Celebrate birthday card

I made this card for my mother-in-law's birthday today:


Supplies: miscellaneous cardstock; Autumn Leaves flower stamp; blue stamp ink; Stampin' Up Celebrate stamp and white stamp ink; EK Success corner rounder punch; Signo Uniball white pen. Inspired by August A Year in Cards class at Two Peas.

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Dylan's Mobile

I've put Dylan in his crib almost daily and turned on his mobile. Only in the past week has he really started to notice it and react. I love peeking in at him as he watches the animals go round & round and talks to them. :)

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Belly Shot

For last week's digital challenge at Two Peas - Inspired by a Pea - I created this layout of my final "belly shot" by scraplifting Sheri R's Live, Love, Laugh page.


Supplies: Erica Hernandez's Isabella Mini kit; Rhonna Farrer's Celebration kit; Miss Mint's April Morning kit

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Family, Photos & Toys

We enjoyed a visit this past weekend with my mother, stepfather and brother:

My brother has been taking photography courses in college and I asked him to do some shots of Dylan while he was here:

We took time on Saturday and Sunday mornings to get some of just Dylan as well as some of him with Trent & me. I can't wait to see the final results of what Christopher took - the few I saw glimpses of on his camera looked wonderful.

Mom & I made a quick shopping trip on Saturday to buy a couple items for Dylan including a bouncy seat. He wasn't too excited by it initially and needed his soothie to relax:

We're slowly trying it out a little bit each day and yesterday he actually fell asleep in it for a 20 minute nap.

He also got a cool pair of shades from his Grama:

He squints from the bright light outdoors even on a cloudy day like Sunday when we first tried them on. I was amazed they stayed on for our hour long walk. He scrunched his face up as though he might fuss, but then began blinking and looking around - almost as though you could hear him thinking "wow...I can see everything now." :)

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Got soothie?

Dylan loves his Soothie pacifier from the hospital.


Supplies: Stampin' Up cardstock (light blue); Bazzill cardstock (white); miscellaneous cardstock (navy blue); American Crafts letter stickers (white); Making Memories letter stickers (blue) & date stamp; Staz-On black stamp pad; QuicKutz tab die; Micron black pen.

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One Month

It seems as though the last few weeks have flown by. Hard to believe my baby is already a month old. So much has happened in such a short time...


* had his first restaurant trip and his second (with Mom, Grandpa George and Aunt Mary) - both of which he slept through.

* has outgrown his newborn clothes and moved into the 0-3 month sizes - except for socks which he needed the 3-6 month sizes by 2 weeks!

* needed the straps in his carrier moved up a notch.

* lost his umbilical cord stump on day 26 and now has the cutest belly button:


* spends most days in a white t-shirt, diaper and socks - comfy and super easy for diaper changes.

* made visits to both Dad and Mom's offices.

* loves looking at Mom and Dad and will follow us with his eyes.


* smiles and occasionally has a small giggle.

* makes the funniest faces.


* gets the hiccups at least once a day.

* likes to move his arms and kick his legs around:


* is gaining strength in his neck. He can hold up his head quite well when we carry him around on our shoulder and he loves looking around at everything from that elevated view.

* enjoys listening to classical music.

* took his first "big" trip - a visit to his paternal grandparents' house in Chapel Hill. He was worn out by the end of it:


* sleeps 3-4 hours at a time overnight and takes at least one 2-3 hour nap each day plus little 'power' naps.

* had his one month checkup at the pediatrician's office today. Dylan weighed in at 10lb 15oz and is 23.5in long - no wonder his newborn clothes won't fit anymore!

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First Visitors

Over the course of a LOT of naps last week, I managed to complete a page for Dylan's scrapbook album about the visitors he had during his first two weeks. I used a template from Scrapbooks Etc to arrange photos of Dylan with his great grandparents, grandparents, aunts & uncles. The journaling on the right lists everyone who stopped by to see him.


Supplies: Bazzill cardstock; Scrapbooks Etc template 216 (altered); miscellaneous ribbon; Making Memories chipboard heart & journaling block; black stamp ink; Little Yellow Bicycle brad; Micron black pen. Inspired by the Two Peas July Super Sketches class.

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First Restaurant Trip

Dylan had his first restaurant trip today. We went to lunch with four other moms and babies from the prenatal water aerobics class I took in the first half of the year. It was so much fun catching up and meeting the babies who ranged from our 3.5 weeks up to 12 weeks. We met at Foster's Market in Durham and, thanks to cool weather, sat out on the covered porch to eat.

Dylan was the only baby to sleep through the entire adventure:


Afterwards, I decided to take my chances and detour by Babies R Us on the way home. I needed a couple of items and it was on the way. Dylan woke up about 3 miles from the store and cried a little - stopping just short of the store. I went on after promising him we'd be quick. He was a complete angel in the store - enjoying the ride and looking at the bright lights.

One of the reasons for our stop was a little gift for him - carrier strap covers. Trent & I have been thinking those straps might be cutting into his neck. We also realized tonight that the straps were set one notch too low (our little guy is growing!). After the adjustment and addition of the covers, he was one happy little guy before our evening walk:

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Dylan & His Seahorse

Dylan loves the the seahorse our sweet friends Laura, Blake & Cameron sent to him. Just before I made this video yesterday, he reached out and touched the seahorse which I took to mean "let's play." He's not quite to the point of squeezing it to turn it on by himself yet. ;) Once his seahorse lit up and began playing his music, Dylan started dancing and babbling:

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Happy Birthday, Heather!

Supplies: Die Cuts with a View card; SEI patterned paper; Fiskars threading water border punch; Cloud 9 Design patterned paper; Pebbles Inc rub-on.

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Two Weeks

I can hardly believe it's been 2 weeks since Dylan's arrival! So much has happened in such a short period...

* Our first family photo...
Although Dylan was placed briefly on my chest a few minutes after birth, it wasn't until 3 hours later that I finally was able to hold my sweet boy. We had a few minor worries during labor and immediately after so he was taken to the Special Care nursery for a checkup. Trent stayed with him until rejoining me during my room change from the L&D wing to postpartum. Mom snapped this shot of Trent handing Dylan to me for the first time.

* Dylan met grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends and our pastor...
* Dylan had his first smile and learned to roll to his side by day 3!

* We were blessed with gifts of meals from family and friends.

* Trent, Dylan and I were spoiled by my mom who spent 10 days with us helping with everything from fixing our meals, cleaning the house and sharing mothering skills with me...

* Dylan had 3 pediatrician visits to check for jaundice and weight gain. As of Friday, he was almost completely cleared of the jaundice and had his weight up to 9lb 1oz (an 11oz gain from the previous Friday!). And he's barely fitting in newborn clothes now.

* I learned that Dylan does not like swaddling - his arms and legs must be free to stretch and kick! Something that was pretty obvious to me in the last weeks of pregnancy. And, since I promised him then that he'd have lots of room to stretch out after his birth, I've done my best to keep up my end of the bargain. :)

* Dylan took his first ride in his stroller...
which he slept through just like every walk we take. We've gotten into a weekday schedule of walking twice a day.

* I'm feeling much better and have regained a lot of my strength and energy.

* Dylan still gets daily hiccups just as he did in the final months of pregnancy.

* My sister, his Aunt Mary, spent 3 days with us this week helping with Dylan's care and housework. And we're looking forward to having Trent's sister, Aunt Heather, coming to help us out this upcoming week.

* I've learned some of Dylan's signs that he's hungry and can often get him feeding before he starts to cry.

* Cali and Chester are still adjusting to the new addition to the family...

* Trent returned to work and Dylan & I are working on creating a weekday schedule (mostly, I'm adapting to his schedule!).

* Dylan & I ventured out to the grocery store last Tuesday with help from my mom. And this past Friday, Trent & I were brave enough to make trips to Target and BJs with Dylan - who slept through it all (even his parents struggling with how to properly place the carrier on shopping carts - who knew that could vary so much from store to store!). Little Dylan relaxing in his playpen just before the big shopping trip...
* Trent, Dylan & I have enjoyed a quiet weekend of just the 3 of us - our first time alone since his birth.

Overall our little boy is a sweet, relaxed baby. He only cries when he's very tired and/or frustrated. He'll go 3-4 hours between feedings overnight allowing us both to get a good bit of rest.

And while it's only been 2 weeks, Trent & I are finding it hard to remember what our life was like before. We're enjoying this new adventure and learning how to be Mom & Dad ourselves (which still sounds a bit foreign!). Little Dylan truly is a blessing and we are enjoying every moment.

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