footprint art

i saw this cute art project on a blog and just had to do it. i know that years from now, when my baby isn't a baby anymore, that this will be such a treasure to me. i just love his little feet, even if they are clammy!

my life in instagram, starring rockwell

life with rockwell is kind of awesome. it is really hard sometimes, but really really great too. he is now 7 weeks old and smiling more and more. he doesn't really like tummy time, but he is super strong. he pulls his neck up and kicks his legs a ton. he is eating like a champ and although i haven't weighed him, the fact that he is in 3 month clothes and size 2 diapers reassures me that he is gaining the proper amount of weight. he is occasionally gassy/fussy, but for the most part he is a really good kid. we have been blessed with a few good blowouts, which is just how it goes with little babies. he usually takes a nice big afternoon nap and sleeps in 3-4 hour chunks. the last couple nights he has slept 6 hours in a row, which obviously i am thrilled about. having uninterrupted sleep for longer than 2 hours is amazing! i cannot believe how good it feels. i think i just forgot what it was like to actually get the proper rest my body needs. so thank you son, you are an angel!

basically we are in love love love with this little boy. he is the center of our universe, just as he should be. everyday we get better and better at being a family and figuring each other out. this parenthood thing really is a wild and crazy ride, but i would not trade it for anything in the world!

a few pictures from instagram as of late...

rockwell meets brooks

these cute boys are exactly 4 weeks apart in age. my sweet cousin shira had her third baby a month after i had my first. i didn't know if we were going to get to have kids the same age and i am so happy that it worked out for our boys to be so close. i cannot wait to see these boys grow up together and be best buds! we love the dicksons!!!

mister sunshine

rockwell is our world. we love him so much and are so thankful for the joy he brings to our family. we are a little family of three now and we are pretty happy about it. we were gifted this adorable onesie at our baby shower and i just couldn't resist taking some pictures of him in it with his shades! he is really the sunshine in our lives. when i go get him out of his crib, even if he's crying, i am happy to see him. and sometimes, after he's done eating and just about to fall asleep he smiles a perfect little smile. it melts me. i cannot wait for a month or two from now when he can smile at me on purpose, and his laugh, i cannot WAIT to see what that sounds like! even though the newborn stage is really tough while we all figure everything out, it really is special. and there are SO many more amazing things to look forward to.
the future is bright folks!

one month

this boy is one month old today! i am so grateful to my heavenly father for trusting me with this precious spirit. rockwell is the perfect addition to our family and i cannot imagine what life would be like without him. i am so tired sometimes and i cannot wait for the day when i sleep for 6 hours straight,  but the perfect moments with rockwell in my arms are priceless and irreplaceable. this last month of our lives have been a whirlwind and a joy.
today especially i remember this post i wrote years ago. today i rocked my baby to sleep as the breeze came through the window. i remember longing for the very moments i am experiencing so often these days. i need to remember that when things get hard. i waited years and years to become a mother and i am so blessed to be in this place with tyler and rockwell.
we are a family. i have a son. we are healthy. the sun is shining. life is good.

happy fourth

our fourth of july was so great this year. we had a low key morning and headed out to spend time with the rex's in the afternoon. we ended up at the park and got to visit with family and some good friends. rockwell did great, got a little fussy just before the fireworks started, but ended up falling asleep and sleeping through all the noise. it was so nice to sit on the grass next to tyler while cuddling my sweet son and watch the fireworks show. last year for the fourth we were at the rex reunion in utah, it was raining, we didn't watch any fireworks and i was still recovering from my miscarriage. my how a year can change things. if only you could have seen my grin tonight as i looked into the sky and watched those fireworks light up the california sky. i was a happy, happy girl.

happy birthday america, i really love you!

oh and how cute is rockwell in his little (3 month size!!!) patriotic outfit? thanks aunt julia for giving it to us! it was perfect!!!

father's day

i bought tyler this onesie for his birthday this year. i was so excited to put rockwell in it for tyler's first father's day! i love my boys. they are the cutest! father's day was nice and low key this year. tyler's dad came over and visited with us for a little while and we gave him his gift, we went on a walk with my dad and then had dinner with my family. it was nice to have company and to spend some time outside of the house and get some fresh air.
to see tyler take on the role of father has been really amazing. he is so good with rockwell and i love watching them together. sometimes parenthood is hard and we get tired and frustrated, but we love our son and he makes us so happy. we talk about how cute he is and how we can't wait for him to grow up and see what his personality is like. each day we try to do something outside the house and most of the time we can. for the most part it's been really great. for now, we are all just figuring each other out and loving it.