Friday, September 30, 2011

Dear Chloe: One Year Ago Today

Dear Chloe,

          It was exactly a year ago today that your Mommy and Daddy found out that you were growing inside Mommy's belly. I instantly fell in love with you and daydreamed about you constantly, and as my belly grew and the days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, and as I watched fall turn into winter, and winter turn into spring the anticipation of finally having you in my arms grew stronger everyday.

Now here we are today Chloe, a whole year later. Its hard to believe that you are almost 4 months old already. You mean so much to your Daddy and I. Your heavenly Father created you so perfectly, and everyday you amaze us more and more. I am forever grateful to God for choosing us to be your parents!

On this day last year our lives were forever changed because of you my sweet Chloe. This will always be such a special day for us, a day that we hold close to our hearts, a day that we will never, ever forget!

We love you our beautiful little rosebud,  forever and ever!

Mom and Dad

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Sometimes I Miss.....

36 weeks pregnant, 9 months!


Sometimes I actually really miss being pregnant! For the most part I loved pregnancy, the whole experience was so beautiful, pure and special and I felt so feminine carrying around inside of me a precious human life. I loved the sensation of feeling and seeing my daughters little body kicking and squirming inside my belly, I loved that I was the only one that got to experience that.

Being a Mom is such a beautiful thing! and I am  forever grateful to God that he chose me to be Chloe's Mom. In a few years if its in Gods will I look forward to experiencing it all over again.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Constantly Changing

All the sleepless nights in the world are worth it for this beautiful face!

 I feel like my daughter has changed so much over these past few weeks. Everyday I am witnessing her personality shine through and take shape, and its such a beautiful thing to be able to watch. Chloe has such a sweet gentle nature about her and is so fascinated with the world around her.

Here's whats new:

:: Chloe is constantly babbling to herself.


:: Anytime we lay Chloe on the floor her new favorite thing to do is to roll from her back to her stomach, she will do this over and over again. I feel like in no time my daughter is going to be rolling all across the room!

:: Chloe sucks her thumb

:: My daughter has 2 favorite toys now, whereas before she didn't seem all that interested in toys.
:: Chloe loves to smack her lips, its the cutest thing ever!

:: She smiles and coos at strangers now

:: Chloe puts everything in her mouth

:: Its very clear that my sweet Chloe is definitely not a newborn anymore!


Unfortunately along with all these wonderful new changes has come the dreaded sleepless nights. Chloe was such an amazing sleeper for awhile, but ever since we got back from our trip to Chicago she hasn't been sleeping so great at night and will literally fight sleep. Sometimes I just don't know what to do for her. I nurse her, rock her, Mike will bounce with her on the exercise ball, then when she's finally asleep we put her in bed and bam her eyes are wide open and her little legs are moving all crazy in the air. We repeat this all night long until finally our sweet Chloe is to tired to fight sleep.

It's very frustrating not knowing what else I can do for my daughter to help her sleep, I try to stay calm and relaxed but at times that feels so difficult to do when I'm exhausted. I'm really hoping this is just a short phase we are going through, here's to hoping right!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Me From A-Z

I'm up bright and early today, it took me for what felt like forever to get Chloe back to sleep. So since I'm up I thought I would join in on the fun and answer these questions about myself from a-z!

Age: 25 (July 20 1986)

Bed size: Queen, but it would be so awesome if we had a king since we co-sleep!

Chore that you hate: Folding laundry, it drives me crazy

Dogs: Growing up my family always had dogs. I got my very own dog at 22, He was an older sweet black lab named Blue.

Essential start to your day: Nursing and cuddling with my daughter and seeing her big beautiful smile oh and coffee of course!

Favorite color: Purple and green

Gold or silver: Gold

Height: 5'3

Instruments you play: I played the flute for 2 weeks when I was in 6th grade. I have decided I am definitely not a musician!

Kids: We would like 2 kids, hoping for a boy next, but if we have another girl I would be willing to try one more time for a boy. If we ended up with 3 girls we would be done, 3 is plenty!

Live: Renton, Washington State

Mothers name: Marla

Nicknames: Jen, but my husband calls me cupcake or kid haha!

Overnight hospital stays: twice. First one was when I was 7 months pregnant, I fell really hard, landing on my belly. Second time was when I had my daughter, I was at the hospital from Monday to Thursday, I couldn't wait to get home!

Pet peeves: I feel like I have to many to name haha. Most of them my husband does like leave his dirty clothes laying on the bedroom floor, not closing the shower curtain after he takes a shower, and the list goes on.

Quote from a movie: "When you forgive, you love. And when you love, God's light shines." "Happiness is only real when shared." - Into the Wild, best movie ever!

Right or left handed: Right

Siblings: I'm the oldest of three, my brother and sister are both 20 years old and yep they are twins.

Underwear: Yep, I wear them everyday.

Vegetable you hate: I really love all vegetables but I guess one that I don't care for so much is snap peas.

What makes you run late: Having a baby, but I'm still pretty good about being on time!

X-rays you've had: When I broke my wrist and nose. Chiropractor and dentist.

Yummy food that you make: I'm good at making eggs and creative salads!

Zoo animals: I really think Elephants are pretty cool!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

3 Months Old

How did 3 months go by so incredibly fast? When I was pregnant 3 months felt like a lifetime, but now that my sweet daughter is here in my arms time is just flying by. I can honestly say that these past months have been filled with the greatest moments of my life.

Today has brought on an array of emotions. Since there is now a cool breeze in the air and fall is quickly approaching I felt it was time to start putting away all of Chloe's spring and summer clothes. As I held each item of clothing in my hands a wave of sadness washed over me, and I realized that I will never see my daughter in these clothes again. I know it might sound silly to some to get all emotional over clothes but to me her clothes represent these special months were I have had the privilege of watching my sweet Chloe blossom into her own little being.

And with all in the same moment I am filled with so much joy and excitement as I watch my daughter grow, and learn, and transform right before my eyes. I'm in awe at the beauty that is her and have no words to describe the pure joy that comes from watching her grow each and every day.


Chloe's stats:
 I don't know how much my daughter weighs right now or her height, I wont know till her 4 month checkup. Chloe is wearing size 3 diapers, and wearing 3-6 months clothes.

 Life with Chloe: This month so many changes have taken place with Chloe. I have noticed that she will now follow me with her eyes as I move around the room. Chloe is showing more of an interest in her toys and will pick them up if they are within her reach. She can take her pacifier out of her mouth and will try to get it back in but she is not quite there yet. When we make eye contact with her she will smile a great big smile and start cooing away! Chloe still loves her little hands and has always shown so much curiosity towards her feet, a few days ago she actually started holding onto her feet while lying on her back, Chloe looks pretty proud about that one! My sweet daughter has now rolled over from her stomach to back several times and just started rolling from her back to stomach! Chloe also seems to like tummy time a little more these days! During our trip to Chicago my Mom made Chloe laugh for the first time, my heart completely melted when I heard her sweet little laugh! I have also noticed that Chloe has a new fascination with the tv, and now enjoys sucking her thumb. Chloe has also been drooling a lot more lately and likes to blow little spit bubbles!


The only thing that been a bit of a struggle for us is nap time. Chloe loves to sleep in my arms which I also love, but I'm not going to lie, I need a break sometimes! We are working on it, some days she will take a good nap in our bed and other days the moment I put her down she will wake up. I know I need to work harder at this and be consistent and not give up but I want to make sure that I am doing this as loving and gentle as possible.

Overall I would say that Mike and I both feel so much more confident in our new roles as parents and as each day passes we are learning more about Chloe, each other, and ourselves. I would consider our parenting philosophy to be based off of attachment parenting. It is an important goal of ours to continue parenting this way throughout our daughters life!

I am still babywearing and absolutely love it! I hope to do it for as long as Chloe enjoys it! I just bought a Babyhawk Mei Tai and it is gorgeous!! I'm in love with it and now that Chloe is bigger I think she likes it better then the Moby wrap! I cant wait to learn how to wear her on my back!

Though it brings me a little bit of sadness to watch my daughter grow older each day, becoming less and less of a baby, its also so incredibly exciting at the same time! I know next month will bring us even more excitement as we watch our sweet baby grow.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Meet Melanie: Oh Baby! Baby Blog


Meet Melanie, a soon to be first time Mommy and fellow blogger over at Oh, Baby! Baby Blog! Be sure to check out her lovely blog as she takes you through her journey of pregnancy and soon to be Motherhood!

Q: How would you describe yourself? 

A: I’m Melanie. My husband is my hero and my dog is my best friend. Together, we moved to Billings, Montana about a year ago to feed our exploitative, nature-thirsting drive. Our family will soon be joined by this active bundle of joy living in my belly! I can’t wait to go on adventures, discover life together, and take on the most important role of my entire life…as a mom.

Q: What are your favorite things to do? 

A: I’m a hiker, a camper, a reader, a writer, a photographer, a dog trainer, a researcher, a thinker, and a lover. I have a feeling that being a mom is about to trump it all!

Q: What are you most passionate about?

A: Growing, learning, and never giving up or standing still. As long as we are making progress and becoming our goal for ourselves, it doesn’t matter how long it takes us! Baby steps will get us there.

 Q: If you were ice cream what flavor would you be? 

A: I’d be organic blueberry sorbet (especially if you are what you eat, because I cannot get enough of it)!

Q: How did you find out that you were pregnant?

A: My husband surprised me one morning with a breakfast of flax seed waffles and organic maple syrup. Instead of giving him a big kiss and a thank you, I almost puked on him. I wanted it out of my sight immediately! From there, I got the bright idea to buy a pregnancy test.

Q: How did you tell your husband?

A: I told my husband at the laundry mat after we got done folding our clothes. I wanted to get him when he least expected it… and that is exactly what happened!

Q: What are some things that you love about being pregnant?

A: I love knowing that my baby is safe and sound inside of me. I love feeling those precious movements. Sometimes, they are so strong that I look around me half-expecting others in the room to have felt the mini-quakes as well. But they didn’t. Being pregnant is like having a secret between you and your baby. Others can only know if you let them in!

Q: What do you dislike about being pregnant?

A: Nausea and feeling like a walrus.

Q: What are some cravings you have had during your pregnancy?

A: A juicy steak topped with halved grapes! Mmm…

Q: When are you due?

A: October 21, 2011

Q: Do you know what you are having?

A: No, we will be surprised!

Q:What were you and your husbands reasons for wanting to keep the sex of your baby a surprise?

A: My husband and I have decided to have as little medical intervention as possible during the pregnancy as well as during labor. For that reason, we opted out of a mid-pregnancy anatomical ultrasound (which is when the sex of the baby can be seen!)

Q: What kind of environment are you planning for labor and delivery?

A: We are going for a natural, un-medicated birth with as little medical intervention as possible. We have chosen the path of midwifery and are combining Lamaze techniques and the Bradley Method for pain.

Q: What are some of your family traditions?

A: We give to the homeless. This is an important value we are excited to pass on to our child (to give to others who are less fortunate). And we always buy a live tree on Christmas!

Q: When did you start to blog?

A: I started blogging shortly after I found out I’m pregnant. Now, I am 34 weeks along and will keep writing as we learn new roles as parents!

Q: Have you always enjoyed writing?

A: Yes! Writing has been an important part of my life since I was a child. I love having words as a way to express myself during this incredible journey in my life!

Q: What do you love most about blogging?

A: I love to be able to share my experiences with other pregnant women who can feel overwhelmed with information. I also love to meet readers with the same interests and to network with other bloggers who share the same passion for writing!

Q: What advice would you give to an expecting Mother?

A: To be patient, pray often, drink lots of water, avoid stress, and eat healthy!

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Chicago, Here We Come

In less then 24 hours from now my little family of three will be sitting on an airplane heading to Chicago! I'm so excited to take Chloe on her first vacation and for our family and friends to finally meet our little rosebud ( Chloe's new nickname that I gave her, I think its pretty cute!) Of course I am a little nervous about traveling for the first time with a 3 month old baby, I really hope everything goes smoothly!

In other news, I have a lot of blog posts that I plan to write when we get back home from our trip. Chloe's 3 month update, a breastfeeding update ( which I now plan to do every three months), A post about our vacation that will include lots and lots of pictures! And something I am really, really excited about is a guest post from fellow blogger and soon to be first time Mom, Melanie from Oh, Baby! Baby Blog, Go check out her lovely blog!

See ya next Friday!

Friday, September 2, 2011

This Is Love



I have this beautiful sleeping baby laying in my lap right now, looking at her makes me feel as if my heart is going to explode with love! I truly love being a Mom!