the kid is good at this - L's 1st go at unwrapping a christmas present

we were so excited! ok, ok, -i- was so excited, the package for liam from his aunt & uncle in chicago had arrived. i plopped the present on his lap & his little active fingers began to dig in instantly. talking to and tearing away at the paper. let's call today a dress rehearsal. christmas morning is going to rule!

once he had his little vetch talking bunny open he kind of squealed. then immediately began chewing on his hear. then peek-at-me bunny began talking and L smiled HUGE. wish i'd kept video rolling! thank you, aunt laura & uncle rich!

traditions happen

so... as halloween approached i thought "i want to decorate L's stroller!" for halloween night & so i did, making the above sign for the front of it. then, we ended up snapping photos of L beside his halloween sign on the couch which were so cute.

so when thanksgiving rolled around it dawned on me that i should whip up another "Liam's 1st" sign. and... so i did. as shown below.
then, sure enough, christmas came flying through the universe at us at a lightning speed and the challenge was on once again to craft up a little sign for photos on the 25th. voila! big sigh of relief! i did it!
next up: valentines day! and a tradition is born.

L meets jolly old st. nick

i think i mentioned here how i often text myself "late" at night, things i wish to remember pertaining to L. this was december 12th's...

took you to meet santa today. wasnt really my intention but when i saw the santa at the gardens mall & no lines i had to get you on his lap! sooo..... i walked clear across the mall to nordstrom to change your diaper, feed you and put you in cute clothes for your 1st pics with santa. i was nervous, you've been having some major melt downs lately. plus, some kids are scared of santa, but not you!

you and santa looked upon each other with curious joy, i almost cried. he adored you AND the darling outfit i put you in! you grabbed his beard, looked into his eyes, charmed his socks off. he said to you "you are such a special boy, such a happy baby!" it was a joyful & magical introduction.

oh heck. i haven't posted this yet?! DIY XMAS ornaments for baby L

i told myself i'd be buying little L's "baby's 1st christmas" ornament this year, based upon the fact that these days folding a load of laundry and unloading the dishwasher in one day is an everest-size feat.

eff, i never ever wanted to join the ranks of other mommies who exasperatedly profess such, EFF. i suppose hating such so much seems to provide me with the little spurts of fiery energy (i was once so bloody full of) needed to tackle things like DIYing my sweet baby's 1st ornament.

thankfully L slept through the majority of my michael's trip, and when he did wake up he was enamored enough by the colorful shiny chaos that is a michael's craft store to refrain from a five alarm L melt down (yes, he still has these. my guess is, he will until he's seven or so). of course i acquired the goods for like THREE ornaments, i know not how to stop once on a roll...

anyway, a new friend i've made via la leche league came over with her adorable 11-month old and we got DIYing amidst juggling both babies between L's various distraction contraptions, our laps, etc. holy hell, not easy.

and her brilliant idea to capture each baby's hand print with glitter was a bit of a #fail on my end. L stamped his ornament with his fist mostly, but we made do... that's his cherished masterpiece below, abstract and glittery! i'll love it forever.
sure, the whole process was challenging, i ended up feeding L in one arm whilst trying to paint with the other at one point in hopes of silencing his waa waa's for just five more minutes. but as i said to my new mommy friend, 20 years from now we'll be incredibly fond and nostalgic about the little glittery baubles we set out to make and actually accomplished.
it's not too late loveys, get out to your area craft store and whip up something for your tree with the wee ones, 1st xmas or not. join me in the mess and madness that is the holiday season with a child. ;-) oh the memories...
p.s. the perfect little glitter hand print belongs to the 11-month old. maybe next year...

#DIY xmas baby photo shoot set

i've been collecting and acquiring christmasy odds & ends since they appeared on shelves this season with intentions of creating a festive backdrop for holiday photos. with no snow, tons of palm trees and a #SAHM photo budget, this was essential!

i found sweet felt ornaments, shiny silver jingle bells and sparkling wired star garland at target, the german got the little felt santa basket there too. i picked up this santa-esque faux-shearling trim red velvet blanket @ tj maxx. i acquired the oversized glitter candy canes @ home depot.

then i popped baby L in his sling and got busy DIYing this set. i hung the ornamented garlands from the light fixture above my overstuffed chair. got L all dressed up & started shooting away. stay tuned for family pix & even fun fashiony ones with this backdrop too, should time ever allow. cross your fingers for me please. in the mean time, each time we put L in something festive we'll plop him down here before setting out!

baby is my buoy.

tonight liam is extra smiley and cute.

when he grins up at me with his round little face i can't stop thinking

"i wish mom was here to see him make his baby jamey face"

i think she's the only person under the sun that would get that.

see it.

i miss her.

that's such an understatement.

but damn, do i.

ironically, only liam keeps me from sinking in this realization.

i quit. i give up. L's napping in my arms for now. beats no nap at all.

L's napping in my arms going forward, for now. beats no nap at all... this officially makes me a couch potato, and L a happier baby. he will grow out of this someday, possibly literally. so i've resigned myself to cherish it now. he does sleep on his own at night (knock on wood please!), this is a blessing. i am grateful. that is all.

well, almost all... with christmas around the corner, expect insanely christmasy outfit posts in upcoming days. thank you very much to the rigels for giving L this FUN "my first christmas" toy collection. so thoughtful!

oh oh oh! back to the napping thing. i wanted to add that i tried to put him in his crib earlier today when he was groggy, post feeding. that ended in that adorable wrinkled up sad face and cry explosion in mere seconds. he wanted no part of napping in his swing yesterday, i tried for 30 minutes to make that happen. he CAN fall asleep in the sling, but man does that get HEAVY. the german fears this will eventually injure my back. such is life...

calm after the storm

At this very moment I am standing outside under a tree with liam in his sling swaying back and forth. Im squeezing his little hand and singing to him occasionally. I turn in a super slow circle to change up his view. You see, its hot out and so boring in. He has cried a ton today and I don't have my usual energy to entertain him. Since I've been out here swaying and spinning he hasn't protested. Life is ever so strange.

the game changer

know me and you know sitting down is not my thing. i like to be on the go go go. dear little L however, has had me sitting on my bum, arms/hands full on end, FOR MONTHS. this has brought me to the point of literally crying & having pity parties daily... along came a piece of fabric with a little padding and a couple rings on it. i can stand up!, use at least one hand, EASILY. i adore my union jack snugli, i do, but getting in and out of it isn't nearly as effortless. thus, the sling has been a life saver and, a game changer. i feel ALMOST like me with it. L can become a part of my endless need to walk up and down stairs, in and out the front door, from living room to family room, around our block, again and again, etc. etc. and forever.

and he seems to dig it. in fact, he sometimes passes out while i do it.

thank you, over the shoulder baby holder.

thank you la leche league for loaning it to me this month to try out!

there are quite a few ways babies can be carried in this thing, it came with an instructional DVD.

find yourself in a similar stir-crazy bind? GET A FREAKING SLING.

post-walk-passed-out baby.

moody little punk

outfit post: moody little punk

someone is kinda cranky today.

& a drizzly monday calls for a little joy division anyway...
joy division onesie from smokinchix. (thank you, allison!)

plaid newsboy cap by gymboree. (thank you, aunt laura!)

argyle socks are baby gap.

and yeah, because i'm on the verge...

naive newbie meltdown

the conversation below, occurring on facebook is so fundamental to being a parent of a baby. and especially, a 1st time parent. a naive newbie.

i am on the verge of a breakdown at least once a week. i wonder if the cry it out, schedule your baby parents are too? i can't be a cry it out schedule your baby parent, at least not yet, because -I MYSELF- can't adhere to a strict schedule and i would never let ANYONE cry it out. i don't judge those of you that do this, i just can't.

if a friend or family member or even a stranger was bawling their eyes out hard, on end, right in front of me, i would not COULD NOT just let it happen. instinctually i would have to hug and comfort them. now... how the HECK could i not do the same for the child i carried for 41 weeks, painfully gave birth to, and fell hardcore in love with the day we "met"?

whether it's good for the baby in the long run or not, i can't do it.

right now, L is asleep in his swing, he has been for like an hour. this is not a constant thing i can count on. it happens probably three times a week out of all seven days.

when it does happen i have no bloody idea how long said nap will last so i run around like a crazy person tackling this and that.

i'm thinking "what should i try to tackle 1st?" as previously blogged, i realize this is drink, eat, pee. ;-) but after that? i'm thinking "nothing too loud". i'm thinking what can be left to fall apart longer? i'm thinking man, oh man i just want to write/type with two hands right now!!!!! which is exactly what i'm doing. i'm 100% right brained, that's the creative side right? and with that fact comes very little practicality.

i am also doing alllllllllllllll of this on my own from day one, no mom to advise or provide hands on help. i have received a plethora of advice, from veteran friends, books, magazine articles. i have even had dear dear friends stop by or stay over when the german was out of town for weeks at a time. but guess what? -and NO OFFENSE- ALL of you conflict. some of you advise with your heart while others advise with your head.

i hear both of you, and i try to take something from both of you. but in the end, that creates one big CLUSTER EFF in my already whirling exausted right-brained mind. i do just have to wonder, if mommies & daddies that condition their young babies lose their mind on a regular basis too?

i am so blessed to have a beautiful, healthy mostly good baby boy. i am beyond lucky to be a SAHM (stay at home mom). i look into L's amazing eyes daily and feel my heart smile so big, get so warm, throb with love. do NOT get me wrong, i would never ever trade this experience, but holy HELL is it hard to navigate. dear confused & naive newbies to come, i will be here for you to vent to when you find yourself in my very shoes. below a "conversation" on facebook that exhibits this conflicted state i find myself in. name has been changed to protect the innocent. ;-)

(p.s. if i do resort to cry it out one day, address me about that if you so wish. i am perfectly capable of flipflopping some day. who the heck knows?)

- ENVISION A PHOTO OF VERY YOUNG BABY CRYING HARD -

• 

  Sarah Beth Christoph does this ever end?

  3 hours ago · · 1
• 
  

  john doe-

  hahaha! Our first baby screamed all night, every night for the first two weeks. The first two nights neither one of us got a lick of sleep. She would cry and we'd try everything under the sun. Finally, my mom suggested we let her "cry it out" for about 10 minutes and see what happens. Right at 10 minutes she tuckered out and fell asleep. We died laughing. She had to cry for a good 10-20 before ever falling asleep. Of course other times she cried for an hour or two and we had to tend to that.

  33 minutes ago ·
• 
  

  john doe-

  Oops wasn't finished...if your little one is fussing a lot, you will eventually figure out what works. We finally forced a routine with each one and that actually made the babies happy. A little counterintuitive. It helped us know what cry was for what need. All I know is that kids don't really behave like that when they are, say, 14, so it WILL stop. :) I saw someone had mentioned a book, "On becoming babywise." Someone else mentioned you would hate it. I agree you might hate it, because you are a free spirit and the book comes across as "baby lockdown." But it is worth reading to kind of see what a schedule might look like. You can be a little less militant than the book prescribes and tailor it to suit your own instincts. That's what we did and found it helpful. Good thing is that your love for that little guy will far outweight the many frustrations you encounter early on. I am starting to freak myself out with my Dr. Phil talk. Time to go.

  25 minutes ago ·
• 

  Sarah Beth Christoph appreciate the thoughtful reply. truly. sooo many have been successful w/ such an approach... lucky ducks! this baby does not abide by that sort of conditioning. more than once he's melted down nonstop for a 45 minute stretch w/ no lulls and no sign of relenting. and i get it, he's determined and expressive. ;-) i've concluded that he's one of those high needs/high alert babies. and find dr sears' approach more up my alley. so perhaps i'm shooting myself in the foot. who knows, but a 10 minute cry then zzz is not my kid, no way. he's pretty good to me at night tho. 5, 6, 7 & even 8 hour stretches of sleep since 2 weeks. but, inconsistent. again tho, can't really blame him. it's nature AND nurture. this makes a great blog post and correlates w/ a lot i've been reading as of late, thanks! ;-)

this is what story time with a 3 1/2 month old looks like

part of why i started reading to L was out of desperation admittedly. raising baby has much to do with entertaining baby. especially a baby that doesn't nap for great lengths of time by day. especially a baby that expresses boredom with great passion (read: cries loud & clear with no signs of stopping until his needs are met).

the more i read to L though, the more -i- enjoy it & perhaps, the more he does as well. signs i might be right?... he sits in my lap for decent stretches of time as i read, he looks at the pages more often than not, he flails his arms from time to time & gurgles/babbles at others. i do stop reading when he starts to get too fussy. but, kids, this is only after reading at least four books.

i get into character often, losing myself in the moment, hoping he notices and enjoys story time all the more. i realize each day, more & more how unbelievably fun reading to a child, heck AN INFANT! can be.

and loveys, it's insanely beneficial. read more about that here.

L is checking out his mobile in this photo. damn, he loves that mobile. he eventually refocussed. ;-)
no joke, this book is awesome if you let yourself feeeeel it. read it with rhythm & you'll find yourself longing for the dance floor, baby in tow. i swear.

fair enough.

saw this & thought "fair enough". there's no time like the present to initiate some FAMILY RULES. do you have spoken or non-spoken family rules you live by? do share...

just call me naive newbie

naive newbie

mommy observation of the day:

i would put L's clothes away, create a new play space, pick out books to read to him later, play dress up in my own clothes, WRITE A BLOODY BLOG POST, take out recycling, do dishes, watch a show on hulu, fold laundry, put photos in frames, paint my nails, put the german's clothes/shoes away, sort laundry, flip through a magazine, etc. etc. etc. etc. and a little more etc. before i would get a drink of water, go pee or eat lunch in the wee moments L might be zzz-ing someplace outside my arms. the learn here, for those that experience this after me: PEE, EAT, DRINK before you do ANYthing else.

yep, i'm a naive newbie. stay tuned for more naive newbie confessions as i reflect upon them, or encounter them.

p.s. i KNOW i need an outlet cover in my little up & coming play area. might be a newbie, but not a raving idiot, thanks. ;-)

thank you, grandpa

thank you, grandpa

in my wee 14 weeks of life, i already have a fun little collection of cool postcards from my grandpa in a box in my room. this means a lot to my mommy & will one day be so awesome for me to read. everyday mommy tells me how much she misses my grandma, she's trying hard to be as much like her as she can. i know grandpa misses grandma soooo much too. so i hope this picture brings him a little happiness.

love, L

no longer dancing with myself

now THIS is what a dance party looks like. well, it should be a vid! monday through friday, L & i shake our things to three songs back to back for a little dance-y bonding. good for me + fun for him = #LOVE. try it, pick that baby up, hit shuffle on your ipod and throw it down, tiny dancer in tow. i promise you he/she will smile and/or giggle. and sometimes... they'll even drift off to ZZZ land.

now, baby L has a leg up on the competition, he's been dancing for around a year now, i made a point to blast sound and get my groove on the entire time i was pregnant. this included several concerts as i've blogged about in the last year or so. listen up, preggo loveys. don't stop moving just because you're with child. it rocks your wee one to sleep in the womb and it makes YOU FIT.

something tells me the german -might- of recorded one of L & I's dance sessions. let me get to the bottom of that. will update post if so. in the meantime, get dancing.

the boss

yeah so, just wanted to let the world know, that as the boss of two direct reports (read: mommy full time & daddy part time) it is important that i constantly exhibit to said reports my consistent personal growth & achievements. and to that point i present to you my rather impressive ability to grab for & hold on to my toes. amazing, right? yeah, such keeps me in charge, kids.

-L

exhibit a

exhibit b

p.s. i'd like to thank my oma in germany for getting me this mad appropriate t-shirt in ireland.

my 1st library "lap sit"

today mommy got all frantic around 9:30, she buckled me in my car seat then flew upstairs to make sure she had deodorant on. next thing i knew it i was being whizzed outside, into the sunlight that STILL pisses me off and into the car. it was too early for our usual starbucks run, so i was perplexed.

wait, what? the library?? i'm 3-months old for heaven's sake! that mom of mine...OK so it was cool. lots of baby people watching. i was mesmerized by the 11-month old beside me, a dancing baby girl named river.

the teacher, miss mindy? made mommy laugh quietly. we sang, we danced, we read, i drooled. sitting in a circle upon blankets on the floor.

mommy got tears in her eyes when i laughed & smiled. i don't think she had any idea how happy making me happy would make her! i think we'll go back, november 30th. if you're local, you should come too! mommy says you're never too young to be read to, i was the youngest in the class!

happy halloween y'all

not like i can eat candy.

well, if mom eats candy i sorta can.

two or three hours later

and not individually wrapped

in cute little packages but...

yeah. happy halloween.

i'm not even going to remember this one either!

but i'm totally positive that between my mommy & daddy

there will be pumpkin loads of photographic evidence.

grrreat.

boo!

when dinosaurs met london - another L outfit post

i'm rocking dinosaurs, london landmarks and bold stripes all at once. i'm sooo my mother's child.
i insisted she take these photos with my fave ball. even my oma & opa in futbol-crazed germany think i'm a little soccer star.
granted this week i've been a bit more fascinated with my hands than kicking balls. i fancy rolling over on my side and talking to my toys as i grab them and squeeze them on end.
i've also taken a liking to standing up. mommy attempts to pull me up in a sitting position but i lock my knees and bear down on my feet instead. standing is cool. and well, vital for my future soccer career. ;-)

anyway, this was to be an outfit post but i've rambled on instead about all my little abilities. sorry about that.

gurgles & squeals,

liam

p.s. EVERYthing's baby gap anyways...