Tis the Season & Our Sweet Little Boy is Growing Up Fast!

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving has already come & gone.  Each year my husband & I (and now Gavin too) alternate where we will spend Thanksgiving.  This year we spent it with my husband's family & it was magnificent.  Not only because of lots of good food, but because it was Gavin's first Thanksgiving & my wonderful hubby out-did himself by preparing a delicious turkey, ham, & dressing for the family.  I wandered off my "lose the baby weight" diet just for Thanksgiving; however, there has been one major problem...I'm having a hard time getting back on it!!!! ugh!!! I hate that I love food so much!!! :)  The day after Thanksgiving Gavin & I went to my parents' house to spend a few days with family & friends.  It was wonderful to see everyone.  Gavin was able to meet framily from out-of-town for the first time.  Those few days served as a reminder of how blessed we are to have a family that loves Gavin so much! 

Now we are prepping for Christmas and looking forward to more fun times with family & friends.  This year is the first time in a long time that I didn't get out in the Black Friday madness! Mostly because of Gavin, but I also couldn't bear the thought of it!  I guess it's the tired mommy in me! lol! I was able to get some shopping done otherwise.  My husband & I decided that since it is Gavin's first Christmas, we aren't going to go overboard and spend alot of money on toys, etc.  Easier said than done!  I keep finding things & somehow justifying the purchases.  He's only 3 months old, but it's so much fun shopping for him even though he won't remember a thing from Christmas day!  I guess, selfishly, most of the joy is felt by us. I have to pat myself on the back though, because we've managed to purchase mostly necessities...being clothes.  Gavin is only 3 months old, but he's already over 15 pounds! He's growing like crazy, & we don't have enough winter clothes to last him through the season.  It's so hard to believe that we're going to have to buy our sweet little boy (who seems like he was just born yesterday) 6-9 month clothing already! He certainly isn't missing any meals! :)

On another note, I was thinking today about how God has made me more comfortable with Gavin's exposure to certain things.  I'll admit, I'm one of those over-protective mothers who is attached to her child. I miss him tons when I'm away from him, which is rarely.  I think that part of it is being a first-time mom, and part of it is just the overabundance of love that I have in my heart for him.  I'm constantly working on the battle of balancing a healthy relationship with my child versus these feelings.  For example, I'll admit that there aren't a whole lot of people that I trust to babysit Gavin.  My mom has repeatedly offered & asked to watch him while I take some "me" time.  Now let me take a moment to clarify that I do trust my mom, but the thought of leaving Gavin was and still is hard, even if only for half an hour.  Recently, I've felt a little more comfortable with this, & I have taken some "me" time to get some Christmas shopping done.  I have to admit that it was a good break (which I feel guilty for saying), but I missed him every minute that I was away from him.  This is improvement, because a month ago, I would have rushed through the shopping time, in a hurry to get back to my little man!  Another example is that I used to not like for him to nap in a different room from where I was located.  I was worried that something may happen & I wouldn't be able to get to him.  We recently put him in his crib for the first time & he loved it! Gav was located in his bedroom, while my husband and I were in the living room getting a few things done.  I was so proud of myself!!!! lol! Along with these struggles has come trying to make sure that I'm not forgetting to trust that God will take care of him.  This has, perhaps, been the hardest part of it all!  I know that God will watch over him & is in control, but I still feel like He loaned us this precious angel and entrusted my husband & me to care for him to the best of our ability.  Gavin is not independent yet, but as he has grown, I've felt more comfortable with certain things & I know it's God working.   

Holiday Cards - Oh How I Love Them!

It is that time of year again...where we will gather together to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, & New Years with the ones we love the most.  One of my favorite things about this time of year is sending out holiday cards to family members and friends.  Each year, we take a photo and create a Christmas/New Years card.  I have tried a couple different sites for ordering these cards.  I have by far had the most satsifaction with Shutterfly for several reasons.   Shutterfly has a large variety of very unique cards that are creative and cute!  Also, Shutterfly has very reasonable prices and often runs sales, which contribute to making the cards affordable.  My husband and I both come from large families and we have to send out a large amount of cards; therefore, affordability is important for us.  I have been a member of Shutterfly for some time now and I can honestly say that I have been 100% satisified with ALL products that I have purchased thusfar.  Likewise, the turn-around-time for receiving merchandise is very reasonable.  Each year we receive compliments from family and friends about how much they like the cards that we send them.  This makes them even more special for us.  Once again, we will be using Shutterfly to create our family Christmas/New Years card.  I'm even more excited this time around, because there will be 3 of us this time - instead of 2. :)  I can't wait to create our holiday card for 2010 with our family photograph on it along with blessings and greetings. I have already began browsing the selection with excitement!  It is going to be hard to narrow it down to one design...who knows, I may have to choose multiple ones! You too can share such joy with your family and friends.  I would encourage you to check it out as Shutterfly has a plethora of products that create lasting memories.  Links to some of my favorites are: (1) holiday cards http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards (2) photo Christmas cards http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery  and (3) new year's cards http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/new-years-cards.  Check these links out and start creating special products for your family and friends! Even better, bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly.  Apply at http://bit.ly/sfly2010.  Happy Holidays!

New to Blogging & Mommyhood

I've seen where numerous moms and people have jumped on the blogging bandwagon.  I finally decided to jump aboard myself, so here goes!  My husband and I have been parents now for almost 3 months.  Our son, Gavin Miles Jourdan, was born August 26, 2010.  It was truly the most amazing experience that we have ever had together.  People often tell you how wonderful and unbelievable it is, but it is one of those things that you must experience in order to really understand to the fullest.  Although amazing, parenthood has been difficult and has called for numerous adjustments.  I NEVER in a million years envisioned myself as a stay-at-home mom.  I've always been very career-minded...went to lawschool, graduated, practiced personal injury and workers' compensation, and strived to rise to the top in the legal profession.  All up until we got pregnant with our sweet little angel.  The closer I got to having him, the harder it was for me to even think about having to leave him and go back to work.  By the time I had him, I cried at the thought.  Thankfully, I have been blessed with a wonderful, supportive husband who felt the same way.  We prayed about it and God made a way for me to become a stay-at-home mom, temporarily (after all, I still have some of the career-minded traits lingering within).  My husband took a job working 3 night weekends, which has blessed us with an increase in income that will allow us to live comfortably while I'm off work.  Who knows how long I'll be off, but we'll take it one day at a time and leave it in the Lord's hands.  There are some days where I miss working, especially when I reconnect with old friends in the legal field, but then I look at our precious little boy and he overrides any of those feelings. 

Initially, adjusting to mommyhood was more difficult than I expected.  Especially, while dealing with the hormones!!! Oh my word!!!  All I could think was, "Nobody told me about this part of it!"  I was up and down all the time, and often felt like I wasn't doing a good job at being a mommy.  Once again, prayer saved the day and rescued me from this.  Also, my hubby was AMAZING throughout this...I know I couldn't have gotten through it without him.  We have adjusted somewhat to the sleepless nights, which have improved since Gavin has gotten older.  My husband and I also had to learn to adjust to the fact that we didn't have as much "us" time, which was indirectly effecting both of us.  We were used to going on as many dates as we wanted and doing whatever we wanted whenever we wanted.  We knew these things would change once our little one arrived, but once again, you don't realize how much or the effect until it happens.  We are still making adjustments, but things have certainly balanced out as time has gone by.  Overall, we love being parents and could not imagine our lives being any other way!