I can stay in my pjs for about a week after having a baby and then I need to start getting dressed to help my own (mental) recovery. Nothing fancy, but I at least need to feel put together. Something that really helps with that is buying a new pair of jeans that fit my current 3 week post part body. I’m not talking designer jeans or anything, but jeans that fit good, sit higher up on the waist, pretty inexpensive (because they will most liking not fit in a few months as I work towards pre-baby weight) and make me feel good about myself. I am trying not to stress about the 20lbs I would like to lose to be back to my pre-baby self because 1. it’s only been 3 weeks 2. look at that beautiful baby boy!! and 3. I know it takes time to loose that baby weight. I don’t plan to go on any diet or whole 30 or thing but just get back into being little more strict about clean, whole foods. We’ve let things slide a little around here lately as we adjust to new baby Orion. Anyway, this was my “look at me! I am actually getting dress” outfit the other day for an outing to Mom’s group. Don’t you love dressing for the fall weather. It’s my favorite!
YOU GUYS!!! He’s here!!! It’s taken me a bit of time to actually get on the computer and post this, but if you’ve been following along on Instagram you know he came 3 weeks ago on the beautiful day of October 6th. He was born at home at 5:27pm, weighted in at 9 lbs 6oz. and was 22 inches long. He was a day early even! Woot! Woot! I can’t wait to share his birth story with you guys but today I wanted to share the story behind his name. We named him Orion David Richardson. He’s the very first son (duh!) and grandson on both sides of our family. David is Kev’s middle name and I love that my 2 boys now share that in common. Kev’s middle name is after his Grandfather. I never got to meet him but Kev has lots of wonderful memories and loved him very much. He sounds like such a good man and I wish I had gotten to know him. I am proud that Orion gets to carry on his legacy.
As far as his first name, I knew when we found out we were having a boy I wanted to name him after my Dad somehow. Not in the traditional sense by just giving him my Dad’s name, but by something with deeper meaning and maybe a little more abstract in reference. You see, my Dad is a pretty special guy. Next to Kev, he’s my favorite guy and probably the smartest one at that. My Dad has always been in love with astronomy, telescopes and space exploration. For most of my childhood there were telescopes in abundance at our house. At school I was know as “the girl with the observatory in her backyard”. I’m not talking dinky, little observatories either… like real legit ones that my Dad built himself. He not only built the observatories, but built and machined almost all of the parts for the actual telescopes as well. Because of his love of for astronomy he instilled in us a sense of wonder, to dream big and to follow our passions full force. He taught us to have an appreciation for the extreme beauty in the skies and the awe of God’s creation. Kev has this memory that he told me well after the fact, that on one of our early dates we were out sitting by this reservoir and I said to him something along the lines of “doesn’t the sky look huge tonight?” He said he looked up and noticed that the sky did indeed look big that night. He told me that he knew right then and there that I was special (haha mushy I know). He said he’d never dated someone who would have noticed something like that. Aww what a guy to remember something like that, huh? Love him. Anyway back to my Dad… His observatory is called Heaven’s Glory Observatory after Psalm 19:1. I love that my Dad works amongst some of the smartest men and women in the science and engineering fields yet has never felt the need to question his faith. If anything it has only grown stronger- science does not need to be separate from God. He is such an awesome example of a strong man of God.
My dad is a super talented astrophotographer (all astronomy pictures in this post are by my Dad)! When we started to come up with names we couldn’t get our minds off Orion, which is actually his favorite constellation. It was perfect!! It was everything we wanted in a name for our sweet little boy. Something to represent my Dad but also express the beauty of God’s creation and especially in creating this new life. Did you know that Orion is actually mentioned in the bible a handful of times? How cool is that? My favorite is…
He who made the Pleiades and Orion,
who turns midnight into dawn
and darkens day into night,
who calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the face of the land—
the Lord is his name.
Amos 5:8
^^M42/NGC1777 Emission/Reflection Nebula region in Orion (photo by my Dad)
^^My Dad and his new grandson. All the heart eye emojis please!!
^^Horsehead and Flame Nebula Region in Orion (photo by my Dad)
^^M78 Reflection Nebula region in Orion (photo by my Dad)
^^Oh boy! Look how cool I was in 8th grade!
^^Observatory in my parents backyard
Thanks for letting me gush on my Dad and my new baby boy for bit!
and thanks for all the love and congratulations- you guys are the best. THE BEST I TELL YA!!!
xoxox
Hey guys!
It’s Friday!! Yippie!! Can’t wait for a slower paced weekend. We have just one soccer game this weekend and I am hoping the weather might hold out for an apple picking trip. Of course if a baby decides to show up I would be ok with that as well. Anyway, I have been day dreaming of wearing regular clothes again and these 3 outfits would be top on my list of things I would wear this weekend…
and here are a few favorite blog posts and articles from this week…
1. A good reminder to slow things down and listen to what we are called to for our lives.
2. Totally made these the other day and guys! They are AMAZING!! We ate them all up and then have been using the left over pumpkin caramel to dip apples in. Yum!!!
3. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… My most favorite style blog. I pretty much pin every outfit. If only I could afford those boots!
4. Loved hearing from John and Sherry from Young House Love again over on the newest Lively Show podcast.
5. I think I need to eat this for breakfast tomorrow.
6. I love this blog. Some of the best articles on foster care for sure!! Would love to hear Jason speak sometime soon.
7. Guys!! Julie came to visit me last week!! It was such an awesome surprise. Our visit was short but sweet but it was so good to catch up with her. She’s a traveling machine these days.
8. How cute is this diy project for you and your kids. Love the idea of a solar system necklace!
9. My favorite food combination will forever be kale and sweet potatoes! Doesn’t this salad look so very yummy!!!
Welcome to my personal lifestyle blog. It features topics such as motherhood, family life, fashion, cooking, and all sorts of adventures. I hope you enjoy what you find!
