Last Week of Maternity Leave

So this is my last Thursday of maternity leave before going back to work on Monday! SO depressing... What I would do to stay home with little Lake man! I think knowing that Blaze will be with him all week next week will make it easier for me to get adjusted to going back to work and leaving him though! And THANKFULLY we only have 8 weeks until summer break! Woohoo! Then I get another (almost) three months off with him! I still can't believe he is 3 months old! I will say that maternity leave went by WAY too fast!! :( I have definitely enjoyed every minute of it... even the tough days! Lake and I have especially been enjoying this week together.. I'm hoping he does well when I go back considering we have been together for 3 straight months, every single day together!! Monday will definitely be tough on me! :( 

While we have had to put our adoption plans on hold, we have loved every day with Lake so far! :) A lot of people have asked us if we are still wanting to adopt now that we have Lake. Lake was never a factor of IF we were going to adopt or not, but more of WHEN we would adopt. Our agency has a policy about adopting when you're pregnant. They want us to wait until Lake is one year old to adopt but we can start all of the paperwork (which we already have done) when Lake is 9 months old. So to answer a lot of people's questions, YES we are still planning on adopting and we are going to start our home study and paperwork back up in August! So we are hoping (fingers crossed) that Lake will have a brother around this time next year! 

We are going to enjoy our last free weekend together before I have to go back to work! The weather is supposed to be nice so hopefully that won't change! Lake gets to go to his first bridal shower this weekend for Auntie Lauren!! 

3 Months In

So we made it to the 3 month mark already!! To say it's been a piece of cake would definitely not be the truth! I know a lot of mommy friends of mine always make newborns out to be super easy, "all they do is sleep", "he/she is THE easiest baby ever", "my baby never really fusses", etc... all I can say is that no one truly prepares you for your first baby. First off, Lake was VERY VERY colicky, which neither Blaze or I had ever heard of before. That was a fun learning curve that consisted of sleeping on the couch for what felt like weeks at the beginning. THANKFULLY Lake has slowly grown out of the colic and is just a fussy baby around 7pm every night. He still isn't the easiest though, for example... I cannot do anything without carrying him around with me. He only takes about 30 minute naps.. MAX every now and then throughout the day. He does still sleep in his rock-n-play because that was the only place he would sleep with the colic issue and now loves it because it rocks him all night. Don't take any of this as complaining about having a baby... I just want to inform people that babies are definitely not all cute pictures and easy times like some people think. Babies take A LOT of work, ours just more than others maybe!!

I will say that having a baby, especially a super fussy and difficult one like Lake will push you in your marriage. So my advice is if you are not in a good place with your husband, I would not even think about having a baby. We definitely had to get through the rough nights together that consisted of no sleep and us getting irritated because we had had no sleep. Blaze and I had prayed for months about Lake before I was even pregnant and we still make sure to pray together each night before bed. We pray over little Lake and his development and health, and that we, together, can be Godly role models for Lake and his future siblings!! I think that Lake has made our marriage stronger, especially as more time goes by.

These first few months have definitely been exhausting but I wouldn't trade them for anything! Sadly, this is my last week of maternity leave before I go back to work for 8 weeks (until summer break)!

Here are some products that we used to help his colic the best that we could!

Colic must haves by aschleif on Polyvore

Here are some pictures from yesterday that I decided to take!

Thanksgiving on My Mind

With Thanksgiving being only 5 weeks away from this Thursday (or 36 days away!), I started thinking about how excited I am about all of my favorite dishes that will be coming my way!! These are some of my FAV things about Thanksgiving day..

1) gotta love sweet potatoes.. especially with marshmallows!!

2) the one time of the year that I will actually eat something pumpkin is on Thanksgiving... and only Thanksgiving! I'm not big on everything pumpkin like most girls around this time of the year, but on Thanksgiving I will eat me a slice.. or two!

3) deviled eggs are one of my favorite things to eat no matter what time of the year it is! I love that someone decided to make these a side dish on Thanksgiving!

4) bread.... do I need to explain this one?? Everyone loves bread... no matter what kind it is!

5) creamed corn casserole is a dish that I actually like to make myself. Super easy to make and tastes so good! My family used to have one regular casserole and one with tiny pieces of jalapeños in them! YUM!

6) green bean casserole is probably my favorite thing about all of the Thanksgiving side dishes out there. I like to make this side myself as well, very easy and makes your house smell great!

Thanksgiving Food by aschleif on Polyvore

Friday Five

ONE

only 6 more weeks until THANKSGIVING!!! WOOHOO!!

TWO

Blaze and I finally under 100 days left mark until Baby Lake decides to enter the world!! 

THREE

My first baby shower is tomorrow!! Being thrown by my wonderful sisiter-in-law Ashley and will have my bestest girl friends there (that can make it)! Ill definitely post pictures of it next week!

FOUR

This week has tested my patience for sure. 4 day work weeks are always the toughest sometimes on teachers. It's been a long, tough week, especially because Blaze has been gone to Arizona for work all week. 

FIVE

Today marks 26 weeks being preggo! Less than 14 weeks to go (hopefully)!! Lake is definitely starting to grow like a weed, literally you can see a huge difference weekly now! 

What to take to the Hospital

So the big task of packing my hospital bag has been on my mind lately. I am thinking of doing it sooner rather than later just in case, because you really never know when babies decided to come into the world!! I did some research on what in the world would be a great idea to pack and here are my for-sure items that I will have!! 

1) My Columbia sweater. You know hospitals can get cold and it will be either December or January so it will definitely be cold outside! Plus, it is just comfy to wear around!

2) Pair of flip flops! Easy to take on and off!

3) Robe. This one explains itself!

4)Yoga pants/leggings! These are already the most comfortable thing to wear pregnant or not pregnant! These would be easy and comfy to wear around (which I will probably be wearing most of the time I have off of work as well!)

5) A good nursing bra! You know this is a smart idea with all of the feedings that will be taking place!

6) My pillow! I am picky about pillows as it is! (I normally take one whenever we travel and stay at hotels too!) Bringing my own will make me more comfortable!

7) Toiletry bag!! This is a MUST have! Toothbrush, toothpaste, face wash, q-tips, travel shampoo/conditioner, some minimal makeup, etc.!!! 

8) A good towel from home! You never know what type of quality the hospital towels will be!

9) My camera! This is self explanatory! I will be taking tons of pictures for Blaze and I forever so why not start there! :) 

Maternity Bag by aschleif featuring turkish cotton bath towels

Maternity Photos

So trying to find cute outfits for our family photos/maternity photos has been so hard!! Of course I feel like nothing looks good on me when I try it on, so there is that struggle. Then there is Pinterest and TOO many cute outfit ideas to choose from!! I absolutely love fall photos (fall is definitely my favorite time of the year) and I love the outfits that fall brings!! Here are a few of my favorite ones that I have found so far! Luckily our photos are still about 5 weeks away so I have time still to find some outfits!!

maternity shoot by aschleif on Polyvore

Monday Ramblings

So it’s another Monday and luckily we have a staff development day which means no students! It might not be a day off, but if any of you are teachers, you know that staff development days are better than regular days! Though, staff development days mean long trainings that you are forced to sit through where you would rather be in your classroom, with your subject team, making lessons, planning or even grading papers… but hey, what can you do!

October is a crazy month in the Lambert household! The next few weekends will be crazy too!! This past weekend Blaze was gone again on the road out in east Texas/Louisiana. He got back last night and then had to fly out to Arizona today until Thursday. THEN he is in Lubbock this coming weekend. I get to have my first baby shower this Saturday so that will be fun to look forward to! Having most of my favorite ladies in one place again!! It’s crazy how fast this pregnancy is flying by! Next weekend is Brooke’s wedding in Austin! Then it’s already Halloween the weekend after with our second baby shower that Sunday! Our annual family photos/maternity pics will be in November too!!

Lots and lots to do these next couple of months!! Baby Lake’s room is almost done (sort of). Only 100 more days to go (or less) J

44 days until Thanksgiving!

73 days until Christmas!

100 days until BABY LAKE!!

Woohoo! Have a blessed Monday!!