WW: Dream big.

So this has been popping up on Pinterest lately:



And, hello! I love it.

Sometimes, you kind of forget about "the dreams." As a stay at home mom where my attention is 100% Cooper (opportunity to put a really cute picture HERE)...

[caption id="attachment_829" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Cooper totally putting the Christmas tree to shame.[/caption]

and here...

[caption id="attachment_831" align="aligncenter" width="1536"] Precious boy- and can I get an amen on some more hair?[/caption]

... I can be especially forgetful of those things that I love to do. Pursuing a dream is right up there in the "putting yourself out there" realm and "possible failure." It's easier sometimes to do what is safe, what is known, and what gets you guaranteed success. In sum- what's easy.

Remember when you were little and your mom and dad always told you that you could be anything you wanted to be? I love that age when you start discovering what you like in life, what you enjoy doing that slowly turns into passion. When I was in elementary school I used to enter and sometimes win those creative writing contests. Remember those competitions? I loved writing poems and little stories...it was my creative outlet. I love to write. It would be my dream to one day write articles or freelance - things that people outside my facebook friends would read (thanks by the way y'all); or maybe one day...a book! It would be like Twilight (minus the story-line, NOT that I don't love it, obviously). I'd be the woman who randomly writes a book and it becomes a worldwide sensation. A girl can dream right?

"Look for the dream that keeps coming back. It is your destiny."

I wonder how many of us never pursue our dream? Or how much more fulfilled the people are who actively pursue their dream? When I read this quote it reminded me that we need to remember those passions that we have that bring us joy; remember our dream that is always in the back of our minds. Because who knows what could happen if we actually put ourselves out there? There is a 50-50 chance, you know, that we could make our dreams come true.

Is their a dream that keeps coming back for you?

Dreaming big out here in Denver...
Lauren

WW: Tonights take-away from the Style Network...

Tonight I spent the night husband-less so obviously I watched reality television. Tonight: Guiliana & Bill. They showed the birth of their child by a surrogate (which happened to be at the same hospital where we delivered) and the first few weeks at home. It was so special to watch!

The past couple of days I've been starting to think about Cooper's first birthday party, and tonight, I was reminded of his first few days here with us. Surreal. I mean he's almost one year old. Already.

[caption id="attachment_807" align="aligncenter" width="4272"] Cooper, Day One.[/caption]
It was funny reading my first blog entry about Cooper and now, 9-months later, I just can't imagine life without him in it.

Thinking back on his newborn days brought back lots of memories. Now, CLEARLY, I cherished every memory ever made with CPK during those first few weeks, but there are a few things that, well, I don't miss- like waking up every three hours and yellow poop...for starters. There's a switch that happens, or at least it happened for me, when you realize that life will never be the same. One of the first books I read to Cooper was when he was just a few days old was "I'll Love You Forever." Have you read it? A rookie mistake on my part and I was in tears by the second page. Life had new meaning.



"The moment a child is born, a mother is born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new." -Rajneesh

I love this quote. But if we take it literally than clearly we moms should have some training prior to our "mom-birth." 5 things I wish I'd known?

1. Buy the nap-nanny. It's worth it.
2. Have the breast pump handy by day 5. You'll need it. (Sorry boys).
3. Newborn pics? Don't need to take longer than an hour.
4. Those little "Peepee Teepees" DON'T work. Babies move y'all and teepees fall.
5. When people say "This too shall pass"...they mean it.

What'd I miss ladies??

From one day old to soon one YEAR old, this kid truly is the light of my life; and being his mom has been my greatest joy.

Health and hope,
Lauren