A Month Of Thanksgiving

I have an Instagram account. I really love posting pictures of a variety of subjects (though my most frequent pictures involve Skylar, our cat, nailpolish and food). Well, in early in November a friend posted something under the tag "instagratitude" and I clicked on it. Quickly I realized that the point was to post something that you are grateful/thankful for every day during the month of November. What a wonderful idea! I kept up posting almost every day (at the latest I posted a day late). I decided mid-month that at the end I would post all 30 days here! I thought it would be a good place to remember some of the things I'm thankful for and to reveal a piece of my Instagram on my blog! I have a lot to be thankful/grateful for... way more than what I'm posting here, but these are the things that "struck me" each day. Without further ado:

Day 1: Thankful for sweet cuddly moments with my baby girl while in line to checkout at the grocery store.

 

Day 2: So thankful that I get to stay home & take care of my little sick girl.

 

Day 3: So incredibly thankful for my beautiful Momma! Today is her birthday & I am so glad she's my Mom! (picture from the archives)

 

Day 4: Thankful for progress. (Unpacking with a newborn in the house has been a slow process, but things are finally coming together!)

 

Day 5: Appreciation. I am thankful that I was able to make dinner today & it was enjoyed.

 

Day 6: Grateful that with the help of my husband (he rocked taking care of Skylar) Sky & I are ~95% packed for tomorrow.

 

Day 7:  I'm so thankful that Skylar slept for most of the plane ride & was great for all of it! Also grateful that the flight attendants were nice & TSA agents were helpful & kind. So it turns out that flying with a baby is the best way to travel!

 

Day 8: Grateful for time with good friends! Today was a great day! (& Skylar is 3 months old today! Also thankful for 3 month pictures!)

 

Day 9: Thankful for quality time spent shopping with Mom & Skylar today. Can't wait to give these gifts tomorrow!

 

Day 10: I love the way my daughter brings a smile to anyone & everyone's face! We had a great day together at 2 different baby showers. So grateful for that!

 

Day 11: I was blessed to worship with family today. So thankful I got to be there while my youngest brother played on the worship team.

 

Day 12: Thankful that my dad was willing to pick me up in Newark & that my parents are now bringing me back there.

Day 13: I'm so thankful for the way he loves her. Seeing Jimmy with Skylar melts my heart & brings me joy.

Day 14: So thankful for this sweet kitty!!

 

Day 15: So thankful for my Daddy! The way he loves my daughter & me makes me smile! (picture from 11.8.12)

 

Day 16: Grateful for new toys to entertain my beautiful daughter while I got things done today!

 

Day 17: So grateful for time with friends celebrating their little girl! Also incredibly thankful for their hospitality!!

 

Day 18:  Grateful for a good travel day & watching Skylar meet her great grandparents in Ohio! So thankful for today! (btw, I cheated a bit. The top left picture is Skylar with her Grandma G... so these aren't ONLY her great grandparents!)

 

Day 19:  I'm grateful for how well this girl sleeps! 6+ hours for her "first sleep" last night left me feeling pretty good today!

 

Day 20: I'm grateful for the warm & fuzzy blanket my mother in law put on this bed. It's simple, but so comfy & warm! I appreciate her thoughtfulness!

 

Day 21:  I'm grateful I had time to work on my blog today!! Two lengthy posts were finally finished & posted!

 

Day 22: So thankful for our little family & all the adventures we have together!

 

Day 23: So grateful for my wonderful inlaws! They love Skylar so much! They are already wonderful grandparents!

 

Day 24:  I'm grateful for laughter with good people! Tonight was awesome. (I don't have a picture of the people we were with, so this silly Skylar picture will have to be good enough... She's trying to smile while she yawns).

Day 25: So grateful for these moments nourishing my daughter. The quiet ones at bedtime are my favorite. I'm so thankful breastfeeding has been successful for us!

Day 26:  I'm so grateful that I was able to fully unpack from our trip today! I unpacked Skylar's stuff too! & also did a load of laundry!

Day 27: Today I am grateful for this man & that I get to call him "mine." He's amazing in so many ways... as a husband, father, provider & friend. I truly cannot imagine my life without him. I love you, Jimmy. Now. Forever. Always. ❤

Day 28:  I'm grateful for quiet moments. Loving being a stay-at-home Mom today! So grateful for that & this moment to think about how much I love it!

Day 29: I am grateful for love & forgiveness that I don't deserve. For kindness in the face of anger.... For the soft word that turns away wrath.

Day 30:  I'm grateful for fun & thoughtful early Christmas packages from family! I'm also thankful for the last month of posting these! It's been a good reminder that I have lots to be thankful (& grateful) for!  

I would also love to add some awesome news we got today, but it's not time yet... I AM thankful/grateful for it, though! (and it's not that I'm pregnant, or anyone I know is pregnant or getting married or anything of that sort! No guesses... cuz most won't be even close!)

I'll be back soon to blog our trip to Ohio for the week of Thanksgiving!

Xo, Emily

Giving Thanks

I have so much to be thankful for this year. It's hard to believe that at this time last year I didn't even know I was pregnant yet. It's been a incredible year... here are a few things I'm thankful for (not in order of importance): ♥ A wonderful pregnancy. I loved being pregnant and since it was a huge part of the last year, I'm so thankful that it was a positive part of that year!

♥ Being surrounded by friends and family who love me and my little family.

♥ Meeting our little girl after 9 months of wonderful anticipation!

♥ Being blessed over and over by friends and their support -- especially during the "week of no power" during the hottest part of the summer. I had so many people offer me room in their air conditioned homes. It was huge blessing to me to have so many care about me and my pregnancy!

♥ The job changes for Jimmy that have moved us from a small town in VA to a smaller (technically) town in NC and all the blessings that have come from the move. We're still settling in, but thus far it's been a positive change in our lives (though we miss friends in VA for sure!).

♥ Though the first couple weeks of her life were difficult, Skylar Joy has been very healthy! I'm so thankful that she's healthy and growing!

♥ The beauty all around us every day! God's creation wows me in it's beauty. I'm so thankful that I've learned to stop and see those things (almost) every day now.

♥ I'm thankful for my husband who was amazing during labor & delivery and is an incredible father to our beautiful daughter! Seeing how he loves her reminds me of how much I love him and he loves me.

♥ Especially thankful for my little family. We're tiny at 3 people, but love abounds!

♥ Always thankful for the sacrifice of Jesus my Savior... And growing ever closer in my walk with Him.

Finally, I'm thankful for these wonderful images taken by the lovely, Nancy Noble of Nancy Noble Photography:

Until next time, Emily

New York Adventures!

I posted about the trip to and from NY, but not about the actual visit. So, here goes! We arrived Wednesday afternoon in Newark airport and met my Dad. Outside it was SNOWING (talk about a shock!) and we bundled up to head to the car. We headed to Panera for a quick lunch and then my Dad drove us to my childhood home in upstate New York. Here are a few pictures from the drive:  

Once there I unpacked some and waited for Mom and Luke to get home.... And then they were home:

 

Skylar didn't sleep well Wednesday night, so we slept in Thursday. We got up eventually to get ready to hang out with my wonderful friend Nancy!! I've known Nancy since I was in Kindergarten  She was my best friend growing up and I'm so glad we're still in each other's lives. I'm so blessed to have Nancy in my life. Nancy met Skylar and we talked and caught up for a while. Eventually we got down to taking photos. We tried to go outside but it was just TOO cold. We found some good light on the porch and I'm so happy with the photos I've seen thus far! I'll be posting separately with more pictures from the shoot -- so watch out for that, but there are a few in my 3 month note to Skylar.

Here's a quick picture I snapped of Nancy and Skylar:

Nancy left to make dinner for her husband and Lisamarie showed up soon after that. LM hadn't met Skylar yet either and I loved introducing her! Skylar is a little smiler and she grinned at Lisamarie (and at Nancy) so much! She loves meeting new people! Lisamarie, Skylar and I hung around the house, had dinner and ran to the grocery store for diapers and various other impulse buy items. I didn't get any pictures of LM and Skylar (sadness!), but here's one I grabbed at the end of the night:

(I adore you, Lisamarie!! I'm so glad we're friends!)


Friday was spent shopping with my Mom and Skylar for gifts for the two baby showers we were attending the next day (the main reason I was IN New York was to attend the showers). It was a fun day of shopping and looking at cute clothes and accessories. We laughed a lot! I love that the 3 of us had so much fun together. I cannot wait for the future when my daughter is a little bit more grown and the 3 of us can go on more outings!

Most nights Skylar & I used facetime with Jimmy. Skylar seemed to actually recognize Jimmy pretty well -- especially his voice. It was super cute:

 

Saturday dawned and Mom, Skylar and I got ready to head to Rachel's shower. After a few baby related delays and some traffic we made it to Rachel's shower! It was so great to see Rachel and celebrate her little one! I cannot wait to meet Sophie! Here's a fun picture of some of the preggo pictures of Rachel with Rob that were out on the table:

One of the activities at Rachel's shower was picking a card for Sophie for age 1-18 and writing a note for her. I thought that was such a neat idea! Mom wrote in the card for age 16 and I wrote in the one for age 3. I love how there are so many different things to do at showers! :) Mom and I had to leave before the shower was over to head to Nancy's shower.

Nancy's shower was an open house with everyone included! Girls, guys, kids! Everyone! Mom & I met some friends and family and hung out with Nancy and Jason. They aren't finding out the gender of their babe before birth, so there was much speculation about that at the shower. Here's the guess count at the end of the night (my guess was "boy"):

Hmmmm.... I'm pretty sure someone added 4 ticks on the girl side to even up the numbers. Hah..... No one really knows! Everyone has a 50/50 shot (except the college educated momma! She has a 70% chance of guessing correctly)! But we'll all know sometime in January! So exciting!

I hung out at the party for a while after it was over. I'm so thankful to Nancy's sister and brother in law for being such a gracious hosts! I loved spending a bit more time with Nancy and Jason. They are both awesome people and I cannot wait to meet their little person!

One thing I'm struck by lately is how many of my friends are having kids (or already have had kids). It's honestly super neat to be going through all of this with several friends! Nancy & Rachel are both good friends and I'm so excited to meet their little ones! Rachel's daughter should be born (hopefully) when we visit New York around Christmas time. I'll have to wait a bit longer to meet Nancy's little guy (or gal), but hopefully that will happen in the early spring! :)

The rest of my trip involved lots of people meeting Skylar. I loved sharing her with everyone at church and spending time with Lynn and Chuck (family friends that I've known since I was a kid) one evening. It always feels so great when people love on my little girl. Skylar also enjoys meeting new people and being social (hmmm, I wonder who she takes after?). On Sunday I was blessed to sing praises to God with my brother Luke as one of the worship team members. He is growing into such a wonderful young man. I'm super proud of my brother. Watching him with Skylar was a blessing as well. He's really good with her. Here are a few pictures of them together:

 

(Skylar was pretty enamored with Apples to Apples)

One other moment I really loved while in New York was when she was watching soccer with my dad:

Monday dawned and I worked quickly to pack up while waiting for my friend Stephanie to stop by with her three kids. After Steph and her kids arrived we hung out in the family room to catch up while the kids played with blocks and various toys. Steph's oldest, Jade, loved on Skylar quite a bit and it warmed my heart. Here are a couple photos from their interactions:

 

Monday afternoon Mom, Dad, Luke, Skylar and I traveled to Newark and met up with my grandfather and his friend Rita. We had dinner with them and then went back to Rita's house. My grandfather had just gotten power back and Rita's house was closer to the restaurant. Grandpa got to meet Skylar and held her. I don't have a picture of it, though! I need to get a copy of the pictures Luke took!

We headed to the airport soon after dinner and you can read the rest of the trip back to NC in this post.

It was really nice to catch up with so many people while I was in New York! I looooooved introducing so many people to my little girl! And Skylar was really good for most of the trip! It was kinda overwhelming to me to think about traveling without Jimmy, but I'm glad we were able to go and enjoy the time with family and friends! I look forward to the next trip to New York WITH Jimmy, though!

Until next time, Emily

3 Months Old!

Dear Skylar, It's your Mommy again! There's lots to tell you! Let's start with your medical victories: You had your first immunization shots and you rocked them! You had a little bit of a fever in the days following, but nothing terrible. Sleeping on mom and extra cuddles helped you get back to your normal self. You were so good in the doctor's office and really didn't even cry that much. I'm so proud of you, my brave girl!

You also had another cold this month, but handled it better than the first. This time you and Mommy were sick and your Dad didn't get the cold at all! We're both hoping that we'll be done with sickness for a while!

You discovered your hands this month, baby girl. You can't get enough of touching things with them. You also realized that you can bring your hands to your mouth and touch your own face with them. Watching you discover this was so fun and sweet. You also really like to put your fingers and hands in your mouth. At the beginning you would "capture" your left hand with your right and push it into your mouth. Now, a few weeks later, you can just move either hand into your mouth without much difficulty. You have grown so much even in just the last couple weeks!

Recently you touched your Daddy's face to feel the roughness of his 5 O'clock shadow! You were so interested in the way his face felts. It was really cute. You also grabbed Daddy's nose and laughed after you did! Watching you explore your world is so much fun!!

You are on the brink of really discovering your feet. It's so very close -- but I think you still don't really know that your feet are part of you! You definitely know your feet are there, though! And you try to touch them and play with them! It's so cute! You almost toppled out of your swing while reaching for your feet. Sometimes you scare your me a bit with your new abilities -- I'm not always ready for you being able to move so differently! But I'm so glad to see you changing and growing, little one!

You laugh every day now, sweet girl! Daddy and Mommy love it! We both do things to get you to laugh and delight in your giggling. Your smile and your laughs light up our world!

You've been standing up on your Daddy's lap with help for a long time (Mom forgot to mention when you first did it -- but thinks it was somewhere around 6 weeks old!). You now stand on your Daddy's lap all the time and often on your Mom's lap. You love exercising your legs and giggle as you stand -- excited that you were able to raise yourself up with help! It's so cute. You're not standing on your own yet, but Mommy & Daddy can't help but think you'll be doing it soon. I guess we'll see!

The final "first" for this month was flying!! You flew with your Mommy and were perfect! No fussing or being upset. You made me so proud, little one. People hate flying with babies, but no one heard a peep out of you! Good job!

I cannot wait to see what comes next, dear one. I love you so very much.

Here are a few pictures taken ON your "3 month birthday" by your Mommy's long time friend Nancy Noble Barnes:

(Mommy will have to do a whole post featuring more pictures from Nancy. There are so many great pictures to share! They're beautiful!)

Love always & forever,

Momma

First Flights or When I Flew to & from NY with My Infant

Last Wednesday I did something brave. I flew with my 3 month old daughter. It may not sound like a big feat, but the unknown was pretty huge and looming! I didn't know if the air pressure changes would make her scream for the whole flight or if I would be able to navigate security with one arm or how TSA would handle me walking through with a tiny person. Turns out? It was simple, easy, and fun. For the most part. Flight to NY: Heading through security for the first time I was a little stressed (I don't like the unknown -- I mean really who does?). I apologized to the guy behind me in line as I struggled to take off my shoes without my hands and he was kind enough to tell me to "take my time" and that he has 2 kids that are grown and he understands what it can be like with a baby.  After getting our stuff on the conveyor belt I approached the TSA  agent by the scanner and asked "how does this work?" and he ushered me through the metal detector with absolutely no fanfare. Easy-peasy. As I was gathering up our stuff on the other side of the scanner another TSA agent walked over and asked me "Who are you flying with?" very seriously. I started to indicate my daughter nervously and the agent smiled and told me that she was impressed with how well I "worked it with one arm" while getting our belongings up on the conveyor belt. She then said there was no reason she couldn't help me on this side and that I didn't need to do it all by myself. It was very sweet and made getting everything put back together so much easier.

We walked from security to our gate and I couldn't help but see the smiles everyone gave my daughter as we passed them. Skylar was very chill for the whole experience. We got to the gate and hung out for a while until Skylar started to complain (re: cried) because she wanted to nurse. Fortunately she fell asleep after nursing on one side. Here she is sleeping at the gate:

A little while later boarding started. I got on the plane pretty easily (Skylar charmed everyone as she passed) and found our seat. We were on the aisle and every person who passed us smiled at Skylar. A little bit later the passenger sitting on the inside of us approached and we stood to make room for her to join us in the row. Skylar smiled at her and they made friends quickly. We soon were taxiing down the run-way and about to take off. I quickly started nursing Skylar on the other side and she nursed until she fell asleep again. This time I cuddled her into the Moby wrap (she's the MOST snuggly and comfortable in that carrier so I thought it would be perfect for "in-fight" wearing) and she curled up against me. Skylar slept practically the whole flight (about an hour and a half) and only started stirring at the end right before we landed.

Here are a few pictures from on the plane:

I met my dad in the Newark Airport (kudos and thanks to my dad for picking us up in Newark and driving us to upstate NY and then driving us back down 5 days later!) and we headed to the baggage claim. The car-seat and our suitcase were some of the first items off the plane. The lady who sat next to me made a point of telling my dad how good Skylar was and how impressed she was with us. It made me feel so good to know that others were, in the very least, not bothered by us during the fight.

See. Here's my thing... I have some basic ideas and rules I try to follow with regarding my child and being in public. One of them is that I try hard not to make others deal with my daughter's crying or fussing or issues. This is because it's MY problem to handle, not theirs. At some point I'll make a post about all my ideas or "rules" regarding this.... Just for posterity's sake. :)

The Return Flight: My parents drove us to the airport and after saying goodbye we approached security. I figured it wouldn't be too difficult when I noticed the the whole line was going through only the metal detector. And the TSA agents were helpful once again with packing up my things. In line the guy behind me was nice-- though not as talkative... we were in NJ after all -- but ultimately everyone was kind and/or helpful. The flight back was pretty simple, but I was surrounded by men. I was only slightly concerned about nursing, but was really touched by the attitude of the man sitting directly across from us (we were in a single row with no one immediately next to us). He seemed to be from somewhere in Africa (I'm not sure which country because I wasn't able to place his accent fully) and he was both encouraging and respectful while we were nursing. It was kinda neat how I felt completely comfortable nursing Skylar with him sitting a mere 3 feet from me and how he didn't act awkward or like it was anything out of the ordinary. He also smiled and talked to Skylar a bit (not while she was nursing -- hah) and she grinned back. It was such a simple, but very sweet interaction. I was very blessed by that man and thanked him for his help (he had picked up a few items I dropped in the aisle for me) when we were exiting the plane.

The flights to and from NY really reminded me that strangers CAN be kind, friendly, and helpful. It gave me some hope for the future of us as society. I know it's much easier to be nice when there's a sweet little baby grinning at you, but ultimately, those who want to be sour and bitter will be regardless of who is smiling at them. I'm so thankful that everyone who crossed paths with us allowed Skylar to brighten their day. Watching my little girl make someone's world happier is a huge blessing to me and one I never tire of observing. And I'm incredibly thankful for those who helped us during our flight adventure. I hope someday I can return the favor.

Till next time,

Emily

 

Hello Out There...

You may be asking yourself: "What's this blog going to be about?" Thanks so much for asking! This blog is a place for me to share my joy and my heart. It's also a place to express my frustrations and be as honest as possible about this new journey of motherhood! It's a place for me to write to my daughter, Skylar Joy, and to help keep track of all her numerous changes as she grows. It's also a place for me to talk about me and who I am as a wife, mother, and woman. Other subjects that interest me and may show up here from time to time are:

♥ Interior Decorating

♥ Cooking

♥ Nail Polish

♥ Make-up & Beauty Products

♥  Craft Projects

♥ Organization

♥ Simplifying Life

♥ Accessorizing

♥ Tattoos & Piercings

♥ Exercise

Come join me on this journey!

Much Love, Emily