Noah's first laughs.

Yesterday I was sitting in Rudy's parents living room with Noah and Cody, (Rudy's brother). I was describing the smell of Noah's farts, (please excuse this), to Cody and used the words 'egg milk'. Noah thought that it was hilarious! As any parent would do, I said it about a hundred times and had Cody grab the camera.

The rest of the family heard his laughing and came to join in. I'm so glad that a)Rudy and his family were there to see, and b)we had the camera ready. It feels like Noah does new and exciting things just for me, and I can't capture them on film. The telling of them just doesn't compare.

Enjoy.

Scale tights.

I always wanted to be a mermaid.
These tights can help.

Lovely textures.

I just came across this home of Roman Alonso, creative director of Commune. I saw it first over at moodboard.
I love all of the layered textures, bright art and patterned rugs. It reminds me of my grandparent's house, but with a bit more drama.

In other news, we're on vacation in California! More on that later.

What perfect weather.

Image source

I haven't gotten much sleep the past couple of days. Noah was on a great schedule last week, sleeping three to four hour chunks at night. But all of that has been forgotten and I'm waking up every hour and a half. Instead of grumbling I'm trying to be positive. It's too sad to think of what it would be like without my babykins, so if he comes with sleeplessness, then so be it.

Anywho, I was woken up this morning by baby and sat up bleary eyed to nurse him. Rudy heard me cooing to Noah and came upstairs and opened the blinds. It was snowing! How exciting for the first snow to be on the first day of December.

We're getting out of here for three weeks and going back home to San Diego for most of this month. I'm glad we'll get this little taste of real winter, and then get to go vacation in the warmth I'm so used to.

Happy December indeed.

Thanksgiving.

My mom's side of the family came out to Ohio for Thanksgiving this year. It was so nice to have them here and spend a bit of time with them. I wish they could have been here longer!

Noah Benjamin!

In my last post (from a month ago!) I mistakenly said that the first day of Autumn is September 21st. If I may correct myself, it is September 23rd, which coincidentally is my son's birthday!

Noah Benjamin was born at home on September 23rd at 10:58pm. He was 7 pounds 4 ounces, 20.5 inches long, and perfect in every way.

Having a home-birth was even more amazing than I thought it would be. I couldn't imagine having been in a hospital for such an intense and personal event. I'll be posting our story here when I can. It seems like everything takes ten times longer when you have a baby around!

Autumn is here, baby is not.

{all photos from we heart it.}
Tomorrow is the first day of fall. It is also the 9th day past our due date with baby Perkins. As hard as it has been to wait, I feel pretty good about the fact that he will be a fall baby. There are so many lovely things about fall. I'm beginning to think that it is my favorite season.

Apple cider. Breathtaking colors. Scarves and boots.

My mom is visiting (!) and we've been doing lots of fun and useful things together around Columbus while waiting for the little man. I keep thinking, "Oh, I really needed to get done with that before the baby could come. Now that we've done it, he can come!" But alas, he hasn't heard me. I guess I should get used to being on his time schedule.

Drawing Katie.

This week at drawing group, our model was Katie. Here are a couple of my three minute sketches.

September 12th, we've made it.

{Click on a picture to enlarge}
Well it's our due date! It looks like today is going to come and go without a birth, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a wonderful day. In fact, this whole weekend has been awesome! I went to drawing group again on Friday morning, and we had some friends over for a BBQ that night. After eating, we walked over to the local high school football game. On Saturday, Jess, Evey and I checked out a new "play cafe" called Firefly. 3 year old Evey had fun dressing up and running around. Jess and I had a nice time chatting and sipping (decaf) coffee.

Today after church, a big breakfast, and a nap, we took Gatsby on a walk at Whetstone Park. It was the perfect late summer / early autumn afternoon.

We're all waiting for you, Baby Perkins! Come anytime.

Drawing Bob.

Click on an image to enlarge.
{45 Minutes}

I finally went to the Friday figure drawing group last week for the first time in a while. It starts at 7 am, and it has been hard for me to drag myself there. I'm always so glad when I do though. With our little guy almost here, I'm not sure how many more Fridays I'll be able to attend so I figure I should go as many more times as possible!

This week Bob was our (clothed) model. I had a lot of fun drawing his face. It had so many interesting shadows. Here are my results.

{10 Minutes}

{10 Minutes}

{10 Minutes}
With this last one, I went a bit cartoon-ish with his features. I really like how the hatch marks in his hair came out.

I need to draw more. I love it.

Our little family...

We are only one week away from the due date!

Lately.

{Photo found here}
I miss the beach today.

It's 91 degrees out, and the local pool is closed now that school is back in. I was hoping it would still be open and devoid of school kids, but not so.

Yesterday was my last day of working at the coffee shop. It hasn't sunk in yet and today just feels like a special vacation.

I got some caps sent out for Octopus Caps. We've been getting lots of international orders this summer. I want to get shipped along with the caps sometimes, especially when they are going to Paris or Sao Paulo or Australia.

I was reading Sweet Fine Day's blog, and came across this quote from her six year old daughter:
“Sometimes when I get excited I don’t show it. I just wiggle my toes instead.” – Mia

I can't wait to record all the funny, inspiring and sweet things that my little man is going to say.

Lazy afternoon.

I think that this picture is worth sharing. Rudy took it last Friday afternoon, after coming into the living room and saying "WHOA! Look at that belly!"...he just had to grab the camera.

I was eating sweet potato fries (the best!) and chatting online with Sierra (also the best!).

With only two weeks till our due date, I've got to get all the "me time" in that I can! Can I also say that I'm looking forward to dressing a non-pregnant body again? Finding cute things to fit over this tummy is getting hard!

Baby Shower!

I have been a very bad blogger lately! But I have so much to share! The baby's nursery is coming along, and I've been doing some crafts here and there, so hopefully I'll get some more pictures and inspiration up this week.

Anyhow, here are some pictures from my wonderful baby shower that my amazing friends threw for me.

{Shannon, Rachel and Karen}

{Jessica, me and Jaymie}

We made origami cranes for a mobile in the baby's room, ate dumplings and visited. It was a perfect afternoon.

{Aunt Susie and Grandma Tissy making cranes}

{Rachel and Becky}

{Susie, Tissy and I}

I can't thank everyone enough for all of the love and support that you've shown me. This has definitely been one of the best years of my life, and that is because of all of you.

Baby Beans Rudy.

With a bit more than a month to go, I've been thinking about what our baby is going to look like. This picture of Rudy as a little guy, feeding himself refried beans, is a bit of a preview. Look at all of that hair!

I've been having a lot of acid reflux lately, and Rudy's mom told me about an old wives tale that says that this means your baby will have a lot of hair when they are born. I don't doubt that this is true!

Teal and Mustard.

Yes, please!

I love this bedroom of Ben Brougham, seen on The House That Lars Built. (She got it from elsewhere, but you can go to her site if you want all the details).

Oh boy do I love teal and yellow with gold details. How wonderful is that mustard metal bed frame?

Furniture makeover inspiration.

I just came across this desk makeover on Design*Sponge. I was planning on doing a bit of thrift shopping for a dresser for the baby's room tomorrow, and this before and after has me even more excited to find something I can really fix up.

Whatever I find, I want to use a punchy color, as the walls in our house are all white. Cross your fingers that I'll find something wonderful I can work with for a great price!

The sideboard.

Here are a couple snap shots of the sideboard in our dining room. The cubies have been perfect for storing my art supplies and some of Rudy's math papers. Hooray for getting organized!

The painting on the left is by the ever-wonderful Kelly Tunstall, and the print on the right is by our incredibly talented friend Jeremy Slagle, (you should definitely check out his site).

...and a silly picture of me for my Grandma Dee :)

Belly! 33 weeks prego!

Well I've finally gotten to taking a couple of belly pictures. I really think we need to start taking weekly picture because this little guy is growing fast!

Sorry about the bad quality photos, but you get the idea I'm sure.

Also, I cut all of my hair off again. It's so nice and cool on these hot Ohio summer days. I wonder if one day I will actually grow out my hair again. I don't think I care all that much either way.

Buying a bed.

{A pretty bed from livingetc.}

I will begin by saying that Rudy and I are both over 6 feet tall. Rudy is 6'5'' and I'm 6'1''. We have been sharing a full sized bed since we got married three years ago. I like to tell people that this was the biggest adjustment for me when it came to being married and living with someone. One wouldn't think that sharing a bed would be that hard for a newly married young twenty-something! But it was!

Now that our baby is almost here (September!!) and we are planning on co-sleeping, I've been thinking a lot about biting the bullet and buying a bigger bed. Combine that with finding some money in a forgotten savings account (about enough to buy a quality mattress), and I'm ready to hit the showrooms!

A couple of nights ago I did an online search of how to shop for a mattress. Buying a new bed is such a big investment that I didn't want to go into a store only to be duped by a smooth sales pitch. I can now say that I am very well equipped with know-how on how to find the perfect bed at a great price. It's all about the "Thanks, but I'm just looking" and the "Wow, that price is pretty high" lines. I've never fancied myself to be much of a haggler (or one at all!), but I also feel that the sales people in the stores are taught to use enticing tactics and greasy sales techniques to sell me a bed at a higher price than it is worth; i.e. not being able to price compare because the exact same mattress is sold at different stores under different names.

Anywho, I got to the end of my research about what to look for, (coil count, coil gauge, firmness etc.), and then got lost lost lost in the world of organic mattresses. And why conventional mattresses are harmful for specifically pregnant women and their babies. Because the flame retardant chemical on all normal beds, PBDE, is absorbed into the body and passed on to the baby through blood as well as breast milk. Great. What expectant mother wants to read this at 11:30pm after a long day?

The next logical step was to research organic mattresses, made out of non-chemical soaked foam and naturally flame retardant wool, right? Wrong. Because organic mattresses cost 4 to 5 times more than what we are able to afford. This sent me into a spiral of angst over how I want to be able to do something right for not only our family, but also our environment (PBDE is also found in the blubber of Orca whales and seals because of dumping), but the cost is completely prohibitive. It just seems like you shouldn't have to be rich in order to make a change in how things work. Maybe just by writing this and raising awareness I am making a difference?

I finally came to the conclusion, after more research, that while we absolutely can't buy an organic mattress we can find a happy middle and buy a conventional one and put an organic wool cover on it which will keep the chemicals from reaching our bodies. Yes, we will be putting money into the hands of those making beds by less honorable means, but we can also contribute in a small way to making a change by buying a cover from an environmentally responsible company.

All this to say, YEAH!! WE'RE GETTING A BIGGER BED!

India Print.

Another one for the baby's wall. Oh boy this one is good. Elephants, pups, teacups and cameras. Yes please!!

Get it here. Except if you buy the last one, and not for me, I will be sad.

Blabla dolls (and impulse purchasing).

Hello Blog-o-sphere. I've had a long day, but a good day. Work this morning and an appointment with our Midwife, Kathy, this evening. Everything with mama and baby P are looking great. I can't believe how fast all of this is going. It feels like our little man will be here in no time.

I just happened upon Blabla Kids' website, and am in love with their knit dolls. Ever since I found out I was pregnant, I have wanted a sock monkey sort of doll for my little one to be. I found this perfect guy in Blabla's selection of their classic dolls, and I couldn't be more in love! So I decided, after much going back and forth, to go ahead and get him.

Is it considered an impulse buy if you have known you wanted one for six months? I'm going to go ahead and say no :)

I'll do it soon.

First of all, I love this photo by Pia Ulin.

Secondly, yes, Rudy and I have moved into our new home. But no, I'm not ready to put up any pictures. In a new place, I tend to have grand intentions but no means to actually make them real. I've been saving my tips from the coffee shop for the last few months, trying to come up with some sort of a decorating budget. I've got a bit saved up, and as long as I'm (very) savvy, I think I can make some things happen with this new place.

I'll try to document the process as I go so you can follow along. I just wish the closest Ikea wasn't in Cincinnati!

Bedroom in a closet!

This kid's bedroom is in a closet! And it's awesome! I love the colorful styling and simple, ever-so-cute toys.

See more of the details here.

Olive Manna Travel Mug

Want it