Woohoo, it’s May, my most favorite month of the year! This year May is extra awesome because in addition to it being my birthday month, we also have some pretty major life changes happening this month.

First we’re flying out to California mid-month because my little sister is getting married! She and her fiancé have been together for almost 11 years so it’s safe to say we’re excited to have him officially join our family. I was lucky enough to be able to design their wedding invitations and it was such a fun project that I can’t wait to finally share it with you.

Once we fly back from the wedding, we’ll be making the most major change of all: our time as a military family is coming to an end. That’s right, after almost 10 years of service, Adam is getting out of the Army. This is something we’ve been working towards (and debating) for many years so the fact that the time is finally here is both exciting and bittersweet.

Our current plan is to move back to our home state of California to be closer to family. Where exactly we’ll end up is still up in the air since it depends on the job situation but our goal is to end up somewhere in the Bay Area/Sacramento area so we’ll be within in a few hours of the majority of our family. I know the grandparents are counting down the days until they’ll be able to see their only grandbaby more often!

For me this transition has brought up a lot of mixed emotions, more than I expected. While it’s weird to say, the military has been the one constant we’ve had for our entire adult life and to think about it not being there is well…weird. Plus our favorite thing being a military family has always been getting to live and explore new places so moving back to such a familiar place feels like our grand adventure is ending.

It’s funny because I never thought in a million years I’d live in Texas, let alone have a child be born here, and yet now that the time is come, it’s hard to imagine leaving. But like most things in life, all good things must come to an end, and I’m sure once the pieces start to fall into place, the excitement will come.

Well that’s what’s happening in our slice of the world. What’s new with you?

Ryan turned 6 months on Monday and oh man, it’s hard to believe he’s already half a year old. It’s gone by in the blink of an eye and yet, at the same time, it’s hard to remember what life was like before he arrived.

If I could sum up the past six months, it’d go a little something like this: Parenthood? Awesome. Breastfeeding? HARD. First 3 months? ROUGH. Baby smiles and giggles? My new number one fave. 6 Months? Best age ever. 

At 6 months, Ryan is rolling up a storm, grabbing everything in sight (usually with a bee line to his mouth) and even cut his first tooth this past week.

In some ways I’m in shock at how fast these early milestones have come. Weren’t you just born yesterday, little guy?

But at the same time I LOVE it.

I love how much he interacts with us now.

I love watching the little wheels in his head turn as he tries to figure out the world.

I love that it’s given me a new appreciation for all the skills we use everyday without thinking about them.

I mean, when was the last time you thought about how you’d roll from front to back? Or marvel at the wind in your face?

Right now as I write this he’s giggling at a tag on his play mat. A tag, people. Seriously, this kid kills me.

I’m convinced six months is the age most people actually think of when they think “baby.” They’re cute, they’re fun and they’re not quite mobile enough yet to be a total handful. Six months is hands down my favorite age so far and I can’t wait to see what comes next.

Happy half-birthday little buddy. We’re so glad to have you here with us.

P.S. Clearly stripes are a fave of mine. And green & blue. But that’s probably no surprise if you’ve ever seen my own wardrobe, haha.

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Do you know how you know you take way too many photos? When it takes you three days to move six years of photos onto an external hard drive. Holy moly. 

On the plus side, taking the time to move those photos off my computer freed up enough space that I was finally able to upload all of the photos I took during this summer – and what a summer it was.

This was the summer we…

Went from a family of two to a family of three

Held our baby boy for the first time

Were shocked at how two rather chill adults could end up with a lil guy who seemed so unhappy and miserable (poor guy!)

Rocked and shushed him for what felt like eons at a time (but was probably more like minutes)

Learned he’d lost almost 20% of his body weight during the first week and went on a mission to plump him up

Pumped (me) and fed (Adam & I) many many bottles of milk and formula

Washed and hung the world’s tiniest outfits many times over (boo spit up)

Drove many a mile in the car to keep him content and happy

Went on our first official date as parents (thanks grandparents!)

Cherished every moment of sleepy baby cuddle time (my fave)

Realized the world would never be the same the first time he smiled

Made it our mission to get him to smile whenever possible no matter how dorky it made us look

Dressed him up in the most adorable outfits we could find (bow ties for the win!)

Watched him grow through three sizes of diapers in the cutest prints I could find (dinosaurs! camping!)

Had visitors from California, Idaho and Chicago all travel to Texas to meet the lil guy

Took Ryan on his first trip to the beach and the zoo

Discovered the magic that is the swing and swaddle combo

Finally found a swaddle he loved but couldn’t Houdini his way out of (Halo sleep sack swaddle is our fave)

Spent many a day playing on the floor during tummy time

Marveled at how quickly he’s gone from a tiny newborn to a sweet baby boy

If there’s one photo that sums up our summer the best, it would be this one above.

Despite a relatively easy pregnancy and labor, our little guy came into the world kicking and screaming and oh man, was he one unhappy little boy in those early days.

Now that he’s four months old (as of today!) we’ve thankfully gotten into a good groove (can’t recommend The Baby Whisperer E.A.S.Y schedule enough), but I’m not at all ashamed to admit that the transition to motherhood was, and still is at times, a rough transition for me.

Many a tear was shed in those first few weeks (both his and mine) and it took a good six weeks before I really had a full day where I felt like, “Hey I may actually be able to do this” and another six weeks before things started to gel. Don’t let the smiles and pretty photo collage above fool you, I had unshowered, overwhelmed, and in-tears-by-the-time-my-husband-came-home days just like anyone else.

So if you’re a new mom in the throes of newbornness, hang in there, and just know you’re doing a great job. As annoying as it is when people say this because it SO doesn’t feel like it at the time, it really will get better.

Now that I have the benefit of perspective and time, I can look back at those first three months and appreciate them for the challenge they were…while simultaneously doing a happy dance that those newborn days are behind us.

Love ya little buddy. We’re so lucky to have you here. 

Curious as to what I’m going to do with the photos I’ve taken during Ryan’s first year? (Currently 3700+ and counting!) Stay tuned because I will have more details of my plan to share with you soon.

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With so much change on the horizon, today felt like a good day to capture a little snapshot of what life is like right now.

Right now I am…

Living in Houston, TX with my hubby Adam. This month is our official one-year anniversary of moving here. One year left to go here and then who knows where we’ll end up.

Currently 35 weeks pregnant. The first two trimesters felt like they flew by but much like the final months of a deployment, this final trimester is moving at a snail’s pace.

Writing this post early Tuesday morning on my iPhone from the comfort of my cozy bed.

Listening to the sound of the rain as it drizzles down here in Houston.

Feeling the baby kick, kick and kick some more. Mornings and late nights seem to be his fave which I’m pretty sure he gets from me. Will be fun to see if it continues once he arrives.

Giggling at just how lopsided my belly can become when he starts shifting around in there.

Waiting for all the nursery stuff to arrive. Pretty sure our UPS guy is going to know me well after this week.

Sleeping surrounded by what feels like a thousand pillows right now in an attempt to be comfortable. It’s all very princess and the pea-style at this point.

Eating more small meals these days and lots and lots of fruit (cuties especially).

Drinking mostly water but loving the occasional “margarita” slushie Adam makes for me.

Craving cheese and anything cold and slushy.

Disappointed I haven’t had any crazy pregnancy cravings. Pretty sure if they haven’t shown up by now they probably aren’t going to.

Wearing all maternity clothes now, mostly from Gap and Old Navy.

Laughing at the irony since those are two stores I never shop at normally.

Walking as much as I can to help alleviate all the pregnancy-induced hip pain.

Thankful for Adam’s last week of travel for awhile. After this he’ll be home for good until after the baby arrives.

Watching the season finale of Revenge. So good and now I can’t wait for the start of season 4.

Planning out the next few weeks of want-to-dos vs must-dos.

Checking items off our before baby to-do list slowly but surely.

Counting down the days until my birthday later this month.

Seeing it as the benchmark for getting things done.

Pretty sure baby won’t care if we get it all done before he gets here.

Gathering the courage to start sewing together the baby quilt.

Reminding myself that perfectly imperfect is very much the goal.

Thinking still about business goals, ideas and branding. Even with a baby on the way and impending maternity leave, I can’t turn it off.

Sketching out ideas for one last business idea before I officially start maternity leave.

Realizing I’d probably be horribly bored as a stay at home mom.

Wondering what exactly life will be like a year from now. Feeling a mix of nervous excitement for sure.

Crazy excited to be heading into this new chapter of our lives.

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If you had been a fly on our bedroom wall this morning, here’s the conversation you would have overheard between Adam and I:

Me: It’s May! It’s May! (said in a really excited voice because I tend to get ridiculously excited about stupid things)

Adam: You seem rather excited about this.

Me: Well yeah, it’s my favorite month of the year AND my birthday month!

I admit, I get a little excited every year about the arrival of May and not just because it’s my birthday month and I love birthdays. (Start the countdown now, May 24th y’all!)

For me, May is always the first month of the year where things start to gel. Maybe that’s a sign I’m a late bloomer and it takes me several months to realize that yes, it is in fact 2014 now. Or maybe it’s because May is the first month where you’re officially out of the winter doldrums and past that awkward “is it winter or spring?” phase.

Either way, I love May because it’s the month where the days start to feel long, the world turns green again and the weather warms up. Spring is here, summer is on it’s way and it makes me happy and ready to get things done.

Last night, Adam and I went to the Foster the People concert here in Houston (the tickets were his birthday present back in March – it was awesome, by the way) and afterward we stopped at our local House of Pies for a quick dessert.

I’ve reached that point in my pregnancy where strangers are now confident enough to mention I’m pregnant but tend to not realize I’m as far along as I am. As we were standing at the counter waiting to order our pie, another customer who was paying turned to me and said “You’re about halfway there, right?”

In all honesty, it took me a moment to realize what he was talking about because despite the fact that I’m being jabbed in the ribs daily by a baby who seems convinced the way out is through the skin of my stomach, at times I actually do forget that I’m pregnant. Blame mommy brain?

Once I realized what he meant, I laughed and said, “oh no, I’m a little farther than that.” After which Adam chimed in with a “She has 7 weeks to go.”

I admit when he said that I did a double take thinking, “Wait, 7 weeks? Say what now?” Until I realized that yes, since I’m 33 weeks this week that means we have 7 weeks until my due date and 8 weeks until the little guy will be here for sure.

Holy crap.  

I think it’s safe to say if I were to choose a One Little Word for the month of May, it’d be ACTION. Because holy cow, we have a lot to do and a baby who’ll be arriving before too long whether we’re ready or not.

There’s a part of me that feels a little freaked out about that but a much bigger part of me that’s ridiculously excited we’ve reached this point of our journey. And much like May being the second-to-last month of school growing up where you’re so close to the end but not quite there, May feels like the perfect month to be preparing ourselves to make this transition from two to three.

Assuming (and fingers crossed!) the little guy stays put like he’s supposed to, my goal is to have all the major stuff we need to do knocked out by my birthday on May 24th, which would put me right at 36.5 weeks. Seems doable and well, you know how I like to tie goals to my birthday.

So if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got an afternoon date with my calendar and to-do list to finalize what all we need to do so I can start checking things off like a mad woman.

And you know, maybe squeeze a little scrapbooking in there too in prep for International Scrapbooking Day this weekend.

I admit, it feels a bit weird to the business-side of my brain for this be the first year in several where I’m not part of a mad scramble to finish products for iNSD but I can’t say I miss the frenzy and stress that comes with it either. I’m definitely much happier to be heading into May bright eyed and bushy-tailed, haha.

So with that I say, hello May! I am so excited to have you here.

Calendar is from Paper Source. 

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