Hey all!
I promised nursery pictures... and you finally get them. Funny story though... it no longer looks as it will in the photographs.
WE ARE MOVING! To Tooele. In less than a month. So the once adorable (mostly) complete nursery is now fairly bare and has a small pile of boxes instead of cute artwork and books. On the plus side that means I get to put together a nursery again! And who knows... it might be the same or 100% different. But here you go:
Jude's dresser was an epic DI find but it's in need of a paint job or a new stain colour. We will decide what colour when we do his new nursery. His name was painted by our good friends and were an AWESOME shower gift. We love them. The tiny shelves were found at SUU. They were giving them away. It's been super useful as diaper storage as well as an awesome holder for all the other baby stuff we need on hand. John, Paul, George and Ringo were are inspiration piece. Jude stares at them all the time when we change his diaper and get him dressed.
The burlap banners on the wall were used at our wedding and say "Just Married" on the other side. I made the grey and white ones to add contrast and now they are used as perfect bow tie storage for our little guy.
The book shelves were from IKEA... only $4 a piece and the frame was a shower gift. We were so lucky to get so many books from our showers. If you peek you can see Parker's face on our lumberjack storybook about the Great "Jedidiah Parks". The final photo is the bulk of the room. I feel like I live in that rocking chair sometimes.
I'm so excited to someday be in our own place where we can paint the walls and really make the space our own. I feel like we did a good job with what we had though.
Anyways, much love from my mostly packed up apartment in Cedar!
Well it's been 3 weeks and about 2 hours since we welcomed our sweet little boy into the world. And everything feels different.
It's insane to me that 1) in one instant my whole world could change 2) that I could hold this tiny person in my arms and feel as if I've known him forever and 3) that I could love someone so much that sometimes it's completely overwhelming. I look at his little face and see my nose and Parker's ears. We literally made a human. Isn't that mind boggling? I know that we as a human race have been making more humans ever since we've existed so it shouldn't be that surprising and neat... but my brain can't really seem to get over it.
Our little guy has been SO fun... and SO exhausting haha. He still loves listening to Louis Armstrong and the Beatles. Instead of cooing, as you would expect a baby to do, he growls and squeaks like the little (adorable) monster that he is.
He loves flailing his little arms and legs around like he's treading water. His little hairs are turning red and his eyes seem to be getting more blue.
I mean he's seriously adorable and yes he cries (and by that I mean screams) during the night and I often feel like a milk cow that needs a break but I love him so much. I get it now. I get why my mom does some of the things that she does. I get why my grandmothers did and do the things that they do. To be responsible for this tiny little person's life is an incredible responsibility. I think about him all the time. I worry about him all the time.
I wonder what kind of man he's going to be. I wonder if he is going to be creative. Will he like seafood? Is he going to be an adrenaline junkie like his dad? Everyday I feel like I am discovering something new about him and myself and I can't wait to watch him grow... and a small part of me wants him to stay teensy and perfect and safe in my arms forever. It's conflicting and slightly confusing but I'm figuring it out.
Oh before I go, here is the song that without fail makes my little guy smile or fall asleep. I can always count on John, Paul, George and Ringo.
So those are my thoughts for today. I hope all is well! Nursery pictures coming soon! I've just got a few projects to finish.
I'm not sure about the other mama's to be out there but I've noticed something in the past 7ish months... you get pregnant and people seem to say the strangest things in reference to you. So I thought I would share some of the trends I've noticed...
1) Birth Horror Stories: Worse than any story I read in "Scary Stories to tell in the Dark" and any horror flick I've actually seen, moms LOVE to share their horrendous and bloody and fluid ridden child birth experiences with mother's to be. I can't really figure out why. Do they not already see the look of pure panic on my face BEFORE they started talking about emergency this and 15 weeks early that? Dear moms, your pain is real and I would love to commiserate with you... but could we maybe wait until AFTER this baby is out of me and I can empathize instead of shake in terror? Wouldn't that be better for all of us?
2) Size Comments: This may be a surprise to some people but when you get pregnant, you also get BIGGER... and it seems like you get bigger at an alarming rate. I mean you've got 9 months to gain 30 ish pounds. As a pregnant woman you are hyper aware of your changing body. Sometimes it's a wonderful miracle and other times you feel like a massive glacier about ready to take out those trying to squeeze past you in the grocery aisle. The last thing I want to hear is "Man, you sure look like you're ready to pop!" or "You've gotten so big!" or my personal favorite "I NEVER got that big when I was pregnant!" All of these things are said with a smile. Why are you smiling at me while you remind me that my pants no longer fit and that I can't see my toes?
3) Cute. I've never been called "cute" more in my life aside (I assume) from when I was a baby. I didn't mind it at first, because let's face it, all girls love a compliment and as mentioned earlier being called big is tough to take. I've noticed though that how "cute" I am is directly proportional to how large I am. The bigger I get, apparently the cuter I get. I've started to feel a little bit like a puppy must feel as it waits to be adopted. All the the women scrunch their faces, almost squeal and say "Oh my goodness! You're so cute!" I keep waiting for someone to forget I'm a person and scratch me behind the ears or maybe forget I'm a grown woman and pinch my cheeks. Is this how older folks feel as the younger adults and teenagers patronizingly call them cute?
4) Birth-ucation: My last and finally point of confusion is why people think it's okay to tell me how (and with or without which drugs) I should give birth to my baby. It's not just that but it's how I should feed him after and for how long. I just feel like it's my decision to make. It's simple as that!
I'm aware this is a little ranty BUT it's been on my mind for a few months now. And in all reality my pregnancy has been pretty wonderful, despite my confusion at some of those around me. I'm so grateful to carry this little guy and I'm getting SO excited to meet him. In the mean time I'll take my "cute" butt into the nursery and get to work decorating. Thanks for listening!
Hey All!
So as with most things in my life, the more I plan the more things turn out NOT according to plan... and that is A OK. My only concern is that, like a crazy person, I do the same thing over and over expecting a different result. Anyways, thankfully for me this not plan, plan has turned out pretty well and in all reality it's not that big of a deal.
This is about... the nursery. Yep, that room where we will place our sweet little wailing baby in the hopes that he will sleep and not blow out of his diaper. There's something about putting a nursery together that makes this whole bizarre scenario of becoming parents all the more real. Maybe it's because you're actually assembling the cradle and rocking chair that you will use and that you're now assaulted by the sight of changing pads and onsies in dresser drawers when you walk into the once spare bedroom. The totes of fabric and patterns, as well as the golf clubs and Parker's "piles" have been stowed away. I mean it's real. There's a real person in me who's going to be really sleeping in the cradle under the window. It doesn't help that my body has reached house sized proportions and that our little man could show up literally at any time. I'm torn between elation and excitement and terror.
Anyways.... sorry about the mom tangent. Back to cute decor... When we had first talked about getting the room all ready for little Jude, Parker and I had decided on modern neutrals with a woodland kick. We wanted foxes, bears and a tee-pee. So I tailored our registry accordingly and kept an eye out for adorable creatures. Well it turns out that our dear family and friends (despite all of our hopes and dreams) did not use the month and few months since our wedding to learn how to use a gift registry... and so the random concoction of baby paraphernalia piled up and to our lovely family's credit, it's adorable albeit slightly non cohesive.
So as I organized clothes by size and looked at the adorable blankets given to us and made lists of the things still needed, inspiration struck in the form it usually does. As with the naming of our child, John, Paul, George and Ringo came to the rescue. No, there will not be yellow submarines hanging from the ceiling... nor will it resemble an octopus' garden... in the shade or the sun. Unfortunately for you, we aren't quite finished which means no reveal for you yet but pictures will be coming soon. Trust me. It's going to be adorable... almost as adorable as the probably ginger kid in my tummy.
Much love,
Sydney L
I embarked on a new adventure yesterday... I did my first newborn photo shoot! I was incredibly nervous but I think they turned out super cute SO I thought I would share some of my favorite photos.
Isn't she just precious? All of the bows and lace made me a little jealous. Boys only get bows in the form of bow ties. I'm not convinced that I want to do MORE newborn photos but it's definitely a good skill to have I think... and it will definitely come in handy when our little nugget decides to show up.
While I wait for him to arrive, I guess I'll just have to continue putting together the nursery and reupholstering chairs. Pictures of the nursery to come! As a hint... it may be slightly more British than we had originally intended.
So through all of my "baby prep" somewhere along the line I got a promo code for a free 8X8 Shutterfly Photobook... Naturally I had 150 ideas as to what to use it on BUT Parker and I settled on making a storybook for our sweet little baby!
Naturally the story that evolved was about a jerky eating, bear wrestling lumberjack that decides to go on an adventure to find a wife. And naturally that meant that Parker needed to grow out a beard and some of my dear friends had to dress up as animals. I thought I would share some of the photos with you because they turned out so dang cute!
Hello All!
I know it's been a while. It's a little because not a lot has really been going on (besides my ever expanding to belly) and a little because I've been in Utah since the 4th of July and Parker has been in Indiana and won't be here until tomorrow. Honestly, this has been the longest six weeks of my life (longer even than the six weeks packing roe at the fishery in Alaska)... and I am beyond grateful that they are coming to a close. My parents have been champions at feeding me and entertaining me but I miss my husband and our life. There have been times when I feel as if I'm their wayward daughter that got knocked up and sent home and that I was never married in the first place. Thankfully the weirdness is almost over!
This whole situation has made me more and more grateful for modern technology. FaceTime, texting, online baby registries and more has made it so much easier to be away from my sweet husband. I have NO idea how people handled things like this before all of our modern conveniences. Anyway, I just thought I would type a celebration post real quick!
Now it's back to baby showers, waiting for this little guy to grow and making more and more lists of things to do! Wish us luck!
-Sydney
So folks, I'm starting to look like I've eaten a watermelon seed.
It was bound to happen and I'm more than okay with it. Being pregnant is not what I expected at all. I expected to not be sick (my mom was never sick, my grandma was never sick...) I expected to be fat but to be pretty much the same. I imagined a little human growing and moving inside of me and would shudder at the thought. I assumed that eventually the hormones would be rough to manage and I'd never look at tiny shoes and squeal with delight. I was mostly wrong.
1) I had 3 full months of sick. It was not fun but for some reason I didn't mind to much. Parker hated it. He looked at me so sad and at a loss of what to do. Thankfully that portion of pregnancy is finished.
2) A little human moving around is so neat! He's gotten big enough that you can see my tummy move when he moves. It's amazing to feel him wiggle when certain music is on, or when Parker talks to him. I never thought I'd be so enthralled by looking at and touching my own tummy.
3) The hormones are rough. I cry and yell at nothing. It's pretty ridiculous. Thankfully my sweet husband is good at laughing at me and holding me until I calm down. I can't decide if it's hormones or the trouble sleeping but I also didn't expect my dreams to get so coo-coo. But they definitely did.
The thing that has mostly surprised me is how full of hope I am for this tiny life inside of me. I think about him all the time. What's he going to look like? Will he be creative like me or strategic and smart like his daddy? Will he have as much energy out of the womb as he does in? I just can't wait to get to know him. I feel so incredibly blessed to be in this situation. Am I terrified to be a mom? Pretty much. But I know that this is going to be a wonderful adventure.
Thanks for listening!
-Sydney L
Hey guys! It's been a while since I've made a "things that are making me happy" list. This could be a combination of business and laziness (you should probably believe it's laziness) but I think it's about time to do one again.
This week has been pretty rough between Parker being sick and me passing kidney stones... then there's the pregnancy exhaustion mixed with Parker's work exhaustion. So I think it's time to take a moment to talk about happy things and remember that I have a LOT to be grateful for.
1) ANNIVERSARY! It's crazy to think that it's been a whole year and almost a month since our delightful wedding day. I feel like I can finally think about it without left over angst and stress... which is a minor miracle. Not only has our anniversary given me a chance to do that, it's also let me reflect on the year. Everything has changed so much! Not only that but everything is 10 times happier than I could have imagined it being. If you would have told me last year that at this time I would be pregnant, we'd be in Indiana of all places, I would have laughed at you. Anyways, back to our anniversary.
Parker is always the champion of surprises. He LOVES surprising me... and he hates being surprised. Needless to say he went "all out" for our anniversary. He was nervous about planning anything because we weren't sure how I'd be feeling but luckily for us the morning sickness dissipated just in time. We stayed at the Grand America in Salt Lake City (which is definitely in my top 5 favorite places EVER). It was so beautiful. There's something about staying there that makes you feel as if you've been transported to a different life, where you may not be a princess but you are definitely some form of lesser royalty. We ate gelato and explored the hotel. That night we went to Desert Star Theater to see Provo Cop... which was hilarious!
The next morning we woke up to breakfast in bed and then we went to the ZOO!! I know there's those anti zoo people. I'm not one of them. I love being able to see the monkeys and elephants and roar at the lions. Parker and I got to squeal at all the cute baby animals. It was perfect!
2) Sour Cream and Onion Chips. This seems to be my most consistent pregnancy symptom besides medium rare hamburgers and enchiladas. There's something about the way they crunch in my mouth... just thinking about it makes me hungry but that could just be that I'm always hungry.
3) Target Baby Registry. I had no idea that deciding what you wanted/needed for an upcoming baby would be so time consuming and frustrating! There is SO much stuff. Target's online registry though, is wonderful. They have it divided into categories. It makes it way easier to not lose track of what you've already looked at. Their reviews are generally helpful and they even have a "mom's choice" section that has a group of mommies' top choices in any price range. It's been great and useful and stress relieving.
4) DeBrand Fine Chocolates. This place is right here in Fort Wayne... about 5 minutes away from our apartment. I've yet to go BUT they do tours and I have the boys talked into it for next week. Just thinking about going is making me salivate. Click the link to check out some gorgeous chocolate porn. Be warned though, it's going to make you hungry for the rest of the day.
5) The Paradise. I'm almost a fan of period pieces done by the BBC. This is no exception. For those that watch Mr. Selfridge on Masterpiece, this will remind you a lot of it. However, I never got into Mr. Selfridge. Anyways, back to the Paradise. The show is set in 1875 and is centered around an English department store. If you like accents, beautiful clothes and some romance, look into it. There are only going to be 2 seasons. The first is on Netflix.
and finally 6) Chasing Grace- Run and Ed Sheeran- Small Bump. Both have been playing in my head all month. Listen in and let me know what you think.
Hello Everyone!
I've got a special announcement! It would seem that I'm going to be getting bigger over the next couple of months.... and our little family of two is growing into a family of three!
We are so excited and surprised and excited (did I say excited?) for the wonderful new adventure we are blessed to embark on. Our little bean will be joining us in September and we can't wait!
