Looking at these photos has me in disbelief. Max has already DOUBLED in size since we took these photos. He is eating and sleeping away the days, and has turned out to be my dream baby…plump, smiley, and cuddly. I look forward to getting up every morning because of this boy. Just one dimpled smile and my day is made.
If you may remember, Max had a very fussy first 6 weeks of life, until thanks to many of you who gave me advice I realized I needed to cut dairy out. During those first weeks, he was happy if I held him upright. As much as I wanted to hold him and stare at him all day after his arrival, I had two other little ones that needed me. Cue the lifesaver, and hence life bearing (I am not exaggerating) item that solved my problems…. The Happy Baby Wrap. When Max was snuggled against mama, he would fall asleep or just sit peacefully. It gave me free hands AND allowed me to sooth and hold my baby. Win-win.
The soft and stretchy material has allowed for lots of room for growth and I still use it frequently. For instance, yesterday he wasn’t feeling well and wanted to be held more than usual so I wrapped him up and he immediately stopped fussing.
Best part of this is the wrap distributes the weight evenly and offers the right amount of support so that you are not left with shoulder or back pain. I have tried several versions of baby carriers, and this by far has been the best yet.
What about you? What were your top survival tools for those first weeks after baby?
*Thank you Happy Baby Wrap for sponsoring today’s post. All thoughts are 100% my own.
Hand crafting jewelry is an art form in itself, but how about hand painting? Was blown away by these beautiful pieces from this Switzerland artist. The ring is high quality matte gold finish (tarnish resistant) that has an adjustable setting hidden underneath. Every piece in OBO Creations is hand painted!
You can win a silver or gold version of these rings as well as the pendant pictured! Enter easily through rafflecopter below:)
The mornings and evenings are about twenty degrees cooler than the peak of the afternoon here in Atlanta. This means the comfy sweater and jeans are now occupying my dresser drawers and cider is on the stove every night (Gabe’s preference). Its only Monday, and I am anxiously anticipating the weekend when we will travel back to my midwest heart and see lots of family in the small German town my mom was raised in. Can hardly wait.
It has been such a pleasure to work with Chelsey Heidorn on the style photos for IHOD. She is a talent isn’t she? Loved the vintage vibe she portrayed through these photos. Happy Monday friends!
We decided to stay a few more years in our rental home, so I finally am taking decorating more seriously (it take me FOREVER to decide on things). The living room is almost done, and it’s definately a reflection of my modern style. Gabe has more traditional taste, and since the family room is where we all relax and hang out at night, I asked him to help me pick the new area rug.
Textiles determine a room, and since we already had the furniture, we knew what direction to go. Medallion Rugs was so kind to send us this beautiful Antique Persion style piece from their endless selection of area rugs. It really opened up the room and made it feel much larger than it had before with the smaller rug we were using. Gabe and I caught up on the show Revolution last night right on that couch instead of our room because Gabe “wanted to hang out with the cozy new rug.”
We are calling this Phase 1 of the decor process. Now to find the right curtains and pillows…What do you all think? What colors would be good to incorporate here? Hoping to use lighter colors for the rest of the elements. The main goal is for my family to have a place we love being together in….I think we already have that going:)
Each month I have tried to work on a different corner of our house. It takes me ages to decide on decor items. I have had my eye on circular hanging mirrors for about a year now, but wasn’t willing to pay the price. This is a cost effective solution and a fun gift idea as well! These are now hanging in our main bathroom:)
Supplies:
Rope Cord
Circular Mirrors (Found mine at Hobby Lobby)
Hot glue
Fabric or felt patches
Instructions:
1) Measure out your cord for the length you want to hang. Place the end on the circle tab on the back of the mirror and drown in hot glue. Cover with a fabric or felt piece. Repeat on the other end.
2) Start to hot glue a second strand of rope cord around the back edge of the mirror. (Hot glue will not stick to mirror glass, but it will the back. After you have made it around the back once, continue to loop and glue a second round attaching the rope to the first layer of rope.
3) Once you have completed a full two or three loops around the mirror, but your rope and glue behind torwards the back.
We did end up making it up to the Georgia Mountains over the weekend to go apple picking. We were lucky to have a beautiful day to accompany the trip. (More pics here.) It was the very first day of fall, and I didn’t wait a day later to whip out THE boots I have been dying to wear. It made me so happy to see my little ones have such a fun time. Veronica was even brave enough to ride a pony. Made me so proud:)
I had a lot of time to think during our drive up. When you are surrounded by nature and its perfect goodness, its easy to have some deep reflections (especially we melancholics;)). I have a loved one going through some physical sufferings right now as a result of a good deal of stress. Its crazy how connected our bodies, minds, and souls are. Through her healing we are all learning new things. I started to think about how this world can glorify the BUSY life. My friend Kelli also wrote about this and admire how she is handling it.
Go go go, work and play, and do it all with a smile. I think in truth we were not meant to be so busy. Our bodies are not designed to handle loads of activity and stress. Sure, we may adapt and adjust and do just fine, but at the end of the day, the majority of us suffer as a result of putting all the BUSY in front of our own needs and our families real needs.
After you have a baby, your life naturally shifts and adjusts. You need to reassess every few months to see if every one is doing okay and if anything needs to change. After Max came along, I tried to juggle everything I was doing before he came and still give the best of me to each of my children and my husband. I am sure you can guess how that went. It resulted in a lot tears….from both my kids and I….and a breaking point which forced me to evaluate my full plate and what had to go.
I was working the same hours in my graphic design job which I loved, and was pulling in that extra income we needed. I was starting a new business, running the blog, and attempting to have the house clean and dinner made by 5:30. Every minute of every day was occupied. I didn’t take the time to rest that you should be doing after you have a new baby. Reality called.
Gabe reminded me that if I was losing my sanity in the process of “balancing it all”, than something was out of order. Our children just need love. They need the best of us….not our leftovers after serving everything else on our plate. Even if everything else on that plate are all good things, it can still consume you, and over take those things that are most important.
I since have parted ways with my graphic design jobs…even though I loved the work and the additional income was a security for us, I have to trust it will be for the benefit of my family. I have gotten back into a time of mediation and prayer in the morning, and exercise at night. These simple changes have freed my spirit and mind in drastic ways, and as a result, I am a more patient mama and a more present wife. Not perfect….far from it, but hopefully improving each day.
We all need maintenance every once in a while. A time to take a look at our lives and see what is front and center. I know if my God and my family are not the main part of my day, than something is off kilter. I am fighting. Each day I am fighting the temptation to be busy and overfill my day. I am learning to say no, learning that its okay to ignore my inbox sometimes, and learning to say yes to needing help more often. I am especially learning to just be. Hold my baby and stare at him as much as possible, have art project time with Veronica uninterrupted (she eats up the attention), ask Gabriel about his train station masterpieces he builds, sitting and listening about my Gabe’s day, etc. etc. Being PRESENT in our loved ones life is the greatest gift we can give them.
One day at at time, with as much heart as I can muster.
A lot can run through your mind when you are in the glorious mountains of the south, huh?
Once in a while its cool to team up with a bunch of fun bloggers and be able to give away something magnificent…
This time, one lucky reader will win the chance to visit a loved one or travel to a city they have always wanted to explore! This fantastic prize package includes $290 for flights (can be used towards any flight within the US), a $250 Visa Gift Card (for some extra spending money!) and $100 KiKi La’Rue Store Credit (because its always a perk to have something new to wear.)
For your chance to win, simply enter using the Rafflecopter below!
I have a whole list of places to go one day….but right now, it might just be to go visit each of my sisters and brothers in the five different states they are scattered across! I miss them that much! So tell me… where would you go???
