2 Months of Parenting

Okay so I'm a little late on this one, but it's never too late to brag about your cute little people.  Right?
Clara is a little over two months old now, and I cannot believe it. They tell you the time flies by.  You believe them.  But you don't truly understand how fast it goes until you're living it.

Clara absolutely loves seeing mommy first thing in the morning.  She will crack a huge smile when I peak into her crib and start un-swaddling her. 

She is an amazing sleeper!  I put her down at 8:20 nearly every night and she sleeps until 6ish.  She's also sleeping in her own room.  

We're mostly breast feeding, however we're also doing some supplementing too.  Going back to work has been hard on my milk supply, and I didn't have a whole lot stashed before my return.  But we aren't ready to quit.  I'm pumping and nursing every day, doing my best to provide for my baby girl. 

Being back at work is hard, but Corey is father of the year.  He takes Clara to the sitter ever morning, gets her all dressed and ready, and even remembers to make our bed (the only neat thing about our tornado house) before he leaves. 

Clara is the center of our world and I can't believe that I get to be her mommy.  Every day I spend with her is a blessing.  When I feed her before bed I hold her close and I often cry just wishing that time would slow down.  

Here is to another successful month of parenthood!

What to Bring When The Baby is On the Way

**This post contains Affiliate links to quality products that can be purchased on Amazon**

Packing the bag for the hospital is an important part of having a baby.  Some people back up their hospital bags months before their baby is due to arrive.   I, being the picture of preparedness that I am, packed my bags a few days before Clara made her appearance. 

There are tons of things on Pinterest that tell you what you should pack for your (hopefully) short stay at the hospital.  I probably looked at a more than 20 little graphics saying what was essential for each member of the family.  I also talked to my family that had recently had babies at the same hospital, and eventually came up with a few things to stick in our bags. 

First things first:  Baby Clara's Diaper Bag

 From everything I've read, people tend to regret bringing way too many things with them to the hospital.  We figured we would already be overwhelmed with all of the new things that come with being a new parent.  We didn't need a whole mess of things getting in our way.  

Diaper Bag // Swaddles // Nursing Pillow // Nighties

For Corey and I:

When I was thinking about what to pack for the two of us, I started with a huge list.  The more I looked at he list, though, the less I wanted to take all of those things. We live close enough to the hospital that Corey could go home to clean up and change clothes, so what we brought for him was pretty minimal.

Form my stay at the hospital, I ended up really only using  a few of these things in the picture.  It was honestly sort of difficult to do anything but lay in bed.  There were people in and out of the room, we were working on breast feeding (this is a post in and of its self...), signing paper work, and figuring out how to be parents. I swear even eating was a challenge because we were so busy.   

LilyPadz® // Lansinoh Nursing Pads// Always Feminine Wipes // Kleenex Facial Wipes  

My Advice For Packing Your Bags:

1:  Contact the the hospital and see what they provide for you. 

The hospital I delivered in provided me with everything I needed for my recovery to include awesome mesh undies.  They also had diapers, wipes, and receiving blankets. When you know what will be provided, you can make a decision on what additional comforts you want.  

2:  Be aware that dad gets nothing. 

In general, dad is not provided with many comforts.  They'll give him a pillow and a blanket, but you and baby are the patient.  Bring him a change of clothes and something to help him sleep comfortably.

3:  You'll want to have something to wear besides your hospital gown.

I was very grateful to have bought a nice nursing night gown and robe.  We were having a really hard time with breast feeding and it was very helpful to be wearing something nursing friendly.  It was also nice to be able to walk around the halls and not worry about my bum peaking out. 

4:  Don't forget your phone chargers!

You're probably going to take a thousand pictures and you'll have to let everyone know that your baby has arrived.  You don't want to have to worry about your dead phone.  Also, don't leave them in the birthing suit or the maternity floor! They collect a lot of phone chargers. 

Conquer the Awkward

Yesterday, Corey and I attempted to conquer our awkwardness and take some maternity pictures together.  Before work I spent nearly an hour curling my lashes and working on winging my eyeliner.  I picked a shirt for Corey to wear and I ran out the door for work a few minutes later than planned. 

Later, I came home after a busy day at work and pulled my hair into some curls with my flat iron.  This is a science I have yet to really master, if I'm being honest. I touched up my make up and anxiously jumped in the car with Corey a few minutes too early. 

We went to a studio called Camera Shy to get our photos done.  Knowing that it's July and I'm a million months pregnant, I decided something indoors with lots of back drop options would be the best idea. Ultimately, I think it was a great decision.  It was a good experience and definitely in our price range. 

We're not perfect.  Corey's shirt has some fold line (remind me to buy an ironing board), my hair got all blowout funny by air conditioner, and I'm still getting used to showing off my smile, but I think we might even be able to share these pictures with the general public. I hope you enjoy a peak into our awkward life.

And I think that we wouldn't be us if there hadn't been one like this.  We were having a little bit of trouble acting natural so we started making faces at each other.  I didn't even realize the photographer captured that moment.  I can only hope that our daughter appreciates the moments (and photos) like these.

When You Miss Your Family

This past weekend I was lucky enough to get to spend it with my Family.  On Saturday we all got together and had a potato bar pot luck.  Usually when we all get together we like to play games.  It can get a little competitive, but we still always have a good time.  I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard.  It felt really good.  One of my favorite things about going to Salt Lake is seeing my niece.  She was born while I was away and she's growing up while I'm away too, so I try to spend as much time with the little monster as I can.  She is growing up way to dang fast...

My reason for going to Salt Lake this weekend was for my monthly Drill stuff for the Army.  It's usually pretty fun for me to get to see my Army friends and remember how to be a Soldier for reals deals.  But the best part, by far, is getting to spend a little bit of time with my family.  Choosing to go to school out of state was really big decision and being away from them is probably the hardest part of college.  In the past few weeks I have called my mom nearly every day.  You may think that's a little excessive, but when you're entire support system is 400 miles away, sometimes you just need to talk to your mom... How do you deal with being away from home?

Don't forget about What's Up Wednesday! Goes live at Midnight! 

Up In The Sky

First of all...Yeah, sorry I've been a little bit absent.  I've been busy doing some scrapbooking, working, getting together all the Christmas presents and of course, I went home for Christmas, so there was also the travelling and the packing and all that jazz.

But today, I'm back and I've got lots planned for the new year.  I can't wait to share it with you.  Here's a little bit about what I've been up to for the past couple of weeks.

Giving gifts to grandparents is hard.  They have everything that they need.  They have lived there life and there isn't much they haven't done.  Well, Travis and I decided to give them an experience they hadn't ever had before. 

On The Strip in the area called the Quad between the Linq and the Flamingo, there's a big huge Ferris Wheel thing that was built last year.  From far away, you can't even tell it's moving because the big bulbs creep around the wheel so slow it takes 30 minutes to go all the way around. It takes you up over 500 feet and you can see the whole city all lit up on either side.

We didn't tell them what we were doing...We just took them out to dinner then headed towards the city.  It was a big surprise and such a cool experience to watch them enjoy it. 

 

 

We took a lot of pictures.  We even got lucky enough to get a whole little bulb thingy all to ourselves. His grandma was taking pictures on her flip phone and could not get over how beautiful it was.  We even got to see the Belagio fountain show from up in the sky.  It was incredible.  

When you're inside the bulb the lights on the wheel are constantly changing colors so it's hard to get really good picutres inside.  It kept throwing funny colors on us.  We mostly looked blue, but we did end up with a few good ones.

 

 

When we got near the top, we gave them a present.  Trav didn't even know about it, but I framed a photo of Travis in the Cessna and tied a bow on it with the cards that I made for our families for Christmas.  Needless to say, it was a prefect night.  It could not have gone any better.

I really think that this was the best gift that we could have given them. I sure hope that they agree.

 

Lorrie

Over the past 5 days, I've been in Murrieta, California with Travis. His mom passed away a week ago today...That's the reason that I've been all about living life to the fullest.  You just never know when it could be rapidly taken from you.  It has also taught me not to take the people who are in my life for granted. 

 

All too quickly, it can just be over...I only met his mom Lorrie one time.  I met her when Trav and I had only known each other for a a little over a week...Looking back, I'm so glad that I met her.  It's after going to her service, I know what a truly amazing person she was and I can only hope to learn from her example.  I think the most amazing thing that I learned about her in the time that I spent there with Trav and his family was that she saved everything.  She has pictures, her kids old sports jerseys, paper work, old family trinkets, things for her childhood...everything.  It has inspired me to make plans to go home and get together all of my random junk that I've kept throughout the years like bagage claim tickets and receipts from the big things I've bought and actually do something with it all. That may seem silly, but because she kept all that stuff, she has some amazing keepsakes for Trav and his brother.  She was also really organized.  I could learn a lot from her.    At her funeral, the city that she worked in gave her a proclomation.  This was probably the most inspiring part of it all. Residents of the city were calling the city insisting that they do something to honor her memory. As the marketing director at Chick Fil-a she created relationships with her customers.  I was completely blown away by the number of people who came up to Travis and shook his hand and said "I was a customer at Chick Fil-A."   That is the kind of person I want to be.  Some who leaves such an impression on other that it actually does make the world a better place. With that being said, a Go Fund Me account has been set up for donations to help the family...my family with the cost of her services. If you feel like living by Lorrie's example, please click the link and donate what you can.  It means more to Lorrie's family than you can possibly imagine.    If you live in the Murrieta/Temecula/Riverside ish area, there will be a fundraiser on Novebember 20th at Chick Fil-A in Murrieta where Lorrie worked. A portion of the entire day's profits will go to family.   We'll miss you, Lorrie...I wish I could have had the chance to get to know you better.

Making It In a Man's World

I know...I know.  I didn't post all 5 days last week.  But I do have a rule about blogging.  Blogging is not allowed to get in the way of life. If blogging gets in the way of life then life is not being lived to blog about...so live first, blog second. 
This weekend was so crazy.  In fact, this whole week was kind of crazy.  I hate to stay up late anymore...I don't know why, but I just can't do it.  I've been up late pretty much every day this week.
I have been car shopping to no avail.  I really hate car shopping.  I'm mad that I even have to do it right now.  I didn't want a new car.  I liked the one I had, so I'm a little upset about this right now.  And it only gets more annoying. On the bright side, while I did work and car shop all week, I also got to spend a little bit of time at a music festival in Ogden.  It's about an hour away, so driving two and from there twice kind of sucked, but it was worth it.  
We watched an incredible, Grammy Nominated, all girls bluegrass band play.  
They were serious, so inspiring.  They make me want to play the mandolin all day long.  They played mostly their original songs as well as a few songs also sung by women in the bluegrass world.  I know it seems kind of medieval, but there aren't really a lot of women in the bluegrass community, so it really means something to me and my sisters to run into people who have made it big in a man's genre of music.  
This kid was equally inspiring.  His name is Sammy Sammy is 13 years old and writes incredible songs.  You would have no idea that he's 13.  I just don't know what he's going to do when his voice changes...Hopefully his whole career won't be over!
This is me and my little sister.  She graduating high school this year and it's kind of a big deal.  We were watching Della Mae and singing along with the songs that we knew having a great time.  I'm really going to miss these times when she goes off to college...It will be the first time that she's the one who's gone instead of me.  Weird.  
The last night we were there, I stayed up until 3 in the morning playing music with some really great musicians.  I was so tired and was barely holding my own in the jam, but it was so inspiring.  It really made me want to get back into the music and really learn to be great, just like the are.  I added one of them on Facebook and now I'm feel like I'm all brushing elbows with fame.  The kid's only 19 and can play circles around me...He's amazing.  
So there you have it a great weekend at the Ogden Friends of Acoustic Music Festival!  I hope you all have a great week.  I know Monday is a rough one for some, so keep your heads up!

I Don't Know About You, But I'm Feeling 2[1]

While I was in Wisconsin, a very big thing happened.

1. 

I turned 21. I'll admit, I was pretty disappointed when I realized that my birthday would be during AT. 21 is such a huge milestone, especially when all of your friends family are there and have been there for a while. I've basically become the babysitter when everyone else goes out for a good time. Don't get me wrong, I love the baby, but it bums me out to miss out on the fun they all have.    Finally, here I am. 21.  On my birthday, I woke up around 5 am (why does the Army like to eat food so early?) and the first birthday wish I was given was this:  "Happy f%*@ing Birthday!" The Army is weird.  Once we all gathered for chow, everyone sang happy birthday. I figured that was pretty much the end of my Army Birthday festivities.  Wrong. 
After the duty day was over, we all got to together for a barbecue. It wasn't technically meant to be for my birthday, but I saw it that way anyway. They all sang to me again and treated me with tasty drinks. I got to know people on a much different level and it was so much fun. But whoever let me take the pictures is fired. There are only two good ones.  This is me with two guys in my unit. There were several other ones just like this with random other people that were blurring in and out...I guess that's how you know a good time was had. This one was taken with a fairly steady hand as well.  This was even later in the night, so I probably deserve a round of applause for it being so clear. The party ended just after dark per our 10 o'clock curfew.  We all had a really great time. I don't think that I could have asked for a better way to spend my 21st birthday. It was probably the best one I've had in a few years.When I got home, my family took me out to The Cheesecake Factory and I ordered myself a tasy legal pina colada, ate way too much, and got a tiny free desert.  
It feels good to be catching up to everyone. Now if I could just stay this age forever, I think that would be okay.

What's With Hating On Easter?

Well hey there, Monday. We meet again. 
Today, I go back to my civilian job for a few days. I'm currently just hoping that I haven't forgotten how to do my job.  This is probably the most difficult part of being a reservist: Balance. I'm about to spend almost my whole summer playing Army, and then I have to go back to civilian life like I never left. Some might say we have the best of both worlds, but I'd have to disagree.  ------- Anyway...I'm so glad that I was home with my family to celebrate Easter. I know that a lot of people don't really celebrate it. Some people will spout off about how it's actually a pagan holiday, some just smoked weed because it was also 4/20.  Some think that eggs, bunnies, and candy, are too commercialized and hate that the focus is off the resurrection of Christ.  What is with all this hating on Easter? 
Well, if you ask me, it's an excuse for my whole family to get together, play with my adorable niece and eat ham and scalloped potatoes. For as long as I can remember, we've done an Easter Egg hunt and gotten baskets filled with more things than we ever would have imagined and we're no worse for wear.  I suppose that everyone has there own way of doing things, but this is ours. 
Kallie "hunted" for her little princess eggs \ And when I say hunted, I mean that they got in her way, so she just tossed them to the side and she headed straight towards the candy on the floor to put them all in her little basket.  My sister had her in an adorable little yellow dress that got caught under her knees when she crawled. I think it's safe to say that Kallie has no idea what Easter is. Look at this kid's face...
To me, family is the most important part of the holidays. True meaning matters, but more than that, using the time you have off of work and available to spend together is what matters most. Maybe I'm wrong in thinking that, but I honestly don't think so. 
I hope that everyone had a great Easter/Spring Break/ 4/20 / Pagan Celebration. Or whatever you celebrate. All I know, is that I'm so happy I could be around this year to spend time with my family. 
What did you do for Easter?