Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Wordless Wednesday


Just kidding there are lots of words. No way I could post a picture of these two beauties without the stories behind them ;) These are both special purchases that we recently made, yes, for ourselves, but for Adam too.

First up, Tom's guitar.  Tom's main hobby in life is playing the guitar. He plays pretty much every single day, and has played to Adam since before he was born.  He has been in the market for a Martin solid wood guitar for a while, but has also just been saving up the funds because they're not cheap.   Does this guitar look familiar to anyone? It should, because it's the same one he played when he sang to me at our wedding :D
Almost 8 years ago he borrowed it from his friend Frat since he was living in Alabama when we got married and couldn't bring his own guitar up for the wedding.  He was talking with Frat last month about guitars and Frat was telling him about how he no longer plays his guitar anymore and it was just sitting in the basement collecting dust.  A reasonable transaction and a few weeks at Guitar Center's service center later, Tom finally has his Martin!!  And Adam loves it.




My story.  It's no secret I have tumbled into the weird and wonderful world of babywearing.  I had no idea how much I would love it, or how intense and crazy this world is the first time I popped Adam into my Baby K'tan when he was 11 days old.  I've gotten quite in to woven wraps, and have more than I care to admit, but have been on the search for the beauty in this picture for several months. It's a Didymos Grass Hemp Indio woven wrap, a limited edition release which is no longer made and highly sought after in the babywearing world due to the supportive qualities of hemp/cotton and it's sheer beautiful color (although there are rumors circulating that Didy might be reweaving it!).  I got a decent deal on it, considering it's popularity, and bought it from a mama in Italy. I don't really plan to ever let it go! And Adam loves it :)



Sunday, March 23, 2014

Skills

So apparently every time I have a photo shoot with Adam lately he learns a new gross motor skill ;)  The video was a couple of weeks ago during out St. Paddy's Day photo shoot.  It's not exactly pretty but he's moving :)




This was last week during his 8 month pictures.  He's not really pulling up to stand yet, but I just stood him for a second holding onto my hand while Bailey came over to sniff him.  Then he (re)discovered the sticker on his shirt and I think it distracted him so much that he didn't realize he was standing ;)


Mostly he still just hangs out on his belly and alternates in some downward dog, planks, and hands and knees position every few seconds.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

8 Months!!



  • Laughs when we laugh
  • Crawls on his belly (pretty much exclusively for electronics)
  • Loves new toys (or anything new - it doesn't have to be a toy)
  • Loves to reach for Tom's glasses
  • Sneaks over to Bailey to "pet" her
  • Loves splashing in the bath
  • Tries to crawl out the front of his bathtub
  • Stops what he is doing when the Universal Orlando commercial comes on tv (I think he likes that song?)
  • Loves naked time
  • Admires Tom's guitar
  • Tries to eat the underside of the living room rug

Monday, March 17, 2014

Monday, March 10, 2014

Pics of the Week!


1. Admiring Daddy's guitar
2. Making funny faces during morning playtime
3. Enjoying some banana
4. Back wrapped on Mommy
5. Rocking on hands and knees, trying so hard to move forward!!

Sunday, March 02, 2014

This week I....

I'm writing this post mostly for me so when I have more weeks like this past week I can look back and see that I did, in fact accomplish a lot even though it feels like I got nothing done.

This week I:
  • Worked at Childrens for 6.5 hours on Monday
  • Saw an EI kid every single afternoon/evening M-F
  • Successfully (with the help of Tom obvi) moved Adams bedtime earlier in the evening
  • Got 3.5 hours of sleep as my longest stretch one night
  • Finished sewing my linen ring sling for Adam
  • Made Adam homemade baby oatmeal (even though he still doesn't really care much for solids)
  • Lost 2 pounds (this probably isn't a good thing but I'll take it)
  • Sewed a bunch of bamboo inserts for Adam's diapers from fabric I've had since November
  • Made spinach lasagna one night
  • Filed our taxes
  • Went grocery shopping
  • Took Adam to a playdate
  • Showered every day
  • Did a bunch of laundry, including Adam's never ending diaper laundry
  • Watched as Adam learned how to push up on hands and knees
  • Made homemade laundry detergent
  • Got caught up on my EI billing

Friday, February 28, 2014

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Pics of the Week



1. Being sweet post morning feed
2. Munching on his taggie toy
3. Rocking his "Mad scientist in training" onesie before it doesn't fit anymore
4. Enjoying being worn and serenaded...and trying to touch the ukelele with his foot ;)
5. Sporting his too small baseball outfit. The cankles!!!
6. Being silly post morning feed 

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

7 Months!



  • Has begun shrieking (my poor ears...our poor neighbors!)
  • Loves to knock over anything that is stacked
  • Loves to throw things off his high chair
  • Pivots off his blanket and onto the hardwood, thinks he's really cool when he does it
  • Hard to keep socks on him because of his cankles
  • Lets us know his nose needs to be suctioned by huffing air out of it, haha
  • Is rocking size 12 month PJ's (and kind of skipped over 9 months, which worked out well since I didn't have any size 9 month PJ's for him)
  • Loves Tolerates sweet potatoes
  • Thinks Bailey is funny
  • Still loves to kick, constantly, in all positions, especially with his left leg



Friday, February 14, 2014

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sorry ladies, he's my Valentine for many years to come ;)





We don't have too many plans for today.  Adam and I are chilling all day and then I have a couple of EI patients to see later this afternoon.  Our typical Valentine's Day plan involves ordering Pizza Hut and drinking champagne/beer, but we are changing things up slightly this year.  We're going to order pizza/food from D'Agostino's instead (we have a coupon and wanted a little more variety).  I'm also not sure how much champagne/beer will be consumed since Adam has been liking to keep us on our toes at night lately.

The pics below are from last year at this time and last week. I love how Bailey is photobombing both of them :)


One year ago he was the size of a banana in my belly
This year he is a hefty 19+ pounds and likes hanging out on my back :)


Friday, January 31, 2014

Sew darn crafty!!

So since I am no longer working full time, our income has been drastically reduced, which means our budget has been reduced, which means I can no longer just go out and buy something if I want it.  We've been trying to figure out some sort of toy storage solution, and some simple baskets under our console table would definitely do the trick.  Problem is, I didn't want to spend $40+ for two baskets! 

I think I was googling creative storage solutions or something and I came across this post, where a woman sewed (is that right?) a cover for a milk crate for easy, pretty storage.  Brilliant! Except that we didn't have any milk crates :(  I searched on Craigslist and a local mom swap that I'm part of, but no luck.  I planned to check out Salvation Army, not really expecting to find anything. We had plans to stop there to drop off a bunch of stuff anyways.  So on a snowy Saturday on the way to visit friends, we dropped off our donation, and I was about to go inside when I saw 2 lonely milk crates sitting next to the donation drop off area. I asked the guys working there if they were using them for something or if they were for sale, and they told me to just take them! I was so excited!  Free milk crates!!


So we took them home and cleaned and scrubbed and washed and disinfected them about a million times. I used some fabric that we had purchased last summer with plans to make an outdoor curtain (that never happened...I wonder why....it's not like we had anything going on last summer, ha).  I decided to use some scraps of fabric as an accent that matched the pillows I made last year. I knew I was holding onto those scraps for some reason, and this was perfect!!  I'm so excited with how everything turned out!!!



Sunday, January 26, 2014

Big Weekend: Six Month Visit, Sitting Up, and Solids

Adam had his 6 month check up last Friday. The little tank gained 2 pounds in a month!!  Maybe that explains his recent lack of sleep???  Overall he had a good visit (except for the shots - poor thing).  When the doctor left, she turned to him and said "Adam, Bye Adam" and he looked at her and then moved his arm as if he was waving. She was very impressed but I told her it was definitely just a fluke!  It was quite good timing though :) 
We had to wait a good 20 minutes for the pediatrician. A wool ring sling keeps baby warm when he has to stay in his diaper (and he had a cute snowman diaper on, wish I would have gotten a pic!)

Adam was here.  LOL

He's been doing a little more sitting up this past week but truly is more interested in playing on his tummy.  He did a good job sitting up on Saturday for this picture before toppling over and sat quite a bit with Tom over the weekend. 
This is the first time I felt like he was steady enough that I could move in front of him and snap a picture

We also decided to start him on some solids this weekend! I wasn't really planning on starting them (we don't even have a high chair yet!), but after a series of random events we decided to give it a go.  His first tastes were of avocado (mixed with breast milk of course). He was not a fan in the least!  Bailey was very eager to see what was going on and it was almost like she knew somehow that this is the start of something beautiful for her.  Haha.  Later on we tried a little banana. It didn't go over much better. However today when we put some banana on his lips/tongue, he didn't quite make as repulsed of a face and actually tolerated it.  I wouldn't say he is enjoying it yet, but we're getting there. 
He was much more interested in eating his bib

This must have been pre-taste, because he's smiling ;)

He would rather play with the napkin.  Bailey senses something awesome is about to happen
 

So me being me I went crazy with the homemade baby food.  He has 2 ice cube trays of avocado, 2 ice cube trays of sweet potatoes, and 1 ice cube tray of butternut squash waiting for him when he's ready!! 




Saturday, January 18, 2014

6 Months Old!!





  • Has started growling
  • Prefers his tummy to sitting
  • Moves his right hand/arm up and down really fast to attempt to grab and throw anything in reach
  • Eats his feet
  • Loves naked time
  • Eats all the toys
  • Sucks (vigorously) on a washcloth during his bath
  • Thinks the word "Hi" is the funniest thing ever
  • Loves to listen to Dad play the ukelele
  • Scratches the back of his head when he's tired
  • Enjoys eating the back and sides of his "tummy time mirror" 
  • Loves to be worn

Monday, January 06, 2014

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Um, yeah that's an understatement.  It is currently -10 degrees, which is warmer than it was earlier today when I had to walk to go see a patient through Early Intervention.  We've been having crazy cold and snowy weather since New Year's....really since Christmas. I kind of love it though as long as I don't have to go out in it. And thankfully I haven't had to go out too much. And double thankfully we haven't had to take Adam out in it at all!! 

Last week we had a few visitors come over and enjoyed a quite New Year's Eve in.  It's the second year in a row that I was too tired to stay up until midnight (go figure)!  After Adam (finally) went to bed Tom and I had crablegs and champagne and enjoyed watching the snow outside. 
Our old neighbor Catherine visiting from Cali

Bailey loves looking out the window

NYE

Here are a few more pics of the crazy cold/snow/winter we are having!!
This picture reminds me of the Blizzaster of 2011
Christmas Cactus from Tom's sister Lisa - it bloomed a week late but is so pretty!

There was ice INSIDE of our shower window tonight. How does that even happen?

Deathcicles forming on our balcony

Ha, this guy put his wiper blades up because?????

Thursday, January 02, 2014

2013 Year in Review

What a year!!!  So, so much better than 2012!  Here is the year in review...photo style! This may be the last year I highlight events by months - because I can quickly see them becoming all about Adam if nothing else went on that month...not that that is a bad thing ;) 

January
My sewing obsession begins!

February 
Halfway to Baby B's Due Date!
Jess's Going Away Party
Vegas Girls Weekend
My cloth diaper obsession begins
March
We found out we were having a BOY!

April
Trip home for Baby B's Baby Shower

May  
Neighbor reunion night
Goodbye (again) to the Drankas
Baby Consignment sale obsession begins

June
Troy Street Block Party

Baby B's work shower

July 
Movie Date Night

Adam was born!!

August

Spent adjusting to life with a newborn
September 
The Littlest PSU Fan
Babywearing obsession begins
Mom and Dad come to visit
October
Fall Photoshoot
Tom's parents came to visit

Adam's First Halloween

My babywearing obsession intensifies
November
Adam's First Thanksgiving

Buy all the diapers!! (really good cloth diaper sales on Thanksgiving!)
December  
Mom and Dad came to visit again

Christkindlmarket
Play Dates with work babies
Neighbor Night
Zoolights with babywearing friends
Adam's First Christmas
Snowy NYE - Bailey enjoyed watching the snow
Subdued NYE