The Slater Family

Oliver turned 1

2010-12-30T15:25:00.000-08:00

Better late then never right????? So I have to confess.... With all the busyness of the holiday's I never got around to taking Oliver's 1 year pictures, so I decided this morning that I wasn't going to miss out on taking some fun pictures of him...So we went to the store bought a little cake and took some pics, now granted he is almost 13 months, but all the same Mommy got her cute pictures!!! And I will just pretend that I wasn't almost a month late ;)

So Happy Birthday My big 1 year Old!!! (13 month old)

the cake got taken away

Book Recommendation

2010-10-18T23:19:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine recommended this book to me awhile back and I Loved it!!! By far the best christian parenting book I have ever read! Talk about a book that is right on with the word of God, it is filled with scripture, seriously sooo good. I never realized how much the Bible has to say about parenting, it totally opened my eyes and made me realize that the greatest gift God gives us is our children and the greatest gift we can give them, is a Godly foundation, that is the only inheritance that truly matters.

Just bought my own copy, you should get one too and let me know what you think.

Raising Godly Children in an Ungodly World by Ken Ham (Paperback - Sept. 2, 2008)

Buy new: ~~$12.99~~ $10.39

Mommy Poem

2010-10-18T22:50:00.000-07:00

I don't know if every women is like this or if its just me, but ever since I gave birth or actually it started when I was pregnant, I literally cry over EVERYTHING now! Its seriously so annoying and sometime embarrassing. I used to make fun of my mom for crying over a movie, a nice letter, a sweet poem or even nothing at all, and now I have turned into my Mother aggggghhhhhhh!!!!!!

But anyways, here is an Awesome poem that Yes, made me cry and I just wanted to share cause its just so true:

Before I was a Mom

I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn’t worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom

I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom

I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn’t want to put her down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn’t stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom

I didn’t know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn’t know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn’t know that bond between a mother and her child.

I didn’t know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn’t know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom

2010-10-05T13:51:00.000-07:00

IT'S FINALLY FALL!!!!

My favorite time of the year is finally here, I just love the cloudy cold weather that just makes you want to snuggle up on the coach and enjoy a yummy pumpkin spice latte!!!! And this fall is especially special because its our first as a family...Cant wait to dress up our little bear in his halloween costume,

And take way tooo many pictures

Okay Mom, Im done!!!!!

Sweet 7:30

2010-09-30T11:04:00.000-07:00

Its 7:35pm and I plop down on the couch and give a deep long sigh of relief....After a long busy day of go go go I'm exhausted and energized all at the same time (if that makes any sense) My crazy fun-filled day with my little bear has worn me out and I'm ready to just relax and spend the evening with my hubby. Now you may think7:30 is an early bedtime and or maybe that Im a mean mom, but I don't see it that way. And here is why....The way I see it is this, Ive spent an entire day of: baby talk, nursing, laughing, singing, changing diapers, changing clothes, cleaning up after a messy eater, chasing my very fast crawler all around the house, throwing him up in the air at least 100 x cause its his favorite, peek-a-boo, reading books, stacking toys, picking up toys only to take them out again, cleaning up the toilet paper all over the bathroom cause that's his other favorite thing to do, playing outside, swinging, horse play, running around town to different classes and activities, walks around the block, cleaning up snot, cleaning up spit-up, rocking, cuddling and kissing my oh so sweet baby boy. Whew!!!! I'm tired just writing it all down, but you see as most moms are, IM EXHAUSTED and I'm pretty sure its safe to say, so is Oliver! I love every moment of this fleeting time I have with my son I even selfishly pray it lasts forever and I am sooo blessed that I am around for every cry, every smile, every laugh, every everything with my son, but at the end of the day I will admit that sometimes 7:30 cant come soon enough!

But here's my main reason why 7:30 is sooo sweet:

The house is quite and its just me and my hubby, time to pick up our feet, relax maybe enjoy some desert together (okay who am I kidding I have desert every night) and just talk about our day and be adults (okay we mostly talk about Oliver) and every 10 mins we glance at the baby monitor just to watch him sleep. But all the same, its nice to have this time together and we look forward to it....We need this time...we love this time... and Cherish this time.
However, things weren't always this way for us, for along time after Oliver was born we didn't make time for each other we ran ourselves ragged and crashed as soon as our heads hit the pillow and probably said a few short sentences to each other the entire evening and sometimes on the weekend if we didn't have a million things going on we would actually spend time together. But it wasn't enough, we realized that our marriage had to come 1st (after God of course) Once we realized this, with lots of prayer, we made a huge change and so when I say "Sweet 7:30" it is with a grateful heart that we have made this time "OUR time". We absolutely love and cherish our time with Oliver and love being parents and hope to add many more to our family (Lord willing) but the Lord laid heavy on our hearts to make it a priority to spend time with each other...It may not be a fancy dinner or a night on the town but its US and that's all that matters.

In my short time of being a parent I have learned some valuable lifelong lessons (most not the easy way) and "Sweet 7:30" is one that I am soo thankful for and its my prayer that as we grow as a family, through the years that we would always remember US! As I heard a wise women say this week (who was actually the one who inspired me to write this post) "Parenting is passing, but your marriage is forever" so take care of it...

okay okay, we really need an updated pic

The Things I Know now...

2010-09-27T12:53:00.000-07:00

So last night Scott and I were reminiscing on all the funny experiences we've had since Oliver was born....We were dieing laughing at some of our not so "super parent" moments... So I had the idea to start compiling a list, of some of our funny moments and "lessons learned" which are way more fun to look back on then how much he weighs every month :) Thought I'd share some from our list (definitely cant share them all or else we might get CPS called haha jk we are really not that bad) For now our list is still short I'm sure 20 years from now we will be able to write a book with these!

Parenting Tips (from a not so experienced mommy)

1. Don't ever hold your naked newborn for too long, you will get pooped or peed on.

2. Always have an extra stash of wipes and diapers or else you may end up using chipotle napkins from the glove box for wipes and an old shirt as a diaper.

3. If you don't like your own cooking, then don't expect your baby to like it either.

4. Always make sure your not leaking breast milk BEFORE you go into a store.

5. Don't ever tell people that your baby "sleeps through the night" as soon as you say it they will prove you wrong.

6. Always make sure your baby is actually buckled in their car seat BEFORE you start driving.

7. Don't ever ASSUME your husband is watching the baby or else you might end up in the emergency room (that's a whole other post in itself)

8. If you really need a good nights sleep, don't be afraid to turn your baby monitor off (don't judge!)

9. Don't expect to ever take another peaceful shower or restroom break for that matter.

10. As soon as you lay down for a nap, the baby will always wake up from his!

11. Don't leave your good shoes lying around or they could end up in the toilet.

12. As soon as you think you have them figured out, they change.

13. The key to keeping from going crazy is, an early bedtime.

14. Just because your 8 month old can climb up the stairs doesn't mean he should.

15. Your phone should never be used as a teething toy

16. When leaving the house make sure to pack EVERYTHING!

17. Most importantly give lots and lots of hugs and kisses and cuddle them way too much, and tell them just how much you love them all the time, cause they grow up way too fast!

okay Id better stop here....And to think I only have 1 lol Love my crazy life, wouldn't trade it for the world!

Please tell me Im not the only mommy who has experienced these?

My little monster

Lets try this again

2010-09-24T00:08:00.000-07:00

Life has been a whirl wind ever since my son was born December 10 2009, one of the happiest days of our lives. But to say the least, it has been an adjustment. You know how everyone always says your life changes once you have kids? Well boy were they right, I used to just smile and nod at those people and think well they must not know what they are doing, they must not have it all together haha (Im laughing as I write this)... Sure I read all the parenting books and talked to many experienced parents and have been around kids all my life but nothing can ever truly prepare you for parenting. When the dr laid my adorable little baby in my arms my husband and I were sooo overjoyed, it was by far the most amazing experience ever! But when the nurses soon said "Good Night" and left us with this new little person that we were supposed to take care of, the panic immediately set in. I will never forget the look on mine and scotts faces the first time we were alone with our son, It was like out of a movie we both looked at each other and said "What do we do" we couldnt believe the nurses had just left us alone with OUR child, they didnt even tell us what to do or give us a quick baby 101 class, they just left us to figure it out on our own, as if we were the parents or something lol.......

Well, we did end up figuring it out, or should I say, we got by. But it has definitely been a life changing experience but a great one at that!
So jumping ahead to today 9 months later, well we are still trying to figure it all out and in the mean time I better write all my mishaps, fun adventures and sweet moments down before this pressure time passes by.

But in all seriousness I absolutely love being a mommy it is such a precious gift from God and I am so blessed that he chose to entrust Me and Scott with this beautiful child. Our desire is to be the parents that God has called us to be and our prayer is that Oliver will grow to love the Lord Jesus with all his Heart!

So Im taking another shot at blogging, and hopefully it wont take me a year to write my next post.

To be continued...

newborn pic

9 months

Happy 3 year anniversary!!!

2009-07-06T11:04:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is our 3 year wedding anniversary!!! I am soo blessed to be married to the man of my dreams and soo excited to be starting a family with him. Truely, marriage has been amazing and each day that goes by I love my husband more and more. Scott you are such an awesome man of God and I am so proud of who you are and the daddy that God is molding you to be. I know I'm not the easiest person to live with (especially being pregnant) but despite my imperfections Scott loves me wholy and unconditionally even when I deserve it the least. He is truely an example to me everday. I love you Scott and Happy Anniversary!!!!

Welcome Isabella!

2009-06-16T20:13:00.001-07:00

My older sister and brother got to meet their newest addition to their family on June 13.....Isabella Grace Swan. She is seriously the cutest little girl I've ever seen and I just love her with all my heart!!! I am soo proud of my sister for everything she has endured and I can only pray that I will be as brave as her when it is my turn to meet our little guy. Seriously, welcoming a little baby into your family has got to be the most amazing gift of all and I cant believe how wonderful God is for the blessings he bestows upon his children. I am a first time auntie and cant explain the joy I feel to see my sister bring a baby into the world. I cant even imagine how it is going to feel when we meet our baby boy for the first time. Congrats to the Swan family and praying for many more nieces and nephews :)

Oh boy...Its a BOY!!!

2009-06-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

I have totally slacked on posting, pretty much because I go to work, eat dinner then go to bed. I have been sooo exhausted during the 1st trimester of pregnancy. I am now entering my 14th week and doing good. We (or should I say "I") just found out we are having a baby Boy, and we couldn't be more excited. The reason I say "I" is because I was just going in for a few tests so I didn't have Scott come because our Dr. is pretty far away but while I was there I asked when they will be able to determine the sex and they said, "Oh we can probably find out now" and sure enough the nurse announced to me, "Its a boy". I called Scott as soon as possible and he was thrilled!!! So not the way I would have wanted to find out but all the same we are super excited but I guess that's what I get for being anxious, hehe.

So now that having a boy has somewhat sank in I'm starting to get a little nervous, cause I have no idea what to do with a boy. Pretty much my whole family is girls, what am I going to do???

NEED SOME BOY ADVICE...

Baby Blessings!

2009-04-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

So all is good with the Slater's, We recently found out that we are going to be expecting our first child around November 28th!!! We are just thrilled that God has blessed us with this big surprise. Scott and I have always wanted a family since day one when we got married, but God had different plans for us, so after 3 years of honeymooning we are now expecting our first baby. We got to see the baby last week and it was sooo amazing, we couldnt wait to tell everyone so we announced it right away, I always thought I would wait to tell people but we just couldnt contain our excitement anymore. I am currently 7 weeks and 3 days, I am doing okay so far, some days are definately better than others. Today is not one of those good days, since I threw up in the starbucks parking lot ( how embarissing) I didnt realize how uncontrolable this nausea would be. I just really cant stand the smell of coffee right now, GROSS! Anyways, I am praying for more good days. But even with all my symptoms I am still soo amazed by God's plans and his perfect timing with everything. If you have any advice or words of wisdom I am more than willing to listen. Let me know your 1st trimester experiences...

Pictures coming soon!!!

love,
the Slaters

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge him and he will guide your path" Proverbs 3:5

The back to school blues

2009-03-31T14:27:00.001-07:00

So I am having a bit of anxiety. I just got accepted to Point Loma University for my special education credential and I will be starting in May. I am super excited because I love school and I know that my calling is to be a teacher. But it is a huge commitment that I have to stick out for the next 18months (sounds sooo long) So it is definately bittersweat because I am happy and sad at the same time, I am definately not looking forward to essays, tests and studying. And also starting this program will bring me to the end of my time with my current job, which I love sooo much. Currently, I work for a very wealthy family in newport beach I take care of their two kids also my job has been to educate them and get them ready for preschool (they were the ones who inspired me to go back to school) So in short, it has been the best job ever and I'm really going to be sad to leave. I have been with them for almost 2 years and I am really going to have a hard time with this transition. But on the flip side I am starting the beginning of my career for the rest of my life (i think).
And to make things more difficult, my husband wants me to stay at home and raise our future kids, and possibly homeschool them, so I get nervous that I am going to spend all this time and money and I may not use it for awhile.
But the thing I keep thinking about is "Education, is something that can never be taken away" I would love to stay doormant exactly as I am but I know that God has bigger and better plans for our life. It is so hard growing up and making grown up decisions. So I guess I am just scared about all the new changes in my life. And I just needed a place to vent about my thoughts.
But as I tell Giselle when she gets scared of things: "God is bigger than the boogie man or the monsters on TV" So guess what I need to take my own advice God is bigger than all my fears too.

Hopefully, happier news to come!!!

Mini Photo Shot

2009-03-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

At the shower I was also able to do a mini photo-shot with some of the prettiest girls I know. We had soo much fun messing around, with the beautiful Newport Coast hills in the background. For just being silly I got some really cool pics. You girls should be models :) Love you guys!!!

Jess

Baby Bella is on her way!!

2009-03-15T19:19:00.000-07:00

So this Saturday we had my sisters baby shower. Everything was beautiful and we are all soo excited to finally have a baby in our family. Baby Bella will be the first baby in our fam. And Jeannette is still soo tiny.

Sneak Peak of Jeannette's Shower!

2009-03-15T15:01:00.000-07:00

More to come

Photoshop

2009-03-03T14:22:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to post a short blog because I am installing photoshop today!!! I am sooo excited for all the fun things I get to learn. Keep checking in for some new pics ;)

Smile,
Jess

2009-02-23T19:57:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was very event filled for me, we had Giselle's birthday bash which we have been working on for the past three months (super stressful) But happy to announce that it was absolutely a smash hit!!! So now I can relax for a little bit, haha. Anyways, I was able to try out my camera again, which is turning out to be more of a challenge than I anticipated. But I'm still loving it! It was exciting for me because I was able to talk to the photographer that we hired from Triple Cord Photography (Andrew) and gain some more knowledge. I love finding fabulous photographers who have an artistic and creative style, and this photographer far exceeded my expectations...so I have found my new inspiration. I can only hope to some day be half as good as he :) Thanks for the motivation!!!

-Aspiring photographer

Here are a few pics

2009-02-18T22:24:00.000-08:00

This Valentines Day was truly the best yet!!! First we started out Friday night no different than any other, on the couch with a movie and treats ;) Saturday woke up made a lil breakfast then Scott took me on a little hunt to find my present. The whole time I was thinking, "Why is he doing this, I already know what I'm getting" At least he made me think that. Well after a long hunt I found my gift and to my surprise....I got the camera that I have been wanting for awhile now (Nikon D90) I am soo excited, I cried for about 5 minutes just because it was sooo special (I know I'm cheezy ;) I am still learning the ropes, the camera is way above my knowledge but it is one that I can work my up with! I'm sooo excited to start this journey, I absolutely love taking pics!!! Here are a few fun pics of my sister Janell and her boo Kyle. They are oooooo so cute!

Virgin Blogger

2009-02-18T21:33:00.000-08:00

Hi Bloggers!!! I guess I'm jumping on the band wagon and trying this blogging stuff out...I find this whole cyber universe very interesting, the word (blogging) is actually in our dictionaries now...What a crazy phenomena :) Well I guess it beats doing things the old fashioned way with a good ol' pen and paper..hehe...Our poor kids aren't even going to know what a book is...haha Anyways, I'm excited for this new adventure :)

Well bare with me as I am a new-be...