I have a son! I can't believe it! I was so sure I was having a girl and was very prepared for Liana to have a baby sister. Then my handsome son came into the world and surprised us all.

On Saturday afternoon we rushed to the hospital to meet our newest bundle of joy. And I mean rushed.... he was born just an hour after our arrival. They hadn't even admitted me as a patient yet!

Meet our tiny little man, Ayrton Nelson. Born on the 20th of February at 2:10 PM, at 38 weeks and 5 days gestation. He weighed 7 pounds 6 ounces and measured 18 3/4 inches long.

I'm working on his birth story and will have it posted in the next few days. For now I'm soaking up every sweet moment with my new mini. ♡

As a fun flashback, click {here} to read the blog post welcoming Liana's arrival. Their first mummy and baby photos are quite similar!

Life, however, had different plans for me. As you may know, I have been madly studying to achieve an insurance designation, the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU). If you're not familiar with the insurance industry, the CPCU is the most prestigious designation and the most difficult to obtain. It is said to be equivalent to having a Master's degree in insurance. For the education component there are eight two-to-three hour exams to pass. After passing four exams, I scheduled my fifth at the end of January, on the 21st. I wasn't very confident this time and went in with a poor attitude. For the very first time, I walked out of the testing center with a piece of paper that read "non-pass."

I have been terribly upset for allowing myself to receive a "non-pass." The high of my previous passing streak suddenly wore off and I felt like a complete failure. I felt like I had wasted the $270 I paid for my exam slot and was kicking myself in the butt for all of those nights I spent on social media or going to sleep early instead of studying.

After letting my "non-pass" marinate for the past week and a half, I've come to realize that one of my biggest drawbacks is my attitude. I went into my exam with a poor attitude and I came out with a poor attitude, and that got me nowhere. It's been a struggle to come to terms with this, but I decided that I need to pick myself back up and use this experience as a positive building block on my way to achieving my long term goal of attaining the CPCU designation. I need to change my attitude completely and actually believe that I can achieve what I set my mind to. I need to persevere.

Not only with my studying and exams, but with all of my goals. I had to reminds myself of my 2016 goals (posted here) and reflect on the importance of perseverance for each one. Persevering in 2016 means I will be healthy, I will be happy with my blog, I will give birth naturally to my second child, I will be financially stable, I will make time to put my family first, and I will be content with myself. 

And so, my word of the year has been confirmed: Persevere.