Just because: Babywearing

I started babywearing when D was four days old! We had an Ergo, stretchy wrap, a few woven wraps.
I found that after a while I no longer liked our Ergo carrier at all. It wasn't comfortable for me to wear him in, the waist hurt, it was always loose and dug into my hips. I couldn't get the straps tight enough for the shoulders to stay up. I just did not enjoy it.
Don't get me wrong I am not bashing Ergo! I think Ergo is great for people that can get it to fit properly but to me it seems like much more of a daddy carrier due to the way it is cut and structured. Wider hips/waist, broader shoulders, longer torso. It just wasn't working for me and made it so I wasn't enjoying or able to easily wear my baby like I wanted to. I tried wrapping with woven wraps more often but once he started crawling and moving he did not like that, we tried ring slings which were easy but only good for short trips but my sensitive shoulders didn't let me use one for long.

I needed something that I could wear him on my front or back, that would fit both my husband and I easily, and was comfortable for me and baby. My family found our answers in a Tula! For us Tula was exactly what we were looking for, I could wear him on my front and back, my husband and I could swap the carrier back and forth with easy adjustments, it stayed on my shoulders and the waist gets small enough (for reference I wear a size 1 in pants)! It also wasn't as thick and hot for baby as we found the Ergo to be. What I really loved about our Tula was that they were designed and owned by a local San Diego mom! It sure didn't hurt that they came in cute prints too (though I "pimped" ours myself with Star Wars print).

While Tula is the chosen soft structure carrier for our family, there are so many other brands on the market and you can't go wrong with which ever one works best for you an your baby. The most important thing is to remember to 1) keep you baby visible and kissable 2) don't let their chin tuck (keep it easy for them to breath) 3) support the knees!

Aww look how tiny he was!

One month old.

 Daddy wearing baby.

First time being wrapping in a woven, close to two months.

My favorite woven wrap, Kobalt Rouge, 3 months.

 

On daddy's back and going for a ride, 4 months.

First time using our Tula, the day I bought it, 10 months.

After  I pimped our Tula to better fit our family's personal style.

20 months old and still enjoying being worn…just not wrapped.

Rose City Comic Con.

Days after our arrival in Oregon my husband was back hitting the grind stone putting in 10+ hours every day in preparation for the Rose City Comic Con in Portland. The company he works for, Saberforge, had a booth at the convention to show off the amazing lightsabers that they make! Saberforge has been in business for the past five years and has several different models of LED sabers available, there is really something for everybody to love! 

The LED's used are the brightest on the market right now and give clear bright vibrant color even in the light. They are made with skill and pride which is easy to see. If you would like to see more or get your own check them out HERE or on Facebook.

  

Falling Leaves.

The bright vibrant changing colors, leaves dancing to the ground as they fall off the tree, hearing the crunch of old dead leaves beneath our feet, sweet laughter, blue skies, puffy white clouds, the sun shining, and a light cool breeze.

You could say that we have been enjoying our time outside!

Pumpkin Patch!

We have been in Oregon for close to a month now.

Last weekend we went to Roloff Family Farm pumpkin patch, approximately a 45 minute drive west of where we live.
We had so much fun! They had a large open field with pumpkins to pick from, a kid area with lots of things for kids to do including a slide, dirt box, hay stacks, tire tower, exotic animal exhibit. We also took a tractor tour of some more of their 100 acre property. We were able to talk to the  Roloff's for a little bit as we saw them walking around, and Matt was even our tour guide! They are so sweet and love having their 'home' open to people to come visit. While on our property tour we were able to see the weeding barn that they rent out, it's so cute, I would love to have our recommitment ceremony there in a few more years!

Family Photos

Before moving away from San Diego I got the family together for some photos.
They were taken by Sergey of Utmost Creative. Funny story actually. In the summer of 2012 we went to a fund raiser that the college group at North Coast was putting on. We won several prizes that evening including a photo shoot with Sergey. Well a year went by and I had not yet used our certificate I contacted him to see if I could still use it and we set up a time for our shoot.

The photos turned out amazing! I am so picky when it comes to final product of photos that I pay for and I was so happy with the out come of them!

These are the Origami Owl necklaces that I got for my sister, mother, and myself. They hold the ashes of my brother. My sisters has a single angel wing, my mothers has an angel.

How group family photos actually look!

It's The Final

C O U N T D O W N !

Under a months time till my family picks up and moves from my home town of sunny San Diego county up to Oregon. The dates actually just got locked into place as we book my husbands one way plane ticket (he has been working up in Oregon since the beginning of July) for the 8th of September. Here goes nothing!

You could say that I am excited to see him again! 

Really though I cannot wait to see our baby boy run up to him so excited that his daddy is FINALLY back! Or at least that is how it goes in my head and hope it actually acts out.

We have been doing video chats as often as we can but as anybody who has a loved one far away can tell you, it's not the same.

Seriously this goofball!

I'm still anxious about moving to not only a different city but a different state, far away from my family. I feel bad taking D away from everything and the people he has known and seen everyday since birth, but it's time for a new chapter to be written. Daniel is working doing his true dream job and I am going to jump into my dream of becoming a doula. 

Change is scary but change is good and allows for growth. 

We're ready for it and know together we can handle it.

Beach

bum!

Playing with friends, getting sandy toes.

Watching waves come up to shore.

Explore the world around you, my love.