Friday, August 26, 2011

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 24)

7 quick takes sm1 7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 140)


1) I made a to-do list this week. I know that sounds insignificant, but it's the first time I've actually made a list of things to do since Joseph was born. It's the first time I've felt like I can actually get things done with any kind regularity. So, although I have hardly touched my to-do list this week, the very fact that I made a to-do list is a step in the right direction.

2) I was able to follow my laundry schedule this week. Similar to #1, this hasn't happened since Joseph was born. It was nice not having to worry about laundry every single day. I feel like I'm getting back into the swing of things - yay!

3) I realize this commercial has been around for a while, but it gets me every time.


4) Joseph went to the doctor this week. At six and a half weeks he weighed 12lbs 8oz and was 23in long - 90th percentile for weight and somewhere between 75th and 90th for height. At least I can be assured that - now that I'm spacing his feedings a little more - he isn't going hungry :)

5) This has been the week for wacky happenings here in MD. First the earthquake and now hurricane Irene. Hopefully we won't get hit too bad with the hurricane - if the forecast is bad enough I'll likely head to my parents house with Joseph for a while. It's weird that we even need to think about where to go and what to do in the event of a natural disaster.

6) Ever since Joseph was born, priority parking for me means a space right next to the cart return. As I drive into a parking lot I'm scanning for any spaces that are open next to the cart return. It's just easier to put my groceries (or whatever I've bought) into my car along with Joseph and not have to walk far away to return the cart. If I didn't get a space close enough I would have to take Joseph with me to the cart return, then haul him back to the car (and he's getting heavy to carry in his carseat).

7) Joseph makes some adorable faces. This one is my favorite. His eyes get really wide (although they aren't super wide in this pic) and he makes a perfect circle with his little mouth. Too cute!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Joseph's Baptism Weekend


Joseph was baptized on Sunday, August 7. The whole weekend was spent with family and friends and was a great time.

The weekend started with some introductions:
Joseph and Clare meet
Joseph meets Aunt Alyse
Joseph meets Grandpa Rayel
Joseph meets Aunt Julia
Joseph meets Aunt Tiffany

Joseph also met his Uncle Adam and cousin Adam, but I didn't get any pictures of that :(
After the introductions we spent some time hanging out. 
Hangin' out with Grandpa Fischer.
Chillin' with Nanna.

This mostly consisted of adoring Joseph and Clare and attempting to keep Adam distracted so he wouldn't wreck our un-babyproofed house :)
I think we were fairly successful in this endeavor.
After a couple days of hanging out we got to the main event: the baptism!
Joseph did really well through the whole process.
Joseph is blessed with chrism oil.
He didn't cry once.
Fr. LaHood dries Joseph's head. Congratulations
to our newest little Catholic!
Perhaps it helped that he was sucking on his pacifier (a feat in and of itself at that point), but I was just glad we got through the whole thing without him crying.
Right after the baptism. Godparents Julia and Adam, Joseph,
me, Will, Fr. LaHood.
After the baptism we had everyone over to our house for a little celebration. It was so nice to be able to hang out with our friends and family.
Joseph with Ben and Michelle
Joseph with Maureen
Joseph even had two really awesome cakes to celebrate the occasion.
Made from scratch by our friend Vanessa. I was
super impressed (the lamb is 3D)! Thanks Vanessa!
Aunt Julia got this cake for Joseph. Thanks so much
for getting it for us!
On Monday everyone went home, and Will, Joseph and I went back to our routine...and by routine I mean lack of routine. :)
It was so great having family in town and being able to celebrate Joseph's baptism with family and friends. Thanks to everyone who was able to make it!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

A Trip Down Memory Lane

I meant to write this post several days ago, but...life happened. Anyway, August 17 marked one year from the day I started this blog. (Woohoo!) So, I figured I'd take a minute to remember why I even decided to start blogging in the first place. It all started with this fiasco - my first clear sign that I have no idea how to run a house. Seeing as how I had only been at home full time for a couple months at that point I was sure there would be many more incidences like it, and it was just too hilarious not to share. Luckily, everything got cleared up fairly quickly, and I haven't really had any more incidences like that again.
There is (of course) a lot that goes in to running a house and home ownership in general, and I've documented some of my attempts at these tasks. Over the past year I have learned about gardening (whether I like yard work or not), a little about cooking (I have particularly enjoyed trying out new recipes and sharing some of my favorites), a lot about pregnancy (and it's perks!), and now parenting. It's been fun being able to document so much, and I particularly enjoy being able to document my experiences with Joseph. It seems to much easier for me to document his milestones virtually than by keeping a journal (although I am attempting to keep a journal as well), and I love being able to share the fun (and cute!) times with all of you. Here's to another fun year blogging!

Monday, August 15, 2011

Is it Day or Night?

Will and I received a card that looked approximately like this:
Day
Night
While I find the card to be quite funny (and adorable), I no longer find it funny when Joseph wants to play at 4am right after his 3:30am feeding. He goes straight to sleep after his feedings during the day, but at night he almost always wants to play. What's up with that?

Friday, August 12, 2011

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 23)

7 quick takes sm1 7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 137)


1) Joseph was baptized this past weekend! It was a great weekend with family in town and lots of friends to celebrate. I'm hoping to do a post with some pictures from the weekend soon even though you've already seen a few of the pictures :)

2) I finally got up the nerve to weigh myself this week. For whatever reason I was dreading getting on the scale after delivery. I was sure the news would be depressing, so I simply avoided the whole situation. But for some reason, I got an inkling to find out how much I weigh this week. And it wasn't nearly as bad as I had imagined (thank goodness). Sure, I still don't fit into any of my pre-pregnancy clothes, but I'm ok with that for now. The "no sweets diet" has commenced until I hit my pre-pregnancy weight (I had to wait until the baptism weekend was over).

3) After reading this post I have a newfound drive to get my tush out of bed and join the peaceful protests that occur every Monday morning at the Germantown abortion clinic from 8-10am. It is, of course, going to take a fairly significant amount of planning and it may mean that I need to go to bed  earlier than normal (whatever that means). But it's a worthy cause that I feel like I should support.
It's shocking to me that anyone could either perform an abortion on someone else or have an abortion performed on them at all, much less in the third trimester!

4) When Joseph is particularly upset he sounds like a pterodactyl. It's kind of funny. He is now fondly known (to me) as "my little pterodactyl." Maybe it'll be one of those nicknames that sticks through adulthood. Now I just need to get it on video so I can share it with everyone :)

5) Joseph makes the cutest noises when he's going to sleep and waking up. Well....it's cute until it keeps me awake after his 3am feeding. This is another thing I want to capture on video. Hopefully I'll have some footage soon.

6) I have done a lot of laundry this week. I seriously don't know how all the laundry would get done if I had a full-time job (outside the home, that is). It makes me feel so blessed that I have such a great husband who works hard to allow me to be able to stay home and a son who now sleeps in consistently "long" (read: 2-hour) chunks of time allowing me to get things done around the house.

7) Joseph turned 1 month old on Wednesday. It's amazing how time flies. I realize it's only been a month, but still. He's already getting big - he's starting to outgrow his size small diapers already (and is practically in size 2 disposables)!! Now I'm debating whether I want to continue with the cloth diapers. The lazy side of me wants to just go with disposables - it's just so easy to toss the diaper in the trash and never have to worry about it again. The practical, money-saving side of me screams "go with the cloth diapers!!!" because over time the cloth diapers will be a huge savings (assuming we are blessed with more kids). Also, I'm not sure whether the cloth diapers will get easier once I'm finally able to get into a real routine.... Anyone who has used or is using cloth diapers and wants to weigh in, I'm all ears.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Life is Full of Firsts

Joseph's first family photo.

Joseph meets his grandparents for the first time.
Joseph meets (3 of) his aunts for the first time. He also met his uncle, but I didn't get a picture of that :(

Joseph meets his cousins for the first time.

Joseph goes for his first walk.

Joseph drinks his first bottle.
Woohoo for me remembering to take pictures of all these things! Hopefully I can continue to document all of Joseph's "firsts."

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Stages of the Swaddle

After a long first night at home from the hospital Will and I finally learned that swaddling Joseph was the key to getting him to sleep for any length of time. For the first couple weeks Joseph would startle fairly often and every time he startled he'd wake himself up. Swaddling helped control his startle to the point where it wouldn't wake him up, so this was the key to us getting any sleep.
Stage 1: Snug as a bug in a rug.
Over the past few weeks, however, Joseph has slowly learned to evade our swaddle attempts.
Stage 2: One hand peeks out.
Luckily, he doesn't startle nearly as often, so this doesn't affect his ability to sleep too much.
Stage 3A: One arm is entirely out.
If Joseph had his way we would leave his arms out of the swaddle every time - he likes to have them next to his face.
Stage 3B: Both hands peek out.
It's kind of cute watching him slowly get his arms out throughout the course of each nap.

Stage 4: Success has been achieved - both
 arms are completely out of the swaddle.

Monday, August 1, 2011

I missed the little guy

I ventured out of the house without Joseph Saturday night to grab some things at the grocery store (what a glamorous Saturday night - I know). I wanted to get this errand out of the way before Will went back to work (he went back today).
The whole shopping experience was just a little weird. It was weird to drive again. (This was my first time driving since I delivered Joseph.) It was weird to be alone at the grocery store again (this surprised me a lot since I've been to the grocery store alone for so many years now). It was weird to think that I had a specific time frame in which to get my shopping done because Joseph can only go so long between feedings. The whole thing was just....weird.
While I was shopping I had the realization that my life is definitely different. You would think that bringing Joseph home from the hospital would have done this to me. But the feeling was much more poignant at the grocery store, and it surprised me.
I was also surprised at how tired I felt while shopping. Up until that point I thought I was feeling pretty good, but I was noticeably more tired while shopping than I used to be. I hardly even cared to compare prices! So, while I enjoyed the opportunity to go and do something "normal" without the hassle of taking a newborn with me, I was definitely ready to get back home to both my husband and my sweet Joseph. I missed my little guy!