nothing but navel

A few nights ago as I was changing Callan's diaper, I noticed that his umbilical cord was just barely hanging on.  I didn't want to physically encourage it to fall off due to fear that I'd somehow hurt him or make him bleed profusely (crazy new mommy thoughts, I know), however I mentally urged it - it has been three and a half weeks, after all, since Callan was born.  It was about time.  I was expecting it to completely fall off by the following morning, so I wanted to snap a few pictures of our little boy with that gnarly nub still attached. 

As I picked Callan up in the middle of the night to change him, I felt something hard on his back under his pj's.  (No wonder he was crying - I'd be uncomfortable too!)  I was confused at first, but as my mind processed this middle-of-the-night-moment, I became one excited momma.  I unbuttoned his pj's to find the cutest little belly button staring me in the face.  I pulled the hard little nub out from under him and proudly placed it aside as I continued to admire my son's navel.

The following day, during a wardrobe change, I took advantage of a nothing-but-diaper moment and snapped a few photos.  How cute is Callan's new belly button!

a wreath, repurposed

Earlier this year I picked up a wreath from Pottery Barn (online).  I loved the image of it on the website, and it was a heck of a deal at $20.  However, when it arrived in the mail, I was slightly disappointed because it wasn't nearly as full as the online image showed.  I still liked it, but instead of finding it a place to hang "front and center" in the house (as I had planned), I placed it in a location where it was less likely to be noticed by visitors.

After moving the wreath half way across the country, it is now less full than when it originally arrived at my front door in Fresno.  I thought I had packed it quite carefully, but with so many hands involved in loading and unloading the truck, my "fragile" and "this side up" notes got blatantly ignored.  I literally cringed when I watched the box get tossed of the truck and carried sideways into the condo.  Oh well.  So a less-than-full, slightly man-handled wreath is what brought me to this re-purposing project. 

I picked up a grapevine wreath last week at Hobby Lobby for $3.00.  The Pottery Barn wreath has some great adornments that I clipped off to attach to the new one.  Easy project - whole new look.  No more sad looking, sparse wreath. 

Pottery Barn wreath

bare spots in the wreath - not so attractive

$3.00 grapevine wreath

flowers clipped from the old wreath and attached to the new one

now the wreath hangs in a well noticed place, over our bed, for the Christmas season

I'm so much happier with the way the new wreath looks.  A plus?  I have left over flowers and pine cones for another project. 

my "keep dreaming beacause it's never gonna happen" Christmas list

I received the new Sur la table holiday catalog in the mail the other day.  I thought it'd be fun to flip through and make a "keep dreaming because it's never gonna happen" Christmas list.  Why not keep the dream alive, if even for a moment, by adding pricey favorites from Pottery Barn's Christmas catalog and Ballard Design's. 

At a mere $1,269.95 these pots and pans would be a lovely addition to my kitchen.

all-clad copper-core 10 piece set

I love how visual this coffee maker is - and at $279.00, I'm thinking we need two. ;)

Technivorm Moccamaster Coffee Maker with Glass Carafe

This knife set is a steal at $599.95 - an $839.00 value!

Shun Premier 7-Piece Set

This console table would be perfect for our entry-way.  (Ballard Designs $449)

tambrooke console

This set of 9 patchwork prints would look so nice on our living room wall - over the sofa (Ballard Designs $169).  The colors are spot on with the rest of the decor. 

patchwork prints - set of 9

I love the rustic appeal of this coffee table.  Chunky.  How I like my furniture - not my post-baby mid-section. (Pottery Barn $499)

Shasta reclaimed coffee table

I love this iron gate - definitely an eye-catcher.  (Pottery Barn $249)

iron gate wall candlelight

If we had a dining room - these would be a whimsy, graphic addition to an empty wall.  (Pottery Barn $279)

fork & spoon stretched canvas, set of 2

I've always loved the Manhattan Chair from Pottery Barn.  The lines are fairly clean, yet it's cozy.  A broken in, worn leather chair always screams comfort.  Plus, Travis wants a recliner for the living room.  You can get us a pair, if you'd like.  (ha!)  (Pottery Barn $1,799)

manhattan leather recliner

So, if you're stumped on what to get me for Christmas, any of the items will do.  In the meantime, I'll just keep bugging good 'ol Saint Nick. 

quandary no more

I posted a while back about a crochet project that I wanted to take on, but wasn't quite sure of my ability to follow a crochet pattern.  (To see that post, click here.)  I'm in love with those little hats, but knew my lack of skill would stand in my way, and even worse, cause me lots of frustration.  I tossed that idea aside; maybe I'd muster up some courage and tackle the project sometime in the future.  It turns out that I have a crochet-fairy-godmother (AKA very thoughtful mother-in-law).

A pleasantly surprised Allison opened a very sweet care package yesterday to find two crocheted hats, just like I had previously posted about!  This totally made my day - I can't stop looking at them, they are so darn cute.  (Did I mention that they are even the exact colors as in the pictures in the previous post?!)  Unfortunately, the brown one is a bit too tight on Callan's noggin (he gets his large "headedness" from his father.)  The blue one, however is going to be perfect for this winter season.  It's just a smidge large at this point, so he'll grow into it nicely.  With that, a huge shout out to my mother-in-law:  THANK YOU!!  I'm so thankful for your thoughtfulness - and Callan's practically hairless head is just as grateful. 

haaaaaaaaaave...

...you met Ted Callan?  If you have, you've made this blog post.  We've snapped pictures of everyone that has gotten to meet Callan, thus far.  My mom and Travis' parents had the joy of meeting Callan at the hospital not long after he was born; as you can see, the clock in the first picture below reads 4:52 am and Callan was born at 3:46 am.  My dad flew in a week after Callan was born, and my sister and her husband flew in a week after that.  One of Travis' co-workers (Josh) visited us, and met Callan, at the hospital a few days after he was born; his girlfriend (Lesley) got to meet Callan about a week later at our place.  Candace and Josie also got to meet Callan two weeks after his birth.  We met for lunch down in OKC (Bricktown) - it was so good to see a familiar face! 

my mom and Callan just after he was born

(There are pictures out there of my in-laws with Callan at the hospital, but they snuck back to Fresno before we could grab copies of them.  We hope to get our hands on them soon.)

Callan with Travis' parents

Callan with my parents

Callan and Josh at the hospital

Josh and Lesley with Callan

Candace and Callan in Bricktown

Callan also got to meet Josie

my sister holding Callan for the first time

Callan with his Uncle Rich (my brother-in-law)

yo Callan Callan

I've never seen the show, but this little creature from "Yo Gabba Gabba" is hard to forget once you've seen him.

Anyways, Callan has this one outfit that, when I was putting it on him for the first time, randomly made me think of this character.  Now every time I put it on him, the image of the green striped dude above pops into my head.  Maybe it's the "hands" - or lack there of...

hand-me-down genes

Remember when all we had was a hint of what Callan would look like when he entered this world?  Now that he's here, it's fun to compare what he looks like in "real life" to his ultrasound pictures.  What do you think?  Do you see a resemblance? 

ultrasound picture taken in September

Callan within an hour of his birth 11/8/10

So the question is, who do you think Callan looks like?  We have our opinions, but we want to know what you have to say.  Here's a picture of Callan from last week, as well as one of him on his three week birthday, followed by several pictures of Travis, and then of myself. 

picture from last week

Callan, 3 weeks old

Travis with his grandmother

Travis with his dad

 

me in the hospital after being born

me, a bit older

So, who do you see?  More mom or more dad?  Do share!