favorite thing friday - taggie blanket

I've made a few quilts in my day, but with so many friends having babies I decided it was time to branch out and learn how to make some baby things!

I have to make a confession and say that this whole thing was started by my sweet friend Abby.  She asked me if I could help her make a blanket for a mutual friend who just had a baby and I jumped at the chance!  I don't have much sewing experience but was confident that between the two of us we could create something fabulous.  We did!

Check out the blanket we put together for baby Taylor!

{this photo won't flip for some reason, grrr....sorry}

It's flannel on one side and minky dot on the other.  Sooo soft and cozy! 

This was a big blanket {about 1 yd x 1 yd} - the next thing I wanted to try was making a small taggie blanket for my visit to this little cutie in Cleveland.

I love it!

Except...every time I make something I see lots of stuff I'd do differently next time.  So, of course, I had to make another one!  This most recent trial is for another girl in my small group who recently welcomed baby Eli.  This lovey is a bit smaller and I added Eli's initial to the back.

The little imperfections bug me to death, but that's why I need more practice.  There are fewer of those each time, so that's the good news!  Once again, there are things that I will do differently next time - fewer tags on this size blanket, for one. 

You all need to keep having babies so I can justify making more blankets! 

If anyone is interested I can do a detailed tutorial on how I made it step-by-step - it really is easy and only took me about 3 hours.

I always love getting personalized gifts and LOVE making things for my friends.  Hopefully they feel the same way.  ha!

In other news, Asher and I watched the {DVR'd} Royal Wedding this morning.  As much as I loved Kate's dress I have to say that I absolutely adored her sister's dress.  That could have been a wedding gown itself!  Can I also say how much I love her name too - Pippa!  Yay!  It just makes me smile. 

As you can see, Asher was very interested in watching the wedding of the century.

Happy weekend all!

favorite thing friday - christmas cards!

Can I just start out by saying that I love Christmas.  Like really, really love it!  I'm the person who starts playing Christmas music the day after Thanksgiving.  That's me with the Christmas tree up from December 5th until New Years.

Making 6 different kinds of cookies and 2 kinds of candy?  Yeah, that's me.

Watching It's a Wonderful Life while in labor with Asher last year?  Me again.

I love Christmas - and I'm not ashamed to admit it!

One of my favorite Christmas-y things?  Sending and receiving cards!  It all starts about this time of year.  I get going by searching for the perfect card to frame our family photo.  As much as we'd like to do better, the fact is that a lot of people on our card list only 'see' us this time of year.  That's a lot of pressure to look good and catch the eye of people who already have their mantle stuffed with cards!  Ha!

Last year I actually skipped sending a card {shock!} because Asher's arrival was imminent.  Instead of sending Christmas cards I waited and just sent everyone a birth announcement in mid-January.  Not very holiday spirited - now I have to make up for it!

For Christmas 2008 I ordered a card from Shutterfly.  It was a hit!  Check out Drew and I on our summer vacation to Maine.

I'm definitely going with Shutterfly for a photo card again this year.  They have so many new designs that I love.  The hard part will be picking one.

On one hand, I love a card that features one great photo, a la:

But...on the other hand, there has been so much going on this year that a card like this might be more fun!  I love the  idea of showing how Asher has grown from newborn to first birthday.

Any suggestions?  What are your favorite designs?

The other thing I'm in love with this year are these cool gift tags.  I always end up using the boring sticky kind, but these are so neat.  Who knows, maybe I'll treat myself this year and grab some!

Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly, go to http://bit.ly/sfly2010

favorite thing friday - cupcake toppers

Welcome Fall!

Yesterday I made beef stew in my crock pot for dinner, but was lamenting the fact that it was so warm here {a high of 78} that it just did not seem like stew weather.  It's the end of October!  The leaves are changing!  Where's that crisp air I love?!

Well, it's here now!  We had a 20 degree drop from yesterday to today - yikes.  That was dramatic {and appreciated!} I love fall.
 
This weekend we have big plans for family fun.  It's been such a busy fall that Drew and I haven't had much time for just the 3 of us to hang out.  I'm really looking forward to taking Asher to the pumpkin patch {finally!!} and maybe having a picnic or trip to the aquarium.  Not sure where the weekend will lead us - any suggestions for family fun with a 10 month old?

In the meantime, it's favorite thing friday! 

A few weeks ago the bible study for moms that I attend was throwing a baby 'sprinkle' for 3 moms in our group.  It's a sprinkle, rather than a shower, since these ladies are all expecting their second child.  I love that!

Anyway, I was in charge of snack for the week and wanted to do something 'baby' without going overboard with work and expense.  I've seen cupcake toppers on a few websites recently and thought they were so cute!  What a great way to add decoration!

With keeping the expense down being a primary goal I decided to try my hand and making some myself, rather than buying them.  I plan to make some for Asher's birthday as well, so all of the 'gear' I needed will get more use.

Someday I'll do a detailed post on how exactly I made these, but for now I'll just show off the final product!

Happy Baby - and Friday!

favorite thing friday

Favorite thing Friday is back!

For awhile I've been searching for a lovie that Asher could take with him when we travel.  He already has his lamb, but I thought a simple blanket would be nice too.  This way he'll have something soft to cuddle in the car or stroller, but lamby can stay in bed.

I cruise by Baby Half Off every day to see what deals they found and last week I saw exactly what I was looking for!  Have you been to Baby Half Off?  It's a great site that offers baby-related products for 50% or more off the retail price.  It's awesome! 

During one of my daily perusals I saw this adorable travel blanket from Z. Daisy being featured. 

 When it arrived I was so pleased with the quality.  It's made of super soft minky fabric - I take it away from Asher all the time so I can rub it against my cheek.  Sorry, buddy.  :o)  In the spirit of full disclosure I need to say that I definitely wouldn't pay full price for one of these beauties.  It is just too small for the $24 price tag.  Half off, however, was perfect!

So far Asher could take it or leave it, but we're looking at the big picture here - one of these days it will be falling apart and stink to high heaven because he won't leave it alone.

Can't wait.

Happy Friday - and check out Baby Half Off.  You'll find great stuff!

favorite thing...tuesday!

Thanks everyone for your encouragment!  I know that Asher is ready for the next step...no one is more surprised by my hesitation than me!  I forgot to mention this yesterday, but I was inspired by a. lee over at Monkey Love and gave Asher a spoon to play with.  He put it straight into his mouth, spoon-side in and everything!  I guess he's ready for some chow.

Just not the Subway breakfast. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Last Friday I got a little busy and didn't get a chance to post a Favorite Thing Friday, so here's it is now!  This product is hands-down our new favorite baby item.  A few weeks ago I was faced with driving Asher from New Jersey to my parent's house in North Carolina.  For those of you who aren't familiar with the route, that's a 10 hour drive.

If you don't make any stops or hit traffic.

Both of those things are impossible, so we were looking at an 11+ hour journey. 

Luckily for me, Asher is an amazing traveler and only got really fussy towards the last hour of our trip.  Once we got to NC I decided to try and find some new car toys to keep him entertained on the 5 hour trip back up to VA when our visit was over. 

My mom and I found this toy in Target and thought it looked like just the ticket.  Asher loves to grab and spin his toys on his bouncy seat, so this seemed like a natural thing to try.  The ends have velco attachments that hook onto the infant carseat carrier bar, so it's suspended right in front of his face.

He absolutely loves it!!

Every time we get in the car his eyes light up when I connect his "friends" to the bar.  He starts playing right away and doesn't stop until he falls asleep!

Best $10 ever spent.  Now I just need to figure out how to connect it to the stroller so he stays entertained while we're shopping!

favorite thing friday

The other week Asher receive this really unique gift from my old Sunday School teacher. It's a CD full of songs that all contain Asher's name!

We love it!

Asher doesn't really "get" his name yet, but I know he will at some point and will get a kick out of hearing that "Little Asher has a farm..."

The songs are all kids classics and Ash likes listening to the music. For now, he also seems to like it when I sing along and dance with him. Hopefully his love of music will continue long into his childhood {even after he realizes that Mom can't sing worth a darn}.

I've never seen anything like this CD before, but it's a fantastic gift for a little one. Thanks, Miss Becky!

favorite thing friday

I've never been a big fan of winter.

Snow can be fun for a day or 2 with the sledding and hot chocolate, but for the most part we're like roommates who tolerate each other out of necessity, but aren't friends in general. Even as a child I viewed snow days with a mixture of excitement {no school!} and resignation {great. now I'll be in class in June to make up this day}.

Winter means snow boots, heavy jackets, hats, gloves, and scarves just to leave the house. All of this bugs me.

But you know what comes after a long winter...spring!

And do you know what I associate with spring more than anything else? Easter!

I love Easter! It's is easily one of my favorite holidays.

I love the meaning behind it and the reminder of what Jesus did for all of us.
I love candy.
I love hyacinths and Easter lillies.
I love seeing tiny girls in Easter dresses, hats, little purses, and patent leather shoes. {that used to be me and my sisters!}

Easter means that spring is coming along with the promise of warmer weather and flowers.

What's not to love?

Given this gushing you can imagine how excited I was to recieve some special Easter gifts for Asher in the mail the other day!

My friend Teri at Babies and Mommies, who made Asher's baby keepsake, sent him an adorable Easter basket shaped like a duck! It's super soft and has these great feet that flop about. I tried to put Asher into it, but he's a little too big. We'll have to settle for filling it with goodies!

The next day Asher got an Easter package from my parents. I love that my Mom found a board book of the true Easter story. It is rhyming and has cute illustrations -- Asher already likes to look at the pictures and I know it won't be long before he's chewing on the pages.

He also got a super soft Peter Rabbit stuffed animal. I think the fact that they are almost the same size is a little intimadating, but I know Asher will come around soon. :o)

Spring officially arrives tomorrow and Easter is only a few weeks away -- what do you do to celebrate?

favorite thing friday - baby keepsake

If there's one thing I don't like about being a new Mom it's this unfortunate little side effect that comes with the territory known as "Mom Brain."

Anyone else have it?

For those of you who aren't so afflicted, "Mom Brain" is the unexpected, but complete, absence of a memory. It affects everything from the completely insignificant {like a grocery list} to the vital {like putting diapers in the diaper bag}.

It reared its ugly head in predictable fashion just the other week when I took Asher to his 2 month doctor's appointment. When we arrived the insurance company hadn't added Asher to our policy yet {of course}, so I had to give the receptionist Drew's social security number to access our account and find Asher's info.

My mind was BLANK. I know Drew's SS# -- I really do! But it was like a snow storm in there, all white and fuzzy.

Then I tried to pay the co-pay with an expired credit card because I forgot to put the new one the company sent me in my wallet.

I'M LOSING MY MIND.

It's bad enough forgetting this day-to-day stuff, but what I'm really afraid of is losing track of the important things in my life. Like...my son's birth statistics. If I can't remember clean socks every day then what are my chances of recalling that Asher was 7lbs 5 oz and 19" long at birth?

That's a small part of the reason that I decided to get Asher a birth keepsake from Babies&Mommies. You might remember when I blogged about these before. I had keepsakes made for my twin nephews and they came out so beautifully!

I always knew that I'd want one for my child whenever he was born. I finally got around to working with Teri in designing the perfect keepsake for Asher. It's gorgeous!

I love the whole look of the keepsake and am thrilled to have all his birth info and adorable newborn photos right on the wall where I can see them everyday.

If you have a baby in your life, check out the Babies&Mommies website -- they have tons of great products and gifts for little ones.

And if you have Mom Brain, don't worry -- the button and link are always on the right hand column of this blog. Impossible to forget.

slinging a baby

Asher's got a new ride.

After reading several positive reviews on blogs like Beverly's and Erin's I decided to take the plunge and buy a sling from Kangaroo Korner.

So far we love it!

Asher loves to be held and often refuses to sleep in his crib during the day {we're working on it}. While I love cuddling with my love bug Mommy still needs to get some things done. This sling seemed like a great solution!

I also have a Beco baby carrier, which is fabulous, but it has lots of straps and clips, so for a quick pop in and pop out to make dinner it can seem like overkill. The sling is pretty easy to use and is adjustable, so as Asher grows we'll still be able to use it.

Initially, I was a little skeptical of the fleece material that it's made out of, but it turns out that's my favorite feature! The fleece is so soft and stretchy -- Asher seems really comfortable. Since we're using it inside he doesn't get too warm at all.

This kind of turned into a Favorite Thing Friday post. Oh well, happy Friday on Tuesday!

favorite thing friday and updates

First, some updates from yesterday...

Asher's 2 month doctor appointment went really well! He's the "picture of health" according to his pediatrician. That's always great to hear!

Asher now weighs 11 pounds and is 21.5 inches long. According to the growth charts he's smack dab in the 50th percentile. Perfect!

My brave little guy also got a couple vaccines -- 1 oral {which he gulped right down...I swear, this boy will eat anything you put in his mouth!} and 3 injections. He definitely felt betrayed when the nurse gave him the shots. I felt so bad! Ash cried for a few minutes, but as soon as I picked him up he stopped. He clearly only blames the nurse. Fine by me.

Once we got home he slept for a few hours, but when he woke up he was very upset. His poor little leg was all swollen and red. I gave him some Tylenol, but he still cried for several hours last night. WAY above his average. I think the trauma of it all wore him out though because he slept for 9 hours straight last night!

If I have 1 piece of advice for Moms who still have to face this appointment it's this...see if you can bring a small, soft fabric Band-Aid with you. They put these giant plastic Band-Aids on Asher's legs and ripping them off later that night was BY FAR the worst part of the whole experience.

------------------------------

Another update:

Yesterday I mentioned all the terrific unexpected Mommy skills that I'm gaining. Well, I have another one to add already!

This morning Asher and I threw caution to the wind and decided to live on the edge. After that 9 hour nursing hiatus overnight, I desperately needed to dump some milk. Asher was doing his part on the right side, but that still left 1 very full baby-feeder. Rather than waiting until he was done I simply hooked the pump up to the left side while Asher was nursing on the right.

You heard me right -- I nursed and pumped at the same time!

If you stop by later and we're not home it's probably because we joined the circus. You can reach us there.

----------------------------

Ok, onto the good stuff!

Do you all remember those Dial soap commercials that encouraged us to "Wash the day away"? I love that concept. I love clean stuff. I love the idea of starting fresh and clean.

That goes for my body and for my house. One way I've been able to get squeaky clean feeling on my floors is with the

Shark Steam Pocket Mop

I received this as a Christmas gift and absolutely love it!

I always used to mop my floors with a cleaning solution, but now that Asher is here I really wanted a way to sanitize without using chemicals. This mop only uses steam -- which sterilizes and removes dirt without any cleansers!

There were a few concerns I had before I received this mop and I'm happy to say that it exceeded my expectations. It doesn't leave the floors soaking wet, so I don't need to dry them by hand {especially the hardwood}. It also holds enough water and has a long cord, so I'm not constantly re-filling or changing outlets.

I highly recommend it if you're in the market for a steam mop. I feel great knowing that once Asher starts crawling around the floors will be clean and not depositing chemical residue on his little hands!

favorite thing friday - newborn photos

How is it Friday again already?

I swear these weeks go by faster than any week ever did when I was working outside the house.

Of course, it wouldn't be Friday without a baby product that I love!

This week I have to sing the praises of my newborn photographer, Amber Campbell!

Long before Asher was born I knew that I wanted some adorable newborn photos taken of him. I started my research for a photographer in Cleveland and found Amber's website. After looking around her site and emailing a few times I knew she was perfect for what I wanted.

Asher was photographed when he was 8 days old. He spent the first half completely asleep and the second half wide awake. It's a good thing we didn't fool around at the beginning because there was no way he was going back to sleep after those first 30 minutes or so. If you ask me it worked out really well -- Amber was able to capture both adorable sleepy and awake baby shots!

The thing I loved best about working with Amber is that she sells the digital images, so I am able to print as many of each shot as I like. I can also post the photos here and use them in a birth announcement. In fact, I finally got the announcement ordered yesterday, so if you're a friend in real life you can look forward to seeing some of these photos in your mailbox soon!

Enough talk -- check out my beautiful baby boy :o)

favorite thing friday

If there's one thing I knew I would be doing frequently as a new Mom it's changing diapers. Newborns often go through 8-12 diapers a day and I'm changing almost all of them!

Since Asher was born in December I thought that having a wipes warmer would be a great idea. I can't imagine having cold wipes on my warm bottom in the middle of the night -- why would an infant enjoy that?

I got a lot of slack from people about this purchase. Everyone seemed to think it was over the top and not something we would use very much.

They were totally wrong. I love it and can't imagine not having one!

The warmer is easy to use, keeps the wipes warm and moist, and doesn't make them turn brown. We have the Prince Lionheart Wipes Warmer -- it has a small nightlight on the front and is great for night changes.

Some might say that Asher is spoiled for having his wipes pre-warmed, but if it leads to a happy baby then I'm all for it!!

favorite thing friday

Favorite Thing Friday is back!

Of course, this will be the mommy remix version, but what else did you expect these days? :o)

We have so many baby products around the house -- some have been clear winners so far, others not so much.

Let's start with my all-time favorite piece of baby gear {so far}.

The Summer Day/Night video baby monitor!



This monitor is so fantastic! I really, really love it.

I am an extremely light sleeper and knew that having the baby in my bedroom would never work. All of those cute little baby noises would have me up all night and I need to sleep whenever I can!

Because of that Drew and I put Asher in his crib at night from Day 1.

Of course, I still need to be aware of when he wakes up. Enter the video monitor.

This little gem has a sound option that can be completely turned off. The sound registers on a light panel {green = good, red = crying}. Believe it or not, those lights flashing are enough to wake me up {repeat: I'm a light sleeper}.

Once I see that he's making enough noise to turn on the lights I can just hit the video button and literally SEE what he's up to. More often than not his snoring is enough to make the lights flash. I see that he's not awake and can go back to sleep myself without getting out of bed.

This thing is awesome and I can't imagine living without it.

It's more expensive than a "sound-only" model, but completely worth it in my opinion!

favorite thing friday

If there's one thing that disappointed me the most about moving west of Harrisburg, it was losing Turkey Hill ice cream.

They have the best Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup flavor that I've ever had.

Normally I'm not a big ice cream fan. I like it as an occasional treat, but typically prefer getting a cone at the shop, rather than constantly having 1/2 gallons in the freezer.

Not the case with this little tub of delicousness.

I'm lactose intolerant and require Lactaid pills before I can drink milk or eat anything dairy, so the fact that I'm willing to actually take the pills in order to have a snack speaks volumes.

One of the best days of my life (preceded slightly by finding out I was pregnant and seeing the bean on the ultrasound) was when I found this ice cream at our local grocery store.

It's here all the time!!

But I still only buy it on sale because too much of a good thing could definitely go bad.

At least for my hips.

favorite thing friday

Fall is hands-down one of my favorite times of year.

Mostly because I love all things PUMPKIN!

One of my favorite (new) pumpkin finds is a direct result of 2 things:

1) being pregnant

2) the state of the economy

Each fall I look forward to Starbucks re-introducing their Pumpkin Spice Latte.

It's the perfect pick-me-up on a chilly fall day!

However, since I'm pregnant I have been trying to cool it with the caffeine a little.

I know that Starbucks will make me a decaf one, so that brings us to point #2.

A PS latte runs about $3, which for a special treat isn't bad....but when you want one daily it really adds up fast.

That's why I was so glad when I found the next best thing...

Coffee-mate Pumpkin Spice creamer

Using a shot of this dairy deliciousness gives me the same flavor as the pumpkin spice latte, but for waay less moolah. The whole bottle costs $2.09.

My other favorite pumpkin treat is a Cleveland special.

There is this awesome ice cream shop in town called the Honey Hut that makes all of their own products. They have special flavors each month and in October/November comes the best of the best.

Pumpkin and Pumpkin Pecan!

Drew can't get enough of this stuff either, so it's really easy for me to convince him to stop on his way home for "just 1 more quart."

Hey, it's only available 2 months a year -- can you blame us?

Happy Fall!

favorite thing friday

Since I got pregnant my dietary needs have really changed.

It turns out that maintaining an adult body (me, pre-pregnancy) requires a very different diet than growing a new person from scratch (baby bean).

He needs a lot more protein to build, well, everything, than I tend to take in.

I've never been a big meat-eater, so being told to increase my protein load was a little intimidating. I bumped up both meat and beans, but still wasn't convinced that I was getting enough protein.

Then I found these little beauties...

Special K Protein Shakes!

Now, before I start getting concerned comments and emails, please realize that these are NOT diet shakes. I know that drinking diet shakes (or dieting in general) while pregnant is a terrible idea.

These are designed to be a snack, so at 180 calories each, I don't feel like I'm packing on the mama bear fat for hibernation either.

Just get them super cold and it's delicous! Not exactly like a milkshake, but they are really creamy and satisfying.

And with 10g of protein to boot!

favorite thing friday

I've noticed that all my pregnancy cravings so far have been for foods that I already liked, but now want to eat lots more of!

One craving I noticed most specifically is a treat that I've had (and enjoyed) in the past, but certainly didn't have very often.

Now I can't get enough.

I'd eat one every day if they were sold in bigger boxes. Or at Costco. As it is, I buy the 4 packs to control myself and only have 1 every other day...or so.

Can you guess what it is??

Let me give a few clues...

This treat is wonderful for summer because it's frozen.

It's a classic at state fairs and carnivals.

And the beach. Especially where the Bluth's live.

Poor George Michael.

This yummy treat is especially good for pregnant girls because the bulk of it is a healthy item...

with a delicious coating to make it decadent.

Did you guess yet?

It's frozen chocolate covered bananas!

My current favorites come from Trader Joe's and are called Gone Bananas. Which I frequently do.

I love them!