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As you will see, I have absolutely no aptitude for photography. I have an old pink Sony camera (Why is it pink? I don’t think I trust you enough to tell you that.) and all I do is point it at things and click. That’s actually the same philosophy I hold for FPS games. Anyway, we went out for the first of (hopefully) many walks around the neighborhood with the new baby. The first photo was taken a few days before and is secretly a filler picture to make it seem like I’m better at this than I really am.

I took a bunch like this, some were too light, some too dark, this was about the best of them. I was trying to catch her moving, but there would have been less motion blur during an earthquake so mommy obliged and stopped long enough for this one.

Here’s a couple of mommy’s face. We have wildly differing opinions of these pictures.

Can you tell what this one is of? I thought it would be cool to try, but it didn’t work out so well. There is a baby hiding somewhere on screen, see if you can spot him!

And here’s the baby, all comfy in his stroller. He slept through the whole thing, which makes me wonder about the point of taking him on these walks as of yet, but fresh air never hurt anyone. Unless they were allergic, and thankfully he is not.

And a better shot of the entire stroller contraption. So much plastic and fabric went into this thing, just so a baby can sleep through all exposure to the outdoors. Oh well, it glides smoother than you can imagine.

We’ve managed to get out to a handful of parks, either pushing him in this beast, or carrying him in his car seat (ouch). We’re trying to be more active and healthy for his sake if not our own. Maybe someday it’ll work out, but I just enjoy these moments with my new family.

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Carisa is a blogger from Bunnies and Pearls blog, married to her high school sweetheart and works as an accountant but spends her free time crafting and cooking!

Find her on her blog, twitter and facebook

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The other day I was browsing necklaces on Anthropologie’s website.

They are fabulous, but expensive! I had supplies at home that I used to re-create this beauty to my liking.

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Supplies

-Large Chain
-Small Chain
-Large Jump Hooks
-Beads or Pendants
-Head Pins
-Hooks
-Needle Nose Plyers

*the amount needed really depends on how many beads you want*

1. Cut large chain the desired length.

Double it and add two large jump hooks to each end.

2. Attach two small jump hooks and the small chain so the necklace is to your desired length.

3. Use a head pin to create a loop in your bead.

You will need your pliers to make a loop.

4. Find the center of your necklace and attach another large jump hook.

5. Hook the bead to the hook and the hook to the chain

6. Attached the other beads the same way.

I went with three because that is all I had. If I had bought more beads I would have gone with more. Make sure to space them out evenly because you will be able to tell when it is around your neck.

7. Below is the finished product.

If and when I make another one I will make the large chain shorter and add more beads. But I really like the edgy look of the one I made.

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A note from Kendra:

Carisa, thank you so much for sharing this great DIY! I’ve only dabbled in making jewelery before giving up out of frustration but this piece is beautiful and I’ll definitely be trying my hand at it when I’m out of my new baby haze!

Baby Jeff,
You are one week old today baby.

Time is going fast and slow at the same time. I love you and the little contented sounds you make as you nurse. I love how offended and peeved you look when Daddy and I ask you questions. I love how wiggly you are and how calm you get when daddy talks to you.

You sleep 2 to 4 hour stretches at a time. We’re still working in your understanding if night vs day but you’re getting better. Sometimes I think you sleep better for Grandma than for either Daddy or I! Nursing really hurt the first week and it’s still extremely painful on one side but it’s getting better. Giving me hope that I’ll be able to do this long term like I want to for you!

You’ve soaked through a lot of clothes and blankets, we’ve done laundry every day this week. It’s more than Daddy expected I think.

We haven’t started to cloth diaper you, yet. I want you to have a better, more solid routine first. Plus we got a lot of diapers from the hospital. The only problem is you don’t fit in size ones yet! So we’ll have to keep buying newborn size for a bit. Hopefully not too long, one of the reasons we decided to do cloth was the cost factor.

We’ve given you two baths so far. You screamed bloody murder with the first but hated the second slightly less, but you did pee on yourself as soon as you were clean of course!

You’re pretty well behaved and don’t cry too often (probably jinxing us by saying it). You bob your head when you’re hungry and make little coo-ing noises in your sleep that are just the cutest things I’ve ever heard. You don’t really enjoy your swing but you love to be bounced, especially on the edge of our bed.

I’ve been taking a ton of pictures of you on my phone, you’re just too cute all the time! It was really hard to take these pictures with my real camera though, you are such the wiggly butt when you aren’t swaddled. You never stop moving. You already roll over to your side by yourself, you are almost never on your back longer than a few moments when we lie you down. You also have great neck control and have since you were born. It’s pretty amazing to see. Everyone who has seen you has commented that you have eyelashes. I didn’t know that was so unique but your eyelashes are adorable. You get them from your Daddy, he has super long beautiful eyelashes too.

You had your first doctor visit on Tuesday May 1st. The doctor said you seemed pretty perfect, you weighed about 8lbs 4oz. You hated having to get undress to be checked over and you nursed almost the whole time we were there. I’m really nervous taking you out of the house still and probably will be for a while. But as soon as I heal up a bit and can walk again, Daddy and I plan on taking you for a walk around the neighborhood every night! I hope you enjoy it.

I’m still working on writing your birth story, I’m having a harder time writing it than I thought I would. It only lasted 10 hours but it’s taking me so much longer to write out my thoughts and the whole experience.

Baby Jeff,
You’re 2 weeks old now!

You’ve been in our lives for 14 whole days and it feels like so much longer but at the same time, it feels like I was just pregnant yesterday. This second week has been harder than the first. You are (mostly) a perfect angel during the day but at night you have a hard time falling asleep and a harder time nursing. But the nice thing is that you do sleep two stretches of 4-6 hours every night! Sometimes it just takes an hour or more to get you back to sleep after a nursing session.

We had a second doctors appointment for you this week, it was just a basic weight check. You were supposed to be back to your birth weight (8lbs 12oz) by the time you were 10 days old. You were 9lbs 4 oz! You gained 1lb in a week! I’m so glad, I was worried with all the latch, nursing and spit up issues we’ve been having that you weren’t gaining well but you’re doing fantastically. Oh! Your umbilical cord fell off this week! I think it came off a bit early because it’s still bleeding and we’ve been having to clean off the blood and make sure it doesn’t get infected.

We started doing some tummy time though this week, since your belly button is (mostly) normal. You did really well the first time and most of the time you really enjoy it. You are so strong, you hold you head up for a few seconds! You’ve had great control of your neck and head since birth and I think it’s just getting better everyday! You also have been rolling from your back to your side since you were born and once this week during tummy time you pushed (with your feet), from your tummy to your side! I told Grandma and she freaked out! You’re so advanced for you age.

You really like being read to, Daddy has been reading you fables and fairy tales at night and started to read The Hobbit to you at night as well. You also like to be sung to and hummed to. Daddy sang you to sleep a few nights ago and you usually fall asleep for me in the mornings if I hum “Hope Fades” by Annie Lennox from Lord of the Rings. We are turning you in to a nerd already, and I’m sure you’ll love it.

While you don’t always sleep well at night, you set your own schedule pretty well. You’ve been waking up around 6am to nurse, sleep until about 9 or 10 to nurse then stay awake until about 1 or 2 to nurse then sleep until 5 or 6, nurse then are awake until about 8 or 9 then nurse then sleep until about 1 or 2 and then sleep until 6am! It’s not always a perfect schedule but it’s nice to know we have a good 4 hours in the afternoon that Daddy and I can go out and be together or get some work done.

In the pictures for week 2 above, you’ve wearing one of the handmade onesies we made for you! It didn’t last long though, you peed yourself and then took a while to calm back down so we did the rest of the shoot in just a diaper (with Daddy on the floor to keep you happy!) Oh and just for reference, the little monkey next to you is about 13 inches long.

A letter to myself:

Dear Katie on July 7, 2006

You are on your way home from the hospital right now. Eric is in the driver seat, you are sitting in the back with Tyler, only 3 days old and fastened snuggly in his new car seat. As Tyler sleeps you and Eric exchange nervous smiles via the review mirror, as first time parents neither of you know what to expect or do next. This is all uncharted territory; all you know is that your lives are about to change and you so badly want to get it right.

As I compose this letter to you, to myself 6 years in the past, I’m thinking about how in a few short months Tyler will turn 6 years old. I scarcely know where to begin to describe the emotions that go through my mind as I think about Tyler turning 6. Everything that’s happened up until this point, everything that will happen from here. Thinking about my kids growing up causes my heart to become a melting pot of emotions, however from time to time I feel oddly serene; I feel at peace with time and what it creates and destroys.

Today is one of those serene days, by now you not only have Tyler but you have girl as well, Claire, who will be 5 in August. I watch the kids as I type; they are playing a board game on the floor in front of me, laughing and smiling and just being. Just being, happy. I’m okay with the fact that they are no longer infants or toddlers, even though at times I miss that stage with all my heart. They are so innocent yet the real world is starting to reach them. Going to school, having talks about strangers and danger and safety and fire escape routes. These discussions were irrelevant when they were only a few months old. They were an extension of me that I could protect and I didn’t need to give them instruction or advice because I had control over them. Knowing now that the control is fleeting is very bittersweet. It’s something you push from your mind at times just to function during the day. You worry about them a lot. You would wrap yourself around them like a shield forever if you could — I know you feel that today, driving home from the hospital, and I’m telling you that feeling won’t go away. You have to find a way to live with it, for time passing to be okay, for change to be okay.

I guess what I’m trying to say is savor every moment right now. Cherish holding them as infants. I know you are scared and you doubt your abilities to raise this baby, you feel so humbled and unqualified, but you are a natural. Your love for you kids guides you and aids in your natural instinct of what’s best for them. Time passes so quickly, it will be 2012 in the blink of an eye. When you are tired and just want to sit on the couch and unwind, take Tyler up on his offer to snuggle in bed… even if all you want to do is to go to bed yourself. You won’t regret the time you spend with him, the stories he tells you, the talks you have, listening to him sleep and dream and watching him drift off so peacefully and the comfort of your arms. Cherish protecting them in this way while you can. Give them your love so when you drop them off at school for the first time they are confident in themselves and your love and that will give them the strength to face this world that deep down excites you and scares you.

There will be a day, that will come sooner than you think, that you will crave his attention and his attention will be harder to get than you want to believe. What is most important is time and never wasting it. Giving your children your time, as cliche as it sounds, it is the most important thing you can give them in life.

Love,

Katie on April 16, 2012

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A note from Kendra:

This is such a beautiful post, Katie. I love your attitude and it’s such a great message to new mothers like myself. Thank you for sharing this letter to yourself, I will keep your advice to yourself in mind for my own children too.

It’s my first Mother’s Day ever!

I was planning to come here and write about being a mother, how much I love it and how great it is.

But, my biggest blog rule is to be honest and true to myself.

So while I’m not ready to go in depth and share lots of details yet…I’ve talked in depth about my depression on here. Well, it’s not  any better. On top of severe clinical depression, an anxiety disorder with almost daily panic attacks, I’m now dealing with postpartum depression as well as the stress of normal life. I’m pretty bogged down in so many emotions lately I haven’t had proper time to process being a mother.

I love my newborn son, I’m so happy he’s finally in this world. I love watching him sleep and to see how happy he is when his Daddy is holding him or singing to him, but I’m not ready for myself to talk about my emotions on being a mother beyond that just yet.

So for today, I’m going to just go hang out with my two guys and try to enjoy the day.