just as it should be

I have been struggling lately. Sometimes I feel as though life is just passing me by so quickly that I have no time to sit and take it all in. Before the baby life seemed so simple and I couldn't wait for life to become more "exciting." It definitely didn't let me down. Once she arrived the moments just kept passing faster and faster and faster and there wasn't anything I could do about it. I remember I was nursing Aviana at home when she was just a few days old and thinking how could life be any more perfect? Why did having her change my world and change it so much that I felt in a whirlwind? Then all of sudden the emotions took over and I had glimpses of her being this little girl running around and I broke down in tears wishing and hoping she would not get any bigger than right in that moment. Jerry came in the room when these emotions started and I told him, "I don't want her to get any bigger! Can't she just stay this little forever?" He thought I was crazy at that moment as he said "She is only a few days old! And you will have another baby someday. She has to get big eventually." This moment has stuck with me so clearly and I remember it often and it makes me smile. I still feel like she is growing way too fast. Why has life sprinted forward since having a child? I guess I'll never understand and can't change what will be but I do hope that time slows down just a bit so I can take in each moment with a little more gratitude and joy. Motherhood has changed who I am and how I want to live my life and I couldn't ask for more. Life is simple yet so complicated.

Listen to your life. All moments are key moments.

~Frederick Buechner

crafting junkie

So I've never been "creative" or "crafty" to say the least but once I found out that I was having a girl that all changed. A couple of my girlfriends showed me how to make bows and flowers for Aviana as I am sure you have seen in her pictures. It seems that whenever I dress her, her outfit is not complete without a cute head piece! Anyway, I recently taught myself how to make some flower rosettes for my hair. You can add them to just about anything and they are interchangeable too! I currently wear them with a headband but you can add them to a shirt, hat, purse, picture frame, throw pillow or anything that needs some updating or uniqueness. I plan to stitch some small, colored rosettes on plain onesies for Aviana to wear this summer since it will be so dang hot she will be living in those things! I'm so excited to start creating more pretties for her! As you can tell it's currently my obsession to "create" but I seem to only be able to do it when Aviana is sleeping or if Jerry is home to keep an eye on her. Here are a few pictures of the ones I have made so far...these pictures are less than great thanks to my cell phone but nonetheless you get the point.


A few of the first ones I made...



One for my friend...


For another friend...


This one is my favorite...

I will be making lots more this weekend and trying out different ways of making them unique! I have a few new ideas brewing....yay!

5 months and counting...

Rice cereal experience...






My baby is well into her 5th month of life and is happy as can be.

Some new things as of this month:

~sitting up with little assistance from Momma
~eating rice cereal twice a day
~sleeping in her crib at night (This is a big one for Mom and Dad!)
~her first cold...she has a respiratory infection and is on breathing treatments. She is doing much better now, thank God!
~loves talking to Nana and her cousin via the computer. She talks up a storm when we are video chatting.
~Just this week she is VERY attached to me. I can't get anything done it seems. Sigh.

Overall, she is getting big and more cute every day. We just love her to pieces.

Oh and she is just shy of 15 lbs as of 3.7.11. We have her 6 month checkup at the end of this month!