Night Shifts & Snack Swaps: Team Dannen in Action

 Before Ariella arrived, I thought my husband and I made a pretty solid team. We'd tag-team chores, road trips, and binge watching crime shows like Criminal Minds. But now? Now we're co-captains of a tiny, wiggly, strawberry-blonde boss baby who calls the shots with every coo, cry, and fart. And somehow, we've never been more us. 

There are bleary-eyed diaper changes where one of us is half-asleep, holding wipes in one hand and coffee in the other. There are bottle handoffs like Olympic baton passes. There are 2 a.m. dance parties that look more like zombie shuffles but count as cardio in my book. We've learned how to communicate in eyebrow raises, sleepy grunts, and the occasional whispered "your turn." 

But in the chaos, there's also something magical. 

Watching my husband become a dad has melted me in ways I wasn't ready for. He's goofy and gentle and absolutely wrapped around Ariella's tiny fingers. And me? I've grown into this mama bear who can function on almost no sleep but still tear up every time our daughter smiles in her sleep. 

We're not perfect. We're a work in progress. But we're in it-together.   From tag-teaming bedtime to figuring out how to keep our relationship a float when the baby monitor is blinking and we both smell like spit-up. 

So this little corner of my blog? It's for us. The parents behind Ariella. The ones who are learning every day how to love, lead, and laugh through this wild beautiful season. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, my co-captain just whispered the three most romantic words I've heard today: "You nap first."