::Life:: 2013

I have seen tons of posts of Instagram of montages of pictures from profiles throughout the year and of course I had to jump on the bandwagon. I loved seeing all of the pictures from early in the year that reminded me how tiny Henley once was and of how far we have come.

I got a notification on my phone from Google + and it was another video montage and this one has to be the best!

I honestly cannot even begin to summarize 2013 in a way that will truly convey what a year it has been! We rang in the New Year by going to bed at 8pm with a 2-week old baby, being woken by fireworks, pooping up in bed to watch them over the river and immediately falling back asleep to enjoy a few minutes of sleep before Henley's next feeding. (longest sentence ever!)

Through all of the late nights, tears, pain, healing, growing, rolling over, crawling, eating, and walking I have learned that life is flying by. I have loved this year and am excited for what is to come in 2014.

Mere :-)

::Family:: Family Pictures are Here!

We have all of the pictures back from our photographer, Niesha Rose Photography, and she is amazing!!! Niesha was so patient with Henley and took some great candid shots. I would highly recommend her to anyone local looking for some awesome pictures. She gave us a lot of shots but I thought I'd share some of my favorites here:

See!! She is amazing!

For all of the family out there, we will load these to a site and you can purchase prints if you'd like. 

Christmas Countdown is on! (YAY!)

Mere :-)

::Henley:: It's My Birthday!

We made it. Henley is exactly one year old (almost to the minute of me starting this post) and what's even more exciting is that Ted's cousin just delivered her little girl! Birthday twins just one year apart, I'm waiting to hear what the exact time was because it should be really close!

Ted and I took the day off today and spent the whole day enjoying our perfect little baby. We started the day with waking at 6. By waking at six I mean we went to bed and didn't wake again until 6.  This is the first time this has happened since I was pregnant. It was the perfect start to the day. We had breakfast and played with her new toys from her party. After nap time we went to Chik-fil-a for lunch then headed to the C'mon (Children's Museum of Naples). It was so fun!

This will be the last post for her monthly updates but don't worry---I'll keep updating you for her exciting and adorable pictures :-)

Mere :-)

::Henley:: Winter Onederland

Today was the big birthday party, Henley's Winter Onederland! It was so amazing!! I cannot even put into words how grateful I am to have such loving and supportive friends and family in our lives. (warning this post is picture overload!)

I tried to do as much as I could for the party myself, mainly because I am totally addicted to crafting, but also because I wanted it to be special! I did get a few great things from Etsy though.

A few nights ago I got my scrapbook paper and cutters out and went to town on some paper garland. I strung it around the mirror in the dining room and on the window.

 

I also made Henley's outfit for the party.

I got some really cute decorations Etsy from Toadally Cute Parties. I got a packaged deal with the jpeg file for invitations, a high chair banner, cupcake labels, and a front door sign.

 

I also ordered personalized M&M's that said "Henley is One!" and "Dad and Mom Survived" ;-)

Luckily I had awesome awesome help for the party from my husband, sister, and bestie!

 

Party time!!

Henley has tons of cousins and friends that were able to come celebrate:

 Smash cake time!

 This day was truly special and we thank everyone that stopped by and was able to hang out and celebrate. I cannot believe she is one!! We will save the sobbing  "I can't believe my baby is 1" talk for her actual one year post on Wednesday (you got a sneak peak at the chalk board here)  :-)

Mere :-)

::Henley:: Our Breastfeeding Journey

It's coming to an end and it's so bittersweet. For the last year, I have been the main source of Henley's nutrition. I have provided her with everything she needed for the first six months exclusively. It is now coming to an end. While I am super excited to have my body back, I am extremely mourning the end of this relationship. The end of lying in bed nursing her while snuggling so sweetly. The end of nursing her while rocking with lullabies playing in the background. The end of her rubbing me as she nurses so sweetly.


 I wasn't one of those people who always knew they would breastfeed. My mom never did it and it wasn't something I gave much thought to. Over the last 10 years or so, I have really become more conscious of what I am consuming and putting into my body and with this conscientiousness, I have learned that nature really knows what it's doing. When I got pregnant, I knew I wanted to breastfeed and started educating myself right away. I read articles and blogs, discussed with friends, and took a class at the hospital. All of these were instrumental in preparing me for the journey I was about to begin with Henley.

When Henley was born, I was lucky enough to be able to have immediately skin to skin contact. I held her in my arms for a full hour (God bless my husband for giving me that time!). She latched immediately and nursed for a good thirty minutes or so. From then on this bond was created.

When we were in the hospital she nursed every one to two hours and continued this at home. Sometimes in those first few weeks she would nurse for 30 minutes straight every 45 minutes. It was exhausting, tiring, and at times painful. I worried she wasn't getting enough, wasn't gaining weigh fast enough, was overeating...actually I just worried. Being a first time mom brings so many unknowns but I have learned that mama's usually know what is best.

Henley nursed steadily every two hours until she was about nine months old. She almost always wakes one to two times a night still to nurse and nurses (almost) to sleep every night. She loves it!

As I rocked her tonight as she nursed, I kept thinking how crazy this life is and how fast it goes. She will be one in two weeks and I know I will look back on this last year with love, pride, and awe thinking how blessed I am to have been able to do this with my daughter as long as I did. Not everyone has this chance and I am so appreciative that I did. I truly love being a mom---it is definitely what I was meant to do!

Mere :-)