Five Years Later

Joshua and I celebrated our five-year anniversary last Friday.  It was pretty fun because we got married the day after Thanksgiving, and this year it also was the day after Thanksgiving.  We were staying at my parents' house, so they watched Forrest while we had a little date to celebrate.

We had a nice time driving around the Quad Cities looking at some of the old sites, like Augustana and downtown Rock Island.  I'm not usually a nostalgic person, but celebrating five years with Joshua brought it out in me.  I can't believe how long ago it seems that I met him as a freshman in college. (It's been almost nine years...)  What a happy and blessed life we've had together, supporting each other through lots of school, lots of residency, and now parenthood.  He's still my favorite, and I can't wait to see what the next five (and 50!) years bring.

A couple of pictures:

The first picture of us together.  Joshua's mom took it, back in the olden days when people still used film.

Us before our date last week.  The blurriness helps to cover up the age :0)

The wedding dress still fits!

Yeah, no it doesn't.  The waist and hips are fine, but it seems that pregnancy expanded my rib cage about three inches.  That's never getting smaller again.

I love you, Joshua! 

Three Months

Three months already!

Things we have learned this month:

As this little boy gets bigger, the Moby wrap is getting less comfortable for us both.  I'm sad to start to use it less because it was such a lifesaver for so many weeks, but we are getting by just fine.  

Although sleeping on his stomach is going much better than back sleeping, I have decided that Forrest is never going to be a great sleeper.  We get through the day one 30-40 minute nap at a time (with the exception of a longer afternoon nap with me on the couch).  The nights, again, are much better than before, but still aren't fantastic.  Crossing my fingers that month four will bring fewer wakings that aren't related to being hungry.

It's okay to give up on cloth diapers.  I tried.  (I really could have tried harder...)  I'm over it.  I'll stick with the chemical-free, biodegradable ones from now on, I think.  I'm still not sure why I have such leaking issues.

Done for Now

I know everyone has been waiting for the big nursery reveal, right?  (Just humor me.)

I finally got around to sewing up the pillow for the chair, and now I can say that Forrest's room is complete, or at least complete enough for pictures.  I would like to get a bookshelf at some point, but that will probably wait a while.  

The alphabet wall was inspired by photos I found online of other nurseries and was created almost entirely by Jon G.  That lady knows how to craft!  Dad did get in on the action (was roped into) by making the Chicago Bears C, a request from Joshua.  Dad also spent some time hanging all of those adorable letters while Mom and I supervised.  

The dresser is an auction find by Mom.  She bid on it, hauled it home, painted it up, and moved it into Forrest's room.  What a lucky gal I am!

The crib is the same that I slept in as a baby.  Believe it or not, but you can still buy this crib online. It's called the Jenny Lind crib, and comes in multiple finishes.  My mom was so on trend 30 years ago!  Dad did fix the drop-side hazard, and we bought a new mattress.

The balloon prints above the crib came from an Etsy seller in Turkey - very fun to track that package as it made its way around the globe.  They are printed on vintage dictionary pages, continuing the literacy theme :0)

I made the curtains using some of my favorite things - linen and ball trim!

And of course, don't forget the cute baby on the changing pad.  He's actually doing some sleeping in his crib at night, and of course the dresser gets used constantly.  Quite a functional, as well as adorable little nursery.  I'm very happy with the finished product.  I love that so many of the items are crafted by Forrest's family.  I think it's funny that the most expensive thing in the room was definitely the letter wall - no predictable, pricey baby furniture here.  I'm looking forward to watching Forrest grow into the space.    

Happy Halloween - Forrest Chose a Trick

A new trick, in honor of the holiday, I suppose. 

Oh Moby Wrap...

How I love you!

What can't be done with a baby in this thing?  Painting over the too dark living room and dining room colors?  Oh it's happening, readers.

Two Months!

After two months with Forrest, we are finally in somewhat of a routine that is agreeable to everyone in the family.  I'm liking the new normal, and I think Forrest is, too.


Memorable moments from this month:

- Getting really good at smiling, so sweet :0)

- Giving up the dream that he will ever sleep longer than 45 minutes on his back.  Yes, I'm a bad mother and now let him sleep on his stomach.  After eight weeks of trying night after night to get him to sleep on his back, with him waking up exhausted (me, too!), we are done.  I bought a breathing monitor to make myself feel better about the decision, and now we are a much happier pair, with both of us getting much better sleep.  While I don't have a fantastic story about him sleeping through the night, I don't care one bit.  I'm quite happy to get up with him every four hours.

- Feeling like myself again and finally feel like I have the house chores under control with a little extra time for fun things like sewing or painting.  (I'm hoping withing the next month or two to have the living room and dining room painted.)

- Becoming more tolerant of being on his own for short periods of time.  This is giving my back a rest!

- Growing!  Many 0-3 month clothes are getting snug, and we have moved on to the 3-6 month size.  (It seems that his feet are giant!  I finally bought 6-12 month socks!)

- First cold.  We're dealing with that now.  Not fun.

- Feeling more comfortable going in public without worrying (too much) about a meltdown.

Things we've learned:

- Babies love dancing!

- How to use a snot-sucker :0)

- Traveling long distances after dark is the way to go.

- Making the bed is hard with the babe in the Moby wrap.  Oh well, that never was my favorite chore, anyway.

We love you Forrest, and can't wait to see what month three brings.    

Suggestions?

My lovely outside Christmas greenery decorations from Peoria are not going to work here in Monticello.  There is no railing, and the spots I might put them on the garage already have live "pointy" trees planted.  So, besides the door wreath, I need to completely redo the look.  Any ideas?  I'm not one for just hanging lights on all horizontal surfaces.  I would rather have greenery of some sort.