Five! A lovely round number. I can't even believe it.
I always think on birthdays and big events about life "before," or "when this all started," that type of thing. 5 years ago? Totally different jobs for both of us, different house, different pets, different selves.
Of course Beck has changed a ton in the last 5 years, but we've changed right along with her.
...
The birthdays are always the most nostalgic and the most fun all at the same time, I think. I wonder, were my parents ever sad or weepy on our birthdays? I don't remember them talking about it, but maybe they just didn't tell us. All day on Beck's birthday (and the day before at her party) I felt so nostalgic for the present and the last three years. HOW is she so big! Jay was talking to her about her vocabulary the other day and asked her how many she knew, and I was thinking....all of them. She can't really talk about engineering with much finesse, but she's fluent in English, which is strange and obviously a good thing.
...
We are preparing for our first school conference next week. 
What! That means the year is flying, all of that, but it also puts us in a whole new world of things we know nothing about.
...
Of course, God Forbid I actually have an image of said bed, because I'm no longer allowed to take photos of Beck, per her, this week.
...
Two and a half plus a month because time is escaping me, so rounding the bases toward three faster than I'd like to admit. Also messing with my mind, Beck will be a big sister at her next birthday in five seconds. 
...
Time slow down time slow down time slow down. 
Today, in honor of Maternal Mental Health week, I decided to share how things are going with this moody threenager we are raising. Beck these days, that sort of thing. Beck these days is trying and wonderful and confusing and maddening and adorable and HITTING, so that's cute. ...
"So, time for a little sister!" is the phrase most associated with a child turning two, I've learned. 
yep, those are baby Jordan's up there.
How, why, HOW is she two. I know, passage of time and 24 months and all of that, but it just doesn't seem like it's been long enough. It went way too fast, and seems way too early to be thinking about siblings for this child, even though I know that it's not necessarily. ...
....in very bad pictures. 
Beck turned two on Saturday! And Beck acted like she was two on Saturday.
There will be a separate About a Beck post with talk of development and how much I love her, but this is about the actual day. Beck actually spent the night before her birthday at my parents' house, so we had the morning to decorate and clean and cook for her party without her, which in fact makes for a much better party, honestly. We picked her up still in her jammies (it was a snow day), and she was SO excited to come home to "some new balloons!" I have no idea when we have had old balloons, but ok.
...
Ok so, wait for another edition of Lindsay Talks About Parenting As She Lives It For The First Time And Acts Like An Expert. 
Or at least that's what I assume people think when they read anything I write, ever. It's cool, though, I'm not trying to be an expert. I'm trying to share stories so that people get a version of parenting or living or cooking or toddlering, and then they can maybe use it for information later. A sort of "one person does things this way," if you will.
Beck, for her part, does things HER way when it comes to eating. In the picture above, for example, she is at our favorite taco place eating black beans and lime wedges while wearing goggles backwards because otherwise it's so hard to see. All three of those things were really important in that moment for the enjoyment of the meal, so fine. ...
It's almost bad as a recession, I'm telling you. 
I took this picture of Beck and Jay at the beach a few weeks ago, and it pretty much encompasses how she's been for the past month or so. Needy. Whiny. Clingy. Adorable.
...
One year ago I was posting about things being hard with a 6 month old trying to juggle everything in the world all at once. 
A year and a half. 
I can't believe it. It flew by and I feel like I've known her my whole life all at once. Most importantly, what did we DO WITH OUR TIME before we had Beck? Honestly. Also, in true I-have-a-little-kid fashion, this was supposed to be posted early this morning BUT Beck decided to empty the entire contents of her stomach in her high chair right as we were rushing around to get dressed and off to work. Of course. ...
Because it's Monday, because I have a long day of work, because my bff is a super talented photographer.
...
It feels less like parenting and more like "finally a bestie that has no choice but to hang out with me!"
I have issues from middle school, is what I'm trying to say. ...
I honestly don’t see the problem with children cursing. I have a filthy mouth and I’ve already resigned myself to the fact that I will likely have a child with a filthy mouth. I should preface this with the fact that I want my child to know how to curse properly. Cursing can be an easy escape for a person with a lack-luster vocabulary, but it can also be the pristine cherry on top of a beautiful sundae. “Mommy, I made a stinky in my pants,” is a fine sentence. However, “Mommy, I shit pants,” tugs on the heart strings a bit more. For starters it’s funny and secondly, it’s more accurate. A “shit” really lets you know what you are getting into. A “stinky” could be pants that have old mayonnaise on them, but a shit is a shit.
...
What seems like one million years ago we had our friend and life photographer (because we're like royals but also it's a convenience + talent thing) Michelle of Mira Photographs take one year pictures of Beck. She was just a few days shy of 1, and I did the whole cupcake + balloons thing, which I originally was going to skip because omg cliche, but then I realized that cliches as they relate to babies are great and also adorable. ...
Motherhood right now is....
