First Bath

I love nekkid Paisley time.

(Dont worry, I have bathed her before now, this is from a few weeks ago.)
:)

Letters to My Daughter

Dear Paisley Girl,

You have been with us for one whole month now and we couldnt be more thrilled. You have brought us so much joy and happiness. I would like to start this letter telling you how much I adore you. My whole life is about finding adventures and you have been the greatest adventure of them all. I want you to read these letters when you are older and never doubt our undying love for you. You are a princess, Paisley. A princess. Never let anyone tell you differently. You are a daughter of a Heavenly King. You are a beloved daughter, a sweet grand baby, a loving niece, a fun cousin and a devoted friend. So many people love you. So many people are here for you. You are beautiful in every way shape and form; on the inside and out. 

You will do amazing things. I cannot wait to see what new adventures are in store for us. You give me wings, Paisley. You are my Happy Thought. 

                                                                           Love Always and Forever,

                                                                                                   Your Mama.

Guest Post from Awesomely Awkward

I am so thrilled to have Jamie guest posting for me today.

If you havent seen her blog, go check it out now. (Link below)

I love her style of writing and her funny and witty comments.

Thanks so much Jamie!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Good morning ladies! Jamie here, from Awesomely-Awkward. Today I just wanted to share with you some hair care basics… and with Lauren about to become a mommy, I thought now would be a great time to show you how to make your hairstyle last 3 days… Yep, you heard me 3 and no, I am not a dirty person.

When I tell people I only wash my hair twice a week, people look at me like I am crazy and or gross. While I do admit to brief crazy spells, I am in no way gross.

The next thing people say is, "I could never do that, my hair would be too gross."
Well my friend... I am here to show you how I make your hair last three days (even four if you're awesome).

First let me tell you it's ok to not wash your hair everyday. It's actually healthier. You see, shampoo has sulfates. Even I it says it doesn't, it usually has some other hair stripping thing in it. If it lathers, it does. Trust me on this, I'm a trained professional.

Follow me to the shower (not in a weird kinky way, perv). You are washing your hair. The key is to only wash your scalp. That's the dirty part. When you rinse, the shampoo running off will be enough to cleanse the ends. Washing the ends will only make them dry and brittle.

Now conditioner. I'm all for super soft hair but you only want to condition the ends. Your scalp makes its own conditioner. Putting more on it will just tempt Exxon to come pick up your roots. I only condition from about my ear down.

After all that, I style my hair… this particular time with a 1 1/2 in. curling iron but go crazy, do whatever you want!

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

The curls loosen day by day so it actually does look like different styles. If I find my roots getting a little greasy, I just spray in a little dry shampoo and I’m on my way.

Now tell me, do I look like a grease monkey? I’ll let you in on another secret… I’m not washing my hair today either. Do you think less of me now that you know my dirty hair secrets?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isnt she hilarious? I love how she can make a simple hair post, comical and entertaining.

I know I needed this tutorial because lets face it, I hate doing my hair. The easier the better!
Let me know if you gave this a try and how your hair turned out for you.

And another big thanks to Jamie!

You are the bomb.com

Guest Post from Stay Gold, Autumn

Today I get to have the wonderful Autumn from the cute blog,
Stay Gold, Autumn.
(Link Below)
She has provided us with a marvelous receipe for Pecan Cookies!
I cannont WAIT to make these.
My mouth is watering as I am typing this up...
Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My name is Autumn and I blog here.
Being from the south, my family loves pecans (puh-cons). Here is a really easy cookie recipe we love to make with them. Yummy!

Butter pecan cookies

Ingredients

1/3 cup of pecans

1 stick of butter

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1/3 cup of sugar

1 cup of flour

Makes 12 cookies

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350

Put pecans on cookie sheet

Bake pecans for 9-10 minutes

Let pecans cool

Chop pecans finely (keep pecans separate)

Soften butter and beat for a minute in a bowl

Put vanilla in the bowl

Mix pecans into the bowl

Put sugar onto the cookie sheet

Roll cookie dough into balls

Flatten with hand (or bottom of cup)

Put sugar on tops of cookies
Bake for 12-15 minutes

Please hop over to my blog and tell me if you end up making them :)

~~~

Tell me if you make them as well, I am not a good baker so I am sure yours will be better than mine, but that wont stop me from eating an entire batch I am sure!
Thanks Autumn!

Guest Post from And Here's to You Mrs. Robinson

This is Megan.

She is flippin amazing.

I absolutely LOVE reading her blog, and here's to you Mrs. Robinson

She has such a beautiful way of writing that makes you keep coming back.

I also love reading about her sweet little boy.
I think she is such a wonderful mother and I am thrilled to have her guest posting about what its like to be a mama.

Thank you so much Megan!

Before I became a mother, I had a whole list of things I was going to do every day

and things I refused to ever do.

I thought I knew how it would go down.
I set high expectations for myself and my baby {who I had yet to meet}.
And because I had such high standards, if I didn't live up to them I thought I was a terrible mother.

There were many times I would read books, articles, and yes, some other mommy blogs and think,
"I don't do that. My baby doesn't do that. What is wrong with us?"

I would beat myself up so much about it that at times it was hard for me to enjoy what was really there.

And what was really there was a happy, loving, beautiful baby boy who loved me.
A healthy, chubby son with big brown eyes and a head full of baldness.
A crazy mover and shaker who refused to stay still and taught himself to roll, crawl, and walk very early on.
A new, eternal, incredible bond between my son and I that I would cherish forever.
And all of the other wonderful things that come with motherhood.

It took me a while but I eventually learned my most important lesson of motherhood:
I AM THE MOTHER.
I am the mother. Me. Not my neighbor, not my friend, not other bloggers, not even my doctor.
Me.
And only I know my baby best.
I know how he likes to be held at night to go to sleep.
I know how he likes to cuddle, feeling safe and warm in my arms.
I know how he eats, sleeps, and likes to play.
I know how he learns and how he interacts.
I know.
I know.

Yes, books and friends and blogs all have their place.
There were many times where I was at a complete loss and needed to turn to someone for help and they were there. But it was still very important that I used my own gut and intuition to know what was right for me and my son.

My son and I are both very happy even though most of the things I said I would do {or never do} didn't actually happen.
He is happy because I learned to recognize his needs, his temperament, and let him be himself.
I am happy because I have lowered the expectations for myself greatly and have tried to take it day by day, enjoying all the sweet moments.

Motherhood is not easy. Nor is it the same experience for everyone.
We are all different. Our children are different.
But we are all meant to be together with our children for a reason.

I know my son was meant specifically for me.
I know he was meant to bring special blessings only meant for me.
He brings me such great happiness that I never thought was possible.
And when I remember to trust myself and my own abilities, the stresses of living up to an unknown standard melts away and I am able to be the best mother to my son that I can be.

Thank you so much, Lauren for letting me share my mothering experiences with your readers!
You are going to be a FANTASTIC mother and I know your little girl will feel so incredibly loved!

+

Overdue

My due date has come and gone and I still am sporting the large bowling ball look. . .

She must be too comfortable in there.

Sorry baby, but mama is NOT comfortable so we will be seeing you very soon.

(Tomorrow in fact)

The doctor says its time to come out now so we are headed to the hospital bright and early tomorrow morning to be induced.

Cant wait to meet you, Little Lady!

I am one proud lady. . .

My hunk of a husband and his awesome twin sister just ran a marathon.

I am super proud.

Way to go Kate and Gavin!

(Doesnt it look like they are running from the cops? Haha)

You Are Special

Have you read this book?

If you havent, you MUST go get one now.

This is one of my all time favorite books.

You Are Special is a beautiful story that reminds us that we are precious to God just the way we are. It is through spending daily time with him that we begin to see ourselves through his eyes. This is an important truth that children and parents need to know: God loves us even though we make mistakes and have flaws.

I have my copy ready to read to Paisley ALL the time.

Here are a few more of my favorite picture books...

What were some of YOUR favorite books growing up?

Laugh out Loud

Bonjour!

I saw this posted on Facebook this morning and I was laughing so hard so I thought I'd share it with you.

If you know me, you know I love Princess Belle and this new version is priceless.

Enjoy!

"She think she in a furry tale!"

First Month

My how this month has flown!

I cant believe my Little Lady is already a month old!

I didnt know I could love somebody this much.

I have been slowly learning the ropes, but loving every minute of it. 

Even the late nights and crying that makes your heart break. 

She is worth it.

I couldnt have done it without the help from so many friends and family members though. 

We had friends bring dinner, family hold her when mama needs a break. 

(Daddy is a pro at soothing her when no one else can.)

My mom came to help and is such a blessing! She can make me feel confident in my mothering abilities AND  is the best Nanny Jac to Paisley. 

I am so grateful for all the love and support that has been shown.

I still cant believe I am a mama.

To the most adorable baby around no less!

(Ok, I MAY be a bit bias)

:)

Some of my favorite things so far are:

Paisley's milky breath

Watching Gavin talk to her and her being completely enthralled by him

Paisley's smiths that light up her entire face. ( I KNOW they are real and not gas!)

Cuddling with Gav and our baby

The funny and cute faces that Paisley pulls

Her cute little naked body

They way she focuses on your face.

And... knowing I have these two lovlies for all ETERNITY. 

I am so blessed.

Baby Must Haves

hello hello.

i am finally in a position where i will have regular internet access!

can I get a whoo whoo?

yes, i am excited.

i will definitely be blogging more often although i am trying to get used to typing one handed since the little one wants to be held 24/7.

i am in NO way complaining! 

i love it.

so this week, our little family of three moved in with my parents until the end of aug to help save on rent, get help with the paisley girl and to party it up until we head out to iowa.

so far, i love being a mommy. sure, at times its tough but when i lock eyes with this sweet angel, my heart just melts away. 

i didnt know i could love this little person so much!

its priceless.

of course, there are some items that you CAN put a price on that are worth their weight in gold.

here are my favorites as of right now... 

1) i didnt think i'd need a boppy pillow for nursing, but ended up getting one for a steal. they are actually awesome!

2) the medella pump is amazing. I would have loved a double, but this does the job.

3) moby wraps are the bomb.com for real. like i mentioned, Paisley wants to be held all the time so this makes it easy to hold her AND get things done. i got a black one, but she gets really hot in it so i would suggest a lighter color.

4) desitin cream works miracles on any rash! Paisley had a diaper rash and a rash under her chin(s) and this stuff cleared it right up.

5) the swaddle me blankets are also worth gold. Paisley sleeps in hers every night. she likes the feeling of being secure and her arms and legs dont flail around and wake her up.

6) i got these soothies at the hospital and paisley likes them best. i tried a few others but she wont take them!

7) we got the baby trend jogger and so far, we love it!

8) lanolin cream is great for the soreness that comes from nursing. 

9) kirkland baby wipes are the best ones out there. they are not too rough on baby bottoms, they also do the job!

i am sure there are a lot more things that i will not be able to live without but for now, these are my favs.

Birth Story of Paisley Jane

As most of you know, Miss Paisley was due May 27, but she took her sweet time getting here. 

On Wednesday night, the doc said to come into the hospital to get prepped so I could be induced in the morning on Thursday. As Gavin and I were driving into the hospital parking lot, I started feeling contractions.

After the nurse got me settled and hooked up to the monitor, she noticed that my contractions were already a minute apart. She stepped out to make a call to my doc. Gavin and I waited patiently until she returned. She informed us that we wouldnt be going home that night and we'd be having a baby instead.

Holy cow!

This baby definitely does things on her own terms!

We were thrilled.

Gavin stepped out to call our family and ask if someone could stop by our house to grab our bags.

Luckily my contractions werent too bad at first. 

Gavin and I were able to laugh and talk and enjoy our time in the middle of this adventure.

This was it!

We were finally going to meet our Little Lady!

After some time, the doc shows up to break my water. 

Um, is it supposed to be green?!

Well the answer is no. 

The baby had had a bowel movement. The doc said everything would be fine, but I wouldnt be able to hold her immediately after the birth because they'd need to get her on oxygen right away because it could cause pneumonia. 

I was a bit sad about that, but I'd rather she be ok.

The contractions started coming stronger, and I was ready for my epidural. 

I was too scared to look at the needle. 

:)

Then the family showed up.

I was feeling much better and they were keeping my spirits up. 

Everyone was so excited.

At this point I was still feeling pain from the contractions, so the anesthesiologist came back and gave me a little more meds to kill the pain.

I was feelin good then!

My legs were completely numb and the nurse came in to check me and moved my leg for me. 

Um, weirdest feeling ever! I could see my leg move, but I couldnt feel a thing.

Odd.

Now we were movin. The nurse said she expected me to be able to start pushing in another hour!

Wow.

Things were going so quick.We had only been there for a few hours. 

We were going to be parents!

Well the rest is history. I ended up only needing to push for half an hour. 

Gavin was such an amazing coach. 

He was so supportive, I couldnt have done it without him.

She came out and they whisked her away to get taken care of.

I was amazed how much hair she had! I thought we'd have a bald baby until she turned three!

It was 1:46 and I was tired, but I couldnt sleep until I saw and held my little girl.

Gavin followed her into the nursery and didnt leave her side. 

It was so sweet.

As I waited in the delivery room, the epidural started wearing off and I was shaking like a leaf. I had my sister distract me by watching movie trailers. 

Finally they brought my little bundle to me. 

She was (and still is!) such a little angel.

The next few days at the hospital were heaven.

We loved getting to know Paisley and spending time together just the two of us.

We also loved all the visitors that came and supported us.

We couldn't be more thrilled to have her in our lives!