One!

My baby is ONE! one? No way. No how. How on earth did this year just flash before my eyes. This boy is beyond amazing and I cannot really describe in words just how much I love him. He is my day and my night and everything in-between. I feel blessed everyday that he is MINE forever. I know everyone says that and it is super cliche, but its just how I feel. He is my world and I couldn't feel happier about it!

Here are some of my favorites from his 1 year photo shoot. I love his cute little personality.

celebrating my first mother's day

it was a lovely day! tyler made the bed, cooked a delicious brunch, got me gorgeous flowers and rockwell was adorable, as always. we also got to celebrate with my mom and she loved her gifts! it's so fun to get her grandma gifts now. i love watching her be a grandma to rockwell. he loves her so much and it makes my heart so happy. happy mother's day to all the mothers out there! there are so many wonderful women who have blessed my life, i wouldn't be the person i am today without the help of so many talented women!

 love my boy. so glad he made me a mama!

 so glad i got to celebrate with my mom and sister! we missed kimberly though!

and danielle & greg made chocolate lava cakes for dessert, SO yummy!

mother's day

from the moment i saw the positive pregnancy test i became a mother. i fell in love with my baby. then i met him and that love grew. each and everyday i wake up to his prefect little face and my love for him grows even more. i love laughing with him, smiling with him and experiencing life with him. he is such a sweet boy and i feel so blessed to be his mother. rockwell, i love you. thank you for choosing me to be your mama. i am the luckiest girl in the world!

i have days where i feel like i don't measure up. i feel a heavy burden to be the best version of myself so that rockwell can learn good things from me and sometimes i fall short. luckily, rockwell loves me no matter what and i can repent, try again and improve. i want to do my Heavenly Father proud and raise a good son. i want to do my best in this role as a mother, this sacred calling that i have been given. i know that this is what i was meant to be doing. i know that rockwell was meant to be mine. he is such a blessing. he is such a joy. he is my world. my light. my everything.

tonight i nursed him as he fell asleep in my arms. i held him a little bit longer tonight, thinking about how much i cherish the opportunity i have to be his mama. the fact that Heavenly Father has blessed me with this sweet spirit weighs heavily on my heart. it is the reason i exist. i love it. it makes me so happy.

thank you rockwell for choosing me. i will always do my best for you. i love you with all my heart.

eleven months

eleven months. one month away from ONE year. i can hardly believe it. tyler and i have decided that this has been the fastest year of our lives. life with rockwell has truly been amazing and i can hardly remember life before him. he is our world. when all three of us are together, life just feels right. somehow we're all a little happier... and i love it. i feel so privileged to be rockwell's mama. i feel so blessed to have been given a son that is so happy and fun loving. he is always happier when we're outside and he loves people, especially kids. he is totally in his element when there are other littles to play with. i'm hoping that he will be the kid that is friends with everyone and accepts and loves others willingly. it probably sounds cliche, but i really feel like rockwell is a special boy and that he will do wonderful things throughout his life. i feel honored to get to play a small part in his journey through life.

some things i want to remember about him right now...

• Makes the hand motions for popcorn popping
• Thinks high fives are hilarious
• Crawls... fast
• Eats blueberries, watermelon, bananas, cheerios, puffs, bread, noodles
• Also eats puréed food still, sometimes 4 servings in one sitting
• Nurses first thing in the morning, before naps and bedtime
• Got his two front teeth!
• Loves being outside
• If he's grumpy, feed him
• Loves pushing with his walking toy
• Pulls up and stands next to chairs, tables and even started reaching the door knobs. Luckily he can't turn them and open the doors yet.
• Climbs up onto the couch 
• Loves soft blankets. Now when I rock him to bed I put one on him and he loves it!
• Pushes his toy cars around the house. So cute.
• Sleeps through the night around 7-8 PM to 6-7 AM

We love you sweet Rockwell! 

10 months with my sunshine boy

This boy is 10 months old! Man time is such a thief. I can't really express just how much I love this baby boy of mine. He is so happy and social and active... he is keeping us on our toes for sure. He loves to explore and to be outside. Whenever he sees young kids or babies he gets super excited and then those eyebrows raise. He truly is such a joy and we love being around our boy. It's so fun to go out and about together as a family. We really love being together and it makes me really happy.

Some things to remember about Rockwell right now...

• Crawls all over the place

• Follows me around the house, I can hear him crawling down the hall when I walk away

• Likes to play with all his toys and anything else he can reach

• Has started to explore the kitchen cabinets more as of late

• Has some weird obsession with knocking over trash cans

• Still puts most things in his mouth, especially paper and cell phones

• Likes to eat pureed foods and recently has tried blueberries, bananas and black beans

• Baby babbling a lot more

• Tilts his head to the side and smiles. He kills me. 

• Sleeps through the night now. Usually. 

• Wearing 12 month shirts and 6 month bottoms. Long and lean. 

• Nurses in the morning, before his morning and afternoon naps and bedtime

• Loves to munch on puffs

• Still just has his two bottom teeth, but I think the two front teeth are coming soon

Melts my heart and makes me laugh every single day. He is my angel baby and I love him so dang much it hurts sometimes. He really is like a ray of sunshine, brightening up my days. I am so in love with him and I am so blessed to have him in my life!

We went to San Clemente to visit the Dickson Family and snapped these cute pics at the baby beach. It was Rockwell's first time crawling in the sand and of course, he touched it and put his hands right into his mouth. And so begins the sand eating... a rite of passage for every California baby. Honestly, it made me really excited for summer and lots and lots of beach days!

9 months

Rockwell is 9 months old and he is changing so fast. I get emotional thinking about how he is becoming less and less dependent on me. It makes me sad that he is so close to walking and so close to being a toddler. I can see my baby fading away and a little boy emerging. He pulls himself up on the furniture and even started sleeping through the night this last week. It's weird that something that I have looked forward to for the last nine months, is making me sad. But the fact that he needed me, even if it was at 4 am, made me happy. I was happy to get up and have that quiet time with my sweet baby. Just the two of us, quiet, calm and cuddly. I loved it. That time that I nurse him is our special bonding time. It's so peaceful and I'm really going to miss it when he's done nursing. Hopefully we'll make it to a year. 

And here are a few things that I want to remember about him at this age...

He crawls all over the place!

Just this past week he started standing up in his crib and all the other furniture. 

He's got the puff eating down now and we'll probably start him on ground meats soon. When he grabs the puffs he concentrates so hard and grabs them with his pointer finger and thumb. It's actually made eating out with him way easier. It keeps him entertained while we eat!

Now that he's mobile he is into EVERYTHING within his reach. 

He loves to laugh and smile. 

Still nurses at nap times, bed time and once in the early morning when he first wakes up. 

He loves being outside. He babbles the whole time and is super observant while we're out on walks. 

When he gets fussy a change of scenery is usually a quick fix. 

Anything he can grab goes into his mouth. He especially enjoys shoes and furniture. We call him our little puppy. The other day he got my wallet out of the diaper bag and ate one of my chick fil a coupon. 

Sometimes, when he does something that could hurt him, I get stern with him and he smiles and giggles at me. He is always reminding me to worry less, be more patient and love more. I am so blessed to have him as my son. He has taught me so much and he loves me so well. When I walk into the house and he smiles and starts crawling towards me it makes me so happy. I am so glad that I get to spend my days with him. To be his mother has been the most challenging and most rewarding time of my life. I am thankful for everyday, even the hard ones, because I know that I am doing God's work on the earth. I am blessed to have the chance to raise this perfect little boy. I pray every day that I can do my best to teach him and love him as best I can. 

His 9 month stats:

Length: 30 inches (97%)

Weight: 20 lbs 13.5 oz (71%)

Head Circumference: 17.9 inches (65%)

 

grandma time

i just wanted to remember these cute moments before the clausen's moved. it was so much fun watching my mom with her two grand babies. so much love. :)