Baby Mobile

Josh and I have been searching for a baby mobile to hang above Piper’s crib. She’s getting much more observant and we wanted to make sure she’s getting some stimulation while she’s laying in her crib. The baby mobiles that are out there are really expensive! I was having a really hard time trying to find room in our budget for a mobile. Josh kept telling me that he was just going to make one. I’ve made mobiles in the past myself, once in 1st grade while learning about Alexander Calder and then again in middle school art class. Both times they came out looking kind of junky, and they were not something I would want to hang above a baby’s bed. Josh kept insisting he could make something that Piper would like for very little money. I finally gave in, if anything it would be a fun family craft project.

I have to say it turned out better than what I pictured in my head. I also have to admit that it cost very little to make. Piper also seems to really like it.
The supplies we used were:
3 pieces of wire
Fishing line
Wooden animals from Michaels .59 cents a piece
A little bit of hot glue
One eye bolt

Tools needed:
Power drill with a small drill bit
Hot glue gun

Picnic at Mt Tabor

We took Piper on her first picnic today. We are so fortunate to have so many beautiful parks here in Portland so that means so many wonderful places to picnic. Today was gorgeous so we headed to Mt Tabor. We had a fun day and she was such a good little girl. We even made time for ice cream on Hawthorn st.

Just one of the many reasons bulldogs are the coolest dogs in the world.

All worn out from her first picnic.

My First Mothers Day

Josh was working on Sunday so I celebrated Mother's Day by spending quality time with my baby girl. Being married to an airline pilot I've gotten used to celebrating holidays a little differently. He always seems to make up for the holidays he misses.
Mother's day was no exception.

Today I got to sleep in, eat a great breakfast, and take a long shower.

My first Mother's Day breakfast

My first Mother's day flowers

Even though my Mother's Day was a few days late it was still the best first Mother's Day ever!

Happy Mother's Day!

It's my first Mother's Day!

To my Mom, Thank you for everything you've done for me these past 27 years! You're the best!

To all the Moms that supported me these last 10 months, I loved hearing all your babies birth stories, I've loved all the advice and I appreciated you putting up with me complaining about heartburn and lack of sleep.

Here's another wonderful story in honor of Mother's day.

Something Good in the News

With all the sad a crazy stuff that has been in the news this past week it sure is nice to see a news story like this.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Grandparents are so Special!

Piper has now had the chance to meet both sets of her grandparents. For me it was so much fun to see people love her (almost) as much as I do.

It does make me sad that both Josh's parents and my parents live so far away. While we were going through all the nonsense of purchasing our home we were starting to wonder if it was a sign to move back to Minnesota. It's hard to know what is the best thing to do. Josh has a great job here in Portland and I love my job and my supervisors are super flexible. We also now have cute little home of our own, and not to mention Portland is a great city.

We are already planning a trip back home this summer and it sounds like both Grandmas are already planning there next trip to Portland.

Piper is so lucky to have two sets of amazing Grandparents and I know they will be a huge part of her life no matter what. I guess like anything else in life we will find the balance that works best for our family:)

Being a Mom is a Pretty Great Job!

Piper is going to turn 6 weeks old on Wednesday and that means I'm halfway done with my maternity leave. Honestly I've been loving my time off and I've absolutely been loving getting to know my daughter. My whole life I've looked forward to being a mother and I also looked forward to balancing work and parenthood. It seemed like a no brainier to me, I would take my 12 weeks off and the go right back to my full time job. That was the plan up until a few months back. Sometime in early January my boss and his boss brought me into a quite room to let me know that my job was on the chopping block. I of course went home that night and cried. I had worked hard to get to where I'm at and It was a huge bummer that it was getting taken away. What was I going to do?

I have to say my job getting cut may be one of the biggest blessings ever. After discussing my options with my boss and my husband I think I may have found the best balance of work and parenting ever. At the beginning of the next fiscal year (July 1st) I will work part time on Josh's days off. This means Piper will not have to go to daycare, I'll get to spend the majority of my week with my little girl, and I will still get to work my job that I really love. How amazing is that!

July 1st is still a few months away and I still have to go back full time for 10 days once my leave is up but I'm really looking forward to this summer. Who knows if this balance of work and parenting will be as great as it sounds but I feel that position getting cut my be a very good thing. We'll see how it goes but I sure am looking forward to being a part time recreation leader and a full time mother!