a note to myself

Dear Self,

As you're sitting in Jack's room, watching him nap while the movers pack up your life around you, remember all of the things that have happened over the last two weeks that you still need to document. The things that have happened that make all the chaos going on around you seem really insignificant.

And when you get to Groton and you're resting in your rental by the sea, waiting for the house you've (hopefully) purchased to be available, take that time to write all of this stuff down. Because it will bring you joy.

Things like:

• Andrew's graduation from Prototype.
• Your thoughts on leaving this sweet town and the community you've found here.
• Jack's first Christmas and his first time meeting more of his amazing family.
• The Drayton Hall adventure with family.
• Your last meal at Poogan's Porch.
• Jack's discovery of his tongue. And other people's tongues. And how funny he thinks that is.
• Your thoughts, after two and a half months with that angel, on being a parent.

Remember it, Page.

Hold on to all of these things.

That's what makes this time so sweet.

merry christmas to you and yours

what we've been up to

The last week has been filled to the brim with Christmas stuff, family stuff, moving stuff and lots of memories. I hope to pop in with a post here and there (mainly because I don't want to forget any of it) but in the meantime, here are some photos to hold you over:

+ Let me see that Tootsie Roll! That took me back...

+ Rudy, after we picked him up from camp. He's probably wondering why I'm dancing like crazy to Tootsie Roll.

+ Our cozy Christmas home.

+ The not-so-cozy blow up Christmas parade going on in a friend's neighbor's yard. Yikes.

+ Little cutie with a crooked hat on an afternoon walk.

+ My lists. They're out of control.

+ That boy loves his daddy.

+ Andrew's officially graduated! Woohoo!

+ Showing Jack the pictures in his nursery.

+ Jack's first Christmas ornament. One of many!

+ My view at Drayton Hall. We went there with some family and this is where I took a little break to nurse the boy.

+ On the way home from his two-month shots. Already zonked out.

+ These shots have nothing on me, Mama!

+ Wait, actually they do. Please let me do nothing but eat and snuggle.

+ And maybe you can put me down long enough to take a walk.

+ Now he's back in action. And full aware of his tongue.

Now if you'll excuse me, my to-do lists are calling my name...

jack: two months

******

Clothing

0-3 months. Nothing in the newborn category has fit for about 3 weeks.

Sleep

Y'all, he sleeps through the night. For real. He's asleep by 7:30-8pm and he wakes up between 5-6am. I feed him again and he's out for another three hours. It's kind of awesome.

Crying

He's still easy, only crying when he's hungry, tired or wants to snuggle. Or when he gets scared - which is pitiful and hilarious at the same time.

Likes

Eating, in case you couldn't tell by his chubby little cheeks.

Light.

The jungle friends on his bouncy seat. They make him SO happy. He'll sit there forever, just smiling and cooing. Precious.

Going for walks. He's all wide-eyed and adorable when he can see the sky.

Dislikes

Being cut off from a feeding.

When the pacifier falls out, but is still touching his cheek.

6pm.

******

All in all, he's still fabulous.

a message from jack

Hey folks, Jack here.

My mom is kind of in crazy mode right now. Something about Christmas and family visiting and a move to Connecticut? I don't know what the big deal is. Seems to me that she should just relax. What is there to be all worked up about? Life is good, if you ask me.

Anyway, I just thought I'd pop in to give my mama a break. And to let you know that if it's quiet around here for the next few weeks, it's because she's cleaning or making a list or talking to my dad about houses or driving all around the great state of North Carolina to see our fam. But don't worry, Nana, I think she's still planning on posting my two-month update tomorrow. I told her that there would be some VERY unhappy ladies if they didn't get to see pictures of me from time to time. I'm a stud, you know.

Adios amigos!

our first family photos

Again, all courtesy of the lovely Sea Star Arts.

weekly snapshots (v5)

These aren't broken down by day on account of the fact that I can't keep my days straight anymore. It took me several minutes to figure out what today is, so trying to think back and match these pictures to the day is pretty much not going to happen. Baby brain is no joke, y'all.

Outside Christmas decorations! And that wreath? After coveting all of the beautiful poinsettia wreaths everywhere, I made mine with a cheapo wreath form and a bunch of poinsettias from the Dollar Store. It cost me $9. True story.

Skeptical baby isn't sure about this walk we're about to go on. But bundle him up and stick a pacifier in his mouth and he's good to go.

70 degrees on a Sunday afternoon means some cloud-gazing in the back yard.

As of this week, Andrew is D-O-N-E with Prototype. We went to Cracker Barrel to celebrate and Jack was kind enough to sleep through the entire dinner. Also, Santa was there.

Who doesn't enjoy a little Abita and a bubble bath?

Holy Christmas Lights. Don't look directly at it!

I sure do sneak in his room to take pictures of him while he's sleeping.

Fun times with baby Jack. We were reading Corduroy, a personal favorite.

Andrew's first day off was a success - lots of relaxing and cuddling.

Jack's first road trip! Details coming soon.

Skeptical baby isn't sure if he wants to be in the car for 4.5 hours. But after stopping at Smithfield's for some REAL bbq and lunch for the babe, everyone was happy. Also, if I never have to see South of the Border on I-95 ever again, I will die a happy woman. Also also, Jack loves his Uncle Tyler.

And that was our week!

I'm linking up with Amy, since it was her awesome idea to document your week in camera pics...join in on the fun!

the 2011 christmas tree adventure (aka: that time I almost lost my mind)

You all know the image I'm talking about.

The one of the precious little family in their coordinating red and green outfits, smiling as they walk along the snowy path, looking for the magical tree to take home for baby's first Christmas. You know, kind of like this:

I had some small variation of that idea in my head last Tuesday.

Andrew finally had a day off from work, so it was time to get the tree. It was chilly enough for Jack to wear his cute sweater and hat, but not too cold that we would be uncomfortable. It was going to be perfect. I had the whole day planned out: Andrew would string the lights outside that morning, then we'd go to lunch, go to the Christmas tree farm (photo op!) and then spend the evening with James Taylor singing Christmas tunes in the background while we sipped hot cider and decorated the tree. Like I said, it was going to be perfect.

But then.

Aside: I now know to never, ever, ever make plans when you have a baby. Ever.

But then, Jack went down for a nap later than usual and slept for longer than usual, so by the time we got the lights put up, grabbed lunch and went to Lowes to pick up an extension cord, it was nearing 5pm. Which meant that it would be getting dark soon and it was almost time to feed Jack. To simplify things (and give myself grace!) I decided that we could forgo the picturesque tree farm and just pick out a tree from Lowes. It would be easier and faster and we'd find one that was just as good. So we got our tree, strapped it to the hood of the Jeep and off we went. Christmas tree, check!

Then I had this lovely idea that Andrew should drive down Main Street on the way home to see if the town had put up their tree yet. If we couldn't get our Christmas fix from the tree farm, we could at least salvage some of the Christmas spirit by seeing a beautiful tree in the town square. We turned onto Main Street and hit a wall of traffic. Oh hey, rush hour. And no, they haven't put up the tree yet - they're actually doing that right now! Oh hey, closed off streets.

Oh hey, fussy baby in the back who is ready to eat. NOW.

Here's what happened next:

Turn down Luke street to see if we can cut over.

Stopped in traffic. Jack is crying. Stopped in traffic. Jack is screaming.

I'm going to hop in the back seat and see if I can console him.

Try to open the door.

Andrew, you tied the door shut when you tied on the Christmas tree!

Jack is screaming. Stopped in traffic.

This is fun. Turn on some music to see if that calms him down.

Classical music ON. Jack is screaming.

Merry Christmas!

Stopped in traffic. Jack is screaming.

I have to get back there.

Take off my boots so as not to knock anyone out in the process. Jack is screaming to the point of choking himself. Andrew turns up the music.

Merry Christmas!

I have no choice but to do the hover-and-feed. Throw myself over the car seat to feed my starving child.

He calmed down fast.

Traffic starts moving.

That's because I'm feeding him.

Andrew turns around.

Wow, Christmas sure is a lot different than it was last year.

And then we got home and collapsed from exhaustion.

Fa la la la la, la la la la.

jack's birth announcement

Goodness gracious, y'all. That kid is cute.

The lovely Jessi of Naptime Diaries designed these for me as a gift after Jack was born because she's the sweetest. I've ordered several things from her shop - both for me and for others. I just love this girl's heart and the way she pours it out into her work. It's beautiful.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go smooch my son because that picture just has that effect on me.

weekly snapshots (v4)

On Friday, I thought it was Wednesday. I'll chalk that up to one cute kid and a husband who works seven days a week.

+ Smiley baby. At 8am. It appears that this night owl has been blessed with a morning baby.

+ Modeling his new jammies from Martha!

+ Why yes, we sure did try to cook a pie in a turkey roaster. That's what happens when you've run out of oven space. And yes, it worked!

+ More smiley baby. Early in the morning.

+ He found his thumb!

+ Pretty sky on our evening walk.

+ Time to start decorating for Christmas!

+ Reindeer baby. He was not amused.

+ Sleepy thinker.

+ Using Rudy as a foot stool.

+ I'm not totally sure what's going on with his toe inside of that sock, but it creeped me out.

+ The bouncy seat jungle friends are soooo funny.

+ He zoned out as soon as I put on the Christmas tunes. That's my boy.

+ Mesmerized by the rain.

Just so you know, this was the day we decorated for Christmas. There's another blog post coming about the "adventure" that was picking out our tree.

+ Dressed in a cute fleece to pick out our tree!

+ And a cute hat.

+ Napping while we eat lunch.

+ At Chick-fil-a!

+ I was proud of Chick-fil-a for having a real tree.

+ That's the front of Lowes. Where we picked out our tree. Because when it's approaching rush hour AND dinner time for the baby, the Christmas tree farm doesn't seem as charming.

+ Those "holiday poinsettias" had glitter on the leaves. Really?

+ Christmas decorating!

+ Rudy was not amused with the antlers.

+ But he didn't mind his elf collar.

+ I love him. Because he humors me with the hats at Christmas.

+ Pretty tree.

+ This SO sums up my life right now: a cup of coffee and a pacifier.

+ Beautiful.

+ Ahhh, Christmas :)

+ This house has three strands of the "cool blue" lights and one strand of regular. Do they not know?

Due to a lot of frowny faces and no naps, there are no pictures from Thursday. Yikes.

+ Good news: the no-nap day turned in 12 hours of sleep that night (and every night since!) and a day full of great naps the next day.

+ Happy camper in the back seat means mama can stop for a cheeseburger on the way home from Target. Holla.

+ Dollar Store poinsettias for a Christmas craft.

+ I spy a cute teddy bear

+ The teddy bear loves his evening walks.

+ The makings of Jack's first stocking!

And that was our week!

I'm linking up with Amy, since it was her awesome idea to document your week in camera pics...join in on the fun!

must haves: mama edition

Yesterday, I showed you the baby stuff we can't live without. Now for the mama stuff we can't live without :)

1. iPhone. Hands down, having a smart phone has been the best thing ever. It's instant entertainment for all the hours I'm trapped under a baby. Email? Check. Facebook? Check. Blog reader? Check. Random baby-related questions answered by Google? Check.

2. Reusable nursing pads. Someone recommended these to me when I was pregnant and I ordered a bunch from Etsy. They're way cheaper than the disposables and I think they work better. Plus, they're better for the environment. Everybody wins. I ordered mine from here and here.

3. Hoodies. I got a couple of these from Target before Jack was born when I knew I'd want some loungy-type clothes in the first few weeks. They've become a wardrobe staple around here. They're comfortable, cute and they provide quick & easy access for those moments when Jack is having a FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, I haven't eaten in two hours meltdown.

4. Sleep nursing bras. I knew I wanted something more comfortable to sleep in and these have been great. I have black and white, but I'll be ordering more soon.

5. Kindle. Andrew got me one two days before Jack was born and while I haven't used it a ton, I love it when I do use it. Again, there's only so much you can do when you're trapped under a baby with only one free hand, but this is really easy to use. And I'm sure it'll be nice to have when we make the drive to Connecticut next month.

6. Little Castle Glider. This was probably our biggest investment, followed by the cloth diapers, but it's been worth every dollar. It's such a comfortable chair and that's a big deal when you're sitting in it at 3am. Also, it's high enough to lay your head back. Big plus. We got the Buckingham glider in gray and you can see it in the nursery here.

7. Undercover Mama Nursing Tank. These don't have straps, but hook onto your nursing bra. That way you can nurse without having your tummy all cold and exposed. They're also the most comfortable and the best quality of any other tanks I've found. AND I just scored two more for 50% off thanks to Cyber Monday. Go me.

must haves: baby edition

Here are some things we've been loving over the last six weeks...

1. Flannel receiving blankets. I had about 10 of them and never had too many. They're great for swaddling wee little babies (and not as expensive as the special blankets). Also, they aren't bulky so they fit perfectly in a diaper bag for things like an extra chilly doctors office. Or when he poops through every layer of clothing in church and needs to be wrapped up so people don't ask you why your baby is nekkid. Yes, that happened.

2. Boppy pillow. Seriously, there is no other pillow that makes nursing as comfortable as this pillow. I brought mine to the hospital and looking back, I would have preferred that over anything else in my hospital bag.

3. Gripe water. I've also seen it called Colic Calm. We call it magic water. Jack isn't colicky, but the kid is pretty gassy. Sometimes I can tell that his little tummy is hurting because he'll wrench up and make the most pitiful face ever, but a drop of this stuff and he's immediately at ease. It also cures hiccups in seconds. See? Magic water.

4. Soothie. His favorite paci. He makes the worst this thing is disgusting, get it out of my mouth face for all the other pacis except this one. It takes him to his happy place.

5. Bouncy seat. We didn't register for one because we registered for a swing and I didn't think I needed both. But the swing, while it's great for a sleepy/cranky baby who won't let his mama cook dinner, is kind of bulky and not easy to move around the house. I ordered this bouncy seat from Amazon and he LOVES it. He stares up at his little jungle friends and just smiles. It's pretty adorable.

6. Baby Elephant Ears. So his little head doesn't flop about in the car seat, stroller, swing, etc. Please don't let your baby's head flop.

7. Cloth diapers. We use the BumGenius 4.0 diapers and I don't ever, ever, ever want to use another disposable diaper. Ever. I plan to do a whole post on that, but the short version is this: they're awesome.

8. Video baby monitor. We didn't get pink, don't worry. But a friend of mine told me that the extra money was worth it and we took her word for it. So glad we did - and we found one on sale! I like being able to look on the monitor to see if the noise he's making is feed me now noise or I'm just dreaming noise. Also, when he sleeps all night and makes me wonder if he's still alive, I like that I can see his little chest rising. Pathetic, but it's true.

Next up, must haves for mama!