I think my heart stopped!

So I officially had my first moment as a mother when your heart stops and you realize "this could end terribly!"
Let me set the scene for you...I needed to go down to the basement to start the load of diapers for Taft since he was almost out. I bring him down with me most of the time because he loves being down there. He lays on the counter on his car seat warm sack and hangs out with his bird. Totally great set up while mom does laundry!

Now...I have known for awhile that this will not continue to work because he is rolling (EVERYWHERE) but I have managed to stretch it out by turning the way he lays and placing blankets around him so that he will not roll off. Today was a different story. I set him down and was standing by the washer loading diapers when I looked over...(praise the LORD) and notices my little man rolling OFF the edge of the counter. Lets pause for a moment and view what our floor looks like in the laundry room...

Oh wonderful! Look at that hard, unforgiving concrete! Note: that is not blood from my sons head just a terrible paint job from the previous owners.

So as I am looking at him roll I don't even think I just slide tackle onto the ground...it was for all intense purposes a total James Bond move. As I am James Bonding it across the laundry room floor I realize I am screaming "Oh my gosh Taft!!" I get there just in time to slide my arm under his head and protect his small soft skull from smashing on the floor ( I realize I am being a little dramatice but this scene is burned into my mind!) I look at him and his flashes me a smile and then realizes that not only did I scare him to death from yelling but he was also free falling from his comfy oh so secure haven...Panic sets in and he crys one of those crys where he forgets to take a breath. We snuggle for the next 5 min as mommy says over and over...I am so sorry I will never do that again and checks for any broken bones or skull franctures. And then we recover. All is good and my little guy is back to his cheerful self. Meanwhile I am still shaking and telling myself "you knew better!!!!" We now have a little set up on the floor that is much safer for when we are down there doing laundry together  : )

Tuesday tunes...I mean Wednesday

So as of late...this is my new obsession...Thanks to my amazing sister Beth!!! I know I am past the time on this but I just love it. I also have my Mumford and Sons Pandora station to thank for this. If you are looking for a great station on Pandora put in Mumford and Sons...you will get some great tunes.

Solstice

"Then followed that beautiful season...Summer... Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Happy Summer Solstice!!

A breath of fresh air

Last weekend Stephen and I escaped to Door County! A.L.O.N.E. That is right just to two of us (well Mick came too).

Stephen's parents happily took Taft for the weekend and we gladly passed him along to get some much needed R&R. Three things I realized...
1. I really missed Taft 2. I really miss sleeping! 3. I really miss Stephen

Being a mom is hard work! Maybe it was because I wasn't a mom, but I don't really remember my friends that had kids before me talking about how hard it is or was for them. Maybe it wasn't hard for them and it has just been hard for me? Maybe its something that moms don't talk about because they feel like they have to do it on their own or people will jugde them for complaining about their kids? Whatever the reason may be I realized that I can't do this all on my own and I need the help of my husband, family and friends to keep me encouraged, provide breaks, teach me things I don't know, and rally with me when things are hard. This is refreshing! I just said I don't have to do it all on my own! And it took a weekend of being on my own to realize this : )

This weekend was about a break and about spending time together with Stephen. I think we are still learning how our life works WITH Taft in it instead of trying to make our life work on the side when he is asleep or not with us...its a learning process. It was just so good to spend that time together and talk about being parents, about where we are at, where we want to be, what our joys and struggles are right now. It was good to laugh, drink wine on the beach, sleep in, have a nice dinner, drive around to some of our favorite spots and read!

We both came back with a new perspective and a new found love for our son and a very grateful heart for our parents. I feal like it was a much needed time away that really made me realize how thankful I am for Taft and that I get to have the privilege to be him mommy!

I mean really! This kid is amazing!



Beaba Love

So a friend of mine let me borrow her Beaba (Thank you Liz!!). If you are not a mom you probably don't know what this is. Before I was a mom I would have thought it was some sort of hair styling equitment...Like a Chi. I also feel like many people would write a post about loving their Chi!
So here is this handy little piece of cooking magic.

This thing steams and then mushes all your homemade baby food!! I mean its really amazing! So today, on this rainy summer day I am making magic in the kitchen. Lets hope he sleeps for awhile because I am just getting started.

(Avacado, Pears, Peaches and Sweet Potatoes...the peas are in the Beaba)

Tuesday Tunes

So as of late I have been somewhat obsessed with the sound track for Tangled. If you have not seen the movie yet you should! I have seen it 3 times...Im just saying, its good!

Taft is always somewhat ammused/confused as I dance around the kitchen singing. Now I am just waiting for it to be turned into a broadway show! That would be amazing!

What an Adventure

This past weekend we decided to take Taft for his first camping trip. It was just one overnight with our friends Dan and Leslie and their 2 kids. Now, in all my years of camping I have always been somewhat of a simple camper...small tent, sleeping bag, a change of cloths. You know, the basics. This is NOT the case when you go camping with a 5 month old! You need pretty much your entire house. If you were to look at our car for this 1 night camping trip you would have thought we were going away for 2 weeks or on a cross country road trip...We are still learning what we absolutly need and what we or should I say T can go without.
The upside to car camping is you can pretty much feel right at home. We ended up borrowing Stephen's parents 6 person tent that was the size of a small apartment. We were able to fit a pack and play, our 2 sleeping pads, mick, all our bags that contained diapers, cloths, food and toys comfortably and still have room for a small coach if we wanted to have a little sitting area...

It was a nice tent!

Taft loved being outside! He pretty much was content to just sit in one of our camping chairs and look at the trees above him. Stephen and I were very proud. We were a little scared that he might hate the great outdoors and then what would we do?

He also loved being around the other kids. Kaelah was so sweet and would always try and give him his toys or play with him.

Over all a very great trip!



5 months.

So I realized that I am terrible at taking month to month pics of T. I have resorted to every other month : ) Lets hope I can change that but I'm not going to make any promises.
I actually can't believe that Taft is already 5 months old! It seems like forever since he was born but it also sometimes feels like it was just yesterday. I feel like I have been through a lot of changes over these last months. Its been hard for me to figure out how to balance my new life but still hold on to some of my old one...I'm still learning how to self motivate (when your home all day and tired how to blog, clean, workout, cook, etc.) instead of thinking its a better idea to just sit on the coach and watch an episode of something on Netflix.
Now that the weather is getting nicer its been great to sit out on our deck and flip through a magazine, make our grocery list or just relax when Taft is down.
He is changing so much! Each day is different and sometimes challenging but we are getting through it together. I am pretty sure that Taft is teething because he puts EVERYTHING in his mouth and is drooling a ton. This month was a little hard to get him to leave the sign alone : )

Whew...that was a long break.

So the last couple of months have been somewhat of a blur. I have been back and forth to St. Louis a couple of times. Once for Easter and then to see my sister Jessa who was in town from California. It was so great to be with my family! Beth drove up from Nashville so the entire crew was there. Stephen drove down with me for the weekend and then took the train home on Sunday so that I could stay longer...he has been so amazing about letting me be in St. Louis for longer periods of time : )
We had lots of sister time and it was so refreshing to be together. Taft loved getting to spend special time with his Aunts!

Here are some other fun pictures from the weekend. I realized I need to get more family photos. We didn't take any of Stephen, Taft and I...Oh well...next time.

The sisters and mom

Auntie B with Taft

Grammy and Taft in Forest Park. We went for a nice walk one day. Can't wait to take Taft to the Zoo next time.

Grandpa T with Taft

Auntie J