These last six months I’ve been a little quiet on here and Instagram – with blog posts and new products coming in spurts.
I can only imagine what my absence might have you thinking and I realized I should probably pop in to let you know what’s been happening in my corner of the world. If we’re friends over on Instagram then you probably already know that we are expecting a sweet little boy in July!
If you’re a mama, mama-to-be, or a parent in general, you probably also know that your life can feel like it’s been turned upside down when you’re preparing for a little one. Between morning sickness, medical surprises, hospital visits, and prepping for baby in general – pregnancy has been an adjustment to say the least.
The work I do on the blog and in the Paperie shop is super important to me, but I also realized the importance of taking care of my health and slowing down to appreciate growing a human being. I’m always working towards that work/life balance (aren’t we all?) and I really, really love just doing the normal everyday things like taking my dog for a walk, catching up on my favorite tv show, and simply running errands.
Not to mention we’ve dived in to….
Building our dream house! My father-in-law and husband have been working around the clock to get our house up off the ground (literally). Our lot has officially been cleared with the house footers dug and poured – Eric had such a fun time using the big machine to dig!
Now they’re working on building the stem wall and setting the floor trusses. I’ll do a full update on The Little Gray House soon! It’s been so exciting to see our house starting to take shape. And while being pregnant has kept me from helping on the manual labor side of things, I’ve been busy with keeping all the behind the scenes stuff in order – with the help of my mother-in-law. I told y’all building this house really is a family affair!
Like I mentioned earlier I’ve really enjoyed slowing down a bit to enjoy the little things in life like spending time with my loved ones. On Mother’s Day I met my mom, grandma, sisters, and nieces in Mount Dora for a lovely lunch at the Windsor Rose Tea Room. It’s a whimsical little tea room that we found last Mother’s Day and because my grandma couldn’t come with us last year, we just knew we had to take her!
We spent the rest of the day browsing cute shops and popping in to the local bookstore – baby boy is going to have quite the library in his room! I can’t wait to read him all the books we’ve collected. The day wouldn’t have been complete without taking a photo in front of the mural we found last year.
And I can’t forget to mention my trip out to Oregon & Washington with my dad. I come from a BIG family so it can be hard to see every family member on a regular basis. I had never been out to the Pacific Northwest so when my dad mentioned he was going to visit family, I hopped on a plane and tagged along.
My Dad drove me around his old stomping grounds showing me one of the houses he grew up in (they built it themselves!), where he went to high school and one of the houses him & my mom had lived in when they were married. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous! I couldn’t get enough of the big trees and this lake by Mount St. Helen’s was so peaceful to look out over.
Between exploring and catching up with aunts, uncles, and cousins, we took a special trip to visit my grandma (who I hadn’t seen in a few years).
She even made a blanket for baby H! We spent the afternoon telling stories and looking through old photo albums. Hearing stories about my grandma and dad’s life will never get old to me.
But all the traveling and exploring has slowed down and we are preparing for our little boy’s arrival with test driving strollers (we ended up getting this travel system)…
And celebrating with a garden themed baby shower! Baby boy sure is one blessed guy to have so many people love him already! It was a beautiful day (despite the rain) full of love and laughter.
Seriously, how cute are these party favors?! My mom put them together using herbs from her own garden! I’m crossing my fingers that I’ve inherited her green thumb.
Which brings us to what life looks like now. I’ve been placed on bed rest due to now being high risk for premature labor, meaning that keeping my stress levels down and my feet up are my top priorities. Thank goodness for my sweet Alba, she keeps me company all day and for living with in-laws who have a pool…
Friends, giving ourselves extra breathing room doesn’t have to be long-term. And it most certainly doesn’t have to be a big deal. Your family, your friends and your soul deserve your undivided attention. We can’t expect to run on an empty tank after all.
You might not relate to having to create blog content and products (oh my! I almost forgot to mention this shiny new mug), but there is something in your life right now that is asking you to give yourself permission to slow down for it. We all have important things in our life and sometimes we just need to come up for air.
Today I want to encourage you to do it. Take a well deserved deep breath in!
Thank you friends for hanging in there with me. This new season of life is a transition, but one that we are so excited for. Some days the blog and Instagram might be quiet, but know that I am always over here rooting for you!
xo, kaitlin
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