Time...

For some reason lately, today especially, I have been feeling as though time is moving much quicker than usual. I found myself checking on Max as he was napping and almost burst into tears. The crib is no longer taking him over, he is taking over the crib. My heart broke a little as I realized my baby isn't a baby anymore, he is a toddler. A happy, exuberant, silly, total tease, fun loving toddler. Time just seems to escape me these days, I try so hard to hold on to each moment; relish in every laugh, giggle, snuggle, smile, yet time just seems to go quicker.

Once I had Max, I felt like time turned into double time. I don't know about you, but I sometimes wish I could slow it all down for a minute year. And then, some days I can't wait until bed time to have some peace and quiet. But today is a day I wish I could have just paused...forever. Not for any particular reason, just because today, I realized how quickly he is growing, how I am not ready for him to be a toddler, and not a baby; but more importantly I realized how grateful I am for this very moment. I can't imagine him going to school, using full sentences, or getting his drivers license, yet I know before a blink of an eye it will be here, and that just freaks me out. 

I guess I just find it hard to believe that I have a toddler, and time doesn't stand still, no matter how badly I want it to, it just goes faster and faster. Don't get me wrong, I love to watch Max grow, and every day I love to see him taking in the world. It's truly an incredible experience to watch a child in their innocence. And I am in love with being a mother, a job I wouldn't trade for the world. Every mistake, every choice in my life brought me here, and I am so grateful! Yet, sometimes I find myself experiencing every emotion under the sun, all at once. And I ask myself, why, just why do our babies have to grow up so quickly?! 

As I finish typing this, I find myself in tears, not because I am sad or happy, just because, I have a baby toddler who I love more than the world, and I wish I could hold on to this moment forever. Here is a photo I took of him today, so now, I can hold on to this moment forever. 

xoxo

This is Halloween, This is Halloween

This year Halloween was an entirely different experience for me, in a good great way! Being able to experience things from the eyes of a child is something that I will always love and cherish. It is so incredible to watch their face light up over things that as an adult, I tend to overlook. For example, being given a small piece of candy is the coolest thing in the entire world, or being able to hold a pumpkin bucket and run free down the street creates smiles and laughter that melt your heart. For me, Halloween this year brought out a childish joy that I have really missed.

Enough of the sappy mom talk, on to the details! Max was a shark this year, and may I just say he was the most adorable and scary shark of all time. We took him to a trunk-or-treat that my MOPS group put on, the Sunday before Halloween, he loved it. Well technically, he loved looking at the kids in their costumes and getting to hold his bucket, it was priceless. These trunk-or-treat events are pure craziness I tell you! We ran out of candy in less than 15 minutes and we had over 200 pieces of candy... Yeah, pure madness. It was definitely an experience.

Halloween day was fun as well! I put on deer makeup and put a few branches in my hair, and Max was a shark again, of course. We went and visited Mike at work, he dressed up like an old man, and then came back home to trick-or-treat and hand out candy. We only made it to about four houses, but watching him go up to the door was hilarious! He tried to walk in every house like he owned the place, apparently we are missing the stranger danger there... Maybe we can work on that this year. All in all it was a great year, we just missed having Mike there, but we will get him next year! :-)

Until next year, Happy Halloween! 

xoxo

Max Turns One!!!

Well here it goes, I guess this will be my first official blog post! And what better way to kick it off than with a first birthday?!

Yeah, yeah, yeah... I am a little late getting the post up (like 3 months late), but hey, it's my first one! I just can't believe my baby turned one in July. You always hear people talk about how quick time goes once you have kids. Now I understand what they mean, it doesn't go by quick, it literally flies by! I have a toddler now, and I have no idea how that happened.  

We had such a great time at Max's birthday party, and had an amazing crew of people to help us celebrate. We even got to have, The Gibbys come from Washington, which was a real treat. Max was a total ham and loved every (well almost) minute of the party. He was spoiled rotten and received so many thoughtful gifts, we still haven't had a chance to open some of them! He was a huge fan of the chocolate raspberry mousse cake I made, and ate an entire slice... Yes, an entire slice. We did a under the sea theme, and it tuned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself. We had BBQ, the most insanely delicious macarons, chocolate raspberry mouse cake, and a coconut key lime cake. I would say it was a HUGE success, and thank you to everyone who made his day so special. 

 It's cake time!!!

 Bryant, Katie, and Navy 

Nora

 Coen 

 Logan and Ashley 

 Alexis, Ashley, Lindsey, and Kathleen

 Monica, Kacey, and Wendy

Logan and Max

 All the Kiddos

Happy Birthday, Max!! We are so blessed to have you in our lives, you have been such a light in our hearts and we love to watch you grow every day! 

xoxo