The Last Half of 2020

Can you believe it’s already 2021? We didn’t think it would come soon enough but here we are…in a new year. The start of 2020 was short lived…having gone three months into and the world faced the challenge of living in a pandemic. Not much has changed being in the first week of January in this new year. Like we still don’t really know what’s going to happen.

Some days were really hard, feeling trapped and having to worry if running errands at the grocery store was safe but at the end of the day we knew we had to learn to live in a new way despite the world’s circumstances. We didn’t face 2020 without any heartache as I know so many of you faced the same. In March my Grandpa passed and in late summer we lost a dear friend which till today still breaks my heart. But you know what? As hard as 2020 was, there was a lot of good that came out of it. Yes, that’s right. For us, our family of three became a family of four and we welcomed our sweet baby boy Brayden. Having to stay home with this sweet new addition made the ordinary days more magical. I seriously don’t think I have enough photos of him yet I catch myself adding up the roll of films that need to be sent off and I’m like, maybe that is too much?? But hey why not?

Labor and delivery was not what I expected. It was definitely nothing compared to Jordan’s easy and fast delivery. I know that no two pregnancy and no two deliveries are ever the same but I really had expected at least an uneventful experience. To keep a long story short, lets just say my delivery experience included two blood transfusion for mama and the NICU team on deck for Brayden. BUT thank God that Brayden did not need to be in NICU. Since our experience was quite the event I didn’t really have a chance to photograph Brayden on his first day. I was able to grab a photo by day three. I could have taken more by then but Brayden had to stay under the photo light at all times unless during feeding so I had to sneak a few shots in. We got home by day five but I was so worn out I didn’t photograph him again until the next day.

2020 gave us a lot of time… to be at home! The last six months have been very precious to me. While I wish we could have gone out more I truly believe that being at home gave me the kind of time that I’ll always look back on and say I’m glad I was able to be home and spend it snuggling with my sweet Brayden. The baby stage does not last long at all. I mean look at us…we’ve got a six month old who is trying to crawl and grab everything! I just want to hang on to every sweet moment and savor it up. I want to cuddle and snuggle for as long as I can. I want to feel his soft touch and hear his sweet coos for as long as I can. A year does go by quickly. It won’t be too long before I have a walking one year old. And I’m so so glad I have this collection of our everyday ‘magic’.

I loved our first time taking Brayden on a hike. We stayed close to home and did one of the easy trails at Stone Mountain Park. We didn’t finish the first time but we got back out maybe a month later and finished it then! It wasn’t because Brayden didn’t do well. He actually loves being outdoors. It was more so cause mama here couldn’t keep up lol.

Most days we were trying to catch up on sleep so when baby napped, one of us napped. Guess who got to nap?

Brayden took his first cabin trip in October! He slept terribly but we had a great time up in Blue Ridge Georgia.

Once in a while Brayden sits in the office with us. He doesn’t help but he sure is cute!

We did a four month session with my friend Rachel and got some of the sweetest Mommy and Me photos. I love them so much and I adore the fox romper! My sweet Brayden is too cute in it!

Somewhere between four and five months my little man started to rollover. We also got him a standing bouncer which he loves spending time in.

We’ve also hit the stage where Brayden wants everything in his mouth. So when I’m holding something in the other hand, he goes for it! With his mouth wide open or lips puckered.

December was a fun month for us. I got to bake Brayden donuts and did a stack cake for his half birthday! He actually loved it but his cousin Princeton scared him a bit when he kept yelling about the donut cake then yelling “Don’t cry” when Brayden started crying. Of course, that always makes baby cry even more. After we calmed down Brayden was super intrigue at the colorful round pastry in front of him. Pretty sure he was wondering why this was placed before him if he wasn’t going to be able to eat it lol. Instead he watched Princeton pick off all the sprinkles.

Our recent adventure at home right now is meal time. We’ve introduced purees and his favorite is green beans. Brayden is also learning some independency cause this little guy already wants to feed himself!

I just can’t believe I have a six month old! I know it’s cliche to say so but time really does go by so fast! I hope to keep up with documenting the ordinary days being at home with my sweet baby. It’s the ordinary days that make the most precious memories. Baby’s first year is such an exciting one. It’s also a quick one. Crazy as it may sound but 2020 has made it possible to be home more and I cherish it so much!