He truly is delightful.
His smile and laughter are contagious.
He is a snuggle bug.
He is everywhere now...and I mean everywhere.
He is content and entertains himself.
He is fascinated by all that is around him, especially birds and airplanes.
He adores his big brothers and tries to emulate them.
He is our Jack and he is delightful.
Even though, I am in denial, my baby is one today! Can you believe that it has been a year already since I gave birth to this baby boy? To say it flew, is an understatement. He has brought so much love and joy to our family and he brightens every day for us. Here is a mosaic of his first year...a photo from each month.
I love to make cards, especially cards for little girls because nothing is off limits in terms of flowers, pink, jewels, ribbon, etc. This is in complete contrast to cards for boys which I am usually making for my own boys and their friends. So,when I saw the darling 'self-portraits' on the Copy and Paste Project blog (sidebar), I knew something similar would be perfect for my sweet niece who turned six today. So, I made her a little paper doll card that is a mini version of herself.
A little closer:
And these photos from today make me laugh. I guess this is what life is like when you are the third child. My other two boys NEVER held their own bottle (and even sippy cups for a while)...they wanted mama to hold it for them. But, not Jackson...I guess he realizes it is easier to feed himself than to wait for me. Smart boy! ;)
Fall is in full bloom here and we love it. This week has been especially beautiful.
And lastly, don't let this ferocious lion scary...he's all ROAR!
I have been wanting to make some fabric enhanced onesies for Jack for a while now and finally got around to it. I decided to go with a Halloween theme and made him a pumpkin onesie.
Now, this is not a tutorial per say, but I have a few photos to show what I did in case you are interested in making some of your own.
First I used Heat n' Bond which is an iron-on adhesive that will allow the pumpkin fabric to adhere to the onesie prior to sewing. Following the instructions, I just ironed the Heat n' Bond onto the back of the orange fabric and brown corduroy. Once you have this on the back of your fabric, you can draw your shape etc. onto the fabric and easily cut it out. In this case, I drew a pumpkin onto cardstock first and got it just the way I liked it and then moved onto my fabric.
Once the pumpkin was cut out, I removed the Heat n' Bond paper backing and ironed it onto the onesie. With both the pumpkin and stem in place, I'm ready to sew.
For sewing something like this, I just move real slow so that I can go around corners and tight areas. Once the sewing was done, I just pulled my thread through and tied the threads in the back.
And that is that...super easy, but fun and cute for little ones.
Now, here is our model showing off his new shirt.
Oh yeah, this little guy is totally on the move. He does the 'army crawl' and gets all around the house. He pulls himself up onto steps, chair legs (as is evidenced by the photo below), anything and everything. This wasn't supposed to happen so quickly. Happy 8-month birthday, Mr. J! You're perfect!
This is a bittersweet day. Sweet baby Jackson is six months old today. That is so hard for me to comprehend. I feel like I just came home with him from the hospital and now half of his first year is complete. I have more to say about this, but we have friends in from out-of-town and we are having dinner together tonight. So, I will just share a few half- birthday photos from today.
And this photo came out really blurry, but I couldn't delete it, so I played around with it and had fun with it.
The awesome washi tape is from the amazing Danielle and her Kitschy Digital Designs shop. These are so fun!
I had my first newborn shoot last weekend. Baby A was so adorable and sweet. Here are some of my favorites.
Here is another photo of me and my sweet Jackson from today.
I thought I would share this story today as it has been on my heart as of late and perhaps sharing my story will help someone else in a similar situation.
With both Sean and Luke, I suffered from postpartum depression. It lasted about 6 weeks with Sean, so I assumed it would last around the same with Luke and I opted to wave medication as I was breastfeeding. Well, as much as I tried to deny it, the depression lasted a long time...at least 9 months (perhaps longer). I honestly was living in a fog. I didn't enjoy my new found status as mother of two children. I went through the motions because I had to...Sean needed me and Luke needed me. The type of depression I suffered from did not cause me to feel like I would hurt my children or myself, rather it filled me with anxiety. I didn't want to be alone. I was sad. It was winter time when I had Luke so all I saw outside my windows were white snow and overcast days. Anyone who lives in the Northeast can sympathize with this as I couldn't take a newborn out to crowds of people due to fear of infection. As Luke's sole source of food, that left few opportunities for me to leave the house. I felt trapped, overwhelmed, and scared. I used to stare out my front window watching the cars drive by and wish I could escape from my house. I was so incredibly lonely.
Now some of you may be wondering how I ever decided to have another child after this experience and sometimes I wonder too, but I honestly did not feel like our family was complete. When I found out I was pregnant with my third child and learned that my due date would again be in January (the bleakest month of the year for me), I must say my throat closed and I was filled with fear. Instead of being overjoyed to tell people I was pregnant, I cried. All I could think about was what I felt after having Luke and I didn't want to feel that way again. Then one day, my mom and I were sitting on my couch and I shared my fears with her and she said something to me that impacted me greatly. She said, 'you don't have to breastfeed this baby.' And it was like a light bulb went off. Of course, I knew I didn't have to breastfeed, but to hear someone else give me permission was empowering. By not breastfeeding, I freed myself up to take medication to battle the postpartum depression. (Disclaimer: I know many people breastfeed while taking medication, it is just something I chose not to do.) I also, knew that with my third baby it would be hard to breastfeed, so formula feeding seemed like the best solution.
Fast forward 13 months and I can honestly tell you that I am happier now than I have ever been as a mother. God gave me such a gift with my baby Jackson. I have enjoyed every single moment with him and I know this is because I am on medication. I feel as though I was cheated with my first two children, but I am making up for it the third time around. I now know the beauty of a newborn and all that comes with it. I have not complained about the middle-of-the-night feedings. Instead, I enjoy the time I have with Jackson, just me and him. I also, pretty much carry him around all day with me in the Baby Bjorn. Some would say I am creating trouble for myself down the road, but I'm willing to take that risk. I love the closeness I feel with him.
God has blessed me so richly and I thank Him each and every day.
I hope by sharing my story, I can help someone who may be suffering from PPD. It is nothing to be ashamed of. You have no control over it.
On a completely different note:
*I also wanted to share that I am starting a photography business (hence the watermark on my photos now), so this blog will be largely for sharing family related stuff, scrapbooking/papercrafting projects, and my Thursday's thoughts. I will be starting a photography blog for my business. Also, if you are in the Buffalo area and are interested in having me take photos of your children and/or family, please email me. I'd love to work with you.
If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read my story. Life is a journey and a learning experience. I am learning each and every day.
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