Thanksgiving 2015

This Thanksgiving was our first as a family of three and that made it all the more special! I knew the Holidays would be fun with a new baby, but I didn't realize how warm it would make my heart. Just seeing Walker with all of his family members and how excited everyone was to celebrate with him made my heart melt all over the place. Last year on Thanksgiving I was pregnant and we all couldn't wait for him to be here. Now that our little turkey is here and already 7 months old blows my mind.

"The cutest turkey you ever did see"

We started off the morning with a fun little Photo shoot of Walker in his cute little turkey hat! (Side note: I went to three different Targets to find this hat)! He is always so smiley and in the best mood when he first wakes up. His face is also swollen which makes his cheeks that much more juicy and adorable for pictures! I took so many cute pictures, but obviously only uploaded 1 to social media... because let's face it, really only I care to scroll through 10 of the same pictures of my child! After taking up all of my storage capacity on the camera scroll I fed Walker some breakfast and we did our daily routine. He played in his exersaucer/walker and I cleaned up the house and did some laundry. Dakota was finally up at this point and we just relaxed on the couch. We didn't need to be over at my Granny's house until 1 and she lives right next door. We all took our showers, got ready, and popped my green bean casserole in the oven! Once we got to my granny's she had a huge feast laid out. My dad brought Walker his own sweet potatoes that he ate on while eating some of my mashed potatoes. I let Walker have some Thanksgiving food and he loved it. After eating we took tons of pictures and let out food settle until digging into the dessert. My brother's girlfriend is from New Zealand and she brought a homemade dessert that was literally heaven in my mouth. Truthfully, I couldn't tell you all that was in it.. but I didn't care. It melted in my mouth and I'm ok with that.


"What I'm most Thankful for"

"My sweet boy"

"<3"

"Eating his sweet potatoes"

 

After socializing with my family we had to leave them to go visit Dakota's side of the family. We switch off every year and we went to Dakota's last year, but still wanted to visit them because of it being Walker's first Thanksgiving. When we got there everyone was laying on the couch about to fall asleep. From what I could tell they had a yummy feast as well. I brought a Black Friday ad for us to look through and I didn't see that many good sales, but I still wanted to go. Dakota and I left Walker at his moms so we could go to Target. It was a bust... literally was a waste of time. Usually I go in Target and get a couple people checked off on my Christmas list, but I couldn't find anything. We ended up getting a few random things for each other, but I would have rather stayed at Dakota's parents and spent more time with them. When we got back to his parents Charlotte was still over there and they were playing and being cuties as usual. Walker loves to watch his daddy juggle which is what both of these kiddos are doing in the picture. I snapped a video of Walker laughing his little heart out, but Charlotte was either unsure of what was going on or didn't find it funny, lol. Either way it was a fun night and I enjoyed watching the kiddos!

"Watching Dakota juggle"

All in all it was a wonderful Thanksgiving and I'm so incredibly thankful for my two guys. I know with more of the Holidays coming up and Walker getting older will only make them more fun! I hope everyone else had a good Thanksgiving filled with lots of stuffing and stretchy pants!

Holland Farms & Halloween

"His First Halloween"

Saturday was Halloween, and what better way to start the day than to take Walker to his first trip to Holland Farms! His Daddy had to work, but we met my Sister In Law  and her main squeeze with their little one. We got there a little earlier than them so we went ahead and played in the corn box, and with some pumpkins. It was so cute watching him play in the corn box. He wasn't too sure what it was and mainly watched the other kids play and smiled. He's so curious of older kids and you can tell he wants to play with them. Once everyone else got there we walked around with the kids and showed them some farm animals and took pictures at photo props. Walker is around babies quite often, but for some reason when he's around Charlotte he reaches for her and wants to give her "kisses" which is usually sucking on her head. It's the funniest thing and Charlotte just sits there and looks at us like is he really doing this again? They are so precious together and I'm so glad that they will always have each other to play with.

"Playing in the corn pit"

"My sweet pumpkin"

"Watching the older kids play"

"Giving Charlotte kisses"

 

 

 

Once we left the farm we went to lunch with them and then headed home. Walker was way past overdue on his nap and cried the whole way home from lunch. I tried to lay him down before we went over to my parents house for dinner and trick or treating, but he was fighting it. Finally I gave up and let him play in his pack n play. He played the whole time until it was time to go. Once we got to my parents he was a little fussy and then after dinner when we tried getting him ready in his outfit he screamed the entire time. Poor guy was exhausted. The weather ended up being bad anyways, so all we wanted to do was take pictures. We took maybe 5 all together and only 2 turned out ok. It was the cutest outfit ever and I was so excited to see him in it, but again he's only 6 months old. If he's not having a good time it's not going to happen. Next year will be a lot more fun with the whole dressing up! After we undressed him I cuddled him in my arms and he was out like a light. 

"The cutest Lumberjack"

"Our one picture before the meltdown"

Overall, it was a perfect first Halloween with my little guy! Holidays are so much more fun with him. I'm so looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Six Months Old// 10.22.15

How is my baby already 1/2 a year old?!! Seriously, I just gave birth to him and now he's almost a year old and I've already booked his year old photo shoot. I literally can't even! The last 6 months with him have been a whirlwind of emotion. So many tears have shed all the way from happiness down to frustration. I can't imagine my life without this little guy. Being his momma is the absolute best and I'm looking forward to the next 6 months and so on with him.

"Our big 6 month old"

Walker turned 6 months old on the 22nd and had his checkup on the 26th. He is right on track with his development and doc says that he's a perfectly healthy little boy. He's very high on the growth charts and honestly always has been. Today he weighed a whopping 21 pounds and 27.5 inches! My little chunky butt also had 4 shots and let me know he was not happy about it. I feel so bad for him when he gets shots, but it's for his own good and I'll be thankful when he doesn't catch a disease or the flu for that matter.

"All smiles before getting shots"

Here's a little update on little Walker James

• He is sitting up all on his own & loves to play with toys!
• He smiles all the time and is almost always in a good mood
• He is finally enjoying tummy time and will roll all over the floor
• He is eating more of a variety of 2nd stage food and he prefers veggies over fruit any day
• He loves the outdoors and could sit out there watching cars drive by for hours
• He is such a people person and will smile and flirt with any girl who gives him attention
• He is such a little snuggle bug and I absolutely love it
• He has the cutest laugh and loves it when daddy plays with him after he gets off work
• He is literally a drool machine! We go through tons of bibs
• He still loves bath time and thinks splashing me is the funniest thing
• He still doesn't have any teeth, but boy is he working those teething toys

 

Happy 6 months, Walker!

Oh how we love you so!

"6 months of pure cuteness"

 

Letter

Both of my boys are sleeping in their rooms and I tried to shut my eyes, but my mind just keeps racing. I'm feeling very sentimental tonight and all I can think about when I close my eyes is my Son and how grateful to God I am for him. So, I thought I would write a letter to Walker, my first born.


Walker,

Five short months ago you came in to my life and I'll never forget how I felt when I first saw you. I always knew I wanted you, I always knew I would love you.. however what I didn't know is how much of an imprint you would make on me in such a short time. Before you were born your dad & I talked about you and wondered who you would be and if you would look like me, or him, or a mix of both! We prayed hard that God send us a healthy baby when it was his time. I knew in my heart that I was so ready and I wanted a baby so bad, but you were worth the wait and that God was saving you for us.When we found out we were pregnant I just cried tears of joy and thanked him over and over again. I really couldn't believe that you were mine and I was yours. Feeling your little kicks was the most amazing feeling and brought so much excitement. I remember you would always kick your daddy in the back at night because that's when you were most active. Being pregnant with you in the beginning was so easy! You never made me sick, you gave me a glow, and I craved healthy foods. When I was nearing the end is when it became tough. I would feel like giving up and cry because I was so exhausted and miserable because I was so swollen and big. Thinking of you gave me strength. I knew I had to stick it out for you and push myself. In week 36 I was put on bed rest. That week was probably the toughest of them all. Even though I was at home I was bed ridden and not in control of my body whatsoever.

Finally, week 37 came and they induced me. You were extremely comfy in there, but my body was getting worse by the day.  At 12:00 PM they took me in the back to get a C section. I'll be honest I was extremely scared and couldn't stop shaking. Your dad held my hand and told me that everything was going to be okay and that I needed to hold on for just a bit longer. Finally, on April 22 at 12:21 PM  I heard you cry for the first time. I couldn't see you, but I could hear you and tears just started streaming down. I knew you were perfect in every way and when your dad held you and brought you over it made everything so worth it. I wish I could freeze time and go back to that day because it was the best day of my life.

Bringing you home was an adventure. We had to learn you and you had to learn us. It wasn't easy but we made it through the first few weeks. Your newborn stage was a blur, but what I do know is that I loved being your mom and the sleepless nights were all worth it when you would just cuddle and lay on my chest. I could just stare at you for hours and be completely content. I spent many days just me and you and I loved every bit of it. April came and went, so did May and June. July hit me like a ton of bricks. July meant it was time to go back to work. Leaving you was so hard. I wasn't ready yet, but I knew I had to go back.

Since going back to work the months have flown by even faster. Now you are five months old and so much fun. You play with toys, smile all of the time, make the cutest noises, and now you are sitting up all by yourself. Watching you grow and learn has been so much fun. I know you will be crawling soonish and even walking by next year. I love that you enjoy the outdoors and want to explore already. I hope you never lose your sense of wonder! You and your dad are my world and I couldn't imagine my life without you. You have changed me in so many ways and have given me the gift of patience. However, the best gift of all is being your mommy. Everyday I look forward to greeting you with a good morning and getting the biggest smile, I look forward to cuddling you at night after your bottle when you are super drowsy and being all sweet. I know these moments won't last for long. You won't always want me to hold you, or cuddle with at night. Just know that I am always here. I'll always be your mom and I'll always love you unconditionally.

"The best day"

Thank you for choosing me.


Love,

Your Mom.