Pumpkin Carving night at Witter HQ!

Well, it's been awhile since I have updated my blog. So much has happened, obviously with our little bundle of joy. Isaac is growing so fast, the house project is moving on and I feel like we are always planning something big every time I turn around. We had a lovely trip home to America in September and we are now preparing for the US Embassy in London trip so Isaac can have dual citizenship...see, always something!
Yesterday was a wonderful day full of pumpkins. The English don't celebrate Halloween as massively as we do in the states, so pumpkins of a good size are hard to find. We actually found a pumpkin farm where pumpkins were up to my standards for good ole carving! I mean, Steve has never carved a pumpkin before so it was extra special. Steve asked if I would make pumpkin pie with our leftovers...well, now I am on a mission to find canned pumpkin in this country...he'll never know!!!
Here are some pics of just the start of our pumpkin extravaganza!

Each Day A New

Wow. Each day is such a new day with a 3 month old. He surprises us and enlightens us everyday. I have to say with my new experience as a mother, that these past few weeks have been an amazing development phase for Isaac. He is wonderful and makes me smile all the time. I miss him when he is having his nap times and love being around him when he is awake. Morning times are the best. After his long, long sleep, he wakes up with a smile that will change the world.
I talk to him all the time. I tell him to change the world a bit, to be passionate about something, to be good at a lot of things but to be great at one thing. To pick one thing and do it the best he can. I tell him to love people, to have a good heart and to love God. I tell him that he can do anything he wants to do. It's so funny...I talk to him like he's an adult. I know that Isaac is going to change the world a little and touch people's heart. He's changed my world and he touches my heart everyday.
We have had such a lovely last few weeks. The first few were so difficult but we have finally gotten the hang of this parenting thing...well, at least for now. Things are constantly changing so I know there will be more hurdles to overcome.
We have already started teething. He has a side molar coming in...whoops...seems to be doing things a little backwards. Looking online (what we ever did before Google, I will never know) at the order of teeth appearances and it says that molars come in at around 13 months. That the front bottom teeth should be the first to come in. With the new teething, Isaac is constantly chewing his hand and I am surprised that he doesn't drown in the amount of slobber. I thought that we would have a few months to relax before teething but we are not that lucky.
The smiles are contagious, the laughter is so wonderful and each day is new. We love our son more everyday. Each day is a new day. There is light at the end of that first few weeks tunnel.

The Miracle of Life

My last entry was titled "The Best is Yet to Come," but I had no idea! I was 29 weeks pregnant in my last entry with work to be done on the house and especially the nursery and my baby still kicking away inside of me. Needless to say, with time comes change and we have had a lot of it. The nursery is finished and the house...well...almost finished.
Isaac Paul Witter arrived a week early...he just couldn't wait to meet us. Steve and I were happily playing a game of scrabble (I was winning with words like "byliner") when I started having contractions. No bags packed and totally not ready for this at all. As my contractions started getting more frequent and increasingly intense, we decided to start packing our bags. Steve started doing laundry (yes, laundry) and I was putting on MAKEUP!!! Really??? I had no clue but I wanted to look good for the pictures afterwards. What was I thinking? We laugh about it now but we were totally out of our minds. This was it...this is what we had been waiting for.
My labor was very difficult but was very fast and my midwife was brilliant. She was from Ireland so made it difficult to understand her but she knew what she was doing and I was happy just to follow her instructions. The only problem was I couldn't understand if she was saying "push" or if she was saying "pant." I still don't exactly know what "pant" means but I think it means don't push. Another thing that we laugh about today.
And at 6:15am on May 15th, Isaac Paul was born and he was born perfect. Steve putting diapers on backwards and me dazed and confused made for an interesting few hours. I will just skip over the other not-so-nice things that happened in the hospital and right to being at home with our sweet boy.
There is nothing on earth like labor but nothing, I mean,  nothing like being at home with a new baby the first few nights for your first baby. We were clueless and at one point, laughing hysterically at 3am after being up all night for 3 nights in a row. It's either laugh or cry...Steve laughed a lot and well, I did a lot of both. It was so hard and nothing prepares you for it...nothing. Three weeks later and we're still not sleeping. I am still breastfeeding every hour, Steve is laughing still and at this point, I am not laughing anymore. I struggled a lot with breastfeeding as Isaac was feeding every hour for almost an hour. This makes for loooong nights and really difficult days.  I was physically healing but mentally and emotionally exhausted....we had to make a change.
A great book was recommended and it has made a world of difference. "The Sensational Baby Sleep Plan" really put things in to perspective and helped us get in to a routine. After a lot of hard work and perseverance, Isaac is sleeping 12 hours a night...10 weeks old and sleeping 12 hours!!! What more could we ask for?? The days are still a little difficult as Isaac can't seem to get the hang of nap times but I am not complaining at all...at least now, I get to sleep and feel human again!
I think that the whole thing changes you...being pregnant, labor and the first few weeks of being a new mommy. It changes you as a person from the inside out. It's the miracle of life which is just that. It's a miracle. It's perfection at it's finest few hours. I feel stronger, and I have grown as a person - mentally, emotionally, physically and most of all, spiritually. It's hard not to. I am still amazed at the miracle of life and always will be.

The Best is Yet to Come...

So my blog entries have been on halt for a few weeks due to my lovely trip home to Atlanta. The weather was beautiful and I love spending time with my family and great friends. It's always like we never miss a beat and like the saying goes..."there is no place like home."
Now I am back, rejuvenated and feeling pretty good. I am 29 weeks pregnant, feeling bigger by the day but working hard to stay active. Swimming, dancing, walking Elvis everyday and working on the nursery keep me really busy. I can't believe that it is already March and there is so much work to be done on the house...we are trying to stay calm and cool. We are constantly telling each other to breath and that everything will be ok.
Needless to say, I have big hopes for the nursery and would like it to be done by at least week 35. We haven't bought a thing yet for the nursery and if I thought about it a lot, I would get a little anxious.

The Nursery to date:

The Nursery will look like this:

Of course, the pink might have to be blue. I might be overly ambitious and think that I am more creative than I actually am. I'm going to give it a shot and might have to paint over it a few times. I'm thinking that a tree is a tree and who can mess up a tree, right??
My best friend Jessica (www.freemanconnection.blogspot.com) has inspired me with the tree idea for the nursery. Her nursery is incredible...take a look.
And in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday and the lovely Atlanta weather:

Before & After Cont...

Before & After...

The bedroom is finally finished! It's been a long time coming but we have turned it in to exactly what we wanted and it actually turned out better than we thought. From start to finish, it took us a lot longer than we originally planned. An old cottage brings about a great deal of extra work...no rooms are square and no ceilings are level. Here are some before and after pics. We obviously have some more work to do such as paint touch ups, wall decorations, and a bit more furniture. But it is now liveable!!

Our chimney breast probably took the most time and effort. It's a tedious job cleaning in between the bricks but is well worth it now. 

For the Love of Antique Shopping...and Of Course, Not So Antique

I can deal with the horrible dust, the exposed pipes and the banging down walls if shopping is this fun every time a room is ready to decorate! We have had a great time finding bits and bobs for our new bedroom that make it our own. And of course, items jump in to my lap that aren't necessarily for the bedroom. :o) England has some of the best...by far, antique shops...well, why not? England does have a bit more history than the good ole USA. I have enjoyed touring around and looking for antique shops but my favorite, by far, is Green's, which lucky me, is located about 2 minutes from home...not so lucky Steve. I go often and some days leave with loads and others, with nothing. They do get new things in so I don't know if it is the mood I am in or the new things that I just have to have?!?
Here are some unique items that we found on our antique journey this past weekend.

I really enjoy this mannequin. It has such great dimensions and artistry. It's probably the best one I have seen. We actually got this at a lovely place called Summersaults in Rugby. I saw it and really loved it, didn't get it and then Steve surprised me with it for my birthday last year so it is extra special. And as you can see, I dressed it up a bit.

I just wanted to show some of the detailing. Birds, flowers and butterflies are on the bottom and top. It's lovely!!

And you can't just have a plain mannequin...you have to dress it up a bit. Shabby Chic is what they call it. This is a clip on butterfly we found clipped on to a lam at Green's. Very versatile.

I really just liked these shoe maker metal shoes to use as book ends. The resale value of these are very high in case we would like to make a profit. The shoe maker company name is engraved on both. Just so cute!

And this is my favorite! It's a hand painted screen on canvas. This was definitely a bargain...only £30 ($42). I am sure it will have clothes draped all over it in no time or perhaps a dirty dancing scene. "Come here loverboy." -Baby

This is a simple addition to any room. I think I might use this for my makeup brushes or toothbrushes. The possibilities are endless. lol.

This piece is my favorite...being the esteemed coffee drinker that I am. This is a copper, antique coffee pot. Ebay has this item polished going for the bidding price of £210 currently. We bought this one for £35. A bit of polish and we are in the money. Great find...I don't know if I will be able to sell it. I might actually use it so whoever wants to come over for a cuppa is welcome!!!