So, it's been a while...

Since I last posted, a lot has changed in our little corner of the world. The biggest change has been our beautiful son, LT. He came into the world and stole our hearts on February 9th. I have to say that while motherhood has definitely been the hardest thing I have done, it also has to be the most rewarding. That first week was really tough, no always knowing what to do or why he was crying. But as the days and weeks went by, I began to learn. I learned about LT, his little personality and what he wanted and when. He is my entire heart and I can seriously say that I have fallen in love all over again. He has been such a joy and such a blessing to us. Yes, there are definitely rough moments and hard days, but seriously, for the most part, LT has been such an easygoing and relaxed little guy. He is pretty chill most of the time and only really goes off the rails if he is H-U-N-G-R-Y and needs food NOW or elseohmygodheisgoingtostarvetodeaththisverysecond! :) I don't know if we should take all the credit for his laid-back personality, but we like to think that we have something to do with it. One good thing about having babies a little later in life (I just turned 36 last week; The Husband is 38) is that you get to see a lot of your friends and relatives raise kids. You get to observe a lot and learn about which techniques you like, what you don't like, what you can't wait to try out and things you don't ever want to do as a parent. I also have two nieces who have been in my life for almost 12 and 6 years, respectively, and The Husband has a lot of friends with kids he has been around since they were born. Together with our experiences, we know a lot about what kind of parents we want to be. We also have a bit more confidence in ourselves as parents, at least I know I do. I think all of this helps us to be more relaxed and less stressed (except for the first week of breastfeeding - holy hell!!), which leads to a more relaxed and less stressed baby.

LT is going to be 11 weeks tomorrow and I can't believe it! Time has gone by so fast. I have been back to work for almost two weeks and I miss the little lovebug when I'm gone, but it certainly helps me to appreciate the time I get to spend with him. I love going to him when he first wakes up in the morning, because he is just so happy and smiley. I heard his first real, from the gut laugh in the morning late last week and it was the most beautiful sound. I am tearing up now just thinking about it. I also love his evening routine of a bath, bottle and a little snuggle before bedtime. He can just be the sweetest baby then.
Meet our little one, LT!

Laundry List

I take after my mother, which means I am an all-out, balls to the wall planner.
We have quite a list of projects to do before Baby S. gets here. We want to paint the family room, foyer and hallway. We would like to finish up the second flower bed in the front yard. We would like to paint the downstairs bathroom. We are definitely going to completely gut the main bathroom upstairs. And, obviously, we have to get the nursery completed. This is quite a list and The Husband is willing to tackle what he can. With Christmas arriving in the first month of my third trimester, a baby shower in early January and getting ready for Baby S. after that, I don't want to be running around, trying to finish up the nursery. I want to get it done before my third trimester even begins so I don't have to worry about it and can then focus on the holidays and doing what I can to prepare and (hopefully) relax as much as possible before our little one arrives.

After finding out we were pregnant, I immediately started planning. We had already decided (before we even got pregnant) that we would go it old school and not find out the gender. I have always, always wanted it this way. I love the idea of not knowing and hearing The Husband yell out in the hallway "It's a ___!!!" to all of those anxiously waiting. However, nowadays, this can cause some grief. ALOT of the bedding, clothing and what-have-yous are not gender neutral. It's either pink/purple or blue/red. It is difficult finding things that can work for either a boy or girl. So this has been my frustration since soon after getting our Big Fat Positive.

I found a few options that I didn't detest, but still nothing that made me go "Oh yes, this is what I have been dreaming about." I am not a huge fan of all the cartoonish animals and characters. I prefer the modern, somewhat eclectiv, colorful and not too matchy-matchy look. So I was constantly on the internet, looking at stores, but found nothing that floated my boat.

Until...

I was at Target with The Husband and found the most perfect patterned comforter that I instantly fell in love with. I didn't buy it, but couldn't stop thinking about it either. All weekend I thought of nothing else, and on Monday, I headed back to that Target to buy the comforter. Here is where I ran into my first issue. The comforter was on deep clearance, at only $7.83! A steal, right?? However, I couldn't find any of the other pieces at any other local store and Target wasn't willing to check any other store around the United States unless I had a zip code. I was willing to pay the shipping costs, but they weren't willing to help. Luckily, I was able to buy the 3-piece set, along with curtains and the crib skirt online. I was ecstatic about that. I couldn't, however, get the changing pad cover or any of the single crib sheets (so I could have more then the one that comes with the set).

I figured I could just find some solid colored sheets and changing pads to coordinate and it would have to do, because I loved the rest of the set so much, right?

Not so fast! My MIL is an amazing sewer (she sewed for Ford Motor Company for 30 years or so) and has agreed to make a changing pad and crib sheet from the curtains that come with the set. They are 100% cotton and very soft and feel just like a sheet! So I ordered two more curtains and VOILA! A nursery has been born :)

Not only is she going to make those, she is also adding material to the bottom of the curtains to make them floor length. A friend and I found some awesome coordinating fabrics to help get the look I have always dreamed of and I couldn't be happier!

Here is a picture of the main pattern (on the right, in the package). It is an off white background with light blue, orange, sage and brown animals (hippos, giraffes, elephants, camels). There is a very small polka dots and a flower pattern inside each animal. The green fabric with white polka dots in the upper left corner is what's going to be at the bottom of the curtains to give them more length. The color matches perfectly and I love the polka dots that ties in with the polka dots in the animals. The orange fabric with the white flowers will be tied into the room by a pillow and possibly some wall art. The other small swatch of blue and brown fabric (on top of the main pattern curtain) may or may not be used, I am not sure yet.


I think we are going to go with the very top paint color, a lighter shade of the same green in the curtains and green polka dot fabric. We tried the darker green that's also in there, toward the bottom, but it is way too dark and olive-y for the room.

I also found a great rug at Target that will hopefully go with all the colors and tie the room together:


The rug arrived today, on the same day The Husband picked up the crib and dresser! He is hoping to paint this weekend and then, hopefully, the room will slowly start to come together.

Just for fun, here is a picture of the crib and dresser we found at Babies R Us. We got a great deal on everything and are very happy with our purchase:

What do you all think? Do the fabrics go? Does the rug tie it all together like it does in MY head?

The only thing I am missing is a mobile. Do I even need one of those?

Blessings

It's been hard not talking about the biggest thing going on in our life, but I can finally share with the world (or at least 9 of you awesome followers) that The Husband and I are expecting our first child early next year! Our little bundle of joy has blessed us in so many ways and I can't believe it's already been three months.

Baby S. is set to make his or her appearance on or around February 14, 2012. Yes, Valentine's Day. The Husband and I got engaged on 2/13/08, so that is definitely a special time of year for us, but I sort of hope the baby doesn't arrive on V-Day. First of all, we already have two different sets of friends who had their babies on the same day, so it would definitely be a shared birthday. Loving my own birthday as much as I do, I would hate that for our little one :( Also, while we have never been big V-Day celebraters (ors?), I hate to think that we'll never have our own little romantic night out, just the two of us, again. I would never want to leave our little one alone on his or her birthday, just so we could have some alone time on, what some consider, a "Hallmark Holiday."

So that's the news going on in our world. What's happening with you?

The Husband keeps saying "Winter's almost here!" I keep wanting to smack him. In my mind, Summer just got started and already he is talking about winter. Part of me thinks he is doing it just to irritate me :)

Either way, I do feel like Summer is speeding by without taking a breather and it makes me so sad! I can't believe it's almost July. We are heading up north for our yearly get away to Grand Lake and Cross Village and we arer SUPER excited! Both of us are looking forward to long days on the water, boating, the sandbar, exploring the small towns and just relaxing. This is one of my favorite weeks out of the whole year and I'm so glad I get to spend it with The Husband. Last year, he could only take a few days off for the 4th, so I continued to Cross Village on my own. However, this year he gets to join in ALL the fun! :)

Life in our household is still chaning day by day and we are anxious to get away and just enjoy each other, away from all the hustle and bustle (and stress) of our jobs. We both work long days and are pretty much dead to the world by the time we get to spend a few hours together at night. We can't wait to just relax and enjoy...

Northern Michigan

I have, essentially, grown up in Northern Michigan. I was lucky enough to have two sets of grandparents who lived up there, on either side of the state. When I was younger, my family spent long periods of time up north. As a youngen, I loved it. As I got a little older (a tween, basically), it became more of a punishment. I just wanted to stay home and hang out with my friends. I missed so much while away and I felt out of the loop. Granted, I also spent large chunks of my childhood summers at sleepaway camp (a post for another day, but one word: LOVED!) but it was usually only a week at a time, so I never missed out on too much while at camp. However, I spent weeks at a time up north. Once I hit the 8th grade, though, I was hooked. Line and sinker! I seriously fell in love with it up there. So much so that I spent three summers up there in high school and before college working at a pretty well-known landmark/restaurant. I lived with my grandma (my grandpa from my mom's side passed away in 1985) and spent my days working or at the beach and my nights at parties and bonfires. I even dreamed about getting married up in this small village, in front of a cross on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan.


Cross Village Beach - Cross Village, MI

My other grandparents lived on a beautiful lake near Presque Isle. We always spent the 4th of July there, with all my aunts, uncles and cousins. We spent our days boating, floating and water skiing. We would take my grandparent's pontoon (affectionately named "SuJeHoMiErRoAmCo," the first two letters of their grandchildren's names from oldest to youngest) down to the sandbar. The kids would swim (under the boat!) and play while the parents tanned, talked and enjoyed adult beverages. When this grandfather passed away in 1989, my grandmother had to sell the home and move away. Not only did I lose my grandpa, but I lost this wonderful place.


On our dock, looking at Three Sisters Island in the distance (Grand Lake)


Big Island in Grand Lake - Presque Isle, Michigan



The Husband also had grandparents who lived up north. They weren't as far north as my family, but he was still able to experience this part of Michigan that no one else, except Michiganders (Michiganians?), can even begin to understand.

My grandmas are now both in their 90s (92 and 95 to be exact) and one is still living up north (during the spring/summer/early fall) in the same small town and the same house. She loves it up there as much as I do and hates it when she has to move down state for the winter. Now that I am an adult and no longer have the summers off, I realize just how lucky I am to have had these wonderful experiences and places to visit. Before, when I hated being away from my friends for such long periods of time, now I absolutely yearn for those days again. I would give anything to be able to pack up my car and head north for the summer. Sure, I get up there from time to time, usually on holiday weekends. It's a long drive (4.5 hours to each place, basically) so it's difficult to go up on a regular weekend. Even so, it's not the same.

Northern Michigan is an amazing, addicting place. The pace of life is so much different then it is down state. Up there, we can take our time and enjoy the lazy days. The Husband and I are constantly talking about our "one day," when we have our own cottage on the water and how we want our own family to continue this tradition. I am heading up there this weekend for the first time this season and I can't wait! Kid Rock sure had it right when he wrote "Summertime in Northern Michigan." There really is nothing else like it!

About five or six years ago, my aunt and uncle bought a cottage up on the beautiful lake, just down the road from my other grandparent's old house. I was so excited to be there again and I rediscovered my love for this place and for being on/in/near the water. I am again spending my 4th of July's at this same wonderous place, year after year. Except now I am the adult who is tanning, talking and enjoying adult beverages at the sandbar.