tubby time!!

day 321:


after maeve's big outing yesterday, i thought it would be nice to freshen her up a little... 


at first she screamed, but then she realized how amazing a nice warm bath is and she relaxed.


and i know that everyone says they can't get over how small she is, but i can't get over how big she is getting.


seriously...

she is too big.

the big day!

day 320:

i can't even begin to describe how amazing today was.


second to my own wedding, it was the best wedding ever!! the ceremony, the cupcake reception, the dinner reception... it was all perfect.






i am so tired now, i don't really have much to say... 


but, i do want to say...


matt, i am so happy for you. julia is the best, and i am so glad that you have brought her into our family.

and julia, there is no one else on this planet that i would want my brother to spend the rest of his life with. i love the two of you more than you can imagine.

and i'm glad that maeve was able to make the wedding.

rehearsal

day 319:


it's finally here!!


matt and julia are getting married tomorrow :)


it's funny how when you are a part of something you don't really get to take great pictures. i suppose that's why people hire photographers.


i was trying to enjoy the rehearsal and mess with the settings on my camera and it wasn't working.


i ended up getting a couple of shots, but i didn't get very good ones.


the photographer in me kept thinking, "oh that would be cute from that angle..." or "if i could just stand over there i could get a great shot...", but the sister/best friend in me kept losing focus on taking pictures and got caught up in the night.


so now that i'm looking at my pictures i'm thinking about how it's hard to enjoy a night and be a photographer at the same time. i'm not sure you can do both... at least i don't think i can... when i am taking pictures i want to focus on that only, which means i'm not socializing. 

we'll see how tomorrow goes... i'll try to get some great pictures, but i'm not promising anything special.

the problem with blogging...

day 318:


to be honest... i'm kinda tired of blogging.


as the end of my blogging year draws near, i'm finding it harder and harder to find time (and things) to blog.


my day is so full of mom things... bottle making, diaper changing, laundry cleaning, blah blah blah... that it seems hard to find time to take pictures and then sit at the computer and write.


now, don't get me wrong, i have free time, but i tend to spend it hanging out with maeve. i'd rather sit and stare at her than at a computer screen any day... and that makes blogging a problem.

so here's my blog for today... a picture of the blog problem. 


i've got a pretty cute looking problem.

happy birthday to me

day 317:


well... today was my birthday. and it was a big one...


30.


it doesn't really feel very different being 30. i know a lot of people that don't want to admit their age when they hit 30. but for me it doesn't really matter. i haven't really thought much of it.


some people go all out to celebrate this birthday, but me... i didn't have big plans. i spent the day with family and friends, but nothing extravagant... 


first off, maeve had a dr's appointment. they had to weigh her because she hasn't been gaining weight very well. and this was probably the best part of the day because when they weighed her she had gained 10 ounces since last week. woo hoo!!


then my parents came over and gave me a beautiful bracelet.


then i went to my brother's (and julia's) house for a cookout. and my wonderful husband surprised me with a cake.


all in all it was a great day. nothing extravagant, but that wouldn't be me. just a great day all around.


thanks to all of you that called/texted/facebooked me to say happy birthday. you all made my day a little brighter.

special present

day 316:


we have friends in from out of town, and they have two little girls, so tim thought it would be nice for them to visit the eric carle museum. 


and you all know how much i love eric carle :)

i didn't get to go, because someone had to stay home with maeve...


but tim brought us home something special.


he made this name sign for maeve (with paper like eric carle).


i will definitely be putting this in the nursery.

useless

day 315:

i bought this wipes warmer...


i thought it was the greatest invention ever. the wipes come out all nice and toasty. 


think about it... isn't it nice to use warm water to wash your hands? and isn't it nice to get a nice warm cloth to wash your face with? so then why not have nice warm wipes to wipe your... ya know...


well, it is useless. it does what it is supposed to do, and maybe somewhere down the line i will get some use out of it, but right now i am not even using baby wipes at all.


you see, about three days after maeve was born, she started getting diaper rash. so the pediatrician suggested that we use tissues with a+d ointment instead of wipes. not only is it better for the baby's bottom, but it is also good for the environment.


so right now, the wipes warmer is nothing but something else to take up space that we don't have.

cutie pie

day 314:


there is something about little baby feet in pajamas that i just love!


they are just so cute. 

but then again, everything about maeve is cute.

glow worm

day 313:


when i was a kid, i loved stuffed animals.


one of my favorites was the glow worm. i called him glow bee. i'm not sure why. i don't think that was his real name. i think it was just a nickname, but that was what i called him.


and now maeve has one of her very own. it's not my original one, but it is passed down from a cousin.


sometimes i wonder... what will end up being her favorite toy? glow bee? or maybe something she doesn't even own yet?

sweets

day 312:


alexis made me some sweets again. 


at this rate i'm never gonna lose my baby weight!

but at least i can justify having a couple because they are part fruit! how bad can fruit be?


i would share with maeve, but she's always sleeping.

sleepers

day 311:

i know griffey has a lot of energy, but once she gets her exercise she passes out.


maeve on the other hand, she just sleeps all the time.


i'm not complaining at all. i'm actually afraid to jinx it, but maeve sleeps really really good.

hanging around

day 310:


i feel like we don't do anything but hang around.


which is fine, because i don't really feel like doing anything else.


so griffey, maeve and i just sit around.


if there were a contest in sitting around, i'm not sure which of the three of us would win...


probably maeve.


thankfully i have the best mom in the whole world... because if it weren't for her, none of my laundry would get done... none of my dishes would get done... and i would probably go hungry.


so while me and my girls sit around, my mom takes care of us. 

space for maeve

day 309:


i thought i had a big living room...


but i am beginning to run out of space.


i keep setting up baby things and trying to find a spot for them.


i don't even want to photograph the dining room. it's not like we eat in there, but now, if we wanted to, we couldn't.


i suppose once the baby's room is finished i can move stuff in there, but like i said before, there is a long list of things to do...


in the meantime, things are in disarray. but i wouldn't change it for the world.

the great bottle experiment

day 308:


i couldn't decide which bottle to use. there are literally hundreds of choices.


so i was doing research on different bottles and came across an article that said i should buy a few different kinds and use them all at first, then determine which bottles the baby and i like best.


well, maeve is pretty easy. she likes all her bottles.


so i narrowed it down to dr. brown's. but now i have to decide if i want plastic or glass.


i know this may seem like a silly thing... i use plastic for everything, but when it comes to this tiny little person looking up at me while she eats, i can't help but be worried that plastic bottles aren't safe enough.


i know that there are BPA free bottles now, but i am still concerned that there are bad things getting into her formula. i don't even know what kind of things... just bad ones.


so i am leaning towards the glass bottles, but it's hard because when you heat them they get really hot!


i'm sure 90% of you don't care about this ridiculous concern, but it was on my mind, and it's my blog.

the to do list

day 307:

as you all know, maeve came a little early.


what that means is, there are a lot of things that were supposed to get done before she got here that we are trying to get done now. things we thought we had a few weeks to do are now behind schedule.


one of those things is my backsplash. 


tim and his friend tom started this project today, so maeve and i spent the day at gram and grandpa's house.


and when i got home i saw just how amazing it looks. there is still a little work left to finish it up, but you get the picture.


hopefully tomorrow we can check this project off the list.

friends forever

day 306:


i wasn't sure how griffey would react to having a baby in the house...


but she loves maeve.


she is always checking on her. especially if she is crying.


i have a feeling they will be the best of friends.




*this blog was the first, and probably not the last, to be typed with one hand.

girls' weekend

day 305:


today i was supposed to go to rhode island for julia's bachelorette weekend. 


but maeve had other plans.


and although i will miss all the girls, i am having a blast with my little girl.

we are just hanging out. eating and sleeping. that's my kind of weekend :)

going home

day 304:


we got discharged today. it's a little hard to believe that they just let you leave with this perfect little human being.


i mean, i know she's ours, but... they just let you walk out with a baby. there's no test to see if you are a good parent... they just let you leave.


and let me tell you... there should have been a test to see if we knew how to install the car seat. actually, it wasn't the installation that was tricky, it was disconnecting the seat from the base that was a complete enigma. 


two people with masters degrees + one baby that came three weeks early = not being ready to use the car seat. 


eventually we figured out which button released the seat, but it took some time.


one thing that i was prepared for was what the baby would wear home. 

uncle matt and aunt julia got this t-shirt for the baby for christmas. as soon as i saw it i knew that whether the baby was a boy or a girl, it would be wearing this shirt home.


you see, i have a sweatshirt... it says WNEC across the front... and i wear it A LOT.


i wear it so much there is a running joke with my friends. they ask if it's new... or where i got it... or they make compliments on how nice it looks. some have even named it old faithful.


so julia and matt thought that the baby needed an old faithful. so what better to come home in than that.


at least i was prepared for one thing with the baby.

our little angel

day 303:


still at the hospital. today we had a few visitors. it was great seeing all our friends and family enjoy spending time with maeve. 


tim and i just can't get over how wonderful this is. even though she came a little early... and we feel a little unprepared... we wouldn't change it for the world.


she has been sleeping for most of the day... which i hear will only last for the first couple of days, then the crying and screaming begins :)

but we can't wait. we can't wait for the rest of you to meet her. she's perfect.

welcome baby maeve

day 302:


it's a girl!!


our little girl decided to come early. for those that don't know, i was due august 4th... obviously we didn't make it that far.


maeve came tuesday night at 9:55pm. she weighs 6.5lbs, and is 18 1/2 inches long.


i have a few pics, but i don't want to write too much cause i'm tired.

maeve and i are both doing awesome!

wild flowers

day 301:


i need to plant some flowers. are there flowers that you don't really have to take care of?


i mean, i see wild flowers growing along the side of the highway... so there must be some kind of flowers that i can plant and forget about. right?


these flowers came from my friend sara switzer's garden. i love that she brought them to me.


but it makes me want a garden of my own... maybe next year.

get comfortable

day 300:


i wanted something amazing to blog about today... since it's day 300...


but today i was uncomfortable (read tired, hot and irritable) all day.


no matter where i was sitting i had to keep repositioning myself to get comfortable. my eyes were heavy, my feet were swollen, my back was aching... ok i'll stop.


so day 300 is a picture of the dog. normally i'd be happy blogging about the dog... but today i felt like you all deserved something special... 

or maybe it's the picture that irritates me. how is it that the dog can be comfortable anywhere, but i can't? just looking at her upside down, completely passed out makes me jealous.



it must be nice.

how perfect is this!

day 299:


last night, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law threw tim and me a surprise 30th birthday party.


nothing huge, just a few friends getting together hanging out. which was perfect.


while there, our friends jess. paul, pete, and meg (and baby maggie) gave us a shower present.


it was a great little gift basket of goodies... and the best part was this bib.


i couldn't have said it better myself.

one down... one million to go...

day 298:


my mom came over today to help me go through all the stuff from the shower, and everything else i have collected along the way.


i feel a little more organized.


one thing i did today was wash all the baby clothes.

it took two loads to wash everything. i don't think i am prepared for all the washing. you see, i don't do laundry that often. i have a lot of clothes... too many, but don't tell my husband that i'm admitting to that. so i don't have to do laundry that often because i always have something to wear.


and for those that don't already know how weird tim and i are... we do our own laundry. i have my own basket and he has his. when he needs clothes clean, he does them himself (thanks mary ann for teaching him to do his own chores).


we never do laundry for each other... 


but what about the baby stuff? this one will be interesting. i'm sure we will take turns, but it's weird. it's unknown territory. 


to be completely honest, it's not just tim's clothes that i don't want to mix with... i don't want to mix my clothes with the babies either. and if tim were to do the laundry, i think it would bother me if he mixed his clothes with the babies.


i know, i have laundry issues. it's not that i don't want my pants mixing around with other peoples shirts... it's just that it seems like it would be a pain to sort them after they come out. 


if i had to do all the laundry, i would rather wash each person's clothes separately and fold them separately, than mix them together and sort them afterward. 

the funny thing is, i don't really care about separating the whites and the colors. i just throw them all in together. 

i know. i have issues.


but i will tell you this... as soon as that baby can reach the lid of the washing machine (on a stool of course), he/she will be doing his/her own laundry.

family photo shoot

day 297:


my cousin tiffany asked me if i would take some pictures of her son jakob.


i jumped at the chance (not literally. i'm waaay to pregnant for jumping).


like i said when i shot matt and julia's engagement, it's nice to have humans to take pictures of.


although this shoot was a little more challenging than matt and julia's.

adults listen and pose. children... well, children do their own thing.


which is fine, but it was definitely different than my last shoot.


jakob is so cute that it didn't take much to get a good shot, but it was clear that he was running the shoot. i just followed him. he did not follow me. well, he did humor me at the end and take a picture with his parents holding his hands, but i had to be quick because he was not into it.


thanks tiff, jr and jakob. i had a great time. 

oh and the ice cream after was amazing. i may have enjoyed it more than jakob did :)