Wednesday, August 22, 2012

{Can't Help It...}

I'm so smitten with this babe, and my time off of work is coming to a quick end so I want to capture all of these sweet pictures before I can't be with him all day every day {sad face}!!

On that note, if you care, here are some pictures from the past couple of weeks of my sweet boy! Ugh I love him so so much!


The view during nap time. 



Nap time with dad 




 Nap time is such a sweet, innocent time. I always want to remember these moments.


 BIG YAWN!










We just recently got a mobile due to a suggestion from my Mother in Law.  Wow! Can't believe I didn't get one sooner! I didn't even register for one....Anyway, we got a cute cute CUTE one from Pottery Barn Baby and it goes so perfectly with his room, I just love it & he seems to as well.  Of course, I'm a crazy camera mom so I took some.  







 & this picture I just love! It really gives you an idea of the feel of his nursery.  So peaceful & calming, and isn't that what you really want in a little babe's nursery after all?



Also for my hubby's birthday on the 8th, I made him this awesome beer "cake".  Needless to say, it was a hit.  I added Nutella on the top as a treat! My husband will not buy it because he becomes addicted to it, so I bought it for him :) It was sitting on the kitchen table when he got home from work, he was surprised and the beer was ice cold and ready to drink, which we did....





Thursday, August 16, 2012

{DIY Onesies}

I got around to making these CUTE onesies the other day from an idea on Pinterest.  I think they turned out really well and they were easy too!

I transformed a couple plain white and one striped onesies that I already had with just freezer paper, an exacto knife and some pictures that I traced off of the computer onto the freezer paper.  Not much to it to add some personality to a boring onesie.











Tuesday, August 14, 2012

{Month One Must-Haves}

Month one was a learning period in our house, as I imagine it is in most new parents homes.  We learned what worked for us and what didn't; what Landon likes and what he doesn't.  Here are some of the life-savers and things we absolutely could not live without.  Obviously this does not apply to every baby but it worked for ours, and may work for yours.



1. Boppy - What a lifesaver this is.  Not only for breastfeeding but also for some tummy time, to prop baby up and my little one tends to fall asleep on it. Love it and I just ordered a new cover off of Etsy for it because we use the other one so much that it gets pretty gross (milk, spit up, etc.)
2. Hauck Malibu Stroller - THE PERFECT STROLLER! Simple and very lightweight! I take it shopping and am able to easily manage putting it together and folding it back up.  We only are using the bassinet part at this time but as soon as he's 3 months old we will move it so that we can put his car seat in their instead, then it will be his toddler stroller as well. We purchased in black, or as they call it charcoal, so that it could easily be used for boy or girl in the future. Landon love it and sleeps so well in it and I just think it's dog gone adorable!
3. Nap Nanny - My child slept so well in this straight from the hospital.  It is so simple to clean as we got some spit-up on it right away. It's also on an incline because lots of babies don't like to sleep on their back or have acid reflux (mine did, I think it's gone now....)  I will continue using this for naps, but we put Landon in his crib last night for the first time and it worked out fabulously!
4. BABY GAP! - I mean the only place to buy baby clothes along with some others. ;) It's a challenge to dress boys cute, and they make it so easy.  It doesn't help that I live 5 minutes from one......I'm headed up there today!
5. Infantino Sash Mei Tai Baby Carrier - When my husband is not using the Baby Bjorn to carry Landon, I am using this! It's geared more towards the mama with the cute pattern and it feels like I'm carrying nothing.  He loooooovvves it too.  He can be screaming and if I put him in this. Done & asleep in 5 minutes.  That or just looking around.  Loves it. And it is so reasonable too, it's way more lightweight than the Baby Bjorn (which is Mike's carrier)!
6. Aden & Anais Vroomaroo Muslin Swaddle Blankets - Ok, these are a must-have for everyone.  Even if you don't use it to swaddle {which I really don't}it is the perfect lightweight blanket.  I am always scared baby is overheating - especially with how HOT is has been lately - and I don't with this blanket.  There typically comes 4 in a pack, which is perfect because normally I have found that when I'm washing two, I'm using the other 2. And they have cute patterns as well.  I'm thinking about getting the original swaddles in the boutique mela pattern as well, that's how much I love these!
7. Infantino Dice Dice Baby Travel Toy - We have toys that we got at showers and stuff, but when we bought this for overtop his car seat, he was immediately enamored with it.  Loved all the colors and the mirror.  I think it was $4 or something.  A well spent $4, I say!
8. Miracle Blanket - This I received as a gift in cream and blue at my shower.  I was so disappointed when we got home from the hospital that I tried to swaddle Landon and he hated it!! Screamed the entire time...I figured he didn't want to be swaddled.  Then my sister-in-law {who swears by them and bought me the blue one} said sometimes babies don't like the process of being swaddled, but once they are they love it.  So I took a deep breath dealt with the crying and tried again.  Once he was in the swaddle, he immediately stopped crying.  It was amazing.  He now sleeps in this every night.  I don't put any sleepers on him, just his diaper and at night it's easy to do the diaper change.
9. The First Years White Noise Machine - One word - lifesaver.  If you are expecting, stop reading this and go get one :) That's all.
10. Graco Lovin' Hug Swing - Plugs in and will obviously run all day if you want it too.  I actually like listening to the music as does my son.  It plays classical music.  My little is going to be so smart!! He normally looks around while in it and I like it because it doesn't stand out like a sore thumb it sort of blends with our decor, which is good because it's in our living room. We have the green and brown dot one with teddy bears as the mobile.
11. Hand Sanitizer - my son has already gotten sick, but immediately home from the hospital we have hand sanitizer in basically every room.  No germies, thank you!
12. Medela Hand Pump - So I never thought I would use it when my nurse gave it to me in the hospital.  Turns out I was wrong.  I obviously have the electric pump that I normally use, but on those nights I'm away from my son and out, it is a lifesaver.  I literally throw it in my purse in a bag, and I actually pumped on the way home from our girls night the other night in my friends car.  Yes, it was necessary ;)
13. Aden & Anais Sleep Sack - When we are not using the miracle blanket this is our go to.  It's nice because it is a blanket but not dangerous for SIDS. Again, very lightweight like the swaddle blankets.
14. Wubbanub - We have the frog and the elephant.  Again, if you babe takes a binky, you will love this.  Our son is a cryer when he loses his bink.  It drives us crazy.  He has learned that if he holds on to the soft legs of his "wubby" that it won't fall out of his mouth.  Also it is attached to a Soothie paci, which is our sons favorite, but if your child isn't a fan of those, you could probably DIY a binky specific Wubbanub.
15. Boogie Wipes Grape Flavor - I bought these after seeing them at Babies R Us when Landon had his cold.  They are also sold at Target I know.  He is getting over his cold now, but I love these because they have saline which is good to break up the mucous and they're grape flavored, so he doesn't cry when I wipe his little bitty nose.
16. Fisher Price Luv U Zoo Deluxe Musical Mobile Gym - This thing is amazing! It has lights, music and our son LOVES it.  He has and does lay under it for hours.  Sometimes falling asleep under it.  It is also great for tummy time {Landon does not like tummy time...} when we can do it.

Those are all of the life-savers for month one.  Which probably is one of the hardest as far as adjusting goes.  But WE MADE IT! Again, these are just my suggestions based on my child, but all or none may work for you. I hope you enjoyed reading! 

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

{Striped Gallery Wall}

While on maternity leave, I have gotten around to completing some things that I have been wanting to do!  So while Landi-doodle is sound asleep in his crib, I thought I would blog about one.

I finally completed the striped hallway/gallery wall that I wanted to do.  Our hallway was so boring before {and holy orange tinge....ew.  Thanks iPhone...}


In progress


Another iPhone pic. Yikes!

I used the dry brush technique.  It worked amazingly! Basically what it is: you tape your wall off then go along the taped lines with a dry brush {not much paint on it} so that it wont bleed through the edges of the tape, like it would with a roller because you normally have lots of paint on them.  My lines are so crisp.  Very exciting!





If you're wondering what that little canvas with the writing on it is...It's the lyrics to our wedding song.  Somehow by Citizen Cope.  That's my husbands favorite part =)




Also, people laugh at me but I didn't use a level....oops.  I measured the whole wall top to bottom {92"} then divided that by 10 inches which is how wide I wanted the stripes to be, but I didn't want to mess with having some weird number to measure out.  Also, I didn't want to have to "cut in" or paint along any more edges than I had to, so I just added an extra inch {what's an extra inch going to hurt??} on the top and bottom and left them the original wall color.  Yes no taping/painting along the ceiling or baseboards! Score! So I measured in different spots and just connected the tape where the marked dots were.  The top/bottom stripes are 11" all the ones in the middle are 10".  You can't even tell!

I do love the picture that hangs there, so I thought I would keep that as the centerpiece and then add some photos/odds and ends around it.  I think it turned out really well and my husband came home from work and was very impressed! He said it looks 10 times better!!  I would have to agree, honey!


And I'll close this post with a picture of my handsome man!
Boy, you are handsome, Mr. Landon Man!





Friday, August 3, 2012

{Week four}

Some Images from week 4 with my babe! I found out this week I can take more time off from work which is very exciting!! But will make it even harder to go back :S

We have been going on walks {when it's not deathly hot}! We always go at night once daddy get home and the sun is down- PS Love my baby wrap from my friend Amanda & Landon does too - he is lights out every time I put him in it.


I got a start on our hallway gallery wall.  The walls are taped and the photos in their frames :) Proud of myself! All that's needed is some paint....we'll see when i get around to that!


We are in the process of sending out Mr. Man's Birth Announcements to our friends and family.  I personally did every single address in this font that I love!! It was used a lot on my weekly pregnancy chalkboard.  Glad to get those out they are so stinkin' cute!!



Completed while watching the Olympics, obviously. I'm so glad they are on now, so I'm not stuck watching boring soap operas.  


Some blanket laying - I must say that is one handsome baby


Calvin loves his brother!
Another example.....


Edited - but his eyes are really bright blue, I hope he gets his daddy's eyes! Love my little man & capturing these precious moments because they are only this little for so long! 
We also got our professional pics back this week - they are adorable! Here are some of our favorites.  We bought the whole CD of images so we could print them out forever!












And we are off to the Lake of the Ozarks for some R&R.  Mama finally gets to go to the pool,  it's just way too hot out there for babies so I haven't had a chance!!  My mom doesn't like the pool so she's the perfect babysitter ;) Will update with some pics from the weekend!! I'm excited to get away!