Staying distracted.

 Even before I started having health problems and landed myself in the hospital all weekend I was working on this post. However with a great need to keep my mind distracted I decided to finish this post. I think that if I blog about a few goals I have for the summer it will help keep me accountable to then blog about them and prove I actually completed them.
Right now I am currently on a few pain meds and feeling a little crummy so if at the end of this post nothing makes sense, that is why.
:) 

Summer Goal list

Work on Projects:

I'm a sucker for fun DIY projects but the biggest procrastinator and also have no crafting ability. So even though I see things which I love and would love to do, I rarely ever complete a project. So, this brings me to goal #1 for my summer. Finish a project.
With the help of some friends and of course Pinterest here are a few things I would like to do.

 I would very much like to try some of these for my kitchen table. I just love bright and fun colors so I will probably pick a few of my own colors to match my kitchen, yellow of course being one of them and add a little excitement to the place.

 Next on the list are these really fun frames that I want to hang in our bedroom and or possible on a blank wall by our stairs. I haven't decided exactly on colors or placement yet but I am very excited to see what I can come up with. 

 Next will be these extremely fun DIY colorblock tees. I am extra excited about this because one of my best friends has already completed this project and has promised to help me with it. Head over to 1508 Grace to see Bethany's post! She is fabulous at getting things done and being organized. So if I had to bet that any of these projects will get done it will be this one, because I know Bethany will help keep me accountable to do it.
:)

Cook More, eat better

Even before my gall bladder landed me in the ER this weekend I had plans to become better this summer/fall about menu planning and cooking more for my family. I do love to cook, but again am just not very good at being organized and trying new things. Honesty..new recipes scare me, there is just so much that could go wrong and then you are stuck with eating something you hate. My wonderful hubby will eat anything..and never complains about a single thing I fix for him but who wants to waste money on food that won't taste good. I wanted to eat healthier anyways, so now my gall bladder ( or in a few hours the lack there of) will be good motivation to get my act together and take care of myself and my sweet family.

Of course I also have to work on my baking skills as well. I am not a fan of baking and that scares me even more than cooking does. So who do I use as my inspiration on this?
My sweet friend Beth. Let me tell you, this girl can bake. She has made me some of the most delicious desserts. One of my favorites? Her Maple Walnut Granola. Please do yourself a favor and head over to Beth's Blue Plate and look at all her yummy food.

Make Memories

This may seem like a silly goal or even like common sense but with Tanner now in our life Kevin and I want to be very intentional about making memories with him this summer. Even though he is small. 

Another one of my sweetest friends Emily, is always so good about being intentional with her life. She is very good about not wanting this life to pass her by without making the most of it.

At our last Bible study (which included all of the friends above) Emily and her husband introduced the idea of making a Family Mission Statement characterized around your family. They went on to explain that it could be anything you and your family decided but encouraged each couple to type it up and somehow hang it in your home so it is a constant reminder everyday.
Kevin and I have many ideas and have been trying to come up with something. We know that making memories will be included. We want Tanner and any future children to grow up knowing that we loved spending time with them. This is important to both of us. You should probably stop over at Emily's blog to see how cute her family is. I should warn you though, if you take one look at her precious daughter you will never be the same.

Hopefully you will be seeing blog posts throughout the summer/fall with completed goals and fun pictures to prove it.

1 Month

So I realize I'm a few days late but better that than never, right?1? 

Our tiny, squishy little baby is 1 month old. What? I can hardly believe it.

Weight:10. 2oz (As of Monday)

Height: 21"

  All in all, I think Tanner is doing really well. He is still getting up every 2 to 3 hours to eat but thankfully at night he goes right back to sleep after he nurses. Usually I am up with him 40 minutes max before setting him back in his crib. During the day is a different story, he has been spending more and more time being awake but still takes at least one short nap after each feeding. I was hoping he would start going longer between feedings at night but I guess he is a hungry boy!

Things we want to remember from month 1:

This boy smiles all day long. 

From the time I get him in the morning till the time I lay him down at night he gives us the biggest grins.
It is by far one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

He loves the fan.
 As in Kevin and I take turns standing underneath it just so he can tilt his head back and stare, and stare and stare..really people, he loves it.

He is completely outgrown all newborn clothes and is in size 1 diapers.
He is growing so fast.

His belly button is STILL not healed, this kid has seen the doctor more in his 1 month than I think I did through my whole pregnancy.
Thankfully the surgeon thinks it is almost healed and we are praying he won't need surgery! 

He is very hot blooded, if you swaddle him too tight or try to contain his arms he gets very angry.
Being in a onsie and a light blanket is his favorite. 

He had his first bottle on Mother's Day, it is nice to know that other people can feed him too.

His favorite way to be snuggled is right up on your chest.

 

He loves to look at everything.

 He is so alert and always wants to know what is going on.

Since we had to make the icky trip to Madison to visit the surgeon we decided to celebrate his 1 month birthday by picking up Aunt Ellen and going to the zoo. As you can see he wasn't impressed.

Tanner  has changed our life. 

Kevin and I can't imagine what we ever did without him and we both feel so honored to be his parents. 

This last month has been one of the hardest and exhausting of my entire life, but it has also been filled with more joy than I can write in words. 

Watching our families fall in love with him has been so fun, this little boy is blessed far more than he knows!

the one who made me a mother

this beautiful, squishy, almost always alert boy has captured a piece of my heart, God chose to give me this baby at this time.

Tanner has made me a mother.

You always hear other moms saying "watch out, it all goes so fast."

So when my sweet friend Kayla and I were planning his newborn shoot my only request was

 "I want to remember him just as he is"

 That way when he is a grown man but still my baby I will remember the perfect features of his face and the way I felt these first few weeks. 

I want to remember it all.

I know I will forget, I know he will continue to grow faster then I can keep up and soon these sweet memories of his tiny body and long nights will just be a memory. 

This is why I love photos. Because they capture the things that sometimes the mind forgets. Though I'm certain my heart will always hold on to these precious memories I know that these photos will be such a treasure when this tiny baby is no longer tiny.

 they will help me to never forget what it felt like to be a new momma. 

These photos will help me remember what it took to soothe him after changing his diaper nearly wrecked his universe

they will help me remember sitting in his room at all hours of the night watching him drift into sleep.

they will help me remember what it felt like to bond and fall completely in love with my little boy

I am so thankful I have these precious photos because even though they are just pictures, they are memories I will treasure forever. 

This baby has turned me into one big pile of mush.

being a mama..

I knew things would be different once our sweet boy was born.

I knew I would be changed forever.

I knew that I loved him from the start.

But I had no idea how much joy I would feel the instant they placed him on my chest. 

Right now Tanner Vincent is currently snuggled up with his Daddy and this is the first time I've been on an actual computer since he was born. Even with him being such a good and easy baby this new adjustment is quite the whirlwind. Trying to find time to do anything but take care of him or try to catch a snooze is pretty hard. I'm so thankful for a husband who has been more of a servant to me and Tanner than I could ever express. I would not have survived this last week without Kevin. We have also had tons of help from our family and friends and I am so thankful to them as well. Basically, Tanner has no clue how loved he is and how blessed he is by the greatest support group ever. 

He was born Saturday, April 13th at 9:28 pm. He came into the world wide awake and alert. He loves to be awake and look around and its so fun to see how alert he is.
I really wanted to blog my whole birth story, and I have started to journal it so I don't forget but the more I look at my son the more I realize how he got here really doesn't matter to me. Though I didn't plan to be induced, I didn't plan to get an epidural, and I didn't plan to push for over 2 hours, the journey of that day brought me one of the greatest gifts of my life. The moment they laid that 8lb 2.7oz baby boy on my chest will be a moment I will never forget. Kevin and I were instantly amazed at how our world was turned upside down and being parents has been such a joy.
It's hard, and so exhausting but I've never been more happy to be tired. 

So for now we are just taking one day at a time, getting lots of advice and enjoying every little snuggle we get. I'm not sure I've ever been more amazed at the glory of our God and am so thankful to Him for this incredible blessing. I can't even believe that the little guy on my husbands lap was the one who was growing in my belly for over 41 weeks. 

Thank you for all the well wishes and support, we are so blessed by all of you!

Nearing the end.

 I was thinking  back when we took this picture and I wrote this post about the news of our sweet baby. At that time we had no idea what journey we were about to embark on and really, we still don't. I had no clue that I was about to endure 25 weeks of morning <all day> sickness or that in the end, I would come to find out that pregnancy was just not my favorite thing. I had no idea what it felt like to feel my baby move inside of me, or that the little person inside my tummy was a little boy who would be active and healthy.
The day we took this picture we were just filled with joy and excitement, but also a lot of fear. There were so many unknowns, and all we really knew was that God has just blessed us and we were so thankful for that.

So here we are, almost 39 weeks pregnant and that sunny summer day feels like a life time ago. On that day I couldn't imagine what it would be like to be this close to my due date and now I can't believe we will get to meet out sweet boy soon. 

So though pregnancy is not what I always "imagined" I don't regret a single day of it.
And I have to admit, I'm going to miss looking down and seeing my precious boy wiggle around, I will miss his strong kicks and having him with me at all times.
I can't wait to meet him,but as uncomfortable as I am, I will miss my still growing belly and I will treasure the time I had with him always.
As I've been saying to keep me going, I will never be pregnant with him again, so I'm doing my best to enjoy the last few weeks.

 

 

 

 

 You will be here soon baby, and we couldn't be more anxious to meet you.

 As always, a HUGE thank you to my friend and photographer. She has been there since the beginning and continues to capture the most precious moments of my life. 

Kayla Sue Photography

38 weeks!

Here we are.

38 full weeks of pregnancy. Some days I feel like I've been pregnant my whole life and others I can't seem to fathom the fact that I am almost done. 

Today is: March 20, 2013

How far along: 38 weeks

Weight Gain:  About 25lbs as of today!

Baby is the size of: A watermelon! 19-21" and 6-8 lbs. My midwife said she is guessing he is around 7lbs, but she said there is really no way of knowing!

What's going on with the babe: Baby boy could have about an inch of hair! (Which is so fun to think about!) He has a firm grasp, and his organs have matured and are ready for life outside of the womb.

What's going on with the mama: Basically what every woman at 38 weeks of pregnancy would say.. Uncomfortable. Walking, sitting, lying down, it's all the same. Everything hurts and everything feels sore and achy. BUT, I will never be pregnant with THIS little boy again, so I've been praying that God continues to work on my heart these last few weeks and gives me a joyful attitude! 

Baby is a: Boy!

Maternity clothing: Yeah, mostly. Some non-maternity, but very, very little.

Sleep: Is pretty rough these days.. I'm taking whatever I can get!

Movement: Same as always, active little boy!

Cravings/Aversions: Not really..due to the pressure he is putting on my stomach some days I'm still fighting a lot of nausea and or throwing up and I have to be diligent about washing dishes at night because I will still gag and run to the bathroom if I come downstairs and see or smell dirty dishes in the morning! :) Oh, and I guess I'm still eating A LOT of clementines. 

Symptoms:
- Normal aches. Why does it feel like I have ran a half marathon every day??
- Frequent potty breaks. :)
- Pelvic pressure. :) Woah.
- Heartburn.  The worst. I bought another bottle of tums today, just very thankful they do help!
- Fatigue.  Lots of naps these days!
- Difficulty breathing. Some days are very hard, but usually just when I go up the stairs!

I can't believe that these updates will soon be ending and I can start on the baby updates.. as always, I just can't wait to meet you little boy!!

37 weeks

Today is: March 13, 2013

How far along: 37 weeks...full term!

Total weight gain: 21 lbs.

Baby is the size of: A watermelon! 19-21" and 6-8 lbs. Of course we won't know exactly till he is born. My midwife said she thinks he is on the smaller side but she said that is hard to tell because she said there isn't any extra room in this belly, baby boy has taken up every inch of room!

What's going on with the babe: Baby boy is gaining about 1/2 an ounce a day, and is practicing his blinking, sucking, inhaling, exhaling, and gripping.

What's going on with the mama: I guess you could say some "nesting" has kicked in, but nothing real serious. I am not a super organized person or always do the best job at keeping a clean house but with the thought of baby possibly coming any day I do find myself cleaning more often so we can come home to a somewhat clean house!

Baby is a: Boy!

Maternity clothing: Yeah, mostly. Some non-maternity, but very little. At this point I just try to find anything that fits.

Sleep: Some nights are okay, others are not so good! But I would say as good as can be expected at this point!

Movement:Baby is still pretty active..he sure doesn't have much room but he pushes and kicks as much as possible.

Cravings/Aversions: Most days its just food I dislike. I have to eat small meals because with all the pressure on my stomach it's hard to eat. I'm still craving my cereal, fruit and saltines. :)

Symptoms:
- Sciatic nerve pain Not usually!
- Aches.  All day.
- Frequent potty breaks. :)
- Pelvic pressure. Oh. my. goodness.
- Heartburn. My worst enemy! 

We are getting close and while this countdown begins I'm doing my best to enjoy every minute I have with my little man. As much as I have disliked pregnancy, I absolutely love my baby and I think a part of me will miss having him this close to me. I'm so anxious to see his face and kiss his sweet cheeks but I know I will never get this time back again, so I'm going to try and treasure what I can!