A Happy Fall

I live in North Carolina. I am originally from Minnesota where the fall weather shows itself much earlier. Last week it was still in the 90's here and I was miserable. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate warm summer days, but it is the end of September and the Minnesota blood in me is calling for some crisp fall air.

So yesterday was the first day that it was "cool" enough to celebrate the start of fall! It was the perfect day: cold (70 degrees), dreary (always a good fall indicator), and raining (bonus!). So I packed up Sammy and we headed to the mall to find a good fall candle to burn all day. We were in luck because Bath and Body had a 2/20$ candle sale and I purchased a few yummy caramel apple candles.

I also cooked my first pot roast of the season in the crock pot with potatoes and carrots. The husband was pleasantly surprised by the aroma filling the house when he got home. I highly recommend making one. All I do is:

1. Coat the roast in flour

2. Brown it on all sides with some oil in the frying pan

3. Chop 2 potatoes and a bunch of carrots ( I love cooked carrots) into large pieces

4. Add veggies to the bottom of the crock pot

5. Put roast on top

6. Mix lipton onion soup mix with 3/4 cup of water and pour over roast

7. Cook on low for 8 hours.

8. Enjoy Yummy tender roast and delectable veggies.

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Because I adore fall and I adore blogs especially blogs that teach you how to make/do something, I decided to make a fall banner to make the home feel even more festive. I got the idea here. It was easy, cheap and I already had all the materials. The tutorial uses newspaper, but I had lots of pretty scrap book pages to use up, so that's what I used. The possibilities are endless. So here is my Happy Fall banner.

Sammy is just hanging out while I made a mess.

Here it is! Bad lighting and all.

Hope you are having Happy Fall Ya'll

Toys

Just thought you might want to see how we entertain ourselves on a daily basis....

Meet "Whirly Bird" My mom aka Grandma Barb named him/her when she came to visit a month ago.

This is Samuel's most FAVorite toy. I say Sammy, here comes.....WHIRLY BIRD! And he shrieks in delight. I don't know when babies actually start to belly laugh. Mine seems to scream or yell when he is happy. Anyways, if you know anyone who is going to have a baby, whirly bird is a gem to have. His actual name by the way (on the tag) is Jacque the Peacock.

Other things my little Sam likes:

This guy "Monster Man"

I sing the song Macho Man but replace those words with Monster Man. He was a gift from my husband's aunt Karlene. Sammy likes to chew on his horns. And he makes a yuck face when the fur gets in his mouth.

This crazy contraption is called a jumperoo. Sammy was very confused the first time I put him in it. But now he is thoroughly amused by it :)

That is all for now. I'm hoping to post more often :)

5 months

Dear Sammy

You are over 5 months old now. My heart still fills up when you smile and talk to me. I am so darn lucky. You grasp things regularly and when I carry you around you reach out at the things you want to touch. You love your daddy. When he comes through the door from work, I say "Daddy's HOME!" and the smile you make fills your entire face. You are showing interest in the food we eat now. Soon enough you will be starting solids and sitting on your own and maybe you will even crawl soon? :) You love the soft books that auntie Katie sent you. She sends us lots of awesome things like shoes and books and jammies. You moved up to size 3 diapers. This is a big deal. You are growing so fast! I love the rolls on your thighs and how your cheeks are filling out so well ;)

Today it is raining and you and I slept in. It hasn't rained here in about a month. It was so nice. Then when you decided it was time to get up we played with your little bumble bee rattle and practiced sitting up. You drool a lot and when I kiss you I get slobber on my face, but I don't care. I love your sweet baby drool. I never knew I would like being a mom so much. I hope I can have more babies just like you someday, but different because there is only one you.

Oh one more thing I need to tell you. This weekend your dad and I ran a 5K race and he won a prize for being the first person to finish with a stroller! You made us 10 bucks this weekend! Awesome huh? We hope you will love to run like us someday. Ok little boy, you are awake from your nap and it's time to PLAY again!

Love Always,

Mom

4 months

As I write this you are asleep little boy. You are four months old now which is quite an amazing feat! You are 1/3 of a year old which is crazy to me because I can still picture your tiny newborn face and I can still remember what it was like to have you all curled up on my chest with your little head tucked under my chin. I remember bringing you home from the hospital and crying out of pure happiness and amazement while watching you sleep. So precious.

You are not so tiny anymore. Being nearly 16 pounds and able to hold up your body weight when I hang onto your hands, I know you are one step closer to being mobile. I love your little personality and your gummy smiles that never end. Even when I am feeling a little grumpy, just hearing you squeal and laugh is enough to get me out of my funk. I am amazed at how you can grasp things and bring them to your mouth. You can even grasp your pacifier and eventually turn it around the right way until it fits into your mouth. You are learning things so fast and part of me wants to slow it down but I know that would be selfish....

So keep learning my little boy, and don't slow down for me. You are amazing and you should keep on going, full speed ahead!

3 months

Photo taken at 2 weeks old

Today is your 3 month birthday!

We woke up around 7 am and had breakfast (you nursed I had oatmeal squares cereal). Then we laid in bed together while I read Goodnight Little One to you. I suppose I need a book titled Good Morning Little One so you don't get confused! Then I held you on my lap while I made ridiculous noises at you in efforts to make you laugh. You gave me one big squeal-like laugh and that was good enough for me :) Next we walked around the house and talked to the cats. You seem to show more of an interest in them lately. We laid down on the bed again to talk and coo. Finally your eyes got heavy and red and it was time for a nap. I held you close to me while your eyes slowly drifted and all I could think to myself was wow how did I get so lucky.....

Love you stinker pants :)

Mom

Baby Wearing

Here is me and my little guy in the sleepy wrap :) He hates being in it when he is facing me, but loves facing out so he can see the world!

Did you know that baby wearing goes waaaay back? I bet even Jesus was worn by his mother. Women around the world wear their babies so that they can keep their babies safe and close to them while they go about their daily tasks. Today I got up, put on my sleepy wrap, put baby in wrap, went to make a pot of coffee, popped in some cinnamon swirl toast, ate toast, took a stroll outside to get the mail, checked my email, cleaned up kitchen, and then decided to take baby out so I could drink my coffee (drinking coffee or any hot beverage while baby is attached would be a terrible idea).

Why I like wearing baby:

1. He can learn about the world at eye-level rather than laying on the floor or being in a bouncer all day.

2. It saves my arms. Sammy loves being held and walked around. This can get tiresome, so wearing him is much more comfortable for us both.

3. It looks cool. I love seeing other moms wear their babies!

4. He loves being close to me and seeing all the action!

5. I can still do household chores and feel like I am not ignoring him.

That's my two cents on baby wearing. Have a great day!

On Motherhood

I know this blog used to be more about art and pretty things, but now that I am a mother I feel it is important for me to share this part of my life too. Before becoming a mom I had these ideals of what kind of mom I would be. I was the type who would say "A baby won't change my schedule or how I do things!" etc..... I always thought a baby would just follow my routine and be just fine! Well I was in for a surprise!

After Samuel was born I found that it wasn't about ME anymore. I would do anything for this precious baby. He still gets up during the night 3 even 4 times but does that bother me, no. He needs me. He needs nourishment and comfort. He gets up at 6 or 7 AM. Does that mean I want to get up at that time? No. But I do because I love to see his smiling face and hear him giggle when he sees mine. I will never stress about whether or not he is sleeping when I want to sleep because he is just following his body's natural rhythm.

I know breast feeding is a controversial subject and to each her own, but I choose to breast feed not because it is the easiest choice (well in some instances it is when you don't have to get up and mix a bottle) but because I know it is specifically made for my baby and is best for him. This means I can only be gone from him for 2 hours tops because that's how often he eats. Once again his needs come before mine. I remember back to the first couple weeks when he would want to eat constantly and I was so overwhelmed and exhausted and at the brink of giving him a bottle. Kyle my husband encouraged me not to give up. Looking back I was just ill informed about breast feeding. I didn't know that little babies ate so often and that one of the reasons he wanted to eat was for comfort and to build up my supply. Babies need to suckle.

This post is not intended to say that you can't have a life or that you shouldn't nurture and take care of yourself as a mother. I am just saying that once you bring a little baby into this world your life will not be exactly the same as it was before. This has been my experience anyway. It will change because the love you feel for this little human is so amazing and you would do anything for them.