Four Months Old!!

Leah turned four months old on the 20th! I can't believe how time goes by!

At four months old, Leah is:

*14 1/2 pounds (75%--Woo-hoo!!)

*Rolls both directions

*"Talks" a lot :)

*Smiles and laughs all the time

*Sleeps 10 hours at night (most of the time)

*Is a joy to everyone around her



For fall break, I was really needing a get-away. I felt as though I'd been stuck in the house for most of the summer and I wanted to do something fun. We decided to go away to Lava Hot Springs. Now Lava Hot Springs is not a very happening place. (Sorry to those of you who may be from there). But, we rented a house that was just awesome to stay at.

This is the Inn at Owl Hollow. We had so much fun there! I highly recommend it.

Leah takes a dip in the coolest hot pool at Lava (102 degrees F). Notice her adorable Baby Gap Swimsuit? 50 cents at a yard sale--I LOVE a good deal!

Okay, so Halloween is coming. Here is the costume I made for Sarah. She's a cute little garden gnome sitting on a toadstool!

I honestly can't say if I like Sarah's or Skyler's costume best. I think Skyler is the cutest nerd, EVER! By the way, his pose was natural!

Leah's exercise Video

I have to admit, I didn't come up with this idea, I copied the idea from one of my favorite blogs: www.makeit-loveit.com.

Three Months

I can't believe that this girl is three months old!
She is now:
*just under 13 pounds (woo-hoo)
*laughing spontaneously
*smiling all the time
*sleeping 9 hours at night (usually)

My only problem is not being able to find more than a few minutes at a time to work on any projects. Oh well, 'tis the phase of life that I am in--better get used to it!


Is it just me, or is this face totally irresistable? Those eyes!

Two Months

I can't believe two months have passed. Leah is an absolute doll! We just adore her!






This month:

We were introduced to the "5 S's" from "The Happiest Baby on the Block" and it has made all the difference. I highly recommend it!

Leah started smiling alot!

She laughs and coos occasionally.

11.5 pounds--75% --this is a miracle for me if you knew the history of my babies weight gain (or lack of it).

Breastfeeding is going great now (knock on wood!)

I am feeling tons better--almost back to normal. Although that's a new normal because I have so much less time and I don't feel like I accomplish much.

Best of all, Leah is sleeping 8 hours at night!!

Trying out the bumbo for the first time.

Sisterly love:






Couldn't quite fit everyone in the picture. My lens doesn't zoom.

One Month Old

Okay, okay, so I'm about a week late, but what do you expect with a new baby? Here are some photos of Leah at one month. She is sooo precious. Has it really just been one month...and yet has it really already been a whole month? Wow, you wouldn't believe (okay, maybe you would) what we've been through in the last month. We're talking postpartum depression (ouch, that is a hard word to admit to), mastitis, drying out, pumping a ton, all kinds of supplements and medications, carpal tunnel (actually that started months ago), a visit to the lactation specialists, and much more. Why isn't breastfeeding easier?
Well, anyhow, this little darling has made it all worth it! What more can I say?

Meet Leah!

Well, here she is, at long last! Leah May. She was born at 10:12 PM last night (Monday) after about 7 hours of nearly painless labor and one push. (Thank you, epidural!) That was the easiest of my five labors and deliveries. My other four babies weighed in between 6 pounds, 8 ounces and 7 pounds, 2 ounces. Leah? A whopping 8 pounds, 3 ounces!! Yes, that is more than a pound larger than my next biggest baby! I had no idea that was possible, but I am feeling mighty proud. (I always wondered what was wrong with me for producing such small babies). She has been a joy and an angel already and we just adore her. My next mission? Relaxing and enjoying the new baby-ness of this little gal every minute!




One little angel and one tired mama.

Checking in...

Still here! I'm used to delivering at 38 weeks, and now I'm 39 weeks + 1 day. I'm feeling overdue! I've spent the past week watching and waiting and noticing every pain/ache/feeling. Wouldn't it be nice to know the exact day and time to expect your baby to arrive? Well, it can't be long now, so I'll update when something happens.

Finishing up a few last things...

Remember these projects? Yes, I have finished them. Let me show you.


Here is the $5 rocking chair. It was so grungy and disgusting. I know it was quite old and I doubt it had ever been cleaned. But now, oh so pretty. I actually would like to add a decorative wood piece to the top center that I can glaze, but because of the curve it would have to be pretty small. I haven't found one yet that would work. In the meantime, I will just keep my afghan thrown over it.



I got the crochet pattern for this afghan from Attic 24, my favorite crocheting blog. If you like crocheting, flowers, beautiful colors, or England, you'll love this blog! By the way, I crocheted this last fall before I started in on the whole nesting thing. At that time I had NO other projects going. I am ambitious, but not quite ambitious enough to make this on top of everything else. :)



Here is Skyler's "parking garage". He just has so many large-sized vehicles, that his closet was a mess. My hubby built this shelf, and I painted it. Now he has the perfect spot to park his big cars.



Now my blue chair. You'll recall I let my sister-in-law have the other one. I LOVE how the color turned out. I LOVE how the detail turned out when glazed. I LOVE the colors of the fabric I chose. I DO NOT love how the cushion itself turned out. (Too thick, too square). I may have a bit of re-doing in my future. For now, though, the cushion stays.







And last, but not least, a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to this little guy who turned 3-years-old today!! (Oh! How I just love that little face!!) Click here to read what I LOVE about this little guy!

Photo by ME!

Last month I was reading House of Smiths. There was a post that totally INSPIRED me! It was all about how she took a Photo by You Workshop, taught by photographer Emilie Decker, to improve her photography. She showed before and after photos and I KNEW I needed to take this workshop. (I had just been pricing newborn baby photo shoots and was blown away by the price). I've had a nice camera for over a year now, but I ALWAYS shoot on auto, so it was time I learned anyhow.

I saw that her next workshop was soldout, so I contacted Emilie to see if she had a waiting list because I was sure I'd have my baby before her next workshop. I was BLOWN AWAY when she offered to do a one on one session with me, at my convenience! Talk about service!

Well, my workshop was this Monday and I feel like I learned so much! I now have the confidence that I can shoot in manual mode most of the time and have better photos. I also feel like I can now look at the lighting in any situation and know better how to use it.

I have been having fun experimenting and with taking photos and editing (using Photoshop Elements). Here are a few of them.

This is one that I took using the auto setting with the flash on. It's an example of my before photos. Not a bad photo, but the lighting is a bit harsh.


This photo came straight from the camera, shot with manual mode. (I used a reflector to lighten up the shadows on his left side).


This is the same photo as above, but I edited it a bit, using tips Emilie taught me.


Again, straight from the camera, shot in manual, no editing.


Same photo, but edited just a bit.


This photo was taken in auto mode, full flash.
Let's face it, my camera takes really nice photos no matter the setting.

This photo was taken in auto mode, with NO flash. By the way, NONE of the manual photos used the flash.



Manual mode.


Same photo, some editing.


Okay, so I just had to put these two photos side by side because I think the difference is amazing! It just goes to show that you don't need to use a flash if you know the right settings to use in manual mode.


Manual mode.


Same photo, with editing. I LOVE this boy! I LOVE this smile!


Manual mode.


Same photo, some editing.


Okay these next ones are so FUN! The kids were running through the sprinklers, so I saw my chance to get some candid, action shots. I took this photo in manual mode, right as Eliza was jumping over the sprinkler.


Same photo, some editing. Don't you LOVE the stop action of the water, and of ELiza jumping through it? I LOVE IT!!!
(Thank you Emilie!!)


I'm excited that I will be able to take newborn photos for myself. My sister had a baby on Monday, so tomorrow I'm going to take photos of him to practice. Yay!!