On Being a Stay at Home Mom

I am very blessed that I get to stay home with Gavin. Jayden works so hard to provide for our family so I can work very few hours. A lot of people ask me what I do everyday. I have a lot of people ask, "Do you get bored?"  "Do you find enough things to do with your time?" "How do you keep your sanity being at home all of the time?" Being a stay at home mom is hard work! Gavin and I are also lazy sometimes though. We keep ourselves busy. Some days are busier than others. Some days are more exciting than others. But every day is fulfilling and rewarding in it's own way. Some days we don't get ready and stay in sweats all day. Other days we are ready soon after we wake up. Even though society is becoming less accepting of stay at home mom's, there is nothing better I could be doing right now. It is a miracle and a blessing to raise a child. Something that you don't truly understand until you have a child yourself. Here are a few snapshots from our everyday.

Gavin gets so messy eating, we usually have to give him a mid-day bath to clean him up

Lots of snuggles and naps together

It's amazing to watch a baby discover the world. Today I made Gavin a little quesadilla  for lunch and instead of eating it normally, he would fold it in half and take bites out of the middle. He cracks me up!

 As much as I love playing with Gavin and entertaining him, I love when it is nap time! It allows me to have time to catch up on doing things around the house, or to even get a nap for myself.

 I don't know why I added this picture of raspberries, because it isn't really relevant, but we LOVE raspberries. I buy them at Costco and we eat them constantly.

 We go on lots of walks. Gavin usually loves his walks, but since it has gotten colder he hasn't liked them quite the same. Silly boy will never leave a hood or hat on, always takes off gloves, and won't leave the blanket on. So his head and hands always get cold.

 A few times a week we will visit Jayden on campus for a meal. Tonight we brought dinner over to campus in between Jayden's classes.

 We love spending time outside together.

 Gavin makes me laugh so much. As I was trying to take a picture, I didn't realize until after that Gavin was eating my hair.

 I try to stay on top of grocery shopping and keeping the house fairly clean, but sometimes it just doesn't matter. One thing that I have learned is that your house isn't going to be perfect. Babies make a lot of messes! Your house is going to get dirty, but your baby is never going to get younger! Cherish each day you have and don't get caught up on trying to have everything perfect, because it is a loosing battle!

3 Months

Pictures of Gavin sleeping...just because

Love this little man!

Gavin is trying to sit up on his own. He can stay sitting for a few seconds and then falls over. Gavin can roll to his side and lay on his side, he does it all the time now.

Gavin turned three months this last week! He is getting to be such a big boy! He is getting cuter everyday. Gavin loves to giggle. Gavin's new favorite thing is to look in the mirror and stare at himself, he also thinks he's pretty funny because he cracks himself up! We started to mix a little bit of rice cereal in Gavin's bottle at night before bed. Gavin is such a funny sleeper. He will sleep with his arms straight above his head, or either straight out to the side. Gavin is staying awake a lot longer during the day and he is going longer in between feedings. Gavin loves to sit up in his chair and he loves to see what is going on. Gavin's gums and teething is bothering him pretty bad, but still no tooth! Hopefully one pops up soon to give him some relief. Gavin has grown out of all of his 3 month clothes and wears all 6 month clothes. He will smile on command now, and is a happy giggly little boy. He has been so much fun this last week.

3 Month Stats: 16 pounds & 27 inches

He has grown 6 inches since he was born-holy moly!

Next Phase of Life

I have been in school as long as I can remember. Right after I graduated high school, I moved to Salt Lake to attend the University of Utah. Four years later, I am now about to graduate with my Bachelors degree in May. Life has been non-stop since I graduated from high school. Since high school I have traveled to Uganda, married my best friend, had a baby, and am finishing my bachelors degree. Now that I am about to graduate, I'm not sure what is in store for me. Once summer is here, I will be done with school forever. After spending the last 16 years of my life in school, it will be very different not having to go to school. I all of a sudden feel grown up and feel like I am in the next phase of my life. The good thing about being done with school means that I can focus on being the best mom to Gavin that I can be. I am very fortunate that will be able to stay home with Gavin and work from home. Jayden has one more year after this semester until he gets his Masters degree, then who knows what life will have in store for us! We will be staying in Salt Lake until Jayden is done with his degree, but his career could really take us anywhere. I would love to live out of state for a few years or even out of the country. It is exciting and nerve wracking not knowing where the next few years will take us. I am a person who is very open to change, and I am excited for the next phase of life. I will admit, not being in school will definitely take some adjusting to. Until recently, I felt a little out of place for girls my age. I was the only one of my close friends that got married so young. Most of my friends were still single and I was pregnant! This year, a lot of my close friends are dating someone seriously, engaged, or married. It is exciting to see so many people growing up and starting their next phase of life as well.

Moved to SLC to get my BFA in Photography/Digital Imaging

Fell in love with this boy

 2 months before we got married I went to Uganda for 3 weeks

Married the boy I fell in love with

Had baby Gavin