Leah {2 Months}

At your 2 months appointment you weighed in at 12 lbs even and measured 23.75 inches long.

At 2 months...

You’ve started smiling constantly. You’re such a happy baby. You can recognize your Mommy & Daddy now and a big smile appears when you see us.

You’ve started going to the nursery at church on Sunday mornings and your teachers can’t get enough of you. They tell me how wonderfully happy you are.

You love to sit up. If we lay you down you can get quite mad. But once you’re sitting you’re happy again.

You also love to stand (with assistance of course!) We can help you balance and you’ll stand supporting your own weight.

You rolled over for the first time this month. When I told people that you did it they didn't believe me. Apparently you're not supposed to do that yet.

You’ve started wearing hairbows, which makes your mommy quite happy.

You spent your first night away from home this month. You stayed with Nana on the night before Mommy’s birthday and did wonderfully!

You’ve started sleeping through the night. You go to bed around 10 or 11 and wake up at 7 or 8. Many mornings you’ll eat and go back to sleep until 11.

You love to eat. Sometimes when you’re ready to be fed you’ll start screaming. But when you see your food source you’ll give a little chuckle before you dig in. The other night you were screaming in your bouncer. I started taking off my sweater and you started giggling.

Leah {1 Month}

At your one month checkup you weighed in at 9lb, 10 oz and measured 21 inches long. The doctor wasn't sure about your length though; since that was your length at birth.

At one month...

You hate wearing bows and hats on your head. If I put something on you start screaming until I take it off. This is rather unfortunate given the investment your Nana has made in hats and hairbows.

Your beautiful hair has started to fall out. You were born with such thick, dark hair on your head.The part on top is thinning and you’re starting to sport a mullet.

You go to sleep around 10 or 11 and wake up at 3 and 6. You’re pretty punctual with your waking.Always on the hour or half hour.

You are a super strong baby and are getting pretty good at holding your head up.

Your poops are pretty explosive sounding and always make us laugh.

You are a fabulous baby and everyone tells us that. You can nap just about everywhere. And you're pretty happy most of the time. Except when you're hungry. You can get pretty mad then.

This was my day yesterday.

That and walking through contractions at a local park.

We really thought that yesterday was the day. Our daughter's birthday. But apparently she didn't think it was time to come out yet. I started having contractions around 4am. They kept me up. But not David. He can sleep through anything. Around 7 he woke up and realized I was in pain. So we started timing them. And they kept getting closer. I decided to take a shower. I mean, if I was going to give birth I wanted to look good for the pictures, right. He kept timing as I was in the shower and the were 1-2 minutes apart. Ummm. I got out of the shower and started drying my hair. Apparently that was a no-no. David was like, "We have GOT to go!" So we packed up the car and hurried to the doctor only to be told that I was in early (latent) labor.

By the time we got there and I was examined my contractions were 6-10 minutes apart. And I was 3 cm. She told us to go walk around and come back when they got 3-4 minutes apart.

So we went and ate mexican and then headed to the park. We were pretty pumped at this point, thinking we were going to meet our daughter shortly. We spent hours walking. I would stop and breathe through the contractions. And they started getting closer together. When they got 2-3 minutes apart we decided to head back to the doctor's office.

Again, I was told that I was in early labor. At this point I'm 4cm. And they expected to see me at the hospital sometime last night. I guess I proved them wrong.

Maybe this little girl will hurry up and come soon.

The Nursery {Closet}

We have standard double door closets in each of our extra bedrooms. They have the standard wire shelf across the top; which I'm definitely not a fan of. In the nursery closet, the previous owners attempted to do an upgrade. By adding 3/4 of a wire shelf 2 feet above the floor. I meant to take a before picture but it was so bad that I didn't.

So I had a plan in mind. I drew out a closet design that I liked and showed it to David. He didn't care one way or theother. He won't be putting little baby laundry in said closet. I will.

I've been eyeing the Elfa systems by The Container Store. Love them, but just a teeny bit out of my price range. I've thought about building the shelving myself, but at 7 months pregnant it's probably not such a good idea. Enter Swoozie's. The one near me is going out of business. And they're selling all of their shelving. Score. I calculated how many feet of shelving I needed for my design and purchased their shelves. They even have a small lip so that items won't fall easily. Definitely a plus for the future when our little miss will be toddling around destroying everything in sight. I was going to cut the shelves myself. But my BFF said I wasn't allowed to use power tools at this point. (I don't get it?) So she got her husband to cut them down to size for me. Only 10 hours, a drill, a gazillion screws, and a sore back later I have a custom closet for my baby girl. It's nicer than my master closet. Sigh. Maybe one day I'll build one for us. But that would require cleaning out said closet. So maybe not.

I can't wait to fill those shelves with little baby things!

The Nursery {Fabrics}

Now that we know that we're having a girl, I can start to plan! I've dreamed about a little girl's nursery forever.

Our media room will be taken over by baby things. I must admit that I'm a little sad to be losing this room. Not that we use it that much. But I love the stripes. Just love them.

See? Aren't they fabulous? Not to mention the fact that I have NO IDEA where I'm going to put our gazillion books...

Anyway. I'm thinking about using some Amy Butler prints. David specifically asked for the walls to be lavender. I think he knows that I'd go crazy with pink if given the chance. But I want a more modern look for this babe's room. Something that will grow with her. I love, love, love Amy Butler's Coriander in pink. But it's so difficult to find these days. And I'm totally into her new LOVE collection. Especially the Paradise Garden. In periwinkle of course. Maybe paired with some Sunspots. We'll see.

10.10.10

It's a great date, don't you think? That's why we planned it. Or not. Maybe this little baby will cooperate and decide to be born then. That's right. We're having a baby!

i need to look older...

So the other week I was at my great uncle's funeral. A family member (whom I had never met before) started talking to me. "So you're in high school?" At this point, my jaw lands on the floor and I stare at her dumbfoundedly. "College?" I pick my jaw up and quickly say no to that one. "I'm twenty seven."

I constantly get mistaked for a 14-16 year old. While most women are purchasing products to make them look younger, I'm busy trying to look older. And if one more person says I'll enjoy it oneday, I'm going to slap them. In a nice way, of course.

Creating a Custom Wipes Case {DIY Tutorial}

I’m in that stage of life where all of my friends are starting to have babies. Literally all of them. I think I currently have two friends that aren’t pregnant. I went to a baby shower this past weekend and wanted to give a unique gift without breaking the bank. A custom wipes case and diaper tote did the trick. Here’s how to make the wipes case.



Materials Needed:
-1 travel wipes case
-Batting
-Fabric of your choice
-Braided Trim (1.5 yds)
-Tacky Glue
-Hot Glue Gun & Glue
-Scissors
-Rotary Cutter & Mat (Optional)


Get your wipes case ready by removing the wipes inside. This will make it easier to work with. You can save the wipes and put them back in the case for gift giving. I used a Huggies brand wipes case.

Step 1: Place your wipes case on top of the batting. Trace around the case twice and then cut the batting out to size. You should end up with two pieces of batting roughly the size of your wipes case.

Step 2: Using your Tacky Glue, glue the batting to the top of the case. Repeat for the other side covering the opening.



Step 3: Here's my plug for my Rotary Cutter. My wonderful husband got me one for Christmas and now I can't imagine life without it. Ok I won't go that far, but I do love it! Using your Rotary Cutter (or Scissors) cut a rectangle out of your fabric a little larger than the wipes case. If your fabric is patterned, make sure that you have it the correct way.


Step 4: Take the edge of the fabric that will be positioned along the back of the wipes case and make sure it will line up straight along the case. Then carefully hot glue the back edge down.

Step 5: Next pull the fabric tightly over the case and hot glue the front edge down.



Step 6: Using your Scissors (or Rotary Cutter), trip the front edge of the fabric. This can end up looking a bit rough since we’ll be covering it with trim. Make sure that you cut the fabric above the edge of the wipes case or extra fabric will hang below the trim. Repeat this for the opposite side of the case.



Step 7: Tackle the sides in the same fashion, but leave the corners unglued. Snip the corner down so that it will not go over the edge of the case. Then glue it down with hot glue.



Step 8: Repeat steps 3-7 for the opposite side of the wipes case. Your case should then look like this.



Step 9: Almost done! You can use any trim on your case or even ribbon. I chose this basic 3/8 in trim for mine. Start with the trim on the back middle of the wipes case. Place a small dot of hot glue down and tack the end of the trim to the case. Then carefully hot glue the trim around the case following the edge of the plastic. Repeat on the other side.



Step 10: Step back and admire your creation!

This is a super easy and super cute creation for a baby shower! The mom-to-be is a Registered Dietitian so I thought the Apples & Pears fabric appropriate. The great thing is you can customize this for anyone. I also whipped up a diaper clutch to go with. That’s in the next tutorial.



Here’s a breakdown of my cost:
Wipes Case—$2
Fabric—$2
Batting—$2
Braided Trim—$3
Total cost of the project—$9.
Of course if you have fabric and batting scraps on hand then you can make this for only $5! Go ahead and make a few. I dare you.

a birthday

Tonight we celebrated David's Grandma's 85th birthday. We had dinner with the fam complete with cake and presents. After opening her presents Grandma said, "I know you're just making a big deal out of this birthday because you think it will be my last. But I think I'm going to trick you and live another year."

We hope you do Grandma!

only in the south...

-can everyone gather after a funeral at the church to eat a lunch consisting of fried chicken, deviled eggs, and pineapple rings topped with mayo, chedder cheese and a cherry.

-is there still a family martiarch whom everyone listens to and obeys

-people pull over when they see a funeral procession and police officers stand by their cars stopping traffic holding their hats over their hearts

-can you ask the lady at the biscuitville drive thru how to get to the first baptist church

i love the south.

new curtains

I've been looking everywhere for curtains for my house. The entire house. Yes, we've been living there for over 6 months and I haven't hung a curtain yet. It took me 3 years in the old house so I figure I'm doing pretty good. I think I've found what I want for at least the downstairs. I've picked out the fabric for at least the office and hope to make them soon.

love/hate relationships

I have a love/hate relationship with many things. Hobby Lobby is one of them. I could spend hours on end in that store. I love to browse their fabric section. Even though I don't need any new fabric. I love to look at their home decor. Cute stuff. And great prices. Their holiday sections always make me want to decorate more. Even though I never do. But their sales people. That's the hate issue.

Last Friday I was in Hobby Lobby with a two year old in tow. I had kept him out well past his nap time. You could tell by the red circles forming around his eyes. All he wanted was a NAP. But I needed to grab one more thing so I toted him in and sat him in a cart. I got the fabric I needed and amazingly there wasn't a long line. I pulled up to the cash register and said two year old was still sitting in the cart with his thumb in his mouth.

"He has the same bad habit I have," said the cashier. "Only I'm nearly 21 and still sucking my thumb."

Really? Did you need to just tell me that because I could have done without the info.

Thanks.