Enjoy the Seasons

This week we invited our friend Kathryn to write a guest blog! Kathryn is a local Tulsa photographer who specializes in newborn photography. She's passionate about her work, and provides top notch services. She is a mother of two, a small business owner, and brings a lot to the table. Enjoy!

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Somewhere this past week I read something that said, “enjoy the season.” I thought that was a little weird – I enjoy winter’s snow, spring’s flowers, summer’s pool days, and the smell and cool air of fall. I enjoy all seasons!

Those aren’t the seasons this article (I think it was an article…can’t remember) was talking about.

Enjoy the seasons of your life.

Ahhhh…those seasons! I sat and thought. It’s so easy to rush through the seasons of your life and never really enjoy them because you’re so concerned with getting to the next stage.

I look back and think when did my smart, confident, beautiful baby girl become a toddler? And when did my brand new baby boy become a 14 pound little man who can entertain himself on the activity gym and only wake up once a night?

Time goes by so fast. And when you have little ones, it seems to go even faster.

This past year has been a whirlwind. My husband and I welcomed our second baby, he started grad school (Funny side story: his first test ever was the morning our son was born…birth time = 7:26a, test time = 11:00a and they wouldn’t let him reschedule), we work full time, we parent full time, and we try to find time to reconnect with just us.

Sure, it’s busy, but it’s all about the way you frame it. Having undistracted cuddle time on the couch with my little girl beats checking Facebook. Pushing my baby boy on the porch swing beats doing the dishes…because there’s always a dish to be cleaned.

The thing I want to share with new mothers is this: Enjoy every season. The first few weeks after birth are hard, sleep-depriving, and exhausting. BUT… Enjoy your baby when she wants to sleep in your arms because that’s where she feels safe. Enjoy getting up 2-3 times a night to feed and snuggle with her. Enjoy the cries because all she wants is to be in your arms. Because this too shall pass, and you’ll look back and wonder when your brand new baby became a running, playful, and independent toddler.