Charlie's New Tricks

One of the funny things about babies is that one day, they are unable to do something and the next, they've completely mastered it. There is no maybe, almost, or getting there. BAM they've got it and there is no going back. Case in point - rolling over.

Earlier this week, I spent a few days away from home for work, leaving Charlie and Jeff home to entertain themselves. Aside from the long nights of cranky baby teething time, they seemed to have fun! When I got back, Jeff told me that Charlie had suddenly learned how to roll from his back to his belly. Before that were only futile attempts to get on his side. Well, not only had he learned to roll to his front, but he'd discovered the joy of sleeping that way - face in buried in the mattress and everything. How much did he enjoy sleeping like this? 8 hours worth - a personal record.

Thus begins the eternal parental struggle - happy baby or doing the "right/safe thing." I'll give you a hint - 99% of the time, happy baby wins because well, happy baby = sane parents. Being able to roll over independently is a huge milestone and usually means a baby can sleep however they want. It is assumed that if they got stuck or something covered their face, they could free themselves. Yeah, tell that to my neurotic paranoia. I think I checked on him about a million times. Of course, he was fine and comfy. Lets just hope this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship...with sleep.

Now, comes a new challenge. Whenever we lay him on the floor to play, he's rolling all over the place. Our living room already looks like a Toys R Us advertisement - I can only imagine what its going to look like now that he's starting to become...*gasp!*...mobile.

DIY Wall Art

You know how baby bedding and decor is ridiculously adorable, but ridiculously expensive? And most of the time, there isn't even decor for the set - just bedding and maybe curtains. Well, here's an inexpensive way to create custom wall art for your nursery (or any room, really). If you can trace, cut, and use a glue stick, you can do this!




First, take a picture (or find one on the internet) of whatever you want to recreate. I wanted to make prints that matched the Dwell Studios Space bedding set that we have so I took a picture of one of his receiving blankets in the set. Using a program like MS Paint, cut out the shapes you want and resize them to fit whatever design you're going to make. It doesn't matter if the pictures are a poor resolution - as long as you can see the shapes clearly, its all good. I print mine in black and white to save ink, but you can print them however you want.

Next, cut out the shapes, making them into pieces like this. Since the ship body, fins, tail, and window are all different colors, they need to be cut apart.

Then, trace the pieces of the design on scrapbook paper. A quick note about scrapbook paper - be creative! For this project, I wanted to recreate the rocket ship pattern exactly, so I bought solid colored paper that matched the blanket's design. In similar project, however, I made farm animals using prints like plaid, stripes, and paisley. A white cow with brown paisley spots and a pink polka dot udder, you say? I'll show pictures of that later. Back to the rocket ships.

Once you've got all of your pieces cut out, you can reassemble them and start making your design. I use a combination of glue stick and tape - whatever works! Ta-da! Rocket ship!

Once you've got the main pieces done, its time to get creative. You can take the general design and make it anything you want. This blue rocket ship was a basic part of the pattern, but I wanted to make it the main focus of this one print. Looking to another one of the blankets in the set, I recreated the striped pattern as a background for it. I used the white mat that was already part of the frame to glue everything to. No use letting it go to waste!

Then, put everything together and throw it in a frame! You're done!

These are the other ones I did for this set. The one with multiple little rocket ships was more time consuming than the others, but equally easy. Its all about tracing, cutting, and gluing.

Here are some other prints I did for Charlie's nursery when we were still team green and needed something a little more gender neutral. Same basic principle - I found farm animal images online and gave them the scrapbook paper treatment. The ducks might be my favorite. C'mon! Argyle water and polka dotted duck feet? Too cute.

If you have any questions about this project, please let me know! :-)

Five Months Old!

Okay, okay, so this is a few days late. Between Charlie and I being sick and a long weekend away, its been tough to update. Here's the scoop!

Mr. Charlie is getting big! At his last doctor's appointment he weighed in at 12lbs. 4oz. and was 25 inches long. I can't believe how big my little baby is getting! The bad news is that we were at the doctor because of a horrible wet cough he developed about a week ago. Four prescriptions and a week later, he's doing much better and back to his normal sleep schedule. He's still got a bit of a cough, but its significantly better than it was. We're not sure if he just had a virus or if he's got allergies, but we're playing it by ear.




 Other five month updates? Charlie's new obsessions are with his exersaucer and the stuffed piggy toy that we hang on his car seat and he's been sleeping muuuuch better than he has in the past. I don't want to temp the baby sleep gods, but I've definitely been enjoying the extra sleep!!



In other news, we have a tooth!! After one very long weekend of sleepless nights and one cranky baby, we have a tooth. As you can see in the picture, the second one isn't far behind. All I ask is that this second one doesn't hurt him so bad! It broke my heart to hear him cry in pain. :-( There's only so much Orajel can do when you've got a tooth cutting through your gum.

Please Pass the Coffee...

The proud Mama bear news? Charlie's cutting his first tooth! Awww, so cute! As soon he stops trying to bite me when I come near his mouth, I'll get a picture.

The crappy news? He's not happy about it. Poor kid is in so much pain that he wakes from a dead sleep shrieking. There's no "let him fuss for a minute" this week. Orajel helps a little and Tylenol helps a little more (we try to use it sparingly), but the #1 automatic pain relief? Nursing. Lucky me! I don't mind it, especially if it helps that much, but it makes for loooong nights in the rocking chair and some sore boobs. At this point, whatever gets him through.

The standard news? This too shall pass. I know this and accept it, but it doesn't make it any easier. 

The generation above mine seems to have the same advice, "A shot of whiskey!" My question: is that for me or for him? ;-)

One Year Ago Today, Everything Changed...

I'm sorry if you don't want to see my pee sticks, but I'm proud of them, so dammit I'm gonna post them. Yes, I did two. Actually, I think I took four pregnancy tests by the time all was said and done. It was a serious thing and I seriously needed to know it was true!

I can't believe its been a year. Its amazing how much can happen in 365 short days.

Finally an Update!

Whoooo-boy. It has been one busy month! Where to begin? This month was full of work, play, trips, and milestones - so much so that I apparently could not find any time to post. Oops!

Charlie & Grandpa

I'm not going to bore you the work part (not entirely anyway), but there are plenty of good stories about the rest. In the beginning of the month, Charlie and I spent a week in Pennsylvania, leaving Jeff to bachelor it up for the week with the cat. Ten days of uninterrupted sleep - that lucky dog. That aside, the trip was fantastic. We first stopped at my Dad's house after a long, long car ride and stayed for a few days. It was great to see everyone and spend some time with my crazy ass siblings! It'll be almost May before we get to see them again, so it was nice to hang out.

Charlie, Grandma, & Great Grandma

The next leg of our journey brought us to see Jeff's family. While there, we made our rounds to see everyone and introduce Charlie to his great grandparents. It was wonderful. :-) You want to see some happy people? Bring a baby to a retirement community. He was happy, smiley, and so pleasant. I know he's just a baby and doesn't really control when he's happy or fussy, but it was great that everyone got to see him that way. I was a proud Momma.

Charlie at the park for the first time

The main reason for our big trip to PA was so I could attend a job conference in Philadelphia. The opportunity to interview with numerous universities from across the country in one place? Yes, please. Despite the torrential down pour the first day, the long days, and crazy train schedules, it was a great experience. Plus, Charlie got to hang out with Grandma and Aunt Deb while I was in the city. Everyone wins! Now is the waiting game. Where will my next job be? Where will we move to? No clue. That update will come later.

Our last, but not least, task in PA was to meet Cory for our obligatory breakfast at the Exton Diner. Charlie was very excited to meet her! :-D

Charlie & Aunt Cory

After the big PA trip it was back to the grind...for a few days at least. When I returned home, I had three days and then headed out again. Yes, back on the road I went to North Carolina this time for a student leadership conference. The catch? Charlie stayed at home with Jeff. The sleep was nice, but it being our first night apart since he came home, it broke my heart to be without him. The conference was fun, but I was glad to get home on Sunday.

Exersaucer time

Other than that, its just been a lot of me working, Jeff teaching, and Charlie being Charlie. Speaking of Charlie being Charlie, this boy is going to give me gray hairs! Since the womb, he's had a habit of only responding to "serious talks." For instance, when I was in labor, it wasn't until the doctor came in and talked to me about the possibility of a c-section that he started moving into position. More recently, it wasn't until his pediatrician and I began talking about developmental delays that he started to hold his head up and steady, sit up with assistance, babble, and reach for toys. Yup, all that in the past few weeks! But only after the "serious talk." Oooh, Charlie. School will be interesting.

Regardless of him waiting until the last second, I can't believe how big my tiny baby is getting. He talks, laughs, makes faces, responds to us when we talk to him, reaches for toys, and mimics sounds. Its absolutely amazing.

Goodness, goodness...

Another two weeks have gone by? I promise, this time I actually know what happened and why I didn't post. Stay tuned for pictures from our trip to Pennsylvania and other fun updates. ;-)