Baby Buddies

They may only be 9 and 10 months old respectively, but Brian and Kate may be the new buddies of the neighborhood.  Kayleigh and Jack seem to be the originals, but these two will probably be playing a lot together as they get older.

LOVE this one

The "thinking about crawling" move

Brian: "Mom, what is the chick doing?"

Baby Basics

I have been wanting to do a post like this for a while and since Kate will be 10 months (what?!?!) next week and I know like 10 people who are having more kids, I thought why not.  Also, since I have made it through the second baby stage of motherhood and I kind of have an idea of what is needed and what is not.  A lot of things are based on preference of the baby and/or the mom.  Diapers, formula, bottles, pacifiers, wipes, car seats, strollers, pack n plays, etc.  But other things, I believe, really make your life easier.  Some I learned on my own and some I learned from Kimberly.  As a mom of triplets, she learned what needed and didn't need and what makes like easier.  So here we go...

Bumbo Seat and Tray - You can start using this as soon as they can hold their head up good and it is perfect for eating, playing, corralling, etc.

        

Cloth Diapers - I am a disposable diaper gal all the way.  The only reason I use these is for burp cloths.  Very absorbent and can be bleached for those yellow milk stains.

3 Toys - A baby doesn't need a ton of toys.  They play with like 3 and then they don't care.  They are mostly sleeping and eating right?  Trust me, when they turn 3, they they will want everything.

Snug and Tug Blanket - Most babies like to be swaddled.  Both my kids did and it seems to calm them down. However, not all babies will.  The best one I found was this one:

www.gomamagodesigns.com

Bottle Brush - Cleans bottles really well and works better than the dishwasher because face it, YOU are now the dishwasher.

Mattress Pads - Really doesn't matter brand, but get about 3.  You can bleach them, easy to change and they will protect the mattress.

White Crib Sheets - That new bedding is so cute, isn't it!?  Well, when that first blow-out happens and there is poop on the sheet, it won't be so cute.  Again, you can bleach them and they go with anything.  I love the Carter's brand because they are really soft, but am only able to find them at Burlington Coat Factory.  Any brand is good, though.

Small Portable Swing - This can work as a bouncer, you can travel with it and it swings.  Good deal all around and goes up to like 25 lbs.  I would have bought this and saved money and not got the bouncer.  I liked the Fisher-Price Take Along Swing:

Playtex Cooler Bag - This keeps bottles cold for nursing and when the kids get older keeps juice and snacks cold.  Stick it in the freezer and it is all ready to go!

Fisher Price Healthy Care Booster - This seat is easy to clean and gets a lot of use into toddlerhood.  Adjustable heights and tummy space.  

Wipeable Bibs - Summer Infant Bibbity makes the best bibs.  You can rinse them and reuse.  They don't stain and are great especially when they start eating solids.  Love them and I have many.  I got them at Diapers.com, but Wal-Mart online sells them in blue.

Thick Cotton Bibs - These are great when you are just bottle or breastfeeding.  They absorb and lot and most of them have cute sayings like, "Mommy's Girl", "Daddy's All-Star".  Gerber makes good one.  They can be bleached too.

Gerber Thermal Blankets - Any waffle knit type blanket is great.  They are stretchable, soft and wrap small babies really well.  

On a final note, there was no perfect thing or magical thing for me.  Everything just worked for me and my kids.  You have to find what works best for you and try it.  The baby stuff market is huge and I feel like I wasted a lot of money on things I could have lived without.  I even did that with the second.  Hopefully with the third, I will have a better idea of what is needed.  Sometimes, though something is just too cute and you should get it.  They are only babies once!

Disclaimer:  I was not compensated by any of these companies, though I should be!

Back from the Beach

Saturday, we left for the beach.  All 11 of us - 5 kids and 6 adults.  We were almost outnumbered, but managed.  4 two-year olds can get tricky, but activities, movies, sleep and food kept the complete insanity at bay.  We headed to a beach a few hours away on the gulf.  Thankfully, the oil had not come there yet and the weather was amazing!  Last year was Hilton Head and we ended up buying sweatshirts in May and never got to the beach.  This year was much better.  We were there 4 full days and that was plenty.  Jack wasn't a big fan of the beach and mostly stayed near the edge of the water and played in the sand.  Claire was similar, but did get in the water more.  Paige would go in the water and play without crying and Blake loved the water.  He would have stayed in the whole time.  Kate loved the water too.  She played and played and then would nap on the beach.  She really had the best deal of all of us.

We pretty much kept the same schedule for the days.  Wake up, breakfast, beach until about noon, lunch, naptime for the kids, beach for the big girls, downtime before dinner, dinner, kids to bed and then bed for us.  We usually went to bed by about 10:30, but we had the kids running us around.  We threw in a few sunsets, one night dinner out, some funny CatchPhrase and general relaxation.  It was a great trip and we would love to go back again.

In another post, you saw the blue crab shorts and red shirts for the boys.  On Thursday, I found the same pattern, but in white and wanted to make dresses for the girls.  I was pushing it, but whipped out the 3 dresses for the girls and I am so glad I did.  The 5 of them in their cute outfits capped off a great trip.  Thanks mom, dad, Brent, Kimberly and my favorite nieces and nephew for a wonderful trip.

Start of Summer Sewing

Summer sewing has begun!  Well, I finally finished up some projects and worked on some new ones.  The first project I completed just in time (the day of the event) was Kayleigh's Dora dress.  I am getting better at the pillowcase style, but I still like to tweak them every new dress I make.  She even has a matching handbag...

The other projects I completed were the dresses for Claire and Paige called The Handmade Dress.  They were a little bit too long, but they will grow into them.  Paige loved hers so much, she didn't want to take it off and was skipping around the house - that girl cracks me up!  I also made shorts for Blake and Jack.  I got a pattern, Creations by Michie', and it is an awesome pattern.  It only uses to pieces of fabric and elastic for the waist.  Oh, and I made some shorts for the girls too...

Finally, I wanted to do something with this awesome lobster fabric.  I thought it was more for a boy, but then I looked at The Smock Shoppe blog and today they had shorts for girls using a fishing lure pattern.  So apparently, some more masculine patterns, can be girly too.  Again, another pillowcase dress, but I haven't actually made one for Kate she can wear.  I keep making them for other people.

My last project, which is not completed, is for Kate and I am going to smock another dress.  It is a bishop dress and I am going to get the dress pleated tomorrow.  I cannot wait to get started on it.

Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend was nice and relaxing.  Nothing too crazy.  We had a date night Saturday night, Sunday was church and Kayleigh's birthday (Jack's best friend) and Monday was Memorial Day.  We didn't have too many plans, but since today is my dad's 50th birthday, we decided to grill some chicken and ribs!  We have NEVER made them before so we googled it. Of course, that is how you figure out how to do anything these days.  A few hours and lessons learned later, we have some tasty, tender ribs.  My dad loves ribs, so it was nice to do that for him and have some BBQ.  I feel so grateful for the opportunity to have days like those and none of that would be possible without the freedoms we have in this country.  Thank you veterans!

Slides and Snow Cones

Summer is in full swing here.  Mornings and noontimes are filled with sunshine and afternoons filled with thunderstorms, just in time for naps!  Craig and I have been doing some outdoor activities with Jack.  We usually do this when Kate is asleep as she can't do too much outside.  Today, we got out the slip and slide.  The first time I went down it, I immediately went back to when I was about 8.  I wanted to add soap, but reminded myself we have a 2 year old and a trip to the ER would not be fun.  However, Craig, Jack and I got some serious sliding on and it was great fun.  We had to assist Jack down the slide as he is experienced enough yet.  Unfortunately, our sliding was too much for it and we tore open the end part with the water.  A trip to Toys R Us tonight cured that and we shall reconvene the slipping and sliding soon. Here are some pictures from today....

In other news, I was inspired by a friend of a friend's blog to buy a snow cone machine.  I told Craig and he said, "Are we made of money?".  I said, you can't put a price tag on fun and cold deliciousness.  Anyway, for the semi-low price of $18.88 plus tax you can purchase this at your local Wal-Mart...

(Side note, the other side is in English, so I did figure out how to use it).  Look at the faces on the box - aren't they in heaven???  I didn't want to spend more money on syrup, so I made my own using Kool-Aid.  All you need are the following ingrediants...

Bring 2 cups (yes, 2) of sugar and 3/4 cups water to boil.  Boil for 1 minute.  Add Kool-Aid packet and mix in.  Pour into any container.  They say to refrigerate, but it got too thick, so I have left them out.  You only need a little syrup as it is thick.  We made Berry Blue, Strawberry and Grape.  The Berry Blue was really good.  I am hoping to find more flavors.  Good summer fun!

End of May Notes

I do plan on EVENTUALLY sewing again. I have several projects I am dreaming of making, but between travel, season finales and general kid and house care, it tends to get lost in the shuffle.


Jack is on Day 2 of no pacifier.  I really did feel terrible for him.  It was like he lost a friend.  He is surviving...barely.  We mailed them to "babies in the world" who need them.  So, either he thinks all babies love and have them or he really hates the postman.  He is doing okay; time heals all paci wounds.


Kate is becoming crazy.  I love that little girl.  She chuckles and giggles and most recently has started spitting her food, but it is all wonderful.  The munchkin will be 9 months on Friday.  My, has time flown.

LOST, one of our favorite shows has come to an end.  You can only draw out a plane crash for so long and 6 years seemed to be the max.  We were fascinated by the characters, the story and the nuances that I associated with biblical prospectives.  I like watching shows like that and seeing what I can compare to my own life and Christian life, even if it is secular.  Unfortunately, I still have some questions, but feel closure.  Vincent, the yellow lab on the show, stole my heart and was in the final scene.  I would like to think in an "alternate reality" he is running through the jungle eating Dharma food and digging up dead bodies of all the bad guys and chewing on their bones (if you haven't watched the show, the above means nothing to you).  LOST, we will miss you.  


Finally, God has been talking to me a lot lately about purpose.  I know what my physical purpose on Earth of wife and mom is, but what my purpose for Him is during this time in my life.  I am needing to refocus a few things and use that to glorify Him....deep breath.....baby steps.