FOUR months old

When Sal was first born, the consensus amongst friends was that the first three months are the most difficult. Each week is a new challenge, and the days run into nights, and nights into days. Before you know it, your baby is 4 months old.

Nick and I took that advice with a grain of salt, and I always chuckled when he'd answer with, "Well, I guess we'll find out", because really, what other option is there?

For the most part, our friends were right. The three months fly by. I woke up today and realized that we have a four month old. Whether the first three months will be the most difficult-- I guess we will find out after we have something to compare them to. Speaking for myself, they weren't all that hard. Perhaps my view is skewed because I'd struggled so long to have a baby that I could be responsible for. I had sat through enough baby showers and overheard mothers talk about how tough the first few months were..I don't really know, but the first three months were totally what I expected, with the exception of a son who refused was superhuman and didn't need daytime naps. With the help of my pediatrician, we improved that issue, and other than that...I'd do our first 3 months all over again.

So, now that Sally Bananas ( he earned a new nickname this month)  is a whopping 4 month old, he's gained a few new skills to add to his repetoire.

Our favorite?

Babbling. Laughing. Happy Shrieking.

I can not get enough.

Sal made his first long roadtrip this past month, and met many many cousins in Yosemite. He attracted all sorts of attention from the Asian tourists..many would walk by and do a double take with no shame...finger pointing included..What I wouldn't give to know what they were saying. I'd like to think it was along the lines of " cutest baby ever!". Nick warns me that I should prepare for much of the same when we arrive in China. There's something about babies that make them go nuts.

Sal didn't seem to mind the attention, although he is becoming more aware of where Nick and I are at all times. He was slow to warm to many of our family members, but I do believe it was a mix of tiredness and overstimulation from such a new environment for him. By our last night inYosemite, he was tolerant of other people holding him.

So, what's month 4 have in store for the little guy??

Travel.

Lots of it.

Wish us luck!

a fan'stache-tic onesie

I don't post many pictures of my ol man on here, but he has been sportin' a handlebar 'stache that's been making ladies swoon since March. At first people assumed that he was a participant in some sort of monthly mustache contest, but now however many months later, they are realizing that the 'stache is there for no other reason than the fact that he likes it..and why not? He rocks it like no other.

The mailman brought us a gift from our friends, the Hefleys, today--only fitting for my husband's son.

Even the eyeglasses match!

[NZ and nephew #3..April 2011]

And that's not all.... remember my post about the hounds tooth boppy pillow that was sold out on etsy when I went to buy it?? Look what was also included in the fan'stache-tic package!!!! My friend Liz sent me an email shortly after that post, stating that she had grey hounds tooth and would make me one...this one is far better than anything I could have ordered from etsy.

Thank you Hefley family!

visit Liz over at acraftyb.com

THIRTY weeks

How far along? 30 weeks! ( Crossing off another short term goal...fist pump!)

Total weight gain/loss: 27 lbs ..a little higher than what we aimed for at this point, but I'm an overachiever, what can I say?. I also found out that my thyroid took a nose dive for the first time during this pregnancy ( I have an endocrinologist watching me closely) and I am somehow VERY hypothyroid, so we upped my meds, which will hopefully combat some of my sluggishness, and the puffiness that has overtaken my face. I should have seen the signs, but it's hard to distinguish between the two.

Maternity clothes? I bought a couple of clearance rack Liz Lange long sleeve T's at Target. They should suffice for the remainder of this pregnancy.

Stretch marks? Still clear.

Sleep: Better this week. I can sleep all day. I am reallllllly perfecting the art of a 3 hour cat nap mid-morning.

Best moment this week: Being able to see the Boy's face. Up until now, he's been holding out on us. That's 29.5 weeks of hiding his face with each and every ultrasound we've had. Seriously, kid..I was starting to wonder if you had eyes, a nose, mouth and ears! And of course, hearing that his estimated weight is 3lb 7 oz., definitely put smiles on our faces.

Miss Anything? Sounds silly, but I miss my energy. I thought that by quitting work early, I would be able to galavant around town--make some trips to see friends and family, and basically be free from responsibility of work. Not the case-- I have ZERO excess energy to do anything, and every time I do, I find myself getting B-H contractions. So, this week, my OB swore off ALL exercise, and unnecessary trips out and about. Now, I'm not on bed rest, but basically, no strolling around the mall just for the heck of it, or taking any walks down the street.

She's erring on the side of caution, since we've gotten this far, and her goal is to help keep the stress levels down for me until we reach full term.. As much as I groan about it, and feel like this puts me in lazy a$$ category, I understand, and I am thankful she is looking out for us. Time to spend even more time with daytime TV and my iPad.

[ Remote, Phone, iPad & water. My "spot"]

Movement: Yes, we can even see him flip from front to back now.

Food cravings: Anything lemon flavored. Frozen grapes. Potato chips and cottage cheese.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Chicken. Blech.

Gender: Boy

Labor Signs: Braxton-Hicks when I do too much, but otherwise no. Our MFM said everything else looks great, baby is currently breech, but should flip in the next few weeks.

Symptoms: Hip aches, back pain. Pretty usual.

Belly Button in or out? Still teetering. I bet if I ate a huge Alamo Burrito, it would poke out.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy. We reached another of my short-term goals, of 30 weeks. Andd......drumroll.....I can lift my self imposed ban on shopping for the boy now! Which is great and all, since I am not supposed to go out shopping any more then necessary. I doubt that Gymboree counts as the Supermarket, eh? Actually, I admit to doing a little shopping earlier this week, which was 2 days shy of hitting 30 weeks. I made it to Carter's outlet and bought 3 onesies for $2.99 each!!! I couldn't pass that deal up!

Looking forward to: Still being pregnant for my Birthday (11/19), Thanksgiving, and the baby shower. Finegrs crossed!

Technically Speaking

I have to use a disclaimer before I start this blog...before you all start reading and getting all " I thought she wasn't buying anything for the baby until her 30 week mark..cause of her silly little rule" on me, I technically haven't bought anything for the boy, yet.

You see, we have a couple of family members also due in late 2011. I've had the itch to make something baby-ish for the past week or so. But, I kept going back and forth with whether I really wanted to cross into the all consuming and ever so adorable blogs full of baby project temptation. A few nights ago, my curiosity got the best of me. I found myself bookmarking ideas left and right, not to mention I spent an hour or so over on pinterest pinning even more craft-worthy projects.

And I found it. A project. A gift-able project.

All it required was a onesie and a printed image onto my iron-on paper.

I could do this.

Even, better? I could do this without stepping foot in a baby store, thus side-stepping temptation to buy anything for our boy.

I dug into the box of girl clothes I can finally let go of, and I just so happened to have saved a 5 pack of white onesies.

So, I got all creative and went to town printing fun images from the computer ( most royalty free, however, there are two sporting team logos that I recreated myself). I used my silhouette machine to mirror the images so that the writing would read the correct direction once ironed on, cut around each printed image, and within minutes of my time with the iron, I had five completed onesies to gift-away.

Okay, so I made ONE onesie as a gift ( and can't post it till the recipient receives it, because if I posted it, it's a dead giveaway who it was made for, this ruining the surprise!), and might just have made the other FOUR for the boy.

But, technically speaking, I still haven't bought anything, therefore, I have not yet broken my self imposed silly rule. I know that no one care about it except for me, but I am afraid of jinxing our luck with this pregnancy if I get ahead of myself and start buying things.

Sheesh, all that just to show you what I've made...Anyone want to spend a day in my head? It's fun, I tell ya.

Without further adieu, here they are...

[Go Steelers! Got pop's college football number on the sleeve]

[ fit for a son that is the same % Italian as mom & pop]

[ Sharing mom & pop's love affair with the Chevy K5 Blazer]

[ His roots]

So, that's it! It's an easy, easy beginner project for those of you that have showers to attend. A pack of onesies generally costs between $9 and $12. Just be sure to wash them with a dye free detergent before applying images.