Let me start by saying, I wish I had more time to blog. It really is one of those things I LOVE to do - but unfortunately, the clock keeps ticking and there are just not enough hours left at the end of the day (or after 9:30pm when both kids are finally in bed!)

Lately, Instagram has become my go-to for those little spurts of inspiration I need and want to give away. It's just so much easier to sit down during a 20-minute nursing session and scroll through my beautiful feed (of mostly other mamas and their children). Occasionally I'll be going through a crisis of sorts where I just need to see something pretty instead of the chaos that is going on around me. Usually I'll find it there. And then there are those times when something thought-provoking hits me and my fingers sweat as I share a picture and some words that would usually take me hours to compose in a blog post.

Insta-blogging, is what they call it. And it's probably a blogger turned mom's answer to prayer! At least it is for me. Quick, fast, easy community and inspiring to boot (I will include a few of my favorite "grammers" at the end of this post).

I don't want to neglect this space entirely though. I'll continue to write as often as I can. But you'll probably see me using it more to feature some upcoming shoots in the next few weeks! Can I just say how thankful I am for the opportunities I've had in photography since I officially started taking sessions only a little over a month ago?! It's just been further validation that this is what the Lord was leading me to do (more on that in another post soon!)

If there's one thing I've been learning lately that I want to leave you with - it would be to stop feeling guilty. The condemning, ugly feeling that you are not doing or being enough. That's not from God. (Romans 8:1) Sure, there is conviction and sometimes it's uncomfortable and humbling. But it's also peaceful and encouraging. It's the convictions that lead us to make changes in our lives for the good. But guilt just leaves us with questions. We don't know which way is right or which way is wrong. We just feel stuck.

I get this way a lot when it comes to learning how to balance my life as a wife and mother with two kids, while leading worship and also taking photos for people in my "spare" time. It's the spare time stuff that makes me feel guilty. But I know it is purposeful and a blessing to others and my family. I have found that I need to be creating something at all times. Sometimes it's music or photos and sometimes it's a human being. And seeing that I've been pregnant for 18 of the last 28 months, it seems I've been doing more of the latter than anything else.

So why should I feel guilty for devoting a couple hours in the week to using my gifts and talents outside the home?

This is me saying goodbye to guilt. And encouraging you to do the same. Walk in the truth that God has knitted you together uniquely, and placed within you abilities and desires to further His Kingdom. Will we multiply what He has given us or hide it under a rock? (Matthew 25:14-30)

Here are a few of the insta-woman who challenge me to be more creative and also point me to Jesus with their honest and encouraging words (I'm purposely leaving out friends I know in real-life, because there are just too many of you to name!) Check out their feeds and be sure to follow them for some daily inspiration!

caseyleighwiegand threebabesandapastor alesyazubik jennyhaas allieroyall thepursuitofjoyproject christielacy kristinrogers lucadele thrive_moms

Past updates: 1 month

// I think I'll skip trying to explain why I am late in posting Hannah's two month update - and just let you read about what's been going on this month!

Weight/Height

Last month my home weigh-in said Hannah was just over 10lbs. This month my home weigh-in said she was over 13lbs! Can that be right? I guess we will find out her "official" height and weight stats in a couple weeks when we go for her checkup! But I can attest for the fact that she is growing and seems to be a chunky little thing already. I love this squishy baby stage!

Sleep

She is still continuing to sleep a consistent 6 hour stretch at night. One night last week she slept for 8 hours and when I woke up to the sunlight peering through my bedroom window, I felt like I was in heaven! Alas, it was just a fluke and she went back to waking up after 6 hours the past several nights. I am definitely not complaining though, she is sleeping good and consistently and that is the important part! Now, if I could just get myself to sleep at the same time she goes down maybe I would actually get a 6 hour stretch of sleep at night too! ;) I have also started attempting to put her down for naps in her crib. She has done really well! I am not consistent with it yet, but every time I've laid her down in her crib (swaddled) she has slept for over an hour! In fact, last time I had to wake HER up because we needed to leave the house. Her "sleep schedule" so far looks something like this: 10:00-11:30am, 1:00-3:00pm, 5:00-7:00pm, 9:30pm-3:30am (quick feed)-6:30am (quick feed)-8:30am. Those are my goals for getting her to sleep. Of course, the only one I'm really consistent at keeping is the 10am & 1pm naptimes and 9:30pm bedtime. Now, if you just read that whole entire paragraph you MUST be a mama (or soon-to-be one!)

Sizes

She is wearing size 1 diapers (only because I still have some and don't want them to go to waste!) but she could have been in 2's last week. She is also wearing 3 month clothing. She is growing so fast!! If you come over to my house right now, you will see laundry baskets full of 0-3 month clothes she only wore once. Poor things never made it from the washing machine back to the drawers.

Eating

She is continuing to nurse every 2 hours. Sometimes I try to stretch it to 3-4 hours, but I only get lucky if she's sleeping. She is a pretty calm baby, unless she is hungry. Then you hear those powerful lungs! I am serious about this - her cry is 10x the sound of Micah's. TEN TIMES.

Milestones

She has definitely mastered the social smile! We love seeing her little grin every morning. And we think she's going to laugh soon... we're just waiting for her to crack! She is kicking like crazy, holding her head up pretty well, and she just found her hands! It's adorable watching her knaw all over them. Oh! And she's starting to coo a little bit. Her little voice is coming out!

Likes

She still loves her pacifier, bath time and getting changed (she always kicks and smiles on the changing table!) and I've just learned that she likes being swaddled. I didn't even try at first, because Micah always kicked out of his swaddle and it never really helped him sleep. But I tried it with her at one nap time and she was out like a light! I promise I am raising two completely different children. It's fun learning every child and their likes and dislikes! They are all so unique. :)

Dislikes

Being hungry! If that even counts as a dislike, haha. Also, her gas pains have gotten much better!

Things I Don’t Want to Forget

Her facial expressions! Many people have commented on how expressive she is. I don't want to forget that. Even though I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to with all the pictures I have taken. Haha! And even though, I kinda do want to forget this - I guess it's important for me to remember this for the future (and also to warn others) - do not trust beach tents to protect against the sun. We went to the beach last week and she was fully clothed and sat in the shade under a tent the entire time, but still managed to come home with a sunburn on her face. :( I still don't know how it happened (I'm guessing the sun reflected off of something and onto her face) but I felt HORRIBLE. She seemed fine. Not in pain or anything at all. I put aloe on her for several days until it faded. And now she just looks like she has a nice tan. I definitely learned a lesson in this - put on a hat or spf clothing, do not mistake shade as a sign of protection!

Last week I had the privilege of meeting little Madison Grace. Her mom, Jennifer, and I went to school together growing up, so it was extra special to be able to take these precious photos of her baby girl! I even brought along my little Hannah so they could "hang out!" It was pretty surreal to see them both together. I'm sure when we were in high school, we never imagined we'd have little girls only a few weeks apart! :) All of these photos were taken in Madi's cute nursery. I love this, because it adds such a personal feel to the photos. There were quite a few special pieces that we incorporated into this shoot - including a little baby rocking chair with her name engraved, a cardinal in honor of Jenn's mom, and cute baby Wrangler jeans! Here are a few of my favorite shots of little Madi.

If you live in the Central Florida area and would like to have me as your photographer, please visit my photography page for more details and pricing!