Another Month

Another month has come and gone. I think it's safe to say I'll not be updating this blog more frequently than that. Oh well.

Things that have happened in the past 4 weeks:
* 2 teeth!
* visit from Farmor & Farfar
* lots of playing with toys in the play ring
* not a lot of sleeping
* general silliness
* riding in our new bike
* eating solids (a little)
* watching the washing machine
* first time swimming
* first awake visit to the beach

25 Week
26 Week
27 Week
28 Week

One Month of Atli

Well it's been 4 weeks since I last posted. I tend to do these posts on the weekend and our weekends lately have been rather jam packed and hectic. Hence the lapse in posts. What have we been up to? A LOT!

* Atli's first trip on a train and Tube
* Atli's first trip to London
* He sits now by himself
* He's very interested in what's on your plate and will try to grab it when you're not looking!
* He plays pretty good by himself now... for a little bit
* He loves sitting in his high chair at the table
* He LOVES jumping in the jumperoo that we borrowed (see videos)
* He's still working on his first teeth. They're not too far away

Week 21
Week 22
Week 23
Week 24

Atli's 19th & 20th Weeks - Double Bonus Post!

We've hit 5 months! How did that happen so fast? Atli got his first cold a couple days ago so we've all been having some fun with that. But prior to that, we had a great time with Jens when he came over for the weekend.

What else have we been up to?
* laughing!
* increased interest in Rosie
* wearing the Moby wrap again (now that it's cooler)
* started baby massage course
* first visit to the Town Moor

(Google has "improved" its services and I can't figure out how to embed the slideshows anymore, so you'll have to click on the title to view.)

19th Week Photos

20th Week Photos

Laughing at Rosie playing (poor video I know, but it's so cute!)


Amazing dog tricks

Atli's 18th Week

I can't remember much about the past couple weeks. Atli's found the 4th month sleep regression phase, which means for all of us (well, primarily Atli & me) incredibly limited sleep. It's getting better now, I think, but it's been hard going!

Anyway, looking at the photos, I can see:
* more sitting
* likes the rocking chair
* cooler weather
* lots of interest in Rosie (this is not mutual)
* general adorableness

Atli's 17th Week

This week in Atli's life:

* Took his first selfie
* Hung out with girlfriend Florence
* Sitting! Mostly...
* Laughed at the baby on mama's iphone
* Was very stripey

Atli's 16th Week

We were still in Denmark for most of Atli's 16th week. I've been woefully late on his 3 month photos and only got around to taking them when he was 3.5 months. Whoops! They're not good at all. Nothing was cooperating - sicker, light, outfits, baby. Oh well.

A few highlights:
* meeting the DK whole family
* seeing Ulrik, Tanja & Emilie
* going to Copenhagen
* riding & sleeping in the massive pram (aka the baby hearse)

Atli's 15th Week

This week was full of many new, exciting things for Atli & us. He had his first plane ride and first visit to Denmark! I'm pleased to say that he excelled at travel. It must be in his genes.
Things we're having fun doing:
* flying at home
* petting Rosie
* sitting
* taking a bath in Papa's old bath
* visiting Farmor & Farmor
* trying beef tartar (for me)
* flirting with the baby in the mirror
* sucking on bottom lip

Atli's 14th Week

Week 14 has flown by. For some reason, I don't have that many photos. GASP! Not sure what happened there! I'm loving Atli's different expressions, especially the Boldwyn brow, which is evident in several of these. I take most of my photos on my Iphone - just convenient - and he's not the biggest fan of staring at the back of it any more. So you can see plenty of scowls.

He's also styling a Bruce Springsteen from our friends the Finchams. Nice!

Atli's 13th Week

Some of these photos are probably from Atli's 12th week. I forgot to take them off the camera for the last post. You can see we were busy being out and about with my folks. Some photos are of Cragside (outdoor & big house); some are of the pub; some are from Bemish (old trams); and some from Alnwick Castle & Garden (by a big tree).

Ole & Atli & I went to an American diner in town last week, which was fun. Atli really likes sitting up at the table with us. I've also started to wear a different sling around the house, so you can see a photo of him asleep in that. And there are pictures of Atli & Ole looking at his owls. He has an owl mobile which hangs above the changing mat. He loves it. He just stares in wonder at them flying around. Cheap entertainment!

Here's a link to the album. Google has "improved" its services so I'm not sure if the slideshows are embedding now.
https://plus.google.com/photos/102703539593275751662/albums/5908647042583930993?authkey=CNPQ4KudkNK8Rg

Atli's 12th Week

A few more photos of our wonder boy. How much he's changed! He's talking so much now and really holding his head up and standing (aided, of course).

The photos of the flowers are from Alnwick Garden, where we spent an entire day with my folks (at the Castle too). Can you tell we've been having hot weather? Baby is hardly wearing any clothes anymore!

Atli's 11th Week

I'm late again, I know. We've been too busy! My folks arrived on the 19th and we haven't stopped until today when they left. It was a great visit but of course too short.

Here are photos from Atli's 11th week - 2 weeks late!

Google has once again "improved" its products so I'm hoping it still works to embed slideshows. Here goes nothing!

Atli's 10th Week

We had a lot of fun this past week. Atli got to meet Derek & Joni, who visited us for a week. Needless to say, he completely loves Joni. They had a lot of fun together playing, cuddling, talking - Atli lights up when he sees her. I'm thinking of hiring Joni as an au pair. :)

We have been having some amazing weather these past few weeks. Unusually, this means we've been eating outside most meals. It's been great! We went to the coast with the Finchams for a day. It was Atli's first seaside experience, which he spent sleeping in the Ergo carrier. Oh well.

You'll notice he's drooling a lot. This is the theme of late. Lots of drool and spit bubbles. He's also making a lot of contact with his stuffed animals and other things he's interested in. It's fun to watch his concentration and how he reaches for things.

Atli's 9th Week

I'm a bit late on this post. We've been busy having fun with the Finchams, who arrived on Saturday.

Each week brings new developments and adventures. This past week Atli had his first series of vaccinations. He coped well with the shots, but was a bit out of sorts that evening and night. However, he soon perked up and was back to his normal smiley self, for which I'm grateful.

We've been having some pretty amazing weather - proper summer weather! So we've been spending a lot of time outside. Some days it's hot enough for Atli to just be in his nappy. You'll see a lot of photos taken on the bathroom floor. I put him down there when I need to wash my hands, etc. He apparently likes it as he's all smiles, so I tend to take advantage of that when we're in there and snap a few photos. He moves so much though it's hard to get one where his hands and feet aren't a blur!

Atli's 8th Week

This was a special week for Atli & us. He got to meet his (Danish) grandparents for the first time. He really took to them, giving lots of smiles and conversation. The weather wasn't the best, so we spent a lot of time inside looking at the baby - our favourite thing to do. No need for a tv anymore!

Atli continues to expand his vocabulary. I've got a couple videos of him talking below. He's also started to reach for things (mainly the monkey on his playmat/gym) and make contact. You can see the determination on his face when he's looking at it.



Video 1 of Atli & Ole talking - you probably have to turn the volume up.

Video 2 of Atli & Farmor talking

It is melt-your-heart-cuteness!

Atli's 7th Week

This was a big week for us all. At the start of the week Atli went to the hospital for a test to check his kidney function. It was, needless to say, a traumatic time for all of us. He had a cannula inserted into his left hand (ouchy) and then had to lie on a scanner bed for 40 minutes, the first 20 of which he did great, the last 20 of which he screamed. We were all emotionally exhausted that day and Atli was especially in need of cuddles, which we were happy to give. Thankfully, all was forgotten by that evening and he was back to his usual smiley self.

Then later on in the week Ole went to Geneva for a few days for work, which meant we were on our own. We managed to keep pretty busy though, visiting friends and getting out. Our good friends the Galloways had us over on Saturday for dinner and Atli went to sleep on Jonathan. He's got the baby whisper thing down!

Atli had discovered his fist this week and started to suck on it. It's mostly his left one he targets - an early indication of handedness? We also found out at the hospital that he weighs an impressive 6.25kg. This puts him just under 1 stone (13.6 lbs?)! Pretty big for a little baby. :)

Atli's 6th Week

Needless to say, Atli continues to grow. He's encountered the 6 week growth spurt and is feeding around the clock. He literally felt heavier when I picked him up the other morning. He is developing some gorgeous chunky thighs and arms. I love a rolly polly baby! The downside to his new chunkiness is that his newborn clothes are way too small and some of the next size up are too big. Oh well.

His head control is improving, as you can see from the photo of him in the wrap (awake). He's quite a strong baby in his legs and head. He also loves the wrap. I've seen him on several occasions go from crying to smiles when he sees me get it out and start to put it on. He usually goes to sleep right away, but increasingly is enjoying being awake and "following" me around .

He's also added a few new words to his vocabulary. I love talking with him. He really strives to communicate and it's fascinating to interact with him in this way. He's such a lovely, happy little boy (although I'm usually too slow to capture those smiles with the camera)!

Atli's 5th Week & 1 Month Birthday

Atli's 1st month birthday has come and gone. It's hard to believe. There have been some big changes in him this week, notably his weight - he's now up to 5.6 kg! My arm muscles are getting more defined (I hope) from lugging him around. He's very much a cuddly baby who doesn't like to be put down, so we are very much joined together.

Other developments:

• he likes playing/looking at his activity gym
• he likes looking at himself in the mirror 
• he got baby spots, which are already receding, thank goodness
• he's sleeping next to us now
• he loves his new vibrating bouncy chair and has become our dining table's centrepiece
• so many baby smiles!

Atli's 4th Week

My how time flies! We've passed Atli's 4th week and are into the 5th already. How did that happen? He's been smiling so much now and starting to talk. He has longer moments of "quiet alertness" where he just chills out, taking in the world. He continues to feed and sleep well, although we're experiencing moments where he fights sleep - there's too much to pay attention to, he doesn't want to miss out! He gets weighed again this week so we'll see how much he's grown.

Atli's 3rd Week

We can't believe Atli is 3 weeks old now. It doesn't sound like much but it's hard to remember life before him. He continues to become more engaging with us and the world around him.

Atli's 2nd Week

Well, all 4 of us have survived to the 2nd week. Atli has grown and changed so much in this short period of time. He's a hungry boy, so he's already out of his newborn clothes. He weighed 4kg on the 13th and no doubt has put on more weight since then. He's starting to engage more with us and be more alert/aware of his surroundings. Rosie is also starting to be more aware of him, especially when he cries. She looks at me as if to ask "What are you doing to him?".

He sleeps pretty good at night, by my account. He'll sleep in 2-3 hour bursts, and then have a couple good snoozes during the day. He doesn't seem to cry unnecessarily - yet. Which is a blessing. But that may all change.

Introducing Atli

The long awaited day came and went on the 4th of May. Our little Star Wars baby Atli was born at 9:26, weighing 8.6 lbs (3.8 kg). Aside from a little jaundice (which is normal and only makes him look tan compared to us) and a heatwave (which has rapidly faded back into cold and wet) that caused some feeding issues when he was too hot, we seem to be doing ok. He's just a joy to have and we're so thankful and delighted in his arrival.

Here are a few photos from Atli's 1st week. He's already changed so much! And grown. More to come.

Take a Seat

I'm blasting through my "projects to finish" list. Next up is the Ercol arm chair. Long story short - I ended up getting this chair last summer for maybe £20. It's quite vintage - the owners had had it since the 60s. It was in a bit of a sorry state. Check out those home made cushion covers. Not exactly my style.

Also, the webbing was shot. This ain't gonna hold anybody up!

 

 So I got new webbing and cleaned up the wood. 

I knew I wanted to use Hudson Bay style blanket to recover the chair. But those are crazy expensive (even very used, imperfect ones) and I couldn't justify cutting one up. So my mom found a knock-off on ebay and got it for me! I had just enough to cover the chair and make 1 pillow cover.

It was a bit of a chore to sew the covers. The cushions are rounded and I had to put in zippers and align the stripes. Plus the fabric is really thick and my little sewing machine was struggling. But I persevered and am really pleased with the final result. These chairs are a bit low to the ground, which isn't good for pregnant people, but really inviting for anybody else to just sit back and relax. 

 

Baby Bumps

Due to popular demand, here are some baby bump photos. We've been really bad about capturing my growing belly. Too much else going on! Plus at this stage I look/feel huge and don't really want that documented. Oh well. We can't wait to meet the little one. :)

Curtains

I got a bee in my bonnet last week about making some curtains for our bedroom. I mean, who wants black curtains in their bedroom?

Or dark blue velvet curtains?

Or curtains that are different lengths, materials and colours, for that matter?

I had found some gorgeous material online, but at £20+ per square meter, it was just too expensive. So we took a trip to the fabric warehouse and came home with some bright stripy stuff that was £7 per square meter. That's more like it!

The downside to having such HUGE windows is that it requires a lot of material for making curtains. Not only is this an expense (see above) but it's a right hassle when cutting and sewing lengths. 

Thank goodness I had my trusty assistant on hand. 

 

 I'm pretty pleased with the end result. It's certainly better than what was there before! 

 

I mean, they're the same colour/pattern AND length!



I'm pretty impressed that the hems line up.

All in a weekend's work and done before the baby arrives. Success!

Project Update

We made significant progress on our To Do list last week, and by “we” I mean Niels & Ole. Niels came over for a week to basically be our house project slave. The two of them worked tirelessly, laying down the wood floor in ours and the baby’s bedrooms; building/creating bookshelves for the living room; painting rooms and skirting boards and picture rails; and generally doing maintenance stuff around the place. The transformation is amazing! We absolutely love having the new floors in the bedrooms – it looks so good and is much cleaner than manky carpet.

With our new wardrobe (aka the Spaceship), our bedroom is pretty much project done. Just need to hang some pictures, figure out what how we’re going to use the bookshelves (my vote is for shoes), and do something about those awful curtains (but waiting to see when we can replace the windows first – I rather like the Roman blinds around the house, although we both would love wooden shutters, but they’re rather expensive). Photos are therefore of “in progress” rather than “completed”.

Same goes for baby’s room. Artwork to hang and crib to buy (which we won’t need for awhile, so holding off on that for now), but otherwise it’s done!

Living room is also done, minus the window situation (this goes without saying for the whole house). It’s been painted, bookshelved, and tidied up. Gotta hang artwork and that’s it!

Guest quarters are looking good. We haven’t done any work in the attic room, but I think it looks respectful just the way it is. We finally got a guest bed so people have a place to sleep. What more do you need?! We’d like to paint it all white, but other projects have taken priority.

The dining room is looking better, especially now that it’s no longer a major dumping ground for rubbish and project material. We’re holding off painting it though because – drum roll – we have a plan for the window this summer and don’t want to have to paint twice with the works that’ll be happening. It’s one of the biggest windows our builder has ever seen and we got to thinking – the structural work is already done, why not just continue knocking out the lower bricks and put in French doors? The additional cost to do this (vs just replacing the window) is minor and it would make the room brighter. Plus, we can then partially brick up the door in the kitchen (which needed to be replaced because it’s ridiculously drafty and cold) and gain a little more usable square footage in that tiny area. So, that’s the plan. Then one day, when we’re rich, we can knock through between the dining and living rooms and have this massive open, bright space, and it will be wonderful.

Feels good to have accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. 

Another One Bites the Dust

I managed to complete another project today. I'm flying! Just a couple more "quick" ones to finish before baby arrives and I have other things to occupy my time.

We decided at the outset that we didn't want to buy all new, "baby" stuff because we 1. couldn't afford it; 2. didn't think it was being environmentally or financially responsible to have items you used for only a few months and then threw away; and 3.quite frankly didn't like most of what was around. So we've sought to buy second hand items that can be used beyond baby-hood. 

Case in point is a changing table. Yeah, you need something to put the baby on when changing nappies. But do you need something explicitly and solely for that purpose? I thought not. So I started hunting for a chest of drawers that would do the trick and voila! Came across this gem:

It had been "shabby chic'd" by its previous owners, with more emphasis on "shabby" than "chic". But it was a good solid piece with a great set up, and the price was right. I didn't seem to have taken any photos of the process, but I did a light sand (the paint job was awful - globs everywhere) and primer where needed. Then just painted it white. Both primer and paint I already had on hand from another project, so outgoing cost was  nil.

I had plans to paint the drawers ombre style, trialling a new brand of eco paint. But it turned out to be totally useless paint, so I went with plan B: painting drawers white and stencilling numbers on them. 

I downloaded some templates, marked them out and traced a number. I decided to freehand paint because I felt it gave me more control when using liquid paint (opposed to spray paint). I think it turned out pretty good! Cute, huh. I also had the coloured paint on hand so no new cost. We did buy new legs (to raise the dresser up), which look really great, but the photo doesn't capture them too good. I also replaced the knobs. Just need to get a couple baskets for the shelves and we're in business!

 

 

Money Pit

Money Pit. It’s what we affectionately call our lovely new home. Maybe you can identify. I think especially with older homes (ours is from 1907 I think), they not only need the usual maintenance, but they need actual upgrading/updating/improving. But hey, we knew that going into it and accept it’s part of the deal.

We’ve devised a list of things we want/need to do. Immediate refers to things that need, well, immediate attention (e.g. before baby arrives); Short Term means probably within the next year; Long Term means after the mortgage is paid off and the kids are through University. They don't include fun things like decorating guest rooms, etc.

We (meaning Ole) have already made pretty good progress on a lot of the immediate projects. With Niels coming over next week, I think the two of them will make an even bigger dent in our To Do list. They will be laying the wood floor in the bedrooms and maybe even tackling some of the painting jobs. I’m reserving the gardening projects for my dad when he comes in July (you’ve been forewarned).

Any other volunteers?

Immediate projects:

·         Paint all interior rooms

1.       Repair paper seams

2.       Remove picture nails & fill in holes

3.       Remove old alarm sensors

·         Install lights in bathroom, front door, front porch, dining room

·         Get chimneys swept

·         Fix dishwasher

·         Fix oven

·         Install laundry lines

·         Finish Ercol chair & coffee table projects

·         Finish sewing bunting

·         Paint changing dresser & purchase baskets

·         Lay wood floor in bedrooms

·         Remove curtains in lounge

·         Clean Roman blinds

·         Clean loft room & bathroom

·         Install new latch on shed gate

·         Change coat hooks in entry hall

·         Get a coir mat for entry

Short term projects:

·         Replace windows

·         Paint backyard walls

·         Paint front door, shed door & back gate

·         Paint masonry at front

·         Tidy up front garden

·         Install loft insulation (??)

·         Clean door furniture

·         Replace back door

·         Replace/repair loft bedroom door

·         Build bookshelves/case in living room

Long term projects:

·         Remove hedge & reinstate railings (plus rebuild brick wall)

·         Work to dormer window (replace windows, etc)

·         Refinish floors in attic room

·         Install shutters to front windows

·         Install wood burning stove

·         Paint interior doors

·         Replace some radiators

·         Knock through living room/dining room

Windsor Avenue

We did it. We finally moved. Actually, we finally bought a house and then moved. As a 35-year-old, I'm considered incredibly old here to be buying my first property. Most Brits do this when they're teenagers.Our move went remarkably well. We sprung for movers and next time, I'm having them pack too. It was worth every penny. We got the keys to our new house Monday afternoon and from Tuesday, were busy cleaning, getting things as ready as possible for our stuff to arrive on Thursday. I was impressed both with what we accomplished in a few days, and how quick the movers were! Took them just 3 hours to clear our old flat and unload into the house. It would've taken us an entire weekend, for sure.

We spent that weekend unpacking and with very few exceptions (notably books - waiting to decide on shelving; and clothes - still figuring out where/what dresser/wardrobes we're using) we cleared all our boxes. I hate living with boxes. We were suitably unpacked and organised enough to have 2 lots of visitors by over the weekend. How's that for impressive!

Our "to do" list is a mile long. Some projects are very much long term ambitions; others are things to do over the next year; whilst other things need immediate attention. We've been busy having tradesmen (yes, they've all been men thus far) around for various quotes, which will help us decide how to prioritise some work. Big projects that we'd like to get done soon are to replace the windows, replace the carpet in the 1st floor bedrooms with wood floor; knock a hole through between living & dining room. Not much. Just a few little things. Oh, and paint the entire (interior) house. We're waiting to hang artwork/photos until that's done.

Meanwhile, here's a little tour of our place as it is now. You can watch it evolve over the coming months. I didn't manage any outside photos today. It was rotten weather and I was too busy inside. The tour starts on the ground floor and moves back and up through the house. Enjoy!