my top 5 etsy finds for the day

ok so here are my top 5 etsy.com finds...


all of which I stumbled upon while looking at diaper bags lol



1.) I found these...not that they are the cheap way to go, but since you wash them and re-use them I def. think its a cute and eco friendly choice

2.) SERIOUSLY I WANT these! ... french toast, get it? hahahaha best earrings ever.

3.) LOVE THIS. and its not to expensive! Its a camera necklace! real silver

4.) Toothbrush Bracelet!! oh yes!! I just thought this was random and interesting, so yea, maybe they will be the new silly bands, bandz? ban.. whatever you call them

5.) Chap Stick that is VEGAN!! you really don't know what is in chap stick but at least with these you do! super cute!

LINKS

Breast Pads

http://www.etsy.com/listing/52562358/free-shipping6-setsbreast-feeding?ref=sr_list_1&ga_search_query=diaper+bag&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=4&order=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title

French Toast Earrings
http://www.etsy.com/listing/52570264/french-toast-post-earrings?ref=fp_recent

Camera Necklace
http://www.etsy.com/listing/52567343/antiqued-sliver-camera-necklace-with?ref=sr_list_27&ga_search_query=camera&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=1&order=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title

Toothbrush bracelet
http://www.etsy.com/listing/39044116/set-of-three-multicolored-toothbrush?ref=sr_list_40&ga_search_query=toothbrush&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&order=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title

Vegan Chap Stick
http://www.etsy.com/listing/51074923/cupcake-with-a-cherry-on-top-new-two?ref=v1_other_2

ok so I had a moment today...

10 am sitting in the doctors office for Lucy's well check, 20lbs, 29inches PERFECT!

After the doctor did her thing and confirmed a perfect baby ;) we were left alone to wait for the nurse to come in for shots :(

I had Lucy up on the counter looking at herself in the mirror when I did something that she thought was HILLARIOUS and she started to giggle, the more i'd do it the harder she'd laugh

in the midst of the laughter I noticed she looked different to me, her little face looked older, brighter. I laughed so hard right along with her, shes a mess. I loved it and will cherish that moment forever!!!

My little lady! Gosh how can she get any more amazing!!!???

anyways thats my moment!

Birthday!!

Ok folks, I some how made it through the day without having 1 emotional breakdown, there were some moments where my eyes got watery but I stayed strong :)

My darling daughter (I love saying daughter btw) is offically 1 years old. But what I learned today is that we are NOT defined by our age, but by our Character. And I am a very blessed woman to have a daughter with an amazing personality.

I have been dreading Lucy turning 1 because it meant she is growing up. I miss that little tiny baby girl from time to time but as silly or crazy as it sounds, I have to remind myself that Lucy is the big version of the little tiny baby lol so im ok with it. seriously, i am. She is awesome and no matter how old she gets she will always be my daughter

so yes... I AM LUCYS MOMMY :)

gosh I just can't even explain the way I feel about all of this lol, about Lucy, motherhood, her birthday, its just insane!

I wanted today to be perfect, I had it all planned, sing when she wakes up, make blueberry pancakes for breakfast, chic fil a fruit cup for lunch (& some nuggets) get her picture taken (free portrait coupon at picture people) in her birthday outfit, go to target and let her pick out a toy, dinner with the family and snuggle before bed.

well, what really happened was... we sang to her when she woke up (she loved it) I made her (microwaved) blueberry pancakes, we went to Chic fil a in the mall, she ate her fruit cup and nuggets, went to get her picture taken and she FREAKED out b/c she wanted to crawl around instead of sit there (she didn't get a nap) so we just left, went to target and she picked out a toy (a fur real friend lol - random, i know) then we just went home and let her play, she did get to snuggle WITH JON! lol and I carried her up to bed.

It might not have been perfect but it was amazing!

Im sad to see it end, coming up on my last hour of her 1st birthday... a year ago I was most likely holding my precious baby girl about this time, maybe I was changing her diaper, or feeding her. She was, is and will always be my baby girl. I am so excited for a future with her.

Thank you again for your love and support. My daughter is blessed to be surrounded by so many who will accept and love her in life.

NOW LETS PARTY!!!!

tomorrow's the day

Today is July 21st...

a year ago I had no clue that I would be waking up to labor pains. I was probably cleaning my butt off this time last year, God had it planned perfectly, I had everything in its place, even my bedroom was clean (for once lol) I think I even scrubbed the bathroom floor with a rag ...

I know I most likely talked to Lucy that day, probably bent my neck to bring my head as close to my belly button as possible ( you know thats the portal for communication right) I can hear myself saying "Hey little girl, you better come out soon, mommy wants to hold you!" now im sitting here listening to my angel barking like a doggy and talking about da da (like always) and standing on her own, im beyond amazed at how awesome she is, and how much I adore and love her. Its incredible! Tomorrow marks 1 year since I was given the best gift I could ever recieve. Tomorrow is my baby's 1st birthday. Im still super emotional about lol, and im sure I will be even more so tomorrow. Thank you Jesus for my daughter, me and Jon's daughter! Little Lucy Monroe!

Now im stuck with what to do, do I sing as soon as I get her out of the crib, do I wait until 3:38pm, do I do it both times lol, We will be going out as a family tomorrow, me daddy and Lucy to her fav. place (or is it my fav?) Chic-Fil-A. Lucy loves the fruit cups there so she will be having that! Then we are going to target and she is going to pick out what toy she wants, then we are going to Kangaroo Jac's for a little bit, after that We are having a dinner with the rest of the family. But after all of that, my fav part will be once we are home, I want to cuddle up and watch her fav. shows let her snuggle and be my little baby!

Thanks to everyone who loves her, she truly is something specail huh?

in one year

sometimes it takes a moment, sometimes a lifetime but a lot can happen in a year.

Nov. 2008 (wow that long ago) im over joyed, speechless, teary eyed, giddy, nervous, anxious, excited, amazed, & pregnant.

such a surreal feeling, like no other feeling one can feel. There's a tiny little person growing inside of me? Craziness!

{fastforward 9mos}

My stomach hurt around 1am on July 22nd, 2009, id go to the bathroom for a bit, but nothing helped. I remember sitting in bed with a notepad and noting every ache and pain

1:13
1:16
1:20
1:22

I just kept remembering the doctors said if they are 5 min apart then come in, so for an hour, while Jon was passed out next to me, I kept writing

1:34
1:36
1:39

eventually I figured something is going on, or at least I hoped it was. I was 38 & 1/2 weeks pregnant and ready to meet baby Lucy Monroe.

I called the Ob around 2:15am thinking they would say it was just a tummy ache, and bracing myself for the embarrassment, Dr. Whitted called me back and said to go ahead and come in. I couldn't believe it, I almost felt dishonest with him, like I knew it wasn't labor but I wanted it to be.

around 2:45 we make our way to the hospital, bag were already packed, house was spotless, fridge full of yummy stuff, here we go. During the ride as I bumped up and down, swerved from side to side, the 15 min ride to the hospital seemed endless as the pain got a tad bit more intense, but still I wasn't sure what was going on at that point. I just knew I would be returning home shortly.

We got there, signed in, the pain was worse causing me to stop talking until it subsided. I wobbled over to our temporary room, I had a wardrobe change and was all hooked up to the monitors. The nurse came to give me an IV and at that point I was "handling" the pain.

3:50am I am laying in the hospital bed, hooked up to a million things (more like 3) managing the pain I was in and praying I was going to be admitted soon. I was checked and was 1 & 1/2 cm (yes and a half!) I felt like I was in that temp room forever, I even figured out how to unplug myself so that I could use the bathroom without having to call the nurse (which was every 5 mins) this part of Labor was not pretty!

6:30am I was checked to see my progress and FINALLY I was 3 cm (haha) and my pain level seemed that it couldn't get any worse than it was. I had already requested an Epidural over and over. Somehow I managed to move from the temporary room to my "birthing" room, the bed was bigger so I was happy :) the hooked me back up in between contractions and gave me some medicine to help with my nausea (oh yes, labor pains, upset stomach and throwing up, the joys people, o the joys!) that medicine pretty much knocked me out, I remember getting woken up a few times, one being for an Epidural sent from Jesus!!!

**side story**
So here I am prepped for my Epidural (sitting on the side of the bed, bent over a table with my nakey butt showing) here comes the Dr. that is going to be my best friend in a few seconds. FIRST words out of his mouth, "Hi, don't I know you?" oh yes folks, we went to church together, I wish I would have said, Hi nice to see you, have you met my butt yet? oh it was sooooo embarrassing! anyways back to the story...

I got the Epidural (felt none of it) and then went back to sleep :) to only be woken up by the doctor saying alright Holly its time to push. I was so confused, I asked what about my water? He said we just broke it (oh really? and where was I) Then I remember saying are you serious? over and over, I was so happy and awake and excited to do this. I was laughing and looking at everyone else excitement in the room. U just couldn't believe it was about to happen. I had watched "A Baby Story" so many times I was ready for this part.

My sister was to my right and Jon was on my left and my mom was standing around my head everything was so surreal, almost slow motion, I was in a lot of pain, my back felt like it was braking but I was giving it everything I had. Finally I had to have "assistance" with "scissors" if you know what I mean, and poor Jon didn't see it coming. Im sure he still has nightmares from it. After my "assistance" It only took 2 pushes to get her in my arms.

1

Every got louder and louder, shes almost here, u got it Holly, oh my gosh, push

2

It was 3:38pm & with everyone around with a tear in their eye, Lucy Monroe Hill was laid on my chest, I ran my hand from her head to her toes, with tears running down my face and my nose all scrunched up, My heart became more than just an organ in my body, She became my heart. She was the reason I lived. I never knew what beauty meant until I saw her little face, looking up at me with bright eyes and a pink face.

They took her away to get her measurements and to clean her off for me, I was so proud. Nobody could wipe my smile away, it had to have been the best day of my life.

Over walks Jon with a little white bundle of blankets and a proud papa bear look on his face, he sat down with her in the chair next to me and examined every part he could see, she looked just like him, it made me cry. Then he handed her to me. I held her so I could see her face, she had one hand out of the blankets and in her mouth, I slipped my finger in her hand and she squeezed it tightly. I said "Hi baby, its momma!" "you are so pretty" and I just looked at her for what seemed like forever.

My sister came over to me and asked me if I wanted to nurse her, something I couldn't wait to try out, so I said yea looking over to the nurse to make sure it was ok, she nodded yes so I looked backed to Heather waiting for my instructions. Lucy was a champ, she knew what to do. I was a breastfeeding mother from the start. She looked up at me the whole time she munched away. It was the sweetest thing, actually gave me little butterflies in my tummy. We stayed like that for 30ish mins until she seemed to doze off. They finally took her from me to take her to the nursery. I was ready to move to my final room there at the hospital too so the quicker they took her the quicker I got her back.

My noodle legs along with my not pregnant body made its way to the 4th floor to settle into my new room. So many faces were waiting to see me (well really Lucy) and after I was in the bed in walked my visitors. They all talked about how they saw her through the window in the nursery, and how beautiful she was. I knew it was true and I couldn't wait to get her back

Somewhere in the 7 o clock hour, In rolled a tiny little cart with my most prized possession, she was all wrapped up in blankets, with a hat on her head. I looked a hot mess but did not care one bit. My mom, dad & sister were there along with Jon, his mom, dad, and brother. All waiting to hold her for the first time.

Once everyone left (which I loved showing her off) we settled into what would be the rest of our lives. Breastfeeding was going amazingly, Jon was awesome with her, and I was beside myself. my family was perfect!

My beautiful daughter was healthy, happy and loved by many.

sometimes it takes a moment, a moment to realize your life has changed.


sometimes a lifetime, which I get to share with the ones I love.

a lot can happen in a year, in 6 days that tiny little baby girl, who captured my heart so quickly on July 22nd 2009 @ 3:38pm, will be a year old.

I have quickly experienced every milestone, every smile, laugh, first food, sickness, joy. Sometimes I find myself mourning the loss of her infancy but I look forward to celebrating her life and whats to come.

Lucy Monroe, you have changed my world. There are NO words that could ever express my love for you. The crazy part is that there is a God who loves you more. (even if it seems impossible to me) You are more than anyone could ask for. I pray that my days with you are long ones, full of laughter and joy. Life lessons learned and the good times rejoiced. You are my heart, you are what keeps me alive. I love you more than what seems possible.

6 days

My little baby girl will be 1, something I once dreaded, but now I cant wait.
She already gave me the best year of my life
I can't wait for the next one. It can only get better.



thanks for reading :)