I'm back!

So, for any of my followers out there, you may have noticed that I was AWOL for a (VERY long) while. Truth be told, I got busy, got a job and just no longer had the time to write anymore. And I wasn't really sure who all was reading.

My mother- in- law is trying to break into the photography business and since she was here for the birth of our son she offered to do a pregnancy photo shoot for us. This was a matter of about an hour before I checked into the hospital to have Rusty.

So, I guess I can do a little recap of myself and my life. My husband and I have been married for 5 years now and together for a total of 6 years. We have 5 furbabies, 3 cats and 2 dogs. And  almost a year ago my husband and I found out we were expecting a baby and we were about 4 months along!! We were SO excited. We soon found out that we were having a little boy (just like we hoped and thought). We welcomed our adorable, healthy baby boy into the world on October 10, 2013 at 12:18am. If you ask me, the pregnancy went by way too fast. I absolutely loved being pregnant. And I still miss it from time to time and can't wait for pregnancy number 2 (well, I can because I want to have time to enjoy my son alone). We named beautiful baby boy Rusty Ragnar. Some of you may think this is an odd name, but there is a lot of meaning behind it for us. Rusty was that nickname of my uncle/Godfather that I was very close to who passed away 10 years ago in August. And Ragnar is Scandinavian which means judgement warrior. My husband is Irish/ Scandinavian and his grandfather wanted him to be named Ragnar, but my in-laws weren't that fond of it and my husband has always liked it. We couldn't think of anything to put with just Rusty or just Ragnar so we put them together. I absolutely love his name. However, not long after he was born, we soon found out that he inherited my chipmunk cheeks and was storing milk in them. So, he soon adopted the nickname Little Chipmunk. Our Little Chipmunk is now almost 6 months old and is the best blessing.

First family picture seconds after he was born.

It hasn't always been that way however. As I mentioned, I loved being pregnant. I knew he was safe. And it's a lot easier to take care of a growing baby inside of you than it is to take care of one that is growing out in the real world. And obviously, everyone knows that babies are a lot of work, but until you have one, you don't know just how much work and sacrifices it takes. And while, my mother-in-law came down to help me out for the first week of Little Chipmunk's life, after she left it was just me and my hubby. As I have mentioned before, my husband and I live out in NM by ourselves while the rest of our family and friends live in CA and WA. And while we made the decision to have me a stay at home mom (which is an amazing blessing) my husband could not. (We need some way to pay for all those diapers!) And I went through some moments in those first few months where all I wanted was to sit and watch a 30 minute show without someone needing something. And while my husband is beyond supportive and helps whenever I need it, I still felt so alone sometimes. And then I felt guilty for feeling that way. Now that my Chipmunk is now almost 6 months old, I have come to the realization, with the help of some very close family and friends, that it's ok to feel overwhelmed. To take a break. To cry. To scream. Just like it's ok to follow your own schedule even if the sleep schedule isn't what everyone else recommends. Or if you feed your child fruits first then the baby won't like veggies. (We started my son on fruits first and he loves veggies just as much as he does fruits). And if you aren't ready to leave your child with a baby sitter, that's ok. If you do feel ready to leave your baby with someone. That's ok too. It's whatever works for you. There's no cookie cutter outline that you need to follow when you're a parent. So the next time someone tells you to do something a certain way, you can go ahead and try it, but if it doesn't work for you or your child doesn't like it, that's ok. Don't feel like you're doing something wrong because you aren't following the exact outline of what someone else found works for them.

My mother-in-law was also able to do a little family photo shoot before she left back to WA.

As I have repeated a few times now, my son is almost 6 months old (time goes by WAY too fast) and now he babbles, smiles, laughs, sits up by himself, rolls over in both directions, does donuts on his play blankets, scoots himself around and is currently working on crawling and it is absolutely amazing to watch. I am constantly amazed by just how amazing my son is. Don't get me wrong though, I still have my moments where I want to rip my hair out by the handfuls, but I recognize, now, that is a part of being a parent, especially a stay at home mom.

Our most current family photo. Isn't my family just beautiful?!

Now, I must go because my Little Chipmunk is ready for another nursing. And I have more baby food to make and a house to clean. Please feel free to leave comments and feedback.

Until next time,

Katie :-)