Today my daughter is 3 Months Old.  Wow. Where is the time going? Everyone told me it would fly by and boy were they right.  I feel like I blinked and here we are.  I’m afraid I’ve missed out on so much and been so distracted by a million things and not enjoying her infancy enough.  I’m really working hard to enjoy this precious time with her and remember it all.

I’m starting a project for her that I’m very excited about.  Today I made my first entry in a journal I bought for her that I will give her later in life.  I’m thinking I’ll give it to her when she graduates high school and moves out on her own. I hope she cherishes this and can learn from me as I learn along the way.

I’ve been thinking through some very important lessons that I want her to learn and know as I strive to raise her to become a strong and wonderful woman. Here is what I’ve come up with so far.

Confidence and independence are beautiful.

Size doesn’t matter, wasting your time worrying about it does.

Brilliance should never be downplayed.

Emotions are a beautiful part of who you are.  Go ahead and laugh, cry or scream.

Always have enough money to pay your own way, but be gracious when someone else treats.

Be generous with what God has blessed you with.

You are beautiful on the outside, but it’s the inner beauty that really makes you shine.

Never make excuses for your actions.

“Mean girls” are just insecure. Always be kind.

You have the amazing power to make a difference.  Use that power.

Pursue your dreams, especially those that seem unattainable.

The love you give and receive is limitless; love is the most important thing.

I love you sweet Jessi Girl, and I am honored and blessed to be your mom.  You’re an amazing joy to me and I love watching you grow and learn new things everyday!

We have decided we are going to teach our baby “dog tricks”, so when people ask what she can do we’ll show them she can sit, roll over, stay & then eat a treat.  But for now, we’ll take what we can get.  Over the weekend, she started mimicking us and it’s pretty cute! She usually makes the noises too, but this was all I was able to catch on camera. What a funny girl!

I am very lucky to be married to the best dad in the entire world.  His daughter adores him, and he’s such a great daddy to her.  Every inch of her lights up when she sees him and she squeals with joy.  I love watching them play together and am so excited for her and our future children to grow to know the amazing man that he is.  Thank you baby for blessing me with the most beautiful little girl and for being such a great dad to her.  She has no idea how blessed she is to have that.

This year for Father’s Day, I wanted to do something a little different instead of the usual cards or tie.  (Yeah right…like I’ve ever bought my husband a tie) Since we were both raised by amazing dads and my husband now is one, I wanted to honor them in a different way.  I made a donation in their honor to an incredible organization called Charity Water.

This money will go to bringing clean water to a village that has none.  Brook and I were raised being given everything we could possibly ever need, and a glass of clean water was such a simple thing to us.  But now, children somewhere will drink their first glass of clean, clear water.  I can’t imagine anything more amazing!

So thank you to all the dads in my life for all you do for me.  I hope all three of you know how much I love you and appreciate all you do! I love you hubby, daddy & dad-in-law!!

As I was preparing to become a mommy, I was constantly asking people what their favorites were of certain things, trying to decide what I would use. Now I find people asking me! So here are my top 10 lifesavers, must haves and favorites for baby 0-3 Months. In no particular order.

1. Moby Wrap – Great wrap! A little hard to get used to wrapping, but you figure it out pretty quick. Keeps baby close to you, and a good way to get some stuff done!

2. Happiest Baby on The Block – This is genius.  No, we did not have the happiest or easiest baby on the block, but these methods sure helped to calm her. A must watch. (Just watch the DVD unless you’re a big reader and have the time to read!)

3. Swadler – I swear by these.  Our girl was sleeping through the night by 3 weeks, and I’m convinced it’s because of this.  A cheap way to regain your sanity

4. Dr. Brown’s Bottles - I love these bottles.  They come in a thousand pieces, but I really do think they helped with the gas in her belly.

5. Gripe Water - This stuff really does work…or it did for us at least. Some people swear by the mylicon drops, but they didn’t seem to do anything for us. (Help with gas in the belly)

6. Swing - It’s like an extra set of arms around the house! I really don’t know what I would have done without my swing.  It will be one of the best investments you ever make.

NURSING:

7. Tanks – I live in these things. Nursing bras can get really expensive, and sometimes I just need to be more comfortable, so these were the bomb diggity. I use these.

8. Udder Covers – So cute!!! These were my fav!

9. Lansinoh – They have the best stuff in my opinion.  Lanolin cream. Breast Pads. Milk Storage Bags. I use it all.

10. Avent Manual Hand Pump – I use a big electric pump most of the time, but this little pump is amazing for quick on the go relief.

So there you have it! What are some of your must haves or things that gave you a bit of sanity that I need to try out as baby gets a little older?

Welcome to {life.love.lens} as I share with you a picture a day of the coolest tiny person in my life. Check back every Friday for a look at the week through my lens!

Week 12 – {June 11– June 17}

Saturday 6/12 – Rubber Ducky…you’re the one!

Monday 6/14 – Started really sucking her thumb

Tuesday 6/15 – Can’t grin without that tongue coming out!

Thursday 6/17 – Pretty much all smiles now!!

12 Week Pictures

It was this week one year ago.  (This day to be exact…if you want those kind of details…) I had no idea how much my life was about to change as a tiny little life began. It was the moment that God had orchestrated to place a life in me, and begin growing one of the greatest blessings I would ever know.  This week a year ago, I didn’t have a care in the world.  It was all about me. Now it’s all about her…and has been for a year.

Even though we won’t celebrate her first birthday for another 9 months, I celebrate this week.  I celebrate the perfection of her development in me.  I celebrate the fact we were even able to carry a child, as so many are not able to.  I celebrate her, and thank God for our little “oops” that turned out to be our greatest joy. I love you Jessika Kaye, and today I celebrate the year I’ve had with you!

Now lets just hope June isn’t a super fertile month for us or something

Every morning my sleeping beauty wakes from her slumber and cries out for me. This is one of my favorite parts of the day.  I go and stick my head over her crib and that face lights up and she squeals with delight to see her mama.  I scoop her up in my arms and snuggle her.  She is so happy to see me and can’t wait to spend some quality time with me.

Seek the face of your heavenly father today.  Squeal with delight when HE leans in to take you in His arms.  It’ll be the best part of your day…and His.

Welcome to {life.love.lens} as I share with you a picture a day of the coolest tiny person in my life. Check back every Friday for a look at the week through my lens!

Week 11 – {June 4 – June 10}

Friday 6/4 – We always do a little tummy time in the mornings. She’s getting stronger & stronger!

Saturday 6/5 – Walk to the beach, first time in Moby Wrap!

Sunday 6/5 – Church always wears us out!! A bottle & nap is a must at the end of the morning.

Monday 6/6 – Looking awesome in mommy’s sunglasses!

Tuesday 6/7 – We go visit Daddy at his office on Tuesdays and have dinner with him
before he plays basketball with friends.  She likes visiting him at work!

Wednesday 6/8 – No picture

Thursday 6/9 – At worship night at church. Wearing her chucks to match daddy!

Tonight my amazing husband and I will go on our first date since the arrival of our daughter. I’ve been looking forward to and dreading this for some time. Only dreading because that means leaving my Jessi girl with a babysitter and I’m slightly obsessed with her. But more important than watching over my childs every breath, is dating my husband. It was so much easier before we were parents, and could focus 100% on each other. Now our lives revolve around diapers, feeding schedules and bedtime routines. But that doesn’t give us the excuse to neglect our marriage.

In 18 years when she is all grown up and hopefully moved out of our house, he will still be there. If we ignore our relationship to only focus on our children, it will die. The passion will go away, the laughter will cease. It will become more of a business arrangement than a beautiful thing God created and blessed us with.

So we date. We flirt. We keep the magic alive. Not always the easiest when at the end of the day I’m exhausted and covered in who knows what liquids that have come from my sweet girl.  A hot shower and bed are pretty appealing most evenings once she’s closed her eyes, but the time alone with him is so precious and important.  I hope that in 30 years our children will know what true love is and will mirror their relationships after ours. What an honor that will be.

Because afterall, I love him more today than the day I married him. And in the very sappy love story kind of way – he completes me.

We have a lot of defining moments in our lives. Things that make us who we are, and mold us into the person we are to become.  I had a defining moment as a mother this weekend.  A moment I will never forget, one that made me realize “i’m a mom”.

I got pooped AND peed on at the same time. That’s right. All over me. All over the floor. All over the dishwasher.  Just all over.

It was bath time and I stood holding my precious naked baby, about to plop her in the tub when everything exploded. I realized in that moment…this is my life.  I’m a mom. Funny thing is…it didn’t really phase me in the least, because I had the most adorable little girl cracking up at me. Yes, she thought it was funny so I got over it very quickly.

Oh…and Daddy got to clean that one up once he was done laughing at me.

What was your “defining moment” as a parent?