Day 2: Flexibility

 I figured that the first thing we should talk about in this series is Flexibility. Because, seriously, without this, we're sunk. Webster’s defines flexibility this way:

flexibility(n):characterized by a ready capability to adapt to new, different, or changing requirements

The capability of adapting to new requirements. I think that right there is an awesome definition of parenthood. :-) Just when I think we’re settling into a really good place, and I’ve figured out how to deal with my six month old, he starts teething. Just when he starts sleeping (almost!) through the night, he starts throwing tantrums and exerting his will, and challenging me.

It’s when I try to control anything and everything that things get rough. Babies just aren’t rigid and monotonous. They just aren’t. And the sooner you come to terms with that, the easier this all will be. Because, by the way, life isn’t rigid and monotonous, no matter how much you want it to be.

Learn to be flexible. Accept that what is working now may not continue to work next week. Or tomorrow. Try new methods. Think outside the box. Don’t freak out over a missed nap.

Be flexible.

Check out the rest of my series, 31 Days of New Baby Advice!

31 Days of New Baby Advice

 Do you have a sister that you're close to? A mom that you talk to every day? An aunt that is your source of wisdom for all things baby related? I have four sisters in law, two moms and a whole plethora of aunts. I'm a blessed girl. I'm also surrounded by an awesome group of girlfriends that I can go to whenever I'm confused. I've consulted all of these lovely ladies many many times over the last 18 months. What do I do when the baby won't sleep? What's the best remedy for diaper rash? How do you deal with temper tantrums? The list goes on and on. 

But maybe you don't have a "village" surrounding you. Maybe you are about to become a mother, or you are adding to your brood, and you're feeling all alone and unprepared. That's the reason I wanted to write this series. I'm going to be talking about the things I learned in those first few weeks of mommyhood. About the awesome advice my friends and family gave. About the things that worked for me, the things that didn't and the things I wish I had listened to. 

I'm NOT an expert. I have one child. He's less than a year old. I don't have all the answers, or even a lot of answers. :-) But over the next 31 days I will share what I can with you, in the hopes that some of it will help you. I'm excited - are you? 

Check out all the other bloggers who are participating in the Nester's 31 Day series!

A Gift for Jenna and Alice!

 My sweet friend Jenna is due in just a few short weeks with her first baby - a little girl! :-) Over the fourth of July weekend we were able to visit each other for the first time in ages and get as caught up as much as we could in just a few short hours! We snapped a quick picture at the Starbucks that we took refuge in from the oppressive Chicago heat. It was so great to see her!

Don't you just love the random Starbucks barista in the background? :-) 

 I wanted to send a little gift to celebrate with her - especially because I can't just pop in to see them when Alice deigns to make her arrival! 

I've been obsessed with baby hats forever, and now that I have my own little guy it only fuels my obsession. :-) So obviously, I wanted to make some little hats for baby Alice! I followed this tutorial  from Little Birdie Secrets to make a little ear cap, and then I also made another (a little bit bigger) with a cute little flannel heart on it. 

I also made a cuddly flannel blanket out of the cutest gray, white and pink flannel. I made it extra big so that it's perfect for swaddling little Alice. Hopefully she'll like it!

Now here's the part of the gift I'm super excited about - 

Tiny baby sneakers in a the most adorable plaid, and a tiny little popcorn bowl! I know how Jenna loves her popcorn, so when I saw this teeny little bowl I knew it would be perfect! :-) 

This was my first time wrapping the inside of a box, and I love how it contributed to the whole look of the package. It came out really cute. At the very bottom of the package I placed a novel that I read recently that I thought Jenna would enjoy. It'll come in handy for those marathon nursing sessions! 

All packaged up and ready to mail out! Hope you enjoy it Jenna! Can't wait to see pictures of that little girl!

Veronica graciously put together this virtual baby shower for Jenna so that we could all be a part of the celebration of baby Alice! Please check out the other gifts that these sweet girls prepared for Jenna! Thanks Veronica!

4 Little Fergusons (Midwest USA): 11 Lessons To Determine If You Are Ready For Parenthood
A Little Lunch (Eufaula, OK): Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice Scones
City Songbird (Greensboro, NC): Merry Christmas, Alice!
Eats Well With Others (New York, NY): Peanut Butter and Honey Ice Cream
Hunting for Bliss (Bozeman, MT): Garam Masala Deviled Eggs
Pinking Shears & Broccoli Spears (Newark, DE): Making Food Good For Your Baby
Sydney Shares (Eugene, OR): Baby BLTs
That's Some Good Cookin' (Salt Lake City, UT): Cheesecake Cookie Bars
The Pajama Chef (Bloomington, IN): Iced Tea with Ginger-Mint Simple Syrup
Two Dogs In The Kitchen (Sterling, MI): Spicy Asian Meatballs
Veronica's Cornucopia (Wichita, KS): Raspberry Almond Fudge Cookies
Very Culinary (Sacramento, CA): Toasted Orzo and Chickpea Salad
 

Cleaning Up Messes

 I spend my day cleaning up messes. Wiping off meat sauce lasagna from chubby cheeks. Sweeping up graham crackers. Picking up blocks, stuffed animals and whatever else tickled my little guy’s fancy today. Vacuuming an unseemly amount of food out of the recesses of the high chair. Scrubbing the day’s dirt out of his hair, from behind his ears, off grubby fingers and toes.

I welcome the mess. Lonely in my too perfect and too clean house, I wished for a household of noise and chaos. I prayed for a child to follow me around, to make messes, to tug at my skirts. And my loving Father heard my prayer, and answered it.

On my good days, I don’t see the mess. I see beauty. I see my son’s insatiable appetite for learning, discovering, growing. I see the joy on his face as he grinds applesauce into his hair. The wonder as he opens a shoe box and pulls out the treasures I’ve hidden inside for him. I see a house that is lived in, used and enjoyed.

These are the things that matter. The cobwebs under my furniture don’t matter. The unpainted walls don’t matter. What matters is the fact that I am blessed beyond all that I could wildly imagine. Blessed with a little boy who is teaching me so much, without uttering a single word.

I 'm learning that this is how God sees us. Where we see imperfections, failures and disappointments, He sees beauty. He sees His child who He loves, who in His eyes is perfect. Yes, he still has to pick up our messes, but he doesn’t mind them. Because they are the evidence of the fact that we are learning and growing, and reaching out to be closer to Him.

Those messes don’t define us, we are defined by His love for us and His delight in the people we are growing up to be.

Dear Lucy

 Dear Lucy, 

Thank you so much for coming to visit me at my house. And for bringing your mommy and daddy too. I had such a great time with you - it was so much fun to have another me-sized person in the house!

I can't believe how pretty you are - I think you are the prettiest girl in the whole wide world. Well, after my mommy of course. 

I'm sorry that I tried to kiss you the first chance I got. I know that was presumptuous of me.

But your eyes are just so amazing, and I knew we were just going to be the best of friends. 

Thanks for showing me how to do all sorts of fun stuff, like waving and clapping and crawling. I figured out how to crawl last weekend - finally! I've been working on that for like seven months!

My mommy said to tell your mommy thank you for all the fun gifts she left for us. We love them all. Especially this little vase - I can't wait to fill it up with all sorts of flowers for her once I can reach door handles to get outside. 

In the meantime, I am working out daily. Next time you see me I'll be totally buff. The baby fat is just temporary, I swear. 

Anyways, I can't wait to see you again. You're my bestest friend in the whole wide world.  And I should know, I'm quite the little traveler. 

Love, Javi

Halfway to a Year

 

Some highlights from the last six months:

*Javi smiling at me for the first time on Christmas Eve

*Traveling to Florida, New Jersey, Canada and New York City with an infant.

*Marveling at the beautiful blue eyes our baby has. 

*Watching how much Javi loves his daddy. He wakes himself up every morning just to see Lover before he goes to work. 

*All the little sounds and noises he makes, and how he cracks himself up with them.

*People's reaction when they ask how old he is... some variation of "he's so... healthy!" because of his size.

*His open mouthed, slobbery "kisses", offered to any girl he finds pretty. 

Bear and Chair

 The first gift that we received when we found out we were having a baby was from my brother and sister in law. They gave us a tiny wooden rocking chair with a toddler sized teddy bear all decked out in a bib and a giant bow. It was awesome! Here's a pic that I pilfered from Steph's facebook page where she was working on the chair. 

Cant wait until Javi is big enough to discover this chair and sit in it all by himself! 

I knew I wanted to do monthly pictures of Javi after he was born, and I decided that taking a picture of him next to the bear would be a fun way to see how big and fast he would grow. So I got his first one at one week old, cuddled up next to the big old bear. 

Isn't he precious? I love how sweet and tiny he was, and how he is totally dwarfed by the big ol' bear. Cutie patootie.