Baptism Sunday

Today was really special for our family. Austin was baptized and Philip was baptized and confirmed and so many sweet family and friends came to support us. There were 18 confirmations and 4 baptisms so church was over an 1 1/2 hours and Austin did so well during this insanely long service. He just cried when he was hungry and when the organ played loudly but that was over really quickly. I was quite proud of the young chap!

The church had a brunch but I thought it would be be better to be at our house so Austin could sleep, etc. so once again Mrs. Alicia saved the day by going to our house and setting everything up so it would be ready when we arrived. 

Mrs. Alicia did all of the flowers and quiche! So lucky to have this talented lady so close!

How sweet of these Indiana cousins to come all the way down for the day!

My partner in party crime.

I felt like it was a shower again with such sweet Baptism gifts! Dad gave Ben his first glove and Ben has already claimed him for first base. We shall see :) 

Here's my cute boy! He is smiling so much lately but this little one is the only one I could catch. Whenever he sees the camera he stops and stares. 

The gold necklace is a St. Christopher charm from Philip's aunt in England. She also made the baby blanket he is sitting on. 

It was such a fun day and we were extremely happy to have so many people celebrate with us! 

For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne. 

first day back

Today was my first day back to work and besides being super exhausted, I thought it went really well. Austin woke up a little more than normal which I was weirdly kind of happy about because I got to see him before I left for work. I arrived on one of those ridiculous days of a pointless standardized tests that totally jerks up the schedule and makes the rest of the day totally worthless. Anyway, kind of a nice back to ease back into it. I actually had an unexpected case of mommy wars at lunch in the teacher's lounge.. with a man. Who knew? I'm now supposed to compete with Dads? I was all good being this non-threatened Mom who would not engage with the Mommy wars and then I get sidetracked by a Dad? What? 

I was eating lunch with teacher friends and that were all asking about Austin. I told them we were all doing really well. They asked how the birth was and how bringing him home was etc. I decided a while ago, I was going to be honest with folks. I HATE it when people say things like "oh they never cry"...umm I'm calling big time BS.  Anyway, I said the first 5 weeks were so difficult...and I feel like such a haze because we slept so little. So this led to more questions and finally I just said, I think we were doing a lot wrong, we were rocking him to sleep, where the devil Dad responds with, "why did you think that would help? Would you like that?" I'm like ummm.. I didn't know what day it was, just trying my best but let that go. Then I said, "and we let him sleep in our room for a while which really did not work well for us" which douche daddy responds with "we NEVER let our kids do that, they didn't spend one night with us, we knew what we were doing". Okay, wtf? Seriously? Again, I just let it go. Finally they asked the inevitable question that I received 30 times today... Is he sleeping through the night? I said, he was but he kind of reverted back this week and I was hoping to get him back to sleeping better. I said, " he keeps getting out of his miracle blanket, because he is a little too big for it now". Another teacher asked what a miracle blanket was and he says, "it's a swaddle but he's getting out of it because she's doing it wrong, my kids never came out ours". SERIOUSLY? Who is this guy? We've never even had a hint of an issue and he's giving me all this attitude.I was so shocked I didn't say anything. Then he went on some tangent about how kids should sleep on their side and I said they were supposed to be on their back and he talks on and on about having a sleep wedge...I thought this is my chance I'll totally pounce on him. Anyone with google and a new baby knows you're not supposed to do that anymore, SO 2007... but the non-Mommy war side of me just couldn't. If I'm not going to engage in Mommy wars with a woman I'm certainly not going to with a Dad. I will though compile all of this information together and somehow hope for a perfect opportunity to use it against him, that's not wrong, right?

For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne. 

Thanks Kimmie!

Our awesome friend and blogger-professional Kimmie stopped by the other day and brought little Austin an adorable Target tie. She bought one for her fur baby and sweetly thought of Austin. Any excuse to take pictures of my little one, I'll take! 

Showing off the product like any good model. Tyra is so proud. 

 Getting a little bit of that cute smile! 

Usually I would not want to show off my child in nothing but a diaper.. a little WalMart baby looking if you ask me, but look how long he is! I can't get over how big he is getting! 

Thanks Kimmie!

For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne. 

some weekend shots!

Happy Monday! This is my last full week of maternity leave.. and I'm completely in denial about it. I thought about checking my work email that I haven't looked at in weeks but thought a cup of coffee would be a better idea. Total denial. Friday night as promised we stayed in and watched a movie, "Hyde on the Hudson". It was really interesting and I enjoyed it. Saturday we cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. We organized the office which had not been looked at since Austin was born. Then some high school friends came over one who now lives in Hawaii and he brought his sons who are 3 1/2 and 1 1/2. They were so cute! Finally we actually did something non child related and celebrated the Abington's last cookout at their lovely Franklin abode. They were some of my first friends to buy a house and I am again in such denial that they are leaving. Finally on Saturday I met our wonderful friend Aubrie and her husband Brandon and their BEAUTIFUL baby Sloan for lunch. We joke since Austin and Sloan are 2 days apart that they will date, marry and live happily ever after so this was a big date for our boy! Of course I no longer think to take pictures of anything but him so just imagine the other stuff above, please. 

All ready to go in his brunch outfit. P thought he would look impressive to Sloan with some flashy cash but I don't do new money and removed that pronto. 

I'm not so sure the love connection was as strong as we once hoped. Sloan slept the entire time (good girl!) and Austin seemed more concerned about eating, sleeping and having his diaper changed. I will have to cover dating etiquette asap because this just won't do. 

Later we just hung around our house while P watched the Masters and I was bored to death took a quick catnap on the couch! After Austin woke up he was so happy so I took these! 

Although he really doesn't need a bath every night, he really enjoys it so we bathe him in the sink. I can't tell if it wakes him up or soothes him but I read somewhere baths are a great way of beginning a "bedtime routine". I kind of think it wakes him up more than anything but he is so happy about it I don't really care. 

We had such a fun weekend I was so sad it was over! He is starting to get so fun.. and then I have to go back to work. The timing is so rude. 

For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne. 

Momma lessons

Here are some random things I've learned or observed since becoming a Mom. 

1. You become kind of lame...and strangely are okay with it. We have been lucky to have great support and have actually gone to dinner several times alone, but for the most part, we are home hanging out. Well less hanging out, more changing diapers, feeding, reading, singing, crying, burping, etc. But yes, we are at home....a lot. Take tonight. We did not even discuss it, we just know we will be at home and we might just go crazy by ordering some Greek take out and watching a movie. 5 years ago staying in on a Friday would be a rare occasion, but now we are happy to go out once a week!

2. Your tolerance for gross.. I mean really gross things increases. I cannot tell you how many times I've been spit up, pooped, and peed on. Although I babysat quite a bit in my day, I do not do dirty.. well did not, now I revel in it. There has not been a day that I can remember where I did not get something dirty on me... and I have literally never freaked out about it. Who am I?

3. Laundry. Read above. Nobody ever told me I would do laundry every. single. day. Or at least throw loads in a then do epic foldings every weekend. I mean everything is dirty all the time and I am always struggling to get it together. 

4. I hate to admit it but I feel like I've become less creative. Hopefully that will change but it just hit me recently that I haven't sang in over 2 months, I don't write about anything but Austin, and my overall creative side seems to have taken a backseat. I'm not really complaining about this at all, it's just the truth. 

5. Mommy wars kind of do exist, but only with the people who were competitive about lame stuff when they were young too. Not every Mom is pyscho about their kid's accomplishments and I've actually been very happy with the supportive nature of my Mom friends. I've gotten a few "competitive" comments from folks, but they are the people you would expect. You know, the ones who were competitive about weight, or money, or clothes, or guys, or whatever when we were 16...now they are competitive about how little their child spits up and how they never ever, ever, ever, ever mind getting up at 3 AM. They are also the people you know who lie the most. 

6. Mom guilt is real. Am I reading to him enough? Is he getting enough tummy time? Is he going to be okay when I go back to work? Will the think I've abandoned him? Will he be stimulated academically enough while I'm gone? Will he be overstimulated? Is he getting enough social interaction? Omg, I had to supplement with formula for the first 2 weeks until we got nursing under control, will this hurt him when he is older? I answered a text while feeding him, did he notice? Does he think I don't love him? AND IT GOES ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON. 

7. I am going to make amazing maternity bras and make millions because they suck. 

8. Going to Kroger and the Park become "busy days" because you have to take an entire house with you all for the "just in case" situations. 

9. You can be having such a bad day and when your babe smiles or laughs at you, literally everything disappears. It is such a gift! When you're baby is happy, you are happy. I feel like so much of me has become wrapped up in him and while I so want to maintain some sense of my identity and interests pre-baby, the well-being of your baby becomes more important than anything I ever imagined. 

10. Lastly, being a Mom is fantastic, so damn hard, wonderful, grueling, extraordinary, life changing, and the best thing I've ever done. I would take all the momentary seconds of bad to enjoy the sweet boy I have now! Whatever crying fit, tummy trouble, sleep deprivation or other troubling episode we have had has all been... fleeting. That ol' ginger Annie was right! The sun really does come out tomorrow and with a smiling baby! 

For Natalie's News, this has been, Natalie-Corinne.  

2 month photos, a couple of weeks late!

As with almost everything around here lately, I'm running a little late! Who knew this little child would take over every single aspect of my life and take up all my time and I'd actually be happy about it?

 

We've been doing a lot of pushing up lately!

I like to call this one blue steel.

Hotty Toddy!

He is really starting to fill out!

I haven't showed this before but sweet Jenna came and got his comforter when he was born and put his birth date and stats on it so it would be ready for when he came home! So sweet :)

 

Fun things this month

 

Weight: 12.4 lbs (75%)

Height: 24 inches (80%)

New fun things: he has started to smile so much...it is so fun. The only issues is that you can get him to smile and as soon as you put the camera up he goes into this deep stare. He also has found his hands and likes to chew on them a lot.

Sleep: We have really gotten good at this lately. For the most part he sleeps 7 hours each night. It's never the same exact time each night but lately he has been sleeping from 10-5, but tonight he missed a feeding so who knows? As soon as you feel like you've got something down, it changes.

Favorite activities: He loves his play mat and mobile and seems pretty content when going on walks.

 

One not so fun thing about turning 2 months was getting shots. He had to get 3 shots and really he did pretty well. Uncle Ben went along to help... ME. His little face was so pitiful when he got the shots but was able to calm down pretty quickly. When he woke up he was pretty fussy and I gave him some baby Tylenol. He wouldn't calm down unless he was snuggled against me and in some awful way I kind of enjoyed it. He is sleeping so much better now, I don't hold him as much. For the first 3 weeks of his life, I think he was held the entire time. When we finally got our act together, he was able to be a little more independent, which is great, but I have very few afternoons like this now!

 

I love this boy! I can't believe I have to go back to work soon. I still want to work but leaving him this little seems unnatural!

 

 For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne.