Sewing Projects and Monthly Goals

So over the past 6 months I have been doing different sewing projects for AR and as gifts for other babies.  I always take pictures intending to put them on here after giving the person their gift.  Well, I usually forget.  So I'm going to take a moment to share some of them with you... exciting, huh?!  Also, Mollie, your children's birthday gifts are going to be included so it's up to you if you want to see them beforehand or not... that's your warning.  :)

Onsie and burp cloth for a friend from church

Dog onsie with matching burp cloths for the little boy that I'm keeping once a week.

Gender neutral onsie and matching burp cloths for Meredith's baby who was born last week and is a girl!!

Mollie and I both made a cupcake shirt for our girls to wear for their birthdays!  Here's to hoping they don't fall apart!

Another onsie for the little boy I keep.  This was one of my favs!

Mollie and I both make the girls a Christmas tree onsie.  I actually found these pants with the ribbon belt at a consignment sale and picked out the ribbons on the onsie to match.

This is my 2nd attempt at making pants and they actually do fit.  I aimed for 12m which she can already fit into, but they are too long so I will be shortening them this weekend.  I found the giraffe shirt idea here.

These shirts I made for my adorable nephew and niece.  Of course I made AR one too!!

Back side of the shirts.

Another shirt I appliqued for AR

And another... Meredith, you can borrow this one next spring/summer!  :)

Now, onto another topic...

I never really do New Year's Resolutions... mainly b/c I can't keep them.  However, I decided that this was the year everything was going to find a place in our house or it wouldn't be welcome anymore.  Sometimes I feel like our house is just too small... but really we just have too much junk.  Don't get me wrong, our house is small, but I heard once that a small house holds just as much love as any other house.  I like to think we just feel that love a little more, seeing as it's all squeezed in here a little tighter!  

I also realize that there is a pretty good chance we may have two children in this house one day and I need to get started on living more simple. I was reading www.moneysavingmom.com and she all these monthly goals that just scared me.  I couldn't figure out where she had the time to get all of them done on top of everything else she does.  But then I decided I could do monthly goals, just had to decide how many would be feasible for me.  So I started in Feb. and during that month I only had two goals, but I was thinking about my March goals.

My new monthly goal print out.

 

 

 

 

I have to admit, I only accomplished about 2/3's of this month's goals.  We have gotten AR on a consistent bedtime routine which is nice.  We still forget to brush her teeth 1/2 the time though.  As for the office, I did clean out the desk drawer... which was about the only thing I hadn't gone through in this house since marrying William.  Tons of nick-knacks, an old toothbrush, fingernail clippers, and other randomness... men!  Now it's nice and organized and cleaned out... except that the clippers keep finding their way back.  Guess I'm not going to fight that one! 

My biggest two excuses for not completed the office, other than having a mobile 10m old... are 1) lack of $ to buy organizational items and 2 )an extremely busy husband who is completing a job this week and therefore hasn't been able to help me eliminate more items.  I'm headed to IKEA next week to hopefully find some items for the office.

So for March my goals are:
1) Finally complete the office clean out/organization.
2) Complete my Spring mantle decor (by March 20, 1st day of Spring)
3) Get rid of 100+ things.  Read about this here.
4) Complete the book "Your Girl"
5) Get AR to have independent play pen time two times a day for at least 25 minutes each.  (unless we are not at home during these times aka church, grocery store, etc...)

You probably could care less about my goals, but I think by doing an end of the month update on how that month went as well as posting next months goals will keep me more motivated... I hope at least! 

Now, if you have made it this far I think you deserve some new pics of my favorite girl!!

This isn't the best picture, due to her face being pulled sideways, but this girl loves to hold phones up to her ears now! 

"You might be a redneck if...your daughter plays with deer antlers!"  Good thing we have a birthday coming up so we can get some new toys! 

About to go take a bath!

Nothing but pure cuteness!

Mollie, I can see the 3+ pound difference in this pic compared to yours!  Caroline doesn't have any belly!

10 Months

Wow, 10 months, really?!  Two months away from turning 1!

Let me catch you up on AR!

Stats at 10 Months

Weight:  20lb 14oz (we had a sick doc appt on Tues and this was her weight in a dry diaper and onsie)

-crawling and cruising everywhere!

-wearing all 12M pj's and some everyday clothes

-has 5 teeth, 2 on top and 3 on bottom

-likes to clink her teeth together which gives me the chills

-is currently on meds for her 4th ear infection and we go to see the ENT next week

-loves her food, including shredded cheese, sweet potato fries, chopped up grapes and blueberries, and cheerios

-finally dropped the 3rd nap for good

-loves to clap... all the time and everywhere!

-starting to "point" at things, though she using her whole hand

-more willing to go to people other than me when they reach for now... that is, if she knows them!

 Just so you believe me when I tell you that these pictures are getting harder and harder to take, please view these:

Also at 10 months, AR:

Finally got the sippy cup down pat and loves drinking her water!

Is a silly girl!  This is her new travel pillow that we haven't had the chance to try out yet!

Is filling that head up with some hair!

Has figured out how to stand up in her sleep sack and sometimes gets it unbuttoned

Loves table food!

Video Update

These videos cover the last few weeks.  Hope you enjoy!

It amazes me how babies respond to music, they seem to love it or at least mine does!  And it's not like I ever dance in front of her or anything...

Many have seen this video as I couldn't wait to post it.  AR's absolute favorite song is "The Wheels on the Bus" as you previously heard in the first video.  I have been thinking about putting her jumperoo/execauser in the attic due to her lack of interest in it... that was until we added music!  Excuse my snorting!

As parents we often do whatever possible to get a laugh, squeal, wave, or any reaction from our children.  When AR wouldn't respond to her daddy, what else could I do but film him instead!

This girl loves to wave now, even at random things.

AR has a favorite noise she makes now and it cracks us up!

Playing ball with her daddy.

Just so you don't think it's all smiles around here.

Caught her doing this funny crawl one day.

Our February So Far

We hope that you all had a great Valentine's Day!  We went out to eat and o the Eric Church Thursday night, which was so much fun.  It's our 3rd time seeing him and I just love his passion on stage.  He puts on a great show!  I do have to admit that I wish some of his songs weren't quite so rough, especially now that I have a child who has her own ears!  We'll be cutting back on Eric in the car, that's for sure.

We have been enjoying AR so much at this age.  She has lots of personality now and we love watching her crawl around and explore new things.  You just never know what new thing she's going to learn or expression she will show.  And as you see below, things can change within a matter of seconds!

Daddy's home!!

But I want my mama back!

The other weekend, AR and I went to Pelzer to visit Aunt Katie and hit up a fabric sale out her way.  We had a good time and enjoyed our visit very much.  Katie and I did however catch the 24 stomach bug somewhere and spent all of the following Sunday evening throwing up.  I'm so thankful that AR didn't catch it!

I love my Aunt Katie!!

 One of AR's favorite things to do now is to get into the jumperoo and for me to pull her by her arms and let her go flying backwards.  She LOVES it!

This past Wednesday I starting keep a friend's little boy who is 2 months hold.  I will be keeping him once a week until school is out for the summer.  It was very interesting having a 2m old and a 10m old at the same time.  Things went pretty good with the exception of AR thinking that all bottles should be hers and therefore didn't like me giving the baby his.

I had to break out the baby gate b/c every little noise he made really intrigued AR and she'd go straight to him.

I believe she is going to love babies!

The gate is something else that I can chew 

 AR actually wore a bow in her hair all the way to Michael's and throughout 1/2 of the shopping trip!  I bought a couple smaller and lighter bows that will actually hang on what little hair she has now!  This makes this mama excited!

Today may have been one of the hardest ones for me since becoming a mom.  AR has been a very easy baby and even when she's sick she's happy.  Well, this was not the case today.  I'm not sure what is wrong with her... she's coughing, nose is running, and she's passing gas like crazy (not that that's abnormal :) )  I really think she's just teething b/c she keeps gnowing on her index finger, but she's never been upset like this with her other teeth.  Her cough doesn't sound like the ear infection cough she normally has, and we just had a well check up Thursday.  I do think her belly was hurting some today too.  She just cried a lot today and kept trying to get more into my lap than she already was.  She even sat in my lap for 30 minutes this morning doing nothing and that never happens.  We will see how she feels tomorrow and if she needs to go to the doc on Monday.  Sorry for the rambling there!!

She did however enjoy her bath time today!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here, There, and Everywhere!

As my child get more mobile, "my" time seems to become less and less.  What I used to get done during the day as far as chores, computer time, etc... all has to be squeezed into nap times and after she goes down for the night.  So if you don't see an many posts as normal, just know that I'm somewhere keeping my child from eating something off the floor, moving things to higher levels, or giving her my crusts off my sandwich so that she doesn't cry while I eat my lunch!  The last one actually helps me not feel so wasteful considering I don't even like the crust!

Having such a mobile child has been so different, but fun too!  She's doing everything but walking without holding on now.  We have started playpen time so that I can get some stuff done and she can learn to play independently (which she does decently already).  I put a few toys and books in her pack'n'play and put her in right after her breakfast.  She does normally cry, but it doesn't even last a minute usually.  I disappear into my room or the bathroom to get ready and make the bed and she plays for a bit.  We just started so some days it's still just 10-15 minutes, but it helps!

Let me walk you through our last two weeks using pictures:

AR escaped her sleep sack and therefore stood up in her crib for the first time.  I watched the whole thing via video monitor and it was quite funny watching one limb come out at a time.

She moved up to her big girl car seat!  She seems to really enjoy it and looks so much more comfy!

She plays puppy dog!  She finds her socks on the floor and puts them in her mouth and then crawls around. 

She finds many new places to explore (or get "trapped" in)!

Somehow she got our daily devotional book off of the table.  I thought I had moved everything out of reach... hence the table cloth half off!

AR loves her food!!  At the end of lunch and supper she gets to have a few crackers and she tears them up

She finds it very interesting when we are drinking out of a glass.  This may have been caused by the frosty we let her try, who knows... but she wants some of our drink if we have one.

Looking like a big girl!

Wearing her Valentine's Day tights

Showing off her newest trick - waving.  It's the cutest thing and I will have to get a video on here!  She is also playing with her new favorite "toy" - the VCR.  Most of her friends won't even know what a VCR is, but we are big on teaching her history around here!

AR is also on meds for her 3rd ear infection.  She's had one every month since she was 7 months old.  The doctor told us that 5 in a season qualifies for tubes, so I'm really hoping we don't have to go that route.  She actually never lets on that she is sick.  I know b/c the first one she got a horrible cough and that's what was causing it... so I've learned her symptoms and have to go by that.  The doctor also told us her gums were swollen wear her molars were!  Um, what?!  Where did our baby go?!

That's all for now!