Father's Day

I always have had a very close relationship with my nieces. I strive to be the "fun aunt" so when they come to Aunt Jenny's there are pretty much no rules. You want to have a slumber party? Come on over! You want ice cream for breakfast? 1 scoop or 2? Better yet lets add caramel & sprinkles! You want to eat the lucky charm marshmallows for lunch? Let me help you pick them out! Bedtimes? What are those? You guys may think I'm crazy, heck now that I have a child I think I'm crazy. But, my goal with my nieces when I am with them was to make memories they will have forever & create a relationship that they will treasure forever. 

Blake was the only person I introduced to my nieces & I was very nervous about it. He hadn't been around kids really  & I hadn't introduced anyone to them & as you read above they were my world! However, the moment I introduced them they immediately took to each other. I could see he loved them just the same way I did! He worked hard to create that special bond that I have with them & create the same lasting relationship. It soon went from running out to the car screaming "BLAAAKE!!!" when we showed up rather than "AUNT JENNY!" If I showed up without Blake the first thing they asked was "where's Blake?" If we facetimed each other it was "where's Blake?" I was the yes Aunt & he became the yes uncle. Watching him with them made my love grow for him. I knew instantaneously he was going to be the best dad ever! He loved them so much he even included them in our engagement which was so special to me.

The time came when he was actually going to become a dad & he was so excited! Our whole pregnancy he was filled with so much love and joy about our son. He loved to talk to him in the evenings or try to get him to kick. Every doctors appointment he made sure he was there and recorded every ultrasound. I knew in these moments too that he was going to be an amazing dad to our son!

His excitement at the hospital when the nurse said she could see Mason's head was so dear. He couldn't wait to get even the tiniest glimpse of our son. I will never forget the look of sheer love and joy on Blake's face the first time he laid eyes on our son. Blake was my focal point through the pushing. The doctor didn't even have to tell me he was here, I knew by the way Blake's eyes lit up.

From that moment on it's been the best watching Blake as a daddy to our little Mason. There have been few night feedings that he has missed. If he misses the feeding part he always gets up to put him back to sleep. Rather than be too tired in the mornings when Mason wakes up early Blake gets up & makes a cup of coffee & relishes in the "Morning Man Meetings." There isn't anything Blake wouldn't do to make Mason laugh or smile. The man who "will never ever sing" when I met him now sings to Mason any time, even down the aisles of the store. Mason's face lights up the second he sees his daddy walk through the door. I love the bond that these 2 are forming & I cannot wait to see how it grows as Mason gets older. We are so lucky to have you in our lives Blake! Thank you for being such an amazing daddy and partner in parenthood with me! 

For Father's Day we made Blake and footprint card, got him some new Georgia work boots, made him his favorite birthday pancakes & spent the day relaxing and loving on our boy!!

Some of my favorite memories of you 2 so far....

Berry Pickin'

I am a homebody, like in the worst way! I love love being in the comfort of my own home, in my own little bubble. Most women love to go out & shop, I'm good with online shopping. Most dates consist of going out to dinner, drinks & a movie. I'm happy ordering in, curling up on the couch & watching a movie in my jammies. I've always been that way, not much of a lover of vacations or get always. Just love my home! It has everything I need, I can wear whatever I want & be comfortable, it's like it's my bubble, my safe zone. It's very fitting that I ended up marrying my neighbor huh? Didn't even have to leave my own home! Haha! Since I met Blake I've gotten MUCH better. But, I still am just a homebody at heart. With that being said, my goal when I had Mason was to get out and experience all the fun things that we can with him. Up first on our list: Berry Picking.

Saturday morning we were up bright and early for our 7am feeding. After Mason ate we all got dressed, ate a quick breakfast & headed out the door. Because it's been so hot lately we wanted to get there as early as possible. As we drove there I commented to Blake how when we left the house it felt like it was 9:30 not 7:30. It was miraculous to me that we were all out the door with so much energy so early in the morning, pre-Mason his momma could sleep in until 10. Well....2 of us had a lot of energy.

We brought both his stroller and the Tula carrier with us. I really wanted to use the Tula but he doesn't seem to love it as much as I do. I think he may still be a little small for it. I probably should have bit the bullet and bought the newborn insert but I keep telling myself that any day he will be fitting into it fine. We took him out and put him in the carrier and he stayed asleep. Success!!!

The berry picking field had a special where if you pick 3 buckets they keep 2 and you get 1 for free. What a great deal! We decided we would go pick 3 baskets and leave out scott free. About 5-10 minutes in we had only picked this many and realized 3 buckets may be a little adventurous for the 2 of us.

We walked the aisles picking berries and chatting while Mason slept in his Tula for about an hour. It was so nice and relaxing. We only filled up 1 bucket so no free berries for us. But the memories and quality time together were definitely worth it!

And just what does one do with 3.5 pounds of blueberries you might ask? Well you make a blueberry cake with lemon icing. 

Meeting Aunt Stephanie

We were so excited when Aunt Stephanie finished up her Spring semester & was able to come out for a visit. Luckily, Oggie got to come along for the visit too. Blake & I are both extremely close to our families & so it's extremely important to us that Mason establishes the same closeness. It's so hard having family so far away so any time they want to visit we are overjoyed to have them!

Blake had to work on Friday so Mason & I picked up Oggie & Aunt Stephanie. We did one of those pick up at the curb and run things because my sweet boy hates the car & car seat with a passion. Let me rephrase that, Mason hates when the car stops moving. We are talking any stop light, stop sign, slowing down he hates it! He lets out a scream as to say "why in the world are we not moving anymore?! Step on it mom!!!" As soon as we start moving again, happy as a clam. This applies to all things when strapped in his seat. Stroller, shopping carts, everything. For this reason I contemplated keeping the car moving and letting them just jump in but I like them too much so we stopped. 😜

That afternoon I mentioned to Marjorie that I wanted to recover my chair Blake had put out for the trash men but Blake said not to dig it out. So what did we do? We grabbed the chair literally seconds before the trash men arrived to get it. (Like literally I smiled and waved at them as I rolled it up the driveway.) we recovered it beautifully in time for Blake to come home. I blamed Mason when Blake came home that night. 😊

Saturday we spent the day just relaxing and hanging out. Stephanie started the 21 day fix with me so we did our workouts together the whole time. So much fun having a workout partner along with me!

Sunday we went to church again. The week before Mason rocked it! This week.....well.....we visited the cry room for the first time. He is a serious champ any time the music is playing though. He LOVES it! I think we need to get a cd from our praise and worship leader & put it on full blast to calm him & help him sleep. Sunday afternoon we grilled out & played lawn darts.

Monday Oggie let mom & dad sleep in a little. I heard him in the nursery & when I asked Blake to check on him I've never seen him so terrified! He yelled "HE'S NOT IN THERE!!!" And went flying out of the room. I had a pretty good idea where he was but couldn't get it out before Blake made it to the nursery. We had a little bit of a lazy morning then it was time to take them to the airport.

It felt like our visit flew by so fast with them! We are already trying to talk them into coming back. Mason loved all of his snuggles from Aunt Stephanie & Oggie & we just loved having them here to spend time with them! Hopefully it won't be too long until we see them again.

Daddy's First Business Trip

We were very lucky that Blake was able to not travel for March, April & the majority of May. However, at the end of May the thing I was dreading the most was quickly approaching, Blake's first trip. He has been one of the most hands on and helpful dads I could have ever asked for. At night I do the night feedings and he rocks Mason back to sleep. In the morning he wakes up early with him & holds a "man meeting" & lets me get a little more sleep before he goes to work. He comes home for lunch every day which is a nice break in the day. When he comes home from work he takes Mason & I get a little me time for the first time that day. He is just so wonderfully helpful & I feared how tiring it would be doing all of that by myself.
On Tuesday he headed out to Nova Scotia at 9:30. Mason was sleeping, mom got her workout in, all was going well. Mason napped well & ate well throughout the day, I got the chores done, I felt like I could totally do this!

 

My friend Monica came over to meet Mason that day & hung out with us from about 1-3. Then Rachel came over that evening. She had known how much I was dreading this day & told me that the first time Blake went out of town she was coming over to help me out. She was nothing short of a Godsend! Mase gets a little fussy at night but it didn't even phase her! She just walked in, took Mason & comforted & held him for 3 hours while I got some things done & ate dinner without holding a baby.

Tuesday night I moved Mason's rock & play into our bedroom & put Mason to sleep in there. I hoped it would go well but wasn't sure what to expect.

Both of us went to sleep and things seemed to go pretty well. However, about 12:45 the loudest storm I think I've ever heard hit. The thunder was shaking the walls of our house & both Mason & I kept waking up. The storm ended just in time for his 2:30 feeding. Then he was raring to go at 6:30. Mom was EXHAUSTED! I averaged about 3 hours of sleep that night & was so ready for Blake to be home. That next morning when Blake facetimed us was my favorite. Mason's face would just light up to see his daddy!

Tuesday he was very clingy. It took me 2 hours to complete my workout because he just wanted to be held. After my workout I just gave up & decided to give him just what he needed, we would spend the day just loving on each other. I mean dad would be home that evening so I could have a bath and relax when he got home. Life was good. About 3:00 I was struggling to stay awake. I refuse to let myself fall asleep holding Mason, while others are comfortable with cosleeping I'm just not, it scares me too much! Blake & I talked and I started my countdown, 6 more hours, I could do it! After my countdown began Mason became incredibly fussy. He refused to eat & just was incredibly fussy. I pulled out every trick in the bag I knew but nothing seemed to be working. About that time Blake informed me he may not make his connection in Chicago due to weather. He kept trying to be positive about making it back but after 4.5 hours sitting on a plane we realized there was no way he was making his connection as it took off in about 30 minutes. He called his travel agent but there were no other flights leaving out of Chicago that night. Our 1 night trip had just been extended & my countdown shattered. There I was holding a crying baby boy that refused to eat or let me put him down to even go to the bathroom. I was exhausted, I was disappointed & I was at a loss for what to do. So there Mason & I sat and held each other and cried for a good 10 minutes. It's as though my sisters live in my head sometimes because during my mini meltdown she text & said why don't you and Mason come over? I replied with he won't quit crying & I don't want to get him out like this. She immediately replied with heading to get dinner & I'll be there. BLESS YOU AMY! I never told her that she text me as I sat there bawling and praying for God to just bring comfort to my baby & give me energy to make it through that night. That night Mason slept much better & the next day he seemed much happier. Blake returned home the next day about 12:30, Mason & I have never been happier to see him.
Not only did this trip give me a greater appreciation for all single moms everywhere, it gave me a greater appreciation for everything that Blake does around the house and for Mason & I. We couldn't be luckier to have such a helpful, hands on husband and daddy.