Today van had his first taste of the paparazzi.

Jessica Salay from Oriole Photography came over to take a few snaps of our boy.

Now from these shots he “appears” to be the perfect 5 day old, posing like an angel.  What you can’t see is that it took over 2 hours and a super full belly to get him to sit without crying, squirming, and/or posing with his passie in his mouth!!!  My first taste of patience with my child!!  {Actually my second- he was 6 days late!} Van never did fall asleep for the super-cute posed photos that require a sleeping newborn.  I swear, he waited until he heard Jessica leave and then visited snooze-town for over 3 hours!!!

Good thing he is so cute..no way I could be annoyed!  All I could do was snuggle!

Sorry I have been MIA, I’ve been busy HAVING A BABY!!!

{Insert -Yes!- Hooray!- Finally!- What took you so long?!?!- here!}

Our son made his grand debut after 14 hours of natural {yes that means no med’s} labor on Thursday, November 18th at 6:32 am.

“van”, as we are affectionately calling him, popped out weighing in at 9lbs 2 ozs and 21.5″ long!  He also decided that besides bugging mom and dad by being late, he was going to turn Posterior in utero.  {for those not knowing what that means, most babies come out face down- nose facing mom’s spine.   But van popped out face up, with the back of his head facing my spine.  Causing a  MUCH harder/intense labor and birth!}  It was definitely the hardest thing I have EVER done in my life, but the feeling I get when I look at him is AMAZING!

We only had to stay at the hospital for 36 hours, but had several visitors while we were there!

Travers and van

Maddy and van

Now we are busy getting settled in at home with the help of family…

Gus and van

Thanks to everyone for the emails, texts, and phone calls!  As we come out of this fog, otherwise known as sleep deprivation, we promise to get it touch!  Stay Tuned for more photos!!

So it’s officially van’s due date- November 12th, 2010.

Mr. vB and I have been waiting for this date since we found out we were pregnant 10 long months ago.   But it appears that van doesn’t seem to be in any rush to make his grand appearance.

Luckily my girlfriends and I have started a fun tradition of going to our favorite local Italian dive for dinner the night before any-one’s “due date”.  We’ve done it 3 times now- once for Kathryn, once for Amanda, and now once for moi!  Kathryn had her daughter Peliah 2 days later and Amanda had her daughter Edie that same night!  We credit both these births {well not totally} to one of our favorite items on the menu- Eggplant Parm.  Did you know this was one of those items that is suppose to help induce labor?  I definitely ate my fair share of it last night, so let’s hope it gets van moving in the right direction..sooner than later!

Here’s a pic of us ladies after dinner.  The lack of a flash on Mr. vB’s iphone, along with the bright a@@ markee above our heads, doesn’t make for the best photo.  But I do believe you can still make out my large baby belly!

Here’s an even grainier close up!

Mr. vB thinks tomorrow is the big day.  Care to place your wager?

Have I ever told you what an Amazing, Talented, and Overall Awesome Woman my Mother is?

When I told her that I was throwing around the idea of doing custom crib bedding, she jumped in wholeheartedly to help me out.  It was my job to find the perfect fabric and then she was going to literally “make it” all happen.  {Both easier said than done!}

Well after searching and searching, I ended up finding the perfect fabrics at Hawthorne Threads.  The bed skirt fabric is by Heather Bailey- Pop Garden in Red.  The bumper piping fabric is Amy Butler- Full Moon Polka Dot in Cherry.  And the bumper is a basic white pique fabric from a local fabric store.

Then after a little online research, we found some easy DIY directions on how to make the crib skirt and bumper pads.  Erika at Urban Grace Interiors had a great concept of how to create a bed-skirt that could grow with the crib.  Each side of the crib skirt is its own panel that is tied to the spring system.  You just tie the ties according to the length of skirt you need.  That way the hem of the skirt is perfect when the mattress is high for a newborn, but still perfect once you lower it down for a toddler.

Then for the bumper pads we found these DIY Instructions over at Vanilla Joy. My mums modified them as she saw fit, but they gave her a good starting point.  {If you have specific questions let me know and I can get her to answer them for you.} I believe this is where she would also admit that she would never attempt to make them again.  The bumper pads proved ALOT harder to make than either of us thought.

But they are complete and all I have to say is that they look amazing!

Take a peak for yourself…

Words cannot express how appreciative I am that you did this for me mom!

Thank you! Thank you! xoxo