Happily, Becki

Vintage Map… for 1¢

2012-02-17T15:33:00.001-06:00

Yes, I really did find an awesome vintage map poster for one penny. As in, one hundredth of a dollar. It seems like a trick, but it isn't. I ordered mine, wondering what I would get…

and this is it.

It's beautiful. The quality is great, the countries are all in the right place, and everything is spelled correctly. Hmm.

I'm still wondering what the catch is.

(You can get one, too!)

Post-Note: The price just skyrocketed to 9¢.
You had better act fast, my friends.

Laura Zastrow Photography

2012-02-16T07:24:00.000-06:00

Laura Zastrow is an incredibly talented photographer and also a wonderful person. She has an outgoing, witty, genuine personality that makes her a good friend as well as a talented artist. One of the best things about Laura is that her clients become her friends, and she really truly loves the people she is photographing. I'm happy to share an interview of Laura with you today, as well as some of her great photography.

(Laura with her youngest, photo credit to her also talented husband)

How long have you been taking photos? I fell in love with photography in 2001 when I was a freshman in high school with a new camera on a trip to the east coast. I was very involved in yearbook and camera club throughout high school, but afterwards it kind of fell by the wayside. An email out of the blue from a high school friend who was getting married in 2009 spurred me to finally buy a DSLR and get back into it. After shooting ten or so weddings and many more sessions for friends to get back into the swing of things, I launched Laura Zastrow Photography in early 2010 and haven't looked back.

What's your background in art? My mom would always tear cute and interesting photos out of magazines and make cards for her sisters and my cousins. I remember ripping out creative ad campaigns and ads for perfume out of magazines and hanging them on my wall in middle school. I originally went to collages for graphic design and took more than my fair share of drawing and painting and design classes. What I learned in those classes help me recognize light and form in my photography.

What kind of camera do you use? 99% of the time I shoot a Canon 5D classic.

What is your favorite part about your job? I love getting to know my couples and having fun with them. Showing them how beautiful and in love they are through the photos I make for them is pretty great too!

Why does good photography cost so much? Photography — by a knowledgable photographer with professional equipment — is like any other quality custom product or service. You're paying not only for the obvious time your photographer spends photographing you and editng your photos, but also her equipment, her knowledge and eye, and everything that keeps her business running. I encourage brides and grooms to ask their married friends if they had a photographer they loved photograph their wedding or if they went the cheap route. Do their married friends recommend doing it cheaply and saving the money or being assured they'll have photos they love for the rest of their lives and to share with future generations?

Show us three of your favorite photos you've ever taken: I'm currently quite fond of these three.

Laura is currently offering a fabulous deal to my readers. Mention you found her through Happily, Becki and you will receive 10% off any couple session, boudoir session, or wedding package through March 31st.

Laura has taken great photographs for my family many times (here, here, here, here). I can't even being to tell you how special these are to me. Great photography isn't just for your wedding day. I would encourage you to book a couple session with Laura in honor of your anniversary, a birthday, getting a new home, a special season, a holiday… or totally just because!

You will never, ever, regret spending money on good photography.
Capturing memories, documenting life - these are the things that truly matter.

Thanks, Laura! Be sure to take a look at Laura's website:
www.laurazastrow.com

Sweet.

2012-02-14T10:09:00.000-06:00

Roses for Rosemary, lemon-blueberry cupcakes for breakfast, a snowy day at home with my Mr. Valentine…

(Perfection.)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Anniversaries.

2012-02-13T17:14:00.001-06:00

Timmy Text: Happy 3 years 2 months
from getting engaged! I love you sweety!

(us two, newly engaged, 2008)

Not only does he remember my birthday, my half birthday, our dating anniversary, and our wedding anniversary (monthly as well as yearly), he also remembers our monthly anniversary of the day we were engaged.

He's a keeper, if I do say so myself!

Cra-zy.

2012-02-12T17:54:00.003-06:00

Last week was cra-zy, with an emphasis on crazy.

Fun times involved hours of complete hysteria and inconsolable tears, waking up in the middle of the night to more tears, not-under-any-circumstances taking a nap, and a serious meltdown in the backseat during a longest-hour-of-my-life car ride.

Teething makes everyone in our house cry.

More (seriously) fun times included…

…getting an entire new Rosemary wardrobe of gorgeous dresses, shoes, tights, and sweaters from a dear friend whose baby girl was incredibly well-dressed. (See above picture. Yes, I sort her clothes by color.)

… visiting my parents.

… giving Rosemary her first drink from a cup.

… getting the second season DVD of Downton Abbey in the mail.

Here's to a new week full of fun.

Remembering a Birthday.

2012-02-05T21:23:00.001-06:00

At the end of the summer of 2004, I lost a best friend. At that point in my life I would have said I hadseveral best friends, and he was one of them – the crazy, hilarious one.

It had been a summer of endless sunshine. Ourdays were crammed with bonfires, road trips, and movie nights. I was 17.We were careless and carefree and I never felt more independent or alive.Perched on the edge of childhood and adulthood, I thought I had everythingfigured out. When I look back to that time, all I see is a row smilingfaces – dear faces of dear friends – and undimmed sunlight. The comingdarkness of August 7^th approached silently - without a breathof warning and without time for goodbyes.

Just as July gave way to August, at the teetering point between summer’send and autumn’s beginning, it happened. I was home alone. A phone call came, and with it, the sudden knowledge of his death. In an instant, he slipped awayinto a misty eternity where I could not reach him. I still cannot touchthe intense pain that overtook me in those moments as I cried alone, andI shudder to remember the tears and the darkness of that night.

His death was an accident and a tragedy, and I could find no answers tomy grief washed questioning. Up until that point, my life had never beentouched by true, indescribable sorrow. His passing changed me. It wokeme up to the hard edges of pain. It was also a burning reminder to cherisheach happy moment, for I had learned that happiness is just one small fallaway from grief. Everything I had so confidently thought I had figuredout curved and twisted into a big question mark of pain and wondering.The world became an unsafe place, where nothing is certain and you can’tcount on anyone or anything still being there tomorrow – except God.

I thought I would never recover,but gradually I learned that, while the pain of losing him would lessen,a new, subtle pain of “forgetting” him would continuously haunt me. Ihad to move on, and with each step away from my life at 17, I felt guiltyfor not lingering in that same place forever, frozen in time at his grave.The numbers etched in his granite tombstone are fixed, while the numbersof my days still continue. Sometimes I feel certain his heart would breakif he could see my footprints at the cemetery long washed away. It’s beenyears.

But gradually I have learned that, while my heart has shifted, truly, Icould never forget the boyish friend I had during that time in my life.It feels different, but the love is still there in that place. I may haveforgotten the little parts, but I’ll never forget the most important ones.I have clear memories of long car rides, talking about dreams and lifeand God. And I have the echo of a thousand smiles resoundingin my heart, leftover from endless laughter shared and silly jokes.

Today would have been his 25th birthday.

Today I remember a good, good friend.

Happy Birthday, Josh.

Five.

2012-02-03T17:38:00.001-06:00

At five months, Rosemary is getting a tooth or two. (And our normally cheerful girly has been such a little fuss-pants that I have accomplished just about zero of everything in the past six days.)

At five months, Rosemary likes to be naked and to chew on everything. She loves sweet potatoes, but seems to dislike peas. Her cheeks are so chubby I think they actually impair her vision somewhat, and she weighs just under sixteen pounds. She is already wearing some size 12 month clothes. Oh-my-goodness.

I think her eyes are going to stay a soft sparkley blue, and her bald patches are starting to get new growth of significantly lighter hair.

Her grandpa calls her Raspberry.

My favorite part of the day is getting her out of her crib in the morning. She still sleeps through the night and goes to bed without problems. She loves Sophie the giraffe and she likes to hang out on her tummy.

So far, going gluten-free hasn't seemed to help her too much, but I have noticed that not eating gluten results in extreme weight loss (in me, not her), so we're all happy.

Happy because we choose to be,

happy because there's no good reason not to be.

Happy because five months with Rosemary
is pretty amazing.

Baby Quilt - Finally Finished!

2012-01-30T15:29:00.004-06:00

This is the quilt that I started nine months ago…

This is the quilt I finished yesterday…

This is the quilt I made for Baby Love.

Good news:

She loves it!

Bad news:
Sweet potato spit-up stains pretty quilts.

2012-01-28T14:07:00.003-06:00

I am struggling to figure things out

and to find myself in this new role of "mother".

How to live and sleep and work and blog

with a daughter to consider.

A cascade of circumstances

has me feeling

overwhelmed

lonely

inadequate

hungry

and ever thankful

to have a husband

who keeps me fixed on God.

I am struggling.

But I am happy.

Is that possible?

Apparently so.

Some Things, on a Monday.

2012-01-23T13:37:00.000-06:00

1. Tim is definitely, obviously, certainly Rosemary's favorite person. Her whole face lights up when he walks into the room. I think that, because I haven't left her sweet little side for more than a couple hours since she was born and we always, without fail, have a feeding rendezvous every three hours or less (except during the night)… I have kind of become just an everyday part of the scenery of her life. Good old, always-there MOM, that's me. So Tim is her favorite, and in truth I can't blame her, and we both await his arrival home each night with eager expectation.

2. Our tickets to Hawaii have been purchased. The thought of Hawaii kind of cancels out any negative thought that exists. Baby crying inconsolably because she can't figure out how to roll the other direction? Hawaii, Hawaii, Hawaii.

3. As if I wasn't already socially awkward enough with my crazy diet… I'm gluten free now too. It is with great reluctance that I have given up gluten. Rosemary has had a lot of congestion and a rash that won't disappear since she was born, and the doctor thinks it might be a gluten intolerance. That's kind of the conclusion he came to by default, since the most common food issues with babies come from either meat, dairy, sugar, eggs, or gluten, and gluten is the only one of those five things I eat. So you're wondering what gluten-free vegans eat. The answer? Vegetables, vegetables, nuts, some fruit, vegetables, and rice cakes. After one week of this, I'm starving.

5. Our part-time worker decided to go back to school (the nerve!), so now Timmy is back to working six days a week. (Thank goodness we are closed on Sunday.) This has been a devastating blow to the morale of our home. But, my friends, there is hope on the horizon. Hawaii, Hawaii, Hawaii.

6. I showed my risk-loving husband and similarly cra-zy little sister this video, in an attempt to prove once and for all that bungee jumping is insane. Instead of the "ohmygosh, I'm never bungee jumping again!!!" response I was smugly expecting, they both excitedly stated, "See?! She lived! I told you it was safe." Ummm, guys… when a survival story includes the word "miraculous", SAFE cannot be an additional adjective used in its description.

7. I've fully embraced winter hibernation. Pajamas, fireplace, and baby snuggles are my only ammo against the winter blues that three snowstorms in one week brings. Oh, that and…

Hawaii, Hawaii, Hawaii.

A Conversation: About Daydreams

2012-01-21T20:27:00.000-06:00

Me: You know, you're better than I ever imagined in any of my daydreams.

Timmy: You're a daydream that I caught.

(Happy 31 Months of being Mr. & Mrs.!)

Oh, how we roll…

2012-01-18T18:39:00.002-06:00

Yesterday morning I informed my daughter that it was high time she start rolling over. Seriously. She did it - ONCE - and then decided she was content being a stationary little log and never tried it ever again.

So we settled on the living room floor for a little BBC (Baby Boot Camp). For half an hour I helped (forced) her to "practice" rolling from her tummy to her back. I told her of all the wonderful things rolling could accomplish.

She went stiff as a board and squawked at me like a baby birdy until I finally gave up.

Two hours later she was chilling on her back, contentedly sucking her fingers and cooing. And I was all like, "Whatever, baby. It's your loss."

I took my eyes off her for one teensy second, only to turn around and find her on her stomach looking at me as if to say,

"That's right, Mom.
This is how I roll."

I promptly flipped her back and watched her do it again,

and again

and again.

Baby girl went from a stationary log to a rolling-over pro in the space of three hours.

Her technique is hilarious (and definitely not how I was trying to teach her). She curls herself up in a little ball and then shoots her legs out like a ninja. She really is her father's daughter.

We have a tiny rolling ninja in the house. I'm pretty sure that once she figures out how to roll from tummy to back, our lives will never be the same.

A Coversation: About French

2012-01-16T22:08:00.002-06:00

Me: I wish we could teach Rosemary a foreign language.
I know some French. Let's say something in French.

Timmy: Ok!

Me: Bonjour je m'appelle Becki. Je suis magique.

Timmy: … TRIANGLE!

I learned some basic French before we went on our honeymoon to Paris. I basically knew how to say, "My name is Becki. This is my husband, Tim. We are newlyweds. It is so magical. If I eat dairy I die."

And I could only remember it if I said each phrase in that exact order,
so needless to say I didn't have very many meaningful French conversations.

And I think it is obvious from the above conversation that Timmy knows ZERO French.

So I guess Rosemary won't be bilingual, but…

she has a Daddy that will always make her laugh.

(so who needs French?)

Music By Caleb.

2012-01-12T13:36:00.000-06:00

My brother-in-law is such a talented musician.
As a Christmas present, I designed him some business cards

and a header for his music blog.
He wanted something "folksy" and "classic"

and here's what we came up with:

(front)

(back)

Be sure to head over and listen to some of his work!

www.musicbycaleb.com

Chiropractors & Belly Laughs

2012-01-09T09:37:00.000-06:00

We all barely survived last week. Rosemary had her first cold, followed by an ear infection. But we had no idea that was the reason she could never, ever, not-for-a-second, be put down in her crib. We had 48 hours of hysterical crying all night long before a friend of mine mentioned it might be her ears that were bothering her.

And then it was like,

"Oh gosh, why didn't we think of that?!"

One trip to the chiropractor and she was a bazillion times better. We spent the rest of the week putting garlic oil in her ears and she has once again returned to her normal nightly schedule of blessed SLEEP for ten hours straight. Whew.

Which brings me to a couple points. Firstly, every baby should go to the chiropractor. We love ours. We started taking Rosemary about a month ago and he completely cured her car-crying problem. (She would crycrycry EVERY time we got into the car.) Turns out there is a lot of air pressure in cars and it's pretty common for baby's ears to hurt when driving. No more car cries for Rosemary (seriously!). He also saw that her range of motion was restricted and has solved that problem as well and now Rosemary can completely turn her head both directions. (We had thought she just preferred to look a certain way.) And while talking with our chiropractor he mentioned that chiropractors can help with many common baby issues, like colic, digestive issues, acid reflux… the list goes on. So, please take your baby to the chiropractor.

Second point. You don't need to use antibiotics to cure an ear infection. Garlic oil does the trick, and the less we use antibiotics, the better.

It's been so wonderful to have Rosemary back to her normal, happy self. This weekend she gave us her first belly laugh, thanks to her silly friend Elizabeth who Rose is clearly in love with.

Baby belly laughs now top the list of best things ever.

2012-01-05T11:30:00.000-06:00

Timmy Text: There's a surprise for you upstairs on our bed.

…and when I ran upstairs, this is what I found:

*smile*

Four Months.

2012-01-03T11:51:00.000-06:00

Four months finds us with

one baby with an ear infection
(who hasn't slept in 48 hours)

two sick parents

three very, very, very sleepy house inhabitants

and four months of happy memories
(to keep us sane in moments of pure despair.)

Christmas Presents - Part 2

2011-12-30T08:44:00.004-06:00

4. Fort Kit

When I saw this idea for a fort kit, I knew it would make a perfect Christmas gift for my three little nephews. I changed it up a little bit, but the idea is the same. The boys get a king size sheet, rope, and a book to share. They each get their own box of fort "supplies" - flashlight, glow stick, clothes pins, clamps, and snacks. I think their favorite part will be the glow sticks.

5. Nail Art Book

Our sweet niece just turned 13, and she is probably the most fun person I have to make presents for. This year I collected various nail tips and nail art tutorials from around the internet and compiled them into a book.

6. Baby Shoes

Remember these shoes I made for Baby Love? Rose was born with huge feet. (No lie. Her feet grow out of her sleepers before the rest of her body does.) So these large shoes already fit her, and they look so cute, I decided to make her a couple more pairs for Christmas.

Every girl needs a pair of red shoes.

7. Miscellaneous

I also knit some mittens for my sisters, made two collaborative fabric books with my mom for my nephew, and designed a photo book for Timmy to keep at the store to show off his baby.

Whew.

December is such a busy month. I really am going to start my Christmas presents for 2012 early.

Christmas Presents - Part 1

2011-12-29T08:37:00.001-06:00

Christmas is over and the last of my homemade presents are finally completed. After a frantic rush to get them all done in time, I really am going to make all of my Christmas presents for 2012 in January this year. I already know what I'll be making…

I love making presents. I love giving handmade gifts.
Here's a few that I made this year.

1. Felt Flowers

I used this tutorial to make felt flowers. One became a pin for Mom, and the other made Rosemary's Christmas dress complete.

2. Polaroid Magnets

I saw some ideas for making Polaroid magnets on Pinterest, but they all seemed a little too complicated. For my magnets I printed a bunch of photos on cardstock and laminated the photos. Then I took big white magnet sheets and cut them into rectangles and glued the photos onto the magnets. It was incredibly easy, and they look absolutely adorable.

3. Paper Stars

My mom re-taught me how to fold beautiful German paper stars. My family has been making these stars for as long as I can remember, but it is one of those projects that require a refresher because it can be a little confusing at first. We dipped them in wax and added strings to create gorgeous ornaments. I found an online tutorial on how to make these here.

Oh, Christmas.

2011-12-27T11:04:00.000-06:00

The treasure of Christmas was especially beautiful this year.

Two blue eyes and a sweet baby face full of smiles completed

the crescendo of happiness that comes in an annual melody of joy.

Oh, Christmas. Each year you get better and better.

Happy Christmas!

2011-12-22T13:25:00.000-06:00

As 2011 comes to a close, I'm amazed at what this year has brought. So many blessings and beautiful moments. I can easily say that 2011 has been my favorite year of life so far, and I have high hopes for 2012 to be my next favorite.

I wish I could send a Christmas card to every one of my blog readers!
May you have a perfectly Merry Christmas, each and every one of you!

(Oh, and I obviously have no idea where Hawaii is.
Kind of sad, considering it's one of my favorite places in the world.)

Some Thoughts. And an iPhone.

2011-12-21T17:33:00.002-06:00

1. I convinced Timmy to give me one of my Christmas presents early. He got me an iPhone. All I really wanted for Christmas was an iPhone, and it's just as amazing as I thought it would be. I'm so spoiled! After he gave it to me he wanted to lock it up in our safe so that I couldn't play with it until Christmas. ... That did not happen.

(Trying out my new iPhone camera.)

2. Here's a site that lists some amazing free font finds:

http://www.goinghometoroost.com/?s=free+fonts&x=0&y=0

3. We decided to get Rosemary three presents for Christmas. Something to read, something to wear, and something to play with. (It turned into quite a few somethingS to wear, because baby girl clothes are hard to resist.) This is a tradition we plan to continue. It represents the three gifts Jesus received and I think it's such a wonderful idea. (I can't take the credit for it, I've heard it several places this year.)

4. When I mentioned that we were planning Rosemary's first vacation, you didn't think we would be going anywhere other than Hawaii, did you?? From March 3-13 we will be soaking up sunshine on beautiful beaches. I can't wait for Rose to meet the Pacific Ocean! And the best part is that my parents are going to be coming with us! Dream vacation come true!

(Snuggle time with Dad.)

5. We bought bunnies for Christmas presents for some of our family this year. Gospel for Asia has an amazing "Christmas Catalog" where you can buy anything from bunnies to camels to water purifiers for an Asian family. We went with bunnies because not only are they adorable, they can feed an entire family and provide them with a stable income (from selling bunny babies). I designed some cute little cards to let our family members know about their special gift.

6. New favorite blog here:
http://www.travelingtriplets.com/

7. My brother in law, Caleb, is an amazing musician. He is giving us a CD of Christmas songs he recorded for Christmas. I know this because he told me and gave us a sneak preview last night. When he's famous, I want to be his graphic designer.

http://www.myspace.com/colormehonest

8. Apple Wellness is, finally, getting a real website. And it's going to be awesome. Stay tuned for this awesomeness to go live sometime in January.

9. My favorite time of day is morning. Rosemary looks so sweet with sleepy eyes.

(Sleepy Rose.)

10. Rose is 25 inches long now and over 14 pounds. Everyone who sees her comments, "She's so BIG! I mean, HEALTHY!" Nobody can say that vegan babies aren't healthy. *smile*

Our Sugarplum Fairy.

2011-12-16T15:26:00.000-06:00

Cozy Car Seat Cover.

2011-12-15T14:48:00.000-06:00

Now that it's freezing cold outside, we like to keep Rose cozy as we travel. At first we were just throwing a blanket over her car seat as we raced inside. But the wind kept blowing it around and our poor little dear would often end up with a gust of cold air disturbing her little cocoon of warmth.

And so our car seat blanket was invented. I bought some pretty fabric and gathered some pretty scraps and quickly assembled a quilt using 8.5 inch squares. I made it long enough to cover the length and width of the car seat. I used quilt batting for the middle, a pink sheet for the backing, and quilted it together using the "stitch in the ditch" technique of quilting in the seams. My favorite part is the white binding and rounded corners.

And then I added the magic tabs. These clip onto the handles of the car seat, ensuring the blanket doesn't fly away with even the gustiest of breezes.

According to Tim, this has revolutionized our lives.

I'm not sure about that, but it has made carrying her around outside less of a balancing act. And it comes off easily to become a quilt to lay her on when we're out and about.

Fun Random Fact: The pink floral fabric is from a house dress that the lady I was named after wore. Beatrice Curtis. She was like a grandma to me, and I think it is really special to have a part of her in my baby girl's quilt.

Loving Rosemary.

2011-12-14T13:50:00.001-06:00

Rose gets kissed on her cheeks a thousand times every day. Every time we pick her up we whisper sweet lovey thoughts in her perfect little ears. She is surrounded, immersed, and saturated in pure adoration. We are very good at loving Rosemary.

And, last night a new milestone was celebrated.

Rosemary rolled over.

1-2-3

2011-12-12T14:10:00.000-06:00

One

reindeer Rosie.

Two

lovebirds kissing under the mistletoe.

Three

stockings by the fireplace.

A Spoonful of Christmas.

2011-12-10T22:30:00.000-06:00

Tim has been walking around all night singing,

"Oh, a spoonful of Christmas,

a spoonful of Christmas…"

I really think he has his songs confused. But now we both have it stuck in our heads.

He also wrapped my Christmas present.

I laughed when I saw him carry it into the living room,

and he pouted a little and showed me the mangled corners

where he "tried to nibble it" just right.

(Nibble? Didn't you use scissors?)

And then he decided to add some curly ribbon to make it look prettier.

A minute later I hear…

"OUCH!!!! I just cut my lip on the ribbon.

Don't laugh. It really hurts…"

We're definitely enjoying large spoonfuls of Christmas over here.

Pet Peeve.

2011-12-09T20:53:00.000-06:00

Me: It drives me cra-zy when Rosemary cries
and immediately someone asks me if she is hungry.

Tim: Oh? Does that happen a lot?

Me: YES.

(Cue... random lady in Target.)

Rosemary: Waaaaah!

Lady: Oh! *looks at me sideways and says in a singsong voice*
Mommy, she must be hungry!

Me: …

It really, really bothers me when people assume that anytime Rose makes a peep of noise, she's hungry. I can't help but feel that they're expecting me to hug them gleefully and say something along the lines of "WOW! Thank you so much! I knew there was something she needed… Hungry, right? Whew. I'm glad you let me know."

I KNOW when my baby is hungry, and I also know when she's crying because she hates her car seat, or because she's hot, or because she's sleepy, or because she's just being whiny…

On the other hand, I know that the people who ask are only doing so out of love/interest and are definitely not intentionally trying to irritate me. I think that in order for something to qualify as a pet peeve, it has to annoy you for no good reason.

Three.

2011-12-07T11:56:00.000-06:00

Weight:

Birth // 7lb. 9oz.

Now // 14lb. 2oz.

Height:

Birth // 20.5 inches

Now // 25.5 inches

Our little rosebud is three months old.

We are enjoying brightly opened eyes and huge, gummy smiles.

Three month old babies are are jolly and wiggly and talkative. They grab at toys and tell you exactly what they're feeling through a language of grunts, giggles, coos, and (sometimes) wails. They blow bubbles and suck on fingers. Three month old babies are a little less like a newborn cocoon of sweet, mysterious warmth, and a lot more like a real little person.

The mystery is fading, and every day a new aspect
of her personality shines through.

I like this little person.

Happy December!

2011-12-02T15:37:00.000-06:00

We've been…

reading Dr. Suess,

hanging out on the couch by our fake (gasp!) Christmas tree,

practicing sitting up,

kissing chubby baby cheeks,

and making cute faces while dribbling adorable baby drool.

We've also been…

working on finishing Christmas gifts,

swamped with freelance work,

making Rosemary a Christmas stocking,

decorating the house for Christmas,

enjoying visits from family,

feeling proud if we make it out of our jammies,

and overwhelmed with the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day.

Christmas Card Photos…

2011-11-28T11:44:00.001-06:00

… and Rosemary didn't like it much.

I made her a cute headband…

and she was all like,
"Why does this thing have to fall in my eyes, huh?"

And then she cried. And cried.

and I tried to pull the
"it's my birthday, baby, please cooperate" card

but that card doesn't work nearly as well on babies as it does on husbands.
Either that or she was thinking,
"Your birthday was actually two days ago MOM."

My birthday, by the way, was magical. Between Mom and Dad, Rosemary, Rynn, and Timmy… I got spoiled all the way around. I love birthdays. And now I'm twenty-five, which feels pretty amazingly old and a good age to be a mom of a three-month-old baby.

And believe it or not, we also managed to get one magical family photo for our Christmas cards.

And it wasn't this one.

Thankful.

2011-11-25T20:33:00.001-06:00

(Laughing at Grampa's silly songs.)

(Snuggling on soft sheets with matching hooded heads.)

(Wearing pearls and chilling out in the middle of our Thanksgiving dinner table.)

(Making happy faces and loving funny Aunt Rynn.)

Our Thanksgiving was sweet
in so many ways.

(Best. Thanksgiving. Ever.)

Ordinary Moments.

2011-11-19T09:21:00.001-06:00

In the dreamy in-betweens of life,

when we're humming with routines

and when unshaped happenings are sprinkled

with quiet beauty

it's perfectly lovely to realize…

our new ordinary

is made of the most beautiful moments.

P.S. I was featured as a guest blogger on the Ruche blog this week! Check it out here:

http://shopruche.blogspot.com/2011/11/love-stories-most-beautiful-day.html

Four Generations.

2011-11-17T14:22:00.001-06:00

(Mom, Rosemary, Granny D, and me)

Four generations of girls.

My mom comes from a family of three sisters and no brothers.

I come from a family of two sisters and no brothers.

Girls are kind of our specialty.

And there's few things as sweet as Great-Grandma kisses.

The Book.

2011-11-15T10:27:00.001-06:00

Meet Rosemary's best friend.

The Book.

It's an accordion style fabric book that has pretty, baby-friendly patterns on both sides. You can twist it and turn it and fold it a bunch of different ways. (My mom made this. She's aMAZing!)

We don't go anywhere without "The Book". The words, "Did you grab The Book?" are said multiple times a day by both Timmy and I. Rosemary is in love with this thing.

Car rides, nap times, awake times, bed times – all times have been revolutionized by The Book. It's kind of uncanny how cries can be immediately transformed to smiles when she sees her favorite page of The Book. WE THREE LOVE THE BOOK.

Our nights look something like this:
9:30 PM - Put Rosemary in her crib with The Book.
She falls asleep talking to it.
7:00 AM - Rosemary wakes up to eat.
7:30 AM - Put Rosemary back in her crib with The Book.
She plays for a while and falls asleep staring at her favorite page.
(Timmy and I sometimes get up at this point and accomplish
great things. But on mornings like today... we sleep in.)

9:30 AM - Wake up baby to feed her.

All this is made possible by The Book.

Familiar Magic.

2011-11-10T13:36:00.000-06:00

Timmy swept me away on a surprise adventure to the Fireside theater to see "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" - one of my favorite musicals. The show was AMAZING.

Spending the day together
- just the two of us -
was like old, familiar magic.

Of course "Rosemary" was every other word on our lips and it was incredibly sweet to realize that dates with Timmy are even more magical with a darling baby girl to return home to.

Our Autumn Mantle.

2011-11-09T13:34:00.000-06:00

Since being home, I've enjoyed having more time to spend creating. Rosemary and I have a lot of fun making things together. She chills on the table and keeps me company while I get busy with arts and crafts. (I can't wait until she is old enough to help.) Nothing beats painting pretty pictures while your baby girl kicks her legs and coos beside you.

My mantle has remained mostly the same since I married Timmy and prettied up his former bachelor pad. But now, hours spent nursing on our couch, staring at the mantle, gave me great plans to switch things up. And so, our Autumn Mantle was created.

1. Autumn Canvas Painting

After designing Hattie's wedding invitations, I realized that the illustration I used for those would make a perfect fall canvas painting. Using a projector, I transferred the illustration onto a large canvas and used black tea bags to stain the white canvas a pretty, natural off-white color. The rest of the painting is done with acrylics. I used to paint all the time in college and then I met Timmy and got completely distracted by his pretty blue eyes and I haven't really done much painting since. All it took was another pair of baby blue eyes giving me the ability to stay home, and my love for painting has been renewed.

2. Chalkboard Canvas

I got the idea to do a chalkboard canvas here. I decided to change it up a bit and give the chalkboard a decorative border. The edges are painted a pretty sparkly gold, and it's quite fun to switch up the chalky writing.

3. Feathered Friends

Timmy bought me a cute owl that he named Morpheus. Morpheus and little bluebird are besties and they add a lot of cuteness to our autumn mantle. (And I think they will fit in quite nicely with any future season mantles, too.)

4. Stacked Gourds

Stacked gourds on candlestick holders make me smile. I got the inspiration for these here. These cuties are stacked and held together with a LOT of hot glue. (I didn't hot glue them at first, but then I had the unfortunate experience of having a gourd topple off and land directly on my toes. No fun.)

5. Yarn-Wrapped Vase

I have seen these yarn-wrapped vases all over the place on Pinterest, but don't really have a specific link that inspired me. To give my vase a more rustic feeling, I used natural jute. This project took way longer than I thought it would. Over an hour of wrapping and hot gluing and lots of burned fingers later… my pretty vase was done. I bought some pretty fake fall leaves to put in it. (I briefly considered bringing a real branch with real leaves inside but then I thought of bugs and spiders that might be living on real leaves and branches…)

Ta-da!

It's kind of funny that I posted this on the day we had our first winter snow. I guess I had better get started on our winter mantle…

Baby Projects.

2011-11-05T15:21:00.001-05:00

Baby projects are so fun. They're small, so they're quick to complete, and I get a little giddy when I see Rose in some sweet treasure that I made her myself. Mom and I have been having a blast knitting and crocheting her lots of pretty accessories. My favorites are these tiny baby fingerless mittens:

Seriously. Too cute for words. She looks beyond adorable in them, and they really do keep her fingers warm. I wasn't sure if they would actually stay on her hands, but trust me – it's harder to get them OFF than it is to get them on. You can find the pattern for them here:

http://www.knitpicks.com/cfpatterns/pattern_display.cfm?ID=10544220

The pattern also includes instructions for some cute cute legwarmers:

And this Chubbie Wubbie legwarmer pattern makes some flashy rainbow legwarmers:

http://www.knitpicks.com/cfpatterns/pattern_display.cfm?ID=10800220

I call them "Rainbow Brite" legs.

I also knit her a cute bonnet to keep her head warm in the winter months. She looks so sweet in it, and for some reason she doesn't hate her bonnet nearly as much as she dislikes all other hats.

You can get the pattern here:

http://www.leisurearts.com/sweet-layettes-to-knit.html

And finally, the completely adorable cap featured in our two month photos. She really can't stand wearing it, which is a shame since she looks like a flower fairy. You can find the free crochet pattern here:
http://www.aestheticnest.com/2010/07/crochet-best-baby-cloche-and-tutorial.html

Yeah, I kind of spend my days playing with a darling baby girl and knitting sweet projects. I'm officially done with my "real" job now, so "stay at home mom" is my new title. I'm really, really liking this life of mine.

Raw Tacos.

2011-11-03T14:42:00.005-05:00

So, the other night we tried a new recipe for "Raw Tacos". Walnuts and spices and oil combined to create "meat". Cashews and apple cider vinegar and lemon to make "sour cream".

I normally get really grossed out by vegans who try to replicate "normal" foods like meat and dairy products using plant based ingredients. Walnuts should not masquerade as taco meat. It seems so silly.

And yet.

This was really, really good. Timmy says it was better than "real" tacos. Mixed with fresh salsa, lettuce, baby spinach, and guacamole – oh, my taste buds were dancing! And, aside from tasting good, you have the additional benefit of this actually being good for you. Raw nuts, green lettuce, raw veggies – a plate full of happy, healthy, raw goodness.

I know this recipe sounds really, really weird. But if you gave it a try, you just might find that you like it…

Find the recipe here:
http://mynewroots.blogspot.com/2011/07/raw-taco-fiesta.html

A Conversation: About Little Hearts

2011-11-02T17:28:00.002-05:00

Timmy: So I was just thinking… Rosemary has this itty bitty tiny version of a heart!

Me: Ooooh! That is so cute! A teeny little heart!

Timmy: Yeah, and a little liver!

Me: And a tiny stomach!

Both: OOOOOH! She is too cute!!!!

Timmy: Let's wake her up so we can play with her!

… you could say that we're smitten.

Two Months.

2011-10-31T10:22:00.001-05:00

Rosemary celebrated her 8-week birthday by sleeping for ten and a half hours.

Hooray!

We attempted to get a nice family photo yesterday afternoon, but little Rose wasn't digging the chilly outside air and her feelings are clearly reflected in the photoshoot results.

Sometimes I wonder what goes on in her little mind. I feel like in these pictures she's thinking "HELP! Do you see what I have to put up with here?! They put a HAT ON MY HEAD!"

(Sadly, she still hates hats and headbands.)

And finally, the best photo of the day.

A two month snapshot of what life looks like right now. And really, it's a pretty good picture of it. Imperfect, crazy, and completely unorganized. But beautiful and happy - very happy.

Daddy's Girl.

2011-10-26T12:53:00.002-05:00

"Rosemary, Rosemary

You're my girl.

Rosemary, Rosemary,

Darling of the world."

– Timmy's Song for Rosemary

Whenever Timmy walks into the room, Rosemary turns her head around in search of his face. She'll happily gaze into his eyes for long moments and whenever she's in his arms, she grabs hold of his shirt with her sweet little fingers. As soon as he gets home at night she stops fussing or playing or whatever she's up to and gives him huge full-body smiles.

Mom made an observation this weekend.

"Rosemary is going to be a Daddy's girl."

She already is.

Grandparents.

2011-10-25T13:24:00.003-05:00

Rosemary knows her grandparents, and she loves them. A lot. Because they are present and freely giving in the love they lavish on this little life. Their house is familiar and cozy and full of things just for her - a crib with pink blankets, a basket full of pretty outfits, and soft knit socks.

Grandpa holds her close and sings her sweet and silly songs while telling her stories of when I was a little girl. He whispers to her of all the things he will teach her and tells her truthfully that he is pretty good at loving little girls (he had three of his own, you know). I know exactly what she feels as she is cradled in his arms, because I have felt it all my life, and it's a really, really good feeling.

Grandma snuggles her in a way that only Grandma can. Rosemary grins huge, happy smiles at a face she has seen since the day she was born. Grandma's well-known voice and soft shushes bring comfort to little cries and Grandma's arms are one of her favorite places to snooze. There are few things more beautiful than seeing my little girl gaze with eyes of love at my mom. These two are going to be best friends, I can tell already.

It's impossible to accurately describe the amount of love surrounding our lives.

Rosemary knows her grandparents, and she loves them.

Because they make it a point to never be too busy

to be there (here) with her.

(Rosemary was not happy during this photo shoot. The expressions on her face crack me up.
Especially the one of Mom and I holding her.)

Birth Announcements.

2011-10-24T12:10:00.004-05:00

These are the birth announcements that were never sent.

I have determined that it's really unrealistic to expect a new mom to design, print, assemble, and address birth announcements right after having a baby. With a new baby, who has time for that?

I did get as far as printing them, but stalled out on the assembly part (cutting them out) and now that Rose is almost two months old, birth announcements just seem like really old news.

So we'll just hang a copy in her nursery,

give one to Grandma,
put one in her baby book,

and that will be that.

Sweetness.

2011-10-22T15:20:00.000-05:00

Today…

us two girlies stayed in our pj's

and snuggled in bed.

stared at the sunbeams

explored new-found fingers
(I think she's finally realized that her hands are attached to her body.)

smiled big, happy grins

and practiced tummy time.

The sweetness of life leaves me breathless…

on days like today.

Three Cheers!

2011-10-19T15:52:00.004-05:00

Nine hours. Straight.
Amazing.

First Walk.

2011-10-17T13:18:00.002-05:00

First walk as a family of three.

Our little hooded sweetheart snuggled against our chests and clearly communicated that she's a walk kind of girl and we'll be doing more of this in the future.

Ten Little Things.

2011-10-13T19:36:00.002-05:00

(ten little toes)

1. Our sweet girl has grown out of her newborn clothes and her weight is up to 10 pounds, 3 ounces. Last night during her bath we counted six chunky little rolls on her adorable thighs. Her chubby cheeks are completely irresistible and she gets hundreds of kisses planted on them every day.

2. Rose's first smile was for her Daddy. (No surprise there.) She's been smiling non-stop since then. It's pretty much the sweetest thing ever, and it melts our hearts every single time.

(Rose smiling at herself in her very distorted mirror.)

3. Rosemary is in love with mirrors. She happily stares at herself, giggles, coos, and smiles at her reflection.

4. We've been doing Baby Wise and absolutely love it. Rosemary is so happy and having a (flexible) schedule for our days is such a blessing.

5. Rosemary slept for eight hours last night, woke up to eat, and then slept three more hours. We can put her in her crib, wide awake, and she'll talk herself to sleep.

6. We found the sweetest lullaby CD, Hidden in My Heart. It's basically Scripture put to music, and I love to have God's words washing over her as she sleeps.

7. We're already thinking about Rosemary's first vacation and have begun to tentatively plan it…

8. I totally love being a stay at home mom. My days are so happy. I have been soaking up baby time, cooking yummy meals, and enjoying fun art projects.

9. Rosemary has already become one of my favorite people. She's so fun to be around. I miss her when she's napping and waking her up is one of my favorite things. Sleepy baby nuzzles are so indescribably precious.

10. Our first date away from Rose will be next Sunday. Timmy pre-planned a babysitter (Mom and Dad, of course) and is whisking me away on a surprise adventure. He is the best at surprises.

"Girly" Boy Sweater

2011-10-12T13:18:00.001-05:00

I recently found a navy blue baby sweater on clearance. It was obviously a boys sweater, but it was only $3, and I bought it with hopes of figuring out a way to girly it up.

Which brings me to the "infant" headband I ordered online at Target clearance for $1.20. It arrived and was almost big enough to fit MY head. Since then I have realized that Rose wouldn't have worn it, even if it had fit her. So this very pretty but very useless headband has been sitting out for weeks, waiting for me to feel inspired and find a use for it.

This morning I was inspired.

Navy blue sweater. Headband with navy blue stripes. Perfect.

I cut the headband to size, pinned it on the sweater, and sewed along the seam.

It took me about ten minutes and totally transformed sweet Rose's little blue sweater.

Adorable.

Happy Birthday.

2011-10-11T13:34:00.000-05:00

Your heart is my heart and your eyes are my paradise. I have you memorized, beautiful husband, and I love every piece of your being. I never could have imagined how happy my life would become - how happy you make me. Knowing you deeply and loving you increasingly is the best thing I have found in this world.

You are my everything and you are my delight.

The father of my baby girl

and my best friend.

I love you and love you.

Happy 27 years of living.
(Happy Birthday to you.)

Baby Headbands.

2011-10-07T18:31:00.004-05:00

I made a headband for Baby Love,

and put it on her while she was sleeping.

She woke up.

And told me

exactly what she thinks

of my pretty homemade headband.

(Which is, not much.)

One Month.

2011-10-03T15:16:00.001-05:00

It's sweet to be one month old at the beginning of October.

Because life is so beautiful at Autumn's start. Leaves on fire-colored trees make contrasting shapes against the bright blue sky. Crisp air and cool breezes enjoyed outside mean soft pajamas and fireside snuggles are enjoyed inside. The sunlight feels warmer as it filters in through bright windows, and little feet are cozied up inside warm socks. Knit hats and knit legwarmers, fluffy blankets, the smell of apple cider and cinnamon, and the brightness of orange pumpkins.

Smiles are coaxed out of an ever-increasingly alert little one month old face. Small feet kick, kick, kicking. Sweet gurgles and coos fill the house with such happy sounds. Our family of three, all nestled together in a month that brings birthdays and leaf piles and apple picking.

One month old in October.

2011-09-30T18:12:00.001-05:00

Q. What's better than having a little sister?

A. Having a little sister snuggled on the couch with my baby girl.

Rynn has been living with us this week because her husband is out of town. I love how she comfortably slips right into our little family and she brings a fresh spark of liveliness into our life. She makes us laugh and makes us dinner and she keeps us entertained by telling stories of her day at work and saying sweet things to me like:

"Oh, you don't look awful. You actually look a lot better than I imagined you to look."

And telling me I should choose herb names for all my children and name my next child "Parsley".

And it's a strange, beautiful feeling to be nestled on the couch next to my grown up little sister, watching her nuzzle my newborn baby and realize…

We're not little girls playing dolls anymore, imagining what our lives would someday look like.

This is real life, and it's better than I ever imagined it could be.

Baby Legs and Feetsies.

2011-09-28T14:45:00.000-05:00

Remember these booties I made for Baby Love?

Well, they're even cuter on her feet.

I am having way too much fun dressing up this little girl of mine.

Legwarmers are also a favorite. You can buy them, but they're easy and way cheaper to make. Just take a pair of girls socks, cut off the foot, and hem the end. She's modeling a lovely gray pair in the above picture while snuggling with her Grandpa.

And here she is in her pink argyle version, while happily kicking around her bassinet. (Her onesie doesn't lie, Rosemary is a lucky duck when it comes to awesome aunties.)

Finally, a shot of our sweet baby in her totally rad zebra print legwarmers - an extra special outfit for her very first trip to visit Dad at work.

27 Months.

2011-09-21T10:50:00.002-05:00

Fact:

Date night is better with

pink grapefruit sorbet…

and our new addition in the back seat.

27 Months Married

is the happiest we've been yet.

Enchanted.

2011-09-19T18:01:00.004-05:00

Our first family photos, taken by Laura Zastrow,

leave me starry-eyed.

They're the perfect combination of dreamy,

sweet, homey, and comfortable.

Laura really is extra special.

(Check out her website! You might even find some photos of us on there...)

(I love her "O" face!)

I'm so in love
with my little family of three.

2011-09-16T17:33:00.004-05:00

I feel like a kaleidoscope.

Scattered bits of beauty, trials, and sleepless nights are constantly being shaken and combined and every second I see a different, amazing view of my new life. Even in the chaos, it's beautiful.

I've been curled up on my couch for days, soaking in this little sweetheart. Mom has been out all week, helping me learn to be a mom, and taking care of all three of us. I've fallen out of reality. And I kind of like these dozey 24-hour days of shuffling around endlessly in my pajamas, where the only marker of time is when baby's next feeding will be.

And really,
when you have a softly sleeping baby snuggled on your chest...

what else is there to do

but watch her sweet face as she dreams?

Love, love, love.

The Beginning.

2011-09-10T13:29:00.000-05:00

She was born in the still hours of the night, in the midst of a thunderstorm. Bright accents of lightning lit the dim birth room in spectacular flashes. Deep rumbles of thunder vibrated into the music of falling, falling rain. She was in a hurry to be born, and the labor happened suddenly, quickly. The transition from wondering if she will come tonight to knowing she was nearly here was brief, but strong.

Her father caught her as she entered this world. Strong hands cradled her head as she felt his touch for the first time. He cried as he placed her onto her mother's chest, and his voice trembled as he announced, "It's a girl, sweetheart. She's our girl."

And the soft feeling of knowing who this baby was, the quivering certainty of this little girl, became a reality in her mother's heart as she looked into her baby girl's lake blue eyes for the first time. This small being was so familiar, someone she already knew by heart. The feeling of her hummingbird heart, the smoothness of her petal-soft skin - it was all there in reality. A girl - her little girl.

And there has never been a sweeter moment.

They named her Rosemary Katrina. Because her mother always wanted a little girl with a flower for her name, and because her father wanted the blessing of having a name straight from their most beloved book. "Rose" and "Mary" combined to create a name whose meaning evoked feelings of sweet romance - "dew of the sea".

Her middle name was passed down as a namesake. "Katrina", meaning "pure", brings the gentle, loving spirit of a most beloved mom - her grandmother Kate.

In the instant it took to for her to become Rosemary, it was impossible to imagine she could have been anyone else. This was right, it was good, and it was holy.

Perfection culminated into the most beautiful day of all.

September 3rd, 2011.

Introducing…

2011-09-05T18:55:00.000-05:00

Rosemary Katrina

born at 2:39 AM, on Saturday, September 3rd
7 pounds, 9 ounces • 20.5 inches long

We are home, happy, and loving our sweet little darling.

P.S. I knew she was a girl. :)

Some Advice to Induce Labor.

2011-09-01T18:22:00.000-05:00

(after nap = looking frowsy = tim tied a ribbon around my belly and took a picture)

No baby yet! My due date is four days away, and I have been getting a lot of advice on how to encourage this baby to enter the world. Here are some of my favorites:

“Stare at the full moon.” (Hopefully I won’t have to wait to do that, as the next full moon is September 12!!)

"Swing on a swing." (We're giving that a try tonight.)

“Get a pedicure.” (Pressure points on your feetsies can induce labor. I tried to show Timmy where to push and neither of us really understood the process.)

“Eat spicy food.” (Disaster. I tried this one and ended up with severe jalepeno pepper burns on my hand… and no baby.)

“Walk, walk, walk.” (I went on a 1.5 mile hike the other night, truly convinced that would do the trick. No. Luck.)

“Crawl around on your hands and knees.” (Not trying this one.)

“Castor oil.” (No thank you!)

“Evening primrose oil.” (I’ve been taking this for three weeks…)

“Talk to the baby, reassuring her you’re ready for her to be born.” (Yup, I even tried this one too. She’s not convinced.)

I’ve gotten several more tidbits, but they are not proper to share.

Let me just say that whoever “THEY” are that say these things work… THEY are really just laughing at us poor pregnant women walking in circles around the block at midnight… during a full moon… while downing hot sauce and talking to their stomachs.

ABC's

2011-08-31T08:41:00.000-05:00

A. age :: twenty-four

B. bed size :: queen (currently piled with seven pillows for me and one pillow for Tim)

C. chore you hate :: shaving my legs - does that count as a chore?

D. dogs :: no-thank-you

E. essential start to your day :: raspberry smoothie made by Timmy

F. favorite destination :: Hawaii!!!

G. gold or silver :: gold

H. height :: five feet, four and a half inches

I. instruments you play :: piano (kind of), flute (kind of)

J. job title :: wife, mom-to-be, graphic designer, support analyst

K. kids :: Baby Love! (yup, still pregnant)

L. least favorite :: DENTIST (just thinking about the dentist makes my skin crawl)

O. overnight hospital stays :: once for tonsils

N. nickname :: Sweet Bea (my family), Little Darlin' (Timmy) M. maiden name :: Davison

P. pet peeve :: people who complain all the time

Q. quote :: "Words which do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness." - Mother Teresa

R. righty or lefty :: righty

S. siblings :: older sister, younger sister

T. time you wake up :: 6:45 AM (weekdays), as late as possible (weekends)

U. useless information :: I love eating ice.

V. vegetables you dislike :: sweet potatoes, squash

W. what makes you run late :: the snooze button, being distracted by Timmy's kisses

X. x-rays you’ve had :: dentist x-rays

Y. yummy food :: fresh summer tomatoes

Z. zoo animal favorite :: penguins

(ABC Banner made for Baby Love's nursery)

Loving LZ.

2011-08-30T17:27:00.000-05:00

Baby Love is still snuggled inside my belly. I’m getting the feeling that she’s pretty happy and doesn’t have a whole lot of motivation to exit. When our good friend Laura offered to do a maternity photo shoot for us on August 25, I naively thought, “Oh dear, that’s so close to my due date. I hope I’m still pregnant!” Right. No worries, I was still VERY much pregnant and that’s a good thing because Laura, as always, captured many sweet shots of this special stage in our lives.

Laura is kind of like our life photographer. She first photographed us when we were newlyweds. And again last year for our one year wedding anniversary. She also photographed us this summer – we were lucky to be chosen as “models” for a school project – when I was 21 weeks pregnant. You can see the first two shoots here and here.

She also gave me the photos from this summer’s shoot last week, and I love them all.

I had to laugh when I saw this one.
I remember being so proud of my “bump” at that point…

Laura is amazing. We love Laura and we love her photography talent.

Check out her website! www.laurazastrow.com

Stuffed Turtle.

2011-08-29T08:52:00.000-05:00

Because I'm on a sewing kick these days, I decided to try out another pattern I found online for a sweet stuffed turtle. Using leftover fabric from decorating the nursery, I quickly stitched each piece together and the end result is this cutie.

There is something incredibly enjoyable about making a stuffed animal. It’s so fun to cut and sew each piece and watch it “become” something. My favorite part of this project was sewing in the little feet, tail, and head. The addition of those parts suddenly made my pieces of fabric a turtle.

Thirty Seven, Thirty Eight & Thirty Nine

2011-08-27T11:36:00.000-05:00

Baby Love is now around 19 inches long and weighs about 7 pounds.
She can be compared to a watermelon.

Yes, a watermelon. Let’s not even think about that.

At thirty-eight-almost-thirty-nine weeks, I can happily report that I’m feeling great. Super-duper even. Now we’re just waiting, waiting, waiting. Sometimes I'm okay with waiting. Other times, not so much.

Each day that passes leaves me more anxious to meet this baby, but also thankful for another day with just my sweetie. I will miss our hugs with my tummy getting in the way, miss needing Timmy to pick things up for me because I can no longer reach the floor easily… miss feeling Baby Love's many kicks and wiggles, miss daydreaming about the uncertainty of the future, and miss Timmy's passionate prayers into my belly button. (Which really no longer exists, by the way.)

We've been praying into this little soul for nine (ten, really) months. I feel a special whisper in my heart, and I know that this baby - whoever s/he turns out to be -
will be one who knows God.

God is so amazing. I can't wait to find out what day
He has destined Baby Love's birthday to be.

P.S. I'm really hoping for an August baby
so that Baby Love can share a birthday month with my Daddy.

Hattie's Invitation Suite

2011-08-26T18:52:00.000-05:00

Hattie and Matt are engaged...

And their wedding is quickly approaching.
I know they're both counting down to the day they say
"I do".

Hattie asked me to design their wedding invitations to look like a page out of a book, with the RSVP card resembling a "due back" card from the library. They are having an outdoor, nature, book-ish themed wedding with shades of gold, copper, and mallard green - perfect for a fall wedding. I loved the idea and really enjoyed combining all her thoughts into a pretty invitation suite.

Congratulations Hattie and Matt!

Only 40 days to go!

A Conversation: About the Nursery

2011-08-23T17:41:00.000-05:00

Overheard from downstairs, as my 7 year old nephew inspected Baby Love's nursery:

Nephew: If this baby is a boy, he's gonna be so mad. He's gonna be so mad!

Timmy: Why?

Nephew: Because there's girl stuff in here!! There's PINK stuff.

Timmy: Oh, well buddy that's not pink, it's actually a shade of red.

HAHA. My neice, sister-in-law, and I were listening to this conversation from the couch and couldn't stop laughing. This particular nephew is hilarious and constantly surprising me with his thoughts and opinions. His twinkley eyes and cherub cheeks make him irresistible and able to get away with almost anything.

And Tim's response is priceless. I love that man.
Baby Love's nursery is all done! I'll post photos soon!

Babymoon Album for Timmy

2011-08-23T13:46:00.000-05:00

For Father’s Day I made Timmy a “Babymoon” album. I purposely made it in the same style as this album I created to document our year 2010. A simple binder at Target, clear plastic sleeves, brown Kraft paper, and bright photos. It’s simple and structured, which makes this project one I can actually finish on time. (All my other scrapbooks exist in a half-finished state.)

The album is divided into several parts. It begins with statistics about the trip, a map of where we went, and a record of our hilarious conversations. Then it advances in chronological order.

Each day starts with our journal entries for that day. (Tim and I bring our “vacation journal” with us whenever we travel. This is a tradition we started on our honeymoon and it has accompanied us all over the world. Every night before bed, we’ll each journal our thoughts on the day, recording what we ate, where we went, and any silly conversations we had that day. I LOVE it.)

The journaling is followed by photos, and after I gave Timmy the book we spent several date nights entering “captions” for each photo. (I found this to be more fun to do together. Also, I love that the captions are written in our own handwriting, adding an extra personal touch to the entire album.)

I love it. I’m so glad that I recorded this – before the baby comes. Our Babymoon feels like one of our last ties to “just us two” times and soon my camera will be flooded with photos of Baby Love and our hearts will overflow with memories of “family of three” times.

Last.

2011-08-22T18:48:00.000-05:00

oh, restless, fleeting time,
which will be the last?
every little feeling,
that passes
has a first,
the in-betweens,
and the last.
we know the first
we live the in-betweens
and we await the last
the moments are marked
the emotions are breathless
the feeling is falling away
because sooner or later
there will be
a very
last
date night
when you hold me with both hands
when there is no one else
when time has no bearing
and when we are
just
two.

(26 Month Anniversary Date)

Cloth Color Book.

2011-08-19T19:29:00.001-05:00

My mom came out to visit us this week. Timmy and I love it when she visits, and she will often pop over to spend the night when my dad is out of town on business. Whenever she comes, she always brings a yummy treat - this time it was blueberry oat squares - and we always do something delightful.

Our definition of "something delightful" varies from trying a new recipe to making a fun project. Before I got pregnant, we made things like scarves and desserts and dresses. But since then, we've been working on things like stocking my freezer with frozen meals and sewing diapers, burp cloths, booties, and bibs. She is the perfect sewing partner because she really knows what she's doing, and I can often have an idea or see an inspiring photo and she will be able to figure out how to make it without any instructions. Yay Mom.

While Mom was out this week we made a soft fabric color book for Baby Love. I got the idea from this, and we modified it a bit to make it exactly how we wanted it.

To make the different color pages we sorted through scraps of fabric and put them into piles by color. Then we sketched out different quilt block squares and assigned a different one for each color. It didn't take long to cut and sew each block together.

We ended up with 8 different 6"x6" colored blocks - red, orange, yellow, green, teal, blue, purple, and pink. (Yes, I'm going to teach my baby the color teal.) The hardest part was arranging them in the right order so that when the book was all sewn together, the colors would progress correctly.

After lots of rearranging, we sewed them together into rectangles of two. Then we sandwiched the rectangles with quilt batting and sewed them, right sides together, leaving a space for turning. After the "pages" were sewn and turned, we stitched them all together down the middle of the book.

Ta-da! Baby Love's first book of colors!

This book makes me so happy. One of my favorite parts is that many of the scraps we used have specific memories from my own childhood - like the penguins from the backing of the quilt I had growing up. Baby Love won't be learning colors for a while, but the pretty shapes, bright hues, and contrasting shades will keep her pretty baby eyes entertained until she learns what to call them.

And I kind of believe that nothing is cooler
than making baby treasures with your mom.

The Last Straw.

2011-08-18T18:44:00.000-05:00

I've been trying to keep a positive attitude when it comes to these last weeks of pregnancy. I believe that when you start acknowledging/complaining about something, it makes that something ten times worse. Positive words go a long way in making unfortunate situations bearable. So I've avoided complaining about my sleepless nights, my huge uncomfortable belly, my return to all-day morning sickness, a constant stuffy nose, my inability to breathe, and the fact that none of my clothes fit me anymore. And I really, truly have been enjoying these last weeks of pregnancy. For real.

But then. The Last Straw. I started getting a *sty on my left eye (thanks to my pregnancy hormones) earlier this week and then the right side of my body - and only the right side - began to swell. Yesterday morning it all hit me at once, and I woke up with my eye nearly swollen shut and my right foot resembling a sausage. And I say "woke up" very loosely because I was awake most of the night due to my throbbing eye and nausea so in reality, I didn't wake up but just surfaced to consciousness from my zombie-like state. And I looked in the mirror. I think my exact words to Timmy were, "I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE." Meltdown.

A trip to the eye doctor confirmed my sty and showed that this cranky doctor was having a bad day too. He commented on the fact that my sty did not seem to be TOO bad and poked it repeatedly, asking me if it hurt - in a voice that showed he didn't think so. My response? Yes, it hurts. It hurts like the dickens! Every time I blink it feels like someone is stabbing my eye with a needle! (Do you know how often we blink? Every three seconds. Yes. Miserable!) So he condescendingly agreed to prescribe some antibiotic drops. As he was filling out the prescription on the computer, I noticed an error message flashing in the corner that said, "WARNING! May present risks to fetus. Not to be taken when pregnant." which naturally caused some concern on my part... But when I questioned him, he said, in an altogether unfriendly voice, that it would be FINE and shoved a handwritten prescription at me. Obviously, this prescription was torn to pieces shortly after leaving Dr. Cranky's office and right before calling Tim and sobbing hysterically about the horrible ordeal. (Crying doesn't help sties feel better, by the way.)

Meanwhile, my poor right foot just kept getting bigger and bigger. I called my midwife. She told me this freakish right-side-only swelling was probably due to the position of Baby Love and she was putting pressure on the blood vessels on my right side. She told me to lay down on my left side and relax. She also let me know that putting a black tea bag on my sty would take care of the problem naturally - no baby-harming antibiotic drops needed. I love my midwife. (I should have gone to her first.) But laying on my left side hasn't seemed to help much. You can add "lopsided" to the list of adjectives describing me right now. Also on that list would be miserable, emotional, and whale-like. (Pampered, loved, and happy are there too, thanks to my sweet hubby.)

The silver lining? My mom happened to be out visiting this week, and that was lucky for me because Moms always make being sick better. It's funny how just having Mom around makes things seem less scary. Also, my brand-new glasses with an updated prescription came in the day before I had to stop wearing my contacts due to my sty. I couldn't have functioned outside my house with my old glasses (the prescription is from a long time ago) so these new glasses enabled me to once again join the world of the living - at exactly the right time I needed them. Although I'm not totally certain I WANT to be outside my house...

*The word "sty" kind of makes me want to puke and I feel like it sounds like I have some sort of gross disease. Sties are just blocked oil glands in the eyelid, FYI.

**photos from a recent date night... see how well Timmy takes care of me?

Baby Booties.

2011-08-16T23:01:00.000-05:00

My friend Courtney sent me this free pattern for cloth baby booties several months ago. Last weekend my mom and I finally gave it a try! These sweet booties are too cute and much easier to make then I had imagined.

The only thing is, the pattern says these will fit 0-6 month babies. In reality, these booties wouldn’t even fit my 8 month old nephew. They’re huge! If my baby is born with 3.5 inch feet, I’m going to be concerned. So, I consider this a REALLY well planned-ahead first birthday present for Baby Love.

We’re going to try again, this time adapting the pattern to make them more the size a 0-6 month baby bootie should be.

But, size issues aside,
aren’t they darling?

Thirty Six.

2011-08-15T21:37:00.000-05:00

Last week Baby Love was 18.5 inches long, and weighed about 6 pounds.
Kind of like a honeydew melon.

“Come soon, Baby Love, come soon.” Those are the words Timmy and I have been repeating daily, hoping our whispered ideas will become a reality. We can’t wait to meet this little darling. SOON doesn’t seem soon enough. I’m impatient!

And then, while daydreaming and wish wishing for an early arrival,
God spoke these words to me: “Baby Love WILL COME.”

Baby Love will come. So true, so simple, but so hard to grasp. Sooner or later, she will be born and I’ll be a mom and we’ll be a family of three. It will happen, that’s a guarantee… sometime within the next four to six weeks.

A visit to the midwife last week showed that the baby is head down and has started to drop. Her heartbeat is strong and so are her movements. She responds to Timmy’s voice and when he laughs I can feel her wiggle.

I’m taking evening primrose and red raspberry leaf capsules in addition to my daily regimen of over 13 vitamins. (Thanks for taking care of me babe.) I’m going on walks and bouncing on my birth ball. I’ve been seeing a chiropractor who has straightened out my pelvic floor (apparently I was quite crooked) and is doing some sort of magic with my uterine ligaments. Being well-aligned is essential to having an easy birth, and that’s what we’re praying for.

So. We're ready.
"Come, Baby Love!! … whenever you're ready."

Circus World Museum.

2011-08-11T16:19:00.000-05:00

Tim & Becki, Circus World, 2011

Liz & Becki, Circus World, 1994

My parents joined Timmy and I on a trip to the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, helping us cross another item off our "Summer Fun List". I had fond memories of visiting with my family as a little girl and being completely amazed by the acrobats, tight rope walkers, and jugglers. I fell in love with the sparkling outfits, beautiful carousal, gorgeous circus wagons, and adorable trick ponies. I had never been to a circus before, and the excitement of that day has carried through to adulthood, making a lasting memory in my mind of the day our family visited Circus World Museum.

Circus World Museum wasn't quite how I remembered it. Partly because I’m grown up and partly because Circus World Museum fell on some hard times. It’s not quite as grand - no Big Tent and no lion tamers – and the grounds aren’t quite as bustling as when I saw them last. But it’s hard to not have fun when I’m with my three favorite people and our day included a delicious picnic lunch, wandering around the museum exhibits, watching a magic act that truly left my mind reeling (how DO they cut people in half?!), laughing at the cheesiness of “Little Star” the trick pony, enjoying a smaller version of a “Big Top” performance, and unanimously agreeing that clowns are indeed incredibly creepy.

Reliving old memories and making brand new ones.

My family is big on memories,
and I think that is because we have so much happiness to remember.

2011-08-10T13:30:00.001-05:00

Timmy recently bought me a rotary cutter and cutting mat (essential tools for any seamstress) and since then I have been on a sewing kick. Burp cloths were my first project… and I made over 20 of them. Yes, I am a little over-prepared in the burp cloth department. But once I got started, I just couldn’t stop!

Baby burp cloths couldn’t be easier to make. Just cut two rectangles of fabric 18x8 inches and sew them, right sides together, leaving a little opening to turn it right side out. Clip the corners, turn it, iron it smooth, sew the opening closed, and sew around the edge to keep it all in place. Easy as can be and cute cute cute!

I used a variety of fabrics for these burp cloths. My first batch is entirely girly. (Isn’t that rose patterned flannel beautiful?) BUT, Timmy gave my girly fabrics the a-ok after I explained that burp cloths are just as much for the MOM as the baby, and since I’m the one who will be wearing it over my shoulder… these pink ones will match my outfits perfectly. (Besides, this baby just MIGHT be a girl, although I’ve pretty much convinced myself by now that it’s a boy.)

My next batch of burp cloths included more gender neutral patterns. You can’t go wrong with fruit, right? And at first glance the ones below MIGHT look a little girly, but there are babies dressed in blue in that pattern – I checked. Blue babies in yellow strollers = boy. To be fair (once again, just in case Baby Love IS a girl) there are babies dressed in pink, too.

Some of the burp cloths have flannel on both sides, and some have flannel on one side and cotton on the other. They are all super soft and I love the way they fill my specially designated burp cloth dresser drawer. Hooray for beautiful baby burp cloths!

Oh, Pinklepurr.

2011-08-09T09:40:00.000-05:00

Pinklepurr and Baby Love

The Happy: We may have found a new home for my orange kitty.

The Sad: Pinklepurr will never meet Baby Love.
And I have to say good-bye to a dear friend.

Thirty-Four & Thirty-Five

2011-08-08T12:41:00.003-05:00

Baby Love is 18 inches long and weighs five pounds,
kind of like a melon.

Is it normal to feel apprehensive at this point? Because I am. Suddenly the reality of this baby coming – in less than one month! – is hitting me square in the face. My emotions spin in a wide range throughout the day. Moments of panic, where I sniffle and confess I’m worried about being a good mother. Hours of frantic cleaning, where I purge our cupboards with ruthless vengeance. Times of reflection, where I sit in the nursery and think and think about what having an actual baby really means.

I’m scared, anxious, excited, and nervous. I bounce back and forth between an overwhelming desire to finally meet our Baby Love and a want to stop time and stay exactly as we are.

It’s a good, good thing that I have Timmy. He somehow remains confident and the only emotion he consistently exudes is pure, uninhibited, gloriously enthusiastic excitement. He is excited to be a father, excited to have our lives disrupted for the better, excited for the challenge of putting a little someone’s needs above our own, and excited for how our marriage is going to grow stronger and closer. He says life is about to get a whole lot better. He says we will love each other even more than we do now. He says I was made to be a mom.

And I believe him. (I think.)

Once again, this post is late. I'm already on to 36 weeks... eek!

A Picture Text From Timmy.

2011-08-04T17:16:00.000-05:00

there are hearts in the air
there are hearts on the ground
there are hearts all around
you and i.

there is love in the air
where there's love we are there
you and i sweet girl.

- Timmy

Due Date.

2011-08-01T18:24:00.000-05:00

I can’t keep up with the weeks anymore. The days aren’t stopping. I’m tired. My back hurts. My fingers are swollen. BUT, so far no swollen feet or face, no stretch marks (yay! I totally don’t deserve this because I have been HORRIBLE about putting on lotion of any kind...), no Braxton Hicks contractions, and I can still sometimes sleep through the night without getting up to use the bathroom. (I have been downing buckets of water, so this can only be attributed to a lifelong blessing of a large bladder.) My stomach keeps getting bigger and the numbers on the scale keep getting larger. It’s hard to not be concerned when I look at those numbers, calculate that I have gained almost 25 pounds, and then read on Baby Center that my baby only weighs four pounds.

Hmmm.

I’m really hoping that this baby decides to come early. (As in, come any day now Baby Love!) But I’m still measuring about 1.5 weeks small, so I’m not too optimistic about an early arrival. My baby date guess is September 10^th (I hope I’m wrong) and Timmy’s guess is September 3^rd.

I have been telling Baby Love daily that it is a-ok with me
if she wants to arrive sooner rather than later.

And really, you know you’re getting close
when your due date shows up on the jug of orange juice in the fridge.

2011-07-29T17:15:00.000-05:00

Blueberries.

Peaches.

And the view from here.

Thirty Three.

2011-07-26T18:44:00.000-05:00

Baby Love was about 17 inches long last week
and weighs over four pounds,
kind of like a large purple cabbage.

Last week was just one of those weeks. I should have done a lot of things, but I didn’t. It was too hot. Instead of cleaning the kitchen I read baby books. Rather than folding the laundry, I sewed baby burp cloths. While I should have been making dinner, I rearranged the nursery three times and then, in the end, put everything back where it had been originally. I wasted two fresh tomatoes in an attempt to make homemade ketchup, only to taste it and toss it out. I drank Izze’s with a straw and I watched out the window for the UPS man to bring me boxes of online ordered baby treasures. I spent hours resting in bed (Tim came home from work twice to find me sleeping – oops!), just feeling the baby kick, kick, kick… and daydreaming about our future as a family of three.

I purposely rearranged our schedules to accommodate our 33 week belly shoot, but the photos remained untouched on my camera for days. I’m already on to 34 weeks and am finally posting them, because my 33^rd week was really just one of those weeks. Nothing accomplished but all the silly little things that make life the sweetest.

Pinklepurr Still Needs a Home.

2011-07-26T08:34:00.000-05:00

Blog Readers, I'm still desperately trying to find a home for Pinklepurr. I absolutely cannot and will not take her to the humane society, so finding her a new family is of utmost importance. Please, please, please! If you know of ANYONE who might be interested in adopting a kitty, let me know as soon as possible.

Tim and I have been putting up flyers and sending out mass texts and emails. It's a kitty campaign, and we are hoping and praying that a new home can be found for my sweet Pinklepurr.

Two Bits of Fun News:

2011-07-19T17:42:00.000-05:00

#1: Timmy found and bought me non-toxic, all-natural nail polish in a pretty shade of purple. I haven’t painted my nails in years, after learning about the toxicity of regular polish.
(The brand is called Piggy Paint and it looks just like regular nail polish. Only this stuff doesn’t have the ability to kill you with its harmful ingredients.)

#2: I can still reach my toes.
(Timmy did offer to paint my toesies for me, if I couldn’t manage to get past my ballooning belly. I almost let him, because I think lots of giggles would have resulted from his attempt.)

Cloth Diapers Made by Me.

2011-07-18T19:43:00.000-05:00

I like cloth diapers.
I like them for a number of reasons, some of them being:
*They're good for the environment.
*They don't have any icky chemicals.
*They save money.

Timmy and I have always planned on using cloth diapers for our babies. When we got pregnant, I started really researching cloth diapering and realized that there are MANY options, and it got a little overwhelming. Luckily, my Mom used cloth diapers for my sisters and I, and she had a lot of advice on what to use. After talking to her and a couple other cloth diapering moms - including my older sister - I made the decision to use prefolds and then buy diaper covers. Covers are the waterproof part.

However, the really nice, really cute covers cost anywhere from $16-$20 EACH. And when you figure you need approximately 8-10 covers in all sizes (newborn, small, medium, large), that adds up to a lot of money. It almost feels like you're not actually saving any money, which is part of the idea of cloth diapering in the first place!

But a friend pointed out to me... cloth diaper covers can be made. SOMEONE obviously makes them, so why not me? I then found a pattern online and was further convinced that this was a good idea. So I recruited Mom's help, bought some PUL waterproof fabric for the insides, elastic binding, and strong velcro, and dug through my fabric stash to find scraps big enough for the cotton outside of the diapers.

The cloth diaper covers were surprisingly easy to make. Both Mom and I were a little nervous about sewing on PUL fabric, especially because you can't use pins since that would poke holes in the waterproof part, thus making them no longer waterproof. But paper clips easily replaced the pins, and the elastic binding was a cinch to sew on, too! We made and completed 8 before running out of elastic binding, and we have 12 more almost done. The approximate cost per cover is just about $3, saving us lots of money!!

I never would have thought I could get so excited about diapers. Seriously... I have become a mom! But I'm literally bursting with glee when it comes to my cute, cute covers! Baby O'Brien will have the cutest little bum in town.

Thirty-Two.

2011-07-16T10:35:00.000-05:00

Baby Love is still 15 inches long this week
and weighs about 4 pounds,
which can be compared to four navel oranges.

32 weeks pregnant in July is a pretty place to be. As the amount of clothes that fit me becomes less and less (due to both my expanding belly and increasingly swollen feet), I’m relying more and more on simple sundresses, comfy capris, flip flops, and sandals. This is made possible by warm air and bright summer-blue skies. Fresh summery organic fruits and veggies – bought from Amish stands and farmer’s markets - have been filling my plate with color and nutrients - sun ripened tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, zuchinni, and boiled baby red potatoes. Cherry tomato plants are thriving on our porch, thanks to Farmer Tim, and we peek out nightly to check on their progress. My anticipation of sweet corn leaves me breathless. Long walks at twilight, accompanied by twinkling fireflies and my favorite boy, are delicious summertime pregnancy treasures. Windows left open to sweet breezes, cool sheets to slide into, and the music of fans blowing create a summery symphony to fall asleep to, all the while rubbing my tummy and whispering the joys of the world to Baby Love. I am thankful for balmy thunderstorms, tank tops, and the carefree feeling that comes with the month of July.

With less than eight weeks to go, I’m treasuring each wiggle and kick and trying to ignore my sore back, swollen fingers, and the return of an all-day-every-day lingering queasy stomach. I’ve been reading some good books, “Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth” and “On Becoming Baby Wise”, and learning and planning and preparing for the ever-approaching arrival of our little love.

Soon.
Before the hot days are cast aside for crisp temperatures, before the leaves fall
– Baby Love will be here soon. We can’t wait.