Somewhere In Between....

For all of Chloe's life (which I realize hasn't really been all that long), she has fit into the size clothes that were designed for her age. When she was 3 months she wore 3 month clothes, 6 months she wore 6 month clothes...you get the idea.

Enter her 1st birthday. She had a wonderful party. Lots of friends joined us and blessed her with tons of clothes. Most of the clothes were 18 months because I had told people she would be in them soon. WRONG! She is now 20 months old and she STILL does not wear 18 month clothes. Somewhere in there she decided it was a good idea to stop growing. The problem is: she's not in 12 month clothes either. If you know anything about baby clothes, there is nothing in between 12 months and 18 months.

So, my baby runs around with a onesie that is too small and pants that are too big.

If I put her in 12 month jeans they look like capris, but 18 month jeans make her look like a gansta.

What's a momma to do?

A few of my favorite things

Riding in the car with my windows down, my radio blaring, and singing at the top of my lungs (when Chloe's not with me, of course)

Chloe's giggles

Authentic relationships, especially with other women

Dancing (and I mean like...gettin' down with your bad self kind of dancing)

Babies

Christmas

A really great book

Laying in the sun

Feeling pretty

Watching Justin play with Chloe

Uninhibited laughter

The smell of springtime (magnolias, lilacs...)

Being at the lake with friends

Cool mornings

Being healthy (eating right and exercising)...I definitely don't do this one enough!

Talking about birth

Snuggling

Pedicures

Great food

Becoming more like Christ

When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I'm feeling sad....I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel soooo bad.

I think I'm ready

I have always known I wanted to be a mommy. When I was little, in daycare, I would take all of the younger kids under my wing and "mother" them. At 4, "mothering" to me was just basically telling other kids what to do. Man, I was bossy! Anyway...God put something inside of me that sets my heart ablaze when I think about being pregnant, having babies, and raising children. Justin and I only waited about 8 months before we decided we were ready for babies. When I found out I was pregnant with Chloe, I couldn't have been more happy! I actually couldn't even wait long enough to get home to take the pregnancy test, so I took it in the Target bathroom. I'm a dork, I know. I called Justin, who was at work, and asked if I could come by and have lunch with him. Over a gourmet Arby's lunch, I told Justin he was going to be a daddy. I will never forget that moment. We told our parents that same night. It was so exciting.

As with being a mommy, I also knew I wanted to have lots of kids. More than 4. I'm still not sure Justin is on board with me about this. I always thought I would want my children just one right after the other. I never took into account that the first one might fill my heart so full that I would feel like I may not have enough room for any more. For about the first 15 months of Chloe's life I just was not ready to have another baby (something I never ever imagined I would feel). I had so many fears (some of which I still have) about whether I could love the second as much, whether I have enough time in the day to really nurture both of them...and the list goes on.

Chloe is now 20 months and I think I'm ready for the next one. I'm excited to be pregnant again. I'm ready to breastfeed (something I failed miserably at with Chloe). I want to snuggle a tiny little bundle again. I can't wait to see Chloe as a big sister. I finally feel like my excitement outweighs my apprehensions.

So...all that to say: Bring on the baby makin'! ;)

And just for your enjoyment (and because I think this picture is hilarious):

Umm...so where do I start?

Today's post is the reason I never wanted to start a blog in the first place. Where the heck do I start? Chloe's 1st birthday? Chloe's birth? Our wedding? High school? MY birth? lol. I really don't want to have 10 posts just getting everyone up to speed on our lives. SO, I have decided to post some old pictures of Chloe and then make my next post start in the present. Today. Right now. I never liked history much anyway ;)

So, here is a look at our little princess.

The day she was born (January 15, 2007):

3 Months:

6 months:

9 months:



1 year:



18 months:



Ain't she darn cute?

Here We Go....

I have toyed with the idea of starting a blog for quite some time now. For some reason, the task just seemed so daunting. And quite frankly, starting this thing and making it pretty wasn't the easiest thing in the world. Naming this thing took me several hours. seriously. I kept wanting a web address that used our last name. Having the last name Smith really worked against me. Apparently every person on the face of the earth with the name Smith has a blog because EVERY possible Smith title is taken. I finally gave up on that and decided to go in a different direction. I chose things I believe in. Love. Joy. and Laughter. I like it.

I want this blog to be a place where I can keep others up to date on our lives, but I also want it to be a place where I can write about anything else that strikes my fancy (lol - get ready!).

I really feel quite out of place in the blogosphere. I read several blogs daily. In future posts I will try to let you know which ones I absolutely love. Most of the blogs I read are written by friends, women who inspire me, women who are in the same boat as me (wife, momma, sister, etc), or blogs that are just dang funny. Anywho...many of these bloggers are great writers. I am not. I have decided to put my lack of writing skills behind me and finally give this blogging thing a whirl.

So, here's to great blogs and to hoping someday mine is atleast good!