Kye's first Christmas

Well, I have been a terrible blogger the past month and a half...but Kye is now 2 1/2 months old.  I can't believe how fast it's gone.  Here are a few of the MANY pictures from Kye's first Christmas, we had a blast! What a blessing this little man has been to all our lives!

Kye & Laramie telling Santa what they want for Christmas!

Sweet Ayden loves her cousin, Kye!

The snow at Gran Gran & Pa's sure was pretty, but Kye was not digging the photo op!

Our sweet little man Christmas morning!

Kye and his Great-GranGran

Uncle Klent and Kye at Mama & Papa's house!

This is definitely not the best pic ever, but Kye got a red wagon for Christmas from his DD & KPaw!!! SO CUTE!

AND...here is the Christmas card I designed and never mailed out...OOPS! :) 

I hope everyone had as wonderful of a Christmas as we did! We still have two more to go to in January, can't wait!   

Peace, Love & Happy Birthday Jesus!

W

4 weeks of Joy and dirty diapers

Things I've learned in the past 4 weeks...

1. Up All Night has a brand new meaning.
Remember the days of pulling all nighters with your friends? Well, you only thought they were over, only now you are alone at 3 am with a crying baby and a bottle. Your night no longer consists of bars, beer & the inevitable next day hangover. Now, they are made up of dirty diapers, spit up, crying and absolutely, NO sleep!

2. Breastfeeding is for the birds
Kam's Mama said it best, "my body knew I wasn't a milk cow". I tried folks, I did, but sore boobies from a stubborn baby led to hooking up to the super sucker 5000 every few hours and that gets OLD. Plus, my girls did good for a few weeks and then dried up faster than the Brazos after a rain.  So Kye is now a formula baby. Yes, I hear the shrieks of disapproval nation-wide, but here's a term for all you haters - -SUCK IT! ;)

3. The Case of the Never Ending Dirty Diaper
Babies poop - a lot. They poop in their diaper, in the bath, on the towel you wrap them in after their bath and when the diaper leaks they poop on their back, their leg, their onesie and the couch pillow your husband so creatively uses as a prop for his amazingly weak arm that can move mountains, but can't hold up a 7 1/2 lb baby for longer than 5 minutes without support.  Anyway, babies poop. If you're pregnant, I hope you already started buying diapers in advance. It's well worth it, for sure. And remind your husband that boppy pillows have covers that can be thrown in the washer, unlike your couch pillows.

4. How to Manage Grocery Shopping
Go early when it's not crowded. Buy only what's necessary because the baby's enormous car seat doesn't hook correctly to the new grocery carts in United and you have to set them down in the basket. Meaning you have to pack groceries around the car seat and under the basket and it forces you to decide what you really need and what seems frivolous at that moment. Last time, hamburger meat seemed frivolous, but a package of Chips A'hoy made the cut. See, it's really important to delegate the space properly...heck, last time I went, Kye toted the bread for me, he's a helpful little feller!

5. Formula Shmormula
The crap stinks. It makes stinky burps, stinky toots, stinky poops and horrid spit up. Spit up. Eww. Projectile spit up...double eww.  Burp cloths are my best friends. Just sayin'.

6. Hormones are Hell
Lifetime movies are not your friend. Crying babies make your boobs leak and your mind go into a spin cycle. Your husband thinks your insane and is quick to admit that he only thought your pregnancy was rough. When you're sleep deprived, your baby won't stop screaming and go to sleep and your husband's sound asleep...you'll know what I mean.

7. I have never...
been so exhausted, so happy, so in love or so fulfilled in my entire life. I am unemployed for the first time since I was in high school, I'm adjusting to being at home all the time, I'm adjusting to motherhood. It's hard. It's scary. It's exhausting. It's hard on the nerves, the body, the mind, the pocket book...but at 3 am when those little hands wrap around your finger and those big blue eyes look up at you full of wonderment and love, all the bad disappears and all you can feel, all you see is love.

Life is good folks. Craziness & all. :)

Peace, Love & Crazy Momma's,

W

Kye Rance Baker

Our sweet one made it here safe & sound - he wasn't HUGE like they said he would be, thank goodness! So say hi to our Kye-boy!

7 lbs 2 oz - 21 inches long - 12:43 pm - Oct 6

Kye & his Momma

2 days old - Photo by Paper Moon Photography

Kye & his Aunt Wendy

1 week old...

2 weeks old and livin' LARGE!

 Peace, Love & Happiness,

W

Kye's Room

Since we're having a baby tomorrow...I thought I'd finally break down and show off his room! Forgive the horrible photos...

KYE canvases made by Aunt Wendy (or what ever she decides to be called!)

Crib, quilt made by my Aunt Sissy & Gran Gran

My craigslist rocker got a face lift - new paint & some awesome lyrics to my favorite song!

Kam's Uncle Greg made this BAKER sign for Kam a few years ago - I slapped on some crackle paint and some turquoise and it works perfect in his room!

If you haven't used chalkboard paint, use it! I love it!! So fun! And perfect for sweet messages to our little man!

Turkey feathers and baby blocks - the baby blocks I made have cowboy stuff on some sides and fishing stuff on others, plus the infamous KRB.

This book shelf was stark white before...I painted it brown and antiqued the outside with turquoise.

Here's the collage on the wall, it's a terrible photo and the frames aren't filled yet, but they will be! :)





The whole room - mostly...

I didn't get a close up of the red furniture, but it was white and I painted it red (3 coats...) and antiqued it with a deep brown glaze. I wasn't sure about it until we added the rubbed bronze knobs, after that I LOVED them!  Red is hard work, but it sure is pretty when it's done.

My parents and my sister all did pencil drawings to be put in some of the frames in the collage, I just haven't gotten them in the frames yet.  OOPs!

Anyway, the next time I write, I'll have a precious little boy to post photos of! I can't wait! 

Peace, Love & Nursery Rhymes,

W



The joys of Pregnancy...

Well, I'm 30 weeks and 4 days along and it's been an interesting ride thus far.   My newest adventure is called polyhydramnios.  Yeah.  I don't know how to say it. It's some long word meaning there is too much fluid around the baby. It can cause all kinds of lovely issues. BUT...we are certain none of those will happen. :)  

Kye is handsome and healthy in his sonograms - there is no sign of anything scary at this point, praise the Lord!!!! But, I'm toting around 21 cm of amniotic fluid and should only have 7 - 10 cm of fluid at this point...not cool. This puts extra weight on my uterus which can cause pre term labor and is a large factor in why I have been so horribly uncomfortable and get so out of breath so easily. It also gives the baby a little too much room to float around which could actually cause him harm, so I have to do fetal kick counts twice a day to make sure he's moving like normal.  I'll also get a few extra sonograms to keep an eye on things and if anything looks wrong, we'll do a non-stress test.

I also got instructed to take it easy and stay off my feet as much as possible - no overexertion and avoid stress.  (Easier said than done on that last bit of advice...)

Anyway. Kye is a handsome little guy.  We got our 3d sonogram the other day, but he is in frank breech, which means if I went in to labor today his butt would come out first - his head is up by my belly button and his feet are up there with his head...SOOO the 3d didn't come out too well because his cute little feet were in his face. HAHA!! But, here's a regular one where his profile is easily defined...Kam sees my nose on him and in the 3d, I could see Kam's sad eyes (they slant down on the outside corners), but we'll see!! :)



Kye Rance Baker at 29 weeks and 6 days  - notice his little foot by his face!!!

 Kye is weighing in the 67 precentile - he's 3 lbs 11 oz. Most babies are barely to 3 lbs at this point.  The dr. said it's because I am borderline gestational diabetic - which is also a factor in why I have so much fluid.   BUT...he's got 10 fingers and 10 toes, 2 eyes and a nose. And chunky babies are cute anyways, right?! :)  He measured at 31 wks and 3 days and I was 29 wks and 6 days at the sonogram, so we shall see!

On a better baby note - - I have one more piece of furniture to complete and then we can start putting the room together.  I am so slow at things like this, but I'm in the home stretch now, so it's definitely time to hit another gear.   I can't wait to get it all done and post photos of his room. It's going to be a fun room for sure!

I've been buying diapers and wipes for a while now and hope to have a pretty good stash before Kye arrives and I don't have a job anymore! I love looking at all the cute baby stuff, but I swear - everything for little boys is covered in monkeys and I just don't like monkeys.  SO...I've done a lot of online shopping for more unique items and I've done lots of diy projects for his room. It's a more personal touch anyways!!

Okay - more on baby Kye some other day!

Peace, Love & Baby feet!

W

Things I am thankful for RIGHT now...

I've been pretty down & out lately which is NOT like me at all. I am normally a very positive thinking person, but I've been in a rut. I've been on the verge of depression (yes, I'm admitting this on the ole blog-o-sphere), I've been stressed and bitter and emotionally drained.

Then this morning, while checking out my newest addiction, http://www.pinterest.com/, I found an awesome photo of a sign...



So...in true McNeely fashion, I shall make a list of things I am thankful for right now. Not tomorrow. Not yesterday, but today.

1. I am thankful for the kicks to the rib and the constant bathroom breaks. I am thankful for the little man growing inside me!

2. I am thankful for my mom. She is a beautiful person with a big heart. We don't always see eye to eye and we often misunderstand one another, but she loves me dearly. And I love her too.

3. I am thankful for a husband who loves me. He felt the baby kick really good for the first time a few nights ago - he is still talking about it. I am thankful for his hilarious good bye's in the morning "I'm gone. I love you. Bye. Have a good day, I love you. Bye. I'm leaving, have a good day, be careful, I love you, etc etc..." he yells as he puts his boots on and heads out the door. Sometimes I think...I heard you already and I answered you - you don't have to repeat it 15 times...but I love it and am thankful for his morning nonsense.

4. I am thankful for my drive to work, it's the only peaceful time I have before walking in to this dump. My drive relaxes me, lets me think. It's my quiet time with God. We drive, we talk, we pray, we sing, we cry. As much as I sometimes gripe about my drive to and from work, I will miss my quiet time and I am thankful for it today.

5. I am thankful to have found Mack-dog a home. I love him dearly, but he isn't getting the attention he needs from us and it makes me sad. Today a friend of mine decided to take him to their house. They have three kids and they love going to the lake (Mack's favorite adventure!) so I know he will be loved and played with and happy. I am thankful that someone else will get to love this oversized puppy the way I wish I could have.

6. I am thankful for pedicures. This girl is having issues reaching her toes in a comfortable manner. So thank you, weird oriental guy for softening my heels and slapping paint on my toe nails.  I'll be seeing you after work, my little friend.  O yes, I am thankful for pedicures! :)



I am thankful for many more things, but that'll do for now.  I guess sometimes we just need a reminder of how loved and how blessed we really are.  So today, I won't let the bossman tear me down, I won't let my worrying over not having a job in 2 months effect my day and I won't let the fact that I still haven't finished painting the furniture upset me. I will be happy & thankful & at peace! :)

Peace, Love & Baby Baker,

W

3 years ago...

3 years ago today, I woke up with some of my best friends all around me...anxious to see my Kammerdammer.

There were flower petals and stems strung all over my house - and maybe a few stray Allsup's burritos and some beer cans left over from the night before...

3 years ago today, I woke up single for the last time.

3 years ago, it was cloudy and raining.  They say rain is an extra blessing on your wedding day and I'd have to agree! 

3 years ago, I walked in a church wearing a white dress and pair of my handmade boots. My Uncle Noel sang 'Til the Rivers All Run Dry' and Kam dropped the ring! 

3 years ago, we walked out of a church as Mr. & Mrs. to my Uncle Jimmy sawing 'The Orange Blossom Special' on his fiddle. 

  

 3 years ago, I married my crazy, handsome, wonderful, hard working, loving husband. And life would never ever be the same....what a blessing he has been. I am so proud to be allowed to spend the rest of my life loving him...

In the words of Reckless Kelly...

"Don't think my days of loving you are through, cuz I still do!"

Happy Anniversary, Kamdon Ray!

Peace, love & happy days,

W

Lunch with my favorites

I needed a lift today, so I drove out to see my boys...and Bea, during my 40 minute lunch. (Mind you it takes 15 minutes to get out there and 15 minutes back...I was Speedy Gonzales Fo Sho!)

I took a few NOT SO great photos while I was there. So sue me, I was shoving a DQ chicken sandwich down my throat and hoping I made it back by to work by 1. I didn't, but at least I can say I tried!

So there I am...snacking on some fries while the boys generously lick the paint on my new g-ride (Kam will love the tongue marks, I'm sure), when I look up and notice my Tad-man. 

I guess something was funny...

Bea's the queen of the horse pasture. She loves attention, but only on her terms, not yours. And the two brothers, well you can tell they like to hog it...she tried getting her ears scratched a few times, but here came the boys, every time!



Pick Me! Pick Me!



Of all the horses I've owned. One in particular stole my heart for good. My old man, Uncy. 

I was a little girl, riding around with my Pa, checking out his new crop of colts when I saw a little yellow and white colt with legs as long as you'd ever seen standing awkwardly by the best Momma horse you'd ever seen. 

He shined in the sun and like that, my heart was gone.  Pa named him Bea's Once.  He was Honey Bea's eleventh foal,  (once is 11 in Spanish). Honey Bea was a beautiful palomino mare. She was Pa's favorite. I can't remember just how many babies she had before she died, but I know for sure it was at least 15 because Quince Bea had a few foals for Pa before he sold his herd.



Bea's Once at the L7 pens -2008

Anyway, Uncy's been my man since I was around 7.  He's a heck of a cow horse and he's all business. He's all legs and his head is bigger than most prefer, but his heart is bigger than Texas and his eyes are ever knowing and always full of love. He loves a good scratching and to eat cake out of my Daddy's hand.   He's my horse on paper and in my heart, but if he could talk, he'd tell ya he was Stan's. They're pals, for sure. 

Stan the Man & Uncy

Anyway, I sure enjoyed my lunch with the herd.  They make me laugh and smile and long to throw a leg over one of them, take off & never look back. But, reality sunk in about 12:50 today and I hauled it back to town... thanks for the lunch date, boys.  I'll see ya again real soon!

T & Uncy

Peace, Love & lunch dates,

W

Pour Your Heart Out: Random (not so earthshattering) Confessions

Confessions of a crazy almost unemployed almost first time mom who needs a nap and is not so secretly wishing she could suck down a gallon of margaritas right now...

1.  I need a drink....H2O will have to do.

2.  I ordered my 3rd pair of Tom's last week (same size as always) and they didn't fit.  I have to return them and I'm sad.

3.  I have become insanely lazy. I have a million things to do and I just want to sit in my chair and watch 'How I Met Your Mother' reruns on Lifetime.

4.  I am stuck at this job until October (a blessing, I know) but holy cow, it's quiet around here, and it's only going to get quieter...

5.  I am not a shopper, but I am pumped about  H & I's shopping excursion to Dallas next week while the boys do some serious fishing.

6.  I am a very hot natured person and baby boy Baker has definately turned up my temp gauge. Thank you 100 degree weather for increasing this issue even more.

7. I want a swimming pool. 

8. I want a swimming pool really Really REALLY bad.

9.  We are spending all next week in our camper at a big, beautiful lake and I can't wait...

10.  Sometimes I really do wish 'I lived in an Airstream, homemade curtains, lived just like a gypsy.'   (did I mention I love Miranda Lambert?) (and our awesome pop up camper?)   Vacations are awesome...


Peace, Love & Random Confessions...

W

Nursery projects...revamped

Well, now that we know we're having a little boy...some of my original plans (as discussed here) have been revised...

I ended up ordering solid red bedding. It came in and it's perfect!  It's just the right shade of red - not too bright, and not too dull!

And Mom, Gran, Sissy, Wendy & I are going to tag team a crazy quilt for the crib quilt.  It's going to be all colors and bright and happy. What I love about crazy quilts is no matter how "new" they are, they have that old feel to them because they are seemingly thrown together.  (I'll post when we work on it/complete it)!

I finally found a rocking chair! Thank you, Craigslist!!  Now it's time for the facelift - tighten the arm, rough it up a little, add my favorite "Wagon Wheel" verses, a few funky designs, a pillow or two and this oversized, funky rocking chair will be complete!  I can't wait to get to the finished project on this one!!

The crib still hasn't came in which is driving me INSANE, but I'm trying to be patient!!

And then...I splurged. I ordered a handmade leather pillow from Lacy Gray.  If she had a link, I'd add it here because her and her hubby, Ryan, are making some awesome stuff!  ANYWAY...she started making these pillows and they are completely amazing.  SO...I ordered one.  Check it out! The photo is a little dark, but the back of the pillow is a dark brown. I cannot wait to pick it up!

As far as the furniture goes, I am kind of at a loss. I was going to paint the chest of drawers & dresser both red and antique them with brown, but with the red bedding and me deciding to leave the rocking chair red...I am thinking of painting the furniture a dark brown and antiquing it with a deep turquoise...I just don't want it to get too girly or too...busy. So, if you have any ideas on this, let me know cuz I'm at a loss. I am going to replace all the knobs with vintage metal knobs and  really try to keep the old personality of it all because lets face it, this furniture is ancient and it ain't too purdy, but I love it.

Mom is also giving me my little bookshelf from when I was growing up, so I need to think of something fun to do with it too because right now it is stark white.  OUCH! 

Anyway, I'm sure I'll have more ideas and more posts changing those ideas, but for now.  This is what we've got.  Hopefully, we'll get crack-a-lackin' on these projects after our totally awesome fishing adventure/vacation next week...


Peace, Love & Turquoise,

W