Happy Birthday To Me!

In years past I think I'd be quite repulsed with birthday wishes from a younger man baring it all on a bearskin rug.  Bennett put his own twist on this image.  He's not allowed to go anywhere but the tub or the scale at the doctor's office naked thus he sports his Luvs.  He also only has fuzzy blanket composed of synthetic materials; no animals hopefully were harmed in the manufacturing of his furry prop.  I'm a sucker for this little man and feel like I've received a wonderful present not just for my birthday.  Behold little B in all his glory...

A House Elf

Though he is a muggle raised by muggles, Bennett has been a very helpful house elf today.  Once we put on his cozy elf outfit, he was ready to tackle a little of holiday to-dos.  I'll let him show you how he got jolly...

Though it may look like I'm sleeping on the job, my mom loves when I'm snoozing through check-out at the grocery store.  We picked up lots of dairy products and 10 pounds of flour for my dad's baking projects.  We got the good stuff~ King Arthur APF.

I helped seal and stamp dozens of envelops so that the Ham fam could spread some holiday cheer snail-mail style.  I picked up an admirer at the post office who nearly followed us to the car~ quite alarming for my mother, but I just smiled.

Playtime!

I held glitter sticks and helped my mom with some top secret craft projects.  My hat is the coolest.

So much wrapping paper~ I thought I'd end up in a box under the tree (and I'm sure I have some grandmothers who would love to have me as a Christmas gift). 

I'm allowed to hold this present because it is a gift box with no wrapping paper.  My gift holding privileges were revoked the moment I started to gnaw on the corners (sorry Aunt Foo~ hopefully it won't be soggy when I give it to you).

I played with a felt snowflake.  It'll have to do until real snow comes, and I can play in it.

We enjoyed some pictures from a classic festive book.  I'm not literate nor do I speak English so I'm still a little fuzzy about this story's plot...

Since I haven't mastered any spoken language, I may as well learn how to wish you merry Christmas en français!

Alright, a year ago if you had told me I'd be transcribing blog posts for my 16 week old tot, I think I would have gagged a little.  Maybe when he stops being so cute, I'll get back to not doing so many cutesie entries.  It's bad enough that I derive so much pleasure from dressing him up, but one day he may grow up and learn that I propped and photographed him doing silly things.  He may not appreciate it as much as others... Until I grow in the self-control department, forgive my goofy Christmas baby entries.

Feeling Festive

Bennett dressed up today after helping me shop for presents and wrap them.  You might say he's getting into the Christmoose spirit....

No shame in making up silly holiday-inspired vocab.  Hope you are having a lovely time preparing for Christmas, too!

The Music Man

Back in the summer of 2004 I studied abroad in Lyon, France.  I opted to do a homestay with a lovely lady named Marie-France.  On the evening of my arrival, she treated me to a very wonderful night out.  We took the metro to another part of town where we attended a performance of Verdi's Requiem at La Halle Tony Garnier (formerly an abattoir~ woah!).  Jetlagged as I was, I still had a remarkable time.  It was my first outing in a foreign country, and it was a magical night.  Verdi's Requiem is wonderful, and many of you would probably recognize the Dies irae. 

Faure's Requiem is also quite brilliant.  I love the Pie Jesu because my little sister performed it.  I always hear her voice singing it.  Holst's Planets is quite special to me.  We performed a medley of these songs in my handbell choir in high school (yes, giggle if you must.  I was in a handbell choir~ but Zooey Deschannel seems to be making it cool on New Girl...).  Jupiter in particular conjures up an image of my big sister walking down the aisle on her wedding day. 

Of course no music library is complete without Gershwin.  If you were amused by my handbell background, you'll be tickled to know that some of my first exposure to Gershwin was in high school marching band (yikes!).  We performed four movements of songs from Porgy & Bess.  I hope I will earn some of your esteem back by sharing that most of my Gershwin experiences are linked to my love of Fred Astaire movies.  Ole Fred & George were great friends (perhaps there friendship inspired J.K. Rowling when naming the Weasley twins... probably not...). 

All this is to say that music is a very unique thing.  That certain sounds can define past experiences and memories is really wonderful.  Thanks to the invention of iPods, I can only imagine the Plaza Mayor in Salamanca, Spain when I hear the Strokes album First Impressions of Earth (more like Primeras Impresiones del Mundo).  I always envision myself strolling on my way home from the elementary school in Metz when I hear Fleet Foxes.  It occurred to me that I should start imparting this love of music to little B.  Not only do I want him to grow up with good music, rumor has it classical music can make a kid smarter.  It can only enhance his Kyle-given genes.

So Bennett's music education has begun.  Are there any composers or works you suggest?  So far we have Handel, Mozart, Tchaikovsky (for the holidays), Faure, Verdi, and Beethoven in the mix.  Any additions would be good.

B's growing so quickly.  He's starting to look like a little boy:

Dreaming happy dreams in his birthday suit & bib.

December!

I am no good at multitasking.  I (gladly) lost the last two weeks to reading the Hunger Games in every free moment.  Praise the Lord for many a Bennett nap time.  I really enjoyed those books; they are like Harry Potter meets 1984 meets Lord of the Flies meets The Biggest Loser... Sounds like insanity and I could explain why it's like all those other things, but I'll just change the subject with these...

I'm ready for winter!

I've started to laugh and it sounds like I'm clearing my throat.

I make my parents happy!

Time to decorate for B's first Christmas.  Hope you are having a happy Christmas season!

Fly Boys

Kyle and I had a conversation while running many months ago.  It was before we knew whether we were having a boy or a girl, and I asked him if he was prepared for all the silly imagination play we'd have with our Hamiltot.  With a boy, we discussed talking trains and superheroes.  Kyle became nervous over having to play teatime and dress up with a little girl.  Good news for him that he wasn't thrown into the deep end with a little lady with our first baby.  Even so, Kyle doesn't always believe he is imaginative.  Thankfully he's already proven himself wrong, and I captured it on video.  Kyle does this thing where he flips B's bib backwards and pretends it is a cape.  He inadvertently created B's first pretend identity~ super baby!

Silly Mr. Hamilton underestimated himself.  I love having two fellas in my family, and I love what a good daddy Kyle is.  Life is sweet right now.  Praise the Lord!

Who put "me" in homemaking?

Well, I imagined having a lot to blog about once the baby was here.  Fast forward about 3 months and I have to accept that I'm not good at making time to write.  Turns out that dishes, laundry, and basically any chores increase exponentially with a third family member in the mix.  If I were more laid back, I think I could let things sit a bit longer in order to blog.  My problem is that my brain gets cluttered with my To-Do list so I can't concentrate on sharing my thoughts here.  Throw my busted camera in the mix, and I don't even have tons of cute baby pictures to post when I don't have time to write.  

We are in a new season now.  Ushering in winter and doing this parenting thing for 3 months means it's time to mix things up.  Time to carve out the "me time" and make some things I love happen.  I've seen too many What Not To Wear episodes to know that it's a slippery slope in the realm of new mom-dom.  When family and home become top priorities, you wake up one day 12 years from now with jeans that make you look like a human ice cream cone, a hair-do that suggests your hair dryer is somewhere under a sink collecting dust, and a faint memory of when you were called something other than mom (like your first name for instance).  Perhaps I'm off the deep end worrying about this now, but I know that if you do anything (good or bad) for 30 days, it'll likely become a lasting habit.  If you knew what kind of slothful living I've indulged in the last 90 days, you would fear for my future, too.  

I have to add that I recently studied Proverbs with my women's Bible study class.  As you may already know, this book ends with a description of one godly lady.  She does it all, and she does it with so much grace that her hubs can't help but praise her.  I am always convicted by her but even more so now since I've been promoted to parenting.  How does she juggle all of that and still stay classy?  Well, I'm pretty sure her secret is her relationship with God.  Since I have him too perhaps I could achieve all that she does. 

So with all that in mind, this week I've tried a few things including reading a bit more, running a 5k on the treadmill, doing a little project for something at church, baking & cooking, and making a homemade version of Pinterest (I'll explain that in a bit).  My friend Maria also told me about a way to earn a little money by doing a flu shot trial for nursing moms at Emory.  My pediatrician recommended getting a flu shot anyways and this way we get paid just to keep track of our health following the vaccine and making a couple of office visits.  I used some of our bonus income to pick out a dress for Kyle's company Christmas party.  Pretty exciting!  All of these things plus hanging out with friends and family are helping me from falling into the loss-of-self mom abyss.

I will say that I wasn't wild about running while still nursing.  I've read that marathon women make it happen without so much trouble.  I'll be running on the treadmill for the next few months (Bennett's too small for the jogging stroller plus it's getting arctic & dark here).  Do any of you have tips or experience in this area?  I love to run, but it's hard to be motivated to get out and do it.

Moving along~ Kyle didn't have to work for Veterans day.  We've had a great day at home including a fun visit with my friend Laura and son who is 20 weeks away from being born.  Kyle baked some spectacular bread and I played with Bennett lots.  We got some fun pictures in spite of our wonky camera dilemma.  Please enjoy a video of Bennett in action.

If that's not cute enough, I come bearing pictures...

It's business time~ that's why they're called business socks.  Okay, so it's not "business time", but instilling the love of music in our young son's heart is serious business in our home.

Bennett & his pony friend are really marveling at Kyle's skill.

It's fun to have a tiny Ham.

The meaty sweetie

As for my home Pinterest, I received a huge stack of magazines from both my mom and Kyle's mom.  I love getting fun ideas for things from them, but they were starting to take over.  I've begun the process of going through and pulling the pages of things I'll actually use and then tossing the rest of the magazines that I don't really need making secret stashes of fire hazards under our sofa.  As if I didn't have enough difficulty with our pitiful cameras, blogger has decided to flip my photos against my will.  I just can muster the willpower to try to correct it; here's what I have so far...

My new & cute notebook

A sideways section for recipes

A sideways section for travel

Even a sideways section for fitness

I'm also collecting games (crosswords, sudokus, etc), pretty craft projects, and home design inspiration. It's going to be fantastic some day.  While I made my cool notebook, here's what Mr. Hamilton did...

Do you think he could replicate this look for my hair on the night of the Christmas party?

And while Mr. Hamilton was baking fancy bread, here's what lil Mr. Hamilton did...

That is a hickey on my arm.  I promise I feed him~ you can tell by his meaty thighs.

Well, time to tend to the fam.  If you are interested on reading more about desiring to be a Proverbs 31 kind of lady, my friend Pat wrote this blog about homemaking.  I think it's wonderful & highly recommend it.  Later friends!

Mystery

This evening I was trying to snap some shots of the Hamiltot to share with family.  He's in an extraordinarily good mood with lots of stretches and smiles without me holding him or singing silly things to him.  Well, as I described in my last post, my little camera is on the fritz.  It froze up after one picture.  Each time I ejected the battery to restart it, the same thing happened.  I thought to myself, "Self, perhaps it saved one cutie shot of the little babe.  Check the memory to see what there is to see."  Much to my surprise there was not an image of the gleaming toothless smile of my firstborn, but a salad that Kyle and I made nearly two years ago in France.  When I tried to copy it to my computer, it won't open normally.  It mysteriously only appears when my memory card is in my camera.  How silly.  Since I can't capture magical moments from my little one's day, I'll have to share some things from this past weekend.

We drove up to North Carolina to visit the GrandHam homestead for the weekend.  While there, Bennett got to meet two great grandmothers and a great aunt.  He's almost met everyone (thankfully Aunt Kelly is coming home from Germany for Christmas!).  Surprisingly it was a really restful weekend for me.  With so many family members in one place, it was nice to pass the baby to someone and squeeze in a little extra sleep.  I felt really rested to start my week back at home~ crazy!  Anywho, Bennett not only met more of his family; he got to meet 3 of Kyle's closest buddies from his wake boarding lake days (no pictures with JT).  Here are some of the photos~

Family enjoying a variety of desserts

Dr. Michael with us

Austin, Kyle, and B rocking a mohawk

In other good news, my big sister Katie and her husband Blake are moving to Georgia next month!  My brother-in-law got a job nearby, and they found a house just a short drive away!  I am so so so excited; we haven't lived in the same place in years.  It'll be so cool to have lots of quality time with them~ Kyle & Blake are both banjo players so I'm expected more bluegrass jams on the horizon.  Happy day for all!

Taken back in 2007~ they should be allowed to play more frequently than every 4 years.

Deux mois!

We had our 2 month check up this morning at the pediatrician.  I couldn't wait to find out how much baby B had grown because he feels like he weighs a ton.  Since his last visit he only grew 3/4 inches in height which seemed like just a little.  It turns out he was really pretty long for his size last month so he is still on track for normal growth.  He gained an inch in head circumference.  He weighed in at 12 pounds 4.4 ounces having gained 3 pounds since his last visit.  Since he was born he's gained 5 pounds 2 ounces~ mind blowing!  Our little Mr. Hamilton is still defying the odds with his super human strength; the doctor was wildly impressed with his ability to stand so well for so long (he strength trains when he's battling gas~ let me tell you he has plenty of opportunities develop his skills).  Baby buddy also got serious immunizations today with one oral medication and two shots.  He hated it, but it's good for him.  I have heard other new moms say how heart breaking it is to have shots administered to their little ones.  I know I'd rather have him hate a shot for a minute than try to care for a baby with whooping cough so that helps me in the moment.  The thing that gets me is after he's had the shot; he gets this little trouble look on his tear-streaked face.  It's a why is this happening to me? look combined with a puny please hold me mommy look.  Then he passes out because this world is a little too much for him to take.  My poor sweetie defeated by his circumstances...

All in all it was a good visit and very informative.  I love learning about how to take care of Bennett better.  I love that the nurses think he's the cutest thing.  I even love hearing that the soft spots in his skull are perfect.  The doctor is always super encouraging to me and gives me tips on how to take care of myself, too.  We don't have to go back until 4 months~ I'm on my own for the next little bit learning about the little man.  Here's how he's looking...

He seems longer to me even though it was only 3/4'' gain...

Check out that smile!  He is so handsome!

In other news, we went to Ellijay last weekend with some friends for apple festival fun.  We tried apple fritters, homemade apple ice cream, and even apple slushies.  It was great fun.  Nelson (a fabulous photographer) snapped shots with his fancy camera.  We are kind of on the outs with our cameras.  Kyle's battery dies all the time, and you've seen more than one grainy photo on my blog as evidence that my camera is less than exceptional.  As of two days ago, my camera freezes up (didn't even know they could), and any pictures taken before the freeze disappear into oblivion.  So my new method is to take a couple of pictures quickly, turn off the camera, turn on the camera, and continue snapping shots.  This situation is less than ideal.   We'll have to remedy this situation so that we can capture each magical baby moment...

Finally Bennett got to see his girlfriend Lydia two times in the last couple of weeks.  Quite a feat since Lydia isn't even 3 weeks old yet.  Here's a picture from their first play date~

We think she's pretty!

We have another family adventure planned this weekend.  Hopefully our cameras will hold out for a little bit longer & we can capture some memories...

Oh My Goodness!

How can Bennett have gone from this:

to this:

so quickly?  At least he's not yellow anymore...

Ruh Roh...

We have a problem~

I'm not even 8 weeks old & I'm outgrowing my 0-3 months clothes!  Can you say "meaty sweetie"?

A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks.  Bennett attended his first birthday party for his Uncle Adam.  He met his Aunt Katie & Uncle Blake (aka Unkie Bake).  He had his first spend the night at my parents' house.  He also had his first cold & first trip to the doctor for a sick visit.  It's been eventful to say the least.

Uncle Adam with Bennett the day after his birthday

Bennett is becoming a very happy baby.  He smiles all the time, and his favorite activities are stretching and what looks like boxing.  He has a love/hate relationship with bath time~ we're never quite sure if we're going to get smiles or screams.  A lot of his hair has fallen out, but the second round of hair seems to be coming in.  Our friend David taught him how to stick his tongue out really well~ that's a neat new skill.  He's still sleeping through the night, but the cold made him regress a little bit to one feeding around 4am for a couple of days.  In spite of being under the weather, he has been really energetic and has a great appetite.  Bennett always makes us proud out in public; he is really good at sleeping during church and my Bible study.  Hopefully that's not a habit he keeps as a bigger boy.

More pictures?  Here we go...

The Hamilton men are sick.  Also Kyle wore wolfpack red when Tech played NC State.  You'd think 2 degrees and 7 years as a ramblin' wreck would have influenced his allegiance...

I got a new baby carrier for free!  It's got some good & bad attributes, but I'm glad to have some options to hold the babe hands-free.

We are all about hats since the weather changed.

So cute (and stunned) rocking his hat!  Thanks Camps for B's cool caps.

We're looking forward to some fun play dates soon (so many people to meet).  This weekend we can't wait to hang out with B's new best friend Luke. 

Perhaps their second hang out will be happier.  Luke seems ambivalent about his screaming buddy Bennett.

One day I may write again about non-baby things, but until then forgive me as I'm updating far away family and friends about little B.  Happy Fall friends~ can't wait to pick out a baby Halloween costume & visit a pumpkin patch!

L'Amour

*Whimsical sigh* ~ could I be more in love with the wee Hamiltot?  Here are just a few reasons why...

1.  In my family we love a good LRB (that is, a Little Round Belly).  This is the key to baby B's sleeping through the night success~ fill up his tank and see his happy face in the morning!

2.  He takes after me~ remember my cross-eyed exuberance when we got the new car?  Plus he such an ubermensch because he can hold up his head like someone twice his age.

3.  Tiny man falls asleep upright.  Ridiculous~ he's so good for not dropping his pacifier on the floor.

4.  The Hamiltot looks good in a hat.  Please don't judge him for the girly boppy cover; that was all me.  I had no self-control when I picked it out...

This is about all I can share for now; the wee one demands my attention comme toujours....

One Month Already?

So it feels like forever since I've blogged, but on the flip side, I am stunned that Bennett is already over a month old.  People say it all the time~ they grow up so fast.  I guess it is true.  We had our visit to the pediatrician today.  Little buddy gained 2 pounds and 3 ounces and grew a whopping 2.25 inches.  He is a little smaller than the average baby but totally normal and totally healthy (he may have small person genes; his mom is only 5'1'').  In the realm of accomplishments and defying all odds, our little Hamiltot has rolled over from his stomach to his back 3 times.  His doctor says that doesn't normally happen until 2 to 4 months old!  He also has slept through the night for the past 5 nights; Kyle and I have a whole new lease on life!  Check out my strong little man~

Looking crazy good in spots & dots!

 While each day the baby does something new, Kyle managed to get a new activity this month.  He has bonding time with his co-workers every now and then.  Typically they go bowling on a Friday afternoon, but last week they played WhirlyBall.  Kyle had to forgo the opportunity to play with the young married couples group at church this summer because a third-trimester wife would not have had any fun.  Thankfully the opportunity arose again.  Here is he in action...

This looks goofy...

...and this is even goofier!

So Kyle's co-workers fashioned this cap as a trophy of sorts.  Kyle was the only one who received a foul during the game thus he was "awarded" this special treat~ ridiculous!

As for me?  I'm feeling really good these days.  My body feels healthy again (except all the junk food I have been eating~ oops!).  My midwife gave me the green light on running again.  Now to just find the time and muster the energy....  I'm starting slow with walks around the neighborhoods before I hit the treadmill (Bennett won't get to roll out in his fancy jogging stroller for another few months~ he'd be all shook up!).  I think I'm going to keep up my mile counter because it is a good motivator for me.

I miss blogging a bunch, but I always opt on the side of taking a nap or shower over writing a new post.  I'm sure I'll get the swing of things at some point, but until then, see you back here in October?  Only time will tell on this matter...

A Family Outing

We have entered the fourth week of this parenting experiment (how has it already been three+ weeks?).  I had another bad bleeding day on Tuesday, but thankfully we were prepared for it this time and didn't need a trip to the hospital.  We pray my weird health issues are behind us so I can have more strength and energy to care for the wee one.  Getting more accustomed to our funky schedule has been super challenging~ having a newborn isn't for weenies.  I'm happy to report, though, that we are getting better at family outings.  Last weekend we semi-struggled going on our first party-of-3 date.  Kyle took us to Douceur de France; it's our favorite French bakery.  It's really special to us because our engagement day picnic had mostly food from DdF.  Kyle also got a sweet groom's cake from there (a delicious croquembouche).

Looks like a tower of doughnut holes but tastes like wonderful bite sized eclairs

Oops, pastry tangent...  I felt a little pressed getting out the door and then back home with the baby~ he requires a lot of gear.  We made it out again Sunday for church as well as Monday to go to Babies'R'Us to pick out a shower gift for a friend.  Now that we are starting to feel like pros, we planned a fun Saturday morning.  First stop~ our local Chik-fil-a for free breakfast sandwiches.  Then we made our way to the Chamblee farmers' market.  We had heard good things and were happy with what we found...

Lots of stands with produce, baked goods, sweet treats, and tasty meat

Bennett napped after enjoying alternative methods of pacifier use.

Kyle tries gazpacho for the first time!

Too bright and sunny for our babe's delicate complexion

I have been dying to try a popsicle from King of Pops~ worth the wait!  I got strawberry lemonade & Kyle got chocolate sea salt.  Yum!

Bennett missed out on the pops.

We sure do love his cute feet.

This afternoon we settled in to enjoy some cooking shows while Kyle baked some bread.  It has been a glorious Saturday, and we're enjoying life as a family of three!

Bennett's first baguette tutorial