Worth the Wait

Introducing Jace Patrick: 

After a long ten months, Jace has finally arrived to complete our family! 


Life has been very busy to say the least, especially while still trying to keep up with 2 girls and a newborn! I have a new respect for moms with 2+ kids - getting older kids to school and still keeping baby on track is one of my newest art forms. :) 


Everyone has adjusted well to our newest member and by far he's one of the easiest babies ever - it might have something to do with me being more relaxed, more confident, and more patient than I was the first or second time. It might also have to do with the amount of help I have this time around. The girls and Jason have been A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! 


We are getting about 4-6 hours of broken sleep per night. He's great with baths, diaper changes, eating, and napping! Some of the things helping us are our rice pack (heated), swaddling blanket, Baby Whisperer and Happiest Baby on the Block techniques. 


For the most part we've taken up our normal routine - 


We've been walking everywhere! Love our jogging stroller (thanks, mom!) and our Sleepy Wrap. We're back at the park or track almost daily - sometimes twice in a day. Jace usually sleeps, but I know he is loving the fresh air! 


I've also started tracking my workout progress with my new Nike+ iPod. It tracks my runs/walks, lets me set goals, charts progress on the nike website and even makes me more accountable by uploading my runs and details to Twitter and Facebook! 


The good news is I've lost almost all of the weight I gained while pregnant, but I still have about 30 more lbs to lose, so we're following Jamie Oliver's trend and doing our own Food Revolution here. Last week, my family ate cauliflower. Wait. 


MY FAMILY ATE CAULIFLOWER! 


There. We never eat it, none of us like it, but adding some extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and throw in the oven and magically it all disappears. I also used the cauliflower to make a mashed potato substitute. YUM-O! Nothing left. :) 
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On a personal note, I love having my mobility back. I have never taken for granted the ability to move, walk, or run, so I do it enthusiastically! 


My recovery has been a lot faster this time around and I'm sure it has a lot to do with my mind being so determined to bounce back to my old self. 


Each moment of every day, my heart is abundantly filled with gratitude and love. I'm beyond blessed with an amazing and loving husband, two beautiful, helpful, joyous girls, and a healthy sweet baby boy. 


Looking back on my last 33 years, I realize that not everything worked out the way I'd planned; not everyone ended up being who I expected them to be; not everything comes easily, but always the things most worth being a part of my life have been worth waiting for; worth working for; worth the pain and struggle - worth the wait.