Happy First Birthday Makayla Jo!

Happy First Birthday sweet baby girl! I can't believe how fast this year has passed but I am going to save all of the sappy stuff for another post.

Makayla Jo | 11 month update | February 9, 2013

Oh, my, gosh! Makayla Jo Jo. Where has the past year gone. I'm deep in my knees to planning your first birthday party and I just can't believe it. So much has changed over the past year, and it's all because of YOU! You are amazing, the light of our lives, and the reason I wake up every day.

You weigh about 20 lbs even. I'm not sure about your height but you are pretty darn long. You take after your daddy for sure.

Eating: You want to eat everything and anything that we are eating. We're slowly starting you on more table foods. Your favorites so far are blueberries, bananas, avocados, and spinach ravioli. You also like rice and beans (any kind!). You're telling us that you are over baby food purees when you blow raspberries with it in your mouth and spit it all over us. :) We still have a lot to finish though so we keep trying. Your breakfast is usually fruit and oatmeal or waffles. lunch is crackers, fruit, banana, or avocado, and a puree. dinner is whatever we are having usually. You're still on formula, about 4 bottles a day but usually only 4-6 ounces each. You LOVE water out of your sippy cup and drink it at every meal.

Sleeping: Lets just say you are amazing. Don't even want to talk about it. Bedtime is 7:00 to 7:15 sharp and you sleep straight through until 7:00 a.m. You are still taking two naps per day, your morning nap is around 10:00 and can last from 1-2 hours and your afternoon nap is around 2:00 and can also last for 1-2 hours. You nap best at home, in your crib. This makes it hard to get out and do things on the weekends! We usually do an early morning errand before your morning nap (i.e. target with starbucks!) and then sometimes on the weekends you will just have a quick afternoon nap in the car if we are out and about.

Sounds: your favorite word is "uh-oh". Its so darn cute but you say it at everything! Your favorite game is to drop something off of your high chair and say uh-oh! you also say dada, mama, yum yum, and I swear this week you started saying "dude!".

Movements: Yep, you are officially walking. You took your first steps around 10 1/2 months. You picked it up pretty quickly and now you love walking. You love picking up heavy things and trying to walk with them. (like brand new costco wipe packs, heavy toys, formula cans, etc). You are going to be a body builder!

Toys: Your favorite toys right now are your Sesame Street kitchen with a bunch of toy food. You also love ball games, your Old McDonald Had a Farm toy, your police car, and your Cars car.

Clothes: You are officially in 12 month clothing. I still try to squeeze you into some 9 month clothes but yeah can't do that anymore. You wear size 3 diapers during the day and size 4 diapers at night.

Teeth: You have three teeth. Two on the bottom and one canine tooth on your upper right side. No upper middle teeth yet which is weird.

Illness: Girl, you and I have both been sick pretty much non-stop since Christmas. We get better and then it seems like it comes right back. We went up to Tahoe on Vacation from February 3 through February 10th and you and I both got SO sick. You were SO fussy, had a high fever, and just green snot coming out everywhere. You also were refusing bottles and refusing to eat. We thought you had another ear infection and ended up taking you to Renown Children's Hospital ER in Reno. The Dr. was great but said it was probably just a sinus infection and wrote a Rx for amoxicillin. The day we left Tahoe I started puking and I pretty much have been sick ever since with a sinus infection. I have tried two different antibiotics and nothing has worked.

You loved sledding even though you were so sick.

Two weeks until your first birthday party! OMG......

Makayla Jo | 10 month update | January 9, 2013

Makayla Jo, 10 months old, 1/9/13

Oh, Makayla Jo. Here we are again, another late post. Time is going by way too fast! I know I say it every month but I seriously cannot believe that you are almost 1 year old. Each month gets better and better, and you are such an amazing little girl. You are SO smart, SO funny, and SO adorable. 

Height: unknown

Weight: unknown

Head Circumference: unknown

Whats new this month? 

• You have mastered standing on your own. You do it for about 20 seconds at a time and then you try to walk and fall. You are going to be walking in no time.
• You are waving bye-bye. SO adorable.
• You are eating more finger foods. Right now your favorite foods are blueberries, crackers (graham crackers and saltines), kiwi, strawberries, bananas, avocados, and cheerios. We are introducing you to new foods almost daily now. 
• You finally figured out to hold your sippy cup! And you love water! 
• You are obsessed with whatever electronic daddy or mommy has. Either the laptop, the iPad, the remote, or a cell phone. OBSESSED. 
• You are finally in all 9-12 month clothes. We (I) finally cleared your closet of the 6 month clothes. 
• We are starting to put more toys in your Playroom upstairs. 
• For the most part you are still sleeping from 7 pm to 7 am but every few nights you have been waking up for a bottle anywhere between 3 and 5 am, but it's not every night, so i'll take it.
• You are down to about 4 eight-oz bottles a day.
• You are still in day care twice a week but now different days due to Daddy's shift change
• You love playing in the kitchen. The Tupperware cabinet and the dish towel cabinet are your favorites. 
• You still only have two bottom teeth.
• You've had green snot running down your face for over a month now but no fever and no fussiness so I'm not worried.
• Your FIRST Birthday Party will be on your ACTUAL birthday, as it falls on a Saturday! March 9, 2013. Planning is in full-force, and invitations have been sent out. We are doing a Minnie Mouse Theme (Pink & Black of course!)

Until next month...

Happy New Year! | 2013 Goals

Happy New Year! 2012 was by far one of the best year's of my life to date. I'm excited to welcome 2013. I'm not one for setting new years resolutions - as I always break them, but this year I really wanted to sit down and write a list of goals I would like to accomplish in 2013.

 

2013 Goals:

1. Lose 20 lbs.
2. Figure out my stomach issues. Lactose intolerant? Gluten intolerant?
3. Pay off one (or both!) credit cards.
4. Meal plan, grocery shop in bulk, prepare more. Groceries online?
5. Care more about my appearance (i.e. do my hair & makeup)
6. Take a real vacation
7. Continue to do work on the house (kitchen remodel? laundry room upstairs? backyard landscaped?)
8. Finish the play room
9. Decide if there will be a baby #2
10. Exercise at least 3 days a week. Home videos? Home treadmill or elliptical?
11. Stay organized and DE-clutter
12. Organize bills/important documents in a a file system
13. Get my home "office" desk set up & organized to use on a daily basis
14. try 1 new recipe a month
15. backup all pictures and important documents
16. Read more.
17. decorate master bedroom (art, linens, towels, etc).
18. Re-vamp my design business. Keep my website/blog up to date and add new products frequently.
19. Add more printed products - labels I can print from home, easy designs I can print & ship from online labs.
20. Work on my photography. Get my camera out AT LEAST once a week.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Four days until Makayla's first Christmas!
Yipee!

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!

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

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!!!

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.

Makayla Jo | Five Months | August 9, 2012

Like every month, I'm late on this post. Seriously? Time can slow down now. I can't believe how fast the past month has flown by. I can't believe the M is already five months (going on six here!). She is growing daily and is getting so big. You are the love of my life and you bring so much joy to our family little girl.

Here's a look back at her monthly updates:

• 1 month
• 2 months
• 3 months
• 4 months

Height: unknown
Weight: No idea girlfriend, but at your last Dr. Appt for your ear infection at the end of July you were 13 lbs. I'm estimating 14 lbs or so.
Head Circumference: unknown
Clothes: squeezing you into some 3 month outfits, but for the most part you are in 6 month clothes.

Feeding
You are still eating 5-6 ounces every 3-4 hours, but we have been giving you about 1 tbsp of rice cereal every evening around 5:30-6:00 p.m. You seem to love it and we plan on introducing you to sweet potatoes, carrots and peas within the next week or so.

Personality
You are such a happy baby. Seriously. I don't know how we got so lucky. You NEVER cry. It's more like a fake whine but that hardly ever happens unless you are really hungry. Your personality is so carefree and easy going. Everyone loves to be around you. You are one of the best babies in day care!

Play Time
You are still loving your Jumperoo. You are still enjoying your PlayMat as well. You got some new toys this month including paper crinkle books, some blocks, and some more teething rings. You love to play! You also have learned to love to play in your crib in the mornings while I get ready for work. Your favorite thing right now is eating your toes.

Teething
No teeth yet, but still lots of drool.

Nicknames

Makaykay, Princess, Pretty Face, Sweet Fish, Petunia

A Day in the Life {my life}

I thought that it would be good for me to write out an entire day in my life for me to look back on and remember.

starting on 8/13/12:

5:30 p.m. -Pick up M from day care. She is the happiest baby there, and about three other babies are screaming. One mom is so stressed out telling the teacher she doesn't know what else to do to help get her baby to nap while at day care. I feel blessed, like I have the best baby there :)

5:35 p.m. -Get home. Daddy is off tonight. He greets her and she gives him the biggest dimply smile (like she always does, such a daddy's girl).

5:45 p.m. -Daddy plays with her for a bit while I unload everything from work/daycare, unload the dishwasher, and start dinner.

5:50 p.m. -M starts getting cranky so I prepare a small bottle. Daddy feeds her.

6:00 p.m. -M is passed out on Daddy. Daycare really wears her out and she is exhausted those evenings!

6:10 p.m. -I eat dinner, Daddy eats dinner one handed on the couch trying not to wake the sleeping baby. We chat and watch something on tv.

6:25 p.m.-I walk down the street to get the mail. Then I change into my PJ's.

6:30 p.m.-Chat with the husband while we watch Two and a Half Men.

6:35 p.m.-Decide that we should wake M up soon and get her ready for bed. She wakes up easily and jumps in her Jumperoo. Then we feed her about 1 tbsp of rice cereal. She is really starting to love it!

6:45 p.m. -Prepare her bedtime bottle, set up her bath, fill up her humidifier.

6:50 p.m. -Bath Time! We sing our bubble bubble bath time song! This girl is such a water baby. She loves her baths. Splishing and splashing all around, getting me entirely soaked.

7:00 p.m.-Dry off and get into PJ's. This has been very difficult since she will not sit still. She wants to roll all over and play. She fights with me. Throws a fit. I finally get her dressed. We brush her hair. Then I rock her while giving her bedtime bottle.

7:25 p.m.-She is out cold, but sitting up from the rocker always wakes her up. I place her down in her crib and say goodnight. She plays with her feet for about 5 minutes before falling asleep.

7:30 p.m. -I go downstairs. Daddy is asleep on the couch. I finish the dishes, wash her bottles, and start the dishwasher.

7:45 p.m.-I decide I need to straighten my hair. I do that.

8:00 p.m.-Go back downstairs, time to chill. Grab a beer. My sister calls me on Face Time from Peru! She made it safely. The husband is still asleep. I have the Bachelor Pad on in the background but I am really not into it this season. I'm playing on the internet/obsessing over how I can re-design my blog. Maybe I can also add blog pre-made templates/designs for blogger for sale? I could add that to my list of designs easily! My brain is stirring with ideas.

9:00 p.m.- Time to go upstairs. Get ready for bed. Wake the husband. Drag his butt upstairs. Check Facebook/Instagram/Twitter from  my iPhone. Still kind of watching the bachelor pad.

9:30ish -Fell asleep.

4:02 a.m.-Wake up to the BUZZZZZZZ BUZZZZZZZZ BUZZZZZZZZ BUZZZZZZ of our video monitor. This mean's M is making noise. This means M is awake. At 4:00 a.m. Girl! You haven't done this in over a week ~ I thought it was over! 4:00 a.m. is NOT time to party. But, you just slept for 8 hours so I guess I should be ok with that.

4:15 a.m. -Go in the nursery and giver her Paci. She gives me the biggest dimply smile and wants to play. I shusssssssh her and try to get her back to sleep.

4:30 a.m. -Repeat exactly of 4:15 a.m.

4:40 a.m. - 5:00 a.m. -I think she fell back asleep.

5:04 a.m. -She's awake and so chatty. She really just wants to start her day. I decide to change her diaper, and feed her. She only eats 4 ounces of her 6 ounce bottle and is rubbing her eyes and is sooo sleepy.

5:25 a.m. -Put her back in her crib. She plays with her feet for a few minutes.

5:35 a.m. -She's asleep. Now I try to go back to sleep. Doesn't happen for awhile. Damnit.

6:45 a.m.-My alarm goes off. M is still passed out. So is Daddy. This is 12+ hours for him. Usual on his first day off. Lay in bed for awhile. Exhausted even though I got plenty of sleep.

7:00 a.m.-Decide I should get my ass up. Go down and start coffee. Go back up and hop in the shower. Get dressed.

7:15 a.m.-Daddy is up. He wakes up M. He says OMG she is STILL sleeping?! I say, yes, but ummmm we had a party from 4:00 to 5:30 a.m. without you! He says OMG I didn't even hear her! He changes her and gets her dressed.

7:25 a.m.-drink my coffee. Get M's bottles ready for daycare. Pack my lunch. She plays with Daddy. Throw everything in the car. Hope to god I don't forget anything.

7:45 a.m.-leave for Daycare. Throw on some makeup in the car (while i'm still in the driveway of course). A normal Tuesday M would be at home with Daddy, but today he had a case in Court.

7:50 a.m.-Drop M off at Daycare. She loves seeing the other kids and her teachers. Give her a big kiss goodbye! Drive to work, listening to Wake Up with Taylor - she's hilarious.

8:30 a.m.-Walk into work. Ready to start my day as a nurse working with crazy people, literally. That's another entire post in itself. Already off to a CRAZY start.

5:00 p.m.-Leave work. Drive home. Daddy already picked up M from daycare this afternoon.

5:30 p.m.-We do it all over again!

If you read all of this i'm impressed. :) That's all.

weekend recap

Oh my goodness. It is hotter than hell here. Of course we never fixed our a/c, even though it's under warranty. Of course not, cause that's how we roll. We wait until something is URGENT to get it done. Now, its been 90+ degrees and we don't have a/c. We're all miserable. But its not about us anymore, its about her. Now this makes me feel like the shittiest mother on the earth. M's room right now is 82 degrees. At 7:30 p.m. I suck as a mom.

They are supposed to come on Tuesday. That leaves 2 more nights of this misery. Hope it passes soon.

This weekend kind of sucked to be honest. I'm in a rut, stressed with work, and just not feeling my self. I have a few things to look forward this week, which I am excited about. Another Sunday night is upon us.

This sweet face was definitely the highlight of my weekend.

weekend recap & headbands now for sale!

Another Sunday night is upon us. This weekend really flew by way too fast. We didn't do much. Did I mention how much my husband's new work schedule really sucks? I know he is happier off graveyards, but still, when I work Monday through Friday and he works Thursday through Sunday there doesn't leave much time for family time. We basically only see each other Monday, Tues, Wed evenings after work and then until 2pm on the weekends when he leaves for work. He does watch M two days a week so at least he gets good quality time with her. In my mind, it's quality of time, not quantity of time, and the fact that we both absolutely LOVE our jobs makes it worth-while.

 Friday night we got our new sofa & loveseat delivered, we love our new furniture! There is much more room for M's toys now that we got rid of the huge sectional. Yesterday a good friend came to visit and today we hung out with my parents and M had her second swim lesson! I dunked her head about four times and she actually didn't mind it at all.

 I also spent this weekend making some headbands.

These are all for sale in my Etsy Shop for only $5 each. More will be posted soon!

Every size is available:

newborn - 13 1/4 inches

3-6 months - 14 1/2 inches

6-12 months - 15 3/4 inches

12 months - 2 years -17 inches

2 years - teenager - 17 1/2 inches

Adult - 18 inches

black skinny baby linen flower headband

hot pink skinny newborn petite flower headband

lavender purple newborn petite skinny floral headband

pink and yellow newborn baby petite skinny flower headband

red skinny floral petite baby headband

teal turquoise linen floral petite skinny baby headband