Autumn Decorating

I've been itching to decorate! I decorated for spring/summer before Caleb was born so that I wouldn't need to think about that with a newborn. I tried to hold off for the official start of fall like I usually do but I did it a few days early. 

The grocery stores I went to didn't have a large variety of pumpkins but they had some nice pie pumpkins, some medium white pumpkins, a large orange pumpkin, and a few various gourds. When I brought my choices home, Andrew was shocked at how many pumpkins I bought but I used every single one of them and I didn't even have any to put out on our front step. 

Our little "breakfast nook" off the kitchen is feeling cozy. I found a pumpkin vanilla candle at Marshalls that smells amazing and makes the whole kitchen and dining room smell great when its burning. 

This beautiful bowl was made by Andrew's uncle as was the cutting board in the photo above. 

The only faux decoration I used this year is the acorns on the dining room table. I wanted to go with real pumpkins, gourds, and flowers over artificial this fall. 

I'm really excited about the new library area of our living room! We put the bookshelves up in the spring but we just added the chair (from another room) and a rug. 

Andrew had to pick up a couple things from the store and he brought home some small gourds that I scattered throughout the house. 

This pale green pumpkin might be my favorite. I like the chunkiness and the shape of it. I'm taking advantage of not having a mobile baby yet and putting these dried mushrooms on the coffee table. I'm sure next year's decor will look a lot different with a toddler. 

I had forgotten about this little pottery luminary that Andrew made until I went through my decorating boxes. I got a little excited! Andrew has been creating pottery for fun for several years and he is really good at it! I love decorating with the pieces he's made. The bowl from picture one, the pedestal and pitcher from picture four, many of the little bowls in picture six, and the short luminary in the last picture are all Andrew's creations. 

My sweet hubby heard me say that I had looked for a mini mum at the store but they didn't have any yet and he brought me a bouquet of mums. I already had this big crock on the mantel so I arranged the mums in a small vase that would fit in the crock and added them to the mantel. I've found myself sitting in a different spot so that I could enjoy the flowers today. 

It feels so good to have refreshed the house and made our space feel seasonal. 

Introducing Caleb Mark

Wow! Four months have passed since we added sweet little Caleb to our family. We could never have imagined how much better our lives could be and how much love we have for our boy.

Caleb arrived a few days before his due date on May 1st. He was a big baby weighing in at 9 pounds 13 ounces and 20 3/4 inches long. Caleb has been an easy baby and only cries when he's hungry or tired. 

On his two month birthday he had his routine pediatrician visit and we figured out why he had been spitting up large amounts. He had pyloric stenosis but after 10 days in the hospital and 2 surgeries , Caleb started to feel better and gain weight. 

He went from 10 pounds to 18 pounds in two months! 

That boy can't get enough to eat! He loves his bottles and he's just started eating solid food. He will sit in his highchair and grunt until we give him another bite. He loves sweet potato, butternut squash, and carrots but he is not a fan of watermelon or peaches. 

Caleb is a fantastic sleeper at night! He goes to bed in his crib around 7 and will sleep straight through until 6 or 7 in the morning. Naps are more sporadic but we'll take the short rests for good sleep at night. 

Caleb loves his daddy! Daddy loves singing Caleb to sleep, comforting him when Caleb is having a hard time, and enjoys daddy/son time in the mornings so Mommy can get a few extra minutes of sleep. 

Caleb also loves Pepper! He has started watching Pepper, smiling at her, trying to pet her, and laughing when Pepper licks his toes or tries to lick his face. 

He is so happy in the morning and when my boys come in to wake me up every morning I always get a big smile from my little buddy.

One of Caleb's favorite things is music. He enjoys us singing to him but he also enjoys listening to music through the speakers or in the car. We have a Baby Einstein music toy that he loves listening to (as long as Vivaldi doesn't start playing). The faster the music the better but there haven't been many songs that he doesn't like. One afternoon he was a bit fussy so I turned on Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. He sat still and listened for the whole half hour it was playing.

 

It's amazing how fast he is growing up. He seems to get bigger and do more every day.