Ta-da!!

I just finished Miriam's flower girl dress for Uncle Dave's wedding! It was supposed to be done before the baby came, but I got caught up in so many other projects (most notably his baptism outfit) that I wasn't able to start it until after he was born. But now it's done! Well, almost. I still need to get a snap to attach to the right side of the bow (that's why it's lying a little cattywampus).

Do you think she likes her dress?

She discovered that it's good for twirling.

She and Edy are going to look so cute together! Thanks to Uncle Dave and Katie for asking both of them, and to Katie for picking out such a pretty pattern!

This is by far the fanciest thing I've ever made. I'm grateful I've sewn so much lately, because I felt fairly confident handling a project like this! The pattern itself wasn't that complicated, but a couple things really threw me for a loop so I had to improvise. In a couple places I totally disregarded the directions because I thought I could do something better (that would be the perfectionist coming out in me). :) I had to pull out a lot of seams and redo some things, especially when it came to the zipper, and matching up lines in the back. But I really wanted it to look nice for the wedding (and all those pictures!). :) Hope you're pleased, Dave & Katie!

Now, on to my next project -- something for ME to wear to the wedding! :)

Joseph's New Talent

Like his sisters before him, Joseph at 2 months is attempting the fine art of trying to suck on his thumb. There are a lot of complicated movements that have to be mastered in order to accomplish this essential skill of childhood: proper angle of arm, rotation of hand, and extension of thumb. It's fun watching a developing brain try to coordinate all these things, with mixed results.

Swing and a miss!

Strike two.

Almost... got... it....

Aww, half point!

He finally did get it... and my camera battery died.

Now at 2 am we're woken up not by the sound of guttural grunting rapidly escalating into starving crying, but rather by the sound of slurping. (...followed after a while by starving crying if we don't wake up soon enough) I can't wait until he discovers his toes -- that's always a fun stage too!

I'm sure Mr. Pickles would want me to point out that he's using his LEFT hand. Perhaps Mr. Pickles finally has an ally in the fight against discrimination by the oppressive right-handed patriarchy.

Baby Haute Couture

What can be cuter than our bitty boy dressed in doggies and baseball?

Unless it's cars and stripes?

Or blue and footballs?

...or blue and stripes?


...have I mentioned how fun it is dressing a boy?

My Special Postpartum Diet

This is a specially formulated diet designed to help women (for example, mothers with small children) cope with the stress that builds during the day.

Breakfast
1 grapefruit
1 slice whole wheat toast
1 cup skim milk

Lunch
1 small portion lean, steamed chicken
1 cup spinach
1 cup herbal tea
1 Hershey's kiss

Afternoon Tea
The rest of the Hershey Kisses in the bag
1 tub of Hagen-Daaz ice cream with chocolate chips

Dinner
4 glasses of wine (red or white)
2 loaves garlic bread
1 family size supreme pizza
3 Snickers Bars

Late Night Snack
1 whole Sarah Lee cheesecake (eaten directly from the freezer)

(hmm, maybe this is why I still have 20 lbs. to go....)

So I'm a little slow these days...

It took me a couple weeks to realize that these adorable pants (another cute item on loan from cousin Max) make a pun. Do you get it?

Hi. I'm Mrs. Pickles. And I'm a Sudokuholic.

I just finished this today. 224 puzzles, all pleasantly challenging, but solvable. I bought this at a dollar store before Joseph was born, in order to take it to the hospital with me, thinking I'd want something to do that wasn't too mentally challenging (not a good time to catch up on First Things, for example), yet didn't lower my I.Q. (so no sample issues of Parenting mag either). It was very helpful in the early days of nursing too, when I needed something to take my mind off the "discomfort." I find solving Sudoku puzzles very personally satisfying -- they fulfill a deep need in me for a place for everything and everything in its place. How cool is it that the numbers fit so neatly into their own little squares!

I confess. I'm an addict. How about you?

Mama's Boy

For so long during my pregnancy with him, I was convinced Joseph was going to be another girl. I had girl vibes, I had girl clothes, I had a beautiful girl name... and I wasn't sure I wanted a boy yet. I was introduced to boyhood through the one I babysat, and after that experience I wasn't sure about having a boy! Don't get me wrong; Paul is a great kid -- sweet, compliant, cooperative, loving -- but he is a boy, which includes a penchant for chaos and destruction. It's written into their genes. :) And I wasn't sure that I could be a good mother to a boy. Girls I understand -- I can handle the drama. But the sheer physicality of a boy?...

Well, now we've got ourselves one! And it turns out he's just the sweetest, yummiest, fuzziest baby there is. I had been extremely nervous -- if not panicky -- about the idea of having a boy. But as his due date approached I began to second-guess my girl vibes, to see and hear about Josephs and Michaels everywhere, and to notice how cute some little boy outfits were. I even went so far as to order blue diaper fasteners, instead of purple, just in case. I also felt that I really needed to have my own boy to be able to experience the positives -- to understand boys from the inside. So when he was finally born, I was actually thrilled, mostly for Mr. Pickles, but also for myself. In the words of Diana Barry, "I wouldn't trade baby Fred for a MILLION girls!" I'm thinking that by the time he gets to the chaos and destruction stage I'll love him enough that I won't want to strangle him -- at least no more than I do my other children. :)

So now I've been trying to discern if there is a difference between Joseph and his big sisters at this age. At first I couldn't tell if he really seemed more active, or strong, or loud... until now. In the last week or so his maleness has really started to emerge. In addition to the deep guttural grunting (which was present from the start), his play times are becoming more active. He flaps his arms very excitedly, like all babies do, but his actions to me seem bigger and more enthusiastic. He's just so... full of life.

And his clothes!! Thanks to the generosity of family & friends, he's got a new outfit for every day of the year, practically. (I guess there are advantages to being a younger sibling!) And they're all so kee-yute! Today he had on a stripey shirt with overalls (on loan from cousin Max) that were so little-boy-ish I just wanted to eat him up. Miriam wrote him a letter: "Dear Josif in baby [scribble scribble scribble] love Miriam and Katie." She tells me that it says, "Dear Joseph in baby clothes, you are wearing the cutest outfit that I ever saw, it's so adorable." And there are tons more like it! Now when I do laundry, I have the white load, the dark load, and the blue load.

Every once in a while I think of all the horror stories that other mothers of boys have told, and I have a moment of panic, fearing that my little boy will turn into a monster too. But then I just look at him and I realize that even if he does, I'll still love him, even more than I do now. And I'll probably be able to regale other young, vulnerable mothers with horrific tales of his unbelievable naughtiness, rolling my eyes and sighing resignedly. Yet all the while I'll know that no other mother's son can be as smart, or sweet, or cute, or [insert trait here] as my son, because... he's mine.

"Love Light" by Peter Quidley

Ain't it the truth

ht: Danielle Bean

Secret to New Parenthood Survival: keep your sense of humor well-developed

We love Baby Blues. As one can imagine I'm especially appreciating the strips from a couple years ago when their third child was born.

Mr. Pickles and I have a system worked out -- he wakes up more quickly than I do, and can fall asleep faster after having gotten out of bed, so he gets up to change the baby. Joseph sleeps next to us, so after I'm done feeding him I tuck him back in bed, without having to physically get out of bed. Sometimes I can fall asleep while he's nursing, which is great. The bottom line for our sleeping arrangements is: whatever gets everyone the most sleep.

I change Joseph's clothes (and sometimes my own) about 3x a day too.


(Note: in case anyone is having trouble viewing the strips, the originals are here here and here, respectively. Sometimes just hitting "refresh" works for me.)

Miriam (and Katie) reciting

We need to do more memorizing for school -- both girls really seem to enjoy it. Here's their latest achievement. (I didn't realize Katie even knew this poem until she started chiming in!)

Pagan No More!

Welcome to the newest little Christian on the block!

It's always such a relief for me when my babies get to this point -- if the unthinkable should happen, at least they get a straight ticket to heaven.

The Big Moment. He shrieked, of course -- had one or two demons that held on until the last second, I guess. :)

with the godparents and our pastor

marble cake with raspberry filling -- I know, don't you with you could have some? (we've got plenty left -- we'll mail you some!) :b

The baptism ensemble in action. It actually fits quite nicely! (It helps that we have a baby the size of a small elephant.) I had to take tucks in the sleeves and legs, which actually ended up adding quite a bit to the outfit. Grandma E. says it looks like a little altar boy's surplice. :) Joseph's baptism ensemble has gained some of the complexities of a wedding dress -- i.e. something old, something new etc. -- in addition to the top and pants I made him, he's wearing the booties crocheted for Miriam by either Nana or Aunt Terri (who is my godmother), plus a blue ribbon and miraculous medal which I believe his Uncle Joe wore at his baptism umpteen years ago. (hey, did you know that "umpteen" is recognized by blogger's spell checker? just thought I'd share that)

Being this cute all the time is SO draining!

And I'm tired of being froufy!

heh heh heh

Or as Mr. Pickles says, we're going from man-to-man to zone defense.

Little Mommy in the Making

Miriam is extremely maternal. She is so people-oriented in general that I really shouldn't be surprised. All day today she kept begging to hold the baby -- and since I was trying to get stuff done, I was grateful for the extra hands to hold him until I could get to him.



And Joseph really responds to her in a way that he doesn't with anyone else. Whenever he hears her voice he perks up and starts looking around for her. It is SOOOO cute and melts a mother's heart!



I wouldn't be surprised if they went on to develop a very special relationship.

I couldn't believe this -- she actually got him to fall asleep on her lap. (It truly is amazing the positions in which babies can sleep.)

Once I asked Miriam what she wanted to be when she grew up. She replied, "A mommy, like you." (Awwwwwwwwww...) Oh, and her husband's name is going to be Michael Joseph.

Dancing Queen

Mr. Pickles likes playing what I call "rowdy music" while he's doing domestic things, like baking. While he was thus occupied in the kitchen I came across this in the living room:




Katie puttin' on the moves to "Wait" by White Lion

Katie Kan Kount!

Katie came up to me while I was eating breakfast this morning and said, "Mommy, listen!"