“Enjoying Life” Photo Contest

I’m going to have to take as many pictures as I can before my husband deploys later this year and most likely takes the good camera with him.

I decided to take the camera along on a recent visit to the sprayground and got some great pictures of Kelsey in the fountains and clmbing on the lion statues (which she can now do by herself, oh boy). I managed to snap the shutter right at the exact moment to catch her dumping water over her head which she thinks is hilarious to do. It is second only to pouring the water on me.  Just trying to enjoy this part of our lives.

 

Check out the photo contest at I Heart Faces:

i heart faces: Beautiful BandW Photo Challenge

Another photo from Valentine’s Day shoot!

Dr. Seuss Week

I have been reading to Kelsey regularly for quite a while now. Usually before bed but she also has a selection of books that she looks at throughout the day. I’m pretty sure she thinks the library is heaven because she gets to pull out book and after book and flip through them all. Some of her favorites are her Dr. Seuss books, some of which were my husbands when he was younger and some of which family has given to us. (Looking to take advantage of Target’s Dr. Seuss sales this month to pick up a few more if I can find the ones I’m looking for.)

My mother is the sewing genius in the family and came across Dr. Seuss fabric last year. She made Kelsey a quilt with it. Earlier this year, she had enough left over to make her pillowcase dress, too. There was just a strip left over of the trim so she gave me that to make a matching hair clip. Here’s what I came up with.

I started out by using this layered fabric flower by Nest Pretty Things as a starting point for the shape of the layers. With the strip of fabric I had, I ended up with two pieces about the same size and a third smaller one of squares. I cut them all according to the instructions.

Since all my layers were the same print I decided to add a layer of ribbon to add a little dimension and tie in some of the colors from the dress. I cut four pieces of ribbon the same length as the width if the larger layers and cut a V into the ends. I then laid the in a “star” shape.

I hot glued all the layers together and topped it off with a red button – side note: I need to learn how to make bottle tops because that might have been cuter for this one. A then glued it to a ribbon covered hair clip.

It has been a while since I could keep a headband on Kelsey’s head but she has been into putting hats on her head lately. My mother-in-law happened to make her a red knit hat (with super cute, matching mittens on a string) so I stuck the hair clip on that and she’ll wear it.

Kelsey was set to attend a couple Dr. Seuss events around town including running around Target!

The beauty of the pillowcase dress is that it will fit for a while so hopefully she’ll be able to wear it again next year. She’s not ready for any real activities like crafts but I have a whole Pinterest board of ideas of things to do with her next year!

Linking up to The Frugal Girls’ Chic & Crafty Party

Valentine’s Day 2012

Even though I knew it was coming, Valentine’s Day still kind of snuck up on me. Mostly because I didn’t really think I was going to do anything for it but in the last coupe of days before it, I decided why not celebrate a little?

I decided I wanted to try to take some Valentine’s-ee pictures of Kelsey. I had a hand-me-down dress that fit Kelsey but wasn’t overly hearts and pink. Someone was giving away baskets on freecycle so I spray painted one white. I was tidying up some stuff in my craft area and came across a couple bunches of red carnations left over from a project a couple of years ago. I saw a little heart garland in the background of someone’s picture that I thought was cute.

Let the Valentine’s decor begin!

I picked up a couple of sheets of felt from Walmart, cut into fourths, then cut out hearts. I then cut slits into the hearts to run the ribbon through, which I already had. I stuck a few nails in the fence out back to hang them from. I put the flowers in the basket, put Kelsey in the middle of it and started snapping away. I have found that keeping her in one spot works best if I give her things to play with.

After the shoot, I hung the hearts around the living room and the flowers turned into a door decoration. I picked up a half ball of floral foam, tied ribbon around it to hang it from and just stuck the blooms into the foam. Viola!

For my husband, I took advantage of a free personalized card from Tiny Prints and I decided to make something yummy. Most importantly, I finally found a use a heart pie baker we got for our wedding almost 6 years ago!

I followed the directions to make this No Crust Strawberry Pie I found through The Frugal Girls. However, instead of whipped topping, we heated up and drizzle some dark chocolate topping over our servings. Who doesn’t love chocolate and strawberries?

I gave Kelsey a couple of treats in the morning. I picked up a box of Sweethearts on sale and got a heart lollipop from a wedding I went to last week. She promptly turned the candy into a shaker and proceeded to swat the dog with the lollipop.

Since my husband stil had his regular, into the middle of the night work hours, we got the idea to go to IHOP for breakfast.

In the afternoon, it was girls time at the mall. I picked up my free, travel-size, Signature Collection item from Bath & Bodyworks from their facebook promotion and then picked up an Icedream from Chik-fil-A, soft serve with pink sprinkles! Kelsey had a few nibbles, the child won’t drink milk or eat cheese or yogurt but she likes ice cream.

We both worked off our treat on the playground – Kelsey by climbing up everything and me by having to carry her down off of everything. She’s still not too sure about getting off items but she’s starting to gain an appreciation for slides. Here she is giving the dolphin a kiss!

Earlier in the day, my husband gave me a card and a box of Zombie Bonbons – chocolate with cherry brains – and picked up a copy of Breaking Dawn from Redbox, free one night rental through their facebook promotion. I had a MacDill Enlisted Spouses Club meeting but once we got home and I got Kelsey to bed, I was able to finally watch it. Yes, I’m a little bit of a Twilight dork.

All in all, it was a pretty good (and relatively cheap) Valentine’s Day! I hope you had a good one, too.

Here’s a few more pictures, I can’t help myself.

Almost One Year

I can’t believe it has been almost one year since Kelsey was born. She turns one on January 6.  It seems crazy that I will now have a toddler!

I’m sitting here trying to figure out how and when to wean her, how to switch her to regular milk, and what an eating schedule for her looks like. Thanks to my recent hospital stays, Kelsey is used to formula now from a bottle. Hopefully it makes the switch to regular milk easier. I’m still breastfeeding but I’ve never been able to pump a lot. Given that we’ve only had to buy formula for about 1-2 bottles a day for about a month, it’s not that bad. It’s been kind of freeing to not have to plan everything around where I’ll be when it’s time to nurse her.

At the same time, I went back to nursing when I recovered from my surgery because I actually kind of missed it. I missed feeling needed. I plan on at least attempting to switch Kelsey to regular milk but I think I might keep her bedtime nursing for just a little while longer.

I can’t believe how much she has grown and how much she can do now. I brought home a helpless little baby but she’s become a walking, feeding herself, babbling little girl and I know she’s just getting warmed up on the milestones.

Well, let the festivities begin! I’m working on  little “1″ onesie  and matching hair clip her a cake smash photo shoot. My Mom is making her a little pirate dress for birthday party in a few weeks. We’ll also be taking Kelsey to participate in the kid’s fun run at Disney World the weekend of her birthday – she’ll be among the youngest in her run only being 1 year and 1 day old in the 1-3 year group. She wasn’t walking when I signed her up for it a few months ago so I’m a little relieved that it worked out.

It’s going to be a busy month but a fun month – a great way to start off what is sure to be a great year!

Kelsey’s First Christmas – Part 2

We went for a drive Christmas Eve to see a few light displays.

Christmas morning, Kelsey had a good time opening and playing with her new toys. The favorites were some jingle bells, shape sorting toy, and a talking flip phone. She didn’t quite understand the unwrapping process but she enjoyed the ribbons and bows.

   

Pumpkin Fun and Yummies

I was so excited for Halloween to roll around this year. I’ve had Kelsey’s little cow costume since befre she was born so I’ve been looking forward to seeing her in it for just as long. I was also looking forward to taking her to a pumpkin patch. She started walking the week or so before we went so I was hoping she would want to pick up the pumpkins. No luck there, but for some reason she really liked grabbing the stumps of the vines. At two different patches she at least got to touch them and other new sensations like straw and we got some great pictures.

Clothes:

In the picture on the left, Kelsey is wearing a pumkpin headband and holding a candy corn doll that my mother-in-law crocheted for her. In the picture to the right, I used my Ribbon Flower technique with some Halloween ribbon in a pinwheel on top and a glitter pompom for a Halloween hair clip and found a little pumpkin iron-on patch to decorate a onesie for an inexpensive Halloween outfit paired with other clothes we already had.

In the middle, she’s wearing the cow costume we got half off the November 1st last year and I added a ribbon to it. We already found two costumes for her for next year for $5 each at Old Navy! I now get to spend the next year planning our family costume.

Pumpkin Carving:

We made sure to pick up some pumpkins for carving and the Thursday before Halloween we finally got around to doing them. It has been a while since we’ve carved pumkins and I forgot how much work it is, but we had a good time anyways. I found a jack-o-lantern template I liked online then redid the teeth so they would resemble Kelsey’s little grin, with two teeth on top with a gap and two little ones on the bottom.

She likes to finger paint with her food now so I thought she’d have fun playing with the pumpkin goo but it turns out she’s not a fun of the mess. She poked it a couple times but wanted nothing to do with it touching her. At least she had a good time with the spoon. She did, however, still manage to get it all over her, even her hair, and even sat in it!

As my husband did the final carving, I sorted all the seeds out. I had never made roasted pumpkin seeds before so I thought this would be a good opportunity. After looking around for recipes/instructions online I decided to go with the following. I’ve been snacking on them daily!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

• Spread pumpkin seeds out on a baking sheet to dry overnight.
• Drizzle olive oil and use your fingers to stir and coat all the seeds.
• Sprinkle cajun spice mix over all of them.
• Bake at 200 degrees for 1 hr 15 min.
• Store in an airtight container.

Yummies:

Earlier in the month, we had a Make It, Bake It, Grow It Auction as a fundraiser for MacDill Enlisted Spouses Club and I decided to make this Libby’s Pumpkin Cranberry Bread recipe as mini loaves. I had raisins on hand so I decided to use them instead of cranberries.  I made 2 plain mini loaves and 3 with raisins and still had enough for a regular loaf for us to keep. I also used the Kitchen Aid mixer by myself for the first time – talk about becoming domesticated!

The plain ones sold pretty well, but not as many takers for the raisin ones. Who knew there were so many people that don’t like raisins in anything? The loaf we made for ourselves at the house did not last long.

Next up for pumpkin fun? I am going to attempt to make pumpkin puree. I haven’t decided which method I’m going to try yet between these two sites. Wish me luck!

• The Pioneer Woman:
  http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/10/make-your-own-pumpkin-puree/
  
• Fun Free of Cheap:
  http://www.funcheaporfree.com/2010/11/saving-craving-savings-tip-of-day-even.html
  

In addition to using some of the puree as baby food I’m hoping to try a pumpkin recipe or two. Who knows? I may even attempt a pumpkin pie from scratch with my Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix!

I hope you had a great Halloween weekend and are enjoying Fall where ever you are!

Nine Months Old

October 14, 2011

Kelsey,

It’s hard to believe that it has already been nine months and at the same time it’s like you’ve always been here. You have finally been with us as long as it took you to get here.

The 38 weeks I was pregnant with you were the happiest, scariest, and most filled with hope and dreams months of my life. I was
thrilled to find out I was having you and when the day finally came to go to the hospital to have you I was ready to meet you.

When you were born I was just staring at you from the bed as the nurses cleaned and examined you. I think those few minutes have been the scariest in my life so far – was everything alright with you? when would I get to hold you? did I deserve you? It was so surreal, you were actually here and you were mine.

You slept a lot but those few days I would keep you in the bed with me or in my arms and just look at you. I wanted to study your face every second I could. I wanted to touch your little fingers and, even though I wanted to keep them warm, I loved touching your little feet when they would escape from the blanket.

About 1 day old

We had a rough patch as reality set in and your father and I were new parents trying to figure out how to help you and care for you the best we could. As sleep deprived as those earlier months were, I still found myself awake thinking about you and hoping I was doing the best for you. Thankfully, we get to join the ranks of people that made it through.

You nine months now and, though you are still a baby, I can see toddlerhood coming up fast. You’ve been holding your head up to look at people since you were a few days old, sitting up since about three months, and crawling since about 6 months. You pull up on anything that isn’t flat on the ground, cruise on anything you can get your hands on, and have already taken a few steps by yourself here and there. You climbed up the levels at the playground the other day all by yourself. I have to stop myself from looking too far into the future to your steps across a stage somewhere getting your diploma and just enjoy this time now.

I’ve been taking you to a nearby splash park over the summer months and it’s been interesting to watch you get more inquisitive each time we go. Each time you are stronger and get more eager to explore the water. You like to put your hand out to feel the water land on your hand. You try to catch it leaves floating by – by the way you also seem to enjoy putting leaves in your mouth because if there are any nearby they will find their way there. You like smacking your hand or rubbing your toys on the ground and watching the water that splashes back up.

You are babbling a whole slew off sounds now. I’m sure it won’t be too long before you are saying Mama, Dada and probably doggie or kitty since you light up and get excited anytime when off them is nearby or walks in the room. Now, if we could just get you to pet them gently instead of pulling their fur out and trying to grab their whiskers.

One day you are going to be a beautiful young lady with the world at your feet, but for now you want me to hold you and be near. You like to smile at me and I love smiling back at that two tooth grin (you have your lower left and upper right front teeth starting to come in, my little Jackie lantern). You laugh so easily. You are observant around other people and tend to just
watch and figure things out – ask me about WeePlay sometime. I get comments all the time about what a good baby you are, how quiet you are, how well-behaved you are, etc when we are out and about.

I enjoy that we are starting to be able to have meals together as a family. Right now you are still on fruit and vegetable purees but
you are starting to learn how to use those front teeth on big chunks of food like watermelon. You like having something in each hand and still eat with both hands. You are a Cheerios junkie and love them at all times of the day, diving into them as soon as I have put them down for you and leaving a trail of them wherever we go. (By the way, your Aunt Erin says it is perfectly fine to continue to do that into adulthood.) You also like to try to eat spaghetti noodles and green beans but actually succeed at eating peas, actually you end up putting a bunch in your mouth at the same time – some actually get swallowed, some hang around
in your cheeks for a while. I’m hoping you’ll figure out that you don’t need to put ten of something in your mouth at the same time some time soon.

I still like to look at your face when you are sleeping in my arms – your long eyelashes and pouty lips and cute little nose. I love
feeling your little hands on my arm or chest when you gently scratch me while you nurse. I still stop and wonder what color your hair and eyes and going to look like finally and who you will end up looking most like. (Your eyes started off blue but gradually turned a greenish-brown so far. Your hair is a light brown – light in the sun but dark when wet. You started off looking a lot like
me but have gradually started looking more like your father.)

You have slowly become a little person, not just an eating and sleeping machine. You are clapping your hands and shaking your

8 months old

toys. You look to play with books and starting to get the hang of turning pages, even if I’m not done reading what is on the page. You like to close things – lids, books, etc. You like playing with your reflection in the mirror. You do the cutest little poses playing with a hula hoop. You definitely know what a camera is and stop whatever you are doing when it comes out. You also love to try to
get the remotes (we’ve given you one to a tv that is not plugged in so you won’t come after ours), our cell phones (you’ve made a few calls), the laptop (I bought you a laptop toy that you’ll play with for a little when I’m on mine), and the cameras.

There are so many things I want for you and hope to give you a life filled with happiness. For now, however, I just really hope to enjoy each day with you and watch you grow and develop before my eyes.

I love you so much, Kelsey girl.

Love always,

Mommy

Baby Clothes Size Dividers

I’ve had Kelsey’s clothes organized since before she was born, but it wasn’t until she started doing some growing that I realized hanging clothes dividers (like at stores) would be helpful to note where one size stopped and the next one started in her closet. A few months late, but better late than never right?

I decided to make a set myself. The good thing about doing them yourself is you can make them to match what ever color scheme or theme you would like. Here is how you can make a set, too.

I began by using Microsoft Publisher and opening a blank greeting card. Use the pre-designed covers as a jumping off point or create your own design and modify the colors and fonts to suite your tastes. Once you have your template, erase everything from the other three pages of the greeting card and copy and paste your template into those three pages. From there I just typed in the sizes on each of the four pages and printed two copies, then repeated until I made all the sizes and tags I wanted.

A list to help you get started:

• Preemie
• Newborn
• 0-3
• 3-6
• 6-9
• 9-12
• 12
• 12-18
• 18
• 24
• 36
• 2T
• 3T
• 4T
• 5T
• Keepsakes
• Costumes
• Dress Up
• Holidays

When you are done printing, cut apart the individual labels. Then play a matching game and find all the pairs. Tape or glue one of the set on to each side of a piece of cardstock. The cardstock should be a few inches longer than the labels since this will be cut into to make the hanger.

Sandwich the three pieces between two layers of contact paper or laminate them. I used contact paper (about $6 a roll) because I will use the rest to cover flash cards, cards for memory games, etc in the future. Trim off any excess contact paper or laminate but leave a little border of it to keep the seal around the hanger.

Finally, cut a slit from the side and then freehand or use a punch to make an opening where the hanger will rest on the rack. I suggest holding up your hanger to your closet rod to determine where the slit should go and how big the opening needs to be. For my wire system, about an inch from the top is where I put the slit and my opening is about the size of a dime.

All that is left to do is hang your dividers in the appropriate places and look at your organized masterpiece!

Organizing Cubbie Drawers:

I also made a few tie on labels for her drawers. Between the size of baby clothes and the space we have available, the best option for us was a nine cube shelf with canvas pull out cubbies that we put inside the closet.

I folded the contact paper together and cut it down to business card size pieces. Using a hole punch I made holes then ran a piece of ribbon through in a larks head then tied a knot on the other end. Attach the labels with a larks head to the handles of the cubbies. I used a Sharpie to write the contents. To make it re-writeable, laminate pieces of paper and use dry erase markers.

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Baby on a Budget – A Few Tips

Since we found out we were pregnant, my husband and I have been trying to be as frugal as possible adding Kelsey to the family. I’ve never had a problem with thrift stores and now that I know how quickly babies grow and out grow things, I love the reduced price tag. From choosing to breastfeed, make our own baby food, and make Kelsey’s hair clips, a lot of my decisions come from trying to both do the best we can for Kelsey while doing it for a little less.

I do have to say we have been very fortunate to get so much gear as gifts or handed down from family and friends. Using that as a starting point, we’ve tried to fill in the rest while not breaking the bank. I’ve picked up a few things from Once Upon a Child and from local thrift stores over the past few months.

Recently, I have been trying to get some cool weather basics together. I figure that I might come across winter clothes that people cleared out back in spring but before most people start looking towards the change in the weather. I have read posts where people set a goal of $.50 per item. I wish I was that good. I don’t really have a goal cost in mind but, depending on the item, I try not to pay more than a couple of bucks.

Here are some things I’ve been able to pick up recently and the lessons I learned along with them.

Get to Know Your Local Thrift Stores:

There are two thrift stores in particular I peek in at from time to time here in South Tampa. Sunshine Thrift Store has colored tags on their clothing and everyday two colors are 50% off. Now the goal should be to only get those colors, but I say, if you really like something get it then because it may not be there when you come back. In the photo below, the pink jacket was 50% but $1-$2 for the other two items that I know she’ll wear (planning on the dress for Thanksgiving and I LOVE rompers for everyday) seemed reasonable and it was all in great condition. They also have everything 50% off days about once a month but I haven’t braved any of them yet.

Also, the closest Salvation Army location (I’m not sure if it’s region wide) has all clothing 50% off every Wednesday. I have left with a shopping bag full of items and only paid a few bucks. Lots of times I can get items for about $.50 including baby pants and dresses. I also pick up t-shirts to cut up for crafts.

Join Your Local Mom’s and Family Sites:

I found out about a free children’s clothing and gear swap happening about 30 minutes away through both What’s Doing? Tampa Bay (actually found this site from a Mom I met through a group on www.Meetup.com) and www.MomsLikeMe.com. You could take as many items as you brought. I am saving most of the items we have because we plan on at least trying for another child in the not too far off future. However, there were some items that I never even had the chance to put on Kelsey so I probably wouldn’t miss them for baby #2. I took those to swap for some clothes in future sizes and some other items. The stuff in the big plastic bag is a baby food making system – the best thing I left with.

Listen When Other Moms Talk:

Overhearing some other moms talk left me with a good tip on inexpensive toys and gear. I have driven by Lionhearted Toys countless times since it’s on a main drag just minutes from me but I never stopped to check it out. After hearing about the great inventory and prices, I’m so happy I stopped in to check it out.

It’s a used toys store so you never know for sure what is going to be there, but if I’m looking for something I’m going to be sure to start here first from now on. The prices were great.

We are on a Dr. Suess kick around here hence the book; Kelsey loves chewing on tags and she’s getting into “noisy” toys; I’m going to try some activities from playgroup with the hoop; and, I’ve been looking for a second Boppy cover (to go with the $6 Boppy and cover I got from Once Upon a Child – I love my Boppy).

Take Advantage of Freebies:

I joined www.Freecycle.com a while back and was able to get rid of our moving boxes when we moved to Florida which saved us the hassle of working with the local waste management (downside of living off base). Recently, I was able to get some baby items from someone. I took some items, let some friends take some of the items, and donated the rest. It also included a pack of diapers in Kelsey’s next size.

Combining those with all the diaper sample offers online, I have a whole box of size 4 diapers that I didn’t have to pay for. Some suggested sites for finding freebies: www.mojosavings.com and www.moneysavingmom.com.

While I am still in no way an expert, I’m happy to learn and to learn from others! What tips do you have?

 

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