Thrifting, Snuggling, and Decision Making

Yesterday we treked up to an out of the way thrift store.  I used to go there all the time, but it's been forever.  Man, that place is kinda ratty!  But those are the best ones to get good stuff at because they're not trying to be anything special.  They just throw all the junk out there and make you sort through it.  We found some good stuff, including these little overalls.  Just in case we forget what Otis is, they'll remind us.

And just to show he's not always crying:

He is just the snuggliest sleeper!  I love it, he gets all cozy in his blanket (much like Ingrid used to do) and just sleeps and sleeps.  God I am so glad he sleeps.  Ingrid still doesn't.  Blah.

Also brought home from the thrift store, a new puzzle for Ingrid and I to do together.  We just finished a 1000 piece puzzle--our first to do together!  She helped find the edge pieces, and then I'd ask her to find the sky or grass or building pieces and she'd dig through the box and find them.  It's been fun because it keeps her entertained and it's relaxing for me.  The new one is from 1967 and round! 

And on decision making...we are having a really hard time with it!  I took Maryanne's idea of using cards that she could use to order her breakfast.  I used clip art and printed these out:

The idea was that she could grab a picture and hand it to me when she was ready for a drink.  However, this morning she handed me all the cards and said let's play this game!!  It's a work in progress.

Helping Mama

Ingrid's been a good little helper lately.  I really do feel lucky she likes to play by me while I sew, it makes it easy to get stuff done.  Now that Otis is here, he's really the one that hinders my sewing (thanks a lot, buddy!)  With Ingrid I can just pull out the box of scraps or show her my new pin cushion and she can find ways to keep herself busy.

Yesterday I finished up some things for the shop and had to take pictures.  They weren't turning out right just laying on a table, so Ingrid helped.  She's such a good model!

Our friend Tia came to take pictures of Otis on Sunday.  I really cannot wait to see them!!!  She's amazing.  Her daughter is a couple years older than Ingrid so she brought three bags of hand me downs for Ingrid.  It was like Christmas up in here.  Of course Ingrid had to try on everything, including a nightgown with pj pants, a bikini, and this getup.  Yesterday was a full day of changing into new clothes.  How easy it is to please a young one...

Today we are going to play play play.  I feel like I've been really neglectful of Ingrid lately and just having her do stuff near me instead of actually engaging with her.  But today the shop is stocked, laundry is done, groceries have been bought, and after my computer time this morning it's all her.  And Otis.  But he's easy enough usually!  If time does allow, and Ingrid is up for it, we got new wool felt in the mail and I want to cut out a couple pairs of those new baby shoes.  But only if my little dearie wants to.  It's her day today. 

Hanging Out and Sewing

My two favorite things!!  This week has been so fun.  Minimal breakdowns on both Ingrid's and my parts.  Friends came over to play.  We cleaned while listening to Abba. We painted with sparkly paints.  Good times!

We also got some sewing done.  I got a new pattern for these cute felt shoes.  I only had eco-fi felt on hand but I figured I'd try it and then spend the money on wool felt if they turned okay.  They turned out awesome!  Totally going to make more of these in wool felt!

Also finally made the taggy book for a friend.  She wanted it months ago but luckily the baby she is giving it to was just born and won't play with it for awhile anyway, so it wasn't a rush order!  I love this Michael Miller print with the bikes.  Bikes are rad.

More to come soon!  Friends are coming over this weekend, Tia is coming to take pictures on Sunday.  It's going to be awesome!

Diapers Galore

Yesterday we got a TON of diapers in the mail!!  Three different people sent us diapers at different times and they all came on the same day, so strange.

We got three FuzziBunz Mediums from our friend Brandy.  I love these, it's what we used on Ingrid when she got bigger.  Otis is still in his XS, though, so the Mediums will be awhile.  Good for the future!

We also got nine Small gdiaper covers in cream, brown, green, and blue.  I love these, we also had one of these for Ingrid and it was my favorite while it fit her.  I am using newborn prefolds to stuff these with, and also the newborn inserts from our BumGenius pockets that don't fit Otis yet.  I got these off diaperswappers.com.

From Kelly's Closet we ordered two BumGenius 4.0s, two Kawaii pockets, a Bummies SuperBrite in red!!  and another Thirsties cover.  I don't think the pockets will fit quite yet, they're all one size and we're finding that Otis' skinny chicken legs make it hard to use one size.  They're in the dryer right now, so we'll find out today if they work yet or not.  The covers are awesome,  I love both Bummis and Thirsties.  Double leg gussets, a little pocket for your diaper to go in, easy peasy.  The only thing I have with Thirsties is that their sizes run big.  Otis is just fitting into his XS covers! 

As I said on Facebook, such pretty things for Otis to crap in!  Gotta love cloth diapers...

Wraps, Bunnies, Cupcakes, and Other Things To Keep Us Busy.

This weekend was pretty busy and fun.  First of all, I got a Moby and am loving it.  Otis wasn't sure at first, I think his legs hanging out bothered him, since the Ergo covers them up.  But he's into it now and I love to wear him in it.

My view when wearing Otis.  How could you not want to wear your baby??

After seeing her little brother in it and hearing stories of her being held in one, Ingrid just had to see if Mama could still hold her in the wrap.  Do you know that I could?  That thing is amazing!

I also made more bunnies.  Easter is coming up, guys!  Do you really want to put sugary sweets in your kids' baskets when you could have a one of a kind wonky bunny instead?  Just look how many different kinds to choose from!

Haha, okay, enough advertising!

Hmm, what else kept us busy this weekend?  Ingrid used  her desk to color and the sun was coming in from behind her.  She just looked so peaceful talking to herself and coloring.  Those moments are what balances all the screaming and whining.

And cupcakes.  Cupcakes in a rainbow.  I finally tried this and they turned out super cute!  And were much easier to make than I'd thought.  For those who haven't seen these, it's easy!  Make a white cake batter, split the batter up six ways and dye the batter with food coloring in the colors of the rainbow.  The dollop each color in each cupcake cup and they come out looking like this!  So awesome. 

We also got a new rug this weekend for our living room.  Little by little our apartment is turning into home.  Things are hung up on the walls, we have curtains, it's great.  We've been here almost a month and I'm feeling pretty settled.  Whew!

Babies!

Today we went to a little mama get together.  Ingrid was the oldest there and had to be reminded more than once to be gentle with all the little ones.  I am so used to her rambunctious personality I forget how crazy she really is!!  Orson didn't seem to have a problem with her, though!

Here are Milo and Otis (just like the movie!)  Milo is one month older than Otis, look how huge he is!  He was two weeks late and like 11lbs when he was born, so pretty much the opposite of our six week early 4lb baby.

Hopefully we can get together with these moms and kids often.  Especially when it gets to be nice out and we can play outside!!  Spring is right around the corner, right??

3 Months Old!

Otis is three months old today. 

Because I'm not doing a very good job at updating his baby book, I'll put a couple stats here so I remember them!  He is now smiling, cooing, and has rolled over once.  He is a great sleeper and loves to be naked and kick his legs while laying in his crib.  Any window he sees he must stare out of, as well as at ceiling fans and lamps.  I would love to say how big he is but we haven't been to the doctor in a month or so and I don't own a scale, so I have no idea.  We'll say 11-12 lbs.  He just got into his 3 month clothes and suddenly has a new wardrobe that isn't all one piece footy pjs!  

 

He loves to be held, rocked, and carried in the Ergo and the Moby.  He hates his car seat.  I wish I could just wear him in the car, he just screams a lot while we're driving. 

It seems crazy to think he really should just be six weeks old.  He is such a part of our family already.  Love you, Fat Man!!

*Ingrid at 3 months*

Siblings, and a Growing Baby

Ingrid likes being a big sister.  Sometimes she freaks out when I'm feeding Otis, or if I ask Brendan to deal with her because I'm holding him.  But for the most part she loves him and is a great little helper.  She loves to get diapers or clothes for him, whether I ask for them or not! 

Yesterday we were doing a little floor time with Otis.  He's pretty strong but he'd much rather look at people's faces so he doesn't last for too long.

I was on the computer listing more stuff for the shop when I hear "I can hold my brother all by myself!"  I look over and there's Ingrid, holding her brother.  All by herself.  And walking around on the hardwood floors.  Where she's been known to slip and fall ten times in two seconds.  I had a heart attack and yelled NO NO NO NO NO!!! which made her burst into tears because she had been so proud of herself.  Poor kid thinks she's ready for anything and everything...

But Otis was fine, just wide eyed looking around, like usual.  This kid is growing like a weed!  I'm not sure how much he weighs now, but he just switched over from newborn clothes to 3 month!  How exciting.  And he's outgrown the XS Bum Geniuses we have.  Also, he is just starting to act more like a normal baby and not a sleepy, snoozy newborn.  He smiles and makes eye contact and has started cooing and almost making the wee-est little giggles when you touch his nose or chin.  It's amazing to think he was this tiny little 4 lb. skinny chicken legged thing with tons of hair all over his body to help keep him warm.  Now he has an enormous head and a little fluffy faux-hawk. 

And this kid is a sleeper!!  Hot damn, we deserve a sleeper.  He goes to bed around nine or ten and sleeps until five-ish.  It's amazing.  If only Ingrid could do that.  She's almost three and still gets up three times a night, crying for her blanket or lately it's "I'm so lonely, I really need you, mama!"  God she knows how to tug those heartstrings, doesn't she?

Otis loves his mama-milk!  I just love the drunk look he gets on his face after he eats.

Ahhh, that's good stuff.  The nursing is going extremely well, another thing I'm amazed by.  It's so funny because I see all this stuff about no pacifiers, no bottles, until they get good at breastfeeding.  This kid has had everything in his little mouth and still nurses just fine.  Or takes a bottle.  He doesn't care.  Where did they get this whole "nipple confusion" thing from?  I think the first month of nursing is just hard, no matter what, whether you have pacifiers or bottles or not.  I'm just so glad the hard part is over and now I can just feed him whenever, wherever. 

busy busy bunny.

It's been super busy over at Applesauce Crafts lately!  I'm not sure how I'm managing to still make anything, since Otis is seriously only happy or sleeping if he's being held.  I have managed to figure out how to do things in spurts when he's happy.  Usually if I take off his clothes and lay him in his crib he'll sit there and kick and be content for about 20 minutes.  Otherwise he's in the Ergo and it's hit or miss if I can get anything done.

But...I've managed to come up with a fun new creation for the shop.  Bunnies!  They are super cute and soft and don't have small parts so the wee-est of wee hands can play with them. 

I was going through my scrap box with Ingrid and we were oohing and aahing over old fabric, reminiscing over what had been made with the bigger piece.  I am so lucky to have a daughter that finds that as fun as I do!  So we decided to make something with the scraps, and since I always have the idea of making a quilt and then never do, I went for the bunny.  I drew up a template, which was kinda wonky (as usual...) but I think I like it.  They kind of tilt to one side and the ears never turn out the same.  But I think they're still cute.

Apparently others do, too, thankfully!  I listed two yesterday morning and they both sold within hours!  Yay.  So I have posted two more, and I have five more made that I have to take pictures of.  It's a fun project with Ingrid, too, because she's in love with the stuffing. She thinks it's great fun to sit there with me and give me handfuls of stuffing for each bunny.  Oh, that girl.  As much as she drives me crazy, I really do love her.

Blue Eyes

I don't think Otis' eyes are changing color.  He's a blue eyed kid for sure!

Our Mellow Week

Things have been amazingly mellow this week.  I know there have been times where Otis is crying and Ingrid is crabby, where I am so tired and just wish I could give them away for an hour so I could take a nap, but for the most part it's been a nice week. 

We have gotten a lot of sewing done, including living room curtains.  We made cookies.  We played with new friends.  We walked to the post office in the rain/snow and Ingrid fell asleep and her new rain boots kept falling off.  A little of this and that.

Kiddie Conversations

At the birthday party we went to Saturday, I had the funniest conversation with some five year olds. 

Little boy "My birthday is on August 4th." 
Me "Oh!  That's my husband's birthday.  You know who else has a birthday that day?  President Barack Obama!" 
Little boy "Cooool!" 
Little girl "My family doesn't like Scott Walker." 
Little boy "I like Luke Skywalker."

I love how mentioning the Presiden't name made the little girl get all five year old political!! 

Toddler Birthday Party

We went to a new friend's 2nd birthday party yesterday.  Sheesh, those things wear me out.  It was fun, Ingrid got to run around with new kids, play with toys that weren't hers, and make an ice cream sundae with lots of yummy goodies.  She thoroughly enjoyed herself!

Before the party, Brendan's parents came over with fun things for our house.  One was a family heirloom rocking chair for our living room.  I am really nervous about it being in our house, as we tend to ruin furniture between cats and babies, but they swore up and down that the rocking chair is for rocking babies and it's lasted a long time.  The first thing Fletcher did was curl right up in it, so yeah, cat hair will be all over in no time!

They also brought this awesome old desk for Ingrid's room:

I'm pretty stoked about it.  I found it lying in their basement when we lived with them a few years ago.  Ingrid was just a baby so I didn't want it right then, but I knew when she got older I'd want it.  Well what do you know, she's really the right size and age for it and we are back in Milwaukee, so it's ours!  Hooray!  Overall a very good day.

Ahhhh, Home.

Things are going pretty well here.  Boxes are unpacked, most of our random crap is put away, and I hung stuff up on the walls.  My fabric is out, I've gotten to sew some things, and we're getting back into a schedule.  Ahhh.  Our stressful time is almost over.

We went to Whole Foods to get groceries the other day.  There's an underground garage and as you come up the escalator into the store, you walk right into the floral department.  Ingrid saw the tulips and we just had to get them!  I wanted orange but she was adamant we get yellow.  Yellow it is.

Also purchased was a Nosefrida snot sucker. 

It sounds gross, but like a lot of things I've embraced as a mother, it's not really.  The bulb sucker wasn't doing the trick and I'm sick of Otis snorting all night because he can't breathe.  This thing works like magic--you stick it in their nose and suck.  Out comes the snot.  You blow it out onto a tissue, nothing ever comes near your mouth, it's awesome.  (I'm gushing about a snot sucker, I need to get out of the house more apparently...)

House stuff is going well.  Little by little I'm getting things put together.  I built a dresser a couple days ago, with lots of "help" from Ingrid.  It looks pretty cute in her room, and I'm so glad she's not living out of her suitcase anymore.  It's the perfect place for all her cute stuff, including the Irmi lamp I won from Modern Kiddo awhile ago!

My favorite room in the house is the dining room.  Strange but true.  It's somehow cozier than our living room.  We had people over and plopped the kids down in the middle of the dining room rather than the living room.  We have our computer in one corner, and the table on the other side.  There's an amazing china cabinet that holds our books (as if I own china...ha!) and our globes.  I love it.

Otis' room/my sewing room is also done but I just got stuff up today so I don't have pictures.  It's cute, too bad he won't be using it to sleep in any time soon...But I love having a sewing room again, so it actually works out nicely!

Smiles!!

The day is finally here when Otis smiles and isn't gassy!  He was very interested in the light coming in from the window this morning and spent some time smiling at it.  I wish this cute face was lighting up for me, but no, it was for sunshine...

Not that you can blame him, I'm pretty smiley about sunshine, too!  Even though it's cold out, we were able to walk to the local coop grocery the other day.  We got some things to make the most delicious grilled cheese sandwiches ever.  Yum.

Ingrid woke up with Pippi Longstocking hair this morning.  She has finally let me pull her hair back and fell asleep with piggies in her hair last night.  Actually, she passed out so quickly last night that she still had underwear on.  I went in to put a pull-up on her and she stayed asleep as I moved her around, got her pjs off, pull up on, and pjs back on.  All this five minutes after I kissed her good night, she was tired!

Things are great here, we're settling in nicely.  Brendan likes his job, we've seen lots of friends, and Ingrid is a LOT better about her sassiness.  I think she's starting to feel at home again, and we're less stressed now that we're moved in.  I put up curtains, got a rug for Otis' room, a dresser for Ingrid, and I'm about to set up my sewing stuff today.  Ahhh, settling in is so much better than packing up.