Spring is coming!

We went to the park yesterday to soak up the beautiful sunshine. I didn't get many pictures but here's Amelia in her adorable sun hat.



She LOVES going for walks in her stroller. She loves being outside period. She just looks around and is the happiest baby in the world. I can't wait for summer!!



And who else loves walks??




Yep. Cyrus. Notice the mud? He also loves running through the ditch behind our house after the walk....

and getting hosed off afterward. He's crazy and I love him.

I'm ready for spring to be here for good so we can have more walks...

Learning to relax

So I really haven't felt like my self for the past, oh, 13 months or so. Ever since I found out I was pregnant with Mia, it's like I was transported to a different body and mind. It wasn't bad, but I just felt like I wasn't me anymore. I was a nurturer of this tiny soul inside of me and then, after having her, I become a mother and still had to feed and care for this little person. Well, I stopped breastfeeding about a month and a half ago and nature has taken over and strangely I feel like the old me again. Not completely of course, having Amelia has forever changed me, but a tiny piece of the old me is still there, calm yet thriving.

I have at last learned how to be a mom and do normal everyday things. It's just common place now and not something I am constantly thinking about, like, "I have to make sure we have this, this, and this if we go out with the baby", or, "We can't go out until after the baby eats." I just go with the flow. That was the hardest thing to learn so far on this journey of mommy hood.


Just relax, everything will be ok.


So what if her shirt has spit up on it? or we may have to wait 30 minutes at the restaurant and she may get fussy? I have realized its not the end of the world if she doesn't have a bib to match her cute outfit. What matters is that I have this perfect little girl that makes my heart swell with her smiles and makes the end to every day perfect. She has taught me lots in the nearly 6 months she's been here.







She completes me.

I love this soul.

Amelia Jade, 5.5 months.

Before

I must say, I'm incredibly embarrassed to post these pictures but I know it will keep me motivated to get the "after" pictures on here. Now remember, I did have a baby 5 and 1/2 months ago...


Ben didn't want me to put his up here so I'll wait until he has an after picture to go with it.

Ok...hitting the "publish post" button is like ripping off a band aid...

one...two...three

Day 1

Today at approximately 5:30pm I will begin torturing myself with a new exercise program, P90X. I am excited to get in shape (for once in my life) but extremely terrified of the immense pain and soreness I will endure. Ben started this morning and when I asked him how it was he said "It destroyed me." That is coming from a man who is in decent shape already.
Awesome.
I am in no shape (unless you consider flabby a shape) whatsoever, so this should be interesting. I will be posting both of our "before" pictures later tonight so I have something to keep me motivated. Though we both have completely different goals we are going for (he wants to GAIN body mass and muscle, I want to lose weight and be toned) we are doing this together to keep each other accountable. We will also be dieting (I have been since the new year and lost 6lbs already!!) and try to live a more active life all together. Here is my list of reasons why I want to have this major life style change:

- Amelia. I want to set a great example for her and encourage her to live a healthy, active life. Plus, the healthier I am now, the longer I will be around...I want to be a great-great grandma someday.

- I want to be proud of my body for once. I don't want to have to question whether or not something looks good on me, I want the confidence that it does.

- 1 Corinthians 6:19 says "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own..". My body should be an outward example of what is on the onside. We have to take care of the bodies that He gave us.

So there, now, not only am I being accountable for myself but to anyone who reads this blog. I don't want to disappoint. I am determined to get in shape and stay that way. Who is going to join me?

I need a name..

for my photography business. I've been trying to think of one for ages and just can't seem to come up with something cool and snappy. Since I know sometime in the future Ben and I will have our business together (me doing photography and him doing graphic design) it will need to be a name such as "Blah Blah Photography and Design." Any got anything?? I don't want anything like "A Moment in Time" or "Picture This"...you know, nothing cheesy. I would like to maybe use our names somehow but so far the only thing I can come up with is "J & B Photography and Design" but that just doesn't flow right. So anyone got any ideas to throw out there??? Please, anything....

update

Life is busy, as usual. Amelia is growing like a weed. She has started laughing every once in a while. It is so cute when she does. She babbles like crazy and it always sounds like she is saying "I good" but its really more just like "ahhh gggggg." She does the "g" sound the most. At 4 and 1/2 months, it just amazes me at what she can already do. She is also almost sitting on her own. Oh, and we started trying some baby foods this week. So far just pears (which she LOVES) and sweet potatoes (which she thinks are just "ok") I really enjoy letting her try new things. She wants to feed herself already so she has to hold my hand that has the spoon in it the whole time. So cute!





Work is pretty much the same. I would LOVE to not have to work so much and spend more time with my baby but that's just not something we can afford right now. I hope to get my photography business off the ground soon then I will be home a lot more. Someday....just waiting for God's timing.





I love being a mom. My world is completely different and I see life in a totally different way. I never knew I could love another person as much I love this kid. It's like every part of me woke up just to love her and she makes me incredibly happy. I know all you moms out there know exactly what I mean. It's awesome!





Here's a picture I took tonight on our web cam. Just me and Mia, hanging out:








She was smiling cause she could see herself on the screen. She LOVES to look at herself. It's so funny because she could be screaming and if I hold her up in front of the mirror, she will stop immediately and smile at her reflection. Can you say conceited...haha, just kidding. Seriously though, she's the coolest kid ever.