On Monday I hit an achievement of a year of having this blog. I’ve had blogs for longer, including one dedicated to a part time wedding photography business, but this one has far more entries and is much more personal. For today’s entry I’ll share some of my favorite moments from my life and this blog and some insight into what I’ve learned.
One of the most important things to happen over this blogging year was learning how much change would come in the lives of myself and my family. In 2017 I attended a few marches including on President’s Day. Then, with it being just Matt and I, I could do my own thing on weekends and minor holidays.
Now those days are spent more often at home or when out with concerns about bringing a young child. Recently people marched to help put awareness on the issue of school safety. We had plans to take our son to see the Easter Bunny that day, which we kept, but even if I’d know about it, I wouldn’t have taken William in a stroller. I do plan on teaching William about being a good citizen, which sometimes means standing up for the rights of yourself or others, but that will be years from now.
I had a blast taking so many pictures of my pregnancy and getting so many sonograms. In this one, he really looked so much like a baby and in many ways of the boy he turned out to be.
I wondered a lot how Inky would take to my pregnancy and child when I had the baby. While there were a few times when she seemed to want to lay on my stomach and be near the developing child, these were few and far between. I’m not even sure if she ever made the connection to where William came from. Now she will guard him a bit, avoid him a lot, and sometimes try to compete for the usage of his toys or blankets.
As the baby’s gender was a secret, Candy made a green egg at Easter.
This is hands down one of my favorite photos of me and William. As his birth was delayed a bit due to the schedule at the hospital, I know I was extra nervous and happy to meet my child and finally know if I had a son or a daughter.
Even with photos like this, it’s hard to remember how tiny he was. Here he is in his going home outfit, which he could still wear for a few months afterwards. It’s funny how clothing sizes are so confusing and random, just like adult sizes often are.
William loves pulling stuff, especially my hair while breastfeeding. Somehow, he knew right from the moment I put this on that somehow it was for pulling.
Even though I have lots of holiday pictures, somehow I only have a handful of the three of us. This is one of my favorites from Matt’s Christmas potluck at work.
I was amazed at how well behaved William is and was at restaurants. It was great having him awake to celebrate Matt’s 40th birthday.
I love how photography can show so many details. From the details in the overcoat William is wearing (as the fourth generation Perri to wear this and the christening gown underneath) to how Matt’s shirt and my dress weren’t as close in color as I’d thought, oops, there are so many great details here.
I’ve greatly enjoyed seeing William enjoy and thrive at daycare. He’s made friends and learned skills and even had firsts there such as his first time sitting in a high chair, going to the library, holding balloons by the strings and more.
I’ve also learned just how much dedication keeping a blog is. I’ve fallen behind, sometimes way behind having to write many days’ entries at once. Part of this was due to the changes on WordPress, which took some time to get used to, and so now I’m more likely to write on my computer. With Matt having bought me a Macbook Air, it’s less likely I’ll fall as behind as I have, at least not from having only my phone as a good way to write. I still need to figure out the sweet spot on blogger frequency and get some of my design ideas out of my head and into this site.
~ Danielle
Over 40 First Time Mom 