Fall Wreath

     Today was cloudy and rainy but I still got a picture of my wreath.  I took inspiration from this site, Miss Lovie. I found it on pinterest.

I really like how it turned out, and it didn't take me very long. Adrian took a nice long nap yesterday so I did most of it then.  I used the extra flowers and twigs to decorate my house..  I would like to put pumpkins out too, but I'm not sure yet.

Tomorrow is Election day! I hope everyone votes!

3 months

   

     Adrian is 3 months old!  Are you shocked?  I don't have any numbers on weight, height etc.but I can tell you what he's up to these days.  Future Adrian, at 3 months you:

*are wearing 6 month pants and pajamas and you're just about to grow out of 3 month onesies

*reach for toys, fingers, hair and my necklace

*sleep 6-8 hours straight on a good night

*are my shopping buddy

*might be teething already (dad says he sees teeth coming through but I don't.  However, you're drooling a lot, sucking on your fist all the time and you had a couple of days where you screamed bloody murder at the drop of the hat.  We shall see.)

*love music, especially when I watch Glee

You love to be carried in the moby wrap, but don't mind your stroller. You've started going to church with us and the loud music doesn't even bother you. You are learning to hold your head up well and will probably be sitting up with help in a few weeks. I am so excited for your first holiday season!  We love you, and love being your parents.

Here are some pictures I haven't posted yet:

First trip to Halleck, a park that's really special to us

 There's a picture of my mom next to my stroller like this when I was a baby, that's partly why I did this.  Also it was more chilly than we realized.

A boy and his monkey

What are YOU lookin at?

Comparison from last month:

     I actually finished my wreath! I want to take pictures in the daylight so I'll post tomorrow.

Some woman gave me the side eye

     I'll do Adrian's three month post tomorrow; I forgot to take the picture. I'm dying to see how much he has changed, so I won't forget again.  He is feeling so heavy in his carseat these days, he is growing so much.

     Yesterday I went to Hobby Lobby to buy materials for my next project.  Adrian was awake and happy for the whole trip! I looked for fall wreath inspiration on pinterest and found a few pretty ones.I love fall colors so much, it's my favorite season. I should have started this in September so I would have more materials to choose from but I think it will still look nice. I'll write a post about it once I've finished it.  Here is a little preview of what this wreath entails:

       Today Mom, Michelle and Coco came to my church's Christmas craft fair.  Despite the misleading title, there were very few booths that even had handmade items, let alone Christmas crafts. I was disappointed but I still walked away with two pretty pot holders and an apron all made by the Amish.

     I may have gotten a little too excited though, I'm not sure if I'll keep the apron.  We decided to check out the new store Home Goods, which was fun although I didn't buy anything. I can't remember what I have for Christmas decorations but I don't have a whole lot of flat surfaces to decorate.  I had really been looking forward to Christmas crafts because I lack the time and will power to do them myself at the moment. I'll be lucky to get my fall wreath completed.

     I hung out at my parent's house for a bit and then went to Target for a few groceries. I got a trick-or-treat pumpkin bucket for Adrian because it was 50 cents.  I also got some teething toys for him but that's a story for tomorrow.  Adrian was asleep for half the trip and the rest of the time I tried to keep him happy by talking to him.  I've started to wonder if I look like a crazy person. I never know what to talk to him about so I end up thinking out loud or narrating what I'm doing (which I think you're supposed to do for babies but maybe not in public.) When we were at Home Goods he was in my Moby wrap and I saw this really ugly elf/santa thing.  Mom and Michelle were elsewhere and I just said out loud "that's the scariest thing ever" and some woman gave me the side eye.  Adrian is a person though, it shouldn't matter.  I'm probably just paranoid.

     I'm eagerly awaiting my birthday present, which is a dress from Modcloth (a vintage inspired clothing site.)  I plan on posting a review with a picture on their site because I think they are so helpful, so I'll post the picture on here too.  Getting mail is way too exciting :).

     In case you only put up with my incessant rambling so you can see pictures of my child, I forgive you.  Here is your reward:

     I'll be back on Sunday to tell you all about my three month old.

Yet another resolution

     First of all, today's pictures have nothing to do with the content.  However if you have a short attention span like I do, you'll appreciate the breaks.  Yesterday I turned 26. I had some pretty good things happen at age 25 and I'm sure it will only get better. Did I just jinx myself?  Just kidding, I don't believe in jinxes. Knock on wood.

I need to use my camera more instead of my phone

Holding onto his monkey

     Jill shared a blog with me about a woman who is trying to simplify her life by doing one small thing a day for a year. They purged a lot and started being more green.  It's really inspiring, here's the address: http://www.theyearofless.blogspot.com/ . There's a whole movement of people trying to live more simply.  For example, there's a challenge to live with only 100 things that I've heard about.  I've also read blogs about people who only wear one outfit for a whole year. After the headache of moving all of our stuff (mostly mine, I admit) I feel even more inspired to get rid of as much as possible.  I've always been one to hold on to objects because of nostalgia, feeling like said objects could be useful in the future or my head exploding from trying to figure out what in the world to do with random objects. (i.e. computer accessories, cables, papers, hardware, more papers, misc.) This is one habit I would like to avoid passing on to Adrian.  I did get rid of a lot before I got married; I would carry 2 or 3 bags of trash out of my room at a time.  I think getting rid of things strikes my guilt complex.  I have no idea why.

     I'm going to try to do a little bit every day and see how much I can give away or throw away.  I think it will lead to less stress.  Plus who doesn't love the feeling of purging unnecessary items?  Once I get my house together (how many times have I used that phrase?) I feel like we can start getting into a routine.  I would like to eat healthier, finish my curtains, have a cleaning schedule and end my backed up laundry issues. I miss baking and I need practice on cakes.  Plus Christmas is coming up; we need to make room for the tree somehow. Oh my goodness, thinking about Christmas makes me giddy.

     Wish me luck on this endeavor. I have a habit of getting really inspired by something, starting it and forgetting about it within a month. *insert embarrassed face here*

     I should use Adrian's face instead of emoticons.  

The many faces of Adrian

     Can you say "obsession"? There was a sale at my favorite diaper store and I needed a few more anyways so our diapers last longer.  I did not ask for the polka dots, there was a limit you needed to spend to get a free diaper and that's what I received   It's a Kawaii; I have a green Kawaii that I like so I'm not going to complain about the look of it.

     Adrian is starting to like and hold on to toys.  Yesterday he was "talking" to a little monkey toy at my parent's house. He loves that monkey, it has a huge smile on its face. 

     As much as I like the deer in the headlights look:

He makes all kinds of adorable faces:

His neck strength gets better all the time.  So does his tolerance for the bath. I've started playing music and heating the kitchen during bathtime and he's been all smiles.  

     Today we went to Target to get a tub for the clothes he has outgrown and some toys.  I washed all of his 3-6 month pajamas but I'm reluctant to put any of his 3 month clothes away because I am in denial.  I think the biggest factor is his length, but the bulky cloth diapers also warrant bigger pants so I really have to get over it. 

I'll leave you with a sleeping baby.

       

Adrian's Baptism

     This past weekend my baby boy got baptized. (Or as Caroline says "zap-a-tized") He stayed content until the cold water was poured over his head, but he still took it like a champ.  We ended up missing the whole rest of the service because I had to feed him and there was a whole mis-communication about where the formula was.  The party was at my in-laws and all the family members helped put it together.  It was a lovely party and we had a lot of people come.  It was really fun to see everyone. Chris and Emilee are Adrian's godparents, I must have been flustered because I can't believe I didn't get a picture of him with them!  He was very hot in his outfit though, we had to take it off pretty quickly.  We are going to get pictures later but I did get one:

     I made the sign and the cake.  Robert took better pictures but I have to upload them later.  I had a lot of issues frosting the cake, I'm going to practice.  I always make it too thick and the crumbs get all over the place.  I suppose it's a funny story actually.  I borrowed my mom's kitchen because it's more familiar and my house already stresses me out since we are still trying to get settled.  (I will never move while pregnant again.) So things went pretty well until I was finished with the electric mixer and attempted to take the beaters out.  All you do is press the button.  Only one came out while I pressed the button so I struggled with it for several minutes pushing and pulling and finally it popped out.  Unfortunately so did two metal pieces that lock it in place.  I broke the damn thing.  The next day I used it with one beater because I was desperate. PSA: it doesn't work like that.  With all my crumb issues my homemade frosting wasn't enough to cover the cake so I got a can of store bought.  It still turned out close to what I envisioned.  I was going to put "God Bless Adrian" but oh well.

     I hope I do a better job with his first birthday.  I never even mailed invitations to his baptism like I wanted and some people got pretty short notice.  We had brunch and my in laws made tons of food and set up the house with enough tables and chairs and china.  They did all the decorating while Matt and I went to a wedding the day before.  If it was all up to me we would have ended up at my house with donuts and paper plates.  Hopefully my inner domestic goddess improves with time.

   
     Speaking of the wedding, it was the first time I left Adrian for longer than 1/2 an hour.  I bawled of course.  It was fun hanging out with my friends, and it was good seeing Tom because he wont be back for another year.  It was nice to have one on one time with Matt. However, I don't have the urge to do it again for a while.  Maybe dinner or a movie but not as long as the wedding. My mom played with Adrian that day by the way and he started reaching for the toys!  That was the first time and he has been doing it ever since.  I'm going to make a separate post about everything else so don't judge me for doing two in one day.

I will never...oh nevermind

     Before I was a mom (all ten weeks ago) I had a lot of ideas about what kind of parent I would be.  Even if you babysit I don't think you will truly know what parenthood is like until it happens.  I figured as much, but I still judged other parents an awful lot.  There are a few things I said I would never do, but now I do them,  such as:

*I will never bedshare - hahahahaha.  Adrian normally wakes up as soon as you set him down. I would try to put him down for the night but he would wake up right away and want to eat.  He still eats for 45+ minutes at a time and likes to comfort nurse.  I wasn't getting any sleep.  After about a month I ended up sleeping on my side between him and Matt and it's been working well. I haven't moved in my sleep and I follow all of the safety precautions. Some say that it is safer and healthier to bedshare because the baby takes breathing cues from mom and she will be more aware if something goes wrong.   He has just started to be able to fall asleep in his swing or after being swayed in my arms rather than by nursing so we should be able to get him to sleep in his bassinet by our bed soon.

*I will never keep my baby out of the house (at a wedding, at the store, visiting someone) after 8:00 PM- Newborns don't have the same kind of schedule as older babies so I learned pretty quickly that this isn't a big deal.  You can make any kind of schedule with a baby and as long as they get enough sleep it's probably okay.  Since Matt has a weird schedule, we started out with a weird schedule so we could see him.  Adrian is starting to fall asleep "for good" at 10:00 and getting up for the morning around 8:00 or 9:00 A.M. Random story: One morning I woke up and Adrian was right in line with my face staring at me with his eyes as wide as they go.  It was hilarious.

*I will not use formula (until 6+ months)- I have no problem with formula, this just wasn't my plan.  For whatever reason I wasn't making enough for Adrian and we ended up having to supplement. This was a slippery slope for me.  He was only supposed to get an ounce but right now he is getting 4 oz after every feeding (except at night) because he is still hungry. This is messing with my supply even more but I'm a little scared to stop because I don't want him to have trouble with weight gain again. I felt like a total failure when the doctor said I had to supplement. I've never felt worse about anything in my whole life than I did about Adrian's weight. Drama queen or not, it's true. Thankfully he does not prefer the bottle and I have a plan to get us back to exclusive breastfeeding. Sorry if all of this is too much information.

     I find myself judging other parents a lot less; you just don't know what is going on in other people's lives.  All babies are different, all families are different and what works for one may not work for another.  I know I'm a late-comer with this revelation.  Good job self.

First trip grocery shopping by ourselves.  Success!

     I just thought of another random story.  A couple weeks ago I was watching a video on youtube about a dad trying to calm his crying baby.  When the youtube baby started crying Adrian got this pout on his face and bawled.  So I turned the video off and he calmed down.  I turned it back on and he cried with the baby.  I read this is the first step to developing empathy but not all babies do it.  I cry when other people cry, maybe he'll take after me.  Poor boy.