Joyful Domesticity

You know you’ve been staring at your newborn practically nonstop when you pick up your banana for lunch, and before you peel it, you look at the top stem and think, “gosh, this kind of looks like my baby’s belly button when the cord stump was about to fall off.”
Yeah.

…with his doting Uncle Colin

…in one of his handy-dandy cloth diapers

…with Mommy, right after his first bath

…already learning to suck his thumb

…in our backyard, in one of Mommy’s Moby wraps — she has two so far and is hoping to order a third!

…a close-up, since everyone asks to see his red hair — it’s his daddy’s shade!

We’ve been putting the finishing touches on the nursery over the last two days… and by “we” I really mean everyone else. I just dictate. hehe. 🙂 You know: “hang that there; no wait, an inch to the right”. 😉
My father built the crib & changing table from scratch — by which I mean that the wood was from trees that were cut down from my parents’ property, and from there my dad had it cut & dried, and then he (with my mom’s help) designed the furniture & built it all by hand as a surprise for us!! So beautiful, and true family heirlooms.

For now, sweet Gabriel sleeps in our room in another family heirloom: the bassinet that originally his great grandma slept in as a newborn, then his grandmama, then his mommy & uncle. Now it is Gabriel’s bed! And we look forward to sharing the bassinet with his siblings and cousins, as well as another generation someday!

So: is anyone else a sucker for heirlooms like I am? Both using ones from the past & creating new ones for the future? I love it. 🙂

photos courtesy of the awesome Colin D. Bennett Photography studio

In God’s perfect timing, our sweet little redheaded boy has arrived into our open arms!

Rejoice with us in God’s great kindness!!
And isn’t he beautiful?!!
(I’ll be posting some better pics once they’re uploaded)

This is the weather we are still enjoying… with intermittent bits of blue sky & sunshine occasionally peeking through.
So my question is this: has spring actually sprung yet?! 🙂
And yes, that’s our super cute Dilly May. She loves snow!

And as an aside, I have blisters on eight of my fingers.
My father restrung my broken harp strings for me, and I couldn’t resist playing for about an hour tonight.
Pretty music, but ouch! 🙂

What’s funny is that my bridal shower was less than a year ago at this same house… the same adorable family from my church hosted last year’s bridal shower and this year’s baby shower! I am a very blessed little lady. 🙂
Anyway, I’m not going to post a host of pics of food, gifts, people, etc… but here is one of me & the cake (which the 35 or so women devoured even after a healthy brunch!), and then The Boy with his mama, grandmama, and auntie.

We were showered with wonderful gifts, encouragement, support, laughter — it was all such a blessing. I loved going through the pile of gifts back at home, showing my husband and watching him ooh & aah over things. I think he is especially exited to start reading the books to the baby. 🙂 I think we’ll be having a “read to the belly” date tonight after Bible study, hehe.
We went down to the hospital for the first time this weekend: we timed the drive for an estimate, and then got to tour the whole L&D floor. It was great. Made me nervous, though, for the first time. 😉 It’s going to be a really great place for us, and the nurses all spoke highly of our midwives. So that’s nice. 🙂
My husband also installed the carseat in the back seat of our Subaru — I’m so tempted to stick a baby doll in there for the next month until The Boy takes his place there. Haha.

I’m wondering when the excitement of diapers will wear off. Probably after about twelve poopy diapers, huh? 🙂
Well… regardless… until the excitement wears into drudgery (may it never be!) or at least habit, I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my newly ordered diapers & diaper covers. I have 14 Proraps diaper covers on the way along with two dozen more (for I already have a couple dozen) prefolds. I’m super thrilled at this point. 🙂

And I have a baby shower tomorrow!! I can hardly believe it. In fact, my bridal shower was just 51 Saturdays ago at the same family’s home. Isn’t that fascinating? (not like I actually counted the weekends… hehe)

And this might sound strange… but have any of you ever tried “natural induction” methods?
You know: ye olde wives’ tales about evening primrose, castor oil, sex, spicy food, exercise, on & on… I have this feeling I’ll end up carrying The Boy to 42 weeks, and around my due date I will probably start getting antsy… so I want to know if any of those things actually work for anyone.
In the end, God has it planned anyway. I do trust in His sovereignty and wisdom.
And He will probably just give me an extra exercise in patience in the meanwhile. 🙂

Also: since I am planning to give birth in a hospital, any tips on things (besides the obvious “norm”) to bring along??

Yes, I am starting that nesting thing. Not like I am not a natural nester anyway, so I don’t think it’s new for me. 😉

Blessings on all you mommies and preggies! I know there’s gotta be something in the water…