Blog

7 Month Knox Update

July 12, 2018

S E V E N. What in the world?! This time last year I was packing up our apartment to move into our first home, and stopping by Sherwin Williams with an ever-growing belly every few days at 23 weeks pregnant. Now, I have a baby on my hip and still find myself in Sherwin Williams as I take on projects around the house in-between naps. (Hence, why my projects list for the house that I have had since the week we moved in has been VERY slowly chipped away at.)

Knox has grown into a wildly active and overachieving little boy. Over the course of the last month he has grown more and more discontent being anything but vertical. He HAS to be standing, so when he discovered mom and dad can’t hold him upward all day long… he figured it out for himself. He started pulling himself up on the side of anything he could manage to, but up until a couple of nights ago, it was short lived and he would plop over after a few seconds. But, there is no plopping over anymore. He is very sturdy- I swear, it’s crazy how fast they develop and grow in new discoveries- and he is all but trying to rock climb up & over everything now. We have had to drop the crib this month, started eating more baby food to give more calories to make up for all he is burning as he crawls and climbs from sun up to sun down, and we get in two very solid naps a day (I will share our 6+ month schedule at the bottom of this post!). I live for making it to nap time, honestly, and I am not ashamed to say it. I only get anything done around the house or any work I want to accomplish during nap time, because Knox requires full attention every second.

He loves books- you can find him crawling in his book bin in his room pretty much any second he is in there. And, he loves babbling about… well, whatever it is he babbles about. He said “mama” for the first time July 5th, and I just about lost my mind. He uses it in his babble, and doesn’t know what or WHO mama really is… but it still is the most incredible thing in the world to hear him say it. I literally laid on the floor, dropping everything I was working on the second he said it, and made him say it to me for about 45 minutes while I gushed and cried.

Knoxy loves his puppy, Presley, and particularly loves crawling all over her. And using her tail as a rattle. She is very patient with him, and loves to give him kisses. We are most definitely teaching the word “gentle”… it doesn’t seem to be sinking in quite yet. 😉

Alas, “no” has been added to our vocabulary in the last month, too. Like, wow. I have never said “NO” so much in my life. He is catching on to this one for sure, and will listen to it about 60% of the time. The other 40% of the time he will turn to look at me, grin, and then keep going at whatever it is he was doing. He is a STINKER, but it’s so freaking cute. Paul and I have to force ourselves not to laugh at almost everything “bad” he does, because it’s just so darn adorable.

As far as feedings go, Knox still has about 20 oz. of breastmilk a day, and then about 20 oz. of formula a day. This is done entirely by bottle and pumping- I haven’t breast fed for about 3 months. And, I ain’t even gonna sugarcoat it… it’s because I didn’t like breastfeeding. GASP. I enjoyed it when he was tiny. But, as he got older, it literally felt like I was just feeding. All day. I would feed for about 45 minutes, burp him, play for a little bit… and before I knew it I was stuck feeding again. It started to spark postpartum depression in me, and I immediately made the change to bottles all the time to give myself a bit more free time. Pumping and bottle feeding is just what has worked best for us and my life schedule. I also do feel it’s taught Knox to be independent, and he LOVES to feed himself. Around 5 months, he started grabbing his bottle and trying to feed himself, so we just went with it. We started by propping his bottle up for him to help him out, and it eventually turned into him doing it entirely on his own.

We let him wake up on his own, which means some days we are up at 6 AM and others at 8 AM. But, the average is 7 AM. I pump 3 x’s a day (I seem to get that question fairly often from you mamas!). I get about 6-8 oz a pumping right now, but sometimes it’s more. Depending of course on the time Knox wakes up, we either do 4 or 5 feedings a day every 3-4 hours. I honestly am such a firm believer in sticking to the schedule firmly when they are newborns, and then it naturally loosens up a little bit. But, the main thing is that they stick to the sleep schedule. Eating times can vary as they get older as long as naps and bed are consistent. We will play with baby food in between a feeding once or twice a week right now. He LOVES the squeezable pouches of food, and I buy the Organics Happy Baby the most. His favorite to date is DEFINITELY the blueberries, apples, and oats one. Though, I avoid the fruit ones as much as possible still right now. We do the spinach based ones most. (It helps develop a love for veggies over sugar, according to my pediatrician!)

As far as things go for me on the mama end, I am feeling great but tired. The month of June has been so exhausting. I mean, truthfully it started to feel like month 1 with Knox, because of how crazy our schedule has been with travel and Paul being gone for almost 2 weeks. I was getting about 5 hours of sleep between travel and not being in my own bed, and Knox being off from travel. And from sharing a room with him. Homeboy was restless with all the travel. Basically… I am grateful that all traveling is done for the time being, and we get to mesh back into normalcy. We all took a toll from the crazy month, though. Paul is currently sick AGAIN with an upper-respiratory infection (yes… again.) We both had this in May… it’s back, and horrible. 🙂 #fanfreakingtastic Knox was having a hard time sleeping while in San Antonio both times I went, so he has been a off, like I said. BUT, it’s starting to feel like he’s back to his routine. And me? Well, I am making it. I dream of margaritas on a beach somewhere… but, for now… I just am finding joy in the day to day while accomplishing projects around the house when I get the chance. Prayer and gratitude is what I live by lately, and it seems to be working.

But, please read: I don’t have it all together. I have had a hard month.

I about had a full meltdown on Monday at the pediatrician’s office. I woke up that day in the crib with Knox, because it’s the only way he would sleep. Though, I was in it for 2.5 hours… and Knox was with me in it only about an hour before Paul took him and left me in there. But, I gotta say… him sleeping in my arms in his bed was probably a top 5 moment with him to date. The rest of my day was exhausting, and I felt loopy as heck from just the weight of travel knocking me over and trying to get back into routine after a month of chaos. I also had a really frustrating business hiccup that I had to all but force myself to handle with grace. I then left for town and forgot my debit card, which I realized only when I had just about made it to the pediatrician. They wouldn’t take us back, because we are on a payment plan and I had to pay for this month’s payment… so, no 6 month appointment for Knox. Is it lame I was most disappointed about this because I love our pediatrician so much and wanted to see her? HA. Then, I couldn’t find my keys. I locked them in the car (or so I thought). So, Paul came to rescue me while I fought back tears for 15 minutes in the lobby. Then… we get in the Jeep and my keys are nowhere to be found… except in my diaper bag that was on my shoulder where I thought they were the whole time but couldn’t find when I searched for them frantically in the lobby. Awesome.

Then, the meltdown came. I let myself cry for 5 minutes. Then, I prayed, sucked it up, and asked for God’s grace. Let’s just say I am grateful for a gym membership that provides childcare. I needed a second desperately.

I tell you this story, because it’s so important to remember NONE OF US have this mom thing down. I definitely don’t. I feel I am doing you a disservice if I don’t share days like this. I am not using my platform well if I don’t tell you all about my bad days. It’s not for pity, not even in the slightest. It’s to assure you that you’re not alone, and we all have crazy days.

GRACE, my friend. Give yourself grace. A woman I love and look up to so much sent me a message to remind me I am human in the middle of my bad day. And that just because it’s a bad day doesn’t make me a bad mom. I told her I feel like a chicken with her head cut off lately, and she said, “Me too.” A woman I look up to as a business leader, mom, and believer who I frankly see as having it all and having it all together… and she could say, “me too.” I felt oddly relieved. That’s why I share. If my “me too” can give you a sigh of relief, then I am PROUD to wave “me too” around with my crazy stories and tears to encourage you.

You’re doing awesome, mama. You are keeping a human alive… CONGRATULATIONS!

xoxo, Han

Below is our most up to date schedule. We always follow Knox’s cues, and it seems his schedule changes up every 3 months with big leaps and milestones. The times change up a little bit depending on when he wakes up, but below is fairly average for him on a daily basis.

**MAIN POINTS: He takes a two hour nap in the morning EXACTLY 2 hours after waking up like CLOCKWORK. Literally, as soon as 2 hours hits, he is rubbing his eyes and I lay him down. His afternoon nap is just about always at 2 PM for 2 hours. He eats 8-10 oz. almost every feeding, sometimes more. His last feeding isn’t quite a full 3 hours usually from his late afternoon feeding, so it can be a little less. I just let him eat until he stops.

6+ Month Schedule

7 AM (Most days) Wake-Up

Feed (Takes 8-10 oz in bottle while I pump)

Play, read books, crawl, jump in door jumper while I make breakfast

9 AM NAP

11 AM Wake-Up

Feed (Takes 8-10 oz in bottle)

PUMP AT LUNCH

Play, crawl, jump, etc. KEEP ACTIVE

2 PM Feed & lay down for nap

2:15- 4:15 PM Nap

4:30 PM (Takes 8-10 oz)

Play with daddy after work

Final bottle of the day 6:45 PM (usually about 6oz, he is offered 8 oz)

7 PM BED TIME

ACTIVE BABY ITEMS WE HAVE OR ARE ON OUR LIST TO BUY

Hey, I Have Missed You!

July 5, 2018

Wow, y’all. It’s absolutely crazy how much has gone on in the last couple of months. I have felt so behind on EVERYTHING, and work honestly has come last in the overwhelming race against the clock every single day and constantly just trying to keep it together until nap time. (I get two times a day that bubba goes down- I will share Knox’s latest schedule in the coming weeks!) Now, because we are family around here, I wanted to just fill you in, say “hey!”, and keep this good thing we’ve got going. Because, listen, I like you. I want to keep you and I connected. 😉

To be frank, The Cake by Hannah has taken a back burner the last two months to a baby who has discovered he wants to always be vertical (and is now crawling like a champ!), the month of May that was swallowed by sickness (multiple times for all three of us!), and the month of June which was dominated entirely by travel/camp/Paul gone for 10 days. You guys, sending your husband off to a remote village in Africa with zero contact for any amount of time is unsettling, but DANG 10 days. We had never been apart for that long before, and definitely not without contact! I feel like I have been out of my routine since the beginning of May. And in case you’re wondering… it’s July… JULY. I went to the gym today for the first time since May, because I can’t ever figure out how to align getting someone to watch Knox so I can go to barre. I often start writing posts and can’t finish them. I literally have 5 open documents at the bottom right corner of my computer of posts I haven’t finished yet. It’s just so hard -all of it- when you are trying with every fiber of your being to be a good mom, good wife, good mentor, and oh yeah… when I get the chance, good writer and find “me time” to do what I love.

Because of the challenge this season of life has brought, I have longed for simplicity in every little nook and cranny of my life. What I focus on and who I focus on. How long I take to get ready. How much less I care about what I am wearing. How much more I care about if I am investing my time and thoughts in something that matters. You see, the best part about the last couple of months has been that despite this season being a challenge, it’s also been so life-giving and helpful. I have never been happier, I don’t think. I have never felt so sure of myself, despite the chaos around me and my (countless) shortcomings.

Sure, there’s a lot to figure out in this act of balancing life, work, motherhood, being a wife, and… well, everything. But here’s what I know: I have never been more happy with simple than now, and I am just glad you guys want to be part of whatever that looks like. That my friends is so freeing. I have never been more content with less for the sake of more than now.

**Literally just stopped writing this post for a good 40 minutes, because Knox just said “mama” for real for the first time. I about died. And I then proceeded to lay on the floor making him say it over and over again… Case and point… this is why my focus is so divided, but I don’t mind it one bit. My family and being a mom will ALWAYS trump work. I will share videos of him saying “mama” at the bottom of this post. You will also see how much of a monkey my child is all of a sudden… literally none of this is staged. (Feel like I have to say that O_o) **

For a quick update on us: Knox is crawling and climbing over everything. And, as of .2 seconds ago, apparently saying “mama”. I am still absolutely freaking out. Paul just traveled to Africa for 10 days where he served with Mission Massai, preached to the village at their Sunday service, and helped lead a VBS for the kids. We then had camp for our students, and then preached this past Sunday with Emma Mae Jenkins. *She is actually my pastor’s niece. And, she is just as amazingly kind and precious in real life as you hope she will be.* This was my first time to ever PREACH from the stage (I sing from it all the time!), and despite being incredibly nervous… I had so much fun and have a new love for speaking. Not a bad gig to work and experience so much in life with my hubby literally at my side. I am so grateful for life, y’all. SO GRATEFUL. You can listen to our’s and Emma’s message from Sunday here.

Anyways, clearly life has been wild. I have been trying to figure out what to focus on and how much time to put into things. Here’s what I can guarantee you will always get from me:

Instagram: I am always there. Let’s hang out. And if you like following along with my life, my family, my faith, and just keepin’ it real… tell yo friends, too. 😉
Sweet Thoughts: Every single Tuesday, without fail, at 6 AM you will receive my weekly devotional. (Except this past Tuesday, because it’s a holiday week and I gave myself off.)
The Blog: I will continue with weekly blog posts. Some weeks there may be more, but I am promising myself and you at least one a week.
The Cake Shop: This is ALWAYS there! I currently have Signature Tanks, Because He First Loved, and Sunny Days ball caps in full supply for the summer. The Cake Shop is an extension of the heart behind The Cake by Hannah. The mission to always be sweet, find joy in the little things, and to spread kindness like buttercream frosting.

I love you guys so deeply, friends. You celebrate and cry with me, and everything in between. I am grateful for each and every one of you. I am grateful for what we’ve got. 😉 I was going to do a photo shoot for this post, but honestly… I just found it fitting to share some pics from the last few weeks from the every day simplicity of our life lately. Like, 4th of July parades, lake days with friends, our first movie theatre date in years, a breakfast date, and such. You know, life. *insert a shrug here*

Love y’all. I have linked everything I am wearing to the best of my ability.

xoxo, Han

What’s in my closet:

Videos as promised of Knox today:

IMG_0301-1 from Hannah Cheves on Vimeo.

The Sounds of Simplicity

June 29, 2018

The sounds of simplicity.

I have been on a journey to simplifying over the last few years. Not only my physical schedule, though that has changed drastically, but also my mind and in my spirit. I got to the point a couple summers ago that everything just needed to stop. My adrenals were shot, my body was failing me. I wasn’t me anymore, because at all hours of the day worry swirled through every fiber of my being. I drove across the metroplex on a daily basis, and my lowest points were being stuck on the Dallas North Tollway at 4:30 PM trying to get back home on time to then make it to whatever evening commitments I had.

Life was a constant leg bounce. Know what I mean? When somebody is on edge and their leg is obnoxiously bouncing mindlessly under the table. That was me… always. I finally said “enough.” I quit my job in the city. I quit anything toxic that was filling me up, including friendships and ways of thinking. I quit trying to keep up with things that weren’t even who I was, but I felt I had to be. I quit trying to be like the other thousands of bloggers in Dallas, TX, and I pursued my own niche. We quit cable, and I quit watching the news every morning.

It was so freaking freeing. I don’t know how else to say it. *insert shoulder shrug here* It has been three years this week since that journey started, and dang it’s still an uphill battle. I mean, yesterday I had my first day to rest after what was arguably the craziest two weeks of Paul’s and my marriage, and I chose to lay mulch in the front flower beds rather than sitting. I don’t always nail rest, and I am always trying to figure out how to simplify, but gosh am I miles ahead of where I was.

Like I said, this past month truly has been the craziest month of my life quite possibly. I had to pep talk myself for the month of June as it inched closer in the final days of May. I pumped myself up the first week as we prepared Paul to leave for Africa, and I told myself I was going to be fine. The dialogue in my head was a little something like, “Oh my gosh, there’s no way I can do this… Hannah shut up. You can do this. Stop telling yourself anything else. You’ll make it. Oh my gosh I am never going to make it.” … back and forth, back and forth.

Know what’s funny, though? Despite this chaos of June- and believe me it was chaotic- I have never felt more alive in simplicity than I have in the last few weeks. I know, I know. It’s crazy. It doesn’t mean things weren’t challenging, I had a meltdown or two, but the purest forms of simplicity were put in front of me like a refreshing leap into a pool after a hot and sweaty run in the heat. Or like a PB&J at the waterpark with Cheetos. If you know, you know. You know- simply happy.

I got to spend 10 days back in my hometown while Paul was in Africa, and being home always yanks the realest self out of me. It reminds me who I am. It takes me back to a 16 year old self that exists inside of me who loved to dance around her room with her best friend to Taylor Swift and take night drives to the grocery store to pick up pints of Ben & Jerry’s. I spent my 26th birthday with my grandparents, daddy, and best friend with dinner at home telling stories until 10 PM at the table. Ah the sounds of simplicity.

Know what else is the sound of simplicity? Children in a remote African village who love every ounce of life, and don’t have but a care in the world as they sing songs in their sweet, high voices and dance. They love life, love Jesus, and love each other. Pretty simple. Pretty wonderful. I want that love for life. I envy their approach to simplicity.

The sound of simplicity is rain on the windows while the coffee maker drips a fresh brew into the coffee pot at your best friend’s house in the country. Looking out the window to see squash growing up the fence and chickens clucking around.

Simplicity.

The sound of simplicity is silence. No TV, no emails dinging in.

The sound of simplicity is the turning of a page in a book you’ve been wanting to read, but just haven’t had the time to. Simple.

The sound of simplicity is falling asleep in your damp swim suit after a long day in the water while the fan clicks above you.

The sound of simplicity is a crappy cup of coffee at camp on the lake shore as the water hits the dock.

The sound of simplicity is 150 students singing the same worship song for 10 minutes in total surrender.

I was driving out to camp a couple mornings ago, a 35 minute trek I did every morning this last week, because Knox just couldn’t handle staying there and being out of his nightly and morning routine another week after 10 days away from home just the week before. (Simple doesn’t always mean easy… haha. You have to fight for simple.) But as I drove through the winding back roads to camp, I rolled the windows down and I actually felt a bubbling giddiness inside me. I thought to myself, “God, why am I so happy right now? I should be exhausted. I should be stressed out”…. But I thought to myself, “This is the good stuff. I could live like this for the rest of my life.”

When I allow simplicity into my life, I allow my truest self to come out. The Hannah who loves to free fall off the high platform at camp and slide down the waterslide. The Hannah who loves to sit and chat about life with her best friends for hours without much of a plan other than being together. The Hannah who would give anything to walk into a restaurant more often with family and see at least 10 people she knows. The Hannah who lays on the floor of her son’s room for two hours while he belly laughs and discovers crawling.

Simplicity is my site breaking for four days and not having a panic attack about it.

Simplicity is going to see The Incredibles with my husband and ordering chocolate chip cookies, because I can.

The sounds of simplicity. What are they for you? I hope whatever they are for you, you get a whole lot more of it. I hope you figure out a way to cut out noise, and get more sounds of simplicity into your life. There is nothing like the sound of simplicity.

Mishaps Happen

June 14, 2018

The first purchase I ever made for Paul and I as an engaged couple was a beautiful big rug for our first loft. It was a bigger ticket purchase, but for me it was very important. It was meant to set the tone for the rest of our home as we filled it, piece by piece on our newlywed budget. I had always dreamed of the day I would get to decorate my first home, and it was finally happening! It also was a rug that ended up trending on Pinterest a couple months after I bought it, which made me super proud of my choice. Pat on the back. I felt like I had an eye for the up and coming. 😉

Just a few months after walking down the aisle, Paul caved and let me get a dog despite our prior agreement to wait a year. Thus enters our goldendoodle Presley into our lives. Since adding Presley to the family, we have said goodbye to two rugs, a sofa, a pair of Michael Kors sandals, a lot of socks, and a whole lot of stuffed animals. Puppy training in a loft on the third floor was… interesting to say the least. My beautiful first rug turned into a land mine for Presley’s potty training no matter how much I tried to protect it. Then, on its final day of life, (the rug’s, not Presley’s… though it was a close call), I left Presley alone in the living room for a few. Bad decision. I walked back in to see her digging into my beautiful fluffy rug like a mound of dirt, fluff flying every which way. There was now, in addition to the potty stains all over, a massive bald spot right in the middle. It was time to roll her up, and toss her. My efforts of salvaging my first home purchase were a lost cause. Mishaps happen. We buy puppies, they ruin our rugs we love. We have babies, they pee on our big fancy couches. We prepare our hottest cup of coffee for the day in the wee hours of the morning as we stumble out of bed before the baby wakes up to spill it all over the rug.

Mishaps, they definitely happen in our home now more than ever before.

I can’t count how many times we have had to clean up every type of bodily function from off our floor and couch in the last 6 months. Just before I had Knox, it started to feel like my upholstery cleaner guy and I were becoming friends. I think perhaps in a final effort to refuse adding a baby to the family, Presley felt like reverting back to Puppy 101 and started peeing on our sofa again. Her favorite spot is right between the two middle cushions. Mind you, this is our 2nd sofa since getting married, because -you guessed it- Presley ruined our first. Well, Presley… and a huge glass of red wine.

I have searched high and low for an amazing cleaner for our rug and sofa with the hopes of not having to buy new ones every two years, and I am pretty giddy about this find. I have been using the Rug Doctor FlexClean for our hardwood floors to keep them looking spotless, and upholstery cleaner attachment for when Presley or Knox decide to take a spill on our couch. Or when mom spills her full cup of hot coffee… or evening glass of wine. The upholstery attachment is over 7 feet long, and I can use it on ALL THE THINGS. I have used it on our sofa, dog bed, and will be testing it out on our mattress soon, too, for a good cleaning instead of hiring someone to. (Did you know you’re supposed to clean your mattress?! This is a new discovery for me.)

For our floors, the FlexClean has two different nozzles to attach on the front side of your machine. Since our whole home is hardwoods, I use the nozzle that says “for hard surfaces.” It is really easy to take on and off, so if you have a home with both carpet and hardwoods, it’s a simple exchange to keep your cleaning jobs effortless.

It’s such a relief knowing I have this in our home now. It is peace of mind seeing it in my linen closet knowing I don’t have to wait days before my buddy the upholstery cleaner can come and steam clean our couch! The FlexClean seriously made my wood floors look shiny and new. I did them while Knox took his afternoon nap, and all I was missing was a cocktail in hand for it to be the best time ever for this new mama. My goodness do priorities and your idea of “fun” change when you get older. There is just something so satisfying about deep cleaning your floors, y’all. I can’t explain it. It just is so good… haha. I am so grateful to have my Rug Doctor handy for when the inevitable mishaps happen around the house.

Even better for YOU, Rug Doctor is doing a few amazing giveaways this summer with the Dog Days of Summer contest. You can win amazing prizes from a Bark Box subscription, to a FlexClean of your own, or even a grand prize trip to Florida (to which of course puppy can come)! Enter here, and good luck!

Cheers to saving more rugs and sofas of the future, and handling mishaps with ease now!

xoxo, Han

This is a sponsored post in partnership with Rug Doctor. All opinions about the product are my own after personal use of the machine. #ad

Details on my products:

This is my machine I own: FlexClean

I used this product on my floors, and this one for my sofa. And then I spot shot our love seat with this stuff!

All photos by Cottonwood Road Photography for The Cake by Hannah in partnership with Rug Doctor

My Outfit:

These are the BEST jeans you will ever buy for under $50. My exact wash is no longer sold, but here they are in a different wash. And then here are more by the same brand.

Similar Shirts

A Father’s Day Surprise

June 4, 2018

Today I have partnered with Artifact Uprising for a special Father’s Day post. All The Cake by Hannah readers can use CAKE15, now through June 12th, for 15% off your order from their site!

I knew Paul was going to be my husband just a few weeks after meeting him. I remember coming home from church and telling my roommate I could see myself falling in love with him and marrying him. She looked at me like I was crazy, because without getting into the messy details of this girl’s crazy heart, that was bonkers for me to EVER say about anybody. Love at first sight isn’t everybody’s story, but it was for ours.

I was 19, and quickly fell in love with how Paul held himself, how respectful he was, how handsome he was (because, hellooooo look at that face!), and how much he loved Jesus. I could see a life with him. I could picture myself as his wife. I could imagine us taking trips together, taking him home to my family, and creating our own home full of traditions. One thing that was almost impossible for me to picture, though, was being a mom. It’s something I always had struggled with, and I didn’t even know for sure if I ever wanted to be one. I had some crazy fears about motherhood and pregnancy. But Paul, Paul could be a dad. Of that I was certain. I knew very early on in our relationship that he would make an incredible father. He is a leader, he is a teacher, and he is so goofy. I loved watching him play with his little cousins, because it was a tiny glimpse into what it could be like if we did have kids one day. Though it was hard to picture myself as a mom, I always could picture Paul as an incredible daddy, just like my own. I had such an amazing example growing up of a father and husband, because my dad was such an amazing one. Paul fit the bill.

Clearly, Paul and I got married from our love at first sight story, and obviously -with a baby sleeping in his crib 10 feet from me as I write- my heart changed over the years toward the idea of becoming a mom. I can’t help but think so much of my heart change had to do with the father’s heart Paul always had and I could see from so early on. It’s a piece of him I fell in love with. In a way, knowing Paul was going to be such an amazing dad helped settle my own fears of becoming a mom. Watching Paul be a dad to Knox feels like a natural extension of who he is. Seeing my husband step into the role of “daddy” has made me fall in love with him all over again. Not only do I now have a second love at first sight story with my sweet son Knox, but I have a love story that is continuing to unfold and grow deeper with my husband.

Celebrating Paul is so easy, and for his first Father’s Day I wanted to do something special for him. We celebrated a little early around here, because he will actually be in Africa on Father’s Day. It is so like Paul to be serving and leading a group in the most off the map village in Africa on such a special day for him. I teamed up with Artifact Uprising to celebrate Paul, framing 6 photos of our growing family from the last 4 years. It was so fun to pick from such an archive of amazing photos (shout out to Cottonwood Road Photography for all the beautiful pictures we have of our family around the house!) that I feel display our sweet family so well. From our 2 year anniversary photos, to our puppy Presley who we got just months after getting married, to our maternity photos, to newborns. Our family wouldn’t be what it is without Paul. He is the cornerstone of our home. He is our provider and leader. He pushes me to Christ. He is the most self-assured and unshakable human I know. He is wise, and he is as steady as the tide.

Paul, happy first Father’s Day! Knox and I love you so much.

xoxo, Hannah (and Knoxy!)

Photos by Stratton Creative for The Cake by Hannah’s Partnership with Artifact Uprising

The Photos

I chose the Modern Metal Frames in the black finish. They are sleek, simple, and very “Paul.” I knew he would love these most when I was looking for the perfect frame. I did 6 photos in the 12×12 size for our entry hall to create the gallery wall we’ve been talking about doing for months. I measured out 6 inches apart horizontally and 2 inches vertically. It filled the space perfectly and truly transformed our hallway!