christmas 2011

Christmas this year was super special to me.  It was my first as a parent!  I had so much fun this year picking out Judah’s gifts and wrapping them.  I really enjoyed every moment.  We had a big tree for the first time since being married.  I loved sitting in the living room with no lights on except the lights on the tree.  I sipped hot chocolate with cool whip on most nights.  I got a new Christmas CD (David Crowder Band) and loved singing along and driving my hubby crazy.

For so long I dreamed of how my life would look with kids in it, and now I’m living that dream out.  It’s pretty incredible. 

I know that I want us to be a family that focuses on Jesus during Christmas.  And I want us to be a family that has traditions each year.  I want our children to have great memories of their childhoods.

I think that each year we will open one gift on Christmas Eve night.  We will wake up Christmas morning and read the Christmas Story from the book of Luke as a family before opening gifts.  I also want to bake a “birthday” cake each year for Jesus.  We will take a ride and look at lights, watch Christmas movies, and spend tons of time with extended family members every year.

Judah is by far my biggest gift this year.  He brings more joy to our home than I ever knew was possible.  Justin and I are truly blessed.

Some pics from our Christmas this year::

cloth diapering

I’ve had several people lately ask me about using cloth diapers.  Most people seemed shocked when they find out we use cloth.  Many think it is too much work or just too gross.  But I really don’t think so at all.  It’s just a couple extra loads of laundry a week.

I knew before I ever got pregnant that I wanted to cloth diaper.  Justin and I had talked and knew we wanted multiple children… and I loved the idea of using cloth diapers to save money over the years.  There are many good reason to use cloth, such as good for the environment, less diaper rash, no chemicals against baby’s sensitive skin, etc.  But for me.. I just like saving money any way I can.  Oh, and they are super cute!  :)

I bought a bunch of a certain type of diaper second hand while preggo.  These diapers did not work for Judah.  I was very disappointed, but didn’t want to give up.  I sold those diapers and decided to try another brand.

We ordered 15 Bum Genius 4.0 pocket diapers with snaps.  These are one size diapers, which means Judah will most likely be able to wear them from itty bitty baby to potty training.  They adjust size/rise with snaps.

These diapers are super easy to use.  I have everything set up in Judah’s room on and around his changing table.

Diapers in one basket..

Inserts and fleece liners in one..

And wipes, powder, cream, etc on the shelves there too.

I also have a basket that holds disposables.  We use these when traveling or when out all day.  We also use disposables overnight because Judah is such a heavy wetter!

I have a diaper pail (trash can with flip top lid) lined with a wet bag to hold dirty diapers until it’s time to wash. 

And a little trash can on the other side for dirty wipes and disposable diapers.

If we do go out in cloth diapers, I use a smaller sized wetbag in my diaper bag to hold the dirty/wet diapers until we get home.  It is waterproof and smellproof.  :)

This is what our diaper looks like before going on Judah man:

The diaper is pre-stuffed (I do this after I wash and dry the diapers/inserts).  I grab a diaper out of the basket, lay a fleece liner on it (this helps wick away moisture and leaves Judah’s skin super dry), and then lay a disposable/flushable liner on top (this liner catches most or all poo and is then dumped into the toilet… so I don’t have to deal with much poo at all!).

I love using the cloth diapers.  They are just as easy as disposables to me.  They might take 5 seconds longer to change, only because snapping the snaps takes longer than the sticky tabs on a disposable to close.

I’m very pleased with these and can’t imagine not using them on all of my babies!

3 months

Sweet Judah Scott turned 3 months old yesterday.

He is SO much fun these days.  His little personality is really starting to shine, and I cannot get enough of it.  He is smiling constantly and has started to laugh a little along with the big grins.  He is cooing and talking up a storm.  He really seems to be trying to communicate with us, and his eyes do a lot of talking.

Judah has been our joy from day 1, but with each passing day my love for him seems to grow.  Joy, love, happiness, dream come true, answered prayer… words just can’t contain what I feel about him.

Judah has been doing lots of tummy time with his head and shoulders raised off the ground.  He still loves his play mat and is really starting to grab and play with the toys. He has shown more interest in other toys as well.  He seems to really enjoy things that light up and play music.  Judah has continued to practice rolling from tummy to back, but hasn’t gotten it the other way just yet.  He LOVES watching the TV.  If there is a football game or something with much movement on, his eyes get locked on it. 

Several things about Mr. Judah seem to have not changed much.  He is still in the same size diapers and clothes.  He’s still taking 6 ounce bottles every 3 hours.  He is still sleeping like a champ!  He really is a great baby.  Pretty easy in my opinion.

Judah’s favorites right now:  sticking out his tongue and sucking on his fists/hands.  He just recently started doing these two things all the time!

One thing Judah doesn’t like:  riding in the car.  We just expect screams and crying when we buckle him into his car seat.  I’m really hoping this is just a passing phase!  I hate to hear my little man cry so hard when there is not much I can do for him.

At his last doctor appointment, Judah was diagnosed with reflux.  He now takes medicine for that twice a day.  He still spits up a good bit with every feeding, but the doctor says it shouldn’t irritate him anymore.

I’m am so stinkin’ excited about our first Christmas as a family of three this weekend!  Our little guy is gonna be spoiled rotten by all of his loving grandparents.  It should be lots of fun!

it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here!

I just love this time of year.  Last night I sat looking at our tree with all it’s pretty lights while sipping on hot chocolate and eating a Christimas tree cake.  I had a candle burning.  My boys were close by.  It was perfection.

baby, it’s cold INside..

So twice in the last week our heater has stopped working during the middle of the night.  Both times I woke up freezing!  Both times I went to the thermostat and tried bumping up the heat and turning it from “auto” to “on”.  Both times this resulted in cold air coming through the vents.

Thankfully we have great landlords who had the problem fixed within a couple hours at most.

But in the meantime, this mama bear was not gonna let her baby boy stay cold!

I had him in footed pj’s and the sleepsack with a hat and mittens and then had him wrapped in a blanket and cuddled up next to mama.  He was so cute!  Justin and I were cracking up.

2 months

Judah turned 2 months old on November 21st.. so yes, this post is way late.  But I wanted to wait until his two month appointment so I would have his weight and length stats.  I did take his pictures right at 2 months though.

My big 2 month old now weights 15.2 pounds and is 23 1/2 inches long.  He is such a good baby.  He is very happy and smiley all the time.  He has started doing lots of cooing and “talking”.  We have little conversations now.  He is very strong!  He has started being able to support his head very well on his own.  He can lift his head and shoulders off the ground during tummy time.  He has even rolled over twice!  The first time he rolled over was November 26th.  I laid him in his crib awake and then watched on the monitor.  He went from tummy to back.  I couldn’t believe it! 

Judah man is also sleeping very well for us now.  He slept through the night for the first time on November 12th.  It was our first night in the new place.  He actually slept for almost 10 hours!  Every night since then he sleeps for anywhere from 6 to 10 hours at a time.  He takes several short naps throughout the day as well.  It is completely wonderful! 

Judah’s favorite things right now are lights and ceiling fans, his daddy, and his play mat.  He loves trying hard to hit and grab onto the toys that hang down.

Our big boy is wearing 3 months clothes and is almost too long for the sleepers already.  He just moved into size 2 diapers and size 3 at night.  We have been using cloth diapers a good bit too… but just recently he had a bad diaper rash, so I switched him to disposables so I could coat him in diaper cream and baby powder!  Judah eats 6 ounce bottles now every 3 or 4 hours throughout the day.  He gets 1 tablespoon of rice cereal in his bedtime bottle.  Then he may wake up once at night to eat as well, but usually he doesn’t.

He has been pretty healthy during his second month.  He did have a little cold for a few days.  I had to suction his nose out every day which he HATED!  He would get so mad!  He also developed thrush again, so we are treating that now.

Today at his doctor’s appointment he did so good!  He was flirting a little with the doctor :).  He was cooing and smiling the whole time until he had to get his shots.  Even after shots he only cried for about one minute until he was picked up and cuddled.  As soon as we made it to the car he was fast asleep.

I cannot get over how fast my baby boy is growing.  He seems so big and so smart already.  I know this is just the beginning!  But he has changed so much in the past month.

I love him to the moon and back!

recent photog work

Since moving back to Louisiana, I haven’t put much effort into getting work.  I was a little held back by my big belly at first, then I was sleep deprived with a newborn.  But, with the holidays around the corner, it seems people are in need of pictures for Christmas cards and stuff.  I had 4 sessions in one week!  It was a little insane for me and more than I’m used to, but definitely fun.  It made me realize how much I have missed it!

Here are a few images that I edited for the sneak peeks!