Body After Baby

Well since I have been binge-watching What Not to Wear, I have been watching far too many episodes about women who love being 'comfortable' and saying that because they have kids that they can't take 10 minutes for themselves during the day to get ready.

Now I am not saying there hasn't been a day since Tucker was born (or even before) that I looked like I belonged behind a Taco Bell living in a box eating the thrown out churros. BUT, I do NOT feel like that should be the norm. Nor does it have to be. 

I have really loved being a mom. Nothing has brought me greater joy in life. But I also am still a wife to a gorgeous man! Tucker might not care (at his age) what I look like. But I still want to be attractive to my husband too. There is nothing wrong with that either. It is essential to being happily married. And I don't care if that sounds offensive. It's the truth.

No, Ryan doesn't make me feel badly about wearing yoga pants and Ugg's sometimes. But he does always tell me how beautiful I am when I do take the time to get ready. And that always inspires me to make that effort.

I think that feeling attractive is different for everyone. I don't think it matters what your body type is, EVERY person can be gorgeous. Thank you Stacy and Clinton for showing me that. 

I can honestly say that I love my body now. I have always had body image issues. Growing up I definitely was self conscious about the way I looked. Never anything drastic. But it was always there in the back of my mind. And even throughout college, I still felt the same way. Being married has helped me so much have the confidence to be comfortable in my own skin. And I have to say that Ryan has been the main reason for this change. He has changed my mind completely about image and health and I couldn't be more grateful.

Then I got pregnant. And I had the HARDEST time seeing the number on the scale keep moving up. And then I had Tucker and, although I still dread the process of pregnancy and weight gain, I realized how having a healthy baby is so worth every ounce. A healthy pregnancy is so key to having a healthy baby and being a healthy mom.

Now almost five months down the road, I feel like I am an upgraded version of myself. Yes there are times that I still feel like I am bigger than I was before the pregnancy. And there are times that I still want to hide my stomach and thighs out in public. But when push comes to shove, like today, I feel stronger and more confident than I ever have before. And I can say that with all my heart.

I think everyone should feel like this, even after having children. And I feel like this is the perfect time for me to feel like this for the first time. 

I want my kids (both current and future) and my husband to see this confidence shine out of me. In a world where so much pressure has been put on image, I want my future daughters to have a mother who will help them be their best and look their best. 

Cuteness

Well Halloween is over. 

Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner!

And Tucker is very likely teething. 

Of course I would have the three month old who teethes.
And I haven't been able to shower in quite some time. Yay

Well to recap. We had a blast with the little man at Halloween. Tucker was Robin.

We had WAY too much candy.

We also put up our Christmas tree. For all you party poopers who think it is bad to do that, you can just deal with it. We love Christmas in our home and Thanksgiving equally. 

Little goo face loves the Christmas tree. And we love the goo face.

Ryan and I are anxious to get his PhD apps done before Thanksgiving. I will be very happy to get those done so that we can enjoy the holidays and just have to worry about the anxiety that will then come once we get impatient about hearing back from the schools. Xanax anyone?

And speaking of Thanksgiving, ALL the grandparents are going to be here in a couple weeks! Let the insanity begin.

There is so much to do before then! And one of those things, is to try and get Tucker to sleep at night. But we all know that is just a laughing whim. Because that will never happen. Ever.

Our little man is so cute though that somehow we still love him even though we are up every night from around 1 am until we go to sleep the following night. Yay for parenthood

Anyway, onto the cuteness.

Ugh could these boys be any cuter?? 

He loves his Sophie

Loves the Christmas tree! :)


His first Banksy viewing :)




Baby Dumbledore




Little Superhero

He likes sleeping in the big boy bed :)

Three Months Old

I can barely believe it has been three months already since our squishiest companion joined us. 

I know I say it all the time but seriously, I LOVE THE LITTLE GOO FACE.

He is charming and adorable. We play all the time, we snuggle together on the couch, go on adventures outside and on campus, we giggle together and give so many kisses.

What more could a person want out of life? 

I loving coming home to him every day. I miss him like crazy when I'm at work. I sit at my desk and count down the seconds until I can hold his chubby legs again.

At three months little man loves baths, lotion, being naked, smiling, giggling, snuggles, watching cartoons and playing with mom and dad.
He loves to roll around and play with his toys and listen to us read books to him.
He is a little treasure and I am so blessed to be his mom. 

He is our sweetest joy in life and we just cherish every moment we have with him.

Missing my baby boy

So I am back at work. 

I am HATING work. Sorry if that is harsh. But it really is awful.

I cry every morning that I have to leave. 

But whatever, it must be done for the next little while. 

Meanwhile, our house gets moderately terrifying most days and I try to tackle small amounts of the crazy when I get home.

But also when it comes down to it, Ryan is by far the greatest husband in the world. He takes such good care of my sweet baby boy while I am at work. We are definitely blessed to be able to have the situation that we do. I could NEVER drop my son off at a daycare. I would rather be homeless in a box before doing that. So I am grateful for that at least. 

On a happier note, Tucker is the cutest thing in the world. I seriously love every single second I spend with him. He makes me happier than I have ever felt. Ryan and I love playing with him and hearing him talk and coo and giggle and smile constantly. There is nothing greater than seeing that. I forever will love being a mom. There is nothing more rewarding or exhilarating than being his best friend. 

I can't believe he is going to be three months old this week. He is getting so big and so full of personality that I don't even know how it all fits in him. Needless to say, I adore this little goo face. 

Ugh I miss him. I'm going home now. See ya later work.

Newborn Pictures!

So I am finally getting around to posting these pictures

We had them taken when Tucker was about 12 days old. 

Our friend Elizabeth Martino took them. They turned out great!

I can't believe how much he has changed since then... I love this little guy!

Two Months!

My goodness this month has flown by. 

I am LOVING being a mom. Absolutely every second of it.

Tucker is cuter every single second. And we have more and more fun playing every day.
Let's see... Tucker is 13 lbs now and is 24 inches long!
He smiles ALL the time and is starting to giggle.
He gets so excited to see me and Ryan. Especially if he is waking up.
He will only sleep with a soft downy blanket. Literally.
He LOVES being outside. In fact, we have now distinguished the 'take me outside' cry from all the others.
He sleeps about 6 hours in a row at night which is sooooo nice.
We have endured his first cold. So sad. But he was sooo snuggly :)
He has gotten his 2 month shots... He was not amused.
And his 2 month growth spurt was killer. He grew out of a lot of clothes that weekend.

We have been quite busy here in our household this past month. We had some family in town, celebrated my birthday and enjoyed some beautiful weather.

I cant believe I am 25 now! Ryan gave me the best birthday gift and we had a wonderful time together as a little family. On my birthday Ryan came home early and we went and got some delicious pizza, some Martinelli's and The Great Gatsby. It was exactly what I wanted for my birthday. Ryan also got me a great watch for a present! It has a vintage map for the face. Totally my style. We also went to the new H&M in Orem and I got to pick out a bunch of new clothes since I have been hating mine since being pregnant. Overall it was a great way to ring in my 25th year. 

We also have the chance to head down to California this coming weekend for Ryan to present another paper at another conference! We are so excited that he has had these opportunities while in grad school. I am so super proud of him. It's a crazy time here now that PhD applications are due in a couple months. It's so much work. I am looking forward to them being done so we can finally find out where we will be moving to next fall! Because once Ryan finds that out, then it's smooth sailing and we can all relax and start getting excited for next summer which will hopefully be a summer to remember for us. Let's just say, if all goes right, it will be made up entirely of adventures in Peru and the Middle East :)

Anyways, here are some of the latest on the Tucker front. We could not be happier.

Evening walk around the temple

Just watching some Justice League before bed 

Another walk... Tucker's face cracks me up

His first experience with a rhino nose

This smile :)

Waking up with a cold 

All tuckered out

Naked!!

Unhappy camper

Melts my heart

Those rolls

Laundry day

And yes this is a picture of when Ryan used Tucker's blanket as a diaper. Poor little man.