I am not very crafty.

I am not very crafty...but I'm becoming more so. I don't know if it's because craftiness seems like it should accompany my new role as a stay-at-home mom? Anyway, this is my latest decorating/crafting endeavor. I'm really happy with the way it turned out! (Though I think it looks better in person than it does in the pictures. I know nothing about photography.)

I was looking for a way cheap way to decorate the wall behind Andy's crib. We recently visited Cameron's cousin Aisling (who has the cutest decorating taste and is extremely crafty) in College Station. I loved seeing how they've decorated their new place. Their guest bedroom has a vinyl tree on the wall, which inspired me to create this:



Supplies:
2 rolls of brown, vinyl electrical tape from Home Depot=$8
scrapbook paper for the leaves=$2
sticky tak stuff I had hanging around

I was so surprised at how easy it was. The tape was so easy to work with and just did whatever I wanted it to do. It's fun to feel like I created something for Andy to look at!

4 Months Old

The little light of our lives is now 4 months old! I don't think we could possibly love and adore this little guy more than we do. He is an absolute joy. We see more and more of his fun personality each day.

Andy...
-Is so social! He loves attention, talking, being talked to, playing, laughing, smiling, singing. Sometimes it gets a little exhausting because he only lasts about 5 minutes without interaction, but we love his energetic, fun, strong personality.
-Still loves to eat. However, his social personality gets in the way because he'd rather unlatch a million times to stop, talk, and smile at me (so cute!) than actually eat continuously.
-Is getting better at sleeping! His naps are getting longer and longer and he's getting better at falling asleep unassisted. He usually goes to bed between 7-8 PM, wakes up a couple of times to eat during the night, and gets up about 7 AM. I LOVE knowing I have the evenings to do what I want. He's now taking 3-4 naps, each about 40 min. long.
-Much to our dismay, he's not sleeping very well out and about anymore. Guess we'll be spending lots more time at home now!
-Sometimes likes walks. He ends up crying for half of them though. Not sure why?
-Giggles! Sometimes it's in response to something random (like the doctor listening to his heart) and sometimes it's when I do some sort of obnoxious laugh or throw him up in the air.
-Is so strong. Still not good at rolling over. But he stands assisted like a pro. And I think he's even close to sitting by himself. He just isn't good at balancing yet, but he has the muscles for holding himself up. He's always trying to sit up in his car seat.
-Loves bath time. He loves to splash around.
-Loves mobiles and hanging things. He's getting much better and reaching for things and grabbing them. He's almost mastered putting his own binky in. He gets frustrated with his own lack of control, but he's getting there. He also gets frustrated when his hanging toys don't do exactly what he wants. This guy definitely has a strong will.
-Got his first little stuffed animal. He likes holding on it and sucking on it. (But he likes holding and sucking everything.) It's a cute dog named Carl.
-Had his first cold. It was very sad. He hated his nostrils being suctioned all the time.
-Sucks on everything. But I don't think he's teething.
-Loves being sung to still. His favorite song now is this song my grandma taught me: "Reuben, Rueben, I've been thinking." I usually make up my own words: "Andy, Andy, I've been thinking what a good, good boy you are. You're so good, I love you so much, you are my shining star." It always makes him beam. Too cute.
-Makes quite a variety of noises.
-Is in 3-6 month clothes (has been for almost a month)...but I swear he's almost grown out of them. He is getting so big! Which brings me to his current measurements: 16 lbs 5 oz (75th percentile) , 25 inches long (50-75th percentile), and head circumference is 75-90th percentile. We are happy about this because he was soooo tiny when he was born.

Andy still leaves me completely worn out most of the time, but I LOVE being his mom. I never could imagine my heart would be so full!

We didn't take enough pictures this month. I'm vowing to do better this next month.




Andy and Carl:

Andy's Blessing

Andy was given a beautiful name and a blessing on Sept. 4 in my parents' ward in Bountiful. We moved just a few days later, so it also served as a good opportunity to say bye to everyone. We are so grateful to everyone who was able to come. Though I'll never organize a big event like a blessing again while moving (WAY too stressful), it turned out really well.




Thanks to Cameron's mom, Kathy, for the darling blessing outfit:



All Andy's grandparents:
Grandpa Greg and Dad:

Grandma Jean:


With Aunt Christine:

Aunt Abby and Sawyer:
Aunt Rachel:

My cousin Kameron who I LOVE. I was so grateful he made the drive to come!

Aunt Christine and Uncle Ben:

Cameron's cousin Erin, her husband Jared, and Uncle Brendan:
With Aunt Sara:
Cameron and his brother Brendan:

Andy is 3 months old!

Yesterday marked the 3 month birthday of our darling little boy. I can't adequately express how much I love and adore this little guy. When he was born, I really had a hard time adjusting to everything. Everyone always told me--"Just wait until he's 3 months old." Everyone was right. Everything seems a little more manageable now. And I enjoy my time with Andy so much more now. It's so fun to see his sweet little personality. He really is my little buddy I hang out with all day. One of his big smiles absolutely makes my day. It makes the sleepless nights completely worth it.

Some of Andy's current likes/dislikes/milestones:
-He LOVES to smile. He has the cutest open mouth gigantic smile. It lights up a room. And he does it all the time. All I have to say is, "Hi Andy!" or "I love you!" and he gets a huge grin.
-He loves our singing time in the morning. I stand him up and sing him a few songs. He tries to sing along. His favorite is "Keep Your Head Up" by Andy Grammer.
-He loves to talk. He sits and talks all the day long. He's a very chatty, social guy.
-He loves to kick and wiggle.
-He loves to stand up with his weight supported. He absolutely loves this and is hardly content in any other position. It gets a little hard to hold him up all the time.
-He loves to be naked.
-This is a weird one: He loves having his nostrils suctioned. He looks really confused, yet excited. Don't most babies hate this?
-He still likes sleeping in the car while driving. However, he does NOT like to be buckled into his carseat.
-He loves to eat. As always. It's fun now--he stops and smiles at me every few minutes while nursing.
-He finally seems to understand night time is for sleeping. He usually falls asleep around 8 and sleeps til 6 or 7 AM. He usually wakes up to eat around 2 or 3 and around 5 or 6. I wish his longer sleeping stretch happened to fall from 11-6 rather than from 8 to 2.
-Napping is a different story. Andy likes to take cat naps. I hardly ever has a good hour long nap. Most of his are 15-30 minutes. Not cool.
-He rolled over for the first time on Sept. 10. Twice. However, I wasn't there--he saved that event for dad. And he hasn't done it since, so I'm not sure if this "counts." Perhaps he'd be doing better with this if I was more diligent with tummy time. He hates tummy time and starts screaming after a minute so I usually give in and pick him up.
-He seems to favor his left hand. Lefty? We'll see.
-Andy has no "schedule." Hopefully we're not doing something wrong? We just let him sleep/eat/play when he wants to.
-He has a very lop-sided head! He favors his left side. We're trying to get him to look the other way more often, but he's pretty stubborn. Hopefully he doesn't have to wear one of those helmet things. Cameron is extremely concerned about this!
-The most tragic development of this month is that we figured out that if I take dairy out of my diet, Andy is a LOT happier and in a lot less pain. Overall, this is obviously a good thing because we figured out how to make our little guy happier. Tragic because I LOVE LOVE LOVE milk. I don't think anyone could love it as much as I do. I used to have it with every meal. I went through 1.5 gallons a week. I'm trying to get by with soy milk, and it's okay. But I really really really miss milk. I don't know if I can go a full year without it. Sigh.
-He took his first flight on Sept. 8.
-He has about 2 blowouts per day. Hence, about 50% of his clothes have poop stains on the back. I don't know if I don't know how to change a diaper or what?
-Is just about into 3-6 month clothes.
-He went for his first swim on Sept. 15. I think he liked it?
-He finally has his own room/nursery! I'm sure he doesn't care, but it makes me very happy.
-He was given a beautiful name and a blessing on Sept. 4.

We love this sweet little guy and are SO happy he joined our little family.


First Swim:




Blessing Day:



First flight:

We love Texas.

What to do when you're awake with your baby at 4 AM? Blog, I guess. We're LOVING Austin (technically we're living in Round Rock). Our place is so nice. We love our new friends and ward. Cameron loves his job. All is well! I'm having lots of fun with Andy and lots of fun decorating our new place, especially since we've always lived in furnished places before now. Here is my current "inspiration board" for our living room/family room. It's taking a while to come together, but I'm hoping it'll turn out the way I see it in my head.

Happy 2 Months Mr. Andy

Our little Andy is 2 months old! We love him more with each passing day and can't believe what a (time consuming) blessing he is.

At 2 months Andy...
-Is huge! He looks like a different baby. His weight has almost doubled. 11 lbs 13 oz (50th percentile) , 22 1/4 inches (25th), and head circumference in the 85th percentile. He's so chubby! His legs, cheek, and tummy are so fat...we love it. And obviously he's inherited his mom's big head.
-Is so alert. He looks around all the time and loves social situations.
-Loves being sung to! It almost always calms him down. I guess he likes whistling to, but I'm not a good whistler so I leave that to the aunties.
-Is very happy after a good poop. Sometimes he struggles to get them out, bless him.
-Is very smiley! I can't pinpoint the day he had his first smile because in the beginning we weren't sure if they really counted. I would guess at about 5-6 weeks? Now he smiles all the time. Especially when we poke his nose with a binky and make funny noises.
-Has the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen. And his eyelashes are soooo long! They're gorgeous.
-Spits up all the time. He goes through many many outfits every day.
-Loves his swing. Our sleep book tells us not to, but we let him sleep in it because he'll sleep for so long in it! 5 hours the other day. It was amazing.
-Loves to nurse. We're so happy we've finally figured this out. We had to pump exclusively in the beginning and we're finally to the point where nursing is comfortable and (shock) even enjoyable! This has made all the difference since feeding is such a huge part of life with a newborn.
-Loves walks. They always calm him down.
-Still loves his car seat and sleeping in the car. In fact, he sleeps really well everywhere other than at home.
-Is actually a much better sleeper than I give him credit for. He usually goes back to bed after his night feedings now, which is such a blessing. He eats 3 times a night--once with Cameron. Cam and I are finally sleeping in the same bed again, which is so nice. We're starting to feel more normal. He still saves his long sleeping stretch for during the day rather than night, but overall everything is much better.
-Loves to pee everywhere when I least suspect it. It always surprises me and I scream.
-Makes all sorts of strange noises. We sit and listen in the monitor and laugh at what we call his dinosaur noises.
-Still loves baths.

In no particular order, some pictures from the last while...

Why I have loved living with my grandparents

Cam and I have had the opportunity to live with my grandparents (in their basement apartment) this summer. It really has been an amazing opportunity. Initially, I was a little worried about how it might all pan out, but it has been such a blessing. I have really treasured this time to get to know them better and spend so much time with them. I will miss them so much when we move!

Things I will miss...
-The way my grandma dresses up everywhere she goes. She looks like a movie star when she goes to church and picks out every outfit so carefully. It's adorable.
-How my grandpa dyes my grandma's hair for her. How sweet is that?
-How they bicker all the time. That might sound bad, but it really is hilarious. Mostly it's my grandma yelling at him for silly things like leaving out the Pam. Or picking the wrong parking spot. (Important stuff like that.) He's the most patient man I've ever met.
-Teaching my grandma to use her computer. She couldn't figure out how to double click...bless her.
-How they love each other and depend on each other. It's so cute. Married 65 years.
-How my grandma always says, "Getting old isn't for sissies!"
-This might sound mean, but I'll miss the way my grandma forgets things. I've heard some of the same stories dozens of times this summer. It's really cute. "You know...I was 45 when I had Marilyn." "You know...my mother had 12 kids." "You know...I nursed all my children except for Diane." .
-How hard they work! My grandpa is 90, my grandma 87, and they work out in the yard for hours at a time. They'll hardly let us help with anything.
-How they put cokes in the freezer to get them cold quick and set the timer so they don't explode a few times a day. Except--they can never hear the timer when it goes off and we have to go upstairs to tell them their coke is ready.
-How they eat so much fried food! My grandpa definitely grew up in the south and his cooking shows it. You name it, they fry it--french toast, zucchini. Not to mention my grandma eats her cereal with half & half.
-How they do little things together like go to Arctic Circle for a hamburger. So cute.
-Hearing their stories from growing up. I've learned so much about them.
-How much my grandma bakes. She bakes dozens of cookies at a time. Banana bread too. She spends hours in the kitchen and works so hard.
-My grandpa's thick southern accent. And how he says his sister Juanita's name.
-Sharing meals with them. They're so quick to share everything with us.
-How honest my grandma is. "You know, __________ needs to lose 40 pounds." "They shouldn't be having a baby shower. They should be having a party to help take care of their lawn." "I'm not going to stake conference. It's always the same every year."
-My grandma's sense of humor. She has such a cute personality and always gets all my weird jokes.