three months of george...

My sweet George,

Today you are three months! This time has flown so fast yet, I can't imagine my life before you. You seem to be growing right before our eyes. Once our little skinny monkey, you now have big kissable cheeks and the most delicious arm and thigh rolls. When you were born, your eyelashes were so tiny we questioned if they were really there. Now they are growing in full, dark and are longer by the day. Your 0-3 month clothing days are numbered, only a few pieces remain in your drawers.

You are such a good eater and are nursing about every two hours during the day. Nighttime is still a work in progress. Sometimes you wake only once and give Mommy lots of much needed rest, and other nights you are up two, three times or more. We're still trying to figure out a routine that works best. You have established your own routine of napping for 2+ hours in the late morning through early afternoon. This is usually the time of day for outings with Mommy during the week and the car rides and ambient noise of errands helps you sleep well. When you are awake we are blessed to get lots and lots of belly laughs, giggles and full on grins like this one:

The last two weeks you have met several new baby friends - Zachary, Cameron, Henry, Carter (below) and Porter. You are very curious by nature and love to look at the faces of other babies, other new people you meet and anything new in your environment. Daddy and I love seeing you concentrate on something - staring intently and trying to figure things out.

And you are figuring out new things nearly every day. About a week ago, you discovered that you could swat at the toys hanging from the arch over your playmat to make them move and, now, you can grasp at your toys when we hand them to you...and bring them right to your mouth.

You love your Daddy and smile every day when he walks in the door from work. You track us both across the room and turn your head when you hear one of our voices coming from another direction. It is so rewarding for to see that you know we are your people. Your coos have now turned into conversations with us. We talk to you about, well, just about anything and you love to respond to us with an assortment of gurgles. Your most talkative times are in the hour right after your first morning nap and in the early evening.

Your hip is healing very well and you are now out of your harness eight hours each day. As soon as you are "sprung" each day, usually around 12 noon, you kick your legs repeatedly and extend them as far as you can, getting a good stretch. You are so go about putting it back on at night and never complain but, you are absolutely enjoying your new-found freedom each day.

My life is so much sweeter with you, George. I'm thankful every day to have you for my son.

All my love,

Mommy

sharing the love or, um...codes

We are loyal Pampers users. In almost three months, we've have only a few leaky diapers and, truthfully, all but one or two were due to "user error" (don't make me specify. If you are a Pampers fan and don't know about their Gifts To Grow program, I'd suggest taking a look at their site. Each of their products has a code and, after a while, they all add up to be redeemed for FREE toys, photos, gift cards, etc. One of the best pats of this? Shipping on all of the redeemable items is also FREE.

I had a few minutes of internet time today, went on a search for current codes online and found all of these. They worked for me and, being the good sharer my mom raised me to be, I'm posting them here:

GTGPLAY3USA2010
GTGPLAY1USA2010
MARFACEBOOK2010
GTGTEAMUSA2010
GTGPLAY2USA2010
WELCOMEBONUS089
WELCOME2GTG0809
OHAMANDAAWGTG08
THRIFTYMOMMYGTG
GROWWITHVILLAGE
XKCMYXFVD96VXVK
welcome2village
GRATUIT89102009
JUSTBECAUSE2009
JOINTHEFUNGTG09
STARTEARNINGNOW

Enjoy and happy diapering :-)

i am a scrapbooker...

The summer of 1996 I was a brand-new college graduate, starting my first post-grad jobs as an early intervention worker and a residence hall director at my alma mater. In just three months time I would also take on my first classes toward my Master's degree. It was a full plate and I dove in head first. Still working at my college allowed me to keep one toe in the bliss of my undergrad years, if only for a bit longer.

Always a lover of crafts, I frequented the big box stores (such as they were at the time) and that summer, stumbled across a pitifully tiny section in Frank's Nursery and Crafts labeled "Scrapbooking." A rack of flimsy colored cardstock, several packages of markers and decorative edged scissors hung along side a display of copy-your-own pattern books. If you haven't been involved in this hobby as long - these were books of hand-drawn, black and white patterns that were designed so that crafter's could copy the patterns onto cardstock, creating patterned paper. Yes, I'm serious. I bought it all up, brought it home to create my first pages to remember my just passed college years and, that day, I became a scrapbooker.

That September a specialty craft store, The Crafter's Workshop (now an incredible wholesale outfit), opened the next town over and I was a goner. I scrapbooked more and more, added rubber stamping and cardmaking and, within a couple of months, was teaching classes at the shop. I was head over heels in love with creating and teaching other women everything I learned.

I haven't scrapbooked much in the past two years with all of the stuff of life and whirlwind path I've been on. But, I am still a scrapbooker. The beauty of this hobby is that you don't lose it. You collect a lot of supplies (and collect, and collect, and then collect some more) and they wait patiently to be used. New fads and techniques come, go and come back again. In the end, memory keeping is at the heart of this. Yes, it's a creative outlet and that is a wonderful thing. But, scrapbooking has a purpose...to slow down and document all of the life we are living. If you are passionate about scrapbooking at one time, it has a hold on you.

What is my point?

I haven't scrapped since July ::gulp:: of last year, at least not traditionally. Instead, lately I've been focusing on being a new mom and photo-documenting my boy's first, well, everything. I'm taking a photo a day (more like dozens) and compiling my Project Life album. For me, for us, for him. That IS scrapbooking. Just without adhesive and embellishments.

I am still a scrapbooker (says so right in my sidebar --->) and I still love and believe in this hobby passionately. When things slow down a bit, I will get out my trusty yellow ATG gun, patterned papers and obscene stash of letter stickers to create. A million page ideas buzz in my head every day. I haven't yet figured out a way to fit it in but, I know I will get there. I look forward to that time but, for now, I'm happy just getting to know my boy, taking photos of him and writing his stories down to refer back to when the time is right.

Still, I hate to ignore a request for layouts so - Diane, these are for you. A few pages that I completed back in that last crop in July but never posted:

This photo was taken the week after our wedding on the observation deck of the Empire State Building. Such a happy day...I hardly believe how much has happened since then.Just a few days before taking this photo, I found out I was expecting. I needed to capture some of the thoughts that were spinning in my head the "new haircut" bit was kind of tongue in cheek - how very minor that was in the midst of the wonderful and monumental changes occurring. Our very first look at our baby George. At the time I made this layout we still hadn't found out his gender but, I knew in my soul it was a boy so I went with the blue background. And, I was right.

Hoping to share new layouts before too long.

project life: week 10

George's favorite new snack...chewing on his fist:

Finally enjoying tummy time. Or, at least, humoring mommy! (completely in love with this shot!):

Having quite a lengthy discussion with the animals on his bouncy seat. I love hearing how much more vocal he becomes each week. Delicious baby coos:

Such a little ham already!

Tools of the trade. Pampers Swaddlers and Gold Bond Sanitizer lotion are so worth the price but, Target's Up&Up makes wonderful generic subs for sensitive, alcohol-free wipes and diaper ointment. Figuring these little things out as we go:

Mr. Boom thanked me for supporting him this past week with a delicious dinner. Check out the plating skills!

In one day G went from looking at the dangling toys to raching out, batting them around and then, grabbing a teether to stick in his mouth. Slow down buddy, you are way too quick a learner!

excuse the mess...

I'm in the progress of making some changes to the blog and am still playing around with the sidebar...hope to have it cleaned up and resolved soon!

i never {really} win anything...

I love a good contest.

Maybe it's the hopeless romantic in me but, I've always liked the concept of throwing my name in a hat, commenting on a blog or typing my e-mail in an entry form followed by the hopeful wondering, the "will I or won't I" suspense. I wouldn't begin to try and count the number of giveaways I've tried for. Thousands, perhaps. There have been little things I've won here and there. The small stuffed animal won in a Hallmark raffle when I was about nine. My beloved Scotch ATG adhesive gun from a first anniversary drawing at my (then) local scrapbook shop. A post-bound album at a weekend crop. No matter how small, I was always grateful and excited to win. But, secretly, doesn't everyone hope to win a big one? The lottery? Something grand?

Tonight, I did.

I entered a birthday contest at The Maternal Lens blog a couple of days ago. There were several amazing prize package giveaways related to photography and any would have been wonderful . But, the last prize was something a little more special - a photo shoot with the incredibly talented eye of Tara Leigh. She is based in New York and her photographs? Ah-mazing. Since we live in the area, I threw my hat in the ring. Why not? Could happen, right?

Um, right.

It DID happen.

I won....squeeeee!!!

Thank you to Shannon, Jen, Meg, Sarah and Megan at The Maternal Lens. I am thrilled and so, so grateful!

11 weeks today...

Clearly, he's very excited about approaching 3 months!

week 9: project life tuesday

Just can't get enough of photographing these delicious, full cheeks and soulful eyes. Sometimes I think I'm putting too may of these face shots in his album. Then, I remind myself of just how fast this little face is changing and I keep at it:

Enjoying his playmat and some time in the nursery playing with Mommy:

Lately, one of G's favorite spots is his changing mat. Fussy? Just lay him down here and we're almost guaranteed smiles and coos as he studies the shelves above his dresser or watches the ceiling fan go 'round. This shot was taken mid-giggle, likely at the dangling feet of one of his shelf-sitter stuffed animals. His legs are up here partially because of his hip harness but, mainly because he kicks up a storm when he's happy and excited:

Fluffy hair! Right after a bath his hair is downy, fluffy and looks so light! Makes me wonder where that hair color came from:

Took our first road trip today to visit some of his cousins. Bella and G are the closest in age of the babies born to our family in the last few years and they had a chance to size each other up. Bella in her bumbo seat and G in the borrowed pink bouncer:

A "conversation" with Papou, G's paternal grandpa:

The one drawer in G's dresser that has gotten the most use in the past month and a half. Piles of sleep sacks (the only clothing that fits well over his hip harness) and clean burp cloths. Just a snapshot of daily life right now. I think it's important to get some of these mundane things in the album here and there as they are the details most likely to be forgotten over time:

blog makeover giveaway!

I certainly want one! This tired blog is in need of a new look and Small Bird Studio is giving away a makeover with all the bells and whistles. Entry details are on her blog :-)

Project Life Tuesday: Week 8

Yes, week 8...although this is the first week I've gotten my photos edited in time to post. Before George was born, I heard about Becky Higgins' Project Life kit and knew it would be a way for me to scrapbook his first year of life, in an easier way than usual. I ordered the kit and committed myself to taking a photo a day of his/our life for his first year. And, I've kept that promise. Editing the photos and getting them printed? Well, that was another story. But, I'm up-to-date as of today. My new commitment in this? Edit photos every week and post them here. So, on to last week's pics:

George's first nap in his crib. He has been rapidly outgrowing his moses basket next to our bed(::sad::) and it was time to start the transition, just shy of two months:

One of G's new discoveries, chewing on his hands...constantly:

Finally loving bath time, a very nice change of pace:

More photos for Wednesday because...he's TWO MONTHS!

We've had a smiley little guy for a couple of weeks but now, we get the added bonus of giggles and the beginnings of belly laughs...the very best part of each day:
My mother-in-law, G's YiaYia came over to visit with him - and gave me some hands free time to do all of this photo editing:

Kisses from his adoring Daddy: And what an end to this week - our first wedding anniversary and G's 40 day blessing at church:

I'm so happy that I started this project and am looking forward to seeing it come together over the course of the year. Taking photos each day when you have a very cute (and not yet mobile) subject is easy but, I know there will be challenges in the coming months. I'm keeping my eye on the end result: a pictorial journey of this incredible year and being able to share that with my son in the future.