Life is good. No, really good...

So when Nate and I found out we were pregnant my first concern was that we have a healthy baby, but a close second was that we have a cute baby.  Nate and I look so different that I was a little worried about how exactly our genes would mesh together and I was adamant that our child be adorable.

Wish granted.  From the minute I laid my eyes on that baby with his long eyelashes and amazing head of hair I determined he really was the cutest baby I've ever seen.  Definitely love at first sight.  I'll never forget those bright coral lips...

Sadly, while I was so concerned about looks I neglected to worry about personality... and boy does he have a lot of it.  There have definately been times where he has worn me out physically as well as emotionally.  He is definitely NOT an easy going baby.  There have been times where he has been down right difficult.  There have been days where the smiles were far and few between, where instead of laughter there was only whining and crying.  Then there were brief moments, a week or so here and there, where he was content, even happy.... and I LOVED those days...

Well, the last month was rough, I'm not going to lie.  I would go to church and see all the other mothers sitting with their happy babies on their laps and wonder why Ryan couldn't ever just be that happy.  I missed seeing him happy... it was so hard to feel like I could never make him happy...  I'm sure he was just having tummy troubles or teething pain, but I was starting to feel like I couldn't do anything right.  I got online and read about mothers who felt like they were "playing with their babies wrong" and I felt like I could totally relate.

And to add to my frustration Ryan went from sleeping 10-12 hours straight a night (which he's been doing since about 3 weeks old... well at that time it was 7-8 hours straight... definitely lucked out there) to waking up every 3 hours.

One night after saying my nightly prayers this thought popped into my head that I should have Nate give him a father's blessing.  I know it was more for me than Ryan.  I needed some sort of comfort.  So this last Sunday I held Ryan on my lap while Nate gave him a Priesthood blessing.

Now I don't want to jinx it, but since that night Ryan's been sleeping his usual 10-12 hours and has been a little sweetheart.  I've been LOVING every single minute.  We've been playing together this whole week and I don't think I could get him to stop smiling and talking if I tried.

Nate reminded me that I need to remember these times so when/if he gets grumpy again I can be more patient with him and realize that he's probably in pain, but that with some time he'll be a happy guy again.

I just love my little peanut.  He really makes me so happy and I feel like I have a purpose for probably the first time in my life.  I feel like I was meant to be a mother.  I feel like it's made me a better person.  I look forward to seeing Ryan grow up and learn new things.  I look forward to having more kids.  And I'm definitely enjoying every minute while it lasts.

 Wait for it...

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 Funny, huh?

FREE Stuff

I always see people with loads of cheap stuff from "couponing" and say to Brittney, we need to do that.  And then we put the time in, try to find the stores, try to find the items in the store, etc... and we stop until the next blog post.  However, I found something better than that.  We got all of these items for free... wait for the best part... and we didn't have to do anything.  We didn't clip, print, or search for coupons... we didn't have to run to stores or wait in lines... it is the easiest thing in the world.  What is our secret?  Mom and Dad's storage.  They just gave it to us.  Thanks Mom and Dad! 

It is a good thing we got all this food too, because Ryan is trying to eat us out of house and home... he has his Mom's eating ability and my ability to make a mess.

And as a final bonus... let us know what you think... Bear or Ewok?

Either way he sure is cute...

Ryan Laughing

So I had a photoshoot close to home so we decided to drive the extra hour and pay a quick visit to my family.  Ryan just loves his Aunt Jaycie and she is pretty much guaranteed to make him laugh when no one else can.

I think it may be time...

You know how there are phases in life?  And you know how there are times when you know one phase is coming to an end and another is just around the corner?  Or maybe you just dream for the next phase?  I think I'm there.

When I was attending school and enjoying my single life Nate came along.  And while I felt the winds of change coming I resisted a little bit hoping that maybe, just maybe, I had a few more single years left in me (if Nate would wait for me...)   But my patriarchal blessing mentioned that I would be married at "the right time" in "the right place" to "the right man" and I soon realized that it was the right time and Nate was definitely the right man.

Then fast forward to last year (and many phases/changes later) and both Nate and I felt like we were ready to progress to the next phase of life-- children.  It was time and we both felt it.  Then there was the moving on to bigger and better jobs for Nate and leaving La Grande to come to Salem.

Well....  I don't know if it's because our family is growing, or what, but I feel ready to move on to the homeownership phase.  I'm ready to have walls that aren't white.  I'm ready to have my own yard.  I'm ready to have a place for my shoes.  I'm ready to have a parking space close to my door.  I'm ready to sing as loud as I want without having the neighbors wonder about the crazy girl downstairs.  I'm ready to put all my interior designing skills to the test.  (I have them... they're there, but I can't seem to commit to spending any money on decorating until we're in "our" place.  And all these hours of watching HGTV while nursing Ryan have given me visions of how I want our place to look.)  I'm ready for all these things, but I'm not sure I'm ready for the mortgage payments.  Can we afford it?  Will I have buyer's remorse?  What about when the time comes to sell?  Will we be stuck with the house?

I've been up hours thinking about it.  For me, if I can jot down my thoughts my mind can usually get some rest, so.... let's hope this'll do the trick...

And for some fun here's a video of what's new with us.  Ryan's been growing (and my oh my what a little chunk he's becoming) and learning so much lately.  He LOVES singing with Mom and Dad.  His favorites are Three Little Ducks, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star/ABC's, and Oh, What a Beautiful Morning.  It doesn't matter how grumpy he is, when we start singing one of the above songs he can't help but join in.

He's also loving a toy that his Aunt Cara, Uncle Matt, and his cousins Mary, Andrew, Whitney and Annie sent him.  We call it Mr. Bug and Ryan can't get enough.  Everytime I use it as a distraction I worry that maybe the magic has finally worn off.  But still to this day Ryan will smile at that thing for HOURS.  It's amazing.

And finally just this last week Ryan has finally figured out how to purse his lips and spit.  We've been showing him for a month now and while he's been totally intrigued by it, he hadn't quite figured it out beyond sticking his tongue out.  But he's got it now and it's so funny to watch him run out of air and turn bright red while doing it.  He's so much fun and I love being his mom.

Here's a little video.  Please forgive my singing... it definitely is not a talent of mine, but Ryan's so cute in this video, I couldn't not post it.

Ryan's New Trick

Talking

Just thought I'd post a few new videos of Ryan for all the long distance relatives.  Ryan's really been talking, singing and laughing lately.  And more recently he's discovered that there is an alternative to crying... and that's whining.  And I love it.  So much cuter than crying and so much kinder to the ears.

Ryan talking (above) and Ryan whining (below.)

Whining

Motherhood is...

... constantly being impressed with yourself with all you can accomplish one-handed; at other times wishing you could just have a third arm.

... doing a load of laundry without adding the detergent.

... utilizing every last square inch of your Honda Civic just to spend the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa.

... having to decide between eating in 5 minutes flat or eating your dinner cold.

... realizing it's at least been a week since you last shaved your armpits... and even longer since you last shaved your legs.

... never getting too excited about an outfit you're wearing, knowing that at any moment it may be covered in any number of baby bodily fluids.  (Learned this one the hard way yesterday about 10 minutes before church.)

... not getting sleep, even when your little one is, because you're too busy worrying about why you haven't heard a peep out of him in the last 7 hours... and then waking him up when you go to check on him.

... making a fool out of yourself everyday for a few smiles.

I love being a mom.  And I love this little kid...

Ryan Smiling and Talking

Brittney is taking a nap (fingers crossed) and Ryan is sitting calmly in his swing (fingers crossed) so I figured I would add a couple quick clips to blogger if it will work (fingers crossed).

Just one of those days...

Last night was rough.  I didn't get Ryan to sleep until 4:30... needless to say I wasn't the kind and loving mother I usually am.  I let him cry in his nursery alone for 30 minutes.... and felt horrible.  I grumbled things like, "Man, what was I thinking wanting one of you?"  "You're such a little brat."... and felt horrible.  I secretly took joy each time I changed his diaper because I know how much he hates it... and then felt horrible.


Then this morning we had his second doctor's appointment.  I got up, bathed and fed Ryan, bathed and fed myself and actually did my hair for the first time in 2 weeks (my hatred level for blow drying my hair has quadrupled lately).  So far, so good.  I had 30 minutes before the appointment and Ryan was in his carseat ready to go.  Fifteen minute drive plus arriving 15 minutes early for check-in.  Perfect.  So I go to find my keys in the diaper bag and they are NO WHERE to be found.  No problem... I probably just left them on the table.  Nope.  The dresser?  Nope.  The couch?  The kitchen countertop?  Nope and nope.  So off come the couch cushions, the bedroom comforter.  Soon I'm dumping out the laundry basket hoping to find them hiding there.  No luck.  Then... come the tears.  Many of them.


So I called Nate and asked if he knew where they were.  He didn't, but told me to hold on and he would be home soon.


He got home as my appointment should have been starting and I was in no condition to venture out into public.  (Trust me... it was ugly.)  So Nate called the doctor's office to let them know that he was running late and would be there soon and left with little Ryan in tow.  And... 


I went into the bedroom to continue my meltdown.


Apparently it was a bad day for new mothers of newborns.  Nate was told that we were already doing better than the other two that had appointments this morning.  Both called and canceled and one threated harm to her baby.  Showing up 15 minutes late suddenly didn't seem that bad.  Nate said the staff was so understanding and even shared their own stories of being a new mother.  Anyway, Ryan is doing well.  He's weighing in at 8 lbs. 2 oz.  I was looking forward to really meeting our doctor... and Nate reassured me that he was a really friendly and funny guy.


So Nate found the keys in the backseat of the car (which has become my new passenger seat since Ryan was born).  Nate said that they were covered, so I wouldn't have known they were there anyway (and, of course, the doors were locked.)  (Side story:  Just last week Nate's car key somehow came off his key chain.  How does that happen?  We looked EVERYWHERE and finally had to take the car into the Honda dealer.  $100 later we had a new computer key.  Going back in to get another would have been not only more money down the drain, but super embarrassing.)


Anyway, I just wanted to thank Nate again for being such a sweet husband.  I love him to pieces.  He never complained that I was acting like a psycho, that I lost something AGAIN, or that he had to take time out of his busy schedule to rescue me.  He was only concerned that I was okay.  I'm one lucky girl.

One of those posts...

So just as a warning this is one of those posts that most people will find horribly boring, but it's for my long-distance family that hasn't had the chance to see this little guy in person yet (and for my mom, who has been begging for some video.)  Ryan's not quite at that age where he does anything all that entertaining (and yet I still can't stop staring at him), but he sure is cute in these videos.  (Unfortunately I can't figure out how to load these to blogger without the quality being horrible.)

This one is from today.

And this video is about a week old, but I thought it was cute.

Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle... Oh My!

While Brittney is resting a little bit I thought I would post a couple of quick pictures.  We had a nice visit with Grandpa and Grandma Willis and Uncle Brayden this week.  Now it is back to Mom and Dad trying to keep this furry monkey under control.

Grandpa Willis with Ryan

Grandma Willis with Ryan

Uncle Brayden with Ryan

And just for fun a little comparison... who does Ryan look like more?

Ryan

Dad (Nate) as a newborn

Monchichi

Love at First Sight

Not much time, but I just thought I'd post a few pictures.  Ryan Clemens Singer was born with a full head of hair (which we found out last night is a little curly) this Wednesday June 30th at 1:50 pm after a very long induction process and weighed in at 7 lbs. 14 oz.  We're so excited to have him as a part of our family.  He sure is a sweet little guy and looks just like his daddy, including the long eyelashes and puppy dog eyes.

Our Two July Arrivals

Okay, so obviously we aren't really having twins (or I'd probably be done by now), but Nate's mom came to visit the other day before she and Clem take off for a month long mini mission in Nauvoo this summer.  And while she was here she dropped off the baby blessing outfits she's been working on for us.  I love them and I'm especially excited that the bottom fabric of the dress came from the Singer boys' bassinet from when they were babies.  I'm a sucker for the sentimental.  Thank you, Rita!  I love them!

I am however looking forward to a second July arrival, in addition to the sure-to-be-adorable baby Singer.  A month or so back Nate and I finally found a bedroom set that we loved (after TONS of looking, mind you).  Unfortunately, it was on backorder.  The whole reason we were looking was so we could get our room all organized before the baby got here, but we loved it so much we quickly got over it.  So sometime in the beginning of July we'll also have these beauties delivered (minus the nightstand.)

I can't wait.  Now if only our bedroom were that spacious/beautiful... someday, perhaps.

38 weeks

Work hard... play hard.

So after weeks of hard work we finally finished sanding, priming and painting our crib and changing table set.  Unfortunately, we forgot to take a before picture (maybe Jaycie has one to share?)  So you'll just have to imagine that it was covered with a light stain.  That was before and here is now:

I'm really happy with how it turned out.  It was a lot of work and I definitely wouldn't do it over, but I do really love it.  I'm especially crazy for the green knobs that we added.  You'll have to imagine a cute little name hanging above the crib that I'll be making... uh... I'd like to say as soon as I get home from the hospital, but it'll probably be more like a month or so later.


And the rest of the room... wish I could've painted the walls.  

Now that we're almost there as far as being ready for the baby goes (we do have a few more little things to pick up) we decided that we'd better use this weekend to get away one last time before the baby gets here.  So... we hit up the coast.  And the weather was beautiful, finally.  Otherwise we would've probably gone sooner.

And finally, a 37 weeks along picture.  So ready to have this baby before I get any bigger.

33 Down, 7 to Go!

Nate and I had a crazy, busy weekend.  I think Nate could have used another one, just to recoup.  (In fact, forget about a crazy weekend.  It's been more like a crazy month.  I had every intention of doing a Mother's Day blog paying tribute to both of the amazing mothers in my life... didn't happen.)  On Friday Nate and I spent almost the whole day sanding our nursery furniture.  We thankfully finally broke down and bought an electric sander... SO worth it.  I'm not sure we would have ever finished without it.  So in a few weekends from now we'll be priming and painting.  Man, will it be such a relief to have that finished!  We'll post pictures when we're done.  (And not to worry, we've done it all outside, I've worn a hot/sweaty mask the whole time, and the paint we've bought is baby safe!)

On Saturday Nate's parents came to visit for a few hours to pick up our treadmill to store until we move into a larger place.  (It's been hogging the baby's room.  We had to do something with it and Nate's parents were kind enough to help us out.  I'm definitely going to miss it though, especially considering how often it rains here.)  We all went out to lunch and it was so nice to visit with them for a little bit.

Then we hit up a BBQ that night with a few people from our ward and had a really nice time.  I have to admit that I was not in the mood to go... it had been such a busy weekend that I just wanted to be lazy and anti-social, but I've decided if I want to make friends I sometimes have to do things I'm not always comfortable with.  It was a good thing we went because we had such a good time and met some new people.

Finally on Sunday I hung out with a new friend at her home while our husbands had 2 hours worth of YM meetings... again it was fun.  Sadly she and her husband are actually moving to La Grande here in a month or so.  (Can I come, too?)  I'm going to miss her.  (Have I told you about my curse?  Whenever Nate and I bond with someone, they shortly end up moving away.  I have to admit though that this is the shortest so far.  We've been lucky enough to keep in contact with most of them.  In fact, one of our favorite couples of all time now lives a mere hour away and since we've moved we've seen them at least 6 times... they will definitely be lifelong friends.)

That evening we were invited to a family in our ward's home for dinner.  It was the perfect ending to an awesome weekend.  We totally hit it off and I didn't want to leave, but knew they had little ones that were up past their bedtimes... hopefully they plan on sticking around for awhile.  They are definitely our type of people.  We both felt so comfortable there.

As far as the pregnancy is concerned, things have been going really well.  I've been feeling great.  I've traded in the once nightly bathroom breaks for three.  And the acid reflux has been a little bit of an issue lately, but the third trimester has so far been my favorite.  Weird... I know.  I'm not sure how long that will last (it's supposed to start getting uncomfortable soon, right?), but I am certainly enjoying it at the moment.

33 weeks... yep, still growing...

3/4 of the way there!

The third trimester so far has been better than expected.  I've actually been feeling really good lately and have been wishing that things could stay just like this for awhile.  A month ago I was so ready to have this kid (the nausea had temporarily come back and I was having really horrible back pain), but now that things are good I'm not so much looking forward to labor.... the baby, yes... labor, not so much.  I guess that's the reason the third trimester gets so uncomfortable so we're willing to do whatever it takes to end the suffering.  At the moment I'm happy.

The baby has been kicking like crazy.  At the last doctors appointment they gave me a "kick count worksheet."  What a waste of time... considering this kid kicks me all day long.  We have a very active child.  And while I love it most of the time (with the exception of when I'm trying to sleep) I'm a little worried that this kid will never settle down.  Definitely the makings of a soccer player... (or runner, as Nate just pointed out.)

A 30 weeks picture.

The big belly.

"Holy crap."

I've been keeping myself busy lately working on little projects for the nursery.  I've been sanding our nursery furniture getting it ready for paint.  And yes, we did decide on a nursery theme.  Despite the overwhelming votes for the bird theme, I just couldn't get my mind off the fish one, plus it saved me about $80 to go with it.  So I did and when I finally got it in the mail I fell even more in love with it.  (I know, I know.... I ask for your opinion and then I totally disregard it...)  I've been busy painting baby decor to match.

(The lamp base will soon be primed and painted white.)

The fun tryptch I totally copied.

Frames.

The lamp and clock.

And finally Nate and I spent the weekend doing some planting.  We are definitely missing the 10x10 ft. space we used to have to plant in, but thought we would try our hand at a planter garden.  We'll see how it works out and are hoping to have some zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, and herbs here in a few months or so.

The adorable hubby.

"The Simpsons Laugh"

So I can always tell when Nate's watching The Simpsons, even when I'm in another room, because it's usually the only show on television that really gets him laughing hard.  It's a different laugh from his regular one.  And I love it.

And every once in awhile if I'm lucky enough I can get him to laugh "The Simpsons laugh."  It's rare, but man does it feel good to know that occasionally I am that funny...

Yum.

The other day Nate and I went grocery shopping together and strawberries were on sale (although still a little spendy, since it's not exactly the season.)  The only way I could convince Nate to let me buy some was to promise him this:

Just had a piece for breakfast this morning (healthy, I know)... so good.

And then randomly a 27 weeks along picture for all my family who hasn't seen me in months... yup, I am pretty much a whale... it scares me that I still have 3 months of growing to do... yikes!  How much bigger do I really have to get?  I especially love when I try to squeeze between things that normally wouldn't be a problem, only to find out about halfway through that I don't fit anymore.  It's even more awkward when that tight space is two people.  Yeah, only had to make that mistake once.

Opinions, please.

So Nate and I have been trying to decide what to do with the baby's room.  Thankfully we both lean away from really frilly girly themes (too much pink and butterflies) and extremely boyish themes (sports and airplane themes.)  So when it comes to not knowing what we are having it works out just perfectly.  Initially we were considering waiting until the baby gets here.  But we've realized that we tend to lean towards more gender neutral themes.  So here is the question.  Are these options too blue to be used if the baby ends up being a girl (I found them under the "gender neutral" tabs online, but I wasn't sure)?  And if so which one do you like more?

Love the bird theme, but this one is a little more spendy.

I love this one too, but especially because I was thinking of doing something similar to this for the walls:

http://www.beitesori.com/item_574/Migi-Splash-Fish-Boutique-Wall-Art-Hanging-Trio.htm

My third option is actually my original plan.  A friend of ours gave us some adorable Carter's receiving blankets with little giraffes, hippos, frogs, etc. on them that kind of inspired us.  Nate and I had/bought/were given the most adorable stuffed animals (giraffe, elephant, frog, etc.)  And so we thought about doing a zoo type theme.  The problem is that every crib set we found took the theme WAY too far for our taste (we like things more subtle and simple.)  So Rita and I did some fabric shopping and I found these.

I'm hoping to be able to find some subtle matching fabric with little zoo animals that I can use in the quilt pattern below, along with the fabric I already have.

I'd make the quilt, dust ruffle, and window valance; and then get really creative and make some sort of wall art (I love that kind of stuff!) and a matching lamp shade, etc.  I was also able to find some matching sheets and a bumper pad so I wouldn't have to make them.  Please help me decide....

And finally some fun things I've made recently to keep myself busy...