Life This Week

Today is a special day. One year ago, we found out we were pregnant. I remember so clearly sitting on the front porch anxiously waiting for Jonathan to pull in the driveway that evening so I could tell him our incredible news. It's been quite a year! You can read more about that happy day here.

We're finally enjoying some seriously beautiful weather and it's been the absolute best. It was finally cool enough earlier this week to put Emma in this adorable hoodie and I couldn't get over how cute and snuggly she was.

I had three goals this week:

1. Purge/Organize Master Bedroom Closet
2. 100 Squats/Day
3. Run EVERY day

Our closet and a few other areas of our house have been giving me some serious anxiety lately knowing they have gotten completely out of control with clutter and disorder. With our closet especially, I knew there were lots of items I needed to let go of like, yesterday. Clothes that I haven't worn in years, clothes that didn't fit and I don't know if I'd wear if they did fit, shoes I was holding onto even though I'd never wear them again. Mom life has me realizing quickly that I don't have time to search through chaos to find what I'm looking for and knowing we had so many items taking up space was really making me anxious. I tackled our master bedroom closet on Monday and it was quite a project. Thankfully, Emma napped pretty well for me throughout the day so I was able to get a lot done during nap times. I ended up with 2 garbage bags full of clothes to donate and a box of purses and shoes. I went through everything in our closet and refold, re-hung and organized items to that it was easier to find things and looked neat and clean. I shared a before and after video on Snapchat, but I wish I took photos because what I did made a huge difference. It was good for me to go through my clothes and purge items I knew I'd never wear again. The clothes I came across that I still like and don't fit into really helped re-energize and motivate me to lose the weight I need to lose.

I have some other areas in our house I want to tackle next including our kitchen cabinets, so those are next on my list!

I mentioned last week I haven't exactly been staying consistent with my exercise so this week, I wanted to change that. With the Couch 2 5K program, you only really need to run 3 times/week so I would plan to run every other day and would end up putting it off every day until I felt like I'd fallen too far behind and lose my motivation. This week, I decided to still complete the three Couch 2 5K workouts, but that I would run every day instead of only completing what the program requires. My goal has been that on the days I don't use the Couch 2 5K app, I need to at least knock out a mile run. Having the goal to run every day ensures I don't get lazy and lose any momentum. It feels really good to say I succeeded at this goal and ran every day this week. The 100 squats/day is something I knew would work for me because I could knock out a few here and there throughout the day. The first day, I  told myself every time I changed a diaper, I needed to do 10 and that was an easy way to make sure I got them in. Every other day this week, I just did 10-20 whenever I thought of it and it wasn't hard to make it to 100. It feels good to know I'm doing a little extra without devoting a huge chunk of time to it!

In addition to reaching my fitness goals this week, I've really kept my diet in check and I'm really happy to see some serious progress! I have a long way to go but I feel like something really clicked for me this week.

Otherwise, we had a pretty low-key week and didn't venture out too much. Emma hasn't been a fan of tummy time so I've tried to squeeze in more of that this week and even ordered this to help make it more enjoyable for her. I think it's helped a lot!

I'm so ready for this weekend to begin! We're having a night out tonight, my mom is coming to hang with Emma and I tomorrow and Sunday, we're planning on taking our family photo for our Christmas card and starting our holiday shopping. As we head into Thanksgiving week and kicking off all the holiday fun, I feel so much gratitude. So much!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

2nd Annual Adult Field Day

For my sister's birthday last year, we hosted an adult field day in her honor and it was such a big success, we knew we had to do it again this year. We hosted this event on Saturday and we had a blast! Two teams made up of our friends and family participated in a three-legged race, water balloon toss and kickball game then met back up at our house for a BBQ and of course, some beer pong and slap cup. This year, I created MVP awards so each team voted when we got back to the house and the winners received an award medal plus a goody bag with candy, a coozie and a Smirnoff Ice (because no matter the occasion, if you come around our family, there is a good chance someone is getting iced).

I'm so glad this is becoming an annual event! Jonathan and I love hosting this and we're already talking about how to make next year bigger and better!

Life Lately

Who knows if I'll ever get to a point where I'm checking in here on the regular. In the meantime, I want to make sure I document life here and there because I love being able to come to my little space on the Internet and look back on things. With that being said, let's catch up, shall we?

I'm still trying to work through the Couch25K program. To sum up why it's taking me so long, I've been inconsistent and slow to move to the next week when I'm not feeling ready. The good news? I haven't given up. I'm currently struggling through week 6 of the program and will probably do the whole program over again once I complete it. I truly want to get back to a place where I enjoy running and I just keep going back to the thought that no matter how slow I go, I'm still going.

We took Emma to her first pumpkin patch...and they were out of pumpkins. It was a gorgeous day, Emma and I wore matching shirts and we had my mom and Jonathan's parents with us so it was still a pretty great day aside from the lack of pumpkins!

My favorite part of this day was actually when we got home later that afternoon. The weather was gorgeous so Jonathan laid a blanket down in the backyard and the three of us just laid there enjoying the last bit of our Sunday together. Emma was in such a happy mood. She was so content just laying there with us playing with her toy elephant. I love going out on adventures as a little family but nothing beats simple quality time together at home like this.

We recently spent a weekend in Bradenton, FL for a wedding. It was Emma's first hotel stay and it was super sweet of my parents to drive 2+ hours to hang out in our hotel room with Emma while Jonathan and I went to our friend's wedding that evening. We enjoyed a weekend of gorgeous weather, a fun little road trip with our little girl, a fun night with our friends and it was just really nice to get away for a quick trip! My parents had so much fun babysitting Emma and I'm so thankful they had some quality time with their grand baby! 

We didn't end up buying a Halloween costume for Emma this year. I looked around a bit but I couldn't find anything I thought would fit her well enough and I couldn't justify spending the money knowing she'd really only wear it for a cute photo and that would be it. I did get her a cute Halloween outfit and the most adorable pumpkin booties, though!

I think I speak for all of us when I say I'm glad the election is over. I don't want to get into it too much because I don't have the energy, honestly. I didn't plan on saying anything about it, but it's obviously on my mind and I want to always use this space to share what's truly on my heart. I think one thing I've tried to remember through the entire election and now post-election is that you don't have to attend every argument you're invited to. The personal attacks and pure anger people have shown each other online recently has me praying for peace more than ever. I don't need to tell you where I stand in regards to the election results. What I will tell you is when I made my decision who to vote for, I felt peace in whatever the outcome would be and do you want to know why? Because in my heart I know that no matter who is president, Jesus is King. No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, if you trust that God has a plan, that God is taking care of us, then you know the outcome of this election is not a burden you need to carry with you. Imagine the peace all those angered by this election would feel if they handed the fear and worry they have over to God? My goodness. 

I've seen so many people saying, "What will I tell my children?" Honestly, I'm not worried about this for a lot of reasons. I think no matter who is president I wouldn't necessarily want my daughter to use them as any kind of role model in her life. Emma is going to learn values, morals, how to be a good person from us as her parents. She's going to see examples of this through the people in her life as she grows up and I hope those people are her role models. I hope from us, she learns to be a strong woman, a kind person, a lover of Jesus, a compassionate individual, work ethic and the importance of giving. We are responsible of making sure she understands that even though someone is in the spotlight, whether it be a celebrity, a politician, any kind of leader, that we are all flawed and what you see isn't necessarily what is true. When she's old enough to learn about this election and future elections, her daddy and I will tell her the truth about why we voted for who we voted for and she will know that while there are pros and cons to every decision we make, that our reasons were valid and well thought out. Okay, I'm going to stop here and just say if your head is still spinning, if you feel scared or angry, I hope you will pray and trust that ultimately, He is in control. 

Moving on...I mentioned in Emma's 3 month update that we made the decision to stop breastfeeding after learning she'd only gained 3 ounces in an entire month. I was certainly sad and disappointed, but I let myself feel sad about it that day and decided to just let go of all of it and move on. The important thing is doing what is best for our little girl and I am just thankful we were able to make it a few months. We went back to the doctor on Monday after a week of formula and she was up 7 ounces! Praise God. She's been much happier and I feel a sense of relief and much less anxiety knowing she is getting what she needs now. Emma's pediatrician has been so great and I'm thankful they've been so proactive in regards to her weight having us come in for regular weight checks and staying so involved. 

It's certainly my favorite time of year and there is so much to look forward to and so much to enjoy. Jonathan's work schedule has already started to lighten up a bit thanks to the cooler temps we've been having. He was home yesterday at 2 PM and I couldn't believe it when he walked in the door. I'm so looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving and gearing up for our first Christmas as a family of three. Tomorrow we are hosting adult field day and I can't wait. We did this last year to celebrate my sister's birthday and it was a huge success so I've been excited to put another one together! The weather is supposed to be perfect and it'll be fun to have a big group of friends and family together. 

On that note, I have quite a list of chores to get done to prepare so I'm out of here. I will leave you with this adorable photo of our happy little girl.

I hope your weekend of full of fun, beautiful weather and lots of adventure. 

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Emma Joy: 3 Months Old

Our sweet baby girl turned 3 month old on Sunday! Emma changed so much in her third month and it's been incredible to see her interact more and express herself with her facial expressions and joyful sounds. This third month was full of joy but I have to be honest and say I had some really hard days, too. I feel like the first several weeks of mom life are such a blur of excitement and adjustment. I think all the emotions came crashing down on me at once this month. It's hard to explain and don't even get me started on postpartum hormones, but all I can say is the mothering has come so easy to me...it's everything else that comes with becoming a mom that takes some major emotional intelligence to work through. Pregnancy hormones have nothing on postpartum aftermath but that's a story for another day. I guess what I'm trying to say is that becoming a mommy has been the most challenging, most overwhelming, most rewarding thing I've done so far and I have never been more certain that I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing in life.

Sweet Emma Joy,

Happy 3 months! Your third month was a busy one! One weekend, we hunkered down at home during your first hurricane and while we were spared from any major damage, it made for a weekend at home having lots of quality time as a little family. One Saturday, we met up with your nana for a girls day to have lunch and shop until we dropped. It was our longest outing yet and you did pretty well! You had your first hotel stay this month in Bradenton so mommy and daddy could go to a wedding. You spent the night hanging with nana and grampy at the hotel while we were out and they had so much fun loving on you! At the end of the month, we took you to your first pumpkin patch but sadly, they were out of pumpkins! We did get some great photo opps and you and mommy dressed in matching shirts so it was still a great day. The best part of that day was coming home in the afternoon and laying together on a blanket in the backyard, just you, me and daddy. We started at the sky and played with you while you wiggled around making all kinds of happy sounds.

You certainly discovered your mouth this month and when you're not sticking your hands or toys in it, you're making the most happy sounds with it. The absolute best thing is when you get so excited that you're kicking your feet like crazy then you let out a loud, joyful squeal. Along with those joyful sounds, you also did some serious crying and fussing this month. You have serious trouble passing gas and you get pretty upset about it. Daddy and I started giving you drops to help move things along and that has helped a bit, thank goodness. When mommy took you in at 3 months for a weigh in at the doctor, we discovered you'd only gained 3 ounces in a whole month which means you hadn't been getting enough to eat which explains why you'd become so fussy.

We had a rough time with nursing this month and when the doctor came in after we weighed you, I knew in my heart it was time to stop breastfeeding. I was pretty sad for selfish reasons because despite any struggles we've had, I really was enjoying that special time with you. I am thankful we were able to make it three months and our priority is to do what is best for you, so formula it is. We're only a few days in and even though I'm still nursing you once a day temporarily, you already seem happier and more satisfied, which makes me happy and so relieved.

The month you really started to become interested in toys and playtime and it has been so much fun to watch you entertain yourself! It seemed like one day I would put a toy in front of you and you wouldn't even really look at it, then all of a sudden you were checking it out, grabbing it and of course, bringing it up to your little mouth. You have a few toys you really like to play with and you love to just lay on your elephant play mat and play with your feet while you "talk" to me. You love when daddy and I sing to you, especially the song we sing with your name in it. Whenever we sing, "Emma Joy," you let out the happiest little squeal. I like to think you can see the joy on our faces when we say your name and it makes you giddy. You're grabbing onto everything in sight, especially our clothes, my hair, your wubbanub and any toys we give you.

You're still sleeping through the night like a champ. We put you to bed around 8:30 and many mornings I'm the one who wakes you up at 7 a.m. We still have you sleeping in our room but have started talking and thinking about transitioning to your crib at night. I just love waking up and seeing you sleeping so peacefully in our room. I know I'll miss it when we do move you to your bedroom.

You're still a skinny little girl only gaining a few ounces this month so you're still in size 1 diapers and you're wearing 0-3 month/3 month clothes for the most part. Some of your newborn stuff still fits you, though, and many 3 month pants hang off your little waist.

Watching you change week by week brings me so much joy and I love this stage, but it breaks my heart at the same time. It's all happening too fast! They warned us, but we could never understand how fast it goes by until we became parents ourselves. Becoming a mommy has been the most challenging, most incredible, most rewarding thing I've done in life so far. I still look at you sometimes and I am in complete disbelief. You are such a gift. Thank God for choosing us to be your parents. We love you, Emma Joy!