Monday, November 11, 2013

thankfulness







I love this time of year.

It reminds me to count my blessings, one by one.

I have a LOT to be thankful for.

I know, I know... I should be thankful all year long, not just in November. And I am. But I love really, really honing in on all the blessings God has given me and rejoicing in them.

This year especially. There's a lot going on in my life I could complain about, and I've given into that temptation more than I'd really like, but when I focus on the good things, the bad things fade away and don't seem that bad.

Happiness is temporary and fleeting.

Joy is God-given and eternal.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

halloween happenings

I'm not naturally a huge fan of Halloween. No particular reason. But this Halloween was really, really fun!

Last you heard, I hadn't finished Reuben's costume. And I didn't even work on it Wednesday night because I wanted to go to church for the last night of our student crusade.

So after work Thursday, there was a mad rush to get everything done.

And it came together beautifully!

I decided my little Valentine's Day baby needed to be Cupid.


I had some 6-9 month onesies sitting around from a project I'd done so I sketched out a stencil on some freezer paper and colored it in with red fabric paint. My mom found his Old Navy red corduroys at goodwill and they were the perfect color!! His "bow" was a strip of cardboard painted with gold paint with a piece of yarn tying it together. I made his wings out of cardboard with cut up tissue paper bunched and glued on the back. I attached them with the hem of an old t-shirt hot glued on top and taped on the bottom. His arrow was an arrow I bought from the dollar tree and modified with some felt and more tissue paper.


I spent a total of $1.09 on the arrows from the dollar store. If I had bought the pants, it'd have been another $3.00 ish. Pretty thrifty if I do say so myself!

We didn't go trick or treating since it'd basically be me and my husband going to the door asking for candy. We just went out to eat and then took pictures of him in his whole get up. He was VERY interested in chewing on the end of the arrow.


He threw a MAJOR fit when I took it away from him. Like a shaking, screaming, and crying kinda fit.

He's dramatic, that kid.

The following night was our grown up Halloween fun. Our friends threw a storybook themed murder mystery party and it was so fun!

I was Princess Anastasia and Clint was Prince Galahad. I was supposed to wear a ball gown, but even with the weight I've been losing, I couldn't get my prom dresses to fit and didn't want to spend money on renting one so I went with plan B.

I found a dress from my 8th grade dance recital that fit (explain that one to me!) and decided to doctor it up a bit. I hot glued a ribbon around the middle and little rhinestones I already had all the way around the ruffle on the top.

Clint just wore a suit and I made little tassle things for his shoulders out of cardboard, yarn, and felt and a sash out of some leftover fabric.

It was easy and FREE!


Out of 20+ people there, only ONE person got the murderer right! It was someone I totally didn't expect. It was so fun and everyone looked so great!




So that was our halloween fun!

What sort of mischief did you guys get into for Halloween?

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

costume-less

It's the day before Halloween. Reuben's very first one...

and the kid doesn't have a costume yet.

And I'm semi-regretting trying to save some moo-lah and make his costume.

I'm pumped about what he's going to be. He'll (hopefully) be my only baby this would make sense for, so I've gotta seize the moment. He can have a pre-made and stuffed costume every other year.

But not this one.

So tonight I will frantically cut and sew and hem and glue and trim and try and make something cute out of nothing.

Wish me luck, y'all!


Tuesday, October 29, 2013

our sorta-kinda beach trip

So our beach trip turned out to be a spend-45-mintues-at-the-beach kinda trip. But it was perfect.

Reuben got to play in the grass while we packed up the car before we left. He honestly hasn't had much exposure to it yet because he was too little to take outside during the spring and it was too blazing hot for me to want to hang out outside this summer. He was really unsure about it.


We didn't officially get on the road until around 7:00PM. And quickly discovered traveling at night is not ideal with Reuben. I'd heard all these wonderful stories of babies sleeping the whole way and never making a peep... not him. He was angry he was in his carseat and not asleep. I mean, it wasn't horrible, he only cried for about an hour combined, but it wasn't ideal.

We got there around 2:30 and got him tucked into his pack n play. I'd never actually put him to sleep in one, but he loved it so I did too.


We spent about 2 hours the first day trying to fix breakfast. We'd brought pancakes, sausage, and eggs because it's such a quick breakfast for us at home. The condo only had two small stainless steel pans. We'd never cooked on one before and we burned about 4 pancakes to a crisp before figuring it out. Even then our timing was completely off. It was a mess. But we ate! VICTORY!

Then we got in our bathing suits and went down to the pool. It had a fun little place for babies to play in fountains, a big pool, and a lazy river.

Awesome.

I just wish the water hadn't been 33 degrees so that we could've enjoyed more of it.

I was sure the second I sat Reuben down in the water he'd freak out, but he loved it! He rode around on my lap in the lazy river and had such a good time.



After a late lunch, we headed over to the beach. Reuben was pretty indifferent to it all, but we had fun watching him!





Dinner was at a place called TackyJacks and all the seating was bar level, so they had one of those highchairs that attaches to the table. Genius. And so, so cool!


After Reuben went to sleep, we stayed up playing too many games of Clue. We're a wild bunch, you guys. And by the way, I won a game! woo hoo!

Day two was way too cold to do anything in the water, so Whitney and I decided to go to the Tanger Outlets.

Duh.

Problem: Only had one car. Austin had to work and the last thing Clint wanted to do was tag along with us. So we decided to all go eat at Lamberts: House of the Throwed Roll (YUM!) and Clint would drop us off while he went to see Gravity by himself. Great idea... until you walk around for 3 hours with a baby in an Ergo (didn't bring the stroller), shopping bags, and a really heavy diaper bag. And Whitney is 25 weeks pregnant so she was no better off. It was rough, y'all.

Total first world problems.

 Reuben took a great nap in the ergo though. Look at those lips. I'm in love.


The day ended with another yummy dinner and more Clue.

Our last morning, we ate up some leftovers, packed up, and headed out to the beach for an obligatory family beach picture since we completely forgot the first day.


I have no idea how we went 4 whole days without getting any pictures of the 5 1/2 of us. Reuben literally thinks Austin is the funniest person on the planet. He smiles and laughs at him so much! He and Whitney are so, SO good with Reu. I can't wait for their baby girl to be here in February!

The drive home started off wonderfully! Got on the road around 2:00 and Reuben blissfully fell asleep for a few naps.

Then the sun went down.

And the tears started.

About an hour from home, I was desperate for relief, so I broke out some Baby Einstein and Baby First TV. Baby boy was so angry he was watching it, but it stopped the screaming so I consider it a win.


Overall it was a wonderfully weekend getaway! I can't wait for next year when Reuben's got his little girlfriend, baby girl Rion, to play with.

Yay for more babies!

Thursday, October 24, 2013

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N

We're at Orange Beach, AL for the weekend.
 
HALLELUJAH!

This mama needs a break!

Well, Reuben's with us. So it's not a mama-break, but it's a real-world break which is just as nice.

Can't wait to come back and tell y'all all about it!

In the meantime, look at the chunka love in his beach garb.


That was 4 long months ago. Can't wait to see it actually fit him now!

Hasta la vista, baby!

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

funny baby picture

This picture of Reuben that cracks me up the more I look at it.


The drool covered neck.

The baby comb-over.

The scowl.

The little hand trying to rip his diaper off.



Just the perfect storm of hot mess-ness.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

8 months



Weight: According to our bathroom scale, somewhere around 20. According to my arms having to carry him around, somewhere around 47.

Health: Healthy! No sniffles, coughs, or wheezing from him.

Sleep: Teeth have ruined this one. He went from sleeping from 6:30/7:00-4:00/4:30 to only sleeping until about 1:00, sometimes even before midnight. There've been quite a few nights where he's just come in bed with us. There was one night in bed with us when he woke up about every 45 minutes. On another night he woke up screaming, so I sat him up against my knees and got the tylenol ready. By the time I'd put the stuff back in my nightstand, he was fast asleep sitting against my legs. So I did what any mom desperate for sleep would do- lowered my legs and left him there.

 
Social:Getting out and about more and more. He's just a lot of fun to be around and other people love him, too. We went to the zoo 3 weekends in a row and had a great time every time. He doesn't look at the animals yet, but he will one day. I just know he'll love it. Or at least really hope he does because it's one of my favorite places!


Diet: Probably about 80% breastmilk. He's starting to dig solids a little more. We're doing a bit of BLW and some purees. Sometimes I don't feel like sharing my food (selfish, I know) so he'll get a jar/pouch. We try and do solids 3 times a day and make sure he gets a good mix of fruit/veggies. He loves eating what we eat though. So far he's tried: grilled cheese, smoked sausage, hummus, guacamole, tortillas, toast, chicken, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, spaghetti, yogurt, yellow squash, and zucchini. I made him some food out of frozen tropical fruit that I mix in with full fat greek yogurt and he loves it. He also likes his homemade butternut squash with cinnamon. There hasn't been a single food he's refused so far. I'm proud of him!


Clothes: Still growing out of them but fitting in strange sizes, too. He wears 4-6 month stuff from H&M with some 6-9 stuff that swallows him mixed in. Carters 6 months is just about perfect, but the pjs are getting snug. Gap/Old Navy are the only 3-6 month stuff he can still wear, but the arms are getting short if they're long sleeved. I foresee me having to get out his 9-12 month stuff sometime between now and next month. I'll tell ya one thing. He's defintely not in 18+ months! Once this month, he pooped all over his clothes at the nursery and I forgot extra clothes (mom fail) so they stuck him in 18 month clothes. Huge but oh so cute. 

And then another day, I asked Clint to dress him for the day and I go downstairs to find him in a 18 month shirt and diaper. Men.


Baby Gear Love: Still LOVING the jumper. He gets so excited when you jump with him. It's adorable. Besides that, He's not really especially fond of anything. He'd rather be grabbing your hands and trying to walk. 


One baby gear thing that Clint and I are loving is his amber teething bracelet! There's been a noticeable difference in his crying and whining since we put it on. We've been borrowing a friend's and have a new one coming in this week. It's a little smaller, raw, and lighter in color. From what I've read, it should be even more effective!




Crying: It was a bad month for crying those mean teeth. He got two upper teeth that came in at the same time with fury. I saw/felt them one day and not even 6 days later, they were all the way in. It was NOT fun. He's also starting to get upset if he can't see one of us or if we walk away from him. 


Likes: Standing and walking. Peek-a-boo. Eating big people food. Dad. Remotes/phones. Looking at himself in the mirror. Being tickled. Squealing. Baby First TV. Rolling. Putting everything in his mouth. Bath time.







Postpartum: My body's been acting crazy, but I'm just contributing it to my hormones trying to even out from Reuben switching back and forth from sleeping through the night. My hair has stopped falling out and is actually starting to grow back. Yay, right? No. Now I have whispys EVERYWHERE.
  
Milestones: Working on his pinching. It's so cute to see him stare his fingers down as his pointer and thumb meet again and again and again. I offered him a puff, he pinched it, put it in his mouth and ate it. I thought, "MY KID'S A GENIUS!!!"... It hasn't happened since. He's resorted to leaning down and sucking it off my hand with his mouth. Tricky kid.

He's definitely mastered rolling. He'll roll every which way to get to something. Still showing absolutely zero interest in real crawling. He does this weird flopping/scooting thing to get where he wants to go if it's in front of him. I really think he'll be a the kid who walks before he crawls. Or just skips crawling altogether. He's getting REALLY good at pulling up on us and is braving the world of pulling up on objects. Which is great. Until the object is too short and he face plants. And he'll stand up and balance on the couch and stuff. It's crazy to me how big he's getting!




Reuben,

You are the epitome of 'joy'. Your smile brings such happiness to our hearts. Everybody you meet thinks you are the sweetest, cutest baby around and I completely agree (however biased I may be). You're looking less and less like a baby and more and more like a little boy every day. I can hardly stand it. You're such a ham! You love attention! You've got a temper, too. If something isn't the way you want it, you let us know. And it's almost impossible not to give you every single thing you want!

Your dada and I love you more than you will ever understand. We're so proud to be your parents!

Love,
Mama

Monday, October 21, 2013

tatt. tatt. tatt it up!

It is done.

My skin is inked for the rest of  my life.

And I LOVE it!


That was before. Not gonna lie, I was absolutely terrified. I was sure I wanted it, but I'm a big sissy when it comes to change and a tattoo is about as permanent as you can get. Clint ended up having to leave before we got started so it was just me and Zane, the tattoo artist. I could hardly breathe when I heard him start up the machine. And then he started...

It didn't hurt!

Not even joking. I mean, I wouldn't want it done ALL the time, but it wasn't painful. Just a little uncomfortable. It only took a little over an hour. He just did the outline. I'll go back in November for shading and color and I can't wait. I love it so much already, so I know I'll only love it more.

Here it is...


Clint doctored this picture up a little so you couldn't tell just how red my arm was. Here it is unedited.


My poor, sensitive skin.

The tattoo is symbolic of our sweet angel baby. I wanted something that was beautiful and a reminder, but a happy one since God blessed us so much through it.

Peonies are one of the birth flowers for April, when we lost the baby, and daffodils are for December, when baby would've been due. Job 1:21 is the scripture the Lord brought to mind the moment I found out I was pregnant and was my motto for the next few months.

I think it's perfect. Absolutely perfect. And I'm praying God uses it as an opportunity to share about all he's done in our lives. He is so very, very good!
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