Saturday, November 26, 2011

Our Newest Addition


Atticus James Trueblood
Born November 21, 5:41 PM EST.
7 pounds 6 ounces.
21 and 3/4 inches.
Cutest thing in the whole world.

Mommy and baby are doing really well. Everyone is healthy and there is no possible way we could be any happier right now. Thanks to all those who gave us their love and support through everything. We can’t wait to show him off to you.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

The Nursery.

I don't know if I can technically call this a nursery. It's more like a couple of corners in our bedroom. As most of you know, Houston and I are living in NYC, where space is a valuable and limited luxury. We currently live in a cute little one bedroom, just shy of 800 sq. ft. It is hard to figure out how to squeeze another human int our little space. Luckily, he will be very small. What's harder is figuring out where to put his things. I think we have managed to fit it all in for now. We have a great little bassinet for his first few months, the challenge will come when we have to find space for a crib. We'll deal with that issue when it comes. For now, here are a couple pictures of our "nursery".

We love this bassinet. It belongs to Houston's boss, she was kind enough to let us borrow it. Isn't it beautiful? Speaking of beautiful, do you see that quilt? That was made by my very talented cousin, Adrienne. She even did some hand printing on some of the fabric. We absolutely love it.



This is our cute little Eames rocker. Well, not a real one, but who can tell the difference? Can't afford real Eames furniture. I wish! This knock off looks great, though. Anyway, on the rocker are some cute little friends. See the cute little monster on the right? That is "The Trueblood". He was designed and handmade by my cousin Brooke, who is also very talented and happens to be Adrienne's sister. We were lucky to get so many amazing homemade gifts. I have such talented friends and family.



Next to the rocker you can see the changing table/dresser. For a picture of that, scroll down a couple posts. You can see it's transformation.

More nesting.

Most of my nesting energy in the past month has been put towards sewing projects. I have made a whole bunch of different things, some for my baby and some for friends who are having babies (I won't be posting those, cause I don't want my friends who are having babies to see them yet).

This first project is a play mat. I found the tutorial here, at the Purl Bee (this site is great and has a bunch of cute projects and free tutorials). I like the way it turned out, but I still have some finishing touches I need to add. Like, I haven't decided how I want to tie it together. The fabric I used doesn't have the same bold patterns as the tutorial, so I don't know if I want to stitch around the shapes like they did or just do a simple symmetrical tie. Any ideas?







This next project was a fun one. I have heard with little boys these really come in handy while changing diapers. Pee pee teepees. Need I say more?



This last project is one that I planned to finish as an anniversary gift for Houston back in July. It took me way too long to get this done. Luckily all this nesting energy has got me finishing all kinds of overdue projects.

I made Houston a sketchbook a couple years ago for Christmas, it had some amazing paper in it that we both love. Houston recently filled up all the pages of that sketchbook, so I wanted to get the same paper and make him a new one. It took me a while to track it down for a decent price, but I was finally able to at New York Central Art Supply. If you are an artist in NYC, visiting this store is a must. If you haven't been, you should go right now.

The Leather I used for the cover of this book was found by my friend, LeeAnn, at a thrift store. A pair of brand new soft leather pants. The original tag that was still on them had them priced for about $350, she paid $8. Then we cut them up and made books.



The paper I used for the inside cover is from a great old map that my dad let me take. I love the limited color on the map and I like that it makes the sketchbook feel more "manly".



I love making books, I wish it didn't take so much time, so I could do it more often. Although, I have recently found a way to speed up the process. I find books with interesting covers, cut those covers off and create my own text block to fit inside them. It cuts out so many steps. I have made a bunch of these and they make great sketchbooks and look really nice. I'll post one of those on here soon.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Nesting.

So I have had a lot of projects going lately. Here is a little show and tell.

There is an awkward corner in our kitchen that was once a garbage shoot. Now it is painted shut and completely useless. We came up with a pretty good solution for it. Here it is before:



And here it is after our little make over:



We found some chalkboard paint and turned it into a chalkboard. It's really useful in the kitchen for making shopping lists or writing down recipes that I can see while I cook. We also gave our kitchen a new paint job. It's hard to tell, but it's a soft grey blue. It feels so bright and clean in there now. Our whole apartment was a dingy, yellowish, off-white color when we moved in. We are slowly getting around to each room.

I started this dresser a few months ago. I'm happy with how it turned out. We were looking for something to keep all the baby stuff in and after lots and lots of searching on craigslist found this. I love all the detail and it's really sturdy. We were able to talk them down to $75, including free delivery, which was a big deal. It's not easy to move big furniture around the city.

Before:



After:



We gave it a new paint job and changed out the hardware. That beautiful quilt you see on top was made by my mom. Love it.

I have a few more projects, I just need to finish getting pictures of the finished products. The baby seems to be content hanging out inside of me (my due date was Nov. 14), so I'll have some time to kill until he decides to make an appearance.

More to come!

Sunday, November 13, 2011

40 weeks!


Well, technically we took this picture at 39 1/2 weeks, but that's close enough, right?

My due date is tomorrow, November 14th. My doctor, at each appointment for the past 3 weeks, told me she thought for sure I would deliver early. I wish I wouldn't have listened, cause I am going crazy with the whole waiting game. I was really hoping to have the baby this weekend, but so far, nothing exciting to report. I just hope he's not planning on staying put for another week, I think I would go crazy. There is a huge staircase in our neighborhood, 130 steps, maybe I'll try running up and down those to get things moving along. Houston and I are so ready to meet our little boy!

Monday, October 10, 2011

35 weeks down, 35 days to go.


I am in full nesting mode, trying frantically to finish all the projects on my pre-baby to do list. I have a few things finished that I am pretty excited about, I will post pictures soon of those. Meanwhile I am staying extremely busy with lots of house guests, projects, doctors appointments and a whole lot of errands to get done in the next few weeks. My body is starting to give me a hard time, making me slower than I would hope to be, but with Houston's help I think everything will come together. We are so excited to meet our little boy! He'll be here in no time!

Sunday, September 4, 2011

30 Weeks

Wow.

I mean seriously, wow.

Only ten weeks left! Isn't that crazy? Megan is just as cute and healthy as ever, and her pregnant belly just keeps getting rounder by the day. One of my favorite things is when she tries to bend down—she has to make a little grunting noise as all of the air gets forced out of her lungs. "Oof!" That little guy is taking up a lot of room!

We’re just trying to get things ready around the apartment. Megan is in big-time nesting mode. I need to get my act together and start checking things off of the honey-do list. We’re both so excited for our little one to show up and we just can’t wait to meet him.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

25 Weeks!


That's right, only 15 more weeks to go! I can't believe how fast the time is going. I am feeling great right now. Our baby boy is healthy and getting very wiggly. Houston felt him for the first time over our Anniversary weekend in VT. It's so fun to have interaction with him. We are getting so excited!

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Lazy Days in Vermont

Last weekend we celebrated our third year anniversary! We had an amazing three days roaming the laid-back streets in and around Burlington, Vermont. Looking back on it, Megan and I really can’t remember a stressful moment! We sampled some delicious local fare, licked maple cree-mees (soft serve ice cream) to our hearts’ content, enjoyed a late night flick at the drive-in, and walked around scenic farmland with sheep and cows. It was really incredible.

The funny part was as soon as we landed back in New York, it was like someone switched off a light switch and we were back to our "Get-out-of-my-way-I-have-somewhere-to-be!" mode almost instantly. It was like our stress monsters—which had been so sad and lonely while we were away—had gone out of their way to greet us at our arrival gate because they missed us so much.

Awh, cheer up little stress monsters! You'll have plenty of time to hang out with us while we’re in the city. But don’t be surprised if you find us back in Vermont for another peaceful weekend sometime in the near future…






Saturday, June 25, 2011

Some Exciting News


Thought you might like to know, we are expecting! Baby Trueblood is due Thanksgiving 2011. We couldn't be happier.

Stay tuned for more updates.