Almost time!

Well, it's been an entire week since the moving company came and packed our household goods and we've basically been living like hobos ever since. I am so ready for tomorrow to get here so we can pack up the cars and hit the road! We originally weren't supposed to be leaving until Wednesday but we got a call from the moving company saying they needed to deliver a day early, which means a slight shift in our plans. So now we are leaving a day early and going to split the trip up into two days. We should be in Biloxi by Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning we sign the lease for our new house and get our stuff delivered that same day! It's going to be an exciting/stressful day but I will be so glad to have our belongings again.

This past week has been a challenge when it comes to entertaining our toddler and I'll admit I'm so grateful we still have wifi so he can watch netflix on our laptop. We also got him a coloring book and some markers so we could draw together and keep him occupied. Yesterday we spent the afternoon at the base pool and splash pad which was really nice and a perfect way to beat the heat! I'm so disapoointed that we just now made it there because they don't even charge admission and Jeremiah loved it so much! I'm very excited about the fact that our new housing community also has a pool and that we will be able to take him there often before the end of summer. He is definitely a water baby! :)

Other than that I've been trying to get our house cleaned up a little each day so we are ready for inspection before we leave on Tuesday. I've also been working on teaching Jeremiah some new words and I'm excited at how many new words he has learned this month. Some are only ones I can understand because I hear him say them enough but it makes me happy none the less! I'm hoping once we can communicate better there will be less frustrations for both of us. We got him a vtech learning book that says the names of objects when you touch them and he really seems to like it so far. I'm hoping it will help with learning some new words too. ♥

I hope you all have a Happy Monday and enjoy these pictures of my little guy playing in Mommy's suitcase. Here he is saying the newest word he learned..."Cheese!"

I love his little cheese face! Have a great week everyone! ♥

One step closer

Well yesterday was the big day! The packers came and by the time three o'clock rolled around they had already packed up our entire house. It was a bit stressful at first because I didn't have much time to get things in order before they arrived, but it all went smoothly in the end. I worked all the way up until Friday and Jeremiah gave me a pretty awful cold, so needless to say I didn't accomplish much this weekend in terms of packing and sorting things we didn't want packed. I was so incredibely thankful to have my husband here this time around and for the fact that Jeremiah was so well behaved while they were here. We put on Tarzan for him and he literally just sat on his couch and watched it while they packed everything up! Then he decided he was tired and took a two and a half hour nap, which was amazing because that meant my husband and I could run around and make sure everything was going smoothly along with trying to get some cleaning and organizing done. I couldn't have asked for it to go better. :)

So now we are just waitng for the driver to arrive tomorrow morning and haul all our stuff away! :) The one thing I'm not looking forward to all that much is having no furniture to sit on for the next week. We'll have our air mattress of course but no couches or table, so that should be fun since I'm nearly six months pregnant. We've also got to do a thorough deep cleaning before we hit the road, so hopefully we'll get most of our deposit back. Other than that we are one step closer to getting this move over with and coming home to our new house in Mississippi! I have so much to write about these days, and I'm excited to finally have the time to dedicate to my blog again. Wish us luck on this next chapter in our lives! ♥

Gender Reveal!

Hey everyone! Two posts in one week, I must be on a roll right? ;) For those of you who already follow me on pinterest, twitter or are a facebook friend then you already know this, but if you're new around here I figured I'd share. When I was pregnant with Jeremiah and we found out we were having a boy there was no containing our excitement. We announced it right away and didn't bother with a gender reveal photo shoot. That was before it was a "big thing," I guess, but I have always regretted the way we told people. This time around I knew I wanted to do a gender reveal shoot, and with the help of my husband and son I think they turned out pretty great. ♥ I hope you love them as much as I do! We are beyond thrilled to be welcomg a baby girl into our family this December. ♥ I always said I wanted my children to be two years apart like my sisters and I and it looks like I got my wish. ;)

Next on the blog I'll be talking about our baby's name and how hard it was to choose! I hope you're all having a Happy Monday!

Adventures in St. Augustine

Since moving to Florida we haven't had the chance to explore too much, but one place I can't get enough of is St. Augustine. Maybe its the history geek in me but I absolutely love visiting the oldest city in the U.S. We've been several times over the last few months and still haven't had time to do everything on my list. While my mother in law was here we went and walked down the historic streets and ate at a couple little restaurants and did some sightseeing. We visited again a few weeks ago with some of our friends and I was lucky enough to get lots of good photos. ♥ 

[The husband and I...The first picture we've had taken of us in forever!]

 [Sightseeing and shopping...]

 [yummmmm]

 [Mother and son enjoying the day together. ]

[Palm trees everywhere...I love it!]

 [All the shops are so adorable. Almost makes you feel like you've gone back in time.]

 [Bubby was ready for some french fries ;) ]

[French Fry Heaven, and belive me it was...♥]

[Loaded baked potato french fries] 

 [Castillo De San Marcos off in the distance]

 [Crepes Elizaveta from The Mermaid Cafe] 

 [An old spooky graveyard]

 [Flagler College...This photo reminds me of a postcard.]

 [I love the architecture of this building]

 [Bubby and Daddy bonding time]

[Overlooking the water on top of The Castillo De San Marcos]

 [Mommy and son ♥]

 [Overlooking the water...my happy place.]

 [Be still my heart] 

[The most beautiful view I've seen in a long time...]

Being able to visit gorgeous places like this is what I love most about being a military family. I doubt we ever would have made it out here otherwise, and I'm so thankful for days like these. ♥ 

Today is the day

My mother in law is flying in tonight to spend the next week with us and celebrate my baby boy's first birthday! This will be the first time we've seen any of our family since our visit to California in April. I am so looking forward to making memories and celebrating with her, I only wish all of our family could be here to celebrate with us. 

I'm hoping we can take a visit down to St. Augustine once the weather warms up a bit, (this arctic blast is no joke!) and do some sightseeing. We've also gotta get everything ready for Jeremiah's 1st birthday celebration which I have not planned a single thing for yet. 

I know, I know....MAJOR PROCRASTINATION!

 I know I said I was gonna work on my procrastinating, but in my defense these last two weeks have been crazy busy between the holidays, multiple interviews, searching for a daycare, applying for fee assistance and doing my drug screening for my new job. There has been so much going on that my head is still spinning!

 I can't wait to spend some quality time together while my mil is here. I want to soak up every moment with my family and especially my sweet boy before I go back to work soon. It's going to be here before I know it. 

Happy Wednesday everyone! ♥

New Beginnings

I can't believe it's already January! The new year always means a chance to start fresh and lots of changes and this year is no exception. In just a few short days My baby boy will be one year old and I simply can't wrap my head around it. 

We had a wonderful holiday season and I have been soaking up every moment with my sweet little boy because my days as a stay at home mama are numbered. 

By the grace of God I have found a full time banking job and will be going back to work in the next few weeks. I am experiencing so many emotions when it comes to this and although I was thrilled to be offered the position I wanted, my heart is also breaking at the thought of placing my baby in daycare. 

I may have cried the other night when I actually sat down and realized I will only see him for about 2 hours each day during the week. I don't know how I'm going to handle it but please pray I find the strength. ♥

Right now I'm in the process of trying to find great and affordable child care and its proving to be more difficult than I initially thought. Some places want over $900 per month. Its literally insane. 

I'm just trying to navigate through these feelings and situation because its all new to me. I remember so many times over the last year seeing friends who had babies have to leave them and go back to work, and how incredibly lucky I felt to be able to stay home with my son. The last year has truly been a gift and one that I will cherish all the rest of my days. 

However, each chapter in our lives must come to an end and sadly this one is ending. Although I'd love to stay home with my son longer, its for the best for me to work. So now I will be starting a new adventure and I hope its a good one! :)

{Ringing in the New Year with my little family}

I can't wait to see what this year brings for my family and I  am choosing to see the blessings even when its hard. I hope you're all having a wonderful 2014 so far. ♥

Finding a balance

Motherhood is like a balancing act, we have to juggle so much and at times it can be a bit overwhelming. Sooner or later you end up dropping something. Before I was a mom I never understood how parents could put their children above everything else, including their marriage. I used to read marriage blogs and take the advice to heart and really think about the scriptures they included. Looking back I now realize that it was so easy for me to misunderstand this phenomenon, because I simply wasn't a parent yet. Oh how naive I was...

The moment I became a mom everything changed, my whole mindset shifted. I was now responsible for this tiny human being who literally depended on me for everything.

{Meeting my son for the first time after a c-section and 12 hours apart. Sweetest moment of my life.♥}

 Although I don't want to make my husband feel left out or neglected, I had to put my babies needs above his and ten months later, still do. I'm not sure at what point this will change, or rather if it will just become less prominent in our lives. The love I feel for my son is greater than I ever imagined possible. Only now that I am a mother do I realize how easy it is to place everything else on the backburner, (including oneself) once you have a child. Of course I love my husband, its just a different type of love than what I feel for my son. I know its extremely important to continue working on our marriage so we don't drift apart, but right now I am really struggling with this.

{Our last trip sans children. Wilmington, NC April 2012}

We recently moved and our bills have increased, while my husband's paycheck hasn't. I can't even remember the last time we went on an actual date. It's hard because we're trying to be thrifty but we desperately need some adult time to ourselves, just to reconnect and take a break from it all. I know it has been hard on my husband and I am trying to remind myself of the idea that God should come first, my husband second and my child third. It's just so difficult for me! Have any of you ever struggled with this? I feel like I can't be the only one.

Of course being a military family as well we also face unique challenges. Living far away from family or friends I trust to watch my son makes it harder for my husband and I to have a simple date night. I know this is just a transitional period and it won't be this way forever, but it doesn't make me feel any better about where we are. I love my husband and my son, I just wish I could figure out a way to make them both feel loved and valued. For now all I can do is trust in God and keep putting one foot in front of the other. ♥

Fall fun at the Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday we took Jeremiah to the pumpkin patch for the first time. It was a crisp, beautiful autumn day and it couldn't have been nicer out. The weather has been cooling down some this week and it finally feels like fall. ♥ We had so much fun searching for the perfect pumpkin and Jeremiah definitely loved all the sights and his very first wagon ride at the pumpkin patch. Here's our day in photographs. :) 

Happy Fall!