By Whitney Jordan of Polka-Dotty Place

2013 has been an amazing year for my family.  It feels like the perfect time of year to look back and see all of the blessings that have come our way.  We have been blessed with wonderful family and friends that have showered us with love.  We were fortunate to wrap up our time in Utah and find a new job in Arkansas that puts us significantly closer to our families.  We were blessed with our first child in May.  We had a successful move across the country this summer and are starting to feel right at home living in the South.  We are one lucky family!

I am extremely grateful to have become a mom this year.  My husband and I have been married for 9 years so we feel very fortunate to have had many years to ourselves.  We enjoyed traveling, going to grad school, sightseeing and sleeping in for plenty of years.  We both agreed that it was time to expand our family so we began to pray that God would bless us with a baby.  Our prayers were answered when we met our healthy baby girl on May 29, 2013.  Olive Kate joined our family and we can’t believe she’s ours.  She is a sweet, spunky 5 month old baby and we are fortunate to be her parents.

I’m appreciating all of the highlights that come with motherhood.  I adore witnessing all of her “firsts” – smiling, rolling over, sitting up, eating solids, and babbling the day away.  It’s amazing to see how quickly she learns new things and she is growing up so fast.   I love that Olive recognizes our voices, lights up when she sees us and seems to be most content when we are talking to or playing with her.  I’ve also really loved watching my husband become a dad this year.  He is head over heels for our daughter and she already has a very special place in his heart.  She thinks he’s hilarious and definitely has a strong bond with him.  Olive is such a blessing to us!

Parenthood isn’t for the faint of heart.  My husband and I have never been so sleep deprived in our lives.  We sure love our little alarm clock but sometimes wish she had a snooze button!   We have come to the realization that our schedule and plans now hinge upon feedings, sleep schedules and finding baby friendly activities.  We are learning to enjoy the “to go” options at our favorite restaurants as dining out with a baby isn’t always fun.  We feel so lucky to be in this phase of our lives even when our patience is running low, our expectations have to be adjusted and we have to be more flexible than ever.  Our new normal is shaping up to be a pretty great life.

I’m thankful to get to share our family traditions and interests with her.  We love football, traveling, going on walks, reading, cooking and just being together.  My husband and I work hard to maximize our time together and enjoy our new life as a family of three.  I am a teacher turned stay at home mom and I am so thankful to be able to share my love for reading with Olive.  She’s really enjoying books and shows her excitement by swatting the pages and trying to eat the books.  I cannot wait to introduce her to my favorite authors and illustrators; I can only hope she’ll grow to love them as much as I do.  We have recently moved across the country and done a lot of traveling since Olive was born.  She has logged upwards of 6,000 road miles with us.  I’m so thankful that she’s such a great traveler and seems to enjoy our trips.  I also love to cook and Olive makes an excellent little sous chef.  She sits in the kitchen and I talk to her about the food I’m preparing.  She smiles, babbles and loves to chew on spatulas as we cook together.  I can only imagine that our lives will continue to be greatly blessed by doing things together as a family.

It’s surprising at how much I already love my little girl after just a few months.  She’s just joined our family and suddenly I don’t remember how we spent our days without her.  I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a stay at home mom but I am so thankful that we were able to make it work.  I treasure our time together because I know that each day with her is a gift.  Olive will be in school before we know it and I can always return to teaching.  I didn’t expect to feel so tender-hearted in regards to everything related to Olive.  I get teary eyed at the drop of a hat, I want to protect her from any harm that should come her way and always be there for her.  I pray for her to have good friends, wonderful people in her life and for her to always be thankful for the blessings she has been given.  My husband and I strive to be good examples for her and want her to know just how much she is loved.

I feel extremely blessed this year and pray that the coming year will be filled with many new blessings and happy times for our family.  I plan to slow down during this busy holiday season and soak in all of the things we have to be grateful for at this moment.  Don’t rush the holidays and overbook your schedules.  Enjoy your families and make the most of the time you have together.

Hello!  My name is Whitney and I blog at Polka-Dotty Place.  I am a new mom and my family just moved to Arkansas.  We are enjoying the state and like to spend our weekends exploring our new home.  I love to take pictures, blog, organize, make lists, bake, accessorize, do DIY projects and watch football.  I am always looking to make new bloggy friends so please stop by and say hi.