My Little Fledgling

 

 

This is my sweet little owl baby on his first Halloween.  Our squadron put on a little trunk-or-treat & although there will be no candy for E this year (not really sure if I ever want to start that tradition...I know, lamest mom ever), I couldn't pass up a chance to dress my little munckin up :)

 

What is it with babies & ridiculous costumes that make them all the more scrumptious?!  I don't know, but I love it. 

 

As I was deciding on what E would be, I wanted something that I could make for him myself, but with a very small degree of difficulty and involvement.  I didn't want to spend very much time or $$ on it. I mean, really, he will probably only wear it this once and basically just for the photo-op & memory.  I found this tutorial from the one and only, Martha Stewart & just eyeballed it (I mean really, who has access to a photocopier to print a template off at 375%), used some things I had on hand and came up with this. 

The little eye goggles were never going to stay around his eyes like the picture showed, so I opted to keep them out of the little guys reach, & atop his knit hat.  The hat, although missing it's owl ears, was perfect to help keep the little guy warm in the chilly weather we've been having.

 

Here's one more picture of this owl mama and her little fledgling :)  Love him.

 

 

5 months old!

 

 

A few days ago our little man turned 5 months old!  He's as sweet and handsome as ever and our love grows for him more and more each day.

 

Here are some highlights from this past month:

 

 

Giggles & squeals are an every day affair with you.  We are learning new ways to make you laugh each day & it's so fun to figure out your favorite was to play.

 

Peek-a-boo is one of your favorite games to play with us this month. We throw a little towel on your head & ask, "Where's Ephram?" and you pull it off & smile with delight!

 

It seems that every outing I take you on these days, people comment on how smiley you are!  You seem to be a very social kiddo & love to engage people :)

 

Just yesterday, we felt your first tooth (or maybe teeth) coming in on your bottom gum.  Today has been a little painful for you & you've wanted lots of momma cuddles.

 

You also ate your first solid yesterday...Bananas!  I think you're a fan :)  You kept reaching for the spoon to put it in your mouth.

 

You are an expert at rolling from tummy to back & have even rolled over from back to tummy once, so time playing on the floor is getting more & more interesting.

 

You are "tripoding" as I like to call it.  Sitting, with hands propped out in front of you for support- you love the new view it gives you.

 

We love you baby cakes!

 

Exercising + Motherhood

 

Ahh, such a sweet face. :)  But I'm actually going to refrain from talking about my little cutie pants boy to talk about exercise, more specifically, running!

 

During my preggo & pre-preggo days I was pretty active with soccer, yoga, cycling, any sort of group or team exercise--count me in!  I love social exercising & even more, I love the feeling of doing something active.  I was fortunate to be able to do cycling and yoga until I was 38 weeks pregnant and I can't say enough about exercising during pregnancy- it kept me feeling good & energetic (and there's the added plus of not gaining too many baby pounds!)

 

You can imagine the conundrum I was in 6 weeks post-baby when I realized I could no longer go to cycling class or yoga class with a baby in arm! What to do, what to do.  I considered doing a work out DVD, but can never seem to keep myself accountable to doing those consistently. 

I also considered running, but hated the idea.  Yes, I love exercising, but I hate running, or at least running just for the sake of running.

 

After spinning my wheels & trying to come with other things that would work for me, I eventually came back to running. It's something I can easily do with a baby, anytime & basically, anywhere & we have this really great jogging stroller that I hoped would fool people into thinking I was a runner, but had never actually used for running.  When I made the decision to start running, I immediately signed up for a local 5K (something I've never done), knowing that if I didn't have a goal like that to reach toward, I would never keep up with it.  I also enlisted the help of my husband, again, I knew I would need some extra accountability for this one.  He LOVED the idea & has always wanted me to run with him so he was all in!

 

We've been at it for about a month or so  now & I can now run for 30 minutes straight! Something I haven't done in I don't know how long.  It's been great so far, I can't say that I love running yet, but I do love spending time exercising as a family (such a blessing!) and I love the way I feel after finishing a run. 

 

 

3 more weeks 'til race day!  I'll keep you posted on how it goes.  In the meantime, if you're like me & having a hard time figuring out the best way to workout in the midst of life & all it's busyness & challenges, I just wanted to send some encouragement your way!  Set some goals, get some accountability & have fun with it!  This has been a huge part of our family time lately & has blessed us in more ways than keeping us healthy & fit.  :)

My new favorite :: family wall

I am loving our newly completed wall art and have been itching to share it with you! It adds so much fullness and cheer to our dining area and so well depicts the things dearest to our hearts. We have a collage of family pictures including one from Ben's return from his deployment, E's newborn picture, and our first family photo shoot. All three are filled with such sweet memories and I can't help but smile when I look at them. God is so good! Centered in all of these canvases is the saying, "what I love most about my home is who I share it with." So true:) Completing our little family wall is a canvas I made last week that is such a sweet reminder to us of the aroma we want our lives to be filled with: joy, prayer and thankfulness. I think it's so important to have things like this around the home to remind you of God's blessings and refocus us on what's important. It's easy to forget how richly blessed our lives are and when I look at this wall I can't help but think about how abundantly god has blessed our little family.