake of little Eliza. We won't be leaving the house anytime soon to avoid another stint in the hospital like we had with Olive at 5 weeks old.

O N  M Y  B R A I N
+My labor experience didn't go exactly as planned. I feel a little cheated and wish I could go back and do a few things differently (namely getting the epidural sooner).
+Eliza, Eliza, Eliza. She's pretty much the only thing on my mind and has crowded all other January events and thoughts out of my brain so there is a high chance that I forgot stuff on this GBOMB.