9 Months!

Cora is 9 months old today! It's like she woke up and decided, "hey, I'm getting up there in months, I should probably master this crawling thing. Well, today seems as good a day as any...." She's been all over the place this morning! I put her down in her room and she meandered her way to the front room for a while before heading back down the hall to our bedroom. She was having so much fun that she didn't want to go down for her first nap; I think she was so proud of her new skill that she wanted to practice it more. I fear we will have our hands full with our now mobile little creature....

I was talking to a friend and we were ruing the fact that our tiny babies are growing so quickly; fortunately though, each stage has been more fun than the last. I think that helps me to not mind quite as much. I mean, look at this little face - so proud that she is "soooo biiiig." Much more fun than the little needy blob we brought home from the hospital (I can say that because I love her).

Hair + Bows

I got Cora some hair bows the other day when we were out shopping. I mean, why the heck not? She has enough hair, for Pete's sake!

She seems not to mind at all; in fact, she looks pretty happy in them!

Eric's not a huge fan, though; I think he's unsure of what to do with so much girly-ness. To help him to be more comfortable - I sometimes put Cora in every pink item of clothing that she owns, pull her hair up, and slap a bow in it.

Haha! He has to get used to it somehow!

Citrus Lane

Well, folks, we have a mystery on our hands. Someone has been sending Cora gift boxes from Citrus Lane.... We got a box last month, but it didn't have a name with it so we thought it was a promotional attempt to get us to subscribe. But then we got one again this month so the question remains: who is sending us these delightful little boxes?? Any tips??

Sewing Miffy

I'm always dreaming up sewing projects that are far above my skill level; I usually go buy the fabric and then it sits in my sewing drawer, intimidating me, until I forget about it or decide on another, even more unattainable project. I've been trying to break this cycle by practicing my sewing skills on little projects that can be pieced together in less than a day. The first of these was a Miffy pillow (the first that was successful, anyway). I think it's pretty cute if I do say so myself. 

Here's Miffy:

And my Miffy model, of course:

If you're wondering about Miffy, she is book character created by Dutch author and illustrator Dick Bruna. You can learn more about her here. 

Valentine's Day

Eric spoiled me rotten on Valentine's Day. Not only were there flowers and chocolate, but he got me (us) an iPad. How nice is that? Eric has had to work a lot lately so it was really great to just relax, have dinner in, and be together as a family. Cora even giggled for the first time. At Eric, of course.

Bath Hair is the Best Hair

Six Weeks

Cora is getting chubbier, cuter, and more fun by the day. Her eyes are becoming more blue, and she's getting pretty good at smiling...

Boden Kids

I'm loving Boden's clothing for children. They have really wonderful prints that are cheerful and colorful with nary a rhinestone in sight. My favorites are definitely the Retro Print Pinafore (top) and the Jersey Dungarees (second row left). So cute and summery!!

From top to bottom: Retro Print Pinne (in both colors) / Jersey Dungarees /  5-Pack Onesies / Sweet Embroidered Dress / Pretty Collar Jersey Dress / Pretty Printed Tea Dress / Sunny Aplique Tshirt

Skiing

We took Cora on her first ski trip on Saturday; we rented some cross country skis and headed up to Red Lodge for the day. We didn't go too far, I'm still really out of shape from being pregnant, but it was a beautiful day and we had an awesome time.

Four Weeks

Cora is four weeks old today. Prepare yourself for an insane amount of baby pictures....

It's a Girl!

Cora Elise Brindle was born Friday, December 13th at 9:30am. 7 pounds 7 ounces 21.5 inches long :)

A Week Overdue

You know you're super preggers when you wear a dress for a shirt because none of your (or your husband's) t-shirts are long enough to cover your gut anymore....

Also, look at how HUGE my fingers are! Sausages!!

Ergo-Eric

And the gifts keep rolling in.... people are so nice! Well, in this case, my parents are super nice (which we knew); they sent us an Ergo-baby!

I'm pretty sure that this is one of Eric's favorite gifts that we've received so far. He was pretty excited to try it out....

..... and he doesn't look thrilled here, but I think the cat liked it pretty well, too. He kept tucking his head down on Eric's chest and trying to fall asleep. If Eric hadn't been galloping around the house in glee, he probably would have succeeded :)

Thanks, Parents!

Thank You

Just got this adorable little outfit in the mail today. It's difficult to tell from the picture, but the fabric has tiny grey puckered dots - super cute. It's so soft and I'm completely in love with the little pocket and hood. Unfortunately, it didn't say who it was from... So if you're reading this - whoever you are - thank you! I love it!

One Week to D-Date

This year has gone by more quickly than any previous year of my life. Point of fact: we have one week left until our due date.

Yeah.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

I've been a bit slow in packing for the hospital and getting baby stuff ready to go (I still have to wash clothing so the little tyke has something to come home in), but the nursery is at least ready to be inhabited.

Here are a couple of panoramic views of it:

Like I've mentioned before, we really didn't want to spend a ton of money on decorating a room for a child that can only focus on things 8 inches in front of its face. Our big purchase was the rocking chair; pretty much everything else was given to us or we had on hand already. 

I'm not a huge fan of the curtains, I think we will eventually have sheers and a roller shades, but these work for now. 

Eric's mom gave us the alphabet needlepoint and the "Never Doubt an Eagle Scout" was letterpressed by a friend in college. The dresser was mine as a kid, and the baskets and bins are full of Eric's childhood toys. A friend has promised me her changing pad which we'll put on top of the dresser. 

Here's the marvelous crib Eric's aunt gave us; my mom made the blanket hanging on the end of the crib, Eric's mom made the goat pillow (I am aware that you can't have pillows in the crib with a kid, but I'm waiting for Eric to get his guns out of the closet so I can store stuff in there), and the Viking ship mobile was given to us by Nick and Hanna.

I'd better go do some laundry - with only a week left, this room could supposedly be utilized any day now.

Proof that Eric Once was Small

Well folks, there's hope! Our wee one will be clothed!

Last week, a friend gave us a box of baby clothes, and yesterday we received a couple more boxes from Eric's parents. The boxes from Eric's family were pretty fun to go through; though it was difficult to imagine that Eric (and Adam and Joe) were ever that small....

There were a lot of amazing 80s onesies:

(haha! kind of cute!)
But there were also some really nice sweaters and hats.

I'm realizing this is a terrible picture, but these were a few of my favorite things from Eric's parents. I looooooove that white hat and sweater and can't you just picture a darling little Nordic baby in that blue sweater and red hat? So cute!

It's pretty amazing how generous people are; we literally haven't had to buy anything for Baby B, yet. Though I may have to get a couple of things for the kiddo, just for fun. Maybe I'll wait until after it's born...?

Weekend Puttering

Eric's parents sent us his AWESOME Brio train set from when he was little so we played trains this weekend :) It was so much fun! The nursery is coming together nicely - probably because we're not really doing much to it (have I mentioned we're cheap?). I just have a few pictures to hang and we're going to call it good! Bring on the baby!!

Obedience & Parenting

I really worry a lot about being a good parent. I worry about being both too strict and too lenient; about looking like the bad guy in front of friends and strangers; I worry that I will royally mess my kid up. I hope (and pray) that I can be consistent while also knowing that there is no such thing as perfection (on my part or of that of the child). This article by John Piper is good encouragement to persevere in requiring obedience:

I am writing this to plead with Christian parents to require obedience of their children. I am moved to write this by watching young children pay no attention to their parents’ requests, with no consequences. Parents tell a child two or three times to sit or stop and come or go, and after the third disobedience, they laughingly bribe the child. This may or may not get the behavior desired. 

Last week, I saw two things that prompted this article. One was the killing of 13-year-old Andy Lopez in Santa Rosa, California, by police who thought he was about to shoot them with an assault rifle. It was a toy gun. What made this relevant was that the police said they told the boy two times to drop the gun. Instead he turned it on them. They fired 

I do not know the details of that situation or if Andy even heard the commands. So I can’t say for sure he was insubordinate. So my point here is not about young Lopez himself. It’s about a “what if.” What if he heard the police, and simply defied what they said? If that is true, it cost him his life. Such would be the price of disobeying proper authority.

You can read the whole article here; it has some really good reminders.

Generosity

Last night, a few of my lady friends threw me a baby shower. Not to brag on my friends, but it was probably the best baby shower in the history of the world ;) There was hot cider, apple cake, fruit trays in the shape of Elmo and Big Bird, darling decorations, and a ton of awesome presents.

This morning, the middle bedroom looked like this:

So. Much. Stuff!!

I am completely overwhelmed and totally grateful for all the wonderful gifts people gave us. A few ladies even pitched in and got us our car seat. Pretty amaze-balls.

The funny thing is... I don't think people have any idea what kind of clothes to get (or, more likely, they can't find anything that would work) for a child whose gender is unknown... besides a few white onesies, there were absolutely no clothes. A million books, but no clothing. Our child will be very well read and completely nude. Haha :)

I probably shouldn't... but I have to admit I have a few favorite gifts. Chrissie made Baby Brindle the most adorable stuffed bunny in the history of the world (Made it. I love it so much!), and Hanna got us the viking mobile from our Amazon registry. I am really stoked to put it together and hang it tonight.

Wish me luck sorting through all these presents; it's going to take a while!!

Footie Again

I had to show you the footie that my mom got us, again. It's just so dang cute! Look at the little ears!!!