artwork for anna

Anna's room is decorated in a hodgepodge of some of my favorite things: Pop Ink Pattern Paper Dolls from French Paper Co., the pennant banner from my SU! shower (seen on the crib), tissue paper flowers that I made from a Martha Stewart kit (see the baby blessing post), and just great patterns like the crib bedding. I love all these things—but I had two problems. All the colors didn't exactly go together, and we didn't want to hang anything on the walls above where Anna sleeps—you know, being paranoid first-time parents and all—just in case.

So, here is my solution...I painted 12" x 12" squares directly on the wall with acrylic paint (I probably spent $25 on different colors of $1.99 paints before I found the perfect three colors—Travis is so patient with me! :) And then, the white numbers are from Stampin' Up!'s new line of Décor Elements (self-adhesive vinyl art). They were so quick and easy to apply! And there you have it! If it weren't for the bazillion coats of color changes, this would have been a pretty quick project. Ta-da! And now my little Anna has a focal point that ties everything in her room together. (It is what ever six week old girl dreams of! :)

Thanks, Trav, for being patient through yet another of my many "wrench in the routine" craft projects.

wrapped around her finger

So, it's official. Judging by this picture— Anna has Travis completely wrapped around her finger (or I guess Anna is completely wrapped around Travis's finger). Whichever way it goes, they seems to be each other's biggest fan. There is definitely something about watching the guy I married with our baby that just gets me right there. I love it!

So the other day, Travis got up early with Anna so I could sleep in a bit. (What a sweetie!) When I finally got up a few hours later, I found Travis and Anna hanging out together, and Anna dressed in this
onesie—which was definitely picked on purpose!

Ok. We all know no relationship is perfect all the time! :)

the best gift

Before I left on maternity leave I was working at Stampin' Up! as a product designer. I didn't know beforehand if Anna was going to be a boy or a girl, so my friends at work decided to throw me a baby shower after the baby came. Last week I packed Anna in the car and made the long commute once again to Riverton for the baby shower. (I don't miss the commute! :)

Anna received a ton of CUTE things, the lasagna (my favorite) was amazing, and the party favors and decorations were nothing short of SU! creative team's best, but I have to say that I received the best gift of all! When I arrived at SU!, I took the elevator down to the Atrium. As the elevator doors opened, I was welcomed with hugs and smiles from some of my very favorite people—people that I have really missed being around every day. The best gift ever is knowing that people care about you. I sure felt that this last week! Thanks to all my SU! friends. You are the best!

blessing day

On Sunday we were able to bless Anna at church. Travis, Anna, and I were thankful to be surrounded by a lot of family and friends. Anna sure has many grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, cousins and more that love her very much already! Travis gave her a beautiful blessing. She is a lucky girl to have such a wonderful daddy.

As you can see in the picture, Anna wore a very poofy satin and tulle dress. As you have learned from a previous post, Anna is a bit wiggly. Let's just say that wiggles and slippery fabric are a dangerous combination. But, dang, she sure looked cute.

Travis served a mission in Portugal, and while his family was over there visiting, his mom bought these adorable knitted shoes. Anna wore them on her big day. Why is it that all tiny baby clothes are SO cute?

A big thanks to everyone who came and to everyone who helped make the day unforgettable. We love you all!

one month old!

Today Anna officially turned one month old!

pine valley camping trip

Each year our family gets together in Pine Valley for our annual Labor Day camping trip. For several years we enjoyed this trip with only the company of our aging family, but now we have added kids back into the mix. What is camping without kids? ... Far too civilized, I must say! :) This year we had Gracie, Parker, Drew, and Anna. It reminded me of how much fun camping can be!

It's a good thing germs don't exist when you are camping.
(The tear stain through the dirt is my favorite!)

Can I share with you, please? Yummy!

Mom, can you help me wash off my unibrow?

Parker seems to be the cleanest of the bunch!
Don't let him fool you! :)

Gracie loves taking care of Anna.


One of many camping casualties...


Camping cousins: Parker, Gracie, and Drew!

daddy's girl

I love this picture of Travis and Anna relaxing. Could she be any more relaxed? I have enjoyed watching Travis grow into his role of dad these last few weeks. This is what Travis wrote the week Anna was born: (I think it is super sweet!)

I am really loving being a daddy and am so happy to have Anna in our home. Niff is a great little mother. I am impressed by her patience and love. Watching Niff go through labor gave me a respect and appreciation for her like never before. Wow!

I was able to fully participate in the labor process. It was an amazing experience. I was right by Niff's side and did my best to help coach and encourage her. I was able to cut the umbilical chord and be the one to announce the gender of the new born baby to everyone in the room. I knew it would be a cool experience, but I never imagined it would touch me so profoundly.

Now that we have Anna home we have been attempting to learn to be parents and develop a routine in our dramatically changed lives. I was fully expecting these changes and they have been very welcome. There have been a few changes/adjustments that I never anticipated, but Niff is very patiently helping through.

I am finding it a bit challenging to find what my role is and how I fit in the big picture. Mom and baby rely on one another, but how does dad fit in? I have loved spending this past week at home and not having any worries other than my family. I have been able to make meals for Niff, massage her feet while she feeds Anna, do laundry, keep the house picked up, etc. It has been really nice. As I attempt to prepare for returning to work (and soon school too) I begin to feel a bit selfish. I feel that I should participate in all that mom and baby are doing, but that is not realistic. If I am off doing something else I feel as though I am not doing my part. Niff and I had a nice talk and I am feeling much more comfortable with my role. I am responsible for working and providing for the family. In the evenings I can help Niff out with Anna in any way possible and provide Niff with a little bit of time to herself as necessary. The talk with Niff helped me out.

I also have a hard time doing things that I want to such as go for a jog, developing MyFoxBox, and working on other computer projects. I feel guilty doing what I want to do when Niff is busy meeting Anna's needs 24-7. I have participated in almost all of the feedings, changes, etc so far which has been nice, but some times I am there and not really helping that much; there really isn't all that much that I can do during a feeding :) I feel like I am not doing my part if I wander off and do something else (even if it is a chore). As we find more balance and adjust to Anna's schedule and needs this will definitely improve as well.

I know that I will adjust and feel much more adequate in the weeks to come. Conversations with Niff have helped me a great deal. I am absolutely loving being a father. I just thought I would share with you some of the challenges of being a new father that completely blind-sided me.

Note: This may or may not make any sense at all, but it is my best attempt to put recent feelings into words.

See. I told you he was cute! :)