9 month doctor visit

well your still momma's little guy coming in at a whopping 3% in weight and 6% in height.

but you could care less, you were too busy giving kisses and playing with the cute baby in the mirror.

it was literally one of the most adorable things i've ever seen.

now we're working on getting you to eat solid foods a little better by letting you sit and eat at the table with us during meal time.

three cheers to full bellies all around!

also, voting was reset on top baby blogs so we need your votes people!

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homemaking

Source: bradandtrish.blogspot.com via Hailey on Pinterest

sometimes i struggle with sharing completely open and honestly on my space here, but this has been on my heart a lot and i think it's time i let it go.

being a stay at home mom is hard.

there i said it.
i'm just laying it all out there.

 yes, i love spending all day with my baby boy and i wouldn't change it for the world, but that doesn't mean it's not difficult.

sometimes i feel completely undervalued because today we live in a world where it's all about "The American Dream". it's all about climbing the ladder, buying bigger houses, nicer cars, and making more money. it's all about ourselves.

yes, i could be using my college degree and working full time instead of doing the occasional "fill in" job. yes, we could be making lots more money. and yes, at times this is appealing, but at what cost?

is it really going to matter in a hundred years what car i drove or how much money i made?
that house will be torn down someday and that car will make some nice scrap metal.
that money-we can't take it with us.

i'm so thankful for a husband who always brings me back to thinking eternally when i lose sight of the importance of my new role as momma.

there is a soul at stake here.

my son's soul.

nothing is more important than doing my very best to bring him closer to Christ.

so i will spend my days with my son growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and longing for the day of his salvation.

and i guess i'll wash a dish or two along the way ;)

"As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;

for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.

The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;

the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.

But from everlasting to everlasting
the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children—

with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts." - Ps. 103:13-18

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." - 2 Cor. 4:18

9 months (9/22/12)

baby boy, you have changed so much over this past month.

you have officially said your first word, mama, which makes me all sorts of giddy. you are pulling up on everything and your balance is actually fairly good. you also surprised us by standing on your own for a few seconds. your crawling has evolved into a mix of the army crawl and up on your hands and knees and you have moved up from the baby room to the crawler room at church. you also got sick for the very first time this past week. the sickness was terrible, but i enjoyed the extra cuddles. you are always on the go and love to be doing something so cuddle time is few and far between these days.

things are really starting to get crazy now as you continue to get more mobile. you just love messing with everything that's on the coffee table and have recently learned to throw things, which is adorable and annoying at the same time.

i've been giving you Cheerios and letting you learn to drink from a sippy cup. the other day i left you for a couple of minutes and when i came back you had busted into a bottle that i had filled with Cheerios and you and the dogs were having a feeding frenzy in the floor. i'm pretty sure you are the dogs' new best friend. the half eaten Cheerios hanging from your mouth and stuck to your face were quite the glorious sight. i'm certain you are already a Cheerio fanatic like your momma.

one of my favorite things is being able to tell that you are smiling from almost any angle because of your fantastic chunky cheeks. they are seriously my favorite and i wish i could keep them forever. but one sad day those cheeks will thin out, like your daddy's i'm sure, and you will be too old for this momma's kisses. just know that there once was this sweet baby boy and his cheeks were all mine.

p.s. can we go to neverland? i don't want you to grow up.

love you baby boy,

momma

to do before baby

after visiting with a couple of friends who are getting ready to welcome their new little ones into the world, i decided to make a list of some things to get done before the baby comes. this list is obviously not exhaustive, but here are a few that came to mind:

// go to the movies. that's right. did you know that going to an actual movie theater after having a baby is nearly impossible? husband and i have only been twice since ry was been born. enjoy one last good movie together!

// read some baby books. in preparation for ry's arrival i read Baby Wise and What To Expect When Your Expecting. both of which i recommend. Baby Wise was really good in helping me figure out how to get a schedule going for my baby and WTEWYE was very informative on what was going on with my body and the baby and also helped me prepare for labor.

// go on an overnight trip. spontaneous overnight trips are a bit more complicated and sparse once baby joins the picture.

// freeze some meals. this was something i was so thankful i had done! coming home from the hospital and trying to figure out what in the world you are doing with this new little person can be quite stressful so having meals prepared ahead of time is a life saver! we were also blessed by having my mom stay with us for about a week and our church family brought us meals as well. we were very very thankful for this.

// pamper yourself. go.get.a.pregnancy.massage. you'll thank me later! and don't forget the obligatory pedicure!

// clean your house. make sure you, or convince the mister in your life, to do a pretty good cleaning a week or a couple of weeks before your due date. this will help reduce stress for all you neat freaks (like me) out there since there won't be much time to focus on housework until you start getting the hang of being a new sleepy momma.

// pack your bags. make sure you have a bag for daddy, momma and baby.

// get alone time. one of the things i miss the most is just simply having time to myself. don't tell husband, but sometimes i take extra long showers for this very reason. ;)

// find a pediatrician. i know this is especially important when having a baby boy and choosing whether to circumcise or not.

// pray for your baby. start praying as soon as possible for this new little life!

// GET SOME SLEEP!

happy friday!

check out this pack 'n play & update

via

i saw this pack 'n play on the today show and i thought i'd share because it's pretty awesome.

expensive, but awesome.

i despise having to put our pack 'n play together. that's why the mr. is usually the one to do it.

he's pretty good about saving me from pulling my hair out.

this pack 'n play is literally a breeze to set up and take down.

watch the video from 4moms here.

also just a quick update on the family i posted about yesterday: someone paid up front the costs of the medical evacuation to Turkey! they still need to raise money to pay him back, but God is moving mountains for them and all they are looking for now is a doctor/hospital to receive baby Joshua. please continue to pray!

thanks! hope you are having a great wednesday!

heavy heart

my heart is heavy today for some friends of mine who are working overseas with an anti-trafficking organization. their one month old baby, Joshua, is having some serious medical issues. they took him to the hospital after he began vomiting when they fed him. his condition has only gotten worse after being admitted at the hospital. with every doctor they see they get a different diagnosis. one of the doctors said he had internal bleeding and possibly a major infection. the doctors are not giving him fluids or letting his mom feed him. they need prayers and they also need to raise $58,000 (because they found out he is not covered under their medical evacuation plan) to transport baby Joshua to Istanbul where he can receive better treatment. if you feel led please pray and/or you can give here. just write "The Walkers" on the row that is labelled "Oasis Global". thanks friends.

life lately

lately we've been busy enjoying cooler weather and three day weekends with daddy.

this past weekend we actually got to bring out our jackets and have our first pumpkin spice latte of the season! it was delightful.

oh and that coffee cake right there is to die for.

as are the big brown/blue/gray/green eyes of one "hood rat" baby with delicious chunky legs and cheeks.

my friend mary & her yellow short memories

hey-o!
i want to introduce you to a friend of mine.
her name is mary.
there once was a time that mary and i shared a house together along with three other lovely ladies.
"The Charles House Ladies"-we called ourselves.
we shared life with each other in that house.
we laughed, we cried, we danced, and we grew.
kindred spirits were found in one another.
some of my most favorite college memories.

well now mary is an uh-MAZING photographer!
check out her site here.
i asked mary to share a little about herself and her love for photography.

Life passes by so very quickly. It seems like just yesterday I was picking out my outfit for the first day of 2^nd grade. I remember what I wore. Yellow shorts. Yep, yellow shorts with a blue belt to match the blue on my shirt. My hair was pulled into a bun on the top of my head because that was the cool thing to do. I even had matching navy blue Keds. You remember those. Boy, was I awesome. 

That was a long time ago but yet the image is burned in my memory. While I certainly remember that moment, the image in my head is made clearer by the picture I have in my scrapbook at home…documenting that day. That is why I love photographs. I love them because they strengthen memories. Memories I never want to lose. Never want to forget. 

I have countless ‘yellow short’ memories that are made more vivid in my mind because of photographs. Some are far more significant than my second grade outfit and some are just simple memories that tell the story of my life. Believing that we are made for another world, but also that this life can be blessed, I love the art of photography. I love it because it tells the story of our lives and each story is important. 

Baby Baker Love definitely takes this philosophy to heart, both in the celebrating of life’s stories and documenting them! When ‘Mrs. Baker’ asked me to guest blog, I was thrilled for this very reason! Though our blogs are different in some ways, the principles are the same. Celebrate life and those that we love. So with that, I hope that today you will be inspired to celebrate YOUR story! After all, you only get one to live, so love and live it well…and don’t forget to stop and take some ‘yellow short’ pictures along the way!

the present.

yesterday i heard this song and read the story of little Ronan. and in light of 9/11 today, i'm definitely holding my baby boy tighter. don't take time with loved ones for granted. be present in every moment, every day.

"you will never have this day with your children again. tomorrow, they’ll be a little older than they were today. this day is a gift. breathe and notice. smell and touch them; study their faces and little feet and pay attention. relish the charms of the present. enjoy today, mama. it will be over before you know it." -jen hatmaker

getting organized

i've been feeling a little unorganized and unproductive lately, although i'm actually a pretty organized person. it drives me bonkers i tell ya to not have things in order or planned out and to not see results. so i've been thinking of some ways to help me get things running a little more smoothly around here. if you know me, you know i'm all about efficiency. and i like to see results people! quickly! so, i thought it would be good if i assigned certain tasks to a day of the week. i like the accountability. for myself. this will help me get things done, right??

::monday:: grocery run/meal planning day

::tuesday:: free day

::wednesday:: also a free day :)

::thursday:: cleaning day

::friday:: blog prepping/random tasks day

how do you guys stay organized and on top of life?
tips?

8 month pic

8/22/12

so your monthly pictures in the laundry basket have officially become a bit of a challenge,

definitely requiring both mommy and daddy!

you were trying to sit up and get out of the basket the entire time!

where did my baby go?

only four more basket pictures left to take of my growing little boy.
why can't you just stay little?

and this is why i don't buy toys...

seriously this guy could care less about some toys. 

just give him a box or some other random item and he's good to go.

Ry was captain of his little box pirate ship that day. i could just picture him sporting an eye patch and bellowing, "argh maties!".

the box was short lived though as it got sent to dumpster heaven the next day.

but that's our little secret.

shhh.

i'm sure there will be plenty more boxes and imaginary pirates in our future,

which i'm pretty happy about.

peter pan was always one of my favorites. :)

annnnnnd the cutest baby at the splash pad award goes to...??

seriously this boy is too much! 

he had a blast at the splash pad last week!

my little water bug :)

can't wait to watch him run through the water on his own someday.

he's pretty much my favorite.

feels like home to me.

we are finally back home!
and boy does it feel good!
don't get me wrong-spending time with family and eating out nonstop was a blasty blast, but there's just something about being home and lying in your own bed that can't be beat. ahhh. 

baby boy and i spent the past week at my parents' house while the mr. was working near my hometown. there was lots of baby playing time, but i feel like time spent in the car dominated. we tend to try to do too much when we are all together. we drove all over tar nation (<---wow. just looked up what that word actually means, i had no idea. the things that slip past me these days.). seriously. and did you know that gas was almost $4 a gallon, sick, just sick people.

one of my favorite things was taking Ry to the splash pad! he L-O-V-E-D it! it's crazy how much a week can change my baby. he's pulling up and standing like a little champ now. i was pretty shocked when he pulled himself up by my ponytail. maybe it's time for a haircut?

also, nick and i spent our first night away from Ry, but i'm happy to report that we handled it surprisingly well. my mom watched him while we had a date night and stayed overnight at a hotel. it was nice to spend some time alone again. oh and we got to watch a movie at an actual movie theater! bah! after the movie was over, we almost decided to stay and watch another one! but then reality hit and we remembered that we weren't in college anymore. darn that energy!

anyway, i'm excited to get back into our normal groove, you know?