Introducing Collin

Meet William Collin. He joined our family at 4:15 a.m. on Nov. 19, 2011. Weight: 7 pounds, 8 ounces. Length: 20.5 inches.

He's healthy and happy and doing well (though still not interested in sleeping much at night). Conservative Hubby and I are doing well too, though I'm moving a bit slowly because the little guy arrived via C-section.

I'll share more details (and photos, of course) soon!

Animals!

You may have noticed a theme with many of the pieces of art I showed you in my last post.

(In case I need to be Captain Obvious, that theme was animals.)

But the animal fun doesn't end with the walls. In fact, it's kind of scary how many animals already populate the nursery. If this is any indication, our house is going to be overrrun by little furry creatures, like all these little critters with their big googly eyes.


I won't bore you photographing all of the terrific animals hanging out in the baby's room, but I do have to share a few of my faves. There's this colorful pillow pet.


This friendly little fellow.


A handsome gorilla, who also has a couple of friends in the form of a hippo and a lion.

These animals are particularly cool because they are part of a Jane Goodall collection and are made from organic cotton and plant and mineral dyes.


Part of the proceeds from the purchase of each one go toward the Jane Goodall Institute. Pretty cool, eh? (Plus have I mentioned how adorable they are?)


Then there are the two little buddies hanging out on the rocking chair. The giraffe plays a variety of soothing sounds and the monkey is just known for giving really terrific hugs.

Every nursery needs a monkey known for giving really terrific hugs.

Handmade Artwork

The artwork in the nursery is particularly exciting because it's all in some way or another handmade.

There's the very friendly caterpillar on the bookshelf.


A little cheerful saying above the bookshelf.


And the row of animals above the rocking chair.


All of this artwork I ordered from Etsy. In case you're not familiar with Etsy, it's a website where you can find anything and everything handmade and vintage you could possibly want. It's pretty much my most favorite site for gift-giving or, in this case, decorating.

Then there are the colorful characters above the changing table (a gift from a friend, who found them on Etsy, too.)


Plus a cute little calendar that goes along with the animals.


And then there's this masterpiece, which was a shower gift from a good friend of Conservative Family's.


We had one spot on the wall that My Mom and I could not figure out what to do with, and then magically this gift appeared and went perfectly in that one spot. The coolest part is that under all the fun papers and embellishments, it's magnetic, so we can add to or change out things whenever the mood strikes.

Butternut Squash Soup with Ravioli

I'd like to interrupt the never-ending stream of baby room posts to bring you a photo of a recent cooking adventure.


Nothing says fall like a bowl of butternut squash soup.

It happens to have a texture slightly reminiscent of baby food, however, so I apologize that perhaps I'm not straying from the dominant topic of the moment as far as I should.

But despite the fact I just told you it has a texture like baby food, it's actually pretty darn good. Really. Even Conservative Hubby ate it.

And it was easy to make, too. The recipe, from Better Homes & Gardens, is available if you click here.

Something Old

Among the new items in the nursery, like the crib and the bedding and way too many clothes for a fellow who isn't even born yet, I scattered a few old touches.

Of course there's Teddy and Red Bear. And a piggy bank and a pair of cowboy boots from when I was bambino. Some of my favorite childhood books that My Mom saved all these years. And a lovely little sweater and hat knitted for Conservative Hubby when he was a baby by some very special family friends.

Then there are a few vintage touches that came from other sources.

Like these blocks, an Etsy find.


And this abacus, which I also found on Etsy, along with a set of The Wonderful Worlds of Walt Disney books, which was a shower gift from a friend.


And this old octopus, which My Sister found in California and sent to us recently.


Kind of fun, yes?

The Growth Chart

At last Thursday's appointment with the doctor, we learned that although I haven't gained a ton of weight during the pregnancy, the little bambino is actually a little ahead of the game in that department.

He was already weighing in at about 6 pounds and 5 ounces at that point, which means if he decides to keep us all waiting until the actual due date he may tip the scales at a solid 8 pounds.

(Any guesses who's voting the loudest that he makes a safe, healthy, slightly early appearance? And any guesses who's hoping this is an indication that he'll be a professional football or basketball player?)


The little guy may weigh in over 6 pounds at this point, but I'm doubting he's going to exceed the height of this growth chart in the nursery anytime soon. In fact, I'm doubting he'll get even close to the height of the giraffe's nose while we still live in this house.

Still, it's a pretty darn cute addition to the nursery, don't you think?

Making the Mobile

This is the mobile My Mom and I hung in the baby's room this weekend.


Early on, when we were still brainstorming colors and themes and things of that nature for the nursery, I spent plenty of time looking at the many mobiles you could buy online. But none of them really appealed to me.

And then I found a nursery that I loved on ohdeedoh, and in that nursery there was a handmade mobile that I thought would be perfect with the few things we'd already found for our little one's room.

So I set about cutting out cardstock circles to make the mobile. Then I let the cardstock circles sit for a couple of months gathering dust, until this weekend when My Mom and I finally put the mobile together and got it hung.

It turned out as well as I had hoped. Hopefully the little guy likes it, too!

Turning 29

A week ago Friday, I celebrated a birthday. My 29th birthday, to be exact. The last birthday of my twenties.

It wasn't all that long ago when 30 seemed so old. But now it seems young. Really young.

Maybe I'll be singing a different tune a year from now when I'm actually turning 30, but I'm not at all concerned about leaving the twenties behind. Sure, it's a bit sad, because being a 20-something is pretty awesome. It's college and your first job and so much freedom to travel and do fun things but still be a "grown up" (without having to be too grown up all the time).

But it's not like I'm expecting to wake up in a year and feel drastically different than I do right now (although I'm guessing I'll be considerably more sleep-deprived, and hopefully I'll weigh considerably less—neither of which have to do with my age so much as the little fellow that's going to join our family soon).


Now if I were turning 35, that would be a different story. That's old. Really really old. (Just kidding, certain brothers-in-law that may or may not be around that age. That's really young, too! Conservative Hubby is wearing off on me. I apologize.)

Anyhow.

This year's birthday really snuck up on me. Normally October is all about birthdays (a few of my best friends also have theirs this month, plus My Mom's is the day after mine and My Dad's happens to be TODAY).

But this year October has been all about work, work, work and, more importantly, preparing for another birth day that could be coming up anytime in the next month or so. So it didn't even really hit me that it was my birthday until October 14 rolled around.

I've never been one for big birthday bashes to celebrate, anyway. To me a great birthday involves a good meal and (except for this year) maybe a few cocktails with friends or family. Of course, I've had my share of exciting birthdays. Like the year Conservative Hubby and my friends threw me a surprise party in Des Moines. (It was a big surprise!) Or the year I flew to Boston on my birthday to meet up with my family and surprise My Mom on her birthday. Oh yeah, and then there was that year that Conservative Hubby popped the question. (That was an even bigger surprise!)


But most of them have been pretty low-key, and that's OK with me.

This birthday was no different. In fact, it was even lower-key than usual. Conservative Hubby took me out to dinner at one of my favorite local restaurants, the Harvest Cafe, which is located in a little town outside of L-Town. It was delicious, although there's so little room in my stomach for extraneous items at the moment we didn't even get a birthday dessert. Then we came home, put on sweats, and watched television. I proceeded to fall asleep on the couch before 10 p.m.

Don't tell me I'm lame. That's an awesome birthday for this tired pregnant lady.

Homemade Minestrone

There's nothing quite like a big pot of homemade minestrone—loaded with fresh vegetables from our weekly CSA delivery—to make for a cozy October evening.


In case you're interested in trying it out yourself, I'll be serving leftovers all week.

Red Bear

Remember Teddy, my first bear from childhood?

Recently, he was joined in the nursery by another friendly little bear.

Meet Red Bear, Conservative Hubby's oldest and most loved stuffed animal.


Both of us had really original names for our little stuffed friends.

As you can see, Red Bear is not in quite as good of shape as Teddy. Apparently Conservative Hubby was very devoted to Red Bear as a child.

When I told C.B. I was going to post about his childhood friend, I asked if he wanted to tell all of you anything about his pal.

"Red Bear is awesome," was his response.

So there you have it.

Balloons!

It was almost a month ago now when the annual art and balloon festival took over L-Town. Should you ever need an excuse to come visit us in the summer, this weekend just may be it.


Besides the fact that you can watch the balloons take off, fly across fields, land, and glow in the dark once night rolls around, there are plenty of other activities to keep you busy too.


Like wandering the farmer's market, art festival, and flea market at the two parks downtown. And tasting some of the amazing barbecue at the Kansas City BBQ competition, which was held for the first time downtown on the square. (Conservative Dad was even one of the official judges--lucky guy!) Or, if it's more your style, you can taste a great selection of Illinois wines at the Art of Wine tent (also on the square).


At night, there are bands playing out at the airport where the balloons go off. You can get your fill of fried food and less-than-safe-looking carnival rides, too.

Really, what more could you ask for in small-town Illinois on a summer weekend?

Letting Butter Talk

Hi guys.

Just wanted to let you know I'm still around and happy as can be.

My family has been pretty darn busy lately, but I know even when I'm stuck at home or in the pet motel that they still love me.

All in all, life is good. ... Even though I still can't figure out what the heck is going on in the place formerly known as the office. ...

But I sure do like to sniff all those treasures that keep appearing in there. I'm sure they're all for me, even though I don't know why the heck I'd need so much stuff when all I really want in life is a belly rub, a walk, and a treat.

Electric Lemonade

This weekend, while Conservative Hubby and his best friend Twigs worked on mastering the fine art of making ribs (they did a fantastic job), I whipped up a little cocktail for Mrs. Twigs and I. It's an electric lemonade recipe from the June issue of Better Homes & Gardens, and it was the perfect concoction for a summer Saturday night.

The key ingredients: fresh-squeezed lemon juice, sugar, sparkling mineral water, a dash of ginger ale, fresh-picked mint, and ice. Once everything was blended, I poured the lemonade into two frosted glasses--one with vodka for Mrs. Twigs and one with more sparkling mineral water for me.

The verdict? Yummy.

An Ice Cream Treat

Happy Labor Day! In case you're looking for something rather delicious to labor over on your day off, I wanted to share a pic of the easy mocha chip ice cream cake I made while we were in North Carolina.

I was inspired by all of Kid Sister's Southern Living magazines I read while lounging by the pool (it was a very difficult vacation for me, people), so on our last night there decided I had to make the ice cream cake.

And boy am I ever glad I did, even though Conservative Hubby complained that dessert cost a million dollars by the time we bought all the ingredients. (It didn't.)

I highly recommend that you try it yourself. Just be sure to make it well in advance of when you want to eat it, since it needs some freezer time.

And you can go ahead and lick your plate when you're finished, like Kid Sister told me she did after we headed home and she was stuck with the incredibly difficult job of eating the leftovers. It's totally acceptable.

A Tennis Tournament

While in North Carolina visiting Kid Sister, T-Bear, and Frog Dog, Conservative Hubby and I took in some professional tennis action. It was the Winston-Salem Open, a U.S. Open qualifying tournament, held at Wake Forest University.

Kid Sister was busy working at the tournament, so Conservative Hubby and I stopped by to say hello and watch a bit of the action.

It was a Monday afternoon so it was pretty quiet. I asked Conservative Hubby about a million questions, because up until that sunny Monday I knew very little about how tennis scoring worked. He filled me in on the important stuff, and I found myself enjoying the action.

(And then we got scolded over the loud speaker and glared at by one of the tennis players because we got up to walk out right when one of the players was about to serve. Yes, we were those people. Oops. But seriously, are two people walking clear up in the stands really going to distract you that much? I don't think so.)

It actually made me want to play tennis (watching the tournament, not the scolding), but I suppose that will have to wait. I'm guessing your seventh month of pregnancy is not a good time to take up a new sport that involves swinging a racket and running all over a court.