sweet simple & small

20 Weeks Little Bean: So my baby is not a bean at all, in fact, he is the size of a banana right now and I love these little comparisons because it allows Gracie to really connect with baby and visualize the growth. When we had our anatomy scan on Monday, the guy told us that the baby is measuring 1 week ahead of schedule and he is a whole pound now. Right now, the baby is able to swallow and is producing baby poop (meconium) so there's that! Symptoms: I am getting my energy back but I am still getting sick each and every morning. It was the same with Gracelyn so I'm not surprised. I can't even remember when the nausea subsided last time. The good thing is that it's only in the morning and then I'm fine for the rest of the day as long as I keep snacking and don't let my stomach stay empty for long. I swear I am feeling Braxton Hicks already which is so crazy to me! Every once in a while my belly gets as hard as a rock which I also don't remember fr...

Sweet baby, you're two! My, how time has just flown by. Here we are on your second birthday and I am more in love with you now then ever before. You are so independent, so strong willed, brave and energetic. You get all of that from daddy. We are so proud of the little girl you have become and we can't wait to watch you grow up to be so much more. I am so blessed by you, Gracelyn. You have made me a better person all around.  I can't even remember what I used to do for fun. How many hours did I waste watching TV? Everything is much more fun with you around. I am reliving my childhood through your eyes and I have to say- it's one of the greatest experiences ever. One of my absolute favorite things about you is how you try not to smile and your lips press together as you try to hold back. Oh my goodness, EXACTLY like your dad. People say you either look just like him or a mix of both of us. Either way, you are the most beautiful little soul I have ever known. You...

I am so excited to be sharing my story with all of Julie's readers on The Girl in the Red Shoes ! Please head over to her blog and check out all the other stories as well. I hope you are just as inspired as I was. Make sure you have a cozy blanket and some tissues- these women share some amazing stories! Read my story HERE .

As I am quickly approaching the big 2 years, I thought it would be fun to share my breastfeeding story with you again. I am so passionate about breastfeeding and love encouraging women who choose to do so, So thankful for my sweet time with my little one and nursing. Definitely something I will cherish forever and ever. During my entire pregnancy, I had such an overwhelming desire to breastfeed so I read just about everything there is to know about the topic. Once Grace came out, she was very tired and lazy and didn’t latch at all- she barely opened her mouth! It took nearly two hours before she finally startled suckling. The first time she latched was such a surreal moment and I was relieved because I was dead set on staying as far away from formula as I could. I think as a new mom, we fear failure more than anything and I didn’t want to fail at the most natural thing a mom was supposed to be able to do. It took about a day ...

A few weeks ago we went camping with David's parents. We had a blast, like always!  There was one day specific when I was trying to either change Gracelyn's diaper or put a sweater on her- I can't remember...honestly, knowing me,  I was probably trying to do both at the same time! Anyway, she was fighting me, pulling away and getting cranky with me but it had to be done. I finally got frustrated and said, "Grace, if only you knew that what I was doing was to help you and not hurt you, you wouldn't fight so much."  Immediately, my mother-in-law chimed in, "...You know, Sarah, how many times does God say that to US daily?" I was struck by those words and I laughed because it is so true. All the time.  Right now, we're going through a new series at church called Walking With God in the Desert. You know, in life we go through some stinky stuff- things that make us tired and exhausted, things that we have no desire to do or go through. Ki...

A Day in the Life I saw another mom do this on another blog and thought it was really cool. I love looking back at my old posts and reading about what we were up to. These are going to be such special gems to look back on as my little one grows up! Monday April 14, 2014 My eyes pop open between 6:30 and 7:00 am almost everyday. I will usually toss and turn or just decide to wake up for the day. I start my day by going to the bathroom and then immediately jumping back into bed to scroll through Facebook, IG and Pinterest... Priorities!! By 8 or 8:30 I can hear the little one squirming so I use that as my cue to finally get up. I greet my little with a cheesy smile and about 20-30 good morning kisses. I change her diaper and take her with me back to bed. We lay down while I nurse her for about 10 minutes. When she's done she slides off of the bed And starts to wander around while I start breakfast and coffee. It's about 9:45 by the time were done eating and Grac...

Dear Gracelyn, Oh my gosh. Where do I even begin?  My baby is one year old today. I can't believe my eyes. 1 year of beautiful life. 1 year that I am the worlds most blessed mom. 1 year of chubby cuddles. 1 year of firsts. 1 year of you.  My heart swells just looking at you and the gorgeous little girl you are. Being your  mom is the most painful, stressful and most rewarding thing I have ever done. You don't understand right now but every time I see you, my life lights up and my heart fills up with joy because you are mine. I have loved watching you grow up to be a happy little girl. You have always been so calm yet wild and I  love that about you. You're also adventurous and strong willed and I can only dream of what those qualities will bring you in life. I pray that your life would be filled with all the riches that our lord has for you. He is the only thing in this life that will never leave you or forsake you. My heart yearns for you to know Jesus and to love a...

I cannot believe I will have a 1 year old in 12 days! That not only marks by baby’s first birthday but also 1 full year of breastfeeding! My original goal was to make it to 6 months and now we have doubled that goal!  It has bonded Gracelyn and I and I don’t want that to end anytime soon! I put together my favorite items for breastfeeding and just some small tips towards the end. Hope you enjoy. 1.       - Boppy Pillow: I had said I could do without the boppy pillow but David surprised me one day and came home with this. Since then I have used it at basically every nursing session and it provides amazing comfort and support while breastfeeding (OR bottle feeding). I think it would work for both. This is the one I have and I like that it has a zipper so I can remove it and wash it or change out different covers! 2.       - Medela Double Breast Pump/ Hand Pump: Both of these pumps are life savers! I used the hand pump for the first weeks w...

11 MONTHS Height, Weight, Head: No updated stats but I did weigh her last Friday and she is 24 lbs. 6 oz. My chunky girl. Clothes: She is all over the place but she is generally in the 12-18 month range.  Eating: I'm proud to say that we are still going strong with breastfeeding! She breastfeeds 5 times a day and lots of "snacks" in between. She is eating more and more real food too and I have had fun watching to see what she likes and dislikes. She LOVES peanut butter and French Toast the best. She loves feeding herself which is awesome because that is what I wanted for her. I love that we don't worry about who will feed her when it comes to meals because she does! My advice to anyone is to skip purees and just let them feed themselves when they are ready- it is SO much easier and a lot of fun.   At Macayo's with Tio Marc! (By the way, she does sooo good in restaurant's too, we've gotten lots of comments from strangers about her!) ...

If you haven't heard this enough lately, let me tell you one more time: Happy New Year! The last twelve months flew by in the blink of an eye which makes me feel so incredibly blessed because I was able to share it with some amazing people. I wanted to do a little review of 2013 and highlight some of the best moments we had! Goodbye 2013, you were pretty awesome. We kicked off the year by having my baby shower! It was so much fun and I enjoyed celebrating my little girl. I can still remember the morning of- I had NO clue what to wear and thought I looked fat in everything! Those 30 extra pounds were getting to me I guess...I changed about a million times but the party ended up being amazing and I am still so very thankful for that day. All of these women mean so much to me. Sarah, Sarah, and Aubrey all play such special roles in my life. Oh! Addie and Piper too. Addie helped David and I open the box of balloons when we had our gender reveal.  A couple weekends later, my...