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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

A Trip Back "Home"

This past Friday we drove up to Whidbey Island for the weekend. This is where Sam and I met and use to live. It's always so bittersweet when we head back to where our story all began.....I don't like driving past our house, it makes me real sad......just because I miss the Island and it holds a lot of good memories for us. It was our first home and will always hold a special place in my heart.

Anyway, we made the trip for my Grandfather's 75th surprise birthday party. The party on Saturday went really well. We showed up early to help my Mom and Aunt decorate and I couldn't wait to stuff my face with food, haha. The party was held in a banquet room at a Chinese buffet and the sesame chicken was calling my name! It was great to see all my extended family for a bit and my Grandpa seemed to have a great time, so all in all the party was a great success!

During our weekend on the Island we stayed with my friend Jamie and her family. Anth and Mols had such a blast playing with Jamie's kids. Sam and I were even able to go out Saturday evening with some friends, as well as my cousin and his wife, for dinner and some drinks. Oh gosh it was so fun and very much needed. We had such a great time!! .....though I for sure payed for it Sunday morning. *sigh* 

Before we hit the road Sunday afternoon, we dropped Mols off with my Mom at my Aunt's house. She and my Mom headed back to CA shortly after we left and now my little Miss Molly will be with her Grandma in CA for a few.....weeks. Waaahh! I'm already missing her and we're only 2 days in! But this time away from home will be great for Molly and getting that one on one time with Grandma will be awesome and special for her. 

We were going to head straight home from the Island on Sunday, but decided to pay Sam's Godmother a visit. We swung in there late afternoon and soon after decided we'd spend the night. I'm so glad we did....we hadn't seen his Godmother or her husband in almost a year (usually we go every 3-4 months, but we haven't been able to this past year) and it was great to visit, even minus Molly. We had chili for dinner and later we made a run to Coldstone for some delicious ice cream and then capped off the night by watching Bridesmaids. Monday morning we took our time heading out and made a few shopping trips on the drive home. It was such a great weekend away....always good to get out of the house every once in a while! 

Now it's back to the grind, minus one kiddo. While Mols might be done with school and gone for a bit, Anthony doesn't get out until June 14th and I've got some photo shoots coming up...so still busy busy over here. Not quiet ready for those summer months yet! 

With love,
Mama Hauck

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Breast Feeding, My Hearts Desire

If you get offended by breast feeding photos, then you might want to skip this post.

I have now been breast feeding Timothy for over a year. This is a great accomplishment for me! If you may recall, I've said before that I was unable to breast feed Anthony. He was 3 weeks early and I just couldn't get his latch right. Molly I nursed for about a week and then gave up. I was sore to the point of bleeding and couldn't take the pain any more. Afterwards,  I saw myself as a failure and felt a guilt only a Mama could......not because I thought or even think now that there is anything wrong with formula feeding, but because I had really wanted to breast feed. I wanted that experience for myself and my children and I failed to give it to them. I wish I had stuck it out. I wish I had sought out more help and support.I wish, I wish, I wish.

To be honest, breast feeding is hard. It is. You have to have the determination to stick it out or it is so, so easy to just call it quits when things get tough. This is especially true for the beginning when you and Baby are trying to get into a routine and get over the hurdle of soreness and sleep deprivation. It's vital to have a support system.....people wanting to help you and see you succeed. Someone to be your cheerleader and tell you how awesome you are and remind you of how badly your heart wants this when you are feeling low and like quitting. Those people will help tremendously.

I remember telling myself that if we were to ever have a third child, I was hell bent on breast feeding and would do everything in my power to do so and not give up. Breast feeding was just something that became very, very important to me....probably fueled by my guilt over not being able to with Anthony and giving up on Molly.

When Timothy came along, I stuck to my word. I was still sitting in the birthing tub when I nursed him for the first time. The following days were tough. Very tough. However, I never once gave myself the option to quit. Soon days were turning into weeks and weeks into months. Before I knew it, I felt like a pro. That's not to say I never had any issues from time to time. I got a blocked milk duct once and that was extremely painful. Timothy is a natural snacker, eating very frequently during the day. His snacking, along with him flat out refusing to take expressed milk from a bottle, leaves him pretty much glued to my side and me never getting more than 3 hours without him (except for one time when I got my tattoo).....and Mama's need a break.

Now, a year later, I'm torn between wanting to start to wean him to just a few (like morning, noon, and bed time) feedings during the day so I can start to gain some me time and freedom this coming summer, or letting him continue on as he has been and wean him self when he's ready. I'm not entirely sure what I'll wind up doing, but no matter what the decision, I'm pretty dang proud of myself for making my goal of a year. I'm so thankful to have had this experience with Timothy. My heart feels whole.


Love you Sugar Plum.

With love,
Mama Hauck

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

The New Molly

You may have noticed in the family photos I posted the other day, that Molly's hair looked shorter. 

Molly is such a rough and tumble little gal. Because of this, her poor hair is also a bit rough and tumble.....constantly in a state of disarray with split ends everywhere. Its near impossible to get a hair brush through her hair without detangler spray. Boo.

And it's no secret that I lack the most basic of hair-do skills. This does not go well with her rough and tumble life style. Poor Molly. No fancy braids or cute curls for her. Nope, I throw a clip in her hair and call it good.

I finally decided it was time to take action. Molly's hair needed a little ( a lot) of TLC. So last Friday we headed on down to the hair dresser's for her 2nd hair cut. 

We went from this:


 To this:



The process looked like this:


What a cutie pie! Molly loves her new 'do and so do I! I mean, I do miss the long hair, but she needed the cut very badly. It was a necessary event! She has told me over and over again that she loves it and for 2 days straight she kept asking me to lift her up to the mirror so she could see, haha. Now we can slowly start to grow it back out and try our best to keep the split ends minimal. Wish us luck!


With love,
Mama Hauck

Monday, May 20, 2013

Spring 2013 Family Photos

The last time I took family photos was back in November....Timothy was only 6 months old! The past few months I've been so busy doing photos for other people, I've neglected to do my OWN family!  Luckily I was able to steal a few hours yesterday morning when no one had anything going on to have a little photo shoot. 

It's always such a challenge to do my own photos....not only are the kiddos just so over having their photo taken, but adding in the fact that I have to use my tripod to get a group shot just makes it that much harder. I can never seem to do all the ideas I'd like to do because of that. Still, I was pretty pleased with the end results and now feel soooooo much better knowing we are up to date on family photos!


With love,
Mama Hauck

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Timothy's 1st Birthday (May 11th)

My little man is officially one year old. It was hard, but I made it through his birthday without crying, lol. The day wasn't void of tears though....despite it being his birthday, Timothy was having a rough day. Teething pain was getting the best of him and if he wasn't in his Mama, Papa, or Grandma's arms....or at least within arms reach, then he was crying. Boo.

The morning was pretty mellow. Sugar Plum woke up at 5, so after feeding him, I brought him to our bed so Sammy and I could get in some cuddle time. He typically doesn't fall back asleep, but he did that morning so I left him in bed to snuggle with his Papa while I hopped in the shower and started all my cleaning and party set up. When Timothy woke back up, he was a sweety and helped me frost his birthday cupcakes! :)


His party was a great success! My mom had gotten in earlier in the week to be there, we had a few friends come with their kiddos, and even my two aunts drove up from the Island for the day. We had a great feast....hot dogs, burgers, brown beans, green salad, chips and dip, fruit cabbobs, veggie platter, punch, soda, beer....and lastly birthday cupcakes! 


Timothy did VERY well opening up his gifts! I thought he would feel overwhelmed and scared with all the commotion, but he was a happy boy and really got into it. He got some summer hats, a beach towel, a few sets of pajamas, some shirts and overalls, diapers, some snacks, and a handful of toys. Sweet!!


Right after opening gifts we all sang happy birthday and Timothy (ok....Mama, Papa, Anthony, and Molly) blew out the candle. Timothy insisted on trying to reach for the flame so it was a quick blow out, lol. If I had been thinking, I would have put him in his highchair so he could have gone at the cupcake like he wanted, but there was so much going on I just didn't think about it....so I ended up with an angry baby on my lap as I tried to let him enjoy his cupcake without making a huge mess.


The rest of the evening was spent playing. The guys enjoyed a few games of horseshoes and beer, the gals enjoyed some conversation and drinks, and all the kids were running around playing trying to burn off their sugar highs. Goody bags were given out and slowly the crowd dwindled down to just a few. My little birthday boy was able to make it to 8:30 before he decided his eyes just could not stay open one second longer.


Sweet boy. What a great first birthday! Love you Cutie Bum!


With love,
Mama Hauck