How did you name Sophie?

I've been holding on to the name Sophie for years--I always loved it and thought it would be such a lovely name for a little girl. Her middle name is Ray, same as Rob's. I love that it's unique but also a little classic at the same time! There were a few other names we had in mind and waited pretty much until her birthday to pick one--we kept going back and forth and never really settled on one (we always just referred to her as "Baby" before she was born). Then one day, maybe 3 or 4 weeks before she was born, Rob said "I think I like Sophie" and it just stuck. It was a sweet few weeks of calling her by her name before she actually arrived, and it just felt right.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I'm turning 30 this year which means in 5 years I'll be 35! Holy cow. In 5 years I would love to be back on the east coast (sorry California friends and family!), still writing, taking care of my kid(s), and hopefully still teaching barre here and there! I'm loving life right now and can't imagine it any other way, but I do think living closer to family and friends in a home and neighborhood that we love is my number one dream/goal for now.

How has your anxiety been since Sophie was born?

Funny you should ask--the other day I was bragging (to myself) about how awesome I've been feeling when it comes to anxiety, but then this week it came out of nowhere and hit me like a ton of bricks. I think overall, having a baby has made me a little less anxious because you can really only worry about so many things, and it's kind of taught me to prioritize my fears a little bit. But life happens and I still see myself getting irrational about certain things and that's always frustrating--to watch it happen and recognize it but still not be able to talk yourself out of it. 

How did you and Rob decide how to handle visitors after Sophie was born since you live far away from immediate family?

Such a good question and I would love to hear other people's answers to this one too (even if you live in the same city as your family)! We knew we wanted a little bit of time on our own once Sophie arrived, so we didn't try to plan my mom's flight around our due date or anything. She was due November 21 (and ended up being born that day), so my mom booked a flight for December 1. If I went super late maybe my mom would have been there for the birth, but I kind of always felt like she was going to be right on time or even early, so we felt good about having some time at home to figure stuff out on our own before we got any help.

I just really didn't want my first experience of taking care of a baby to be with an extra set of hands, if that makes sense--that way we were able to look forward to visitors but still know we could handle things on our own when they left. After that we tried to space people out so we didn't feel like we were entertaining or constantly having people stay with us, so my brother came a few weeks later for the holidays, then Rob's parents in January, then some friends and my dad in February and March. We always had about a week in between visitors and it was really great.

That's all for now! If you have more questions for me, feel free to leave a comment or send me an email and I'll be sure to include it in my next Q+A post.

It's been a long week and it's only Wednesday. Monday was a mess of sitting in traffic, missing a 9:40 appointment and instead being a 10:10 walk in (but I finally got my TSA precheck stuff done--it only took me a year or two), and spending hours calling a bunch of different doctors’ offices in an attempt to not get lost in the shuffle; being bounced back and forth from one department to another. One of those days where you just pour a second cup of coffee, leave some voicemails, count your blessings, and try to focus on the good stuff.

Our backyard is like this little magical haven and we keep discovering fruit trees as the seasons change--I'm pretty sure we have peaches or apricots or something that I didn't realize was there when we moved in.

I absolutely hate being late to anything—if I’m not at least 10 minutes early I feel like I’m running behind—but the combination of having a baby and living in an incredibly trafficky area has relieved me of that obsession a bit. I still like to be on time, don't get me wrong, I'm just not waltzing in 20 minutes early for anything anymore like I used to.

For the first time since we had Sophie, I feel like we're looking forward to things other than visitors. Rob is taking another month of paternity leave in a few weeks, which is going to be so amazing--I'm so glad he got to spread out his leave so he can spend time with Sophie in such different stages. The newborn stage was such a fog and we were so tired, just trying to get by a lot of the time, but now she's on more of a schedule and is just so fun. We also have a trip to Virginia and North Carolina planned for the end of May, and I can't wait to spend some time in Richmond, Roanoke, and Charlotte with so many of our best friends.

I woke up this morning and took Ender on a little two-mile run and it was one of those mornings that's chilly but sunny and you just know it's shaping up to be a gorgeous spring day. It's been a while since I shared some music with you guys so I felt like making a list of warm-weather tunes I can't help but play on repeat this time of year. Most of them bring me back to my college days, specifically my junior year right after Rob and I started dating, when I'd drive (or run!) the 6 miles from my campus to his with the windows down, girlfriends often in tow, blasting guilty pleasures like Love Story.

• Fool for Love, Lord Huron
  • This song plays at the end of a Girls episode and I loved it so much I had to look it up, and I've been listening to it regularly ever since (probably at least a year). It's so folksy and fun.
• Love Story, Taylor Swift
  • Oh, Taylor. This song drives me nuts but I love it so much--mostly for the memories it brings, I think. My roommates and I used to listen to this so much (the whole album just reminds me so much of college), even though it's obvious Taylor has never read Romeo and Juliet. (I picture Kelly Kapoor in The Office saying "...the Claire Danes one.")
• Good Help (Is So Hard To Find), Death Cab for Cutie
  • Death Cab is my all-time favorite band and all of their albums remind me of whatever season they came out in. Kintsugi was released in March of 2015 and it brings back memories of spring in Charlotte, living in our South End apartment and driving to the Dairy Queen in Plaza Midwood for ice cream with the sunroof open, feeling that southern humidity even at 9PM. 
• Near to You, A Fine Frenzy
  • This album used to me my running music--I liked how slow most of the songs were, which always helped me pace myself for longer runs. It also reminds me of being a heartbroken teenager who thought the wrong guy was The One--haven't we all been there? What a sweet feeling it is to look back and be thankful that certain things didn't pan out the way we thought we wanted them to.
• Don't Leave Me [Ne Me Quitte Pas], Regina Spektor
  • One of the best Regina songs, in my opinion. So bouncy and fun to listen to. I love her. (Fun fact: Sophie was almost Regina for like two weeks.)

Do you have favorite songs that change with the seasons? I want to hear them!