3 months!

Three months ago, pretty much to the minute, our little man was born! Our lives have changed so much, but in a lot of ways I hardly even notice. It seems like such a natural progression and of course, we can't imagine him not being a part of our lives. With Patrick in school and me staying home, we both feel like we are right smack in the middle of God's will for our lives.  It is a place full of peace and joy.  God has blessed us in so many ways and we just have to make sure we pause and give Him the Glory! Amen :)

We celebrated Patrick's birthday this week (32!) and Ronan's present to his daddy was a full week of sleeping through the night! It seems that his biological clock is no longer stuck on 4 am (mine however still was!).  Another answer to prayer is that Patrick and I have had some great quality time together this week. His schedule this quarter is packed and I think we've gone days without really spending any time together. Since "quality time" is definitely one of my love languages, it's been tough. BUT, he unexpectedly had a short day of classes on his birthday so we got to spend the evening together as a family. Then on Friday my brother and sis-in-law offered to babysit unexpectedly, so Patrick and I went to see Harry Potter and then visited with some friends. It was wonderful! And he has the day off tomorrow so we have a three day weekend! Yay! Having this extra time has been so sweet!

We have been experiencing some technical difficulties with our camera, so here are a few photos from Patrick's phone. Hopefully we'll have more to share from our camera soon. :)

This picture was from a walk last week. It was the first time we didn't have to keep him covered (because it was so warm) and he loved it!

Birthday dinner

Smiles & Squeals

Ronan loves to talk and squeal. Especially this past week when he realized he can be much louder than he once was. Of course as soon as the video camera comes out he gets distracted, but we thought this video was cute. He was chillin' in the hallway while I got ready in the bathroom and we had a great conversation :)  We are so entertained by this little man and cannot wait to see more of his personality emerge each day. He is such a delight. (Sorry about the orientation, I couldn't figure out how to change it)

Rattle Love

I absolutely love my new job! I have dreamed of these days for so long. Getting to be home with our baby, spending each moment with him as he learns about the world. Right now life is seems so simple for him (me too for that matter), but I know that he is learning at an incredible rate - faster than he ever will again.  Today Ronan played with a new rattle.  I love that he could hold onto it for so long and he cracked me up as he immediately put it in his mouth.  He has definitely entered into the "discover items with my mouth" phase. :)

 

Can't. Quite. Reach. It...Funny baby :)

The Best of my Days

I have been so blessed by the Bible study I've been in the last couple of years and by the beautiful women in the study.  Every week we get together, eat, study the Word and share our lives.  I have really been wanting to make everyone something special and I came across the perfect idea here: diy {the best of my days notepad- 2011}   I love this idea of reflecting a the best part of myday, every day.  Each day is filled with so many blessings.  God has given us so much and I think it honors Him to recognize His blessings.  This ties in so perfectly with what we have been reading lately - Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer.  (I highly recommend this book!).   And so I put my own twist on it and this is what I got:

 I love color and I love fun fabric!

I didn't start/finish these until this week, so the perfectionist in me may have go back and fill in the blanks :)

And while I'm doing that, Ronan is doing this :)

"For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." Proverbs 23:7



Opportunities

In the last 11 weeks we have learned a lot as parents, but there are a couple of lessons that a couple that definitely stand out so far and at times they are closely related:

1. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY!  This weekend Patrick's parents came to visit to celebrate his birthday and give us a chance to go skiing.  It was a wonderful visit, but I have to admit that I was not looking forward to skiing. In fact I was pretty much dreading it (cold, wet, expensive, gear that doesn't fit right now and NFL playoff games is more than enough to convince me to stay home).  However, I convinced myself that I would do this for Patrick - being that it's close to his birthday and all  - and so we grabbed coffee and headed up to Mt. Spokane.  The conditions were pretty terrible and at first I was a little cranky, but then I realized that we had been given a wonderful opportunity to get outside and spend the day together.  We ended up having an awesome time and are truly thankful for the chance to spend the day together. 

2. THERE IS NO TIME FOR PROCRASTINATION!  Patrick and I have always been pretty good at making the most of life, but when it comes to procrastination, I am a master.  My parents will tell you procrastination has always been in my nature, and I think I really thrive on it. That rush of adrenaline got me through many late nights in college.  There are times though that I really dislike this feature of my personality and many times I have vowed to change. Well, what I lacked in resolution is now being made up for by a baby. It only took a couple of times of being burned (ie. unexpectedly short nap times) to realize that if Ronan is asleep, I act NOW!!! No more dragging my feet...And I must say, this new lifestyle is pretty great. The house stays clean, I actually work out and even have time for creative projects. It's been great!

Unfortunately we don't have any pictures from this weekend, but here are a few of a recent tummy time. Ronan loves this playmat, but definitely prefers to be on his back!

2 Months!

Ronan hit the 2 month mark a couple of weeks ago! Wow, 2 months seems so old! Soon he will be 2 years.  But for now, we just try to soak up every minute with him. Oh my goodness, we love him so much.  He is full of smiles for mommy and daddy and loves to talk.  He loves it when we sing to him and read to him; he joins right in. I feel so incredibly blessed to get to experience each moment of his day with him. God is so good and has provided in so many ways to make this possible.

I have always loved photography - at least since that class I took in high school with Mr. Clay - and for years have wanted to learn how to take beautiful pictures.  Patrick bought me a great camera this summer for our anniversary/my birthday and I am trying to learn a little as I go. Now that I have more time, I am hoping to get lots of practice in. I took these photos I few days after the 2 month mark (by the way, he was 11 lbs 12 1/2 oz and 24 1/2" long). Luckily he was a happy camper the whole time.  I think I wore him out though; he took a long nap after :)

Tummy Time!  This is a rare moment when I think he actually looks like me. My parents have a similar photo of me and I see a resemblance!

Hmmm. He may be outgrowing his Moses basket.

Newborn Photos

I'm having some of Ronan's newborn photos printed, so I thought I'd share them on the blog as well.  We absolutely love all of Ronan's expressions and he seems to have many! Maybe even more than his daddy.  His expressions have definitely changed since he started filling out and getting a little chunky, so I treasure some of these hilarious pictures.  We had these taken by L'Amore Photography when Ronan was 8 days old.


This is actually a look of relief as he is peeing in the WeeWomb.  :)

Just a little worried

"What is that huge black thing in front of my face?"

Some of our favorite sweet shots. He slept for a few minutes at the end of our session so we were able to get some precious shots.





A Fresh Start

I love the idea of a blog. Keeping in touch with family. Having a journal of sorts to document our lives. Being able to share pictures.  I love reading other blogs. Personal blogs.  Design blogs. I have been inspired and challenged spiritually and creatively while stumbling across other's blogs. I would love to do the same for other random bloggers. Yet, in the 3 years since Patrick started this blog, this is my first post. That's not saying too much since we probably have a total of 10 posts. Nonetheless, in 2011 I resolve to post at least once a week. And always with a photo. And so I'll sign off with this - a couple of birth announcements I created today just because I wanted to work in Photoshop and have something to print and frame.  I haven't decided which one to print yet...