Cafe de Valentine

If you don't have this application on your iPhone, you should! We use it often to add words to our iPhone photos and send them to family or friends! It's my current favorite!

I wanted to share a few photos from my phone since that's where most of my photos are these days. My mom actually sent me the one above while I was working one day. This is his favorite new face to make. The lighting is horrible on this one (above) but he had on a new camo vest. I put him down awake for all his naps so he knows how to put himself to sleep but at night for bedtime I prefer to rock him to sleep. This was the end of a very long day so forgive the lack of decent hair and make-up. This one is taken in the dark so you have to look hard but when I rock him he likes to have his little hand on my face. It's the sweetest thing, I hope he still does that when he's 20. You know, when I rock him to sleep. :) This is the usual face I get when I get home from work. I long for this moment ALL DAY LONG. I don't want to forget these sweet moments, they go by so fast. *all photos taken in the last 2 weeks. 7 months old.

I wrote this post mid September and I never posted it. Now that I've been back at work for over 4 months I thought I would add to the bottom my current schedule (things have changed a bit) and my current thoughts/struggles. I'd love the feedback from any other working Mom's. ******************************************** I am officially 3 weeks into being a full time working mom. It's probably the hardest job I've ever had. Parenting is a 24/7 job that I love and it brings me so much joy, but when we add all the things that I used to get done each evening, weekend & early morning outside of work to taking care of a little one that's a tough task. I will say that I had zero post-pardum depression and never even really had a difficult time transitioning to being a Mama. It came very naturally to me. I loved it from day one and there wasn't really anything for me to get worked up over. I will share with you, however, that transitioning back to work has been h...

I forgot to post this back in July when it happened but I don't want to forget it. Bear is a fourth generation with his name, most go by their middle names. It was a fun day having all these boys together. Bear, his daddy (Hubs), his Papa V & his Papaw. He's so blessed to have such great guys in his life.

My sweet boy had quite the fall already! We visited the pumpkin patch, took pictures IN a pumpkin and of course had to dress up as a Bear for Bear's first Halloween. My cute little Bear was not a huge fan of his costume. Part of the problem was the fact that it's really warm & cozy and it was 82 degrees on Halloween. Another issue was the fact that there were about 12 cameras flashing at him the second I got him in the costume. He did love the pumpkin patch! This photo was taken with our iphone so it's not the best quality. I had seen on Pintrest a cute picture of a baby sitting in a pumpkin and I knew this was the only Halloween that he would fit, so we had to do it. We may have spent a small fortune on a pumpkin big enough to fit our chubby boy & his thighs! :) They seriously made for the cutest photos though! I'm so glad we did it! We had a great first Halloween with our little man and we can't wait for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. The holiday...

I'm not sure how I have a four month old already!?? Bear is seriously so fun right now. He's getting really wiggly so these pictures are getting harder and harder to take, but he's got so much personality. He is still eating great, on a much more consistant schedule. Every 3-4 hours. He is maybe waking up once a night, depending on how he eats in the evening. His teeth have been giving him some real trouble this last week or so. He fusses more than normal and pulls at his bottom jaw. And Oh The DROOL! He still occasionally spits up, not near as much as he used to. He is such a little flirt already, he'll flash anyone a smile. He is in size 3 diapers and still fits in some 3-6 mo clothes but mostly all 6 month stuff now. It got a little chilly for about a week and we had a hard time fitting into winter stuff. By the time it gets cold for good he'll fit in things better. Pants are hard because if they fit around his chubby belly they are about 6 inches too long, if ...

Time flies when you're having fun! B turned 3 months old on September 7th Time flies when you're having fun! B turned 3 months old on September 7th.You have become very aware and responsive this month. You have such a fun personality. You laugh and talk all day long. You can follow our voice and respond to your name (and your many nicknames). You love to read stories and you get excited when we sing to you. Your new advancement is grabbing anything in your reach (including Daddy's chest hair & Mama's earrings) & you have become a professional drooler. We don't see or feel any teeth yet (which Mama is thankful for) but you slobber all day long & your fists/arms spend all day in your mouth. You aren't spitting up as often, but when you do it's EVERYWHERE! You have always loved bath time, but you have learned how to splash and it's your favorite thing to do! Your little bath has moved from the kitchen sink into the big bath after Mama had to mo...

You are a growing boy! You turned Two months old on August 7th. I think your thighs and your cheeks have grown the most this month. Your hair is really thinning out, we tease you that you're hair looks like Jido's (Mama's dad)! You are still eating like crazy & when you decide your hungry you want it and you want it now! You only wake up once a night now and are such a good sleeper. This month you went on your first road trip to the beach for 4 nights & 5 days. It was in the 60's all week and you LOVED it. Being such a warm baby you enjoyed wearing long sleeves and pants and hats. You also got some good use out of your "warmer" wardrobe. You are in 0-3 month clothes and even some 3 month outfits. You are now in size 2 diapers. The size 1 didn't fit around your thighs anymore. You are now sleeping in your own room at night. You were 6 weeks old when we moved you in there and you love sleeping in your crib. You take a good morning nap and usually two...

I am behind on his monthly posts and want to be sure I have all the memories here to look back on so I'm going to play catch up this week. On July 7th you turned One Month Old! We are starting to figure you out a bit more, but you still run the show! You are still sleeping in our room in your Pack 'n Play. You wake up 2 times a night to eat. You don't like it when I wrap you in your swaddle blanket, but once you're in you love sleeping all wrapped up. You have loved your pacifier (we call it a "pita") from day one so if you are ever upset or sleepy that calms you right down or puts you right to sleep. You have no patience waiting for Mama to feed you, when you are hungry you want to eat YESTERDAY! I wish I could say you eat every three hours, but it really depends on the day. Sometimes you want to eat every 1 1/2 hours. You have the cutest little rolls starting on your legs. You have no issues feeding and have been gaining weight just fine. This is probably no...

My parents, grandparents, aunt & cousins went to the AAA baseball game in town last week and invited us to come. It was a hot day so we weren't going to go, but they assured us our seats were in the shade & there was actually a breeze that day. Bear wore his baseball outfit, and loved all the attention he got (since he didn't know there was a baseball game going on). I am wearing a huge tank top since it was so hot & I had planned on it not showing since I was wearing him in the Moby but it got to hot and I took it off and I looked HUGE in that shirt without it. Nonetheless, we had a fun family night at the ballpark & can't wait for next summer when he can really enjoy all there is to do at the games. This kid will be raised at sporting events, he better get used to it early! :) good thing he seemed to enjoy himself!

Katie & Ozzie (hubs sister and her husband) were out of town a few weeks ago and Nana & Papaw (hubs parents) had Carsyn for a few days. They mentioned they were taking him to the zoo on Saturday and we decided to tag along. Not so much because Bear would notice we were there or care about any of the animals yet, but because it was fun & we wanted to see how much fun Carsyn would have. Nana, Carsyn, myself & Bear (above) on our way into the Reptile house. Carsyn on the big lizard (I forget which kind it is exactally) statue. Carsyn getting in the big turtle shell. He proceeded to bump his head on it getting out and we had big tears for a moment. Carysn LOVES Baby Bear. He really enjoyed having him there at the zoo with him. We took him to the bird show there and we didn't imagine he'd sit there the whole time, but he liked it. He sat on Papaw's lap with his hand out waiting for a bird to come to him! :) Bear liked the bird show. All the boys. My...

My family has a beach week each summer in July and this year we decided to be brave and attempt it with a 6 week old. The house we stayed in has a little "back house" that is separate from the main house where my grandparents, parents, siblings, aunt & cousin were staying so we didn't disturb them too much in the night. We had our own little kitchen, bathroom & a big enough main area for the pack & play and all the stuff that comes with traveling with a baby! We go to the central coast in California which tends to be much cooler and while we had a few days of sun it never got above 75 degrees and most days was a bit overcast. I know that doesn't sound like a beach trip to many people, but we LOVE enjoying the cool weather and the scenery in the middle of summer when we have had 95+ degrees at home for over a month. Our very warm blooded baby LOVED the cooler weather & we liked getting to see him snuggled up in long jammies & hats since it's fa...