the best kind of medicine

its amazing the magic fresh air and sunshine and a long walk can do in a person's mind and body. san diego decided to get beautiful for a few days in the midst of the normal gross-and-blah december weather so we ventured out for a long walk involving a steep hill and many delicious shrubbery for baxter to enjoy (its probably the longest walk all of us have enjoyed since october!) and it was made all the more enjoyable since my sister-in-law briana is here to share the day with us. thank you to my legs for carrying me to my goal destination. its sort of fun what you see when you slow down to a saunter. i noticed some plants and artwork at the university we live next to that i've never noticed before - probably because i've always been running. slowing down for a bit ain't half bad! (not that i am interested in keeping this pace forever, but am enjoying the moments of slowness in the meantime).

and i'm sure you've figured it out, but this little baby has totally captured my heart. i am completely smitten and so very lucky to have my days and nights to spend with this little growing joy. but i must say one of my favorite parts of my day is when his daddy comes home from work and goes straight to petey to tell him he missed him and kiss his cheeks and touch his little fingers.
xoxo

into the world

petey and daddy enjoyed watching some football together yesterday.

although Illinois is not going to a bowl this year, he still sported some of his U of I spirit. i love to sit and rock and stare at this little boy...its as though you can see him changing by the second. a new little roll on the knee, a dimple on his hand....he is watching and learning more every day. literally a changing little miracle happening right before my eyes. and i'm doing my best to breath it in and bottle it up in my memory and never forget these first days of magic.

special moments ...

we so very much enjoyed having grandma and grandpa simpson and aunt ellyn here for a visit. hoping aunt ellyn is having a wonderful vacation in cancun now and that grandma and grandpa have a quick and non-delayed trip back to very wintry wisconsin today. thank you so much for taking such very good care of us. you made our first few weeks at home very special and we're looking forward to visiting you soon!






all snuggled up,
in arms full of love.
happily coos
with gazing eyes.
a special time
of newness and wonder.

Merry Christmas!

christmas eve

i love having family here. it just makes the magic of christmas. and seeing my papa with my baby cuddled up, fast asleep on his chest is too precious to handle. and seeing my mom bustle about - but stop in her tracks the second the baby needs some soothing and swaddling - and take a deep breath of wonderful-new-baby-smell and melt into the moment. well, its just perfection.

the cookies are cooked. dinner is eaten. packages unwrapped. and now the cuddling (and guitar hero-ing) are in full force. what a wonderful evening its been. how lucky and blessed reid, peter and i are to have such an amazing family as this.

just in the nick of time!

we're doing some last minute holiday baking today and tomorrow. just because i had a baby 10 days ago does not excuse a lack of freshly baked christmas cookies to leave for santa. no sir.

and my amazing mother, in all of her sweet domestic amazingness, gifted my sister and i a wonderful gift of homemade love a little early this year so we would be properly outfitted for this afternoon's baking extravaganza: aprons! i am so excited and so very much in love with these aprons.

i think i'd like for this to become an annual tradition for all the ladies in our family - an apron swap. maybe like christmas morning we draw names and get assigned one lady in the family for the next christmas - and then have a whole year to find or purchase or make a deliciously, wonderfully sentimental apron for the lucky lady chosen.

baby's first photo shoot

Erin came to our house this morning and shot tons of pics of baby and family. i am already dying to see how they turned out because it was ridiculously cute watching the pictures be taken. here's a sneak peek:

horray for visitors!

oh no...knits galore!

so my new love and addiction for knitting and my time for doing so are now obviously out of proportion....


and even though I am working on a bright red receiving blanket for soon-to-arrive Baby Conklin....






and even though I am working on this amazingly delicious all-shades-of-oranges-and-reds scarf for my dear friend Ang...

I just was reading my favorite blog and saw the most darling hand-knit kick sack on her newly arrived baby boy (pattern at Ravelry.com for free!) and am pretty sure I will have to make a stop at my neighborhood knit shop and pick up some yarn and whip one of these up. Afterall, my "knit-master" (aka. the lady who taught me to knit and it turns out I adore) told me it was a criminal offense to only have one knitting project in the works at a time. She is also the mastermind behind this adorable hand-knit hat she gifted Petey with about a week before he was born. So good.

keep it silly

today's 'adventure' included an early morning trip back to the birth center to get me all checked out by our midwife, also named sarah. she's so sweet - and we snapped a few pictures of her enjoying Petey before we left. the rest of the day involved a lot of cuddling and feeding and sleeping (for baby - i am still learning how to sit still and nap for a few minutes when i get them!).

we bought this mirror to put in Petey's room to remind us to laugh about things....instead of cry when sometimes that seems more appropriate. tonight Petey is 3 for 3 of the last diaper changes for peeing all over the place -- changing table, us....the stuffed turtle. he even got it in the water bottle i keep next to the rocker. at one point i was sitting in the rocker watching reid change him and it started up again, reid didn't realize it so i said something and reid's first reaction was to cover it with both his hands to keep it from going everywhere. we were both laughing so hard we were crying...but it was the good kind of crying, thank goodness. i can't imagine not having him here to help me figure all of this out and keep things fun. and hug me at the end of the day and remind me that he loves me. i live for those hugs.

so, despite the new diaper changing challenge (its sort of a game now to see if Reid or I is the next one to "get it" again) we are doing fine, we've just done a LOT of laundry today. every day is a new adventure and a new lesson learned and we are loving each moment we spend together with our new little bundle of love. and gosh, our fabulous neighbor Sydney made us a spaghetti bake that we chowed down on. and garlic bread. and salad! and then there was apple pie.
so delicious.
i'm hungry again just thinking about it.


and from my rocker tonight, my world looks pretty amazing. a cozy quilt made with love by my mom across my lap. a snoring, loving pug by my feet watching out for anyone who might come by for a visit. a proud papa watching from the doorway. and a cooing, blue-eyed baby who i could cuddle for ever.
good night to all.

this day - chicken enchilada casserole recipe

what another busy day we had - after our big outing to Dr. Rendler's office, we stopped to introduce Petey to our friend Ryan Kelley (who I regret we forgot to take a picture with). so thankful for a wonderful friend we have in Ryan's mommy, Jen - and her chicken enchilada casserole is awesome!

later today our good friends Adam and Emily came to meet Peter - they just moved to San Diego. we are so excited they are our neighbors again!


and now the house is quiet and everyone is slipping off to sleep after another wonderful day with our little angel...excited for Grandma and Grandpa and Ellyn to finally arrive on Saturday. what a blessing this little one is.

another day is done

Peter meeting his new friend Conner

Cuddling happily with Daddy while it rains and rains and rains

Baxter welcoming his brother home after a trip to Dr. Rendler's office

I can't help it....his feet are too cute

before getting swaddled up for a nice nap in the crib

this might be the most content baby ever. he only fusses when his clothes are off for changing and when his meal is overdue. another trip to the pediatrician, in the cold and rain and he was just kicked back enjoying the ride. and oh, does he love his daddy something fierce! love to all - hope you are enjoying the pictures since so many of you are far away in the lands of white Christmases!

so beautiful

Petey and his beautiful eyes wide open

sometimes Baxter kisses make him a little nuts

but Baxter just LOVES him so much!

today we made an art project out of his hands and feet for the baby book. that was quite the messy adventure!

Seriously, I can stare at this little baby all day - and am so blessed that I get to while I recover. My mom and Reid have taken such great care of us and I am so thankful that they are so loving and wonderful to us. Petey and I are doing better every day - still don't have my strength back but getting a tiny bit of bounce back in my step. Midwife's orders are lay low til Friday so that's what I'm trying to do. Looking forward to Grandma and Grandpa Simpson and Aunt Ellyn's visit this Saturday. And Petey can't wait to meet ALL of you soon! xoxo
and happy birthday Aunt Ellyn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

we are so in love!

Petey at his first pediatrician appointment with Daddy and Grandma (momma had to stay home and heal some more), everything was great and he is all healthy and wonderful! Lost a little weight between Saturday and Monday (9 lbs down to 8 lbs 4 oz) but was back up to 8 lbs 9 oz by Tuesday!

More pictures of Peter!!!

Peter Andrew Nannen is here!!!

Born at 124 A.M.
9 lbs, 22 inches
Mommy and Baby are doing great!

Guest post by Daddy, who is doing remarkably well after being bitten really hard on the arm by someone (Mom) during labor.