Nash's Nursery

I had every intention of having Nash's nursery all ready for him by June 17. However, he had other plans of arriving 3 and 1/2 weeks early, so I didn't exactly get it all completed in the time I wanted to.

Now, two months later it is all complete! And I have to say, it is freakin' cute.

Sometimes, I surprise myself with my sense of style and design.

First, I started with the great colors of blue, green and orange. Then I found this fantastic fabric that had all these cute owls on it and thought that would be a really fun nursery. I really didn't know that owls were all the rage. I am sure that everyone copied me though and I was the first one to think of the owl theme. With those fabrics my very talented grandmother hand quilted his darling quilt. I mean seriously, hand stitched every inch of it and I love that he doesn't have bed in a bag bedding like most other babies.

I am so glad we bought the crib first and that the rest of the motif happened to look fantastic with it. Isaac refinished his dresser that his dad had made for him when he was born 25 years ago. I was a little skeptical at how it would look, but after a lot of hours and love, it turned out really cute.

The art work my grammy made for him. We saw these really fabulous prints on Etsy that she used as inspiration and created these wonderful mixed media pieces for his room. So darling.

I had purchased a changing table and then thought that it was a stupid piece of furniture. I mean, he would use it a maximum of 3 years. I figure after a few months we will change a diaper anywhere we need to, so really, how much use was it going to get? Then I had the brilliant idea of this bookcase from Ikea. Super cute and versatile, I could use it for a changing table, storage, decor (because of the darling green storage bins) and once he is out of diapers, it will still get a lot of use. Sometimes my genius is astounding.

The large tree with the two little owls is a decal, believe it or not! My co-workers from my last job purchased it for me as a shower gift. I am so grateful because it was more $$$ than I wanted to spend, but it was just SO perfect.

The little decor items have a story too. The fabulous orange tree on his dresser his Auntie Shante (she is one of my dearest friends) found it for his baby shower. I begged her to give it to me until she finally gave in and did! She also was kind enough to set up a lot of Nash's room while I was in the hospital birthing him. Aren't great friends worth a million?! Anyway, the little owl that is in the tree is from his Great Grandma who hand made it along with the darling owl hat. The owl hat he wore in his first photos that turned out darling.

Finally, the mobile. My mom and I had this great idea to make this mobile we saw on Etsy. We just finished it two weeks ago. Still haven't hung it yet, but as soon as he is in his crib, it will be hung.

Well, I would love to know what everyone thinks of the room.

First 4th of July

It was a really memorable and wonderful 4th of July this year. It was Nash's first 4th of July and he met a whole bunch of family that was dying to be introduce.
First, his Aunt MA came down from Idaho Falls on Saturday (this wasn't the first time he met her, but she is always excited to snuggle the little guy, and who can blame her?) She was so helpful with extra chores around the house, I was more upset to see her go than anyone. :)
On Sunday, his Great GD Laughter stopped in from California to pay him a visit.
On Monday, 4th of July, he met his Grandma and Grandpa Gerke and Aunties April and Stef. They, obviously, fell in love with him immediately and spent the entire week cuddling him and helping us with our yard. It was a dream to have the extra hands. We had a huge bbq with friends from church and family. So grateful to live in the USA and for all the wonderful people who love us and Nash.

Goodbye Extra Pregnancy Flesh

So, obviously I put on a little weight during pregnancy.

Thank God for the pre-eclampsia, because I was able to gain a mass amount of water weight that showed up mainly in my ankles, nose (I know, it makes no sense to gain weight in your nose), face, hands.......ok my whole body. The great thing about gaining a ton of water weight is you lose a ton of water weight immediately. I lost 27 lbs in the first week!

The unfortunate thing about losing a lot of water weight right at the beginning, is that is it quite discouraging when I get on the scale every day and I haven't lost 27 lbs in a week. Ok, so it's going to be a bit of battle against the flab, but I will be triumphant!!

I still have the dreadful 20 pregnancy lbs to lose, but it is on it's way off my body. Grammie took a picture of me looking down at Nash the other day and my double chin is half gone!

It was a very exciting day. Now to just get rid of the other half of it...........and fit back into my pants............and shirts........and bras. Look, I'm an optimist and I see the chin as half gone. I'll take the little victories I can get each day and keep moving forward................but I still wish I could lose 27 lbs tomorrow. Great, now I'm spoiled.

All Smiles

Today, Nash smiled at me. Not just the sleeping smile, a real response smile. My sister in law was even here to witness the event, which was quite fantastic!

I have been trying to get Nash to give response smiles for about a week now. I tickle, play, and smile really big at him desperately trying to get him to do it. His Grammie kept saying that she was SURE he smiled at her. As much as I love her, that first smile is reserved for me, so I denied that he could yet. But today was the day!!

I was changing him and kissing his darling little toes. When I smiled at him, he gave me the most precious toothless grin. It was heaven.

After all my hard work these past few weeks, that is hands down the best pay off.

Nash is 4 Weeks Old

So our little guy is 4 weeks old today! Wow, that has gone so fast and I can only imagine how quickly it will continue to go. He does so many cute things, here are just a few of my favorites this month.

1. When he latches on to nurse, he snaps his mouth just like a tiny dinosaur.

2. He loves music!

3. I kiss his toes and he wraps them around my lips.

4. I kiss his cheeks and he opens his mouth towards me, like I know you! You feed me!

5. While he takes a tubby he always crossed his feet at the ankles.

6. When he gets really upset, he snorts.

7. During feeding time, he gulps so fast that after about 5 gulps he has to stop and breathe. He is out of breath like he just ran a marathon.

8. He likes to poop in a fresh clean diaper, almost as soon as it gets put on.

These are not in any order. Just a list of cuteness. Monthly lists to follow.

I am trying to weigh him regularly and he is a full 9 lbs at 4 weeks!

A Sense of Humor

A sense of humor is an absolute must in parenthood. I learned this valuable lesson today.

Nash was in need of a change so I lay his little body down in his pack n' play (basically his changing station for the family room) and noticed that his back was a bit wet. This is not a new adventure as he has been known to pee out of the top of his diaper and somehow get it to his back. I call him the Pee Houdini. However, as I continued to disrobe the little man, I came to find that it was not pee as I had assumed. He had his first blow out diaper and, being the over achiever that he is, it was one heck of a blow out! All up his back near up to his neck and down his legs. I stared in disbelief and went right into problem solving mode as I brainstormed the best way to clean up this mess. I grabbed his Whale tubby and all the bath essentials. I figured I would wipe him up the best I could and finish the job with a nice bath. As I began wiping his back he displayed a beautiful pee fountain over his shoulder and, of course, not onto the blanket I had beneath him, but directly onto the pack n' play.

Ok, now I have a poopy kid and pee to clean up from his changing station. I quickly fill his tubby and toss him in. We are getting everything all clean; hair, body and mind and then the unthinkable happens.

He poops in the tubby. It is now time for Plan C, which is turn on the sink, pray the water isn't scalding hot and hold the screaming child beneath it to wash all of the poop and pee off. (I would like to point out that typically he is very mild and lovely during tubby time)

I wrap him in his frog towel and dry him off and calm him down. I put him in his jammers and rest him in his swing.

Now, I am sitting here laughing because 1. I decide to blog about it before I clean up the huge mess of poop and pee in the pack n play and whale tubby and B. I just noticed that I have leaked through my bra and shirt from him crying in the sink. 3. If I don't laugh, I may just break down and cry. But laughing is always more fun and how can you not smile when you have a kid this cute?

Whoever says that God doesn't have a sense a humor clearly are childless.

2 Week Appointment

Nash had his 2 week appointment today. It was also the day he, as Baby Daddy says "Got his twig pruned." It was a really hard day for Lil' Momma and Baby Daddy. We knew this was something that was important to do, but it is still a difficult to know that pain will be inflicted on your child. Thankfully, he took it like a man and didn't even cry...................according to Dr. Pavich, since Baby Daddy and I sat in the waiting room. Let the healing begin!

Nash Stats:

7 lbs 6 oz

21"