Wednesday, July 28, 2010

4 month check up

we had our 4 month check up today.

elliot weighs 15.5 lbs which puts him in the 60% and 25.5 in long which puts him in the 75%.

it's hard to believe that he's already 4 and a half months old. and even harder to believe that we scheduled our 6 month appointment for september 27th. that's RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!

it makes me sad how fast they grow. before i know it, he's going to be graduating high school. boo.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Sweet Sleeper

since elliot is moderately mobile, as in, he can scoot around and roll over, it's always interesting to see the different positions he ends up in his crib. sometimes we'll lay him vertically at one end of the crib and he'll end up horizontal at the opposite end. i'd love to be able to set up a camera & see how he gets from one side to the other.

one thing that seems to happen quite frequently is his feet hanging between the slats. if we see it, we always move them back into the crib, but it's still pretty cute.



Monday, July 26, 2010

domestic goddess? ... not quite

before i had elliot, my mom started teaching me how to sew. and i fell in love with it.

my first project was making some reusable snack baggies, a diaper wallet and an ouch pouch for my diaper bag. pretty simple. just straight stitches, but i was just learning the ropes & getting used to using a machine.

while working on one of these projects, we came across a problem. my mom stared & stared at it trying to figure out how to make it work while i, being the sewing savant that i am, took one look and told her it was obvious what we needed to do to correct the problem.

{i don't think my mom had ever been so proud of me...and in turn, i was very proud of myself. after all, TRUE domestic goddesses know how to sew, right?}

i thought to myself on the way home from her house, "wow, this may be the one thing i'm super great at!"

i think i'm pretty decent at a lot of different things, but i never really excelled at one thing in particular, and i have always secretly wanted to be a bad-a at one thing, ANYTHING!

{i thought sewing was it.}

fast forward to tonight...here i am, at midnight, sweating, frustrated and wound up all because i can't figure out my problem.

{which i would almost bet my left hand has a simple solution}

i'm sure my mom will take one look at it and state the obvious.

am i a domestic goddess? not quite, but i'm working on it.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

{friends}

elliot has made quite a few little friends {mostly girls}. one day, he's going to have his pick of the litter, that's for sure.

one of his friends that he has spent the most time with is genevieve lunn, or GG as we like to call her.



elliot & GG spent a lot of time together, even in utero.



here is the first picture of elliot & GG together! this was one of our first days home after elliot was born.



and here they are together on the 4th of july.

obviously, another one of his good friends is his cousin brooke. they too spent some time together in utero.







here is brookie takin' a snooze on top of elliot.




i have a feeling they are going to be pretty good friends when they grow up.

and of course, his two best friends....




mommy and.....



daddy

he recently made a west coast friend named nathan. they seemed to hit it off right away and even came up with a secret handshake.





my prayer for elliot is that his life is always full of friends {and family} who love and care for him. i know i have been extremely blessed beyond measure to have such a great group of girlfriends that i have grown up with who i love with all of my heart. and on top of that, i have the best family. who could ask for anything more?

Oh, the Places You'll Go! - Dr. Suess

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener there
in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And then things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.

OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on y our way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don't.
Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
that Bang-ups
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.

You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles cross weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or the waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for the wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You'll be as famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don't
Because, sometimes they won't.

I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go
though the weather be foul.
On you will go
though your enemies prowl.
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl.
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike,
And I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never foget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
You're off the Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!

I think whenever Elliot reaches the age of going through difficult times in his life, I'm just going to hand him this book and let Dr. Seuss do all the talking. Any reassuring words I might stumble and stutter through will never hold a candle to the lyrical rhyming and wisdom of Mr. Theodor Seuss Geisel.

The Many Faces of Elliot H. Carney




Friday, July 23, 2010

Sweet Sleeper





Last night I went in to the nursery to check on Elliot. He's recently started rolling over, so I wanted to make sure that if he was on his stomach, he was safe. Well, much to my enjoyment, I walked in and saw him sleeping with his binki barely hangin' on.

I have to say, I think watching him sleep is one of my favorite things to do. He always makes the sweetest faces.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

the love of my life




this face melts me every time. i have never experienced such a fierce love before elliot came into my world. of course i love steve and would do anything in the world for him. but there is just something completely different about the love you have for your child. i would go above & beyond to make my little guy happy.

my mom had always told me that when i was growing up, she happily went without clothes & other things she could've used because she always wanted o buy me things. she didn't see her wants as important as mine. she told me that once i had a baby i would understand.

i never thought i would understand since i am someone who enjoys shopping and the finer things in life. if i found something i loved, i would find a way to get it, no matter if i had to save up 5 months for it or talking steve into letting me put it on the credit card (which is a pretty big no-no in our family) but i now find myself making a b line towards the baby section in whatever store i'm in to find something to buy for elliot. i enjoy buying things for him. i would much rather buy him something now instead of myself.

i no longer see my wants as important. it's amazing how motherhood can change you.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

inspired

i have been inspired by my dear friend jenn to update my blog and give it a face lift.

i really enjoy blogging, but as you might imagine, i have been pretty busy the last 4 months getting adjusted to my new life as a stay at home mom.

so many things have changed in my life lately, but the biggest change as been the birth of my amazing little boy, elliot hawkins.

elliot was born march 23, 2010 at 7:10 p.m. it was the best day of my life. the memory of what used to be my life before elliot came along is slowly fading. friday nights now consist of changing diapers, bath time, reading the cat in the hat, being in my pajamas, snuggling with my little guy and being asleep by 10:30. a couple years ago was a totally different story. i would get dressed up, go downtown around 9:00 p.m. and stay out until last call, come home pretty sauced, and sleep in on saturday until my hangover wore off.

being a stay at home mom isn't exactly what i dreamed it would be, but it is such a blessing. i can't imagine being at work every day. i would go absolutely crazy. maybe if i had loved what i did before elliot was born, it might be a different story. but the fact of the matter is, i hated working. i wasn't passionate about my job in any way, shape or form. all i ever wanted to do was be a stay at home mom. i am so blessed that god has given me a husband who is able to provide for our family and allow me to live my dream. : )

i wouldn't trade my new life for anything. i love being at home with elliot and watching the world unfold before his eyes. he truly is the best thing that has ever happened to me.