5 months.

happy 5 months to the sweetest little boy i have ever met!

we love you, finn wilde!
you are an absolute joy and we are so lucky to be your parents!

vintage finds: home style.

here's a little look into some of the vintage gems i have found recently for casa de la murphy.

billy said our house is starting to look more and more like the inside of the house he grew up in...

this is somewhat troubling since that house is a little bit crowded now.

i promise i won't bury us in junk treasure.

some little things, like:

vintage playing cards.

dad, teach me how to play hearts!

vintage magazines: the country gentleman!

and then beyond little things, my virtual obsession with vintage textiles.  specifically linens.

first up, this amazing quilt, that is more than just a vintage treasure, it's a family heirloom!

this was the quilt on my mom's childhood bed.

it was sewn together by nanny, my mother's mother, using pieces of old clothing.
every fabric has a story- an old skirt of nanny's, an old outfit of mom's.  all worn thin and recycled into a quilt.  it was created out of need, not want, and is accidentally beautiful.

there are layers of textiles sewn on top of one
another over time.

you can peel back the fabric and see the layers of
time, love, and dedication.

it is a real treasure and i am proud to display it in our home.

next up, more vintage bedding!  i can't help myself!

fun florals in the front bedroom

so bright and colorful

our bed looks very traditional

but underneath is a 70's sheet party!

finn loves staring at that pattern!

i don't know why vintage sheets don't skeeve me out.
i guess some people might think of it like buying used underwear?  i mean sheets are pretty personal.
but, they just don't.  i'm obsessed with them. 
and i wash everything i find in hot hot soapy water a couple times before i put them out.
they're so soft and they just don't make fun patterns like this anymore!

the sheets i featured here i won on ebay.  for next to nothing!  a lot of the vintage chenille bedspreads that i have i find at antique stores though.  most of the time they are slightly damaged so you can get them for low prices and then have your mom repair them (hi mom!)

i'm currently hunting for some retro sheets for the two twin mattresses on the daybed in finn's room.  i want vintage snoopy or smurfs or something fun like that!  those tend to be a little more collectible and expensive though.

okay, this concludes this episode of vintage finds for the home.  i'm off to read the country gentleman.
(just kidding)
(maybe)

p.s.
gratuitous baby thighs:

he's singing.

vintage finds: finn style.

finn really scored in the vintage toy department this week! 
it's no secret that billy and i are obsessed with all things old.
so, by default, finn has become a little treasure hunter as well.
here are some of this week's finds:

 

finn has really been enjoying the books, and the vintage blocks and memory cards are colorful additions to his room until he is old enough to really use them!  

but finn's favorite find this week are these here blocks:

 

these here blocks?

oh yes, these here blocks.

i quite love them.

thanks grandma!

but my personal favorites are a collection of preschool music equipment.

do you remember having "music" when you were in kindergarten, and sitting in a circle and everyone getting to pick one instrument such as these? 

thrilling, i tell you.

triangle, anyone?

billy is slightly more excited about this than finn.

bells!

rhythm sticks!

he loves them.  family band time!

i love that finn is loving toys and books that are classic, have a history, and have been loved before!  we're going to have this kid thrifting before he's walking i tell you! :)

sometimes i get lucky, like this week, and people bring stuff into the shop.  i also have my favorite antique stores in the area, and occasionally use etsy and ebay to find great bargains on one-of-a-kind vintage toys.  do any of you have favorite places to find pre-loved toys, books, or even clothes for a bargain? 

cosleeping.

parenthood is a funny thing.

i think billy and i went into this whole process with a firm grip on just what kind of parents we were going to be.

we thought we were going to be parents of steel.

in short, we are parents of pudding.

not a lot of our parenting philosophies have yet been put to the test, because finn is not old enough yet.
(billy might still think that one day we will have children who speak when spoken to, do chores without complaining, and go to bed every night at seven.  but if the first five months are any inclination of how the future will be, all i have to say is hahahahahaha.)

some of the parenting philosophies that we did have already have been put to the test. 
 these included the idea that my baby would be on a strict schedule and i would never use the term "babywearing".  hmph.  i thought i would have no problem with the whole "cry it out" thing, and i would easily "train" my baby into sleeping through the night.

and then i had a real baby.  his name is finn.  he made me different than the mom i thought i would be, because i guess i didn't realize that a real life baby, different than my imagined baby, makes you into pudding.  our real life baby made us not care about any idea we used to have on what kind of parents we would be.

billy and i ... before we had finn ... were firm believers in "no co-sleeping".  we both thought a baby needs his own space, we need our own space.  babies sleep in cribs, parents sleep in beds.  everyone is happier this way, it is better for everyone. 
on the contrary, at our parenting classes, the very hippie midwives really encouraged co-sleeping.  they actually told us not to even buy a crib until we knew we had a baby who wanted to use one.  they raved about the benefits of co-sleeping, how it's the norm in almost every other culture but ours, how it's good for mom and baby, bla bla bla, and i literally said to billy "i don't care what she says, i'm not doing that."

as with many other things so far in this journey of parenthood, i have been proven wrong.
finn sleeps in our bed.
the majority of nights, he starts out in his crib.  but he always ends up with us.  and some nights, like tonight, he and billy fell asleep up here in bed next to each other, and here they both still lie.

but the most surprising thing about co-sleeping... even more surprising than the fact that we're actually doing it when we never said we would... is that...
we love it.

a lot of times people will ask me about finn and how he's sleeping and if he's still in bed with us, and i went through a time where i would kind of talk about it in this regretful way because everyone acts like it's so unfortunate.  but i really am starting to embrace it now.  instead of thinking of finn being in our bed as a problem that needs solving, i am really treasuring this time of him being so small and sweet and wanting to be near us.  and we want to be near him!  this is such a special time and it is going by so fast.   both billy and my favorite time of day is the morning when we all wake up and snuggle and finn has a huge smile on his face, happy and excited to greet the day.  i love that that's the first thing i see in the morning!

i think parenthood is so different for everyone, and every baby is so different.  you really have to find your own niche and do what works for you and your family.  i respect all of those different methods now.  let it be breastfeeding, formula feeding, cosleeping, crib sleeping, homeschooling, public schooling, you name it, i no longer have preconceived ideas, if it works for you and you're living it, i respect it. 

i never thought that co-sleeping would be our niche, but it is.  not only does it work for us right now, but we really are enjoying it.  i am learning that as your child grows, you also have to grow and change as a parent.  i'm sure that co-sleeping will not last forever, but i am happy that we are able to do it now. 

throwing out the rule book and all of my ideas on how parenting should be has really allowed me to open up and enjoy what parenting is, and getting to know our baby and naturally becoming the best parents we can be for him.  so far this has been such an amazing journey and i have been so surprised at myself along the way.  it's good to surprise yourself, i think!

i'm off to sleep now, but i'll leave you with this picture of our last little co-sleeper:

what a mongrel.
luckily this monster has been transitioned out of our bed for a year and a half now!
way to be a big boy tuck!  i don't miss having your smelly butt up here at all! :)