Well Hello Spring!

Yesterday, I decided I was going to not only soak up this beautiful weather but also snap some cute pictures of my little loves in the sun. 

I couldn't decide if I liked this one more in color or black and white.

I hope you enjoyed and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Celebration Earth!

This is just a quick and brief post to share with you my little Earth Day fun with Liam. I hope you enjoy! 

 

I am also considering a "365 Project." Follow up for more details - coming your way! 

Have a wonderful day!

Oh, what may be!

I know that yet again, I have disappeared from the blogging world and gotten behind. Life happens, simple as that. I haven't a whole lot of updates to share regarding family changes and such. The boys are growing so quickly. The song "Don't Blink" by Kenny Chesney often comes to mind when I think of life, my boys, and how quickly it really does go by. I have many ideas in the works as far as changes in my life that I feel I may be interested in pursuing. I am learning that there is nothing holding me back but myself. I have always been one to hold back simply because I feel that I "can't" do something or I simply think that it would be impossible because I think I would have no support. Either way, I have finally realized that nothing is truly impossible. If I continue to let God lead my path, I will continue a bright and blessed future. "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2) This speaks to me and I think it is pretty clear. As much as I am nervous for changes and pursuing my passions and what I have always wanted to do, I am excited. It's a different excitement. Now, onto the boys (then I will reveal my exciting possibilities). 

Braedyn

 Braedyn is doing wonderful and is healthy as can be since his surgery 2 1/2 months ago. The report did confirm it to be a fibroma but nothing we didn't already know. Since his surgery he has grown 3 1/2 inches! He has become a major chatter box and still as persistent as always (haha!). 

Liam

 Liam is doing great and healthy also. He is learning things at such a rapid speed, it can be a race to catch up. But it is so much fun to watch. He has mastered pulling up, crawling, walking with assistance, and has discovered the stairs (yes, I now barricade them haha) in the past couple months. He is currently working on standing by himself. I'm also proud to say that Liam is still breastfeeding very well and I am so glad we have come so far.

As I was saying earlier, I have been considering some serious pursuing of something I have always had a passion for. I recently inquired the idea of selling Mary Kay and still am considering it but I can't make up my mind fully. I have considered photography and I am pretty certain on it. I enjoy it and my mind is constantly a creative playground. I really am considering it but within time and reason as it does not happen over night. It is a work in progress and will be for quite some time. I have recently decided I need to become more active in my hobbies for my own self, not to be selfish but because everyone needs to do something(s) they enjoy to aid in getting the full extended enjoyment out of life. I will tell more as time goes and things unfold in plan. In other pursuing of hobbies simply because I enjoy them and continue to enjoy them more, I love baking and sewing (as always hehe). 

"Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary." (Isaiah 40:31) To pursue means I have to overcome fears and my social awkwardness but I am totally okay with that. 

I am not as happy at how fast the boys are growing up but I love and am so blessed to watch them grow daily and witness their bond grow stronger. I am excited about my little Liam's birthday however (but not the idea of him already turning 1 in a few months haha). But, with that being said, I should put a close to tonight's major blog post before I write ALL night (because I really could). I hope you are ALL doing great and are all well! xoxo


"I can do all things through him who strengthens me." (Phillipians 4:13)

He who strengthens me

Life has been rather crazy lately so once again I've gotten behind. Life is grand though. What to tell, where to start. I tend to keep a lot to myself. That may be an understatement.

[Braedyn] He is about to hit 2 1/2 and he's already one of the strongest little boys I know. A couple weeks ago, he had his first surgery and set of scopes related to his Gardner's Syndrome. It was not easy for us in any way but we somehow found the strength and calm that we needed to get through it. I find a lot of strength in different ways - my faith/spirituality, my family, and other supportive outlets. His EGD and colonoscopy went pretty quick as planned and went well. They did find a questionable polyp and yesterday it was confirmed to be a adenomatous polyp. He will have a further "test" to study more into his GI tract and the scopes will be done again later on in the year. When the surgeon got in to do his portion, he found more than he expected to find (also learning to not rely as much on the type of X-ray done for the issue). Dave and I were oth quite nervous when the estimated time passed by and we had still not heard anything. Any parent sitting there I'm sure would have felt the same way. In my head, I knew they found more than what he thought it was and it turned out to be that I was right. When the first word out of your child's surgeons mouth is, "I should have listened to mom's gut," you know without the further details. At that same time, no parent wants to hear bad regarding their child's health. The first day or so was pretty rough but truthfully, after those couple of days you would never have known he had a surgery. I'm starting to understand more what my mom went through with me as child. She is the strongest woman I know. I know I don't say it much, but it is the truth. I admire my mom for countless things and one of them is her strength. I'm blessed and thankful to have her for my mom.

[Liam] I can't believe he's already 7 months old. It seems like just yesterday he was this teeny tiny 6 1/2 pound little boy that even newborn clothes ate whole and now he's this squishy 19 pound short stack. Like his brother, he's such a joy. He is definitely one of the happiest babies I've ever seen and full of giggles. He is well-known for his cheeks. People love his cheeks, as do we. At 6 months, we were told he was already developmentally ahead. It's always good hearing positivity regarding your children and it truthfully makes me proud. We work quite a bit with our boys to ensure they have a good foundation in their life as well as how they feel about themselves. I believe it begins from day one. He babbles and wiggles like no other. Today, he finally officially crawled not 10 minutes before Dave got home. It was so great to see. Reminds me of the day Braedyn first crawled. He has been rolling and doing his funny looking "crawl" for over a month now but the normal viewed on all fours occurred this afternoon. He's began pulling up more and more. It's sometimes hard to grasp how fast they grow up. I still remember over 2 years ago when Braedyn couldn't back talk (haha).

[Other aspects of our life] I have noticed recently how great it feels to be so happy with the way we have chose to raise our boys and how we do what we do. I never saw the day that I would be thrilled to do things the way we do either. Breast feeding, baby-wearing, cloth diapering, co-sleeping...attachment parenting is amazing and very rewarding for all of us in the long run. I have had people ask when we will stop doing this or that and why we do, there's a short and sweet answer I prefer to use - I don't have a plan honestly, I am letting them lead the way. I want to do what I feel is best for them and our family. If others don't like it, I truthfully could care less and they can keep their negativity and ignorance to theirselves. The things people have said to us about every aspect of our decisions based on those above named really just make me want to try harder. Our boys are happy and healthy, that's is what matters. Not how weird others think it is. I'm passionate about parenting in a way that sets a solid, strong ground for them and my amazing husband stands by me. I've seemingly became more and more passionate about car seat safety. I do have my own opinions regarding all of these things but decisions should be made in the best interest of their well being. With that being said, I should hit the hay while I can. I will work on writing more frequently again because I do love it. Hugs and love to all!

I Support Breastfeeding

I have recently realized how much some things now bother me in a way that actually seems okay and more natural. One that may very well be the top of my list would be breastfeeding and how it is viewed in today's society. I can't for the life of me understand why people would consider it to be "sick" or what makes them make such hateful, rude comments towards a nursing mother. It really saddens me to see that so many view it in such a foul manner and it really sickens me to see some of the things that some view as okay over something so natural. Yes, I did formula feed my oldest and yes, I did many things completely different with him than I have with my youngest, Liam but that does not mean anything. Even then I never looked at it as being sick or wrong. I simply did not have the same knowledge base about it then that I do now. I am darn proud now that I am doing what is natural and what I feel is best for my little guy. Granted, research does prove this but I don't need to see that to know its what's best for him. We have been an exclusive breastfeeding team for almost 5 months now and I have to say, I'm so happy to have made it this long so far and I plan to continue :). It truly has been a great experience! There has recently been some controversy on Facebook regarding breastfeeding photos and such, I find it sad that people bash woman for it. Thefeministbreeder.com explains her full story on how she has been banned twice now for breastfeeding pictures on Facebook. She is doing a 72 hour campaign to normalize breastfeeding on Facebook. So, lets hop on the bandwagon and support her ;).

A Merry Fall

Well, it has been quite sometime since I last posted a blog and quite a bit has gone on since! Where to begin though? In good news, its fall and I sure do love fall! So many things about fall are just so comforting strangely- pumpkin pie, falling leaves, the leaves changing colors, the cool crisp air that shows its face, caramel apples, and so much more. Of course there are things I don't always enjoy as much about it but I soon become okay with it. So what is new with us?

 Braedyn is now 2!

We through him an awesome "Two Infinity & Beyond" Toy Story birthday party. I think we all enjoyed it. Me and a good friend made him an awesome Woody cake and cute sugar cookies to go with it. Took us a couple days of baking and decorating them but it was worth it in the end! 

Braedyn is such an incredible and intelligent little boy. He's a very sweet and loving big brother and he loves to help out when he gets the chance. He loves Mickey Mouse (along with the other characters), Cars (both movies and toys), Toy Story, craft projects, and running around. He's a very active little boy with so much personality and a big heart!

A couple pictures from his birthday party (above).

Liam is 4 months!

Our little Liam Bo Biam is growing so fast, just like his big brother. He's quite the sweetheart and happy boy- always laughing and giggling. He's a quick learner and already picking up new skills- rolling around, getting better at sitting up, push his upper half clear up off the ground, among other fun stuff. He's a fantastic little nurser and I love it! I couldn't be happier with how it's going and how well it works with us! He's quite the chatterbox and snuggler too. One of these days I'll post his birth story, maybe I'll make a special post one day for both their birth stories.

Sweet pictures of Liam (above).

As for Dave and I, we're doing well. We keep pretty busy with our sweet little boys. My wonderful husband is a great supporter of my breastfeeding Liam and still a big fan of cloth diapering. We're so glad that we made these decisions for us and it's wonderful for our lifestyle. We have also been eating considerably healthier and we both feel 100 times better since doing so. I have become more knowledgeable learning about what I feel is best for our family and I'm so happy my dear husband also sides with me on it. I am always looking for more ways to better our lifestyle and health, so I am always open to any hints on new information I haven't previously know about. Car seat safety, breastfeeding, and cloth diapering are 3 of my top reading materials. I feel all are something I have my heart set to be proactive on. Well, I think that's it for the night. Hope you're all doing well and sending many prayers to all. Much love!

 

 

 

Over-Due Capture

It's been some time since I've updated this, life's been hectic. So here's pictures up until July 3rd. Couple more posts to follow this one tonight so be on the watch. Enjoy! <3