What's Going On

Our lives are mostly one big blur of work and baby as of late, with a little bit of couple time thrown in here and there (if you can believe it). Once in a while I'll also find some time to pursue some leisurely interests too, when I'm not doing my thousandth load of laundry or dishes for the week. :)

Good Reading:

Bringing up Bébé, by Pamela Druckerman.

This book is a great look at raising children, specifically by an American mother in Paris, but the parenting philosophies can be applied to all age groups and to children in a variety of settings. This book was funny, charming, well written and increased my desire to live in Paris tenfold. A lot of the parenting philosophies in this book echoed what I already strongly believe, but I gleaned some new ideas from the French style of parenting that I think are highly applicable to most families. (Though I don't think I'll ever give Will a chocolate bar sandwich, which is apparently a "classic" afternoon snack for French children :)

I'm thinking of getting her other book, Bébé Day by Day, to share with Dave. This book is just quick snippets of parenting wisdom, because I know I'll never get him to read a whole parenting book, and parenting philosophies are useless if everyone isn't on board!

Druckerman has also started a quicky email newsletter you can sign up for, "Stress-less Parenting". Each email lightly covers parenting topics to help keep your family stress free. Last week was the first email and the topic was patience.


Come and Get It

Dave and I made this delish potato leek soup. So good and flavorful, and it was crazy quick and easy to make. A modified version of this as a puree would also be great for Will to try when he's older and ready for complex blends of food. (not that he's on anything more than a liquid diet right now :)

We're also using the rest of the parsley to make some tabbouleh... yes, please!


Exercise your Noodle

If you're like us, you're totally confused and mystified about how the new Pope is going to be chosen. All this chatter about the new Pope got me to wondering, and I found this cute little video that answers the question!

Proud Parent Alert!

Dave sent me this video while I was at work today

Yes, I cried. At work.

Yes, I'm aware I cry too much. :)

Dave says: Today Will learned to roll over during tummy time! He did this several times before he decided it was time to do something different.

William at Home

My dear friend Lindsey created this adorable video collage of William. I am constantly struck by her talent and creativity. I'm also amazed at her thoughtfulness and how much she loves my baby. :)

My heart explodes into little, glittery heart-shaped confetti every time I watch this. 

Three Months

Not even a newborn anymore...

Happy 3 Month Birthday, Little Bear

A Week of Firsts

Have I ever mentioned that William loves taking a bath more than everything? (the only thing he possibly loves more than baths is his bottle).

 
William Bath 2.16.13 from Sandra Butler on Vimeo.


This week has been a big week for Will! I went back to work... which was easier than I thought it was going to be. Will started going to the childcare center in my building two days a week. His teachers are pretty nice and the center is nice, but it still feels so weird leaving my baby with people who are basically strangers. I haven't yet cried when dropping him off, so that's good!

Will has also started sleeping in his own room at night, we've had three successful nights with him "on his own" and have taken the Pack n' Play out of our room. We're so thankful this baby has really taken to sleeping through the night, but I also feel like I no longer have a newborn baby, a happy and sad thing. :)

Will laughed for the first time this week, of course when we tried to get him to laugh again and catch it on video, all he did was fart and make crazy faces - which is amusing in it's own right.

When Will was first born I was so painfully exhausted, all I did was feed him and sleep, I couldn't imagine a time when I would be less exhausted. Toward the end of my maternity leave we were starting to get on a routine, I was feeling really good again, and life was getting back to "normal". I almost felt guilty because I didn't feel the crushing exhaustion new parents are always talking about, I felt like I must be doing something wrong. Then... I went back to work. Holy moly. All I want to do is sleep, all the time. I am so painfully exhausted, I know it's only been one week, and it's going to be just like after Will was born and in a few weeks everything will be good again, but if someone offered me a weeks vacation in a quiet, dark room, I'd jump on that right about now. Thank goodness for my Keurig!

Happy Valentimes!

William sent out some Valentines... the little flirt :)

Freedom!!!

Today Will got the go ahead to take off his brace and never wear it again, we're thrilled. :)

He had an x-ray done on his hips and they both look super-duper. The x-ray technician said Will is the first baby she x-rayed that didn't pee on the table, I guess today is full of victories ;)

Now Will loves him some tummy time! He was holding up his head for such a long time and totally scooching a tiny bit. (Dave even said Will was scooching too, I don't think we're just being crazy parents.)

The freedom to move his legs all around as he pleases has caused him to have a hard time falling a sleep, but I don't even care :)

Psst... I turned 30!

It was a pretty good time. I love my friends and family and appreciate everyone coming out to help usher me into real adulthood.

Why are most of my pictures of my birthday of food? Better question, why aren't most of your birthday pictures of food?

Wiggle those Hips! (or not)

Will had a normal ultrasound on his hips yesterday! Both hips now stay firmly in the socket. Eeep! I'm so excited I could burst.

Now we just need a verdict from his orthopedic surgeon on the status of his brace. We have an appointment with him next week. Keeping our fingers crossed!

Play Time!

I know he was just waving his arms like babies do, but I like to think he was playing with the owl :)


William 2.1.2013 from Sandra Butler on Vimeo.

Life is Good