crafts for the not-crafty

I've done one "craft project" since Samory was born. Honestly,  I kind of envisioned myself doing all of this stuff to make his room and our new apartment cozy, but I've just been so wrapped up in him, that I haven't really bothered. Also, we don't know how long we'll stay here, and we don't want to spend a bunch of money decorating a space that we may only live in for a few months.

That being said, I can take this project with us where ever we end up. Months ago, I bought these squares of African Wax fabric from a seller on Etsy, but I haven't known what to do with it.  I've been scanning design blogs for ideas, and this is the one that stuck:

I just bought some embroidery rings (that are super cheap by the way), and chose a few of the fabrics to feature.  I love finding ways that I can incorporate Senegalese culture into our home in new and interesting ways.  

My Boys

Six Weeks in the Life of Samory

Bath time in the Mballo house

Sam and I

What does a 12 lb 6 oz, 5 1/2 week old baby look like?

Like this:

If anyone was worried about Samory getting enough to eat, they can stop now. He's fine.

On another note, check out the diaper! Yes, it's cloth, and look how cute! I love the cloth diapers we've been using.  He hasn't yet had a blowout and has only peed through one--sorry, Bryce!  I think that was due to user error (i.e. Lamine).  Other than that, we love them. I'll have to write more about it later. We've still been using disposables to go on outings because we don't yet have a system for carrying around the dirty diapers. We haven't been at it long enough for me to say definitively if we will continue to love this system but i do love how  much money we're saving.

Sam Smiles

Sorry for the movement and for all the French. The video is long, and there's only one or two good parts, but I still think it's cute.  Pardon the ecstatic squealing on my part when he actually does smile. He only started doing this recently (on a regular basis) a couple days ago, and Lamine and I have been spending all of our time trying to figure out how to elicit a smile from this chubby little boy.

World stopping

That's the effect that I feel that Samory has had on our lives. Lamine just started going back to school on Wednesday, but for the past 5 weeks, it's mostly been us three, crashed in our little apartment, hanging out on the bed and watching this tiny little boy every possible moment. It's amazing how Samory moving his perfect little lips or opening his big eyes have become the most exciting moments of our day. Our world has completely stopped to revolve around this perfect little boy.

Samory has started tracking things (ok, well, me) with his eyes! Last night, he was sitting on Lamine's lap, and I went over and gave him a kiss on the forehead. He looked up at me, and I turned to go do something and Lamine said, "He's watching you go."  I turned to look, and he had turned his little face to look at me.  I took another step, and  his eyes moved to follow me. I kept moving, and he kept turning as far as he could to look at me. When I walked so that I was directly behind him, he arched his little back and craned his neck backward so that he could try to see where I had gone.

I can't believe how such a little person has so fully commanded all my attention and love.

One month belated

We finally have Internet in our apartment!!!! Yay! Get ready for lots of posts. As soon as I have more than one hand to type with.

Until then....

and....

and one more cause he's so darn cute...

About Samory

Pronounced Sahm-oh-ree

Born December 16, 2010 at 3:03 AM at 8lbs, 1 oz and 20 inches long. 

We stayed in the hospital for about a week due to my high blood pressure (I'll write  more about his birth later), but we have been having so much fun with this sweet little boy since we got home.  He's already gained weight and at 3 weeks weighed in at 9lbs 10 oz.  He's already out of his newborn clothes, which makes me a little sad.  He's currently got some baby acne and is losing hair on top of his head. He's still adorable, but he kind of looks like a little old man : )

He's constantly making noises and moving around and we just love him so much.

To Samory

Dear Samory,

You are asleep on the bed next to me, and you are so beautiful I just can’t get over how much I love you. You are two and half weeks old, and you have already changed so much. You are so much more alert now and you have started trying to hold up your own head and sometimes you’re Papa and I can swear you’re trying to smile at us. Last night we dressed you in your 0-3 month clothes instead of your newborn clothes. And they fit. It already makes me a little sad to see how quickly you are growing. In the same breath, watching you grow and develop is by far the most exciting thing that has ever come into my life.

When you look up at me with your big eyes, I can’t remember why I was so freaked out about being a mom. Already, I love you so much more than I could ever imagine and I can’t wait to see you continue to grow. I imagine you smiling (really) for the first time, laughing, watching you crawl across the lawn this summer, playing with you in the snow next winter, playing hide and seek, helping you build your first fort out of the couch cushions and sheets in the living room, and all the other exciting adventures we’re going to have.

I love you so much, Sam, and I feel so blessed to be your Mama.