Sunday, November 21, 2010

nicknames


One of the most fun parts of pregnancy was brainstorming baby names. I would scour books and websites making sure I hadn't missed "the perfect name" for this baby. Austin found this particularly funny because he knew that it wouldn't matter what we actually named this child. There would probably be very few times that I would call the baby by his true name. Austin even went so far as to (jokingly) assert that he should be the one to name the child because I would never use it anyway.

He was right.

And here are some of the names you might hear me call my son on any given day... and please don't try to understand. I can't explain them, and you shouldn't try to either.

Sugar Bear
Big Man
Tiny
Denber
Funky Winkerbean
JP Morgan
Mr. Baby Man
Mijo (pronounced mee-ho)
Bilbo Baggins

Here are some recent pictures of the Cutie Pie himself... at about two and a half months:



Tuesday, November 9, 2010

35 Days


So I haven't blogged in a while because I've been stalling. I knew that it would be challenging to write this post, and I never wanted to sit down and do it. How would I put into words what the month of October was like? I'm still not quite sure what I'll say, but here's my attempt...

How do I begin to describe the last month of our lives? Austin and I feel that the last 35 days were probably the hardest days in our lives, yet in other ways, the most amazing.

From October 1st through November 4th, Austin was in Canada. That's right, for about a month I was a single mom while Austin co-directed a film in Saskatchewan. Austin has been working on this film for months, and the fact that he was able to go up and co-direct it was a huge answered prayer. It was just difficult timing, considering he had to leave before Denver was even a month old.

Never in my life have I had to rely on the Lord for my strength in such a huge way. Let's face it: babies are really cute but reeeeally hard work. Adjusting to being a new mom has been quite the transition for me...nursing, sleep deprivation, diapers, spit up, sleep deprivation, crying, sleep deprivation. You get the idea. Going through all of this without my husband for the last month was very challenging. Yet now that it's over and my husband is back with us in Texas, I am actually glad that we had this unique opportunity.

So many family and friends stepped up to help me in a time of need. I constantly had people in and out of our home... cleaning the house, bringing me meals, watching Denver while I ran errands, watching Denver while I took a nap, taking Fable on walks, and so much more. Sometimes all I needed was a friend to stop by and keep me company.

I've always loved my mom, but I now appreciate her in a whole new way. Not only because she raised me (and had many sleepless nights because of me), but because she moved in with me for a while during October to help me out. I don't think I would've survived without her.

I am generally a pretty private person. I don't usually like a lot of visitors, and I definitely am not used to asking for help. Yet I became a pro at asking for and receiving help during the last month. It was very humbling to realize how much I was dependent on others to help me get through daily life.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who helped Austin, Denver and me throughout the last 35 days. We love you so much. You have blessed our lives.

But enough about my personal journey... allow me to brag for a moment about my husband. Did I mention he DIRECTED a feature length film?! I am so proud of him. Here are some pictures of the film set he worked on...








Monday, November 1, 2010

happy and healthy


Denver is a happy and healthy baby boy. He had his eight week check up today, and he is a growing boy. Don't believe me? Here's proof...

September 7 (his birthday):
height: 22.5 inches
weight: 8 lbs. 14 oz.

November 1 (today):
height: 24.5 inches
weight: 13 pounds 6 oz.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Autumn in Kirkwood


While I officially now claim Texas as my home, I am still a Midwest girl at heart. Here are a few pictures of why I love my hometown of Kirkwood, MO during Fall.


wearing gold for Mizzou...GO TIGERS

beautiful Fall leaves...



spending time with Aunt Colleen


spending time with Uncle Fes

pumpkins at the Farmers' Market



Thursday, October 21, 2010

Birth Story on Mommypotamus

There are very few blogs that I actually read consistently. Mommypotamus is one of them. Heather is a woman who lives in the DFW area and shares tips on how she strives to lead an all natural lifestyle with her family. She has yummy recipes for busy moms, stories about breastfeeding, pregnancy, home birth, and other things I'm interested in.

Right now she is encouraging her readers to share their birth stories, so I linked Denver's birth story to her page. Feel free to check it out, as well as other birth stories.


Monday, October 18, 2010

6 Weeks

I have been neglecting the blog. I apologize.

Denver is growing and changing so much. He's about 12 lbs. (I'll have a more accurate weight when he goes in for a check-up next week). He's also a very tall boy... some people have described him as lanky.

He is losing his hair, but only in the front, so he now has a receding hairline. I fondly refer to him as my Benjamin Button baby.

Here are the most recent pictures... enjoy!


laughing with his Great Grandma

Denver can smile!

taking a bath in the sink

action shot... spitting up on Granddad

me with my sweet boy



Sunday, October 3, 2010

LOVE

As Denver gets close to being one month old, I thought I would update everyone on how our family is growing and changing...


Denver loves...
  • taking baths
  • being outside
  • staring out the window
  • going to the bathroom at the exact moment that I'm changing his diaper
  • driving in the car
  • going on walks
  • swinging in his baby swing that our friends Ryan and Brandi let us borrow. THANK YOU!!
Denver does not love...
  • getting out of the bath and drying off
  • hiccups

Mama loves...
  • when Denver stretches out his arms and legs as he's waking up
  • watching Denver cuddle with his daddy
  • going on walks around the block in this beautiful Fall weather
  • kissing Denver all over his face

Mama does not love...
  • when Denver decides to throw a party in the middle of the night and is up for hours at a time
  • when we walk away from the changing table with a clean diaper and Denver immediately fills up his new diaper








Daddy loves...
  • when Denver sneezes
  • getting excited about Denver and Fable being partners in crime someday
  • cuddling with Denver
Daddy does not love...
  • changing diapers