Is it too late to post maternity pictures? Oh well, I'm sharing them anyway. I had romantic maternity pictures taken as a gift for my husband. We both loved my pregnant body and one day I'm going to want to remember how it looked. Like when I'm 85 and lost my looks. Or next time I'm pregnant and retain lots of water to make up for that not happening this time. Or whatever. I loved my body. I loved growing my daughter. I love these pictures. 

{photos by Taylor Ann Taylor Photography}

xo Sue

Remember when I used to do Sunday Favorites? Those were so fun. I'm starting them again. Probably not every Sunday, but as often as I want. No rules for blogging- hooray! Okay, I got that out. Now on to my favorites.

Shelly had adorable pictures taken of Miss Lizzie (seriously, cutest niece ever!) and her family. I adore them.

This crepe maker has recently made an appearance in our home. I love it so much and I've gone a little crepe crazy. If you have any great ideas for crepe toppings please share them! I'm always excited to try something new.

Jane does a weekly link-up called Monday Menu Planning. I have yet to link up (I hate to make excuses but Monday in the States is Tuesday in Japan... it throws me off) but I often go there to borrow dinner ideas from other bloggers. Jane makes some delicious food. I'm was going to ask her to move in and cook for me but I think she's miss her husband.

I'm currently obsessed with typewriters. This one in particular is a favorite. If you want to buy me a gift... okay I might just buy it for myself.

Abby wrote about her reconnection to yoga. It came at the perfect time for me because I've recently reconnected with yoga as well. I try and do it every day but with a 2 month old it doesn't always happen. We're getting better though and Abby's post reminded me of how important it is to take the time for yourself each day.

And this article called "Say No To The Say No To Size Zero Campaign" is worth a read for every lady out there.

xo Sue

We've all contemplated it: (when) should I accept sponsors? I used to have them and I loved them. I really did. I loved having guest posts, I loved doing giveaways, I loved tweeting them and linking to them. But it was a LOT of work. When I got pregnant with Everly blogging completely went out the window. I was incredibly sick for my entire pregnancy. Looking at a computer screen made me ill. So rather than push through it and make myself sick, I slowed down with my online presence and focused simply on feeling well. I stopped having blog sponsors and only posted when I felt like it. And yes, I lost readers because of that. That happens though. Now that my sweet baby girl is here and I'm feeling like myself again, I find myself drawn back into blogging. In June I'll hit my 6 year blogiversary (I've got big plans for that one) and I'm so excited for it. So I'm slowly reviving my little corner of the internet here. On to the sponsors!

I've decided that instead of offering advertising spots, I'm posting buttons of my favorite bloggers. These ladies on my sidebar are my favorites. They're blogs I read every day (or as often as they post) and I truly enjoy them. I want them on my sidebar because I want to share them with the world. I'm planning to link to them, tweet them, or share them as often as I want to because I truly think they are awesome. So take a few minutes to go meet them. I promise, you won't be disappointed because they are fabulous ladies.

And since I love you, I'm going to share an Everly picture. I know you can't get enough of her cuteness.

My sweet baby girl is 2 months old. The headband is a little too big. The onesie is totally from the boys section. She wasn't in the mood to smile. She's absolute perfection. 

• Everly is sitting up with just a little support from behind.
• On April 12th she rolled over for the first time. She looked really startled, like she had no idea what had happened, and she refuses to try it again no matter how much I cheer for her. She just thinks I'm playing.
• She smiles all the time, especially when I smile at her first. I can tell she's trying to laugh but she hasn't quite figured that one out yet. 
• She's 12 pounds now. That's right, my darling girl is growing much faster than her mama is ready for. She'll be in college before I know what's happened.
• She sleeps in 4-5 hour stretches at night. I'm hoping she'll move to 6-7 hours soon so my zombie-ness will fade just a little. 

Today I took her in for her 2 month check-up and several times I was reminded to stop by immunizations to get her shots. Yikes! I've spent the past two weeks doing all sorts of research on infant vaccinations and I wrote up my own plan to get them done. I shared it with the doctor and after discussing my feelings on it and different options he said my plan was very well thought out and he would support me in our alternative vaccination schedule. I felt so proud for doing the research and sticking up for what I wanted. I was grateful that the doctor didn't look at me like I was crazy for wanting to do something outside the box. When we went into the immunization clinic they did give me the crazy person look. I told them our doctor went over the plan with me and was supportive so they made me sign a waiver stating I was going against the standard. I could tell they're not used to people choosing something different. I had to laugh a little to myself. 

xo Sue

I've had so much swirling around in my brain lately. Truly, becoming a mom has changed my entire perspective on the world. I think it's made me a much happier and more mellow person than I used to be. I don't let the little things stress me out (usually). I worry about the big things. Everly. Aaron. Myself. As long as we're all happy at the end of the day I must be doing something right. I promise a few posts with some sort of substance coming soon. Maybe. To all you mommies who have your babies and still have it all together? You are awesome. I feel accomplished if I manage a load of laundry (yay cloth diapers!) and washing the dishes all in one day. To be fair I have to hand wash my dishes because Japan doesn't believe in dishwashers. So I score an extra point there.

I went to lunch with a friend today. Everly was perfectly happy and content and adorable. Until allofthesudden she wasn't. It was like a switch and she was going to scream her little lungs out because suddenly all her needs were not being met. Poor thing. Luckily she has a mom who is brave or maybe crazy. I have no problem throwing on my nursing scarf (not because it makes others uncomfortable to see my boob in public but because I prefer it that way) and continuing to walk as we nurse. I feel a little bit proud that I've mastered nursing in public. Sitting, standing, and walking. In or out of a baby carrier. Don't worry, I only have 6 baby carriers. I'm not completely insane. It was intimidating the first time breastfed in public. I was afraid I'd drop my baby. Then I realized that was silly because I don't usually drop my baby so why would I start now? I felt better after that.

Obviously this has turned into a stream of consciousness post. I think this is exactly how I sound when I'm on the phone with Shelly. "Blah blah blah and then Everly smiled and made my day." That's pretty much all it takes lately. She's that cute. And because I love you, I'll share her cuteness. Just a little though.

cloth diapers rule / baby legs are the cutest / mom wears everly out / lady lunch date / best passport pic ever

xo Sue

Once again I realized how far behind I've fallen. My weekly bump pictures were so fun while I was pregnant. The first half of my pregnancy I only took pictures every 2-3 weeks. I think mostly because I was so so sick that I couldn't stand the thought of posing in front of a camera. I got better as the pregnancy went on though and now I love that I have them. It's so fun to watch my baby grow week to week. The 40 week picture is actually 40 weeks & 3 days (obvi I was in the hospital). I'll admit this. When I hit 40 weeks I was just a little depressed that she was still in there so I never got around to taking a picture. Once we were at the hospital I realized it was now or never so the camera came out. And now, almost two months later, I'm finally getting around to sharing these. I guess I just have other things on my mind. Like soaking up all the tiny baby snuggles I can.

xo Sue

"A woman can grow a baby inside their body. And then somehow a woman can deliver the baby through their body. And then by some miracle a woman can feed a baby with their body. When you think of the male contribution to life... it's kind of embarrassing." -Jim Gaffigan
xo Sue

I realized this morning that I never wrote about our visitors last month. How behind can I get? For Everly's birth, my mom, Shelly, and Lizzie all came to Japan to be with us. It was amazing. Everly was born at 5:20pm on the 20th and they arrived at 9:00am on the 21st. We couldn't have planned it better. My mom definitely called it. She told me for weeks before that I was going to go into labor while she was on a plane. It turns out I went into labor 2 hours before she got on the plane. Close enough, right? I called them while they were driving to the airport and said "She's going to beat you here!" They were so excited and very anxious to get to us. 

Everyone asks me if it was overwhelming having them here or if their trip was too long (Shelly & Lizzie stayed 2 weeks and my mom stayed 4). The answer is NO. I loved having them in our home. I would have kept them forever but apparently they missed their husbands. While they were here there was so much love (don't worry though, there's still plenty of love). Not to mention, I met my sweet Lizzie in person for the first time. Hugging that baby is second only to hugging my own daughter. I already knew what a wonderful mom Shelly is but seeing it in person made my heart happy. She is a beautiful role model to me and an example of what I should strive to be. She and Lizzie have a real mother-daughter connection that makes everyone smile. Lizzie loves her mama. 

Don't judge too harshly. The only pictures I have from the trip were taken with my iPhone. I was too tired to pull out my big camera. Even with all that help I was exhausted and sleep deprived. Luckily I had amazing ladies and a wonderful husband to help me through those first few weeks. It was a beautiful transition thanks to them. 

That last picture may be my favorite one ever. My husband loving his daughter and my hand on his shoulder. They make me so happy.

xo Sue

I've had so much on my mind and no way to organize any of it. I feel as though my brain is frozen. There's a lot going on in there but when it comes time to express myself... nothing. My days and nights are filled with my darling girl. My husband works far more than a person should but when he's around the three of us always have a great time. Everly is almost 7 weeks old now. No matter what else is happening around me, I only have to look at this face and I know everything is going to be alright. She makes life beautiful.

xo Sue

This has been rolling around in my head a lot lately. I have many words and even more ideas. It's about time I use them to change the world. It all starts with one person. Right?

xo Sue