FIVE MONTHS...you have got to be kidding me!!

The morning of Waylon's birth was one of the most unimaginable times of my life.  I will never forget being in the bathroom (sitting on a patio chair) curling my hair and cutting Derrick's hair in between contractions.  (We had to look good if it was D Day and in case it wasn't...I didn't want to look like the little mommy who cried wolf!)  I remember the look in Derrick's eyes right after Dr. Maly told us that I was in labor.  Derrick just looked at me and said, "We are going to have a baby today!"  It was magical! 

If I had only known then how many more moments we were going to have that were going to forever stay in my memory.  Like our second hellish night in the hospital, when Derrick and I had been up for hours...not due to Waylon...due to the absolutely awful hospital noises and desk right across the hall....we sat in the hospital room and gabbed for hours, reliving the birth of Waylon instead of finally getting some sleep.  Looking back, I am pretty sure we were delirious but it really was one of the best memories I have ever with my husband.

Now, August 9, 2010, our little baby boy is five months old!!  He weighs 21 pounds and is 27+ inches tall.  He has a laugh that melts my heart and when he looks up at me with those beautiful eyes in the morning, I feel like the luckiest woman in the world.  His personality is just like him... growing every minute.   He is is inquisitive, fast, independent, always hungry and STRONG! Call it a mother's intuition...but I have a feeling, this little man is going to be keeping us on our toes! He is getting pretty good at sitting up by himself and is SUPER close to crawling. He loves his workbench toy,

swimming,

carrots and his Tahoe Tesse dinosaur.  He has made our family complete! We just love him!

It is amazing what having a baby does to you.  As a wife, I have fallen in more deeply in love with my husband.  He is such a fabulous father and Waylon truly adores him. 

I am so lucky to have a husband who loves us and puts us before anything else.  He helps with making Waylon's food, bath time, bed time, and most importantly...snuggle time. The Lord really gave me a man who not only makes me a better person but who will raise our son to be a good, Godly, strong man. 

One of my favorite things that the three of us do these day is play on the floor together when Daddy gets home from work.  Waylon has been working on his tummy time but will do a lot more of it if we are down there with him.  Most afternoons, we lay a sheet down on the floor and the three of us lay around.  Derrick and I catch up on what happened during the day and plan dinner while Waylon impresses us by holding his head up, rolling around, and most recently, almost crawling.  We tickle and kiss Waylon and listen to him babble about his day!  It seriously is precious.  Waylon recently has found his tongue and ear and toes (and something else in the bath tub ).  The other day Derrick and Waylon were sticking their tongues out at each other and grabbing each other's tongues. 

Of course I snapped a shot!! These silly and fun moments seriously take my breath away sometimes.  It is funny how the simplest things are really the best moments of my life.  WOW, LIFE HAS CHANGED!  These are the moments I have always dreamed of and never want to end.  I didn't even know I was capable of so much love.  EEEK...I get teary eyed just thinking about it.

It is true that being a mother does change you.  I am sure that it effects everyone differently.  For me, it is empowering.  Let me clarify, I know that obviously millions and billions of woman have been a mother, but for me, it has taught me so much about my strengths and abilities.  I have grown so incredibly much as a person it is unreal.  I am much more aware of who I am and what I want then even before.  I think it has forced me to see things more clearly and really focus on what is important.  While being pregnant, I learned that EVERYONE has an opinion and EVERYONE has advice about EVERY little thing about your pregnancy and how to raise a baby.  But through the last five months with Waylon (our Ginnie Pig baby) I have learned that while Derrick and I aren't near the perfect parents, we have to do things our way and trust our guts on what is best for our sons. 

For instance, I'm glad we ignored the unapproving looks and reactions to letting Waylon sleeps with us.  It was fabulous in helping us adjust and bond with Waylon.  Plus at nine weeks, he was sleeping in his own crib and then at ten weeks he was sleeping through the whole night ... all without any tears.  I guess I learned, Derrick and I really don't believe in the "cry it out" method.

And just for the record, YES, we do pick up Waylon every time he cries and no we don’t think it is spoiling him. We're his Mommy and Daddy, that’s our job…to be there for him when he needs us.  I am not going to ignore him when he is 5, 15, or 30 if he is crying...so I'm not going to do it now either.

We are on a pretty strict schedule over here too.  Now, all that know me should not be the least bit surprised by this.  I plan everything, and I plan it all with tons of time to spare.  I will be the first to admit that it isn't always convenient for everyone, especially us, but Derrick and I pretty much revolve our lives around Waylon.  Him and his needs always come first.  Call me old fashion, but I believe that is the way it should be. 

Other things I have done for him that I am well aware that other's do not approve of but I stand by, I put rice in his bottle at five weeks to keep him full, I get him every pair of shoes I can find so we always have a pair to match his totally cool outfits (even though he is a boy...he still needs to look sharp), oh and I bought the coolest (and most expensive) walker probably ever made!  He loves it and well...it is a good thing he is worth it. 
I am honestly so proud of my son we are raising and the family God has given me.  While our house isn't always clean and we eat frozen dinners more than I care to admit...I think we are finally starting to get a hang of things as a family!  Yes, this is great news but a huge change is right around the corner...Mommy Pearce becomes a Working Mommy. :(