2 Weeks!

The best alarm clock I've ever had!! :)
I can't believe it's already been 2 weeks since Manny made his grand entrance! I've really got to stop saying I can't believe how fast time is going, but it's SO true! This week has been another great week. We've stayed really busy and had some family in; it's been so fun!

So what were we up to this last week?

On Monday he had his first doctor's appointment, and was up to a whopping 7 lbs, 15 1/2 ounces! His birth weight was 7 lbs, 9 oz, and we were glad to see him not only back up to it, but well over it given the blood sugar issues he had after he was born. I have no doubt he'll be up at least a lb at his next visit...he's eating like a horse now! :) Here he is with his doctor...and yes, he tried to pee & poop on him too...I'm telling you this kid likes to mark his territory!

After his appointment we went to have his newborn pictures made. If you haven't seen them yet, you can check them out here...love love LOVE them! Here is our first family picture before we left the house. (Patrick is not a fan of this picture b/c he thinks it looks like he's glowing...which it kind of does...haha! What can I say, it's a cell phone picture and the sun was hitting us just right...still gotta document everything!) He took a few naps in his bouncy seat...he really likes it!

He loves to sleep with one arm under his head, and he puts it under his head when he's nursing too - so cute!! I love it because I like to sleep with my hands under my head too. :)He also hung out in his activity gym for awhile, wearing this cute onesie that he picked out to wear that day - isn't that sweet?! :)

And most importantly, he finally met the infamous Maxx the Monkey! They were instant BFF's.

Here's to another great week with my little buddy! :)

Newborn Pictures by Jessica Meinardus

Monday we went and had E's newborn pictures made. A friend of a friend of mine recommended Jessica Meinardus Photography, and I am SO glad she did! I mean, of course I'm going to think my son is stunning, but aren't these images amazing?!

Jessica was so patient with getting him to fall asleep and didn't even care when he pooped and peed on basically every prop she used! (including Patrick - that was funny!) I love her laid-back attitude...it made it so much easier for me not to stress at all.

She got me this sneak peek super quick...and she said the rest are great too...how will I ever choose?! I'm so excited to get these, and also to work with her in the future. We went with the baby's first year package, so we will have many more fun shoots to come!

If you are in the greater Fort Smith area, I would definitely recommend you check Jessica out. You can find her website here or her Facebook fan page here. Now back to staring at my sweet baby boy! :)

Dr. Martin

I promise one day to post about something other than my son. But today's not that day. :) I still just can't believe he's here - he's just so sweet and so much fun! I can definitely see where this blog will be the perfect way to journal/scrapbook our lives, so I hope I don't bore you too much. :) I do have some craft posts lined up that I'll try to get to eventually. But for now, I bring you this total cuteness.

These are the scrubs my mom made for him. Yes, they're a little big, but doesn't he look precious?! I love the look he has on his face...he's so serious sometimes.

So we put the scrubs on him in the hospital before they came to get him to circumcise him. Patrick's partner is the one who did his circ, and they are both such kids I'm not sure how they ever get any work done at their clinic. :) Patrick wrote orders (like they were from Manuel) and attached them to his scrubs. They were so funny...things like, "Prop my head on a comfy pillow during the procedure." and "Have the nursery nurses sing lullabies to me to keep me relaxed." They all got a big kick out of it. :)

This little guy really is the best toy I've ever had. :)

On another note, any tips to avoid being peed on every time the diaper comes off? I mean, technically he hasn't hit me (yet), but he has marked his territory nearly everywhere we change his diaper, and more times than not, the pee goes down his back somehow and his outfit has to be changed. I'm assuming the cold sensation of having his diaper off stimulates him which causes him to pee, so I try to uncover him then cover him back up for a few seconds, but that doesn't always work. To make things even more complicated, we're still putting vaseline on b/c of his circ, and he has a bit of a diaper rash, so I feel like it takes 27 minutes to get his diaper changed. (Which it probably does - I'm not super fast at this yet.) Anyway, just thought I'd see if anyone had any tips or tricks that worked for you. Thanks! :)

1 Week!

I cannot believe it's already been one week since my little man came into the world. I will never forget hearing his first cry...absolute music to my ears. :) I definitely understand why people say to enjoy everyday because the time definitely passes too fast!

We got to come home around 11 Thursday night. We weren't supposed to be released until Friday am but we were doing good so begged our way out. :)

It has been so nice to be at home...kinda makes this all a little more real - we actually get to keep this cutie!! :) We've had lots of company which has been so fun. On Saturday all of the nieces and nephews on my side came over. Here they are with my parents...aren't they such cute kids?!
Here we are on our first walk:
And could he possibly already be tired of listening to me talk?!
The fun's only just begun, Bub. It's only just begun. :)

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Day 2

We are doing great and just getting in the groove of things. I will share more of his birth story later, but it ended with an emergency c-section so we're moving a little slow at this time. I hope to go home on Friday, and start to get settled. In the meantime, I will share some pictures of my favorite little guy. :)

With my mom - they are birthday buddies now!! SO special. :)
0 days old and not enjoying the dress-up party I was making him participate in. :)
And here we are hanging out in the matching pj's my sister got us. :)
He has had some issues with low blood sugar, so they had to do an iv, so that's what you see on his arm. Praise the Lord he is doing much better and will hopefully get it taken out tomorrow night. I am still on cloud 9...God is so amazing. And thank you all for your sweet comments and prayers throughout this all! :)

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Meet Emanuel

Emanuel William, born May 17, 2010 (my mom's birthday!) at 9:56 pm. 7 lbs, 9 oz, 20 1/2 inches long...and absolutely perfect!! :)
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Update

Well we did 3 doses of Cytotech starting yesterday afternoon - one at 4pm, 7pm, and then 1 am. My cervix is 70% effaced and getting soft, so that's good - but still closed. I'm having contractions, so that's a start too. They just put Cervidil in and hopefully that will make more headway before we need to start pitocin. (I guess they give this 12 hours to work it's magic.) I appreciate everyone's prayers and comments SOOO much! Will update when I can. :)


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It's Go Time!

Well it looks like it's time to get this show on the road! My blood pressure went back up on Friday evening, and it still hasn't gone down, so we decided to go ahead and induce today at 3 pm. I am 40 weeks now - here is my 10 month picture. I didn't have the chance to drop it in a collage, so this will have to do for now. :)
We won't be starting pitocin today - just something to ripen the ol' cervix. Hopefully that will get things moving a bit, and then we'll go from there to decide the next move. I think we're as ready as we're going to be! Daddy installed the car seat like a pro. :)
And I have my focus object printed off and ready to go. (This is one of his 3D ultrasound pictures...obviously it's not cleaned up so there's some cord and stuff around his face but you can still see those cute chubby cheeks and his hand curled up by his face!!)
They told me not to expect much activity today - tomorrow night would be more likely for him to arrive, and that's not even for sure. So I may or may not post an update from my phone, depending on how things are going of course. I would definitely appreciate your prayers for a smooth delivery and a healthy baby! I am so excited to meet our little blessing from the Lord...I just can't believe it's already time. It seems like just yesterday I wrote this post. God is SO good! :)

Week 39 Update

I had my doctor's appointment yesterday, and my blood pressure and everything still looks good...very thankful for that! However, my cervix is sealed up tighter than Fort Knox. So now we talk induction possibilities...yikes! My doctor said we could induce at any time, and while we do really want to meet the little guy, the reality is if we induce now, it will very likely end in a c-section as my cervix is not favorable for a vag.inal delivery at this time. So we will most likely wait until the middle or end of next week to start the induction process, and I am praying for some progress by then. If it ends up in a c-section, it's not the end of the world, but we just want to give it the best shot we can at a v delivery.

I go back Thursday for a blood pressure check, but won't see my doctor again until Monday, when I'll be 40 and 1. So we'll make a decision after that. It's hard to believe that definitely in less than 10 days I'll be holding my little chunker!! I CANNOT WAIT!! :)

And because I've gotten where I don't like posting without a picture, I'll leave you with my lovely new hospital bag that's packed & ready to go! I knew I had to have it the moment I saw it - and it was only about $18, monogramming included! :)

Edited to add: Glad you guys love my bag! I should have included the info originally - sorry! I ordered it from the Wholesale Accessory Market and it's called the Houndstooth Print Large Bowler Bag with Red Trim. The bag was $12.90, and monogramming is $5.95. It is currently out of stock so doesn't appear on their site, but I saw it go in and out of stock several times before I ordered it. They have TONS of stuff at really good prices! There is a $50 minimum order, but it was super easy to reach that...great time to buy some unique gifts!

Happy Tuesday! :)

DIY: Personalized Night Light

I had a few people ask me about the night light in Emanuel's nursery, so I thought I'd share about it. When it comes to baby gifts, I love to give something personalized. Here is a tutorial for a personalized night light - one of my favorite things to give!

For those of you that have asked, the font I used on the one I made Kelly is called monogram kk.

What you need:

• glass block from Hobby Lobby or Michael's (They are cheaper at Hobby Lobby - $9.99, and I buy mine when glassware is 50% off, or use a 40% off coupon.)
• vellum scrapbook paper, with or without design
• stickers to spell your message, or a Cricut to cut the letters out
• ribbon for the edges & to tie around the block
• lights for inside the block (I will show you the kind below.)
• Mod Podge
• foam brush

1. Cut the vellum to the size of the face of the block. Use Mod Podge to apply the paper to the block. For less wrinkles, I put the Mod Podge on the block & on the piece of paper - it tends to lay better that way.
2. Place your words on the block in your desired layout. You can either use stickers or cut the words with your Cricut. If you cut them with your Cricut, you can either cut them on vinyl and apply them directly, or cut them on scrapbook paper and glue them on.
3. Frame the edges of the paper by hot gluing some type of ribbon down.

4. The side of the block has a removable piece of plastic. Take that off and insert lights in the block. (I never put the plastic cover back on because I tie ribbon around the block at the end.) I prefer C7 lights, which are basically 3 large Christmas bulbs, because the cord has an on/off switch.

However, it's hard to find these except for Christmas time, though there are some places you can order them online. If you can't find them, then I have used a 20 or 30 count white strand of lights, again from Hobby Lobby. They have these displayed next to the glass blocks year round. My Hobby Lobby also recently started selling a single light, which is what I've been using lately and it works fine.

5. Finally, finish it off by tying a ribbon around the block. Here is the finished product with the lights off, and then with the lights on.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Happy crafting. :)

Nursery Details

Thank you so much for all of the sweet comments on the nursery! I really did enjoy putting it together, and absolutely couldn't have done it without the help of my amazing and incredibly talented mother!
So here are some more details about the nursery, including answers to questions I received in the comments or via email.

Entryway of E's - this idea was inspired by Brittany from Perfect Harmony. She did a collection of H's on a shelf and I just loved the different sizes and shapes, and knew I wanted to do this somewhere in my house. The big E in the center is from JoAnn Fabrics and was only $2! It was plain cardboard and my mom mod podged paper on it. The horizontal striped E was a gift from my little sister, and I think is from Kirkland's. The rest of the E's came from Hobby Lobby, all during 50% off sales. I modge podged scrapbook paper on 3 of them (stripes, argyle, and polka dots), the white one was like that when I bought it, and the small blue one was black - I just painted it with craft paint.

Closet - The font I used for the labels in the closet is called Howser, and is a free download from Kevin & Amanda's Scrapbook Fonts. I cut the labels using my Cricut and a program called Sure Cuts A Lot. If you're a Cricut user, that program is a MUST-HAVE!! (More closet pictures & details, including the tutorial on the size dividers, can be found here.)

Alphabet Cards - My friend Ashley introduced me to these and I knew I had to have them the minute I saw them! They are by K & Company, and they used to be sold in stores at Michael's for around $7. I haven't seen them in stores in awhile, but you can order them online several places. I got mine on ebay from this seller and the total was around $10, including shipping. Then we just strung them on ribbon using miniature clothespins from Michael's. You also might remember the bookshelves from the tour of my old classroom. My mom re-finished these & stained them to match the rest of the furniture - I love how they turned out!

Airplane Mobile - The lanterns are battery operated and I actually randomly found them at Wal-Mart in the wedding decoration section. It was $10 for the set of 3. The airplanes are from Kirkland's. Patrick hung these using fishing line.

Wall - My mom & Patrick painted the stripes, and they are 6 inches thick. We just measured the wall & then determined how big we wanted the stripes from there. His name & the E are not painted on - they are vinyl and I cut them with my Cricut.

The picture on the far right is a nightlight I made. I'm working on a tutorial for those and will share soon.

Wall Decorations: The alphabet picture in the middle is Amy Coe but I got it at TJ Maxx for $7. The 3 little animals at the top were a Martha Stewart frame kit. I think I've seen them at Michael's, but I got mine at Big Lots for $2. The other frames were gifts. Further to the right is a growth chart that my friend Daysha gave to me - such a unique gift - I love it!

Well I think that is it! If I missed anything please let me know. Thanks again for all of the sweet comments! :)