Alyson's Wonderland

Can you believe that my little Colby-man is six months old?! I certainly can't! Time is just flying and I wanted to make sure I jotted down some of my favorite things about our baby boy before he's not a baby anymore. It's funny because as I look back on my last post, written only weeks after Colby's birth, I realize the things that stuck out to me then are some of the same things that stick out to me now. It is truly amazing how babies' little personalities become apparent to the mother from the moment they are born or even earlier, when in the woom. So here they are, the things I love most about my son at six-months young: 1. Colby never stops moving. Some say it's a boy thing. It may just be his personality. But all I know is that his rolly-polly legs kick so much that I'm pretty sure he's training to run marathon. And if he's not moving, you sure better believe that you are. 2. Colby loves to laugh and I love his laugh. His happy baby

"It's a boy!" Ryan announced through his surgical mask while fighting back tears. I can't say I was terribly surprised, since towards the end of my pregnancy I was feeling quite differently than I did with Ainsley. What did surprise me was how much he was screaming when he came out! I distinctly remember Ainsley crying once and then quieting down almost instantly as she was bundled up and handed over to Ryan. Not this little guy! And that wasn't the only thing that was different. The whole experience was different. The birth So no birth is ever exactly as the mom hopes or envisions it to be, but I have to say, this one came pretty close. I had debated about trying for a v-bac, but after being told by my doctors that I had a narrow pelvic arch and doing my own further research, I decided to stick with the scheduled c-section. And boy, am I glad I did. I wanted what most women want: to push out my baby and have him placed on me immediately. Now, if I had t

One of our second semester spring projects was to move Ainsley out of the nursery and into her new room. I don't like rushing her into major developments before she's ready, but with my growing belly, it was just getting too difficult for me to read to her in the rocker and then lift her up and over the crib. Laying next to her in a queen-sized bed was much more enticing. The transition to the big bed in the new room actually went very smoothly. Forget the toddler bed, forget the railings, we went straight to the big bed with pool noodles and a barrier of pillows. We did naps in there one week and then tried full nights the next week. At 22 months, she did great! Now, at 25 months, we are having a little bit more trouble getting her to bed, but I blame that on her other major developments. Here are some pictures of her new room. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the way it stands for now. It's not completely finished, as I still have an entire blank wall that I'

Ever since I found out I was due in September, I knew this pregnancy was going to be no piece of cake. With the first 4 months being one long winter wave of nausea, and the last 3 months being a sweaty summer lugging around an extra 30-40lbs, I was pretty much left with 2 months of feeling good enough to be productive before our second baby arrived. So naturally, being the borderline Type A, control freak that I am, anything that I wanted done just HAD to be done from mid-April to mid-June. Oh, and did I mention I hate spring? (Allergies, my friends, allergies). I plan on writing separate brief blog entries about the two major projects we accomplished during this time (Ainsley's new room and our new roof) but I wanted to document some of my other recent thoughts and experiences before I forget them. Despite my typical pains of pregnancy and loads of complaints, I have been absolutely in LOVE with my daughter lately. She is my little buddy, my adorable sidekick wherever I go.

It is true. A 6-month old baby can care less about the moveable, light-up, noisy toy you spent a fortune on, but if it has a tag on it, you're in business! My sister-in-law gave us a "tag blanket" for Christmas when Ainsley was just approaching 6 months, and boy, did she love it! So I got the idea to make them for my friends who were having babies. I'm not good at writing the how-tos and I know Pinterest has elaborate beautiful step-by-step tutorials on how to make the perfect Tag Blanket, but I think it's pretty simple and if you're not a crazy perfectionist and just want a decent final product, here are my rough 5-step instructions on how to make the little lovey. All you need is fleece or other soft material, a couple fun pieces of ribbon and a sewing machine. Trust me, I'm no seamstress, but I don't mind the occasional sewing project if it's with fleece or other soft fabric :) Again, sorry for my half-assed instructions, but here are the basi

So yes, we are expecting again! It's been a long first four months, but now that I'm finally feeling better and it has finally stopped snowing, things are starting to look up. We are really looking forward to welcoming a new member to our family come September, and savoring this time with Ainsley. A lot of changes have been going on over at the Ulstad household. Ryan got a new job that required him to go away for training the entire month of February (literally, the whole month: he left on the 1st came back on the 28th). My sister moved in with us in the beginning of January, and thank God she did because I don't think I would have survived February without her! Between my all-day nausea and her difficult clinical, we were a lovely bunch to be around. Despite my complaining, it was a good experience. It gave us ladies a good chance to bond and it gave Ryan and I a chance to truly miss each other. Ainsley is at such a wonderful age right now. She is learning so