Introduction

To begin with, I am a 27 year old married woman who just received the best gift in the world, a son.  I now have a new tag to add to my title of "woman" and "wife," and that is "Mommy."  I am currently on maternity leave from work to take care of our new son, Liam, who is the light of my life.  He is a true gift, and I cannot believe that I created him.  I was telling my husband last night that I forgot being pregnant because it flew by so fast!  My husband and I truly feel that we created the cutest kid on the planet, and just sit and stare at him in amazement.

Liam is now 6 weeks old, and it is pure joy to watch him grow each day. He is still in newborn size diapers and clothes, so he is still little, but watching his brain development grow is what amazes me.  It was such a milestone to see him smile for the first time (even though I am sure it was caused by gas...) he now smiles on cue.  Granted, I turn into this bumbling wierdo, making faces, creating sounds that even I didn't know I was capable of making, and moving my hands all around his tiny body just to see his pudgy little face crack that 1000 watt smile, but it is so worth it!  I have now figured out that in order to make him smile, it requires both facial expression and tone of voice.  This morning was the first time that he cracked a huge grin when I peered into his bassinette.  In addition to his smiles, he has made a habit of watching me with his eyes.  It is so funny to watch him move those big blue eyes around the room to find me.  And when he does finally find me, he instantly calms himself down and is silenced.  It melts my heart!

All in all, life is wonderful!  I am my happiest self at this time in my life.  I have an amazing husband who is also my best friend.  I have an amazing son that rocks my world everyday.  I am able to be here, at home, and take care of my family and be the domestic goddess I have always wanted to be.  Being a stay-at-home mom has been my dream job ever since I was a young girl, and now my dream has come true!  I will have to return to work at the end of June, but that will allow me to have a solid 15 weeks off with Liam.  In addition to my wonderful homestead situation, I have an amazing family as well.  My parents live in Kansas and have been great resources, even from afar.  My mother stayed with me for the first 2 weeks of Liam's existence on this earth, and I am not sure how I would have survived without her here.  Due to the unlikely circumstance that I had to have a c-section because Liam was breech, I was not prepared to have had a "major surgery."  I was unable to be on my feet and do much, and my mother was able to step in and help me out, since my husband had to return to work.  My mother helped me establish a routine and assisted with laundry, cleaning, and cooking.  What a blessing that was!  When she left, my Grandmother stepped in, and was here for a week helping me out.  Again, what a blessing it was to have her love and support.  I have two sisters, both who are so special to me.  My older sister is a labor and delivery nurse at the University of Kentucky hospital, and has been an invaluable resource.  She was so knowledgeable of everything I experienced during my pregnancy, and was a great resource when my little man arrived.  She lives an hour away, and Liam and I have enjoyed spending day dates with her.  My younger sister lives 4 hours away in Akron, OH, and just had a little boy herself.  Our sons are 3 weeks apart!  It was wonderful to be pregnant with her, and now it's even more wonderful to be experiencing motherhood with her, especially since we are figuring everything out on our own!  We have been foturnate enough to have spent the past few weekends together.  I am so excited to embark on a roadtrip with my sisters in the next few weeks to visit my parents in Kansas.  Nothing like 3 sisters and 2 infants in a car for 12 hours driving across the country!  More to come on that adventure!

The title of this blog is, "Keeping in the Sunlight" because it is a motto I try to live my life by.  In college, when I was going through a rough time scholastically, I purchased a card at the university bookstore that had rays of sunshine on the front with the words "Keep in the Sunlight" in bold, black letters.  I instantly bought it, and kept it on my bulletin board in my room ever since.  I looked at that card every day, and it encouraged me to work through the difficult days, as well as the bright ones.  It was a cheery card, with bold yellow and goldenrod colors on the front.  I still have the card...hidden in a box somewhere in my closet.  I no longer need it out in the open to look at daily since I have the image of the card in my head at all times.  It is a great reminder of how I wish to live my life every day. 

Hopefully you will find this blog inspiring, humorous, insightful, and interesting.  I am excited to share my daily experiences with you...whether it is regarding Liam, my husband, work, or cooking dinner...whatever it may be...I hope you enjoy it!  Today is overcast, gray, and rainy, but that's no excuse to not keep in the sunlight (KITS)!!!! 

Jess