The Arrival of "Mabel Rose" and Other Happenings

The biggest news this year is that we have a new little baby, as many of you may know by now.  "Mabel Baby" (as we like to call her), was born Feb. 13th, happy and healthy.  We are so thrilled to have her and I can't get over what a good sleeper she is.  I won't tell you how much she sleeps (and how little she cries) to keep hate mail away.  All I know is that it is nothing Sterling and I do.  I wonder if we are blessed with good babies because God knows that they are going to give us a run for our money later on :) 

The nurses made that crazy bow-thing.  It makes her look like a Who in Who-Ville from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."  I'll admit, I kind of like it in a weird way, though.

The day Mabel was born.

 

Needless to say, our Valentine's Day date didn't go the way Sterling had planned!  However, he still managed to make it as romantic as a night in the hospital, the day after giving birth, can be :)  He even got me flowers for the hospital florist and a Martha Stewart Living magazine!  We spent the evening eating Twizzlers and chocolate that our friends brought and watching "What to Expect When You're Expecting" and the documentary, "Happy." 

Don't Mabel and Cora look alike?!  Cora's photo at 1-day old is on the phone. 
(I can't figure out how to rotate this photo!)

Sterling's cousin, Sherrie, came to visit us in the hospital.

Changing Mabel's diaper.

Cora is one of Mabel's biggest fans.  When Cora saw Mabel for the first time, she said, "Baby!" then clapped her hands and exclaimed, "Yay!!!"  Cora's love for Mabel can be measured by eye pokes, snotty-nosed kisses, and the number of times she takes off Mabel's sock in a given day.

Bundling Mabel up for out first walk and trip to the library.
Sterling calls Mabel his, "Little Nugget."  I like to think she is somehow associated with a gold nugget--not a chicken nugget :)

 

MOMMY GUILT

As all new mothers out there know, mommy guilt is a real thing.  Add the guilt to an already hormonal, tired, and defensive woman  and you've got yourself a mess!  During such an episode,

Sterling gently urged me not to use the word "guilty" and reminded me that guilt is reserved for sin.   Wise words, huh?  Of course, I wish that we hadn't run out of newborn diapers this week.  I wish that I had made Mabel's doctor appointment sooner.  I wish that I had given her a bath a few days ago.  I wish that our medicine closet was organized and that I had more time to read to Cora.  But I didn't...

And that's okay.  When I say that I feel "guilty" it implies that I have done something wrong.  And while I may not feel like mother of the year right now, I haven't done anything that should make me feel guilty.

Oh!  I just love this little girl!

DATE NIGHTS MUST LIVE ON!
We know that it's not going to be easy to keep our weekly date nights going, but we are committed!  This week for our date Friday, Sterling and I decided to draw our dream house.  You know, just in case someone offers to build a house for us, we'll know what we want :)  I found this cool website, floorplanner.com, where you can draft house plans online--for free.  If you are into that sort of thing, I totally recommend it.  You can chose different kinds of windows, furniture, and "draw" with tons of detail.  Pretty awesome.  If you recorded Sterling and I, you might say that we were getting too into it.  I mean, we were talking about how deep the counters of our outside grilling space should be.  And where the door to our greenhouse (filled with kitchen herbs, of course) should be.  I know.  A bit ridiculous, right? 

On Saturday, we were able to drop Cora off at our friends' house from 4-7 pm as part of this babysitting exchange we do each week with several other couples in our ward.  Sterling and I (and Mabel) went to Ted's Bulletin on Capitol Hill for dinner.  Last time we went there, I got one of their famous homemade poptarts.  Unfortunately (or fortunately?), I was too full this time to get dessert, but I was definitely eyeing the sweet potato and marshmallow poptart this time around.  If you like good, Southern, New American food, this is your place:  chicken fried steak, brussel sprouts with bacon, creamed corn, onion rings, fried chicken, milkshakes, etc. 

SPEAKING OF MARSHMALLOWS...
I made homemade marshmallows!  Turns out, you don't have to buy them.  Granted, it's like, a million times cheaper and easier to buy a huge bag of marshmallows, BUT so less gratifying.  This time around, I used a vanilla bean to flavor them, but next time I'm going to try some peppermint extract.  I've been wanting to do this forever and Sterling knows this:  In my Christmas stocking, Sterling even got me Knox gelatin and peppermint extract for this sole purpose :)  Two months later, I got around to finally doing it... Check out http://smittenkitchen.com for a great recipe!

This photo is horrible, but just trust me that they are white!

BRENSTER OCCASIONS ---> 20th AND IVES
Sterling's stationary business has been coming along very nicely in the past few weeks.  (He loves being home on paternity leave, with time to work on it!)  He's been featured on a few stationary blogs and has a collaborative project in the works with another big blog.  After much diliberation, we've decided to change the name of the business to "20th and Ives."  Just sounds a bit more classy, right?  And he is in the process of setting up a legit website.  I'll keep you posted!
  

The latest off the press.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BrensterOccasions
(We are still in the process of changing the name of the Etsy shop...)

A few random photos to finish off this post:

Cora in a dress from Grandma Nikki.  She finally fits into it!

Working on some serious business, I'm sure...

Practicing being a big sister.

And more practice.

Cora with Nate and Sachi's little (big!) boy, Peter.  They are almost the same size and he's just 4 months old!