Hello World!

My name is Weston and I am the sweetest, cutest, most precious baby in the whole world.  I am good at sleeping, snuggling, making dirty diapers, and melting my mommy's heart.

Likes:

• Squirting Mommy and Grandma
• Sleeping in my crib
• My pacifier
• Staying in a routine

Dislikes:

• Breastfeeding (this makes Mommy really sad)
• Wet or dirty diapers
• Being too cold
• Overstimulation

Stats:

• Born July 23 at 7:35 pm
• 7 pounds 10 ounces
• 21 and a half inches long
• Lots of black hair from my daddy

Now, I am off to do some more snuggling. :)

Mission Accomplished

Last weekend J and I were on a mission to finally get everything hung on the walls in Weston's room.  We put this off intentionally because it's been a long-running joke that we cannot hang a picture, shelf, anything on the wall without it turning into an argument.  Or maybe it's not a joke if it's really true ;)... but combine that with pregnancy hormones and you've got the makings of a full-scale meltdown.

However, this went surprisingly well considering J cringes every time he nails a hole in his freshly painted walls.  The only thing we're not completely sold on is this wall above the crib.

J is not a fan and I'm still undecided.  I'm thinking maybe the crib looks a little naked without a mobile?  But, husband might be a tad unhappy to take this down after putting several holes in the wall.

I've had a vision in my head of a mobile similar to one of these hanging over the crib:

Image from Apartment Therapy

Image from Apartment Therapy
(Love this entire rom.)

The tutorials look pretty easy, but I'm out of motivation, not to mention time, so I'm thinking the wall will probably stay as is.

We also hung this hand-painted sign over the changing table:

I painted the sign and the dog tails are from Ikea.

And these shelves over the twin bed:

These were made for us by a family friend (thanks Mr. George) but similar to the photo ledge from Ikea.

All in all, I'm so pleased with how the room turned out.  The design (or lack thereof) may seem random, but almost everything in here is either handmade or recycled and has some special meaning.  So much of it has a history or a story behind it that tells how much Weston was loved even before he got here.  That's much more important to us than having a designer nursery that costs thousands of dollars.

Now if baby boy would just get here, he could enjoy it with us. :)

Life Lately...in numbers.

I spotted this on one of our random drives and had to get out and take a picture.  It makes me laugh...and has nothing whatsoever to do with this post.  Unless I tell you that a stop sign has 8 sides.

I recently sat through four days in a math workshop .  And in four days, pretty much the only thing I took away from it was that you should start your math instruction by having students make a list telling what is mathematical about them and share a list of your own as well.  (Side-note:  to the person who decided teachers need 60 hours of professional development...you and I are not friends...I really wouldn't mind listening to someone talk all day if I were actually learning something valuable that I could apply in my classroom...but otherwise, it is a waste of 60 hours of my time...rant over)

Anyway, here is my mathematical list.

• Days past due date: 1
• Days I have been pregnant: 281 I had to use a calculator for that one.
• Pounds gained: 25
• Pounds I hope to lose: 30 I'm putting that out there for accountability reasons.
• Thank you notes written: 153 <---not a typo...Weston racked up on the baby gifts.
• Time I woke up this morning: 4:22 Booooo to insomnia.
• Trips to Sonic: 2 in the last 24 hours
• Pieces of chocolate cake consumed: 4 in the last 24 hours
• Episodes of The Office watched: 12 in the last 24 hours Steve Carrell, I miss you so.
• Times a day I check Facebook: 50ish
• Times a day I check my email: 20ish
• Pieces of dog hair on our clothes, bed, couch, floor,  and every nook and cranny in our house: 80 bajillion...it's seriously taken over my life.
• Weight of dog who tried to lay on top of me this morning: 52 lb.

That's about all I can think of.  I think my four days of math training paid off. 

D-day

40 weeks...and still cookin'.

Dear Weston,

I guess you forgot to mark your calendar...or maybe you'll be like your daddy and have a hard time remembering birthdays.  But for the past nine months we were told that today would be yours...and you have not shown any signs of wanting to make an appearance.  I know it's comfortable in there and all, but I promise if you will just come on out, we will take good care of you.  There are so many people who can't wait to meet you, so you will always be the center of attention.  Plus, your Aunt Debbie REALLY wants to share a birthday with you.  

We've been reading you lots of books and one of our favorites is Oh, the Places You'll Go!  And you know what Dr. Seuss says about "the waiting place."  It is not a good place.  

So, come on little buddy...it's time to get this show on the road.  I'm ready when you are.

I love you so so much.

Love,

Mom

Redneck Girl?

Recently, my parents and my brother bought some land about 15 miles from where we live.  My brother and his wife are clearing trees to build a house and every once in a while J and I will drive out to look at the progress. (I'm not sure if this is a man thing or just a J thing, but he loves to drive around and look at "land"...try not to be jealous of the exciting life we lead...it's hard I know.)  So today, when asked if I wanted to go out there, my thought was "Ride around in a pick up truck on a bumpy gravel road when I'm two days from my due date?  Sure!"  Anything to get this baby moving, right?

And clad in my dress and flip flops I headed out thinking I would not be getting out of the car.  Well, as my dad says, "that's what you get for thinking," because when we got there, my brother happened to be out there working...and of course we wanted to get out and see what he was up to.  Well, in case you weren't aware,  flip flops don't mix well with ticks, snakes, or poison ivy (neither do I for that matter) so my bro offered to let me wear some boots he had in his truck.  

I only share that story to offer an explanation for this picture, which may be the most ridiculous pregnancy picture ever but was just too random not to share.

Classy, right?

And if you were like me and thinking the bumpy gravel road combined with the nine-months pregnant girl tromping around in ginormous boots might speed the labor process along...well, you'd be wrong.  

What I'm loving right now...

Dixie using Weston as her pillow

This furbaby has been extra sweet and snuggly lately.  I don't know if she senses something is going on or she just needs some extra lovin'.  Either way I'm not complaining.  Can't wait for her to meet baby brother.

Although J would never let me dress Weston this way, how cute is this?  I don't know if other mom's of boys have this problem, but it has been HARD to find cute boy outfits.  I swear every children's store I've been to is full of girly stuff and has a tiny corner for the poor boys.  If anyone has a suggestion on where to find cute clothes for boys, I would love to hear it!

I've got nothing but time on my hands lately.  So when I'm not obsessing over baby stuff, I'm also loving thinking about clothes that I will wear when I'm no longer carrying a basketball under my shirt.  Here are some looks I've pinned that I love...

Oh, skinny jeans, will we ever be friends again?

I'm thinking a skirt worn this high could be very forgiving of a few jelly rolls.

In other news, I went to the doctor today.  Baby seems content to just hang out and stay in his warm little space for the time being.  The doc thinks he will probably be a late arrival but we are hangin' in there!

To baby...

Dear Weston,

Thoughts of you have consumed me lately.  I have so many questions floating around in my mind about you.  What will you look like?  How will you act?  Will you be a good eater?  A good sleeper?  Will you be shy or outgoing?  Thoughtful or impulsive?  Will you be a planner like your daddy or go with the flow like mommy?  I don't know the answers to any of these questions yet, but I do know that no matter what they are...good or bad sleeper, cranky, shy, loud, quiet...you will be loved unconditionally.

I have so many hopes for you, my precious baby.  I hope you learn from us the importance of family.  I hope we can be an example of how to put God and others before yourself.  I hope you learn how wonderful it is to laugh and not take yourself too seriously.  I hope we can teach you to love selflessly, work hard, enjoy simplicity, be open-minded, stand up for what you believe, be independent, give to those less fortunate, be respectful, enjoy learning, and so so many other things.   There are so many things I want to teach you and show you.  I can't wait to take you new places and see your face light up when you experience something for the first time.  But most of all, I can't wait to just hold you and tell you how much I will always love you.

Get here soon sweet boy.  Your mommy and daddy are so ready to meet you.  We love you so much already.

Love,
Mom

Here you are at 39 weeks.  Your due date is exactly one week from today!

Missing out :(

If you know me at all, you probably know how much I love my family.  I have literally won the lottery when it comes to families.  They are the funniest, kindest, most loving, awesome people on the planet.  And all year long we all look forward to summer when we get together in the Ozarks for a week of card playing, river floating, no t.v.'s or cell-phone reception, visiting, laughing, hugging, and having fun.  Which to some people probably sounds miserable, but is seriously the best.thing.ever.  We call it "camp" and for as long as I can remember I've gotten excited about going every year. 

Except this year.  Camp week happens to be this week and this girl happens to be days away from having a baby and forbidden by the doctor from traveling more than an hour from home.

Last night I got a little upset thinking about how I was missing out on all the fun.  So I decided to look through everyone's camp pictures on facebook.  Then I decided to post some of them because they make me happy.  And let's be honest...other than waiting for contractions to start or my water to break, there's not much else for me to do.

Buying groceries for the week.  If you ever watched the game show Supermarket Sweep, it's like that on steroids.



Most of these pictures are stolen from my cousin Valla's facebook page.  Thanks Valla. :)

So much love in this room and so much fun.  I can't wait to take Weston to camp and continue this tradition with him.  I hope he loves it as much as I do. 

Lots of love to all my family.  I miss you all so much.

Why being pregnant is awesome...

Lately I've been feeling myself slip into the category of the grouchy hormonal pregnant girl who complains about every single ache, pound gained, and emotional issue...even though its mostly only to my mom or J.  But I don't like being that girl.  I've had to remind myself several times a day how blessed I am that I get this experience of our child growing inside me.  I have some friends and family members that I love dearly who, for whatever reason, know they will never get this chance.  Who am I to whine about how hot it is or that I can't cook dinner without feeling like I've run a marathon?  Those people would give anything to do what I'm doing right now.

So I've made a resolution to embrace everything about this experience during these final days.  All the aches and pains are a reminder of this gift I've been given.  I will cherish every kick and nudge.  I will not become upset at the number on the scale.  I will laugh about the crazy things I say and do to J when my hormones get the best of me (after the fact of course).  I will not just endure it, I will enjoy it.  And I will NOT complain...I hope.

With this in mind, I was trying to come up with reasons why, I think, being pregnant is awesome.  Here are a few:

•  Everyone wants to talk to you about it...strangers at the gas station, Target cashiers, old men at the mall.  The belly is like a sign that says, "Come ask me my due date and share your pregancy story with me...or your wife's, cousin's, daughter's, friend's story for that matter."  I love that.
• People do nice things for you.  One grocery store worker, after bagging my groceries, switched everything where each bag only had a couple of things in it so I wouldn't "strain the baby."  Drop something?  If someone else is around, I gaurantee they will pick it up for you.  I swear, if everyone could wear a belly around, the world would be a much nicer place. 
• Comfortable clothes.  Enough said.
• You pretty much have a free pass to eat and/or sit down and put your feet up...any time you want.
• Your husband has to do housework.  It's a rule. 
• You get to feel every move your baby makes.  When else will you be able to do that?
• And the most obvious: when it's over you get to hold your baby.  This little miracle that you will spend the rest of your life loving. 

What's more awesome than that?

Summer Reading

This is what I'm spending about 75% of my time doing at the moment.  The other 25% is split pretty equally between trips to the refrigerator and the bathroom.  I'm calling this my version of nesting since, much to my disappointment, I have felt no urge to mop floors, dust blinds, or do anything else remotely productive.

In my quest for parenting knowledge, I came across an article that someone posted on Facebook (I've tried finding it again but can't) comparing American children to other cultures. My understanding of this article was that our kids are spoiled, disrespectful, self-absorbed, impulsive, and aren't capable of reacting appropriately to hearing "no," while children in many other coutries are well-behaved, responsible, and respectful.  I don't necessarily agree with such broad generalizations and, as a teacher, I have known many kids that do not fit this American characterization...but I have to admit, I've also seen many who fit the description to a T (and I have a parlyzing fear that my child will turn into one of them).  The article also made a reference to French parenting which resulted in googling which resulted in spending $25.95 on this book.

After a little more research I found out I'm about six months behind (story of my life) and this book was "highly anticipated" earlier this year.  So unless you're living under a rock like me, you've probably already heard of it.

I have to say the book fascinated me.  I read it in less than 24 hours and am hoping I have time to go back and read it again.  Not to say that I agree with everything in it by any means, but the French definitely have a few practices that are worth considering.  A few that caught my eye were:

• Most French babies sleep through the night around 2 or 3 months old.  Say what?!
• Children are taught how to wait for things.  For example, their parents' attention or dinner at a restaurant.
• It is important for children to learn to play by themselves.  The parents should not have to constantly provide entertainment.
• Kids eat what parents cook.  No one will prepare you an extra meal of chicken nuggets and mac and cheese. 

But, what I found most intriguing were the differences between children's behavior in our culture and theirs.  The American mom who wrote it lives in Paris and talks about her daughter being the only child she has ever seen throwing a tantrum and how French kids in restaurants would quietly entertain themselves while hers was shredding napkins, throwing food, and running around tables.  Obviously, I know that every child and parent is different.  Certainly there are well-behaved American kids and badly-behaved French kids. 

But reading this did raise a question for me about the overall attitude of the two different cultures when it comes to parenting.  According to the book, the French seem to have a more laid-back yet firm approach that encourages children to be independent at a very young (most Americans would probably say too young) age but leaves no question as to what the child's boundaries are and who is in charge...and, shockingly, everything doesn't revolve around the child.  Yet, it seems to me, many Americans are all about giving our children our undivided attention at all times and providing them with whatever they want when they want it...and then feeling guilty when we find that's impossible.  Again, I'm speaking of my observations of the overall attitude...I know not everyone thinks this way.  But my question is this: Are you viewed as a "selfish parent" if you don't subscribe to this type of American parenting?  Or, do people raise their children this way because it is fulfilling some need to have another person be completely dependent on them?  And isn't that, in a way, selfish also? 

I am not saying one way is right and one is wrong...just very interesting contrasts.  I think this probably confused me more than anything, but like I said, I couldn't put it down.  I would love to know anyone else's opinion on this or thoughts on parenting in general.  I'm sure for the first few months J and I will just be wingin' it!

Now, I'm off to read about breastfeeding...but don't worry...I'm not planning to post about it.

Catching Up

Well, it's been about five months since I last updated the ol' blog so instead of explaining and making excuses I will just let everyone (or the 2 people that read this) know what's been going on. 

Obviously, a lot has happened, but far and away the most important being that we are anxiously waiting for our baby BOY to arrive!  Weston should be here in about 2 weeks...but if he decided to come early it would not hurt my feelings. ;-)  J and I are so excited and can't wait to begin the life-long adventure of parenthood together. 

We've been very busy getting his room ready and I have to say I love it!  I get asked a lot about what theme we are using and I always laugh because I do not do well with themes.  Trying to match everything stresses me out.  So J calls this theme "random with color" and I think that sums it up pretty well. :-)

We still have to hang some things on the walls and I have an idea in my head about a DIY mobile that could turn out to be a disaster, but here are a few pictures of what we have right now. 

We decided we wanted this twin bed in the room in case we need an extra bed for company, but I'm thinking it may come in handy on late nights too. :-)  All the pillows were made by my mom.

This shelf was supposed to lie on it's side for a bench, but we didn't have enough room.  Oh well, I still love it.  The shelf and baskets are from Ikea.

This crib is a Jenny Lind (I think that's how you spell it) and it's the same one J used when he was a baby.  My mom made all the bedding.

Embroidered quilt made by my sweet grandma.  It makes me smile. :-)

Pillow made by the best mom in the world...mine.

This is an old desk that my parents had.  They added shelves, painted it, and replaced the knobs to turn it into a changing table.

This is the one thing I did myself.  It's made from an old board from my grandparents' house and will be hung on the wall...not lying in the floor.

Door hanger made by my talented friend Amanda.

Chalkboard made by another talented friend Allison.

And I had to include this picture of Dixie just because she's adorable and I love her.  She also thinks this is her room. :-/  Our spoiled furbaby may be in for a rude awakening when little brother arrives.

 More to come when everything is completed.  I'll leave with a picture of my ever-growing bump.

This is Weston at 38 weeks with only 2 more to go!  Holy cuss word!  We will be parents soon!