It's the most wonderful time of the year!

It snowed this morning! I woke up to this beautiful scene outside my front door. 

I know I live in Utah now, so snow shouldn't be this exciting, but just look at it! it's so beautiful. 

                                                                

 I mean, just to be perfectly fair, I think as a born and raised so-cal girl who can probably count on her fingers the number of times she saw snow in the winter, I'm entitled to be a little overly excited. 

 I think the coolest part is that it's still snowing. I'm sure that news will not be as exciting in a week though. 


 I tried to get the mountains in the picture below, but the cloud cover was pretty heavy so you can't really see it. 

I definitely like the snow =) It's baby J's first snow and someone gave me the cutest little snow outfit for him, he looks so cute all cuddled up in his fuzzy snow outfit =) Also, he sleeps alot in it because it's so warm. so that's a plus side =) 

*baby, it's cold outside*

***Your little hand is wrapped around my finger ***

There are so, so many opinions on how to be a mommy out there.
There are opinions on how to feed my baby...
How to diaper my baby.... 
How to clean, love, hold, and sleep my baby.
Trust me, if it's been thought of, it's out there. 
I wish that I could have automatically known what kind of a mom I was going to be before I had baby J. There were so many things that I said I wouldn't or would do, that I now do or don't do. 
For example, I said I would never sleep with my baby in my bed. That he would sleep next to me in a cradle for a couple of months, and then off to his very own room in a crib all his own. 
We set up a beautiful nursery, and baby got our only dresser. (daddy and I use cardboard boxes). 
Then comes the baby. 
Do you see where this is going?
I do a whole lot of research when I start to do something I never thought I'd be comfortable with. 
I found good advice for co-sleeping here and here. That last one has alot of links that you can also go to to learn more.
My doctor insisted that co-sleeping was a terrible idea, and when I told her that was controversial, she said, "Well, just look at the numbers and you'll see I'm right." So I did. (This link was the closest thing to official numbers that I found).  If you're going to give me your opinion, as a professional, then you better make sure your research has been done some time after 1965 when you went to medical school.

I'm starting to learn what kind of a parent I am.
Being a parent is not something you really know how to do until you're actually doing it.
It's the ultimate hands-on experience, not something anyone can tell you how to do,
not something you can learn from books.
You just have to dive in and do your best. 

My point is that we all learn to be parents, by doing it. Not by listening to our friends, or even our family, or even our doctors. That advice is so important to listen to, but in the end, you find your own style. 
Not just about being a parent. Also about being human. We all do it in our own ways, and there are very few ways that actually suck. (I say very few because there are definitely some). 
I like my way. I'm willing to make a few course corrections when I find something better, or when I get advice that I deem good. usually by some research of my own into the topic.
This is how I live, and I love it =)
**ooh, Darlin' don't you ever grow up**