Back in Business!

OH MY GOSH. It’s been years since we’ve chatted. Okay months, but it feels like years. This is the longest I’ve gone without blogging since I started! So let’s sit down, grab a cup of coffee (preferably Pumpkin Spice since it is now September/Fall/the best time of year EVA), maybe a cookie or five, and catch up. The first and most glaringly important thing to update you on is our brand new, painfully cute baby boy. I’m not totally sure how I’m going to not post ten million pictures of him in this post, but Ima do my best.

Introducing, to the blogging world, Ford Taylor Chesson! He was born on July 19th a little after 5:00 am and weighed 8 lbs 4 oz. Our birth story isn’t super dramatic or exciting – I had contractions for about 8 hours before I got the epidural, and then it was smooooooooth sailing for the last few hours. Can I please find whoever invented the epidural and give them a massive high five, an even bigger hug, and a lifetime supply of frozen lasagnas? Epidurals = BAE.

Those are both pictures from his newborn shoot, so he was only a little 2 week old nugget at the time. Here are some more recent pictures (he’s about 10 weeks old now):

That last one cracks me up. The potential captions are endless.

Isn’t he freakin’ precious?? Anyway, that’s the main thing that’s been new with me – #momlifeyo. I absolutely love it. It’s exhausting, exciting, hard, amazing, scary, and wonderful all at the same time. Seth deployed when Ford was about 7 weeks old, so that has made the whole new parenting thing a little more challenging. It is definitely a 24 hour job, and some days I feel like I need a break more than others, but even on the harder days, there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing.

Some things are a liiiiittle lower on my spectrum of fun-ness, i.e. blowout diapers, getting peed on, getting puked on, middle of the night wake-ups, MOM GUILT (he has a flat spot on his head aaaaand I’m convinced 80% of the day that I’m probably doing something wrong and hindering his development in one way or another). Side note on flat head: we had a doctors appointment today and he says it’s all good, just to increase tummy time a little bit each day. Which Ford will be excited about…FALSE – he hates tummy time with a burning passion.

The things that are higher on my spectrum of fun-ness: watching him cheese super hard at ceiling fans, putting adorable clothes on him (the cute baby clothes at Target empty my bank account like once a week #strug), cuddles…so many cuddles, making him smile, did I mention cuddles? Speaking of cuddles, they come with lots of Netflix binge watching. Stranger Things? SO GOOD. Blacklist? AMAZING. If anyone has any awesome binge-watching-while-baby-cuddling suggestions, I’m all ears.

Bottom line: he has completely stolen our hearts, and our lives have become ten times more full since he entered the world and changed everything.

Other less important bottom line: I am essentially responsible for 50% of Amazon’s income now that I have a baby and buy EVERYTHING. What happened. Sometimes I don’t even know what I’m about to open when a package comes to the door because I order so many things. Confessions…DON’T JUDGE ME.

Blogging while being a mom is going to be a whole new challenge and adventure, but we are going to figure it out, people, because there’s no way I’m giving up hangin’ out with you every week. Right now I have an awesome nanny that comes 3 days a week for 3 hours so I can cook/photograph for the blog, and I’m just going to have to fit the writing in when I can throughout other times of the day.

Like right now, for example. While I am writing this, Ford is laying on a boppy pillow next to me, transitioning between crying and cracking up at the ceiling fan…endless entertainment can be found in the ceiling fan. You would think someone is on the ceiling singing and dancing.

I’m trying to think of what else is new that I can update you on. I mentioned that Seth deployed in early September – BOO, Army. Boo. We’re getting through alright, though. It’s easier and harder this time around with a baby. Easier because I stay very busy and always have company 😀. Harder because I know Seth is missing out on so much more this time. And I know he’s heartbroken to be missing such a big chunk of Ford’s first year. Overall I’d definitely say the second deployment is easier since you know what to expect and you’ve been there before.

The other important new thing to discuss: IT’S FALL. Yaasssssssssss bring on all the fallness: the pumpkins, the cozy food, the hot coffee, the decorations, the crisp weather, the leaves, I WANT IT ALL. I love fall – totes favorite season, which you have heard me rant about plenty of times if you’ve been a follower for a while. I’ve been cooking away the last couple of weeks, building up a little stockpile of recipes to post so that I can get ahead, and they are all wonderfully fall-y and delicious. So put your Fall pants on people (is that a thing? It should be) and get strapped in for some Fall goodness.

I don’t want to give too many spoilers, but there has definitely been some stews/chilis/fall themed hummuses (word?) happenin all up in ma’ kitchen, and it has been glorious. So stay tuned for some food, yo.

I have missed you all SO VERY MUCH and I am super excited to get back to blogging! I loved every second of my maternity leave, but I’m ready to get crackin’ again over in my little corner of the internet. See you on Wednesday, friends!