Freedom To Marry

We are getting closer and closer to gaining the Freedom to Marry.

As Courtney kind of mentioned in the previous post, we were recently featured on Freedom To Marry's site. I think the story turned out beautifully with our pictures.

I am so grateful that the times have changed so much that there are more positve comments than negative, and we do not personally know any of the people making the negative comments. I love that SO MANY people have had the opportunity to read our story and even share it. More people should see that we are just regular people living regular lives. We would just like the same right to be married as everyone else.

I think August 6th is going to be a fantastic day. The 6th Circuit Court will hear the vital TN cases and most likely rule in our favor. (At least that's what I'm thinking)

If you would like to take a look at our story over at Freedom To Marry please do :)

Our Story

You can also spread the word if you'd like, maybe if enough people see it, the lawmakers will have a change of heart with the super cute baby face staring at them!!

Maxed Out On Irony

I seriously cannot even comprehend what just happened. Jamie and I were featured on a story on Freedom to Marry. This story was shared by them on Facebook and, as a result, the masses were allowed to comment on it. Most of these comments have been nice and supportive and from complete strangers. I have also seen a few sweet comments from dear friends of ours. I have yet to see anything unkind from anyone I'm friends with, BUT I did see something from someone I know today. As I was scrolling through the comments, someone said something to the extent of.. I feel sorry for Sophia because she will never have a family with a mother and a father. I saw that there was a reply so I clicked on it to see what the person said. Someone nicely jumped to our defense, of course and I was grateful, but I couldn't help but notice that it said So And So likes this comment on the comment about Sophia not having a father. This So And So was somebody I went to school with. Somebody who claims to be an uber conservative. Ok, fine with me. Those are your opinions, but don't go "liking" comments like that on a story about someone who you know and have had a rivalry with when that person and others know that you have had your moments when you thought being gay was the cool thing to do. Also DO NOT EVER comment on something about my child's life when you have aborted a child before. Seriously how dare you?! My mind is exploding with the absolute irony and hypocrisy of this and I could say a million devastatingly hurtful things to this person right now. Really.. I just can't even comprehend this person's thought process.

The Milky Way

No, not the galaxy. The movie.

The Milky Way Foundation is on a mission to bring more awareness to the importance of breastfeeding and the way parents and babies are introduced to each other during the first few hours of entering this world.

If you have the opportunity to see this movie in you city, take it!! Courtney and I saw it last night right here in Knoxville (I love how progressive this scruffy little city is). I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the excellent bond breastfeeding creates. I was also AMAZED at how far the US is behind other countries. Sadly we are one of 4 (FOUR) countries in the ENTIRE world that has ZERO mandated maternity program...other than FMLA. Did you know Sweden offers 18 months of PAID maternity leave (and paternity leave!!)? Did you know the US blatantly goes against the World Health Organization Code on formula marketing? A code written in the early 80s...that says formula companies CANNOT market to new mothers prenataly or within the first 6 months of a baby's life. (yeah...that means all those "free" samples in the mail we received while I was preggo and the ones I was sent home with from the hospital). ALL part of their skeezy scheme.

Oh there is just so much to say about this movie. I loved it and I want you to see it too! I want to see it again...I know I missed little things while tending to Sophia.

I strongly encourage you to find a city near you...or even get an organization in your city to sponsor bringing it to you.

Knowledge is power. When you KNOW better, you DO better.

She's a Petite Little Thing

Sophia had her 6 month well visit yesterday. She is 14lbs 13oz, 24.5in tall and her head is 16.5in....all to say she is a short and trim little girl with a slightly big noggin :)

They had us fill out a development questionairre thing...and she is developing at an 8 month old rate! We knew she was super baby...but now we have proof haha.

The doctor said, I would go ahead and start baby proofing soon. We agreed. We have a WILD child on our hands. She is so curious about everything, and cannot sit still. The only time she snuggles anymore is when she is asleep...even her nursing time has become a party for her.

We are going to have our hands full, even if she is just a tiny thing! She had a cold last week, but with breastfeeding we knocked it out with no lasting evidence. HOORAY for boobie juice! All in All our girl is strong and healthy and perfect...and CUTE.

So onto the part you've all been waiting for....go VOTE!! She moved up 45 spots yesterday, let's keep it up and get her into the top 30 tomorrow!! Please SHARE it with your friends! Thank you, thank you for voting yesterday...voting continues EVERY SINGLE DAY until Sunday, May 11th (Mother's Day)

VOTE FOR SOPHIA!!

I am that crazy mom who thinks her daughter is the cutest ever and deserves to win this Cover Contest for Parents Magazine!!!

SOOOOO we need your help! She dropped from #94 to #122.....that is the wrong way!

Help her get back to the top by voting HERE, and if you feel so inclined PLEASE Share it with your pals too :)

I didn't realize just how many pictures there are in this contest...looks like over 1000, so she is doing really well so far...but I know with me pushing everyone to keep voting she will probably go ahead and win! SO GO VOTE! & then SHARE!!

No Way You Are 6 Months Old

I just cannot believe Sophia is actually two days aways from being a half year old. 6 months. No Way! She continues to amaze us with how incredibly smart she is. Sitting like a pro, rolling all over the place, talking ALL the time now :), she can pull herself up (AHH!!), she can scoot around...crawling is near...that is if she doesn't skip crawling and go straight to running.

She is the joy of our lives. She has the best personality ever. When we are feeling down, that smile brings us right back up. I love seeing this brand new world with her. Every single day is something amazing.

Breastfeeding is still wonderful. We are going to start some purees soonish, and maybe start giving her some finger foods to play with. We may even try to start training her on a sippy cup.

She has her 6 month well visit on Wednesday, I say she will weigh about 14 lbs and she will be about 24 in.

We will be getting some photos taken from our wonderful pal Alex soon. That is our Mother's Day gift to one another :) I love how Alex can capture our personalities so well...and adding Sophia to the mix is going to be so so fun.

While I'm gushing about our girl...let me go ahead and plea for your vote! She is entered in the Parents Magazine 2014 Cover Contest!! Go HERE to vote for her picture...if you feel so inclined, you can share the link too :) She will be so glad you did! You can vote EVERY day this week.

Until next time (which will probably be tomorrow, when I plea for votes again)!

Time for two?

We may be crazy, or we may just really know what we want. Or both.

Picture a perfect world. In it, we would get pregnant with our second child this August...that's right, in a short 5 months. Sophia would be around 9 months old. The new baby would be born around May, Sophia would be 18 months old. The new baby would be a boy. Also in that perfect world, our second baby would be carried by Courtney. The donor would be the same as Sophia's donor. Oh yeah, that perfect world also includes Courtney having insurance and some time saved up to take off with the new tiny.

Our world isn't perfect...I want to say we would still be able to start trying in August. Even if that means using a different donor (since Courtney is sure our KD wouldn't be up for a second donation at the moment). Even if that means Courtney would have to take unpaid Maternity leave because right now her position doesn't offer insurance or PTO accrual. I think we could make it work with what we have. Come next May, we will have most of our debt tackled and that leaves extra cushions financially. Plus, they always say if you wait until you are totally financially stable you will never have kids...and look at what can happen if you think you are financially stable -Court lost her job just months before Sophia was born. We have been fine, things have been tight, but we have not gone without what we need...and we are still paying our bills on time. I think we would manage for a month or two if she wanted to take that time off...we could plan accordingly and save up too.

It is totally possible. My older brother and I were very close in age, 12.5 months actually. Growing up we were best of friends. I loved it. My younger brothers were the same way, and today they are still great friends. I think being able to give Sophia a sibling close to her age would not only benefit her in the long run, but I honestly think it would be easier to have children similar in developmental stages than to have a few years between them. Granted after Baby #2, we would wait a few years to have the next...I think ultimately we would like 4 children :) Basically I want to relive my childhood through my own children hahaha!

We have this fancy 7 year plan in our heads...it goes something like this:

1. Get our credit cards essentially paid off by this October.
2. Pay my car off within 2 years.
3. Pay Courtney's car off a year after that.
4. Use all of that extra money to pay off the house within 7 years.

Of course, we would like to purchase some new appliances for our kitchen, we need to replace the rest of the 60 year old windows in the house, we need to replace the old plumbing under the house and we need to have the crawlspace insulated. So those are big ticket items/projects that will most likely postpone our "7 Year Plan." Again, it is possible...that plan isn't taking into consideration tax return monies, any extra money we are likely to earn from side jobs or OT. I have a feeling we may outgrow our house before 7 years anyway. Plus, we would like to live in a neighborhood with other children. Right now there aren't any where we are. So even if we are only able to pay off a huge chunk of the mortgage within the next few years, that would just be more money to put towards the next house.

Can you tell we have been thinking A LOT about the future? I am excited to see what is in store for us...but I am also happy to take it one day at a time. Everything happens the way it is supposed to. When it is supposed to. We can just HOPE it is close to our little plans :)