happy halloween!

Happy Halloween, ya'll! I've talked about my love for this holiday before. This year I was extra excited because I knew I'd have a little one to dress up. And, if I may say so myself, baby C's costume was a success. Even though he looks less than thrilled, I think he made one cute caterpillar. Yesterday, when I had yet to even start pulling it together, I was slightly cursing my snobbery about Halloween costumes. Handmade only around here, no store bought. My mother is responsible for this. She made our costumes every year, thus the snobbery. Somewhat similar to my Christmas tree snobbery. I take Halloween pretty seriously. And apparently so does my new neighborhood. These people commit! Houses were all decked out and the trick-or-treaters came out in droves. Everyone sits outside their doors, hanging out and chit chatting. We drastically underestimated how much candy we would need, but it was great. Our little Jack-o-Lantern family made me smile. I am so happy to be starting traditions with C. I suppose if I do my job right he'll also be a costume snob.

you can always go home

We spent this past weekend at my parents' place. Husband had a bike race on Saturday (1st place and a cash prize- woo hoo!) and my mom and I had a baby shower to attend. It was just easier to pack up baby C's stuff and head on over there. However, truth be told, I had to lay out all the baby stuff in a manner I usually save for packing for long vacations in order to ensure that I didn't forget anything. And I think my mom and dad thought we were moving in permanently when they took a look at the number of bags we stumbled in with. Crikey, if that was just two days worth of packing for a baby then I'm scared to see what a week's worth is like. I thought we were going to have to strap the baby to the roof of the car. This must be why people cave and buy minivans.

While visits to their apartment isn't like going to my childhood home - thinking about the sale of that house still makes me sad - there is something comforting about hanging out with good ol' mom and dad for the weekend. Maybe it is because when I am at my own home I feel like any precious down time should be spent doing something productive. Maybe it is because my parents' apartment is cozy while I feel like we haven't finished moving into our house even after 3 months. Maybe it is because my mom cooks us dinner. Or maybe it is because they have cable. Every time we go over there we get excited to watch TV. Sad, I know. Whatever it is, I like it. I sort of didn't want to leave yesterday. It didn't hurt that my mom was taking her role as grandma pretty seriously. I had all sorts of help with the baby. I actually showered and put makeup on two days in a row. A small miracle these days.

Weekends like this make me glad we moved here. My time with my grandparents was limited due to distance and their passing while I was still young, so it makes me happy that my mom and dad are a big part of C's life. Just a little something to be thankful for on a Monday.

one month / just chillin' with my pumpkin

Somehow a whole month has passed by. My baby boy is one month old today. I'd say so far so good. Yes, there have been a couple of meltdowns. Some him, some me. For the record, I'm pretty sure my meltdowns were worse. Sleep deprivation will do that to a person. Especially if that person is me. But nothing beats this. Having a baby and being a mama is the best hardest thing I've ever done.

I love you, baby C. You make your mama pretty darn happy.

hello, lover

found here

 

 

 

 

 

It's boot season (cue me singing It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year)

day by day

Tired, but happy. That's the name of the game around here. My days are so drastically different than they were just a few short weeks ago. My days are now measured in the number of diapers changed, hours slept, the time between feedings. I've come to realize is that I'm not going to do much during the day besides care for my little man. Some days come to an end and I realize I haven't showered. It's a rarity that I change out of sweatpants. The only reason my bathroom is clean is because my dad came over and cleaned it. And it's a banner day when I manage to eat all three meals.

But caring for my son is a big thing. A big, wonderful thing. The other day he looked me in the eye for the first time and all the tired seemed to fall away.


P.S. This picture is what we call baby C's E.T. look

happy, happy fall

I decided that we needed to usher in fall this weekend even if the temperature felt more like summer. Plus, I desperately needed to get out of the house and join the land of the living. So off to Linvilla Orchards we went. Pumpkins and apples galore! I even managed to snag an apple cider donut which made me a happy camper. C slept the whole time - kind of a miracle, really - so there were no meltdowns, making our first real family outing a success (I'm not counting the trip out for diapers the other night).

Happy fall, ya'll.

sometimes this happens...

But I still think he is the most precious little guy.

Sleep is minimal (and so are showers) here in my world, but my baby brings me joy and on a good day I think I can get the hang of this mommy thing. Here's to taking it a day at a time.