Declan's 2*

The best part about being a mom, is

 being a mom. 

The days are long but the years are short. 

We all have those good, better, and best days (but who are we kidding, no one likes to blog about the "good" days. Snooze fest). So today was a best day, 

from sun up to sun down. 

This morning as I was holding Declan, it dawned on me that he will never remember these years. The years where I have grown the most, struggled the most, and loved the most. He will never remember the years I will hold onto forever. 

I will try desperately to 

never forget them.

Thinking about these past two years with Decs, looking at pictures, 
and laughing 
at videos with Joe has made for a tender night.  
These sweet and innocent children
are sent to us... 
We are trusted to love them, teach them,
 and never give up on them no matter what happens.

Each moment 

I give up with Declan for something 

of lesser value, 

is a moment I will never get back.

I want as many sweet moments with him as possible. 

I'm not always a great mother

(I mean, I'm writing his birthday post a month after his 2nd birthday and I am pretty sure I didn't write a dang thing for his 1st birthday - and let's be clear, these are probably the least offensive things I've done as a mother), 

but I do my best and hope that

God will make up 

the difference. I have loved these past two years, I know I will love all the years with our sweet one.

Happy Birthday Declan, 

we love you  more than you

 will ever 

know!

      

Family Photos 2015

Oh look at that, 

it turns out I still have a blog. 

Who knew! 

It's just so hard because I have all these followers and all these people trying to sponsor me. 

Everyone's asking like, 

"Oh what's your OOTD", 

"Tell me your dieting secrets", 

right? 

It just hard to keep up with it all. 

What! ? This just in... 

I only have one follower? 

You know who you are, Ems. 

Moving on.

With Joe being back on call it means Ames is back on the blog. Blogging also keeps me off of donuts, netflix, and trolling the internet. Wow can I ever get sucked into those things. I once sat and ate 9 donuts proudly while watching netflix shows back to back, to back again. 

Things can really get out of control over here. 

Between all the binge eating 

when does she have time to take care of her
child and keep up with the house you might ask... 

Don't be silly, this is only after 
Declan goes to bed 
and the day is over.

So let's talk real talk. 

We recently moved to Calgary and we are loving it here. 

Joe is doing his medical residency program  and I am at home with Declan. 

People have asked me lately if I'm going back to work 
(my extended contract with TD Bank is up this month) 
and all I can say is,

I do work, all day every day ;) 

I'm a stay at home mom.

Being Declan's mom is something I'm great at. 

Not because I'm a perfect mom or anything crazy like that,

But because he's mine. God trusted me enough to be his mom so why not celebrate that? Declan could have been sent to any other family, but he wasn't, he was sent to ours. And I am thankful for that. 

 Things sure got deep just now! 
but there you have it, 

I love being a (stay at home) mom.

I'm for sure not saying that working outside the home is bad. Not at all. Just for me, right now, staying at home with Decs is something I deem myself good at (most days - ha ha),

 and I enjoy it, so why would I "work" anywhere else? :)

I'm also very fortunate that my 

husband is WILLING and  

ABLE to provide for us, allowing

 me to stay home with Declan. 

I'm truly grateful for this on the regular and 

I realize it's a huge blessing. 

If it wasn't for my husband, I wouldn't 

be able to do what I love (full time). 

Now before we start posting about the day to day - let's take a stroll down memory lane and recap the summer so far. As mentioned, we moved!Something so wonderful about the move, is how often my mom comes to visit. I've loved seeing her so much! My little niece Jadey cakes was baptized (into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints) - and don't be jealous about that, I can get you baptized too!  We also went out to Kelowna to visit my Dad and Pam, who recently just bought a house castle out there, we went to Echo Lake to party with Joe's wonderful family, and for the best part of my life, my sister and I went to the Taylor Swift concert. 

Boys only want love if it... 

sorry, 
sorry,
you lost me there for a minute. 
I can't leave out the memorable roadtrip to Saskatchewan
to see my Grandma Jean, where I laughed so hard I shot ice cream out my nose. 
There's also been play dates 
and park dates, Waterton hikes, 
spray parks, good food, good family and good
friends, and obviously bunch of other good stuff 
all in between.  Summer 2015 has been my jam :)

Motherhood.

The awful awesome experience. 

It's hard to really explain what it feels like to be a mom. I read countless books, online articles, watched documentaries, and talked with family and friends... but nothing can quite prepare you for being a mom,

like being a mom. 

The best part of 2013 was having baby Decs.

 The hardest part of 2013 was having baby Decs.

As I sit here writing this, 

I can't help but have one eye on the baby monitor, watching him as he sleeps. I love him with a different part of my heart, one that I didn't know I had. Although I am completely smitten now, we got off to a rough start. All I remember, when driving home from the hospital, was praying. 

Praying that somehow we would get home safe and when we got home, I would know what to do with him. Giving birth was the easy part, raising him seems to be the challenge. The first couple weeks were absolutely foreign. And to be honest, they were down right awful. I

 was leaking from everywhere possible, the most tender parts of my body were throbbing, I woke up in milk every few hours, Declan wouldn't nurse, he wouldn't sleep, and he wouldn't stop crying due to gas, aaaand the hormones, OHH the hormones. 

What was a girl to do? Is there any type of return or exchange policy here? I was in way over my head. I had really done it now. I don't remember how it all became so awesome. How I somehow managed to figure out his cries, his feedings, 

his nap schedules, and his bed time routine. Somehow I was able to figure it all out, for the most part. I am by no means an expert here, 
But I can finally say (honestly) that 
I love being a mom. 

Being a mom means, my new alarm clock has become my little rooster in the next room, I am on call 24/7, I am responsible for a tiny human's life, 
I haven't gotten more than 5 hours straight of sleep since he was born, 
I feel absolutely exhausted at the end of every day but can't quite figure out what exactly I did all day, 
I pump around the clock (that's right, he still wont nurse),
I somehow don't have time for anything at all, 
I haven't showered alone in months (he will  not take a bath, I have to resort to showering with him, if I want the crying to stop), 
my hair has been in the same messy bun since Tuesday, 
my body has been in my same messy PJ's since... I don't even know,
my nails, well, lets be real...those still look amazing, 
my days are planned around his naps, 
date night has now become, "we can only go out if we can get him to sleep in his car seat the whole time", night, 
I have started to prefer staying in rather than going out (that's right, for Valentine's day we ordered in), 
and when we do finally go out, things tend to get a little squirly. 

Exhibit A: Joe and I went out to one of our ward's

 parties, some Christmas thing, or something... anyway, I had forgotten what freedom felt like! I danced so hard I think my sweat permanently ruined my shirt. Gross? Did you read what I look like right now? Does it even matter? That being said... I also danced so hard at one point Joe had to sit down and take a break (classic), and I was dancing alone in a sea full of married couples. I'm not even the slightest bit embarrassed. It was nice to know I still knew how to work it. Needless to say... 

life has changed. 

Life is crazy, overwhelming, hard, 
unpredictable, and oh so very very great. 

I love having my own little family. 

It makes a girl grateful for everything she had to go through, to get to this point.

I wouldn't trade all this craziness for 

how things used to be. 

I love my Joe and I love my Dec. 

I also love everyone that made it so much easier and better,

 when I had my baby boy

(I didn't cook for 3 months). 

For everyone that made so much effort, thank you. 

Here's to another great year :)  

2014, bring on the madness! 

2013

The best.

Some years are better than others. Luckily, this past year was a great one. We met extended family, we traveled, we found new hobbies, we made special memories, and most of all, we created Declan.