Picstitch

I'm sure I'm way behind for just now discovering this, but I just downloaded the free pic stitch app on my phone. Love it!

Sounds like a good excuse to post pictures of an adorable baby I know! :)

This little fella has been practicing his sweet smile on mom lately. It's sure gonna be hard to say no to that face!

Update

One month.  How is it possible that this baby has been here one month?  (Update: Weston is actually 6 weeks now...his mama has just been too busy to finish this post that's been sitting unfinished for over a week.)  And he's changed so much already, I can hardly keep up.  I've found that a HUGE part of being a parent is hanging on to fleeting moments and trying to enjoy them to the fullest...at least it's been that way for me.  It's so easy to get overwhelmed with a newborn when he's not able to do anything for himself, but I've had to stop and remind myself that he's only this little for such a short time...and I'd better soak up every second.  Because all too soon he won't need me to put his paci back in when it falls out, or feed him, or change his diaper.  So, that's what's been happening around here...me trying to enjoy every little detail about this short time when I'm home with my boy and it's just the two of us. 

But, there have been a few happenings other than sitting on our butts at home.

We've had LOTS of visitors...these are just a few.

Cousin Brittany

Cousin Bre.  Shout out to Bre and Britt for driving 2 hours and cleaning my house, folding my laundry, and taking me out for Mexican food before I went to the hospital.  I've said it before and I'll say it again...best. family. ever.

 

My good friend Christy

Aunt Debbie

Weston's great grandma "KK"

My best friend Brittany

Cousin Amy

We had our first photoshoot.

The pictures are by Natalie Gray Photography...we loved her!

 Weston met his grandpa for the first time.

My dad had to move to Colorado for work a month before Weston arrived, so he wasn't able to be there with the rest of the family when he was born.  Now my mom has moved out there too...tears :(

We survived a wedding on a boat with no major meltdowns.  Congrats to my cousin Brittany and my new cousins JB and Noah!

Eyes closed...classic.

This is me praying Weston wouldn't start screaming at the reception.

We've made the two and a half hour trip to grandma and grandpa's twice before they officially "moved" but I don't have any pictures.

And I've done lots and lots of snuggling with my sweet boy.  I hope he's always down to cuddle like this with his mama.  Nothing makes my heart happier.

Please ignore hair...mine, not Weston's.

Now that my parents live on the other side of the country, I promise to try and keep the blog updated...especially with baby stuff.  If you're not into baby stuff, then you just don't know what's cute. :)

A few things...

1. Parenting. Is. Hard. I knew, but I didn't KNOW.
2. Somehow our less than two-week-old is spoiled. After swearing it wouldn't happen, it happened. How?  I don't know.  He will not sleep unless someone is holding him...he cries...and cries...and cries...and that makes doing anything else (eating, going to the bathroom, brushing teeth, etc.) pretty much impossible.
3. I may or may not have had an epic meltdown caused by #2 on this list.
4. My lunch sat in the microwave for over an hour before I had time to eat it today.
5. J goes back to work on Monday and I have no clue how to do this on my own. I am in need of prayer.
6. I am having severe anxiety about traveling 2 hours with a newborn to be a bridesmaid in my cousin's wedding next weekend. Xanax may be in my near future.  Did I mention the wedding is on a boat?  I have nightmares about people throwing themselves overboard when Weston won't stop crying.
7.  My mom left yesterday morning after staying with us for a week and a half...and I cried...hard.
8.  My baby still will not breast feed.  Many tears have been shed on both sides.  (Anyone noticing a pattern here?  Crying and anxiety...poor J.)
9.  I would pay someone big bucks to hold a paci in a newborn's mouth all night.
10.  Despite the whiny tone of this post, I am so in love with our sweet angel.  Like, a words-can't-describe-do-anything-in-the-world-for love.  And due to #2 snuggling with a side of kisses is now a favorite pastime around here...so I can't  complain too much. :)

I'm hoping I have time to be back soon with some non-whiny posting.  Until then, here is another picture of our precious baby.

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.