Eli is 3 months old!

Wow, I can't believe that my baby is 3 months old.  Time has flown by since he was born!  It has been great to watch him grow before my eyes.  Boy, has Eli grown!  He is around 17 lbs already - definitely taking after his dad in the size department.  Eli also takes after his dad in that he has DIMPLES!  Yes, he has dimples!  This makes me so happy.  They were confirmed by another member of the family on Christmas day.  There were times before then where I would think to myself, did I just see a dimple...I knew no one would believe me if I told them I think Eli has dimples.  Those dimples are really hard to catch on camera though!

So obviously, Eli is doing well in the eating department.  I'm grateful that I am able to breastfeed him, and that I have an abundant supply of milk for him.  Breastfeeding was a challenge that 1st month, but it is worth it.  Now that we are 3 months into it, I finally feel confident in my ability to feed him.  There was a lot of worry and second-guessing myself about "am I feeding him too much," "is he hungry or crying for another reason."  Obviously, I deemed him to be hungry in those situations...ha!  There was also some serious discomfort that 1st month, but I had great support with the WNC Breastfeeding Center, my husband, and my mom.  If you have lactation consultants in your area, don't hesitate to reach out to them.  They were wonderful help to Eli and me.

Hans is never too far away.  One day I'll put together a series of Hans & Eli photos.  I have a lot!  I really think he stays close just in the off chance spit-up comes flying his way.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Our Birth Announcement/Christmas Card from this year : )

Family shot (minus Hans) from Thanksgiving.

I couldn't post this without including Hans!

The Nursery

I finally got around to taking pictures of the nursery.  I actually had a few small details to complete after Eli was born, which is why I didn't take pictures before he was born.  I love his cozy little room!  If you didn't know, Sam and I waited until Eli was born to find out if we were having a boy or a girl.  It was so much fun waiting.  I love surprises, and that is one of life's biggest surprises right there.  I did have a feeling all along that it was a boy.  But a feeling doesn't mean anything, I heard tons of stories from women where they were sure of the gender, but then were wrong.  When Eli was born and Sam said it was a boy, it just seemed right.

I feel like everything in the room can be used for our next child whether it's a boy or a girl.  Although the room leans more towards the boy side, I think that's because girl rooms often appear more frilly with softer colors.

Links and information about where items were bought are included.

I'll start with his crib.  I found it on Serena and Lily, and then did some research on the actual manufacturer of the crib, Franklin and Ben.  I found several stores in North Carolina that carried this crib at a much cheaper price.  Serena and Lily has beautiful items, but it is expensive!  I love the Liberty crib, it's a modern take on a classic spindle crib frame.  I love the bright white.

The crib skirt is from Bellini, a children's furniture/decor store in Charlotte.  It was custom made.  I couldn't find anything that I liked.  I needed something with contrast against the white (plus a white crib skirt with black dog hair in the house doesn't mix well).  The yellow band at the bottom ties in the different yellow accents in the room.   

The giraffe crib sheet is from Pottery Barn.  I have 4 crib sheets, 2 giraffes, 1 white, and 1 white chamois (super soft!).  I also have a flat waterproof crib pad underneath the sheet (similar item found here).  That was a great suggestion from my sister-in-law Rachel.  That way you don't have to wash the mattress pad every time spit-up or a dirty diaper leaks onto the crib sheet.  I change the crib sheet at least twice a week if not more.  I'm sure it will be more when he sleeps in his crib at night.  He is in a bassinet upstairs with us right now during the night.

The elephant print is a poster from Ikea.  We had it mounted on foam/gator board at Michaels.  We didn't want to hang anything heavy over the crib for safety reasons.  And I like the clean white lines that is has without a frame.  Super cheap art work!

The glider...oh how awesome it is!  It is also from Bellini in Charlotte.  The ottoman glides as well.  It is so comfortable.  If you're going to splurge on one item in the nursery I say do it on the glider/chair/rocker.

The curtains are from Ikea (2010).  They were in the room when it was our home office.  I also painted the room gray in 2010 when it was my home office.  

What you can't really see is our awesome black-out shades from Ikea as well.  Talk about a good "bang for your buck."  I love these shades.  We have had one in our living room as well for several years to block window glare on our tv.  They are white and blend right in with the window frame.  

The rug is a random find from High Country Furniture in Waynesville, NC.  Who would have a thought a furniture/design store for your moutnain home would have what I was looking for.  Well, I didn't really even know what I was looking for, but I'm glad I found this rug.  It is soooo soft, plush, and comfortable.  It makes you want to sit down on the floor, which will be a good thing when Eli can sit and play.  Hans loves this rug as well (luckily it hides his dog hair easily).

I thought I got a full shot of the dresser...oops.  It is the dresser from my nursery (and my brother's as well).  I had it refinished by a friend who does amazing work.  I wasn't up for that type of project, and I wouldn't have done even half as good of work as Elizabeth.  You can view her work on her business facebook page, Gussied UP.

The burlap hanging thing covers up the big electrical switch board in our house.  Sam's mom helped me complete that arts and craft project.  The little blue birds hanging from the burlap is a purchase from Spain.  It's a handmade mobile type item that we found in a cute art market our last day in Barcelona. 

This print was actually the first item we bought for the nursery.  I knew I wanted to have some sort of animal theme (obviously you can see I didn't go too crazy into a theme, so maybe animal inspiration is the right word).  We bought the print at The Compleat Naturalist, a store in Asheville.  It's a Charley Harper print, and I just really fell in love with his artwork.

 More easy/cheap artwork....these are Charley Harper 5x7 post cards in cheap Target frames.  The bird print hanging beside Hans' portrait is also a 5x7 post card.  I got two different sets of post cards from Amazon.  So I can switch them out if I get tired of them (but let's be honest, that will probably never happen).  The door on the left is the closet.  The door on the right goes into the bathroom.

The lamp is from Target.  And my dad built his little book case!  It's covered in a window panel from Target that looks like Burlap, but it's softer polyester type material.

Of course I have to include some recent pictures of my sweet boy.  Hanging out on his tummy at 7 weeks old.

iPhone Eli Pictures

Here are some Eli iPhone pictures.  I always have my phone with me throughout the day for two reasons: (1) Eli is so cute and I can't stop taking his picture or taking a video. (2) I need to know what time it is when I'm feeding him.  If the photos were edited I used the PicTapGo! app I mentioned in my previous post.

Here is the first picture I took of Eli.  He was born at 9:01pm on Monday, this picture was taken around 6:30am on Tuesday morning.  I really didn't sleep much that night.  Well, we didn't even get to our room until around 1:00am.  I wanted to send a picture of Eli to my friends to let them know that Eli had been born, but Sam's phone had all of the delivery room pictures, so I snapped this shot while laying in bed.

It's amazing how much their face changes as the swelling goes down.  

Night 2...trying out our Happiest Baby on the Block tricks.  That book was super helpful - it's the one book I would recommend to pregnant women (and future dads) along with The Nursing Mother's Companion.

Waiting to be discharged....

I think he really looks like Sam in this picture.  Eli doesn't look like my baby picture or Sam's baby picture, but he is taking after Sam.

 

I had to include one of our sweet Hans too : )

He loves bath time, and I love giving him baths!

Milk Coma : )

Hans is adjusting well to his little brother.   I think he just likes the way he smells (milk, spit-up, dirty diapers...all favorite smells to Hans...haha!)

Things I know....but don't really know

So I promise to do a photography post soon...
It's 4:50 am, I've been awake since 3:15am, around 4:00am I gave up going back to sleep when my stomach started growling.  I got up went downstairs started a load of laundry (would have unloaded the dish washer if it wasn't such a noisy task of plates and cups clamoring together) and had my breakfast at 4:15am.  Breakfast is 1/2 of an english muffin toasted with peanut butter - yummy!  The bad news is that was the last half of english muffins and now I don't have breakfast for my normal 7:30am breakfast time.  There's no hope for getting any more good sleep tonight.  If I do fall asleep I will finally reach that deep sleep about 5 minutes before my alarm goes off....which is about the worst thing that can happen!  So I obviously have a lot on mind, and I thought I would write it all out so maybe sleep will come tomorrow night.

I know things are going to change in a big way once the baby is born...but I really don't know how big, and since I'm not a mother (at least to a child outside of a womb) I know that I can't fully comprehend how motherhood/parenting will change our lives.  So here are the things I know/don't know:

1. I know that I am going to love my child a ridiculous amount, but I really don't know what that deep love is going to feel like.  I hear your heart grows the moment you meet your child, and it feels as if it's going to burst with love.  I am so looking forward to that moment of meeting our child!  
2. I know I will look back at this "sleepless night" and laugh with a delirious laugh that only comes from true sleep deprivation.  I don't know what true sleep deprivation feels like.  Unless you count my days at CHEERSPORT when we used to hand check crossovers on the schedule for 800 teams, work 18 hours days leading up to Nationals, and then work 20 hours days over Nationals...that was a drop in the bucket compared to some people's jobs.  That lasted only a few weeks not a few years...yikes!
3. This is one I don't want to admit one bit....so I'll rephrase it a bit.  I hear your dog gets essentially forgotten...eek!  I know Hans will inevitably not get the same amount of attention he gets now.  That's common sense.  Caring for a newborn takes a lot of time - but I can't imagine feeling left out of the family.  He is such a loyal companion and family member.  He makes us smile and laugh every day!  I am going to do my best in keeping up his pet/rub count and for his sake his daily treat intake : )  Petting him makes me feel better - it is very calming - I'm sure I'll need that calming mechanism...right?  Can someone back me up on this one?
4. I know caring for a newborn/baby is not all smiles, cuddles, coos, and have your "ice cream with a cherry on top" moments, however, I really don't know what to expect.  So for now, I'll keep reading my baby/parenting books and keep dreaming of those smiles and cuddles...no sense in dreaming of being drowned in diapers, cries, and spit-up...right?

I'm sure there are many more knowns/unknowns I could share with you, but I'll stop there.  If you read this much you at least deserve a picture to look at!  If you follow me on Instagram or you are my facebook friend you have seen these pictures (taken with iPhone, I believe I used my PicTapGo app to edit).  In honor of our first child, Hans, here is his portrait I had made for Sam's birthday.  It's a beautiful watercolor and I can't wait to hang it in the baby's room!

Nanny's 80th Birthday!

Hello blog readers!  I actually have 2 client sessions to share with you, but allow me one more personal post before I do those.  My Nanny will turn 80 next Sunday, August 28th.  My family got together this past Saturday for her birthday.  Many of you know that since Papa passed away Nanny is now in a memory care unit at a nursing home.  My parents had the party at their home, and we picked up Nanny and brought her to the house for the afternoon/evening.  She is in a great home, and the care givers there love her!  She is still very active and high functioning even though she has Alzheimer's.  She's constantly helping out there whether it's passing out drinks and snacks or soothing another resident.  If any readers have a family member with Alzheimer's and need someone to talk to, let me know.  My mom is involved with some great support groups for Alzheimer's.

So I have shared the picture below several times on my blog - it's Papa on his 80th Birthday (2008).  Whenever a photographer is asked what's your all-time favorite image, it's tough to come up with a final answer.  Seeing how this picture is just engrained to my memory, and I've shared it with all of you multiple times, I'm guessing this image would make the top 5.

Now I have some great pictures similar to above of Nanny on her 80th!  Isn't this a great series!  I don't have a favorite yet, but if I had to vote right now, the 2nd image in the series is my favorite right now. That's Olivia closest to Nanny and Sydney on the end, her great-grandchildren.

On a less sentimental note, that is Cold Stone Creamery's Midnight Delight ice cream cake - the absolute best chocolate ice cream cake!  Sam get's me one of those cakes every year for my birthday, and we had one for Nanny's birthday, so I have had a slice of that cake for a week straight now : )(eek...I'm sure that's not healthy, but chocolate is a staple in my diet, so it's no shock to my body).