Motherly Advice {When is the right time?}

New Weekly Post.

Since the moment Kaden and I thought we were ready to have a baby I decided to devote my time to figuring out how to be the best mom possible.

Right now it seems like everyone I know is pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or just having a baby. So I figured why not pass on a few of the things I've learned so far. I am definitely not an expert in any way, but why not share what I've learned?

I have carefully been considering what to start with for this post. It thought maybe breast feeding or staying healthy as a new mom. Instead I've decided to write about when the right time to have a baby is.

Nearly four years ago now Kaden and I were just married, living in a metal shop, and figuring out how to live with the opposite sex. At that point we swore we wouldn't have kids until we had been married for at least 2 years. We both knew we needed time to grow up, and strengthen our relationship. A year into our marriage we found ourselves jobless students living in a trailer. Around that time I was asked by my new doctor why I was on birth control. She said it would be hard enough for me to conceive with how often I was able to ovulate. I was in shock. I never considered that getting pregnant could be hard. Without a second thought I gave up my birth control and decided to leave it up to God to decide when we were meant to have a baby. Looking back now I realize how crazy that was. (We were so poor and just beginning to decide what we wanted to do with our lives). A few months later, after buying a house and finding a couple of low paying jobs we decided if we got pregnant soon it would be perfect for our plan.

It didn't take much for Kaden and I to know when the right time was. We pretty much just needed to realize we may not have time. Here are a few other things we felt like we needed to accomplish before having a baby.

We needed to
spend a lot of time together.
have a strong and loving marriage.
be in our own place.
And be financially stable.

Here is what didn't stop us from deciding we were ready,
we were both students (still are),
We didn't have insurance,
And we still both had low paying jobs.

One thing we heard a lot from people is that there is never a perfect time to have a baby. It's true in a way but I would rather say when you get pregnant is the perfect time. Deciding "when" is very personal and is different for everyone. It is a decision that should be made between you, your husband, and Heavenly Father. Kaden and I prayed every night to know "when" was best. Having a baby is one of the most spiritual things I have ever done and I encourage everyone to see it that way. I also encourage everyone to keep in mind that sometimes "when" isn't always up to us.

So to sum it up. You and your partner are the only ones who know when the right time to start trying to have a baby is. You and The Lord are the only ones who know whether or not you are capable of being parents. It's not a decision to be taken lightly, but with lots of prayer and contemplation  It is a decision that varies with everyone. Some people are ready as soon as they are married, some after they are finished with grad school and have a stable job, some people might be somewhere in between.

I'd love to hear what helped you decide when the right time was. So feel free to comment and follow.

Another Semester Begins

January 1- 10

Lived

Kaden is a student, again! He started his first semester off by diving strait into anatomy, psycho social athletics, and the rest of his generals. I am so proud of him and so glad i am able to take a breather semester and cheer him on!

Leighton is still not walking but she is managing to get into ev-ery- thing! She also has her second ear infection. Poor girl.

We've been dreaming of warmer days. It has been in the negatives here and never higher than 20 as far as i can remember for the past few weeks. It is freezing, and even with the sun shining the snow doesn't leave. I feel like it is one of those bitter winters. We are stocking up on Vitamin D and i may need to get a few tans in.

Sarah and I tried to take outfit of the day photos for instagram. It was quite the experience. We may need to take some lessons before we try this again, and we wont be using our iphones.

Learned

I'm actually not going to graduate in the spring. I will start school again this summer. And I will take this time to build up my photography business.

Building a website is not easy! I finally paid someone to do it for me. I will launch sweetwishesphoto.com on Wednesday.

"No spend months" are not for us. We lasted 11 days and then gave up. Luckily we did save a little in that 11 days.

Loved

Finding this at Bulloch Drug. I can not wait for our anniversary. We have almost been married for 4 years.

Watching Leighton move into a new stage of learning. Honestly this girl spear teachable at the moment. She started crawling down the stairs, the next day she started stepping down them. She waves goodbye, and says all done in baby sign language.

I love these two. They are a little team of micheouf. They follow each other, play together, and love each other.

New Year Resolutions

This year I decided to write my New Years resolutions a little differently. Usually Kaden and I sit down and write out specific goals that fill categories, for example: health, financial, spiritual, relationship, you get the picture. This year we decided to simplify and here they are.

Thank God

Love More

Serve others

Play hard

Be healthy

Spend less

Live better

Be happy

Here's to a great year. 2012 was very good to us but we can't wait to see what 2013 has in store.

Winter Break

December 20- December 31

Lived

- To start off I forgot to mention Leightons trip to the ER in my last post. It was so sad seeing her sick but it really was so sweet too. She is such a lover when she doesn't feel well. We took her in because she had such a high fever and luckily it was just an ear infection. Poor girl is on for it, Kaden and I both have always had them.

 

- Leighton, Tiffany and I packed up and headed to the Valley while Kaden and Sarah were in the Dominican Republic. Most of my time was spent working and Leighton kept busy playing.

Leighton is quite the little helper.

- We were so excited for Kaden to get home that I took Leighton with me to pick him up. Even at 11:30 at night Leighton lit up when she saw him.

- Christmas was perfect. Having Leighton here to celebrate the holidays made them feel more special than ever. She completes our family and fills our hearts with more love than I could have ever imagined. Of course we were all spoiled this year (like always). I got an iPad and a camera bag. Kaden got a laptop and a camera and Leighton got tons of toys and lots of clothes.

Leighton loves her uncle Luke,

all of her new toys,

and catching up on sleep.

- We were so lucky to spend the night with Camille and Alex in Las Vegas. We hadn't seen them since the wedding and enjoyed catching up. We ate yummy food, stayed in amazing rooms and caught up on each others lives.

best chocolates ever! Thank you Alex and Camille!

-Cami and Alex's wedding was featured on OnceWed and pinned by Nordstrom. How cool is that!?

- Kaden had to work New Years eve and I was scheduled to do some photos in the valley so Leighton and i  packed up once again for a quick trip. My session was canceled so we ended up spending the afternoon with my sisters and mom. It was nice to get out of the house and do something. We went to the movies and saw Parental Guidance. It was a pretty funny and cute movie and Leighton sat through almost the entire thing. The best part was how cool we were before the movie. We tend to embarrass my mom.

We were trying to prove to Katie that we could kick as high as her face. Sarah looks like quite the bad A. 

{Best part is when sarah said post that and say coming to a theater near you. I almost died laughing because we were actually in a movie theater. She didnt get it.}

Learned

- I found out that I can graduate in the spring. Uh to be done with school or continue with another year? That is my debate at the moment. I am pretty sure that I will be officially graduating this May.

- In the past couple of weeks I learned that a week away from Kaden is way too long, Leighton is growing up way too fast, and I am looking forward to all of the adventures that next year holds. This past year I learned so much that i don't even know where to begin. I have learned what it is to love, to be a mother and to really be busy. I think i will write a  post just for the new year though so i wont go into much detail.

Loved

- I loved visiting sweet baby Mia the day after she was born. Holding a baby fresh from heaven really is a spiritual experience. Courtney and Eric were so sweet to invite me to the hospital to see their beautiful daughter. Taking Mia's pictures made me melt. I hope that I will have the opportunity to do more newborn pictures and that I can start doing birth sessions too.

photos by me Sweet Wishes Photography

- I loved welcoming Kaden home from the Dominican, listening to his stories about his trip, and watching him play with Leighton. I loved celebrating Christmas with our families and enjoying Leighton's first holidays. So many sweet moments were shared between Kaden, Leighton and I. It is amazing how beautiful life really is right now. Some times i sit in awe of how truly blessed i am and wonder what i ever did to deserve such a charmed life.