Cha-cha-cha-changes!

Oh me, oh my!  It has been an extremely long time since my last post, almost a year in fact!  A lot has happened since my last post.  I ended up experiencing a difficult pregnancy, almost delivering 11 weeks early, but thankfully in the end only delivering 6 weeks early.  Luckily my little girl is a strong trooper and only spent 9 days in the NICU.  Granted, those were the longest 9 days of my life.

Born 6 weeks early at 4lbs 7oz

Adjusting to life as a mom hasn't been easy.  I love my baby more than I can possibly express and being her mom is the most rewarding thing I've ever done.  However, I'm exhausted, and learning how to balance work and baby while maintaining my sanity hasn't been easy.  I'm still working everyday to find the right balance.

Her first week home

I've also been struggling with post partum depression since I returned to work.  While I am realizing I'm really one of those moms that does need work to fulfill myself, being away from my daughter hasn't been an easy adjustment for me.  I miss her during the day, and returning to work had a severely negative impact on my ability to breastfeed and even produce breast milk with pumping.  We made it 4 months feeding her only breast milk, and now at almost 7 months my ability to produce anything is really tapering off.  This was hard to accept at first, buying that first can of formula was a very emotional experience, but I now realize that my girl is growing and thriving and so it's ok that she is primarily formula fed now.

1 month old, also Christmas Eve

And, as if having a baby weren't change enough, my husband and I have decided that in the best interest of our family, it is time for us to pack up and move across the country to a city that we feel will provide Ramona with the most positive environment for growing up.  This is still in the works, so no full details yet, but each day we are getting closer to a definite moving date, a definite job situation, and a definite living situation.

4 Months Old

So yes, there have been numerous changes in the past year.  I miss this blog oh so much, and I really can't promise how frequently I will be able to post in the future, but I do hope to continue some posts.  Depending on how today goes there may even be a few additional posts coming (I'm currently taking care a sick baby in need of lots of sleep).  For those of you who have continued to come to this blog, thank you!  I know it can be frustrating when you find a blog you enjoy, and then suddenly the posts just stop coming.

6 Months Old

Transitions

Hi everyone! I know, I know, it's been almost an entire month since the last post. Life has been insanely hectic, and I will be honest it's not going to slow down much in the coming weeks. Some good news is that my photography business has had a tremendous start. The support and encouragement from everyone has been more than I could have dreamed of. I've also already surpassed my super low ball goal for the first year, so things can only go up from here. As a result my free time is currently full of sessions and editing, not much time for blogging. In addition, I don't have many new projects to share right now because my apartment is full of moving boxes! Yup, my husband and I are moving into a new apartment soon!

Now we're not cool enough to be buying something, and we're not moving across country or anything, in fact we're only moving 5 floors, but we will have a bigger space! So for now DIYing is on hold, HOWEVER this means I will soon have a whole new space to decorate! I fully intend to get back on the DIY train after the move which will hopefully get me back on the blogging train.

I don't want to make promises I can't keep, so all I will say is that the blog isn't dead, but posting will be sporadic for a little longer. I will also add that with all of the transitions happening in my life, professionally and living space wise, the tone of the blog might shift a little. I'm in a much more DIY, artsy, decorating frame of mind these days so don't be surprised to see more content along those lines when I do post. Thank you for those who continue to read and bare with me while I learn to juggle so many things. And here are a few iPhone photos to share some things I've been up to over the last month (and yes, some formatting is wonky here, but that's blogger sometimes).

Getting some inspiration and brainstorming ideas for some upcoming photo sessions with a cute new notebook from Paper Source

I might be 29 years old, but I still love to dye Easter eggs

 

After some brainstorming I finally figured out some packaging and branding for the photography business. 





My new favorite magazine, Click, check it out










Editing some lovely, sweet newborn photos





Continuing my knitting and crochet hobbies when time permits