27

Flowers from my traveling husband ...

... a little birthday gift to myself ...

... brand new birthday shoes ...

... and spending my evening with this party animal. 

Yes, I'd say 27 isn't looking too shabby. 

This baby

A year ago today, we were in Nashville for my birthday weekend, and I got the best birthday gift I've ever received.

I found out I was pregnant.

I'll never forget standing there in my old bedroom, looking at that pregnancy test, in shock of the plus sign — like a little X marking the spot where our lives changed forever.

That day we found out we were having a baby, but it would be seven months before we found out it was this baby.

This baby, with his bright blue eyes and sweet grin. This baby, who laughs at the word "hiccups," who manages to rotate 90 degrees in his bed every night, who never says no to "Do you want something to eat?" This baby, who loves to cuddle, kick and coo, splash in the bathtub, and be sung to. This baby, whom I can't imagine loving any more.

Yes, we were excited on that day because we were having a baby, but I'm so glad we got a Preston because he is just what we needed — the perfect addition to our little family.

Celebrating the after

For the most part, I loved being pregnant and, except for the end where I felt like the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man (if you saw my feet, you'd know this was no exaggeration), felt pretty good in my new form. The pregnant form is celebrated for the most part. I mean, when else do you get excited that your pants no longer button? As a first-time mom, I beamed as my stomach grew larger. There was God-given life growing in there, and, here I was, given a front-row seat to all the action.

This seems to be the feeling of most. I mean, Facebook is littered with pictures of women turned to the side, chronicling the expansion of their waistline, and Pinterest is covered in maternity picture inspiration.

But then you have the baby, and it all changes.

I was devastated when I read somewhere that, after delivery, you would still be about as big as you were at six-months pregnant. Six months?! I was only slightly less gigantic at six months. When I got home from the hospital, I made the mistake of trying to put on one of my pre-pregnancy T-shirts, only to realize that, while I felt smaller, I still wasn't "small."

I went from a baby bump to a post-baby gut, from celebrating my burgeoning belly to hiding it as best I could. Two months after Preston arrived, I was still wearing maternity clothes and felt like a failure as a result. But why? Why do we eagerly accept the before but want to hide the after?

This article talks about how celebrities are ripped apart in magazines if they haven't shed their baby weight in six weeks and the backlash that is growing because that's not reality. Should I feel like less because Beyonce or some Real Housewife of Wherever lost her baby weight in six weeks? This group of moms says no and created a website to celebrate real women's post-baby bodies. After seeing them featured on the Today Show, I began to reevaluate my attitude.

While I won't be posing for any photos showcasing my little pooch where I keep my extra cookies, I'm not going to beat myself up because I, unlike Beyonce, can't pop into a golden leotard and do the "Single Ladies" dance less than a month after giving birth.

I've decided to be happy in the after.

'Mini' fall goodies

I'm not sure if they sell your address to every kids clothing catalog when you register for baby things, but, before I even felt Preston kick inside of me, the catalogs were rolling in. 

I'm a sucker for tiny little clothes, and Mini Boden has quickly become my (and Scott's) favorite children's catalog to flip through. I'm especially loving what they're offering right now because fall clothes are my favorite (one reason why I love my late summer birthday — all that birthday money goes to new sweaters and boots!), which means tiny fall clothes make my head explode with glee.

Here are a few of my favorites that I think my little guy would look very dapper in.

From top left: cozy pocket top, logo jumper, flannel all-in-one, baby jeans, jersey duffel

French dip crescents

There are two conversation starters Scott hates to hear me say: "You know what we should be for Halloween?" and "I found this recipe on Pinterest..."

I'm not a stellar cook, and whenever I find something to make on Pinterest, especially if it's not a baked good, I get my hopes set too high and, inevitably, it never comes out the way I hoped. Ever.

Now that I get off work earlier than Scott, I'm in charge of dinner. I usually get home at about 4:30 with Preston, and he's usually passed out by 7, so that gives me two and a half hours of consciousness with the little guy a night. I don't want to waste any of that with a lot of chopping, sauteing, and blanching. I am constantly looking for something quick and easy — really just something I need to assemble and put in the oven.

And that's where our dinner from last night comes in. When I pinned this recipe for French dip crescents, I was worried Scott would find it too ... well, Pinteresty*? Like that hotdog made to look like an octopus or something. But he was all for it when I suggested it.

And they were just what I had been looking for — an easy assembly job. You just roll the meat and cheese up into the crescent and bake as instructed. Instead of making the suggested au jus (I just didn't want to mess with it), I served them with horseradish dijon mayonnaise and lemon pepper green beans. I think this meal found itself on the "make again" list, and Scott and I spent the entire dinner naming other things we could roll up in a crescent. This could be good for our taste buds but bad for our waistlines.

As for what we should be for Halloween, I'm thinking that Preston could be a football, Scott a football player, and I a cheerleader — just in case you were wondering.

*Pinteresty: (adj.) When something looks really cute but is far too much trouble/time/money than it's really worth. "I thought I would paint the whole room with chalkboard paint, make tissue paper puffs, then cover my couch in burlap, but I realized that was too Pinteresty." See also: craftastorphe.

Monthly Preston: Months two and three

I've let myself get behind on keeping up with Preston, so today you get two for one.

Month 2

Weight: 12 pounds, 1 ounce
Length: 23 inches
Likes: Anything dangling above his head, watching sports with Daddy (he was especially into Wimbledon), going on road trips (after being so good during a 15-hour journey to Florida, he's got to like them a little), reading (well, looking) at books.
Dislikes: Being hungry or being set down
Accomplishments: He can smile, coo, and lift his head with some coaching and lots of wobbling.

During Preston's second month of life, he went on his first family vacation. Sometimes we questioned our parenting, dragging the poor kid all that way, but he slept most of the time and enjoyed all the attention he got from my family. These Florida vacations are a tradition in my family, and it was so fun to start Preston so soon.

From the top: Rooting for the Razorbacks; so cool; smiling; boy genius; sleeping with daddy; rocking some leg warmers; watching TV; thinking deep thoughts; playing in his gym; snuggling with me; my breakfast view

Month 3

Weight: ~14 pounds (We're going to need a bigger white onesie.)

Length: 24.5 inches

Likes: Being tickled, being sung to, licking his clothes (really, anyone's clothes go straight to his mouth. Is that weird?) and still loving books, his pop-up gym and bath time.

Dislikes: Scott sneezing (It freaks him out every time.)

Accomplishments: He's gotten much better at lifting his head. It's like it happened overnight. He's giggling now, too, and is very close to rolling from his back to his belly. He's still exclusively breastfed, but he now gets that in a bottle when I'm at work.

This month I went back to work, and I am so proud of how well he's adjusted. He's been quite the showoff to his babysitters (he has one for Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and one for Tuesday and Thursday). It makes me feel good knowing he's handling it so much better than me. 

From the top: He's found his thumb; seat thief; snoozing with mommy and aunt; learning about the Beatles (got to start them young!); celebrating the Fourth; relaxing; sweet boy; how all the cool kids nap with their pacis; monkey feet; reading; nap time.

Unbelievably good uneven bars

Yesterday during NBC's coverage of the Olympics, they showed this uneven bar routine by Russian gymnast Olga Korbut in the 1972 games. The feature told about how she broadened gymnastics' audience. She and her coach created routines around what viewers wanted to see, not the judges. And she excelled at that. It's incredible to watch — just one more reason why the Olympics make me feel incredibly underwhelming as I sit on my couch.

Feeling a little flat

(A quick note before you get into the real post: You may notice the new layout — a little J.Crew-y, Anthropologie-ish piece of loveliness. If you're reading this in Google Reader, click on over and see it for yourself!)

Before I got pregnant, I wore heels to work every single day. Since I have a desk job, they weren't completely impractical — I wasn't running back and forth all day long. Plus, being 5 feet tall, they helped give me a little height, making me feel less like a college student around the university. However, once my pregnant belly started to expand, my coordination went down the tubes, and my feet swelled up like balloons. So I switched to flats — specifically the same pair of gold sandals every day from March to May. My feet stretched them beyond repair, and they've since gone on to shoe heaven — may their soles rest in piece.

Now that I'm back at work, I thought I would jump back into my heels with excitement, but my feet have grown accustomed to the comfort and ease of being level on the ground. Plus, carrying Preston in his car seat, plus all of my bags, into the house every afternoon is hard enough without having to maintain my balance.

Luckily for my feet, there are lots of cute flats out there to choose from, and they don't look like dowdy mom shoes. These are some of my favorites.

From top left: Target, J.Crew, J.Crew, Target, Old Navy, Old Navy, DSW, DSW, DSW

What about you? Are there certain things you though you had sworn off, only to discover you love them?