Memoirs of a new mom

Park Winters Maternity Photo Shoot

Park Winters will always hold a special place in our hearts. This is where Matt and I were supposed to have our wedding on September 17th of this year but God had other plans. He blessed us with a baby boy instead.

These were all done by the uhmazing Nicole! Here is a link to her blog --- niknakendeavors .

She made us feel extremely comfortable with all her silliness and treated us like we had all been bffs forever, which is exactly what you want in a photographer! She uploaded all 700 of our pics and edited a bunch THAT night! No, you can't have her- she's ours (;

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The amazingly talented April Lopes did my make up for the photo shoot. These make up pics were taken SEVEN HOURS after she had applied the make up and it still looked amazing. This is after 4 hours of pictures in 20-30 MPH wind and the cold too!

Here is a link to her YouTube channel --> Makeup by April Lopes

and her Instagram --> pipsqueeak

Seriously, if you live anywhere near the bay area, check her out!

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Before Nicole got to Park Winters, my dad started snapping pics of Matt and I and I must say, he did a pretty great job!!

"There has never been, nor will there ever be, anything quite so special as a love between a mother and her son."

Jaxon Christopher, your dad and I love you so much already.

After talking to you and singing to you and poking at you (lol) for 34 weeks, we can't wait to finally hold you.

Just a few more weeks.

What I Want My Son to Know

I had a dream that I was an outsider looking into my life. I seen your dad and I pull into a parking spot at Target and your dad opening my car door. I seen myself get out of the car with a huge, pregnant belly barely able to fit in the space between our car and the car next to us. Your dad and I started laughing and I joked, "Jaxon, look at you all in the way!" Then I woke up. The very next day, I found out that I was pregnant with you. Everything happen for a reason and God has a plan for everyone. Please remember that, always.
Remember that life is crazy and unpredictable and will only be as fun as you make it. Life will have its low points and twists and turns and horrible times- but life will also have breathtaking, beautiful moments and I pray those are the moments you hold onto. I wish I would have realized when I was younger that those beautiful moments can seem little in the grand scheme of things- like tide pooling with your grandparents when I was little, walking through the botanical gardens in San Diego, making Smores while camping by the ocean, screaming at the top of my lungs on my favorite Disney ride- but when I look back, those are the moments that made my childhood. Not the friends and popularity that everyone searches for, not the gossip and drama, not the people I was trying to date- it was the moments I took for granted. It may be hard to understand this concept but the things you think are important when you're a teenager, are NOT important. Your education, your family, your friends, your character- those are the important things.
Inevitably, you will mess up. You will stumble. You will make the wrong choice every now and then but your dad and I will always be there to help you back onto your feet. We will teach you everything we know and will guide you through life while letting you make your own decisions. Granted, I will always see you as my baby boy, I don't care how old you are, you will always be my baby. BUT I promise I will give you the room to grow into the man God intended you to be. "The best gift a parent can give their child is both roots and wings."

Just remember:

Your mom and dad will love you unconditionally, forever
You can always come back home
You can come to us about anything and we will help you
Don't grow up. At least not fully anyway
Study! I know it's not fun but it will get you far
Don't be mean to girls, they are 10x meaner than boys
Treat everyone with respect, even if they don't deserve it, it shows you have good character
Pick a sport, or two, that you love and stick with them
Don't be a bully! I will make your life miserable if you make someone else's life miserable
Peer Pressure is when people below you are trying to pull you down to their level. Keep being a leader and don't give in.
Don't be sexist. Women are just as strong and intelligent as men
Remember that who you date, your family dates too
If you make a girl fall in love with you, make sure you have every intention on catching her. Don't be a player. Gentlemen always get the good ones.
When life is bad, pray.
When life is good, pray.
Know that God is always on your side and has an amazing plan for your life

Gender Reveal

Since the day I told my best friends that I was pregnant, they said that they were going to throw me a gender reveal party. One of my oldest and dearest friends, Bry, and my mom had the brilliant idea of using paint for the big reaveal. She bought a thin sheet of wood and pinned black balloons all over it filled with different shades of the gender paint color (either pink or blue) and Matt and I threw darts to pop the paint onto the wood canvas. It is now hanging up in the nursery :)

Ever since I was little, I wanted a baby girl. I wanted the tea parties, dress up nights, princess movie marathons, mommy/daughter dates, teaching her how to do her hair and make up, and going shopping every chance we could get. I have an amazing relationship with my mom and wanted a girl so we could have the same bond.

I was absolutely sure that I was pregnant with a girl. I had the theme for the baby shower picked out, her nursery colors, clothes and headbands I wanted to buy her, and her daddy and I were set on a name. Every wives tale told me that I was having a girl and my belly is definitely more watermelon shaped than basketball shaped.

When it came time for the gender reveal party, I KNEW the paint was going to be pink.

*POP!*

Surprise!

It's a BOY!!!!

As you can tell, we were both SHOCKED!!

I kind of just stood there with my jaw on the ground for a minute then started looking around like "is this a joke?" I looked over at Bry, because she filled the balloons, and said "Is that blue? Are you sure?" (Bry is the one in the background of the picture making the cray face haha.)

Then came the tears and hugs and people shouting "Nu uh!" "No way!"

My two friends who knew the gender before anyone else came up and gave me gifts. They bought me cute NB clothes and said "See! Boy stuff can be cute too!"

Our family and friends kept asking me if I was okay and I could feel everyone looking at me seeing what I do and say. I was still just in shock that it was a boy. I didn't really have any feelings yet.

Once the party was over and people started to leave, our immediate families and a few friends wanted to go to dinner. I told them to go ahead and Matt and I would meet them there. They all left and I cried. And cried. I tried to hide it when we got into the car but Matt could tell something was wrong. After about the 20th time of him asking me what was wrong I finally blurted out "I don't know what to do with a boy!"

It took about a week, a few pep talks from friends and family, and buying cute baby boy clothes and nursery decor, but I became really happy. I might not get the princess dress up nights and he may not like shopping or tea parties but I don't even mind anymore.

I can't wait to help him beat those levels on his video games that he can't beat. I can't wait to take him to every baseball and football and golf practice and cheer him on at every game. I can't wait to see his face light up when we take him to the Science Museum in SF and the Aquarium. I can't wait to teach him about his Heavenly Father and raise him to be a man of God.

Here is our sweet baby boy at 26 weeks. He has his daddy's big kissy lips and his mommy's chin.

I hope he knows just how much his mom and dad love him already.

Maternity Clothes

I can't believe that Christmas is only a few days away!

There are so many Christmas sales going on right now and I am taking full advantage!

Let's face it- maternity clothes are expensive! Plus, you only wear them for a few months.

For that reason, I have only bought a few key staples to add to my wardrobe. Luckily, majority of my regular clothes still fit me except ALL my jeans! That whole hair tie trick did not work for me so maternity jeans were first on my list!

Destination Maternity is my new favorite store! They were having a BOGO Buy One Get One 50% Off Sale on their jeans. Here are the ones I bought:

These are the Celebrity Pink Jeans Secret Fit Belly Destructed Skinny Leg Jeans

{$49.98}

I love these! The two times I have worn these out, I have gotten compliments. They definitely don't look like maternity jeans and are very well made! The Belly Band goes all the way up so it doesn't cut off circulation and is tan so you can wear these jeans with a white shirt.

[The sweater I'm wearing is from Target and I love it!

You can find it here --> Sweater]