priceless pictures.

at the end of october we carved out a bit of time to get some family pictures taken. we used the same photographer that took easton's newborn pictures, shelby mooty, and she is a-m-a-z-i-n-g. when you can make this awkward girl feel comfortable getting her picture made, you know you are doing something right!

as much as i love our everyday snapshots of "real life" that are captured on the ever handy iphone, there is something so beautiful about a thought-out, well taken photograph. pictures truly are keepsakes, and the physical kind seem to be coming a thing of the past.

this past summer when my "papa" past away, we began pulling out piles and piles of old pictures from his youth, my mom's childhood, and everything in between. i loved being able to flip over a yellowed old photo and see his scribbled handwriting detailing the date and the people in the picture. as much as i love being able to throw hundreds of photos into an online album and have them accessible from virtually anywhere, there really seems to be something special about printed out photographs of loved ones.

and while i may sometimes wonder why i still have piles of printed photos from my middle school, high school, & college days, i hope that one day those simple photos will be cherished as much as we now cherish those yellowed old photos of papa. 

monthly updates.

in an attempt to catch up on posting easton's monthly growth pictures, i give you the whole year below. we are so thankful for that sweet, wiggly, cubbly boy!

 12 months. 

after multiple attempts of using the chalkboard and it constantly getting erased, i finally just gave up.

 11 months.

 10 months.

 9 months.

 8 months.

 7 months.

 6 months.

 5 months.

 4 months.

3 months.

 2 months.

 1 month.

birthday!!

September 3, 2015

two months.

on November 3, you turned 2 months old, easton! 

This month has been so very sweet. You have started smiling and cooing and interacting with us more! We are starting to see your sweet little personality peak through!

You love watching the mobile on your swing, "talking" while we change your diaper, & watching ceiling fans. 

We {hopefully} have your acid reflux figured out and that has been a true game changer--much less crying and much less pain for you! Praise the Lord!!

You weren't super pumped about being dressed up as a fisherman for your first Halloween. Hopefully that will change because your dad has big plans to take you fishing later on in your life!

We sure love you, big guy!!

one month.

easton, on october 3 you turned one month old! (yes, i'm a bit behind--it's been a busy month!).

your first month has been a joy-filled challenge. you have battled acid reflux this month and we have tried endless things to help you feel better. 

a lot of our month has looked like this...

it's hard to think of our lives before you got here! 

right now you really like looking at ceiling fans, eating all of the time, and being awake at all hours of the night. 

you HATE any and all swaddles & despise having your diaper and clothes changed.

you've been on several walks, taken your first bath, & like car rides.

and while at times this month has seemed like the longest of our lives, we know that the days are long and the years are short. and even though it's been a challenging month, we still think you're a keeper. 

it's ok to cry.

I've spent a lot of time thinking about how I want to recap the first month as a mom. Society wants me to post smiling pictures of a sweet baby in his stain-free outfit with a tag line that talks about how in love we are with our new addition and how we can't imagine life before he got here. And while yes, we are in love with our new baby, that's not the true picture of my first month into the vast ocean called motherhood. 

What those Facebook posts don't show is that the first month after having a baby is hard. It's messy and full of tears. It's painful and emotional. It's overwhelming and exhausting. What those perfectly posed pictures don't show are the tired eyes of new parents who aren't sure if they are doing any of this parenting stuff right. Or the nights of rocking and bouncing a newborn that has cried for {what feels like} days straight. 

In the middle of the night during a marathon feeding session, I stumbled onto a blog post titled "70 things I wish someone would have told me about pregnancy" (or something of the sort). This post covered everything from the joy you would feel, to the products you should have bought. But the one that stood out to me the most? "It's ok to cry". 

It's ok to cry. 

It's ok to cry because you didn't know you could love something so much. 

It's ok to cry because you feel overwhelmed and alone in the middle of the night. 

It's ok to cry because you feel so blessed by all of the people who want to come see your new baby. 

It's ok to cry when you feel overwhelmed by people coming to visit and you just want to hide out. 

It's ok to cry because you didn't think you could love the man you married any more until you see him as a dad. 

It's ok to cry because feeding your child is one of the most painful things you have ever done. 

It's ok to cry because feeding your child is one of the most beautiful things you have ever done. 

It's ok to cry because you feel like you might never get to leave your house again. 

It's ok to cry when you feel anxious just at the thought of leaving your house again. 

It's ok. 

I write all of this not to highlight the bad that comes with the first month of having a newborn, but to remind myself of how hard these times are. To remind myself that it's important to hold myself to a standard of grace, not perfection. And maybe, if you are a new mom and reading this, you will know that even though this first month feels so long, it will pass. And in the meantime, it's ok to cry. 

Easton Gregory Chandler

On September 3, Easton made his way into the world and our hearts at 8:44 PM! 

8lbs. 3oz. -- 19.5 inches

Easton's "birth story" is, thankfully, a fairly uneventful one. After learning that I had high blood pressure at our 38 week appointment, I was put on bed rest. The following Wednesday we went back in for our 39 week appointment and were met with the phrase, "what are you guys doing tonight--are you ready to have a baby?" My blood pressure was still high and was beginning to become a danger to the baby. It was determined that the best option at this point was to induce labor. Zach and I were excited, nervous, scared, and relieved all rolled together.  We left the clinic, made a very important pit stop for some Chick-fil-a, made phone calls to our family and friends, and headed back to the hospital. Wednesday night we relaxed in the hospital room  while they started medicine to "get things going".  Needless to say, not a lot of sleep happened that night!

Thursday morning we were greeted bright and early by the flipping on of lights by the anesthesiologist to give me my epidural. Shortly after, I was given pitocin to start the laboring process. From then on it was just a waiting game. All day we had a parade of friends and family coming in and out to see us. Thankfully, I wasn't in much pain and was able to interact with them throughout the day. 

At 7:00 we were told that it was time to start pushing. Zach prayed over us and we spent a few minutes realizing that that would be the last time that our family would be just us. At 8:44, Zach and I got to hear the first raspy cry of our sweet little boy! What an incredibly beautiful sound! We got to spend the next couple of hours soaking up our new addition and the fact that we were now a family of 3. Soon after, our families were let into the room so that they could love on him as well. 

We stayed in the hospital Thursday night and were able to come home late Friday night. 

What an overwhelmingly beautiful experience we had welcoming our sweet Easton into this world!

after a 4 year hiatus...

i stumbled onto an old blog post the other day and suddenly got a bit nostalgic. and then i realized that it has been 4 years (!!!!!) since i have written a post! wow! i have loved being able to look back over the posts that i have made and see how different i am now and reminisce about life back when these posts were published.

because let me tell you, life has changed just a bit!

since my last post....

zach and i got married (may 21, 2011).

i have completed 4 years of teaching 2nd grade and will start year 5 this friday!

we bought our first house in march of 2012.

we've added two fur-babies to the mix. maggie & riley. 

the past 4 years have been filled full of adventures, job changes, travels, family, and friends. but our greatest adventure will be here in just a few short weeks...

in just 5 weeks we will be adding a sweet baby boy to our family! we are so excited, nervous, anxious, and thrilled. 

i'm hoping to make these blog posts and bit more frequent (at least not 4 years apart!). i know that time is about to start moving even faster, and i want to be able to look back and remember the day-to-day celebrations and milestones. 

i have lots of sewing, classroom, and home projects to share as well! so watch out blogger-land--i'm back!