Hattie's Invitation Suite

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

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

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.

 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

 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

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.

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.

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.