Why am I Wearing a Dress?

We had Isaac baptized yesterday before church and decided on Saturday night that we should head up north in the afternoon to see my sisters. That last minute plan made me a bit scatterbrained. I walked out the door without his gown (made by my mom), nearly forgot to pay the minister (forget about a card), and completely and totally forgot to get any pictures at church. When we arrived at Paul and Amanda's, I put Issac's gown back on and Kaitlin snapped a few pictures.

 

I was able to see all 4 of my lovely sisters that live there (and, bonus, I saw my brother that lives there a few days ago when he stopped by on his way downstate). The only other pictures I got:

 

Honestly, that little Bentley is one cute kid!

We were back home by 10:30. I'm pretty sure that was the first time we made a day trip out of the 2 hour drive. Definitely worth it to spend some time with family!

We Like Stripes

Jeffery worked with a friend for part of the day and I stayed home and spent some time with my sewing machine. Nothing too exciting today, just a few things that have been adding up in the finish up or fix pile. Like the baby wrap that I've been trying to finish. I finally did today because I didn't want Isaac laying by himself all day while my hands were busy. He's sleeping in it as I type..pictures on a day when I actually get dressed. I was working on resizing a pair of pants today so I never quite made it out of my pajamas since I intended to wear the pants when I finished.

We only had one little mishap; Adrian figured out what I mean when I say "don't touch the iron, it's hot." Poor kiddo cried "OW!" for 10 minutes straight as I tried to console him. He's been running around with a wet paper towel wrapped around his finger for the last many hours. I tried to put lavender oil on it but he kept wiping it off and we don't have any bandages. Pair that with his dirty, almond butter face, and tiny little boxer-brief clad body and he's quite a sight. 

I was hoping to actually work on something fun for Restyle once I had a few other little projects out of the way, but that never happened. There's always tomorrow! Or later this evening. Even though I wasn't super-duper productive since I still had to look after my boys it was so nice to have a day of sewing (and neglect for the rest of our home, of course). I need to do that more often. (As Jeff's eyes widen.) ;)

Your Guess is as Good as Mine

I just never know what I'm going to find when I turn around again. I set Isaac on the chair and walked into the kitchen and by the time I turned around, this big guy had joined him.

About the Christmas bib? Yeah, I've got nothin'.

A Visit from Auntie Keeks and a Pint-Sized Pair of Pants

My sewing was pleasantly interrupted suspended by a visit from "Auntie Keeks" yesterday. Truth be told, I hadn't started by the time she arrived in the early afternoon. We walked to the park (just a little too much, I'm doing a lot of sitting on my butt today). We had a good visit while Adrian played and requested pushes "pretty higher" on the swings and a spin around the merry-go-round that ended with him flying off on his bum. Hm, guess that's why they don't make those anymore.

Anyhow, I dressed Isaac in his new pants, made by his mama, after his bath today. I figured he might as well wear his cute little dress shirt too since we won't be getting much use out of that--he'll be baptized on Sunday and Jeff works the Sunday after that. Before you know, he'll be too big for it!

They're upcyled (of course). I found a linen dress at Salvation Army sometime in the past year and had intended to make pants for Adrian after seeing this tutorial on Made. Now, realizing that Isaac had no dress pants (not like he really needs them, but it's fun to get the boys dressed up for church) I made a pattern using a pair of his sweatpants. I had to do a lot of tweaking and they're still not quite right. I want to be able to design more patterns eventually so this was a start.

Seriously, check out those cheeks!

the past week and reflection

Has it really been a week since I blogged? ETA: Er, make that 2 weeks. Well, you can blame it on this cutie who has been occupying my time:

Showing off his wannabe elfin ear. I can hardly believe he's a month old already. Where does the time go??

I'm planning to make this wrap, but while I wait for the housekeeper to wash the fabric, I've been using my front pack. Isaac loves it. He complained the first time I put him in it but it didn't take long for him to snuggle up and get right to sleeping. Adrian and I walked to the park with him last week during one gorgeous, windy day.

 

I've been working on a few sewing projects as well. Isaac doesn't have many clothes right now so I've been dreaming up things to make for him. Of course, dreaming and doing are two different things. I suppose he has pajamas to wear but you know, I want cute clothes for him. ;) I made up a pants pattern that I still need to tweak, I'll show pictures once he actually wears them. Adrian also has a shirt that I made and I really love it even though it's already getting small. I made it right before Isaac was born and have yet to take pictures. 

A few days ago Jeff kicked me out of the house ALL BY MYSELF to go thrifting. I'm still thinking about it. I ran to St. Vinnie's in Ish where I always have good luck. I actually took the time to look through women's clothing this time and found a few things for myself including a pair of Levi's. Woohoo! I really need new jeans. I also found pants for the boys. I called Jeff as I was speeding through the kids clothes and found out that Isaac already had his bottle an hour before so I figured it was best to head home even though I still had much of the store to dig through. Either way, I filled a bag for $14 so I was pretty happy. That was my first time thrifting since a few weeks before Isaac's arrival. Oh how I have missed it, I can't wait to go again! 

I'm feeling pretty good, both physically and emotionally. I can't remember if I've said it here, but I feel so much better emotionally/mentally than I did after Adrian was born. A c-section isn't something most people imagine for the birth of their first child so it was a huge disappointment when that was the outcome. I remember feeling so let down and disconnected from my baby for quite a while. I hid it for the most part and kept it to myself. This time around, after everything that we went through to have such a successful vbac (did I say, no complications whatsoever?!) I feel so great/happy/victorious/fulfilled. I was able to bond with Isaac so much sooner. I realize that not everyone has that instant connection, especially with the first, but having a birth that you're hardly involved in and then having your baby whisked away for the next hour or two certainly doesn't help.
A friend of mine--who had also had a c-section--commented that she thought it might be a disappointment after giving birth naturally just thinking about what you missed the first time around. Her comment really made me think. The truth is, I don't feel that way at all. Instead, I'm so happy to have finally experienced the process of natural birth. It's more like, "Oh! This is what it's supposed to be like!" rather than a reminder that I didn't have that choice the first time.

Isaac continues to be a happy baby. We were chatting with our downstairs neighbor today (telling her that we're officially house-hunting!) and she said he must be a good baby because she has hardly heard him cry. So true. He cries when he's hungry or wants to be held. And hello, he's a month old, of course he wants to be held. It's a good reminder for me to keep taking it easy, plus I just love snuggling him! He's starting to smile which is seriously awesome. I've been trying to get a picture but doggone, he just won't cooperate for the camera. He just melts my heart.

Tomorrow I plan to sew. Can't wait!

First Real Bath, First Family Pic

This was actually from last week, but I thought I'd post pictures because he's just so darn cute.

Gotta love the 70's sink, huh?

Isaac loved his first bath. I thought he would cry the entire time, instead he was completely content the moment I put him in the water. He was unusually restless all day yesterday, the fussiest he's been which wasn't much at all really. As soon as I gave him a bath, he calmed right down. It's so sweet to see, he's just so happy in there. It must feel familiar. Hopefully Adrian learns a thing or two from his little brother; he does not like to take baths and never really enjoys them. He's always especially nervous to lay down. I think he got hurt in the tub many, many months ago, like maybe a year ago. Maybe that's why but really, it seems like he'd be over that by now. Hopefully he'll be more relaxed after seeing Isaac enjoy a few baths.

First family picture:

Ha, so I was laughing so hard I was crying but I wanted to show this anyways because I melted a little bit when I saw this picture of Jeff. He's looking pretty good, right?

Happy Easter Weekend!

It was a good weekend.

My Mom called early last week to say they were planning a trip to see us this weekend. It ended up being super quick-Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon-but I'm so glad they could come! It's a busy spring for them as far as weekends go so it was either this quick trip now or wait until May.

On Saturday, my dad took Adrian for a walk and to the playground (thanks, Dad!!) and my mom cleaned the entire kitchen and vacuumed (thanks, Mom!!)

Jeanie was able to come but Dan had to stay home because he had a cold. My mom said he was so excited to stay with my brother Brad that he didn't seem to realize what he would be missing.

My mom joked a few times about Isaac being such a crabby baby. ;) He is honestly such a content baby. Adrian was too, hopefully this doesn't change! Isaac basically cries when he's hungry or needs to burp. And sometimes not even then. The other night he wouldn't burp for me and just as I was drifting back to sleep, he spit up all over himself and it somehow spewed onto the floor. He never cried once.

This was Jeff's weekend to work so he was only able to visit on Friday, they were gone by the time he got home on Saturday. Which means he also missed out on Easter morning and Adrian finding his basket. I almost forgot about the whole Easter Bunny thing with Isaac's arrival. We ended up picking up a little bit of candy and some stickers for his basket. These bunny finger puppets would have been fun but I didn't have everything on hand and I wasn't up for running to extra stores. Maybe next year! Adrian was thrilled regardless of how simple this Easter was.

 He ate all of his candy before breakfast and his gum was all chewed by noon. Ah, well, at least he still has a few stickers left.

And you can see just how long this basket lasted...It was upside down on the floor and he thought he could stand on it. It happened before I had a chance to stop him. At least we got a few years out of it.

He looks pretty remorseful, huh?

Little Picasso

I finally let Adrian use the non-watercolor paints Santa gave him for Christmas. (What are those called anyways? Crayola just calls them "Washable Kid's Paint.") I've been putting it off knowing it would be a big mess and probably not be as washable as it says. I don't have any paint smocks but I didn't really care if he wrecked the clothes he was wearing.

I was hoping he would go to town and I could have a relaxing time while he was entertained. Turns out, he DOES NOT like to get paint on his hands. I spent the entire time going back and forth from the couch to the table to clean him up. (Yet, he doesn't seem to mind when he has food all over.)

Then, he would tell me he was done which actually meant he was done with those colors and wanted something different.

Well, he had fun anyways. Now I know to let him paint when I'm already doing something in the kitchen. All those pretty colors add up to one final result:

Diarrhea.

'Round Here

It's funny how it's so hard to sit still when you really have to. I'm still in recovery mode, but man am I ready to be done! The weather is getting nice again and well, actually, our apartment is a disaster. There are so many things I would rather be doing than "taking it easy." I have to keep reminding myself that Isaac isn't even 2 weeks old. It's not like I've been waiting around for a month. And really, I'm not pushing it because I know I'll regret it if I do. Jeff's been doing laundry and washing dishes for me without complaining (much). ;) He's pretty awesome. Between work, working out, chiropractor appointments and picking up the slack around here, he's pretty busy. Read: no time to relax whatsoever. And all I've been doing is sitting on the couch...

Baby Isaac has been such a good baby, so far. I can count on one hand the amount of times he's cried for a reason other than being hungry. We've got nursing down and he gets right back to sleep at night after a feeding and diaper change. Which only happens 2-3 times a night, by the way. I honestly couldn't ask for a better baby. (I'm pretty sure I said that with Adrian too...let's hope the trend continues.) He's had more and more alert periods and I love to watch him looking around (at what??) and the happy look on his face when Mama's talking to him.

As for Adrian, he's adjusted better than I thought he would. He's been awesome about playing by himself (like usual) and cleaning up when we ask (for the most part). He wants to hold Isaac All.The.Time. It's so often it's almost annoying. Aaah, and I hate to say that because I'm glad he's so interested and is a pretty good big brother (for the most part).

He's been the little entertainer lately. It's making me realize how big he is. Yesterday he kept saying made-up words and even went so far as to say "_____ means a cow...." I can't even remember what he said or what the made-up word was but I had to chuckle that he was trying to tell us what it meant when we kept telling him, "I don't know what you're talking about."

His sarcastic "Really?!" is pretty funny, too.

BTW, I tried out this chocolate bar recipe that I had pinned and it just might become a staple around here. It ends up kind of chewy in the freezer, I was hoping for something with more of a crunch but it's pretty good anyways. And practically guilt-free.

Low-guilt??