five months old!

Our babbling ball of energy is 5 months old today! He has been such a blessing. He is a little flirt, picking up cougar girlfriends at HEB every week. He talks nonstop, unless he is completely enthralled, which does happen occasionally. He even babbles in his sleep, like his dad. He may look like me, but he is just like his dad.

At 5 months old, Ethan:

• LOVES Bear. Bear is Ethan's favorite thing. No matter how upset Ethan is, if you get him close to Bear, he will giggle, or at the very least, calm down.
• Rolls his way around his play mats - front to back to front to back.
• Is a little scooter! He actually just wedged his little head under the couch a while ago. Since he didn't cry about it, I'm guessing it was probably more frightening for me than it was painful for him.
• Hates his car seat. I've learned that errands must be run right after nap/feeding him, and that I had better get through the grocery store quick, otherwise I'll be carrying him through the store, as I did today...
• Still sleeps fairly well, about 8-10 hours, though most nights we do have to pat him back to sleep around 1-2 in the morning.
• Is a bouncing machine. He really enjoys his doorway bouncer and the Excersaucer! They're helping him stand a little better.
• Is really flexible. He loves sticking his feet in his mouth! (He actually was doing this on one ultrasound!)

In summary, this little boy is absolutely dying to be mobile, and Austin and I know that the end of the "blob" phase is near. I'll say that we can't wait for him to be able to sit up in a grocery cart. Shopping with a baby who hates his stroller/car seat but can't sit up is torture.

His schedule has changed a bit over the last month. I've learned that his first nap comes quickly after waking up - as though he had to wake up to eat, but really, he just wants to go back to sleep. It's a struggle keeping him up for two hours, and if it were a perfect world, he would stay up for three. His other wake times are typically about 2.5-3 hours, followed by a 45-60 minute nap. One nap in the day will typically be a little longer - about 1.5-2 hours - and without that longer nap, he can really have a bad day! Now that I am a full-time stay-at-home mom, I base my schedule around Ethan, and I don't mind his idiosyncrasies!

We are looking forward to the joys his 6th month will bring! The last 5 months have passed so quickly, they give new meaning to James 4:14; these little moments, small joys and frustrations, are each part of a vanishing mist.

xo,

if you're thinking about having a baby...

If you're thinking about having a baby, you should expect to:

-have sleepless nights (but there will be naps, too)

-love naptime, even if you're not the one napping

-get creative when figuring out ways to make a baby laugh or stay awake

-forget to clean your house before someone comes over

-let the laundry overflow

-struggle with breastfeeding ("shouldn't" hurt, but it does at first!)

-have days when you want to do nothing

-have to get a babysitter more often than you thought you would

-spend time healing one way or another after s/he enters the world

-do things your own way, despite popular beliefs/opinions

-feel so much joy when your baby wakes up in the morning (and it's finally time to play!)

-remember what it is to be a kid again

-try to remember those nursery rhymes...

-learn a new role as a parent and guardian

-start using the word "no" way sooner than you thought you would

-work a little harder in your marriage

-enjoy your marriage more because of the joy the babies bring

-work dinner outings in around when a baby will be awake and happy

-take your dinner to go preemptively when a baby screams in a restaurant

But really, as a parent, you can expect to grow as a person. You are constantly dying to yourself: you have to go pick up that crying baby; you have to feed that baby; you have to change that poopy diaper; you have to clothe, bathe, and take care of that child.

Every new thing Ethan does is such a reward. It's not like I even worked for it - that little boy is working so hard to be mobile it is terrifying - but I feel rewarded when he develops a new skill. It's a precious sight, and I love watching him learn and grow. I guess these little moments of joy are the reward for the hard work with the feedings and the poopy diapers.

I'm just 4.5 months into this parenthood thing, but it is so much more wonderful than I ever anticipated. I've known from a young age that I wanted to be a mother; even if I never got married (thank the Lord I did, my husband is wonderful!), I wanted to have/adopt babies. I'm so grateful, now, to have the help of my husband, especially as I transition to being a stay at home mom (unless the perfect job pops up!). He is a support to me, and he is empathetic to my needs as a parent and a wife after a long day at home with Ethan.

xo (and extra x's & o's this Valentine's Day!),

one year later

It's been one year since we moved into this house... and so much has happened!

We tore into it with a guest bath remodel:

We took a trip to Hawaii:

We announced our pregnancy to the world:

We (I) painted the door:

We (I) painted MANY walls:

We (I) decorated a nursery:

We (someone else) replaced the tile:

We welcomed our baby boy:

And because I need a legitimate list to make myself feel better about all of our hard work, here it is:

-removed wallpaper in two rooms

-remodeled the entire guest bath, including new sheetrock, vanity, raising the light fixture, removing the furdown, and replacing the tile (ourselves)

-painted wallpaper in one room

-changed 5 entry locks (that was not fun!)

-painted the front door

-replaced the door to the back yard in the bedroom

-re-stained the grout in the master bath

-painted the shower enclosure (metal part) bronze in master bath

-replaced light in master bath

-removed all kitchen cabinet hardware, re-hung and re-painted kitchen cabinet doors

-re-tiled kitchen and entryway

-painted dining room

-painted entryway

-gave Ethan an awesome nursery, complete with wallpaper and chair rail

-created a play room

-redecorated the guest bedroom

-replaced the trash compactor with the wine fridge

I feel like they could do that in a day on HGTV, but for an expecting couple (who now has a baby!) I think that is really darn good! There were a lot of moments when I cried and wondered what we'd gotten ourselves into, but we both agree that we are starting to love this house... home is what you make it, and we are literally making it our own!

Happy one-year anniversary, house!

{for more updates & photos, click here and here!}

xo,

the (mostly) finished entryway

This is what our living room looked like before our party:

Filing taxes after buying a house and having a baby = a huge mess! We managed to get that all cleaned up, just as we wrapped up the entryway. We do still need to paint the hall doors (one is on the right of this picture - still beige!) but I am waiting to borrow my dad's paint sprayer so it goes faster...

Without further ado, here is the finished product!

The shelf is Threshold by Target. The quality is terrible
(even for Target!) so it may be returned soon...

A shot of the door with the new taupe paint

The paint in the entryway looks more brown than in the office space, but it is exactly the same. I love it - I told Austin the other day that the entryway makes me feel like we have a model home - not something from the 1970's that we're struggling to bring into the 21st century! If you're wondering, two coats of Benjamin Moore paint in two rooms (just the lower half) went further than two coats of Valspar just in the entryway. We did not use primer on the lower half of the entryway, and the Benjamin Moore covered it well (it was beige). We then used primer + two coats of Valspar's Winter Dawn on the top (that's the same shade the trim is but in a different finish). We have more Benjamin Moore paint left over than Valspar, so though it was twice as expensive, it covers twice as well. We hope to use the remaining paint in the master bathroom remodel, and we also hope to buy more of that tile for the eventual master bathroom remodel, so the house feels cohesive (and because we love the tile & paint together!)

We could not be happier with the results. Our next big projects are:
-painting all of the trim in the entire house
-painting all of the doors in the entire house
-making a decomposed granite patio in the back yard
-remodeling the master bath
-installing engineered hardwood in the office and living areas (potentially the hallway as well)

Recap of the before & after:

For now, the painting will continue on. We're waiting a little while to start on the rest. It's still too chilly - even in Texas - to work in the back yard!

xo,