every superhero needs a sidekick.

You guys - I am so so grateful that Luca takes a pacifier. I honestly don't know how I (or he) would function otherwise.

My sweet little dude got his 6 month shots yesterday (we are a few weeks behind schedule haha) and they didn't really cause too much pain until we came home an hour or so later (because errands). HOLY COW. He never really cries, he just whimpers and whines when he's tired, but not ever a serious cry - that all changed yesterday. He had an intense cry a few hours after, and then again at bed time. Thank heavens for Tylenol! It's so so awful to see your baby in pain. 

Back to pacifiers. They are one of my baby's favorite things. They instantly calm him! We always have one close by especially when we are on the go (preparation is key). 

I've always been a big fan of pacifier clips because without them, Luca's pacifiers would not stick around. The only thing I hate about them is that the leash would somehow make its way to the back of Luca's head making it super uncomfortable for him and hard for me to reach (while riding shotgun)! 

When Soother Sidekicks contacted me about trying their product, I was so thrilled! All of my pacifier problems solved!! This leash is more of a toy for Luca than a leash. It stretches out but then retracts and stays close enough so that Luca or I can reach it. Luca loves pulling at it and seeing it go back into place, that alone is enough to keep him entertained. 

We ordered the ocean stripes sidekick, since Ben and I are obsessed with all things ocean. 

As for whether I recommend this product- I definitely do!! First of all- this is a necessity for us. It keeps Luca from throwing his paci around and keeps me sane during those times when he really needs it. It never gets stuck on the back of his head, and to top it all off - it's fun! He loves it! They definitely have two happy customers right here (Mama & baby). 

If you hope to snag a Soother Sidekick to try - enter the giveaway on my Instagram! (: 

oh the places you'll go

My baby is growing too fast. I was editing some photos and (this happens every time) I was blown away by how small he used to be!

These past six months have been such a huge life change for our whole little family, and some days I feel like I'm on this wild & crazy ride that refuses to slow down. I have so many sweet moments with Luca where I pause and think to myself - "Remember this moment. Remember his little hands and his darling smile. Remember how he gives kisses with his mouth wide open (and finds it hilarious). Remember how excited he gets when he sees you in the morning and when his dad gets home at night." I know it's highly unlikely that I will forget, but time is going so fast and I don't want to miss a thing.

Like every other mom, I want what's best for my baby. I only hope that he can avoid the speed bumps I had to go over when I was growing up! I want him to know he can accomplish anything that he sets his mind to. That he always has his number 1 cheerleader at home with him!

When I found this cute shirt from The Blue Envelope, I fell in love. "Oh the Places You'll Go," one of my absolute favorites from Dr. Seuss. 

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself 

any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

Words of the wise. You can teach your babies as much as possible, but in the end they will choose where they soar! I only hope that I steer Luca in the right direction. (:

As I said before, I adore this cute raglan and the v-neck I got for myself too! I'm a sucker for cute baby gear (much to my husband's dismay), especially when they include text from one of my favorites!

this is not a drill

You guys. Luca has been here for HALF OF A YEAR. That's right, he has hit his six month marker and I am without words (though not completely, as I haven't stopped typing). I HAVE A SIX MONTH OLD. Mind is blown. There are times when I feel like I am still a teenager (even though 30 is coming quicker than I care to admit), and other times where I feel like I have always been a mom. I'm sure that will all equal itself out one day - right?

Anyway, back to Luca. He has a huge and adorable personality. I know everyone says this - but it is SO HARD for me to imagine what life was like before him.

I am a working mama - which I admit is not always easy. Luckily my little guy has a way of entertaining himself. He oftentimes gets transitioned from one play station to the next throughout the day (with Mom taking breaks here and there to read to him, feed him, kiss him a gazillion times, change his diapers and put him to sleep). He has his swing station - which is usually the go-to when he gets to watch his episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Baby Einstein. Then there is his play gym where he somehow spins around on his back or his side and gets to whichever hanging baby toy is his favorite (this changes daily). Then he has his jumper, which can only be used in our bedroom. He could jump around in there for hours. Lastly, for those days when he just wants to see his mama all of the time, he gets the high chair or Bumbo! The Bumbo fits quite nicely on our desk and he likes to just sit there and look around.

Our little guy is a talker. He has been since about month two. I like to call his talking 'yelling happily'. He isn't quiet, but he's usually not upset either. He has his Dad's personality. If you know my husband - you know that he is very outgoing, happy and usually pretty hyper. That is my child. So smiley, so sweet and always excited about life. Even when he has hit bedtime and is tired and hungry, all I need to do is look at him and he will give me a whimper laugh/smile before getting sad again.

One thing he did inherit from my side of the family - aside from the obvious (brown eyes, olive skin, dark hair), is his love for television. I'll be honest, I didn't spend a whole lot of time watching television growing up, but I did love Disney movies. This little guy LOVES TV, especially Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It's mostly Mickey that he loves. If you have watched MMC (Mom's everywhere), the beginning where Mickey is walking over the hill and says "Hey Everybody! It's me, Mickey Mouse!" is his favorite part (he smiles so big every time).

I am so ridiculously excited to take this kid to Disneyland when we move - he is going to love it so much!! 

when you realize you've made it

So - I have finally caught up. Maybe not completely, but I have come a long way. I owe a lot of that to working out. I may not SEE any results as of yet, but I can definitely feel them.

I'm currently on that BBG kick that the whole world is talking about. If you don't know about it, talk to your friends and I guarantee that at least 6/10 have either heard about it or are doing it themselves. If you look up Kayla Itsine's Instagram page you can see all of the insane results that other people have posted. NOTE: I will not be posting pictures of my before & after. I love seeing everyone else's, but I just can't. Nope.

As I was saying, working out has seriously helped me be a better mom, employee, and (I think) wife.

Our life as of now - I am currently relaxing after taking a nice bath (my therapy sessions), while Ben plays a few rounds of Call of Duty (his therapy sessions) and Luca dreams away with his tiny little snores (they are the cutest). I never knew how much I appreciated 'me-time' until I became a mom. Being a mother is sincerely one of the GREATEST gifts I have ever been given, but at the end of the day, those quiet moments where you can lay down and relax on a big comfy bed are more rewarding than ever before!

Our Luca baby is probably the sweetest kid around. He has become the center of our world. We started calling him 'Master Luca' because it's pretty clear that he runs the show. I'm hoping our young Jedi will start to get on a better napping schedule during the day because working around his cat naps is not always easy. Luckily, when he does wake up too soon from a nap and his adoring mother still has some work left to do, he will gladly accept an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Yes, we are raising a Disney baby.

All of our troubles aside, I am one happy lady. I have a wonderful husband who loves and understands me and pushes me to be my best self. I have a happy, joyful little babe who I get to hang out with every day. I have a pretty sweet job that allows me to be a mom and do what I love. What more can a girl ask for? Sure, most days there are piles of soiled clothing waiting to be washed, a cranky tired baby (with a rash that just appeared out of nowhere from who knows what), and a dinner still waiting to be made at 8 PM, but I truly wouldn't have it any other way.

Now - off to enjoy this happy moment before we start all over again tomorrow. (:

welcome to the world baby j

This past December, 6 weeks ago to be exact, we welcomed our sweet baby boy, our little Luca Benjamin Johnson. He was born on December 4, 2015 at 5:15 PM weighing 7 lb. 13 oz. and measuring 20 inches in height.

The night before Luca was born I had a serious case of insomnia. My mind would not shut off, which had been an ongoing issue during the later part of my pregnancy (I suppose it was my body's way of preparing me for a newborn, HA.). I had completed my last day of work on November 30 (the Monday before Luca was born) and I had spent the week cleaning and preparing for when Baby J would arrive. At that point my bag was packed, the house was clean, and everything was feeling more real. The whole night I was contemplating how our life was about to change (though I had no idea how soon that change was going to happen).

My doctor had told me from about mid-pregnancy that she did not think I would make it to my due date (December 9). Luca dropped pretty early on and was sitting really low, which made simple things, like walking, VERY difficult and painful for me. When I began to have contractions at the beginning of the third trimester I was a little concerned and decided I needed to take it easy so that baby boy could stay in there as long as possible! My goal was to get past Thanksgiving and finish November at work and I am so grateful I was able to do both of those things!

The morning of Luca's birth I had fallen asleep at 4 AM only to wake up to contractions at 6:15 AM. I had false contractions in the past so I was hesitant to take these seriously. They started to come every 15 minutes or so and were so painful that I decided to ease the pain by taking a nice hot bath! I knew Ben was supposed to be up soon for work so I let him get some rest instead of burdening him with false labor.

While taking a bath, the contractions started to get closer together, from 15, to 8 to 4 minutes apart. I was in so much pain but was so nervous about going to the hospital and being turned away that I wanted to wait and be certain it was the real deal.

Once I had gone back into the bedroom and told Benjamin of my dilemma, he made the decision for me - we were going to the hospital.

We arrived at the hospital close to 9 A.M. Once there, the nurse checked to see if I was dilating and was unable to get a very clear picture because Luca was sitting so low (this had been a problem for my doctor as well). She needed to make sure that my contractions (which were coming very regularly 3 to 4 minutes apart) were doing their job. I was given the assignment of walking around for an hour before she checked me again. That was a really hard and painful hour and I am so glad that Benjamin was there to help me through (He even did the labor dance with me so I didn't feel like a fool!). At that point, my fear of being sent home was growing. I didn't know how long I would be able to handle all of the pain.

After the hour had gone by, a different nurse came in to check me. She could see how much pain I was in and that my contractions were still coming in regularly and very strong so she decided to get me my epidural and have my doctor break my water. She was my angel that day! By the time I got my epidural it was around 12 or 12:30, and my doctor came in to break my water shortly after.

Once my pain had subsided, I was able to progress very quickly. My body was no longer tense, which helped the contractions to work faster. By 4 o'clock, I was fully dilated. The nurses told me that I would rest an hour before starting to push, unless of course the pushing contractions came sooner.

Literally 10 minutes after they left the room I began to feel the urge to push. I tried to fight it, I didn't want to call the nurses back in too soon if it was false alarm (here I go again), but Benjamin came to the rescue again and convinced me otherwise. Once they had got all the equipment in, I began to push and was feeling quite a bit of pain again. The nurses had me hold off on pushing until they could get me more medicine.

Once I had been given more of the epidural, I began to push again for what felt like 15 or 20 minutes. At that point, I needed to stop once more in order to wait for my doctor to arrive. Luckily that only took about 15 minutes because our little Luca was ready to be born! Our doctor arrived and our sweet boy was delivered about 15 minutes later!

He was so beautiful! His hair was dark with a little curl (though it has straightened out now). He had the most darling almond shaped eyes, with big squishy lips! His fingers and toes were long and slender. His legs were tiny and long.

Not much has changed with our darling boy in these past 6 weeks, he still has the most adorable personality. He is a very mellow little guy who loves to be around people. He's losing all of his hair in the front and growing some new hair instead! His hair is looking less dark, and more auburn. His eyes are a green-brown color right now but change continually. He makes the best expressions and has the best smile (he gets that from Benjamin). He has been growing like crazy and is finally starting to get some baby rolls on his thighs (which we love).

I wish there were accurate words to describe the feeling you have when you see your baby for the first time. He was the most perfect little person I had ever seen! I have never felt so much emotion all at once at any other time in my life.

We love our sweet little Luca Benjamin.

I call this picture the bedroom takeover.

not all who wander are lost

I bet you've heard that phrase before. We all have a little bit of a 'wanderer' inside us I suppose. It feels like Ben and I have been wandering throughout our whole marriage. Between living in four states, and traveling through several others, our life could be seen as fairly chaotic, but I truly wouldn't have it any other way. 

Right now our travels have taken us to beautiful Orange County while Ben interns at an accounting firm in Irvine/Costa Mesa. As I am writing this, it is 86 degrees outside. In February. And yes, it is heavenly. 

It's weird to think Ben and I have already been married for over a year. It has flown by. I can honestly say that I have fallen more and more in love with him throughout this past year and a few months than I ever knew possible. 

Love is a bit weird that way. You think you've reached your peak, hit your maximum, and then it somehow continues to grow. 

My excuses to keep me from writing have finally come to a halt. Hopefully I will be better from now on. If I am not, I blame Jane Austen and online shopping. 

celebrating my love

Not this previous week (yes, I am still trying to catch up), but the week before was something special. It was Ben's birthday week! Woo hoo! I am not a big fan of my own birthday, but I love celebrating the people I adore!

Ben has been incredibly busy over this last month between starting his graduate program and the accounting recruiting season. He is either working on homework, preparing for tests & interviews, or attending free recruiting dinners (this last one we can't complain too much about). Needless to say he needed a good birthday to take a break.

I had this fabulous idea of making him a birthday breakfast in the morning, but breakfast has never really been my thing. I can make crepes. And scrambled eggs. And toast. I think that pretty much sums it up. On this particular day, I had the grand idea of making some bacon and an english muffin with egg, ham and cheese! Needless to say, it took me a few tries to get the egg right (with Ben's help, sadly), and I even burnt the toast AND the bacon. That being said, breakfast was a small disaster.

After breakfast I had work and then afterwards I took Ben straight to school. (Boring.)

While he was at school, I went and picked up his own customized Cold Stone Creamery ice cream cake!!! Yum! They are seriously fantastic, although a bit on the expensive side. I bought him his favorite, chocolate ice cream with marshmallows & peanut butter, devils food cake, a chocolate ganache frosting and crushed Snicker's topping. (Melt.)

He didn't get his cake until we had finished dinner at one of our favorite spots in Logan so far - Takara Sushi. We were so excited that Ben's cousins Andi & Amelia were able to join us! It was very delicious, even for me, who refuses to eat raw fish (can't handle the texture).

Ben is the best. I'm so grateful that I have him in my life! He has been such a blessing. He is always thoughtful of everyone and is loved by so many! Next year I plan to have a proper celebration for him, party hats and all! Love him dearly.

Side note: I have already started slacking on blogging more consistently but I am not giving up! I will be better! (I keep telling myself that.)