Four months

16 lbs 3.5 oz

27.25 inches

6-9 mo clothes

Possibly teething?

Full of big smiles

Wiggly like crazy

More fun every single day

One-third of a year. I cannot believe it.

Me & Elliott at Grandma & Pappaw's house after Easter service:

One Year Ago

One year ago today was a Saturday. I remember, because I slept in. I got up before Josh did, and puttered around. When Josh woke up, one of the first things he said was, "Have you tested yet?!" I hadn't. I was trying not to obsess, as I knew so many others did. I'd been learning all I could about conception for the last six months, taking my temperature every morning for the previous four months. I'm cheap, though, and didn't want to burn through a bunch of tests (Those things are expensive!), so only tested when I knew the probability was higher-than-average for a positive. It was a big science experiment, in a way. Three months prior I had taken one or two. Earlier that week I tested, and the line was ambiguous- was it there? Or were we imagining it?

That day, one year ago, there was no ambiguity. The Positive line popped up even before the Control line did.

We didn't tell anyone we were hoping for this, during the months we waited for it. It was on my mind, but I couldn't talk about it. I almost stopped blogging, because I wasn't mentioning it, and didn't know what else to talk about. We didn't tell anyone about the positive test for more than a month. It was our secret.

I waited, and held my breath, and hoped this little creature growing inside of me would make it. I ticked off the weeks- up to 25% of pregnancies are lost by 6 weeks; the chance drops to 5% after 8 weeks, 2% after 10 weeks when I heard the heartbeat. It was all math and probabilities at that point- we'd tell friends and family and blog readers when the chances were very good the baby would hang around.

But, that day, one year ago? I had no idea what we were in for. Some days, I still don't. But it's without a doubt been pretty wonderful.



Also? Today officially means that Elliott will NOT have an Irish twin. We're 100% OK with that- we're not done enjoying this baby!

Quick thoughts on this nursing thing

I really should write a proper post. It's been too, too long. I keep trying to get words out, but there's so much I want to say, and very little time for me to sit and write. Instead, I'll share with you all the links I've been saving, if I ever get that post written:

I've been reading a lot about breastfeeding lately, mostly because pumping and nursing have been my life as of late.

 I've found 101 Reasons to Breastfeed and another 50 Reasons to do it anytime, anywhere. I'm wondering if I'm becoming a borderline lactivist.

I wonder what people think of me, since a study came out last month showing that nursing women are viewed as less competent. But, I don't really care what people think of me, because I know I'm doing the right thing. I'd love to prove them wrong- a woman can be competent AND feed her baby.

As Sarah on Emerging Mummy said (along with all her other points), breastfeeding has given me more confidence as a new mom. Enormously so. I'm also with her when she describes being humbled, because our first few weeks were hard, and I understood why people give up.

But now? I wouldn't trade this nursing relationship for anything. It's amazing, and I'm loving it. I actually told Josh the other day, I'd be sad if I got pregnant right now, because I'm enjoying nursing so much. It's working for us, and I'm delighted.

Tax Day!

Tax Day is traditionally April 15th, or so I thought, but this year it's the 18th. We don't worry about the deadline, because Josh is always on top of things and has our taxes done as soon as all the paperwork is mailed to us by banks and non-profits. This year, the tax refund was especially large, since our bundle of joy made his appearance just a few days before the end of the year, all on his own.

Cutest tax deduction ever!


Plans for the unexpected money? A huge outdoor house project- new siding and gutters and patio. We won't be doing anything super fancy, but anything new is better than what we have, which is old and falling apart. The boxes of siding are already taking up our entire garage, and the rest of the supplies will probably be bought this weekend. Josh and some other family members have plans to complete this project themselves. This seems like a huge DIY undertaking, and I'm so impressed that he is jumping into this with both feet. By the end of the summer (and hopefully a lot sooner) Our house will be green rather than off-white. Exciting!

Playtime: No toy required

When Elliott's excited, his eyes gets wide, his mouth goes into an O, and he starts breathing very quickly. Sometimes, flailing is all it takes to have a great time! I present one minute of baby wiggles, for your enjoyment:

Those eyes.

With Uncle Mitch, at Elliott's great-grandma's 85th birthday. He met the family & charmed everyone.

Playtime: the Carseat Bug

On the last day of our birth class, we had a quiz game over some of the facts we learned over the course of the Bradley method class. We came in second place, and got to choose a prize from a basket of baby supplies and toys. We already had many of the supplies, so chose this little car seat toy bug thing. (Thanks, Amy!)

For the first many weeks of Elliott's life, he didn't even notice it, and I thought it was pretty useless.



Then, all of a sudden, around the time he started enjoying mobiles, he started staring at it, like it was the Coolest Toy Ever. A couple weeks later, he started batting at it like a punching bag, and he was entertained in the car for quite a while. This way-longer-than-necessary video shows him in the early days of "bopping" when his hand-eye coordination wasn't so great. But, he put a lot of effort into aiming!



When his coordination got up to the task, he'd grab the wings of the bug and hang on. Now, he coos and talks to his bug in the backseat, grabs it all the time, and, when we get to our destination, if he has to stay in his seat, I'll pop it off the handle of the car seat, and he'll manipulate the bug with his hands. It's one of his favorite toys, no batteries required!