It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Four days until Makayla's first Christmas!
Yipee!

Silence.

Makayla Jo | 9 month update | December 9, 2012

NINE months! Wow! You are amazing little one, just amazing. We love this age - you are so fun! You've started saying yum yum, wow, dada, and giving kisses.

Weight: 18 pounds

Height: 27 inches

Head Circumference: unknown

 Sleeping:

 We've hit a rough patch over the past week or so. Not sure if you're teething again, afraid of the dark, having night terrors, or if separation anxiety is starting but you have been waking up frequently over the past week. Generally you are sleeping between 7 and 730.

Eating:
You're still eating about 3 purees per day, breakfast, lunch & dinner. You are down to about 4 bottles per day now, with 6-8 ounces each. Dr. Kahn states that it's ok that you only consume about 18-24 ounces of formula per day now. We also started you on Puffs. You love picking them up and feeding yourself. You've also had a few small bites of bagel, eggs, chicken, turkey, etc. We are still worried about you choking but you are doing wonderful.

Clothes:
Definitely in 9 month clothes. Some 6 month stuff is still in your drawers and daddy sometimes dresses you in clothes too small when I'm at work.

Crawling/Standing/Walking:
You are all over the place! You are going to be standing on your own anyway now. You basically do
it and then you get scared and sit down. You recently got a toy car and you push it and walk! It's adorable.

Holiday Cards 2012 edition

Happy Holidays 2012!

I had so many ideas for this year's holiday cards because it was Makayla's first Christmas. I designed 5+ cards and this is the I ordered. I had to pull the trigger and stop changing my mind.. I do love the way they turned out though, I wanted to showcase the amazing smile and dimples that I captured during our in-home photoshoot ala pinterest. I also wanted to use one of our pictures from our mini fall session last month. 

And, here is the winner! Happy Holidays to all. 

Ebates is amazing!

I can't believe I just heard about Ebates and finally signed up.

You earn a percentage cash back for each and every online purchase you make. We shop online a lot. A LOT. Pretty much buy everything on Amazon.

I can't believe I didn't know about this. I've already earned $6.98 cash back in the past month or so with Holiday Shopping. I have a check coming my way in February 2013.

All you have to do is open Ebates in a browser and keep it open and then search for what ever store you are looking for and open their website through Ebates. 

It's silly not to sign up. Sign up here!

Maui Hawaii Destination Wedding Invitations & Starfish Place Cards

These pictures were never posted of Megan's Maui Destination Wedding. I designed her invitations, table numbers, menus, starfish place cards & much more! See all of the details in this post here!

Featuring How Sweet It Is | Simply Sweet Weddings

I had the opportunity to work with Linda of How Sweet It Is - Simply Sweet Weddings earlier this year in order to design her custom business logo. I wanted to feature her business on my blog because she was an amazing client to work with and I believe her website and logo turned out absolutely fabulous.
 

About Linda:
I've been designing, and organizing events for friends and family most of my adult life, and in 2005 decided to expand my talents and start my own business "How Sweet It Is".
We have been in business 7 years, servicing brides from Chicago, to the Indianapolis area. We realize every event is unique, and that's why we love to sit down with our brides and grooms, roll up our sleeves, and together design the wedding of their dreams. Whether it's a chocolate fountain, candy buffet, or a reception design that you hire us for, we know how to add the special details that will have your guests leaving with sweet memories. I have had the opportunity of meeting and working with some of the sweetest brides and grooms, and look forward to serving many more.
We are a licensed and insured, home based business. I take appointments during the week, and some evenings.

Services Provided:

Candy Buffets
Candy Buffets can sweeten up your party with a wide variety of candy and chocolates for your guests. What fun your guests will have filling their own candy bag with some of their favorite candies and chocolates.


Chocolate Fountains
Just imagine a fountain where a flowing curtain of melted, warm delicious Callebaut gourmet chocolate cascades down the fountain tiers like a chocolate waterfall, presenting you the pleasure of dipping strawberries, bananas, marshmallows, pretzels, cream puffs, cookies, etc. producing exquisite delicious chocolate covered "delicacies".


Reception Design
We carry a variety of tablescapes to fit any bride's budget. Our staff will set your banquet hall the day of your event and take it down when your guests leave. There is no fuss or tear down for you, or your family.



Contact Linda:
Valparaiso, Indiana
linda@howsweetitisevents.com
(219) 477-5116

If you are interested in a chic custom business logo design like Linda's - please contact me today for a custom quote!

Now offering custom dry erase calendars!

So excited to introduce this new product to our Etsy Shop!

This is such an excellent customized holiday gift!

Dry Erase Calendars are sized 16x12 inches, and include one black dry erase pen.

They are printed on a premium material that has a light adhesive included for an easy on and easy off application. You can put on any smooth surface like doors, walls, refrigerators, lockers, cabinets, & more!

The title frame remains blank so you can fill in each month.

Please email three high-resolution photos (300dpi) to jenn.johnston.designs [!at] gmail.com once you place your order. Please let me know if you have any questions prior to ordering.

Please check out our other custom designs. 

 $39.99 plus shipping, for sale here!

 $39.99 plus shipping, for sale here!

Happy Thanksgiving! & Black Friday Adventure

I hope everyone had a great thanksgiving! We sure did!

 

 

 

Makayla's First Thanksgiving 2012

After we stuffed ourselves, my mom and I ventured out to Target at 9:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving night - when they opened for their Black Friday Sale. We had no idea what to expect, as this was our first year going out on actual Thanksgiving. Target had a few items that I was after. We couldn't believe the line when we pulled up....

Target: 9:00 p.m. Thanksgiving Evening

It was wrapped all the way around the store. We waited until all these fools ran in. By the time we got in, they were out of carts and it was so packed you could barely even walk.  It seems like most people were after the big TVs, DVDs, and other electronics. I scored and got everything on my list and we were in and out within 40 minutes. The check out line was insane and it was wrapped around the store, but it went very quickly cause they had every single check stand open. It was actually really fun and I think we're going to make this a tradition!

Here is what I scored:

Shark Professional Slim Electronic Steam Pocket Mop

Regularly $99.99

Black Friday $49.99

 Fisher Price Poppity Pop Musical Dino

Regularly $24.99

Black Friday: $17.99

 

Target Home Flannel Sheet Set - California King

Regularly: $24.99

Black Friday: $16.99

 

Dirt Devil Versa Clean Stick Vac

Regularly: $19.99

Black Friday: $9.00

Makayla Jo | 8 month update | November 9, 2012

Well this post is a little late! I actually typed it up a couple of weeks ago and then accidentally deleted the "draft" when I was deleting other drafts. 

8 months old is such a fun age. Makayla has grown so much over the past few weeks. Here are a few updates.

Weight: unknown

Height: unknown

Head Circumference: unknown

Sleeping

Makayla is still such a great sleeper. We had a few rough weeks. First she had the stomach flu with a fever of 103.6 and vomiting. And then, she popped her two bottom teeth (November 1, 2012 to be exact). Then, the time changed screwed with her sleep pattern. After that, she decided to have a HUGE growth spurt where she woke every night for about 10 days for a bottle anywhere between midnight and 5 am. Thank goodness that is over! For the past week she has been sleeping back to normal approximately 7 pm to 7 am. She still takes about two naps per day, one around 10 am and the other around 2 pm. Her naps vary from 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Clothes

 Makayla is primarily wearing 9-12 month clothes. I recently packed up all of her old clothes and I cannot believe how small she used to be! I hope she gets some new clothes this holiday season because she doesn't have anything size 12 months & up! We recently sized up to size 3 diapers.

Crawling

Yep, still all over the place. You charge up the stairs like a mad man. You are fast! We cannot turn our back on you at all these days.

Feeding

You are having approximately 4 bottles per day, about 6-8 ounces per bottle. You are having 3 "meals" per day. Breakfast is usually oatmeal, lunch is usually a fruit, and dinner usually consists of a vegetable, a fruit, and an oatmeal.

A few iPhone photos from the past month:

hanging out in her room

playing with Daddy

bedtime snuggles

family fun

visiting mommy at work! Future RN!

Got Candy?

Spacial.com deal! Don't miss it!

Spacial.com SAM VIBE is a powerful cloud internet radio broadcasting solution. Developed by Spacial, makers of the top selling SAM Broadcaster solution, SAM VIBE features powerful library management, scheduling and automation all while extremely easy to use and screen reader friendly for visually impaired users.


*this is a sponsored post*

Jennifer Brogdon Photography Logo | watermark logo for photographer

Pexagon Technology sale!


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Bates Nut Farm 2012 | Makayla's first trip to the pumpkin patch

This post is a little late, but last month we took Makayla to Bates Nut Farm! Going to Bates was one of my favorite holiday traditions when we were younger and it was so fun to take Makayla there.

She had a blast, she LOVED the pumpkins and all of the animals. We went early (9 a.m.) on a Saturday morning and I'm so glad we did because when we were leaving around noon the line of cars to get in went for a few miles.

Her skinny jeans & converse shoes kill me. I die!!!

Lindsay & Craig | Riviera Maya, Mexico destination wedding monogram logo

Halloween 2012 | little ladybug

Halloween 2012 was Makayla's first Halloween! She had a great time dressed up as a little ladybug. She was the cutest ladybug we've ever seen!

She had a lot of fun, and made it till 7:30 p.m. Woop woop.

Happy Halloween 2012

Makayla Jo | 7 Month Update | October 9, 2012

Dear Makayla, 

You are now 7 months old! Closer to being a 1 year old then a newborn. Your age right now is definitely my favorite. You are so fun and learning new things and tricks each and every day. It is so true when everyone says every age just gets better and better! 

Height: unknown his month

Weight: unknown this month, probably around 17 lbs

Clothes: 6-9 month clothes, Some 12 month pants.

 Feeding 

 You are having about 5 bottles per day (6-8 ounces), around 7 am, 10 am, 1 pm, 4 pm, and 7 pm. 

You are also eating solids 2-3 times per day. You LOVE peas, sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, apples, and pears. Sometimes you get oatmeal too, but it constipates you.

You are primarily eating home-made baby food, it is so easy for us to make a couple of batches on the weekend and freeze it. We're stilling trying to teach you how to hold your bottle, and girl, you are LAZY!!!

Sleeping

You love to sleep just like your mommy and daddy. You go to sleep between 7:00 and 7:30 every night, and generally sleep till 7 a.m. every morning. Some days you are up at 6:30 a.m., and some days we have to wake you at 7:15 am for the day. Of course on weekends you get up at 6:30 a.m. ready to play! Bedtime routine has remained the same. Books, Bath, Bottle, Bed. You take about 2 naps per day, which can range from 30 minutes to 2.5 hours, it just depends. Your naps are still pretty unpredictable.

Personality
You are a chatterbox. Your "talking" is the cutest thing i've ever heard. You've said "mumm mumm" a few times and I count that as your first word. But, this past weekend (Oct. 13th), you started saying "Daddaaa Dadddaaa" and that is all you say now! Your dad is on cloud 9. You are such a happy girl and give the biggest, dimply smiles to anyone that will give you attention.

Play Time
You are crawling around the house, fast! You are pulling yourself to stand on the couch, coffee table, and you are even taking steps while holding on. You love your Leap Frog Activity Table so much! You also love your Little Tikes Swing we hung in the backyard. You are almost over your Jumperoo, but we can still get you to enjoy it for a short period of time. You LOVE electronics. Our phones, computers, remotes, cords, wires, you name it, if you are not supposed to have it you want it! You are climbing the stairs like crazy, we must keep the gates up! You started sitting up in the grocery cart and you love looking at everything. You are infatuated with the dishwasher and you would climb in it if we let you.

Ear Infections
So happy to say that you haven't had an ear infection since the end of August. This is great news, you are still seeing Dr. Melissa about every 2 weeks. Still no swim lessons, I think we'll wait till next summer.

Day Care

You still go to Day Care twice a week. I always watch on the web-cam. Last week I watched you steal a toy from another girl and then she pushed you over. It was so funny and sad at the same time. You need to learn how to stick up for yourself! We still love the staff at daycare, but one of our favorite teachers moved. We hope they can find someone really great to replace her.

Teething

We thought you were cutting some teeth last week due to extreme fussiness, however we still can't feel/see anything (even though your Grandpa swears there is one on top).

Stephanye Lynn Wedding & Event Design | custom wedding professional business logo

ZsaZsa & Brett | red & black elegant wedding essentials