Special Birthdays & Sleeping Beauty

Today is the birthday of my sweet and dear friend Amber!!

H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y

I made this apron for her a while back with the left over fabric from my sling. With the economy like it is I've decided to make all birthday presents this year... hope that is okay with all my sweet friends!

Amber, I hope you have a wonderful day!!

Your apron should arrive next week sometime!

I'm sorry your's was the guinea pig for many more. I didn't have a pattern to go by so I sort-of just made this one up. Hope you like it!!

This was taken yesterday afternoon. Babies love loud noises like your blow-dryer and vacuum cleaner. It calms them when they are fussy.

I found this cd on itunes and it lulls her right to sleep! She's precious!!

Good Morning!

....and our morning begins....

She is the sweetest thing! She wakes up around 6:30 or 7 and Casey puts her in the bed with me. We have a little quiet time and she normally takes a little nap (sometimes I do too). Then we get up around 8:30 and begin our day.

****BTW****

Yesterday was a great day... she felt verry good and was back to her usual self!

Monkey Man!

Anna is finding those fingers! She loves her little "monkey man" that Zanny gave her!! He rattles and the bright colors are very fun to look at!

Yesterday we had a somewhat strange day. Anna was very upset for most of the evening and late night. Then she woke up this morning pretty upset. She normally gets a little fussy in the late afternoon/early evening, but yesterday it seemed she was even more upset than normal.

(although you would never believe me from our adorable "little-bit" in the photo)

I'm not sure why yesterday was so bizarre... it may just be her "fussy-time". I think maybe she was just so exhausted (from not sleeping very much in the day) that she was unhappy.

Today seems to be heading down the path of a "normal" day ... (once I let her pile in my bed). She loves my pillows and once I propped her up on one and pulled the covers over her she was just the happiest little girl ever. I read the rest of my devotional to her and when I was finished she fell fast asleep! I wish I had taken some pictures of her all piled up in the bed... maybe next time!

(there will surely be more mornings like today... our bed is her favorite place in the house I think)

We'll see how this afternoon goes!

plug-in fires!!

I have just finished unplugging ALL of my plug-in air fresheners because of this email:

ps. look how burnt up and nasty they look.. uggh!!

The original message was written by a lady whose brother and wife learned a hard lesson this past week.Their house burnt down.. nothing left but ashes. They have good insurance so the house will be replaced and most of the contents. That is the good news.

However, they were sick when they found out the cause of the fire. The insurance investigator sifted through the ashes for several hours. He had the cause of the fire traced to the master bathroom. He asked her sist er-in-law what she had plugged in the bathroom. She listed the normal things....curling iron, blow dryer. He kept saying to her, 'No, this would be something that would disintegrate at high temperatures'. Then her sister-in-law remembered she had a Glade Plug-In, in the bathroom.

The investigator had one of those 'Aha' moments. He said that was the cause of the fire. He said he has seen more house fires started with the plug-in type room fresheners than anything else. He said the plastic they are made from is THIN. He also said that in every case t here was nothing left to prove that it even existed. When the investigator looked in the wall plug, the two prongs left from the plug-in were still in there.

Her sister-in-law had one of the plug-ins that had a small night light built in it. She said she had noticed that the light would dim and then finally go out. She would walk in to the bathroom a few hours later, and the light would be back on again. The investigator said that the unit was getting too hot, and would dim and go out rather than just blow the light bulb. Once it cooled down it would come back on.

That is a warning sign.

The investigator said he personally wouldn't have any type of plug in fragrance device anywhere in his house. He has seen too many places that have been burned down due to them.

Just thought this was worth posting a blog about since some people may be a lot like me and not readlly read fwds most of the time!!

We actually have the ones with the lights built in- they do and WERE dimming in and out... freaky!! I'm throwing them all away now that they've had their photo-op!!

bathtime!

Totally Aware!

We have had a great weekend! Anna is becoming totally aware of her surroundings! She truly is a very relaxed and happy child! She is loving her little bouncy chair. Her favorite part is the little elephant.. she will sit there and swat at it for the longest time!

Yesterday we took her to Toys R Us and got a mobile. We thought it was time for one. I think she is going to love it!

She's a happy little girl!!

diapers, formula and pacifiers

This has been the week of change! Our little precious is growing! She is now in the next size up in diapers!! The doctor changed her formula... so far it has seemed to help her a bit. She seems to feel better and is sleeping much better at night! I also ordered her some new pacifiers. She refuses to take anything other than a soothie. The soothie is so big and doesn't really fit her face so my cousin told me about these ... gumdrop pacifiers. They are made by the same people that makes soothies but they fit her face much better! So far she loves them. If you have a little one I would check into it.

More pictures soon!

Little Red Riding Hood

Isn't this just the cutest little thing ever!

Today we went to the doctor!! Anna is doing GREAT! Very healthy at a whopping 9lbs 9oz!!
The doctor couldn't believe that she would go 4-5 hours between feedings... but after gaining two pounds she sent her home with an excellent bill of health.
Anna has still been having some issues with little tummy aches from gas so the doctor suggested another formula change. This time it's to a lactose free formula. She said that we should notice a difference pretty much immediately if Anna had a mild milk allergy. If it's not a lactose problem then it will more than likely pan itself out in a month or two. Overall Anna is a very happy and peaceful baby!!

Look Alike!!

Before I show you some of Casey's baby pictures here are a few photos from the 16th... Anna's one month birthday:











Last night Casey's parents and grandfather came to visit Anna. Casey's mom had some old photos of Casey when he was a baby... I scanned some into the computer so you could see if you think Anna looks like her daddy??







We all agreed that Anna has Casey's eyes and my mouth (I'll have to get some of my old baby photos next time I go home)... but this next photo looks a lot like her I think:
Who is it??....



Her PAW!!!
We'll have to get some of my old baby photos soon! If you scroll down to the end of the blog page there is a look-alike-meter... Seems Anna really looks 9% more like her mommy!!!

"Little Precious" and her Say-Say

Anna is One Month today!! Hard to believe it has already been a solid month! We are having a little "dinner-party" tonight. Basically I'm going to get back in the kitchen a cook a good meal for us and I'll probably put Anna in a cute outfit and take some "one-month" photos!!

We are having fun with Aunt Say-Say here for a visit!! We've watched lots of movies and had good food! Anna has been a very happy camper the whole time... This morning Sarah fed her at 6:00 and she went right back down and we all went back to bed until 10!! It was great to sleep so much!

By The Way:
This is what I made from the scraps of my sling: quilted coasters! I think they are cute!!



I'm giving this bunch to Sarah for coming and helping me with Anna.. but I'm thinking maybe some future birthday presents. I got the idea here ... it's Martha Stewart's Craft of the Day.. some crafts look fun some don't.. but it's a fun site nonetheless!

Well, hopefully I'll be able to post the "one-month" photos soon!!

Daddy's Little Girl

This was going to be my post for yesterday but I just couldn't find the time... you know how it is!!



Daddy's and Late Night Feedings!

When I got up to get Anna this is how she was dressed!



Casey had gotten up with her in the middle of the night and had to change her clothes (for the first time by himself). Notice they are on backwards!! I had to take a picture. I think all men would agree that if an outfit has buttons it should button up the front. I asked him if he saw the tag and he said "yeah, I was wondering what was up with that!"
I love it.. I just consider myself so fortunate that I'm married to a man that will get up in the middle of the night, change a dirty diaper, feed a crying baby, change her into clean clothes and rock her back to sleep!!! He's great! Pretty soon he'll be learning all about bows and braids!!

Aunt Say-Say's Coming to Town




Anna was super excited when I told her Aunt Say-Say would be here tonight. It looks as though she gasped with excitement!! I'm pretty sure she wanted to wear this:


but it is just a little too big!!

I did get to sew some yesterday!!



I'm just about finished with the sling. All I have to do now is sew the rings on (once they come in). I think it is pretty cute.. it's far from perfect but I'm excited about how it is turning out!



Can you guess what I'm making with the scraps??



Hopefully I'll be able to show you later tonight or tomorrow!!

Sew Crazy Here!

I've been sewing today... and trying to just have a some-what "normal" day!! It is back to the real-world for me!! Casey went back to work today and with no Zanny, Mimi or Aunt Say-Say here to help with Anna ... I was on my own. It was fun. Anna was a little fussy and awake a lot but she was mostly very good.
During her seldom and short naps today I was able to get a few things taken care of. I spent my day doing some laundry, doing the dishes, finishing up thank-you notes (finally), AND sewing! I got started on my sling today... hopefully I'll have it pretty much ready to go by tomorrow. I'll have to order the rings so the finished project won't be ready for a while.. but I'm excited with how it is turning out!!
Hopefully I'll have some photos tomorrow!!

what fun!!

I am having the time of my life with this sweet little baby! Casey and I both are... she's great!!
(p.s.- Mags, I love my sweater you gave me too!!)

I've also been able to find some time to be creative. Here a few projects keeping me busy!!

This cute stationary and these cute address labels which I learned how to make here!
Zanny loved the labels so much I made her some as a thank-you for coming and helping with Anna... (even though I know she loved being here just as much as we loved having her!!)



This week I'm going to attempt to make a baby sling!! This is the cute fabric I chose for the job. I've just learned how to sew recently when I did the nursery. I'm actually kind of getting into it too. I've recently purchased a "sewing for dummies" book and I'm excited to try new projects! It may be hard but I think this will be a good project and fun too.

I got the idea here and with this tutorial I think I can do it. Hopefully we will know in a day or two!! I'm excited to try it!



Casey and I had "date-night" last night since mom was here to help with Anna! We did some shopping and went out to eat. It was a nice, well-needed little break! Before we left we attempted to get some "family photos". I realized the other day that I don't think we have one single photo of the three of us. Anna wasn't too excited about the pictures (as you can probably tell)... we'll have to try again later!



Well, I'll let you know how the sling goes!! I've got some little "house-projects" to get to now!

for fellow bloggers!

Many people have asked me how I'm able to blog and get so much done with a newborn baby in the house.. well... I have a really good newborn! She is pretty much happy as long as she is dry and fed... and in times of a fussy fit she can typically be calmed with music and a good rock in the rocking chair!! She's great!!
And because she has been so good I've been able to find time to get things done!! Besides cleaning house, doing laundry, dishes and such I've also found time to figure a few things out on my blog page.
For those of you who might be like me and not know much with this sort of thing I've decided to attempt to tell you how to do some things.. It took me FOREVER to figure some things out... Hopefully it won't be clear as mud!

The first thing I wanted to do was make my photos larger. I googled "making photos bigger with blogger" it took me here. Her page is very helpful!! For your pictures to be larger you have to change your margins.. I'd check out her tutorial to see how to do it since I doubt I'll be as clear. I was already using the minima template so it worked for me... but if you are not you may have to play around with the "wrappers" to figure out what margin size works for your blog.

Once you go through her step-by-step instructions for making your blog margins larger. Then it's time for enlarging the photos. Unfortunately she isn't as in-depth about this...
First- you will have to upload your photos to an outside host.. I'm using flickr so I'll tell you how to do it using flickr... but there are tons of other places you can use!
If you use flickr-
Once you upload the photo you want to use if you click on the photo you can do all sorts of things with it. One thing is "resize" - here you can make it whatever size you want (but remember to keep it within the margin widths you chose earlier)
To put the photo in you blog you have to copy and past the photo's html code into your blog. To do this go here and she gives a very helpful tutorial on how to do this!!

I hope if you are wanting to make your photos larger this helps.... leave me a comment if you have any questions and I'll try my best to answer them but really I just googled what I wanted to do and there seems to be an endless amount of information!

Have a great day!!

anna's first movie night!

Zanny is here and tonight we are having a "girl-party"... fully equipped with homemade pizza, movies (made of honor and the bucket list), popcorn, candy and stuff for chocolate milkshakes! Of course Anna probably won't have too much participation in "movie night" but it will be fun none-the-less!! I have not seen either movie but have heard they are both very good.

Anna and Zanny are having a GREAT time getting to be together!!



She is a very happy, laid-back baby with very few complaints!!



Today has been good.. the above picture pretty much explains it... she's been super calm and content today so Zanny and I have been able to get a few things done. Hopefully it will continue throughout our dinner and a movie!

mommy and baby!

Today it has been just me and Anna. Casey went hunting and Mimi and Amberly had to head back to Starkville.
We have had a pretty good day... I'm still in pajama pants and a t-shirt (a clean one with no spit-up on it- so that is good I think)
She's been a bit more fussy today than usual but we are good. Zanny is coming tonight for a few days!!! Anna was real fussy earlier and nothing was calming her... she loves music so I thought I'll just turn my itunes on to Claire Holley (check out the link). I listened to her all the time while I was pregnant. She is one of my all-time favorites!! Anna loved it and now is sleeping peacefully!! It may not be anything... except for the fact that she appreciates good music but I thought it was neat.. and NICE!!



It may not last too long but that is okay.I have my itunes ready to go =) and we took a long nap earlier this afternoon so we (meaning me) are refreshed and prepared for a long night... with Zanny here to help of course!!

By the way: my cd went off and Anna woke up crying... I got her and brought her to the computer put it back on Claire and now she is happy again... it definitely does not have the same effect when I try singing..haha! Well, whatever it is the cd is going on repeat!!!

FIRST BATH!

Anna finally had her first bath. She enjoyed it much more than the sponge baths we were giving her! Thankfully Mimi was here and able to take some pictures...













Amberly and Mimi came to help out with "baby anna" for a couple of days... THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! Amberly was super sweet and loved Anna... most of the time. She did say the other day that she was "getting a little tired of baby anna fuss'n a lot" it was really cute. We had a good time. Here are some photos: