Spread it Around!

Don't hoard your goods, your time, your attention, talents or encouragement.  Great to think about as I head into another week of school.  Spread it around!

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First week of school... check!

Finally ready for the high school heathens... my art room!

My Jeep is filled with new smells courtesy of Hurricane Irene and this faulty back window.  Who knew we'd get rain in all the way out in West Texas?  I thought we were in a drought?  I'm not complaining...

I'm averaging about two of these per day ... One for the morning classes and one for post-lunch kids.  Today I got through the first one by 2nd period.  Not good.

Lovie kept Knox at our house this week so Koby and I could get some extra sleep this first week of school.  We are so blessed and thankful to have such a giving grandmother for our sweet (and constantly hungry) baby.  Knox loves his Lovie!

Knox loves his Mommy too!  He had these smiles for me when I got home from school today.  Precious!  (Can you tell he's been chowing down?  Lil' chunk :-)  )

Coach Andrews and the classic first day of school picture.  Also happens to be his first day of a new career picture.  So handsome!  He is my hero - he works from 6:30 in the morning to 8:00 pm at the earliest most nights, and he's still smiling when he walks through the door in the evenings.  What a great coach/teacher/dad/husband!

 I hope you had a fantastic week, and if you live in Texas, that you got some rain too!  (Though hopefully it wasn't in your car.)

Unshakeable

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Our ISD's teachers got back to business this week. Koby and I have been attending inservice meetings, seminars, practices (just him) and have each been working in our classrooms and getting ready for the influx of kids coming on Monday.

I got a NEW ROLLY CHAIR, which may have caused a near indecent amount of celebration on my part.  It is so smooth and rolly that it is almost a little frightening to sit down on it: I have visions of it rolling away while I crash in a heap on the floor.

Knox was visited again by Ross and met Pecos for the first time on Monday.  Ross and Pecos are two of Koby's childhood friends from Graham and it was good to see them for a few hours.  Knox was a little fussy when they got here, but a Pecos + porch swing combo knocked him out for a good while.

Knox turned four weeks old on Wednesday and today his umbilical stump FINALLY fell off!  Miss Cheryl informed me of that happy fact when I picked him up today from her house. I was really happy when she told me, but in the next few moments after I was visited with the thought that over the next year I'll probably be picking him up and she'll say something like, "He took his first step today!" and I became a little sad...

Koby and I are so grateful to have such a wonderful place for Knox to be taken care of while we work, and I think it speaks volumes of Cheryl that I have not been a basketcase this week. 

Koby observed that in hundreds or thousands of years from now, when the United States is settled under a cloud of dust or debris from whatever has happened to our planet and there are some sort of futuristic alien archaeologists digging through what's left, they'll find the hundreds (or thousands) of pictures of our son and will be forced to conclude that Knox Andrews was some sort of West Texan prince.  (Which he is.)

I hope you had a good week, too!

Glad!

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Here's what we've been doing this week-

Koby's been getting up around 5:30 every morning for the past two weeks to attend his two-a-day practices. But he always has enough energy to help with Knox when he gets home - our little boy gets so much love!

As you might have noticed from this post, I get a little bit excessive with the photo-taking while Koby isn't around to keep things realistic. But I think it's essential that we capture each new expression Knox makes.


I've been letting Knox nap in our bed if he happens to fall asleep there. I'm really hoping he doesn't get "sleep confusion" ... or whatever you might call it. I'm terrified that he won't embrace his crib as his nighttime place anymore... but it goes against everything in my brain to wake him up when he's taking a nap! Even when I'm cursing myself at three in the morning.


On Wednesday Knox turned THREE WEEKS OLD, and so we celebrated with... another photo shoot.


Koby is the BEST husband in the world. He kept Knox on Wednesday while I drove to Abilene to get my hair done (NOT a quick outing). It was amazing - after leaving the salon I actually looked like myself for the first time since pregnancy. Or, at least since BIG pregnancy. And THAT felt good!


Teacher inservice begins on Monday, which means these are our last few days with Knox before we start taking him to his home daycare. I'm getting pretty anxious about it. My little boy! I've really loved laying around with him, getting things done while he naps just a few feet away, and being able to comfort him the moment he cries. Wednesday (hair cut day) was the longest I've been separated from Knox since he was conceived. (Oh yeah, I'm definitely including the nine months I carried him around in my belly.) And it felt strange. But soon, it will be goodbye to summer, goodbye to all day with my son, goodbye to all day in slippers and pajamas.

Mythical Shopping Trip

My postpartum journey of weight loss has been fairly... uneventful. Somehow, I found myself just two pounds above my pre-pregnancy norm within about a week after Knox's birth without really 'trying' to lose the excess. (Thankful for it too! I've still got the lazies and I'm not really sure how committed I'd be to a new exercise regimen right away.) But, despite what the scale says, my clothes are NOT fitting like they used to. I'm alright with it, fully aware that it comes with the territory of motherhood. But... I'm gooshy in places that didn't used to be gooshy and I'm not sure when it'll officially go back to normal.

Until then, I've compiled a visual (and unrealistic) shopping list for that happy day when there's no longer a strange bulge peeping out from the waistband of my fat jeans.

Red for Colorado City!

A fox for Knox!

All clothing can be found at Anthropologie.com. Yes, I've included shoes, and no, my feet are not fatter than normal. But the shoes were awesome and needed to be seen.

Bebe dans Seau

Koby dangerously leaves Knox in my care for hours at a time while he works two-a-days... Left to our own devices, we engage in some crazy hijinks.

I call this session Baby in Bucket.

*DISCLAIMER* I know these shots are traditionally done with diapers off (who doesn't want to see a cute baby booty?) but Knox was pretty stinky and I had a decision to make. I chose to let him sleep - the wipes usually wake him up.

Knox's Room

Well, things are still in a little bit of a jumble - I've learned that no matter how organized a nursery is, when the deceptively small occupant moves in it all goes out the window. Knox didn't move into his nursery, he moved into the house and has managed to redecorate it within a week. I have baby wipes stashed around the entire house like land mines, we've already had a pacifier go MIA, and there is baby paraphernalia strewn from the front door to the back.

I'll have to post more detail shots later - you've gotta see the detail on the bedding Koby's Gram made for Knox. I'm really happy with the way the nursery came together: like Sarah, Koby and I were on a pretty tight budget. All in all, with some upcycling, thrifty buying, crafting (and of course, PRESENTS!) we managed to pull together a fully-eqipped little boy friendly room, and I'm pretty sure we'll still be able to feed Knox once he starts eating solid foods.

Pure Joy

Yesterday my son turned one week old. In the past eight days my life has been enriched and blessed more than I could have predicted.

THEY TELL YOU...
"...having a baby changes everything."

And it's true. Far from social habits or sleeping schedules, the true changes are in the new perspectives, relationships, and in the sudden urge to want to (as Koby puts it) "move into the woods and protect Knox from the world forever".

First change: In the moments and hours after Knox's birth I was overcome with love for my husband. Though our son was brand new, I could feel that our relationship had taken an even more beautiful shape as our identities suddenly changed. Now I can not only love Koby as my husband, but as the father of my child. Koby's support, encouragement, care and sweet concern were so evident during my labor and delivery - as well as the full nine months preceeding. When the hardest part of delivery came he was scared and proud and excited right beside me, quietly encouraging me when my body was completely exhausted.

Second change: We've created a family. And we've added to a wonderful family that I have never been more thankful for. Being Knox's mother is such a blessing in and of itself, but this new experience also fosters an entirely new dimension in the relationship I can now have with my parents - I finally understand the obsessive love one can only have for a child. I can understand fully how they hurt when I hurt, how they will incessantly call to make sure that my car is routinely inspected and oiled, or how they will give and give and give until you wonder if they have anything left. Koby, Knox, and I were surrounded by friends and family from the zero hour of labor through the 17 1/2 hours to follow. Koby's mom (hereafter known as 'Lovie')has been doting on us this week, cooking and cleaning and changing dirty diapers and next week, my mom will come and do the same thing. I can't even tell you how incredibly grateful we are, not only for the precious extra hours of sleep, but to know that we both have parents who have demonstrated for us the way to raise children.

Third change: More than anything else I've learned during pregnancy, the process of becoming a mother has taught me how INCREDIBLY little control I have over my own life. And now, over my son's life. Of course, we have all the necessary safety 'equipment' for Knox's time here. We have a solid car seat that is, in fact, so safe it took Koby three hours of hard effort until he was able to remove it from the car. We have a crib that can safely withstand my pregnant body's weight (don't ask). And I have Google at my beck and call - I know the signs of everything from cradle cap to jaundice. No, all of it is feeble human planning compared to the master creation that happened inside of my body for nine months. I know Knox is a gift and he doesn't belong to me, but I am so incredibly thankful and humbled and honored that God blessed Koby and I with him anyway and entrusted him into our care. Pregnancy and motherhood has taught me to rely on and appreciate God's grace and promises more than anything else that has ever happened to me.

And now, let's talk exclusively about Knox. Which is what I've been doing for the past 8 days without ceasing. You may have noticed a barrage of Knox-related photos and information blowing up the newsfeed on the various social networks to which you subscribe. I can't help it. I am utterly, irreversibly obsessed with Knox and I unabashedly think he is the greatest. Though I know full well I am biased, I am of the opinion that he is a very cute baby. The truth is that he is also a very well-behaved baby. He rarely screams or cries (KNOCKING ON WOOD) and he SMILES! (Can babies that young smile? I didn't think so, but he's doing it. Don't come back and tell me it's gas, he's an angel and he thinks I'm hilarious.) What's my favorite thing he does? I hope you wondered because I have so many things to list for you. I love it when his chin quivers, I love the pathetic noises he makes when I burp him after a feeding. I love the way he pulls my hands in close to his chest while he's eating and clutches them there for minutes. Koby loves his not-so-little yawns - Knox yawns and it consumes his face. He is merciless to the yawn. I love the angry/surprised faces he makes while making poopies. Sometimes I sit as I'm holding him and as I let my recently confused hormones run away with me I just want to cry over his little head because of how much I love him. (Yes you can laugh at that.)

I want my baby to grow big and strong but at the same time my heart breaks when I think about him growing up. I love baby Knox so much and I know this love will only grow as he does, but GOODNESS he is so cute and small. Although, I am already fantasizing about him being able to talk and saying "I love you Mommy'. I'm almost crying just thinking about it.

Speaking of that, Knox's first doctor's appointment was today, but no one warned me that the first 'well-baby check-up' is actually some scheme of torture designed by pediatricians to test a new mother's overtaxed heartstrings. We had to undress him down to his diaper and watch as he shivered on the changing table - his lips were turning blue! THEN they pricked his heel and squeezed and squeezed and SQUEEZED blood out onto a piece of paper for some archaic method of a blood test and as he whimpered and cried I actually almost cried (I promise I am not an emotional basketcase).

I wish I could put into better words my thoughts about the way I'm feeling since becoming a mother, but really, there's nothing else like it. Pure joy. That's probably it.