Oceans, Rocks, and Clouds

My almost 2 year old son is the best, most fun person to hang out with ( when he isn't tired, hungry, or having a tantrum). We went to the park today and he says: Mommy push WAY UP HIGH" So I do. Mommy, Mommy up in the clouds! Big! So I tell him he is as high as the clouds and he believes it with all his heart.

Then off into the distance he sees a small lake. "Mommy the OCEAN!" And because I don't care if he thinks the lake is the ocean and I agree. He starts running towards it, telling me he wants to find a big rock and THROW IT in the OCEAN! So we find a decent sized rock and when we get to the mucky edge of the "ocean" he whips it into the water squealing with delight. Because there are no more rocks around he seeks out a pine cone then he's off running again. 

All the wonders of nature are more entertaining to this kid than any toy I could find at the store (except of course a new ball!). I look out at the "ocean" and up into the Big Clouds and I feel so much gratitude for this little boy and this place in time. I am lucky. These moments make the other moments of being a mom, the times when I feel worn and weathered and ready to break, worth it. 

The beach part 1

I can still feel the saltwater in my hair as I get ready to go to the grocery store.

the salt I pick up off the shelf is unlike the salt I wish I could still taste on my upper lip

still hearing the sounds of my little one yell and squeel as he is collides with another wave

gripping his little hands I let out a "weeee!" along with him

tiny wide feet hit the sand, chasing sea faring birds and jumping into small pools left by the tide

sitting a minute to catch my breath, watching my angel boy scoop up a billion grains of sand as he stares in amazement at the glops plopping kerplunk back into the water

the sand fades and gathers once again to the bottom of the sea floor

bits of seashells and seaweed gather in piles from the tide that forever move in and out

feeling the breeze pick up and wrapping my ocean kissed boy up in a big teal towel

time to go in

these thoughts are now memories burned into my head

how beautiful

Mother's Day

I had a very nice mother's day. The first gift that Samuel decided to give me was a few extra hours of sleep! I would have been happy with just that but my husband insisted that we must do whatever I felt like doing all day so I obliged. I wanted to stay in my pj's all morning and sip big mugs of 8' oclock coffee (which I must say is really good coffee if you haven't tried it. The Mr. made waffles and scrambled eggs for us and my belly was satisfied and happy.

We had a nice afternoon at the mall where I picked out a new pair of Rainbow sandals (the comfiest sandals you could ever wear because they mold to the shape of your foot). Samuel can walk now, so holding onto my left hand and his daddy's right hand he marched along with us at a very slow pace, stopping to look up at big mall lights, signs, and other children. He is so much fun to be with. His vocabulary has taken off and he is trying to say so many words now. When he hears an airplane, a motorcycle, or a bird he stops whatever he is doing to look in that direction and he says "this?" And I say "Yes Sammy it's a motorcycle!" He then gives me the biggest smile. Knowing that I acknowledge what he hears/sees makes him so happy.

We had a delicious lunch in the downtown area where we live and we smelled the roses and geraniums as we walked by.

***SIDE NOTE: Sammy is really into "sniffing" now and he thinks smelling things is a fun game, especially if it is stinky! He loves to take my husband's socks and stick them in my face just to hear me say "Peeee yooooo! Stinky!" This game can last about ten hours if I let it, so sometimes I just hide the socks and move on to the next game.

We then headed home, to relax and enjoy the last few hours of our Sunday. I hope you had an enjoyable mother's day. I love my little family and being a mom is the best job/title in the world!

7 months

You are 7 months old as of yesterday. How can this be? You are such a delightful little boy. Your dad and I ask ourselves out loud to each other every day "How did we get so lucky?" We are so lucky to have a healthy beautiful happy baby boy. You now say da da da da quite frequently and your dad thinks you are talking about him. You are ticklish on your toes, armpits, hips, and chin. You love to play peekaboo and pull hard on cat ears. You roll all around the floor (not crawling yet). You still wake up a lot at night....you know it is ok if you want to sleep the entire night. I really won't mind. You love laser lights, candle light, tastes of ice cream, me, being tossed into the air, meeting people, and drinking from a grown up cup. I marvel at you just as much today as I did the day you were born. We love you so very much little Sammy.

Love Mom

ps..i will post a picture later today!

Making the most of your mornings

How do you spend your mornings?

My little one wakes me up between 6:30 -7 am with squeals and laughter. When he gets up, he is ready to PLAY. Momma on the other hand is not a morning person until she gets her coffee. In fact, my husband won't even attempt a conversation with me until I have a cup of coffee in my hand. It's a bad addiction I suppose, but I love my coffee. I really wish I was more of a morning person because I want to greet my husband and baby with a smile in the morning rather than a grumpy squinty-eyed face. So I have decided to take on a challenge called Maximize Your Mornings over at a blog called Inspired To Action. The focus of the challenge is to make the most of your mornings whether that means devoting time to prayer, exercise, or making lists to plan for your day. For me, this is a great idea because since becoming a mother it has been difficult to find time for myself during the day. It is also a great way for me to set aside time to really acknowledge and thank God for all the wonderful blessings in my life! This will hopefully put me in a good mood so that I can be a fun and happy wife and momma.

My first goal is to wake up 15 minutes earlier than I normally do to devote some time to reading the bible and prayer. By getting up early I hope to gain some kind of focus for the day and to set myself and my family up for success. Of course there is a chance that I will press snooze, but hopefully not. I will keep you posted.

We like each other

A lot :)

I went through Sammy's drawers and cleaned out the clothes he has outgrown once again. It makes me sad when I have to make room for the "bigger" clothes. It makes me wonder if I'm being too sentimental or if every mother has these feelings? I guess I will just have to have another baby when Samuel gets too big ;)

I really like being a mom. I feel like I really fit into this role, this new phase of my life. My husband said it's like I was meant to be a mother. That makes me happy. But there are also other parts of my life that I miss and that I need to work into my schedule again. I haven't made much art, and it is hard to get myself out on the running trails some days. This will come with time but for right now I really don't mind spending every waking moment with this little sweetheart. Time really does go by WAY too fast.

On Motherhood

I know this blog used to be more about art and pretty things, but now that I am a mother I feel it is important for me to share this part of my life too. Before becoming a mom I had these ideals of what kind of mom I would be. I was the type who would say "A baby won't change my schedule or how I do things!" etc..... I always thought a baby would just follow my routine and be just fine! Well I was in for a surprise!

After Samuel was born I found that it wasn't about ME anymore. I would do anything for this precious baby. He still gets up during the night 3 even 4 times but does that bother me, no. He needs me. He needs nourishment and comfort. He gets up at 6 or 7 AM. Does that mean I want to get up at that time? No. But I do because I love to see his smiling face and hear him giggle when he sees mine. I will never stress about whether or not he is sleeping when I want to sleep because he is just following his body's natural rhythm.

I know breast feeding is a controversial subject and to each her own, but I choose to breast feed not because it is the easiest choice (well in some instances it is when you don't have to get up and mix a bottle) but because I know it is specifically made for my baby and is best for him. This means I can only be gone from him for 2 hours tops because that's how often he eats. Once again his needs come before mine. I remember back to the first couple weeks when he would want to eat constantly and I was so overwhelmed and exhausted and at the brink of giving him a bottle. Kyle my husband encouraged me not to give up. Looking back I was just ill informed about breast feeding. I didn't know that little babies ate so often and that one of the reasons he wanted to eat was for comfort and to build up my supply. Babies need to suckle.

This post is not intended to say that you can't have a life or that you shouldn't nurture and take care of yourself as a mother. I am just saying that once you bring a little baby into this world your life will not be exactly the same as it was before. This has been my experience anyway. It will change because the love you feel for this little human is so amazing and you would do anything for them.