It's her birthday and she can cry if she wants to

Right about this time last year I was experiencing contractions which is the one thing I wondered about the whole time I was pregnant. I wondered how bad it would hurt. What if  I thought was a contraction,  wasn't? This face in these pictures explains my experience having Juniper. Mixed emotions... changing and flowing into each other.

Juniper is 1 year old. How amazing is that. I can't begin to explain how crazy it feels to have a 1 year.

Best experience of my life! She is soo smart and soo beautiful. I am so proud of her. 

The INSTA evolution of Juniper's 1st Year

Wow this was a lot of work but I am sure glad that I did it. What an amazing and interesting year for me and my 1st bouncy little girl. Seems like it's just flown by but I remember wondering if some long nights would ever end. This is probably one of the coolest experiences of my life, watching something grow and learn while I was learning a lot to. I am excited to see what happens in the next year but it's nice to look back. Life changes so much with every year so it's good to be thankful for this year and I sure am. I love my beautiful baby girl. 

Catching Up

Well we have been moved into our new home over a week now and I couldn't be anymore happier. Art camp is over and most of my orders from the past week are packed which equals no stress. Of course in the process of moving we have encountered a few bumps in the road like losing a car key which will end up costing a little over 300 dollars... dag on VW Beetles!!!! Either way it's all good and having the space for my baby to move around as she pleases makes life so much easier. Plus did I mention she's walking... no crawling! It's a little crazy seeing her like this but it nice not having her clung to my legs when she wants to go somewhere. We have more space but it's filling up quickly so I am trying to shed a lot of things... so far so good. It's taking me a lot longer to get things like I want them and I can't seem to find the right pieces I am looking for to get things set up like I want.

We have a huge project list.... not in written form but in my head which isn't the best way to get things done. At the same time I don't want to rush everything and feel pressured to have this place looking a certain way quickly. I want to enjoy the process not stress out over it. That can be hard though because you imagine all the great things for your new place and want them to magically appear.

I have been slacking on blogging lately.... ps I hate when people say that but I want to say that I am fine with that. It's summer and I am enjoying living with my soon to be 1 year old. Isn't that crazy! I have a big 1st birthday to plan so trying to get things organized is going to have to be on the top of my to do list.

So with a new month July I am going to start it off right and share some goals I have with you...

1. prepare a 1st birthday
2. make a growth chart, stepping stone and start a savings account for my baby
3. get my studio set up
4. build a storage ottoman, simple patio set?
5. fence the backyard and build a temporary fire pit
6. power spray and seal our deck
7. look into some new festivals
8. photograph an outfit post and some new jewelry pieces for online
9. drink more water
10. organize money

9 months oh my!

Such a sweet thing... life feels so perfect right now it's almost of the verge of me wishing that life would just stand still. The curls, baby teefers, and strange faces are just some of the perks. Some how she knows when mama says No she means it and shes noticing some of the smallest things like a mole under my arm. It all makes me smile so big it really melts my heart. It's amazing watching something so small grow and be so smart. We just got done with the mushroom festival and I packed her with me for fun. Just to see if I could do it and it went really well. She loved the atmosphere and all the people which surprised me. On our drive home she did nothing but giggle. Life is more easier now and she can handle foods like a slice of wheat toast and some chopped up baked sweet potatoes or bananas. I am so thankful for spring it makes such a difference in how active you can be with a baby and the fresh air and sunshine seem to make life as a baby much more satisfying.. I can't believe were 9 months. I am starting to feel normal again and this life is becoming more and more normal.

Oh and I forgot she can now sing, dance and clap which makes things so much more enjoyable!

January Little Goal: Work on Baby Book

Diving into any kind of scrap booking is a little hard for me at first. It can be super overwhelming with the unlimited supplies and pictures. I haven't worked on her book in 6 months so it was long past due for me to start punching out some pages. Good news is that I feel like the first 5 pages or so are finished and I am almost at the most exciting part her birth page! Funny thing is of all the pictures I have printed are of everything that isn't important... I have only 2 pictures of her birth so I need to go print some more!


You can see The beginnings of my unconventional baby book here...

Mommy and Me: Sledding

Juniper's first sledding experience! She didn't really get to sled but I pulled her around while she sat on it. I can't believe we have had such a wonderful winter. All this snow is so much better than tons of rain making everything yucky! Makes for pretty pictures too! 

6 months of Motherhood

Juniper with a toy I made her... I will show you more details on the idea later this week.

It's absolutely insane how quickly time passes when you have a kid. Not only do you experience a tremendous change within your body recouping from your fully expanding belly but your child changing every single day. It's more than just a bittersweet experience it's a life changing one. They were right... you will never sleep the same again, you will go without eating, forget about personal hygiene and all that once annoying ugly baby stuff becomes soooo cute.. and you got to get one in every color. It happened and after 6 months of it I can tell you it is all worth it!

I am so happy that I didn't wait any longer to have this beautiful baby girl. The 6 month mark is really an eye opening  and emotional time. I feel the absolute bond of her to me now. I understand her needs and wants. I know exactly what makes my little one tic now and it feels soooooo good. As she grows and becomes more independent I find her looking for her personal quiet time with me. It's hard to get the balance just right but I am sure that any loving mother understands why. You want your baby to accomplish things but you are sad to see them accomplish those things and slowly grow apart from your touch.

I am thankful to have been able to stay with my baby at home this long and look forward to staying at home with her longer. I just can't imagine not seeing every little first she accomplishes. She makes me so proud and so blessed by god to be able to make money and take care of her at home.

I have realized that my major life goals before have changed because of her and only because now I want what's best for her. What's best for her is a loving family, one that cares for her and takes care of her. One that makes sure she has everything she needs. This little life is what it is all about. Not how much stuff I have or how nice of a car I drive, Not how big my home is or the clothes I wear. Not how rich I am or how famous I could be. 

Juniper's 1st Christmas

I can't believe were a week away from Christmas! I am sooo happy that I have all my Christmas presents bought, wrapped and all my etsy orders out so that everyone gets them in time for Christmas. I had been putting Juniper's Christmas pictures off for too long and realized if I didn't get them done this week I wasn't going to get cards out until after Christmas.

I did this Christmas shoot by myself which was a lot harder than I thought especially since Juni can't sit up by herself yet. I usually get someone to help me steady her while I take pictures. Anyway one thing I learned from this was less is more. I spent 50 dollars on stuff to set up her little scene... half of this stuff you don't even see in the pictures! I hadn't planned on spending that much but I got way to excited. I wanted to make her an ice princess but the crown idea I had seemed a little too dangerous so she turned in to snow princess! I was inspired by that new movie frozen... I can't wait till she can watch cute movies with me and somewhat understand them.

I really like taking pictures of her instead of getting someone else to take them... it's just fun for me. Plus I am one of those people who have a strong vision of how I want things to look so it's hard for me to let anyone else try to do things or make things I need. It is a problem that I need to work on for certain things in my life.

Juni will be 5 months on the 20th I am soo proud of her because she has already discovered her 1st word... momma!!! I caught her saying mom a couple weeks ago when she would get really frustrated and wanted my attention. I couldn't believe it because I didn't understand how she would even know the word since I haven't said it toward her. Then my mom and sister pointed it out and I started saying momma to her a lot. Now she says it really clearly and she says it when I am not paying attention to her. I figured she most have picked it up from me yelling mom when I wanted my mom to come see something Juniper was doing. I really didn't think that would be her first word so Merry Christmas to me! Seriously she is the only thing I need under my Christmas tree this year to make me happy!