201Owen

I feel like I *need* to post something on the last day of 2010, because it was the best year yet. Why, you ask? Because we had our Owen of course! Here's a little recap of our year:

January

Started my job as a substitute

Found out we were pregnant!!

February

Had our first ultrasound/baby appointment and got to see his little heartbeat

Announced that we were pregnant

March

Got to hear his little heartbeat! 160 BPM and everyone assumed he was a she

April

Celebrated Brock's first Easter

May

Found out we were having an Owen!

Celebrated my first mother's day

Celebrated Jer's 25th Birthday

Celebrated Brock's Christening

Celebrated our first wedding anniversary and 7 years together

June

Went crazy on Owen's nursery and had it almost complete

Went on a family trip to Estes Park, Colorado

July

Got to see Owen in 3D4D and I remember the ultrasound tech saying how chubby his cheeks were and how big his head was. He couldn't have been more right!

Tried to have a baby moon, but that didn't really pan out too well.

August

Mourned the baby moon (just kidding..kinda)

Nested like there was no tomorrow.

September

Had two baby showers... which left Jer and I feeling so blessed and so loved.

Celebrated Brock's FIRST birthday early, because it was getting to late for me to go to Dallas.

October

Brock turned ONE!

Owen made his arrival 4 days early... October 5th was hard, but October 6th was all worth it.

Celebrated my 25th birthday the day after we were discharged from the hospital!

Owen's first Halloween as a puppy.

November

Big ole family Thanksgiving

December

Christmas of course!

First date night away from Owen

Still in awe of my precious angel baby and all that we (and He) created

Here's hoping 2011 gives us as many blessings (not the human kind ;)) as 2010!

XOXO Haley

Christmas Baby

This time last year, I was worried that Jer and I would never be able to have babies. This year, we are celebrating our baby's first Christmas. What a difference a year makes. Only my closest friends and family know this, but Jer and I actually started 'trying' to have a baby on our honeymoon. We had never really talked about having kids until after we got engaged. We both always knew we wanted kids, but it was something that was in the distant future, or so I thought.

One night while we were laying in bed right after we had gotten engaged, (yes, we lived together BEFORE we were married, GASP! ;)) Jer just all of a sudden said, 'So, are you going to go off of your birth control once we get married'. I was like 'say what??' I told him I hadn't even thought about it, I was so wrapped up in graduating college and planning the wedding that kids were not at all in the picture. After he said that one sentence, babies were the only thing on my brain. I was so excited Jer wanted to have babies right away, so we decided that after we were married (May 2009) we would start trying. In Jer's words we weren't actively trying but we were not not trying to get pregnant, he wanted to just go with the flow and see what happened. Yeah... that worked for about a month and then I became obsessed.

After about 7 months of trying and not one positive pregnancy test, I think I started to become depressed. I had quit my job in July because it was horrible, I couldn't find a journalism job to save my life and I was NOT getting pregnant even though we were now actively trying and doing everything 'right'. To top it off, it seemed like people all around me were getting pregnant.

Jer's hope or faith never wavered and he would tell me every month after I had taken my umpteenth negative pregnancy test that 'it would happen when it was supposed to'. Now, I really believe that to be true. Literally, the week we found out we were pregnant (end of January 2010) was when I got a job as a substitute teacher (best job i've ever had!) and the week we were supposed to start getting tests done to make sure we were A-OK in the reproductive department.

I have been wanting to write this post for a while just to get it off of my chest and to just say how thankful I am to my rock of a husband. This year is so different from last and I have proof (15 pounds of proof to be exact) of how powerful prayer and positive thinking (on Jer's part) is. Especially at this time of year, I see how Christmas is not only a time for gift giving, but a time to be thankful for Jesus and the gifts and blessings He bestows on us. I never truly knew or appreciated Him until I held my Owen. Owen is my greatest joy and greatest blessing and I could never thank Him enough for giving Jer and I the blessing of a baby at 'just the right time'.

Sorry if this post is super sappy, but I can't help it. Although I do have bad days where Owen hasn't napped and I have a million things to get done and haven't so much as brushed my teeth, I think back to last year, when all I wanted was a positive pregnancy test. I couldn't bare the thought of logging onto Facebook and seeing someone else announce their pregnancy, or I would lose it. Now I have all of this love, stuffed into a 0-3 month onesie, swinging peacefully in his rainforest swing and I could not be happier.

Members of my family have asked me repeatedly what I want this year for Christmas and it is hard to come up with 'things' because honestly, what more is there when I have the face of my child looking up at me every single morning?

I hope everyone finds their joy, no matter what or who it is. Merry Christmas.

XOXO Haley

2 Months!

Owen was 2 months old on December 6th!! I am a little late getting this post up, but oh well.

• At his 6 week appointment, he weighed 12 pounds 8 oz and Jer got on the scale with him about a week ago and he is now probably 14 to 15 pounds... yes, he is a big boy!
• We are pretty certain that Owen is going to be a redhead! Everyone kept telling us he would lose his hair and it would turn a different color, but they were wrong. His Nana (my mom) couldn't be happier, because she is a redhead!! We couldn't love our little blue eyed Ginger any more if we tried. South Park fans, please refrain from practicing 'Kick a Ginger' Day... thank you ;)

• Owen's favorite things to do are stare at lights/fans and walk around the house. He also loves looking at the lights on our Christmas tree.
• He rarely gets fussy, it is usually because he has gas or is hungry.
• Last night, the night before last and one week ago he has slept for 7 hours!! We are hoping this trend continues.
• He is a very happy baby, especially when he is naked. No matter what mood he is in, when you take his diaper off and let him just lay naked, he coos and smiles so big!

• 
  

• He knows Mommy and Daddy's voice and I love his huge gummy smile when he sees my face or hears my voice, it melts my heart every time.
• So cliche, but so true.. I never knew I could love like this. I am so unbelievably happy and I want everyone to feel the joy of loving a child and watching them learn.

• Speaking of learning, the funniest thing to watch is him looking at his own hands. He stares at them and has a look of question on his face.
• He is breast fed (I know I always wonder ;)) and bottle fed.
• He has discovered the TV and likes to watch football with Daddy because of all of the movement and colors.

• Everyone who meets him for the first time says two things right away 1. He looks exactly like me and 2. he is so alert. We've also heard how well-behaved and calm he is.. we hope this continues.

Alright, enough for now.. still need some stocking stuffers and groceries to get!! Hope everyone has a Happy Holiday with someone you love.

XOXO Haley