We all know the last few weeks
I have been very quiet in social media.
…which is probably alright, because in the 10 days
before I stopped posting, I kind of had an overload of posts.
Everyone kept telling me that before you give birth to a baby,
you get this huge burst of energy.
Well, I got about 7 days worth of energy
and finished like 10 quilts in that week!
Take a look…
I quilted and bound this fun rainbow bargello quilt that I pieced a few months ago.
I finally bound this quilt that I pieced and quilted like 2 years ago.
Quilted this client quilt for my dear friend, Judy.
(I also did a couple smaller quilts of hers at the same time.)
I quilted and bound this quilt for my good friend, Danielle.
This quilt was a gift to her family, and part of my quilt series called
“Sentimental Snuggles.”
(more on that series in a future post)
I quilted this GIANT king size quilt for my Instagram buddy, @RadAndHappy
It was so big, it was difficult to take a picture of the full quilt!
I quilted and bound this baby quilt for our baby.
My grandmother lovingly pieced it and then I quilted it.
This is definitely a quilt that will be cherished for years to come.
Thanks, Grandma! I love you!
And then I also quilted and bound this little baby quilt
that Andrew’s aunt Diane pieced and gave to us.
It has a flannel backing and is super soft!
I also quilted, couched, bound, bedazzled and submitted this competition quilt
into the Houston International Quilt Competition!
(more on this quilt in a future post)
I also had enough energy to do my dogs hair!
(I am currently growing it out long enough to be able to
french braid his mohawk! 😂)
As I was posting all of these pictures on social media,
people just kept asking when I was going to have my baby,
I just kept telling them that they’ll know he’s come when I stop
posting about my quilting on Facebook and Instagram.
Well, a whole 9 days after my due date,
on Saturday June 17th, at about 7 AM,
I went in to labor!
I labored for 20 hours at home,
and then another 10 hours at the hospital.
All without and epidural.
On purpose.
It was exhausting, life-changing, and beautiful.
After 30 hours of natural labor,
Andrew and I welcomed a beautiful healthy baby boy into this world.
Everybody,
meet Nathan Porter.
He is completely perfect.
Here is what I have learned about parenthood so far:
(in no particular order)
1. It is possible to still love someone after they pee on you
multiple times in one 24 hour period.
2. No amount of words from others can prepare you
for the amount of work it takes to care for a baby.
3. No amount words from others can prepare you
for how much love you can possibly feel
while holdingย your new, tiny human.
4. Diapers are expensive.
But worth every penny because it means
we get to love our little guy day in and day out.
As most of you know,
the journey to parenthood has been a long road
for Andrew and I.
It’s been 4 weeks since we brought baby Nate home from the hospital
but it still feels so surreal to finally be here, holding Nate in our arms.
I have slowly been getting back into the swing of working in the studio
and I have some fun things on the horizon in terms of teaching as well as de-stashing.
But for now, I’m just gonna keep snuggling my boy. 😍
But! I haven’t forgotten about you all,
and thought it would be fun to do a few coupon codes.
Every time you make a purchase in my online shop,
you’re helping pay for diapers and wipes!ย 😘
If you’re a computerized quilter,
take $25 off any purchase of $100 worth of digital designs
with the code: designsfordiapers25
If you want to pick up a piece of custom printed fabric,
take 15% off each one
with the code: fabric15
Finally, if you’d like to pick up any books,
I will ship them to you for free!
Just use the code: bookshippedfree
Please hurry and place your orders,
These codes will only be valid until the end of July, 2017.
I just want to say
THANK YOU!
again and again for supporting my work!
I am so incredibly grateful that I can be a stay-at-home-mommy
and still provide you all with fun products and share my quilting endeavors.
With out all of you, it simply wouldn’t be possible!
Be great to each other!
-Karlee
18 thoughts on “In Heaven!”
Congratulations to you, Andrew and precious Nate! Enjoy him and take your time to get more out there in designs, etc. He will grown so fast and he is so beautiful! Thanks for sharing him.
Thank you so much, Jane. You are so sweet. ๐
Congratulations to you and your hubby! He’s beautiful. I can’t stop smiling, reading your post and feeling your joy. Enjoy every moment you can. They grow up way too fast.
Thank you so much! He is such a wonderful little human, and Andrew is such a great Father! ๐
-Karlee
Nate is beautiful! Congrats and best wishes!
Thank you Jerre! You are so sweet!
Karlee, so pleased for you and Andrew. There’s nothing quite so special as that little one in your lives. I am certain that the journey that the 3 of you are now beginning will bring you much joy, although it may not always be easy.
I met you at “Cottonpatch” UK. You were inspirational then and I wish you well again now and look forward to further blog posts!
Much love, Susan
Hi Susan! Thank you so much for all the kind words! We are so over the moon! (and I know it is crazy to admit, but I miss being pregnant! Hahahaha!) Thank you so much for following me and supporting my work, it really means the world to me!
-Karlee
This is such an exciting post, Karlee!! I simply cannot believe how much you got done that last week. (I was on bedrest with each of mine and now I see I was cheated out of dozens of completed WIPs! lol ; ) Enjoy your new little one – it is as cliche as they come but only because it’s so true – they grow up too fast! Happy all the firsts!
Thank you so much! Now that he is here, I just wanted to snuggle him all day long! Thank you so much for all the kind words! We are so very blessed!
OMG…his pic in the basket on the fuzzy blanket! Those cheeks! The pic of him on your special quilt with words describing pre-parenthood thoughts, dreams, wishes, hopes! All of your other work done…wow! Congrats on joining this crazy world called parenthood…the love doesn’t change even once they are educated, married, and have become parents themselves…it will be a constant in your heart forever. Enjoy every moment…yes, even “those” moments. So happy for you and your family!
Thank you so much for the kind words, Cheryl! We are so blessed beyond measure, and I can’t wait for him to look at that quilt, and as he grows, learns how to read those little notes and memories. ๐
Karlee I have been watching for an update. I know the first few weeks are especially exhausting.
Thank you for the update and photos of your beautiful son.
With love to your whole family.
Michelle
Thank you, Michelle! They definitely HAVE been exhausting! But I learn so much about him (and myself) with every waveless night and moments when he so tentatively stares into my eyes.
Congratulations to Andrew, Karlee, and Baby Nathan!! Your little Blessing is absolutely Beautiful and so Perfect ๐ You have so many new adventurous days and years ahead of you!! They go by very quickly… take the pictures, capture all the memories, and cherish every moment…there is a lifetime of so much love and happiness ahead of you all….May God continue to Bless you
Thank you so much, Janice! We are definitely taking a ton of pictures, and I am being diligent about writing in my journal and documenting as many of the precious little moments as I can! I think it will be fun for him to read about it all later.
You don’t get these days back. Hold him, cuddle him, cheerish the moments. Two year olds are great, but they don’t snuggle the same ๐ Congratulations!
Thanks Margaret! I love cuddling him so much! Especially when he falls asleep on my chest!