gettin' crafty

It seems the craft projects just pile up and up while I can find very little time to actually create some of the crafts I so badly want to make.

However, I've had some time lately to actually create!

My first project was inspired by something I saw on Pinterest from this site. I recreated this with Adeline's sweet little hands and feet! I love that I have her handprints and footprints preserved in such a fun way!

I simply used canvases from Wal-Mart, tempera and acrylic paints, and "googly" eyes from Wal-Mart.

So simple and so fun!

My next project was inspired by the painted burlap signs you see. I LOVE the look of those but just couldn't get myself to spend the $30 or so dollars on one!

I've been wanting to create a fun birthday sign for Adeline's upcoming 1st birthday and to have one to hang on our front door each time we celebrate a birthday in our home!

For this project, I recycled an old burlap bag (or you can just use purchased burlap material).

1.  I sketched the outline of my design (a cupcake with icing) twice, in order to have two sides.

2. I cut my design out and pieced it together to make sure it matched.

3. Next, I used tempera (you can also use acrylic) paint to paint the icing white on top for each side of the cupcake. (Make sure to put the burlap over a lot of paper when painting...it leaks through.)

4.  I then painted stripes on each side (I did each side in different colors to have a more "girlie" side and a "boyish" side.)

5. Let the sides dry - this takes about half a day.

6. Use a Sharpie to write on and decorate as you wish.

7. Use a glue gun to glue the two sides together and secure wire for hanging. You will want to stuff the inside with newspaper.

I'm loving how this turned out too!!

A third project I wanted to accomplish was another idea I found on Pinterest.  I love, love having framed pictures in the house...but with as many pictures as I take of our family now and of Adeline by herself, I don't want to commit to placing a picture in a frame.  I would never get around to changing out the pictures! I loved the idea I found of have a clip within a frame to clip a picture and to easily change it out whenever.  I found a couple frames at Homegoods, used some canvas material I purchased at Wal-Mart (this is a textured fabric that we now have in a lot of places throughout our home!) and hung them above our new living room chair (that I adore!).

  I love the way it pulls the little nook all together!

10 months! (a little late)

Dear Adeline Grace,

10 months? My baby girl is 10 months old? That just seem too hard to fathom.  We just keep falling more and more in love with you, sweet girl!

So what have we learned about you this month and what have you been up to in your tenth month of life?

Here are some of your firsts this month...
 

On 8.13.12, you snuck off and ate a piece of Boone's food!! (You've tried this two more times since this time.  You get a piece in your mouth and act super sneaky so that we won't catch you.) You are just so silly and you are into everything!!

On 8.20.12, you had your first kids' meal at a restaurant.  You had a Cracker Barrel veggie plate with carrots and green beans! (You ate a lot, but didn't quite finish it off.)

This month you also:

-started preferring table food over baby food

-started throwing your hands up when we say "all done" and then you clap and say "yay"

-you bring the phone to your ear and say "ho" for hello (you even do this with your hand when you hear a phone ring)

-you laugh when we laugh and laugh at all pictures of animals or real animals

-you play with toy cars and make a "brrrr" sound that Daddy taught you

-you started your new routine with Mommy's part-time job (part of the week with Mommy and part of the week at your Grandma's)

-started pointing a remote to the television and acting like you're changing the channel (cracks.us.up)

-started standing up more on your own, cruising, and acting like you are so over the crawling thing, ha!

-"pop wheelies" while crawling...you get up on your knees, put your arms up in the air and then plop them down hard and fast

-sit down from standing instead of just falling

-started "helping" and handing things to people; you give a big smile when you hear "thank you"

-hide things under the couch and then get down and look for them

-hugging and patting others including your stuffed animals (you say "awww" when you do this)

-standing in the bathtub and throwing a fit when we tell you no and sit you back down

-say "mamamama"!!

-say "mi" for milk, "muh" for more, and "cah" for cat

-feed Boone from your high chair

-play awesome by yourself with your toys when we are in the room

-cackle whenever there is anticipation

-take off your bow and hand it to us

-started eating cheerios and will pull your own bites out of a snack bowl we have for you

So what do you like and dislike?

You love…

-eating whatever we put in front of you that is "real food" (turkey, chicken, hummus and avacado are your faves right now)

-to talk

-being outside

-animals

-playing with your toys

-swinging and going for rides in your stroller

-people watching/making new friend

-filling up things and emptying them

You dislike…

-diaper and clothing changes

-sitting still (your 10 month photos show that!)

-being spoon fed

 

What are your sizes?

You are in 9 month sleepers and 9-12 month clothes.  Clothes are snug up top (due to your little, chunky belly) and your waist is small, so smaller pants fit you.  Except, your pants are starting to get short.

At your most recent check-up, your doctor called you "long and lean" although you still have all your sweet little rolls! You weigh about 18 pounds this month (25th percentile) and you are 27 3/4 inches long (50th percentile). 

What are your eating habits like?

You are still going strong with nursing! Yay! You nurse when you wake up (varies each day), around lunchtime (12 or so), in the afternoon (4 or 5) and at bedtime.  When Mommy is working, you nurse at all of these times, except your lunchtime milk is a bottle (which you can often take it or leave it!)

You are eating finger foods at every meal and will often also eat a pouch of apple sauce or baby food by self-feeding.  You love everything we put in front of you! We let you try everything we eat and you now expect the "real food".  You have also started snacking this month--usually in the afternoon.  You love cheerios and crackers.  For breakfast you often eat a gluten-free waffle or french toast and some fruit.  For lunch, you usually eat chicken or turkey (you love that!) and some veggies and fruit.  For dinner it's a mixture of whatever we are vhing.  You still love hummus and avacado.  You drink water from your straw sippy so well and can drink from any regular straw. You love to try a sip of whatever we are drinking!

How is your sleeping?

We've made bedtime later, girl! You are just too wound-up and excited still early in the evening, so we felt a later bedtime would work.  It seems to have! We start your routine around 8:30 or 9 and you are asleep by 9:30.  You wake up with about 11 hours of sleep.

You still wake once or twice a night, but go right back down with a little rocking and/or nursing.

So what makes you, you this month?

You are so much fun, baby girl! It amazes us how quickly you learn things and how intently you study the world around you! You take everything and everyone in with so much joy and excitement! You are turning into such a little person with so much personality and sweet mannerisms.  We just love you to pieces!

                                                                                                    Love,

                                                                                                    Mommy and Daddy

Featured Today!

Hey all! 

Just a quick note to say head on over to Callie's blog to check out her post series, Moms and Babies! 

 

I'm featured on her beautiful blog today!

Find the post here!

memory keeping

I am guilty for a few things.

One.  I am a memory hoarder.  Seriously.  I try to hang onto every moment and memory.  Having a baby has taken this to a whole new level! ;)

Two.  I am always looking for ways to change and add/update our home.

Three.  Pinterest is an addiction of mine.  I pin and pin and pin.  And then pin some more.  It's like a drug for creative people.  I have a "memory keeping" folder, an "our home" folder, and a "photo ideas" folder that often get filled up with pin ideas for our home.

So, oh my was I happy when I was recently able to make some of my pinning happen in "real life"!

My first project is a silhouette of Adeline.  I so love the whimsy and charm a silhouette adds to the wall.  Not to mention the beauty of having Adeline's sweet little profile captured at 9 months! 

I found the oval frame at a yard sale for $0.50! A little spray paint was all it needed! I simply used a silhouette tutorial online and am so, so pleased with how it turned out!

The silhouette became one of a few things that I added to our hallway.  I added it to a collage of frames.  One frame to go around the thermostat (Pinterest idea), a newborn photo of Adeline, the silhouette, and then a quote I printed that I found on Pinterest that I love..."i wouldn't trade you for the world".

Another memory keeping project I did recently was actually a gift for Father's Day for Justin.  It's a collage of pictures of Adeline that I finally got it hung in our bedroom.  I so adore it (and so does Justin ;)!

The final project I completed recently was corralling two years of cards.  Yes, I save all the cards we receive for birthdays, holidays, etc.  We have a bunch of cards for 2011, one for 2012, and then I have started a bunch for Adeline of all her cards from her first year.  I grouped them to include the Christmas cards from the December right before (so the 2011 bunch has 2012 Christmas cards) and I plan to start a new bunch at each Christmas and collect as the year goes.  I used an automatic whole punch and binder rings you can get at any store with office supplies.  I love having our cards organized and a plan for where they are going.  (I keep a card display on our foyer table of the current cards.  They will now get moved to the ring of cards once a holiday passes.)

Whew! Feels good to get this accomplished and in our home to enjoy for years to come.

why you should yard sale

If you know me or have read my blog for long, you know I'm all about a deal.  I'm naturally thrifty-minded and, for me, it's a thrill to seek out a deal.  Many Saturdays, I get up and hit the yard sales around town.  Some mornings we go out as a family.  Some mornings it's just Adeline and me.  And occasionally, Justin stays home with Adeline while I go out for a bit in the morning.  This morning I flew solo and had tons of luck!

Total yard sales: 5

Total time:  1.5 hours

Number of items purchased: 12

Total spent:  $6

I found Adeline gobs of books at a couple of the yard sales! I was able to buy 5 board books at my first yard sale for $1.50, including Tigger Bounces into Fall (so cute!).  I then bought Clifford's First Halloween and a Max Lucado board book, as well as a sing along nursery rhyme CD for $2 at my next yard sale.

After that I headed to another yard sale and found an awesome oval frame that I've been wanting for a crafting project that's up my sleeve! I'm currently giving it new life with some spray paint and a little makeover.  (Justin was disturbed that the family left their family photo in the frame.  Seriously...it's a reprint of an old family photo.  He wants me to burn it so it doesn't haunt us. ha!)

My last planned yard sale was a flop.  High prices and junk I didn't need.

The last yard sale I went to probably excited me the most and I just found it following signs.  Love when that happens.

At this yard sale I found a Bailey Boys gingham romper set and two pairs of shoes for Adeline!

I had just told Justin the night before I wanted to find some bright red shoes to go with Adeline's lady bug Halloween costume...found them! I only paid $0.50 for these and they're Gap!

The deal of the day...century maybe...was the Bailey Boys outfit.  This thing was probably between $30 and $40 new!! I bought it for $1!

Tips for "Yard Sale-ing":

- Search Craigslist or your local paper around Thursday or Friday for listings. On Craigslist, under "for sale, garage sales"...search by the town names you want to shop in.  I search by my county, then I search by the specific cities I know I want to shop in.

-Go early but don't worry if you aren't there when they first open.  Sometimes you'll get better deals as the day goes on because people just want to get rid of things!

-Take cash and coins...and preferably set a limit.

-Look for prices that are about 10-20% of what they originally would have sold.  (Or try to do even better!)

-If something isn't priced...ask!

-Just think: sanitize.  My favorite option is Clorox's Anywhere cleaner.  Makes toys and books brand new! Porous items such as fabric, can be thrown in the washer.  Small pieces like plastic blocks can be put into a mesh laundry bag and put into the top rack in the dishwasher!

-Be bold and ask for a lower price if you think it should be lower.

-Group items together and ask the seller for a price for the group.  (For example, I bought 5 books for $1.50.  Originally, they wanted $0.50 a piece for the books, meaning I would have paid. $2.50.  I just approached the seller with the group of books and politely asked if she would take $1.50 for all of them.  It was a yes and I got an even better deal!)

-Don't give up.  Some weekends you will have a lot of luck, while others you won't have any.

-Go with items in mind and think about how you can repurpose or give new life to an item! If you're willing to put a little creativity and/or elbow grease into something, you can save SO much money by shopping at yard sales.

-Look at the tags! (Often, you can find designer kids clothes for super cheap at yard sales.  I know I can buy many clothes, such as Target, Kohl's, etc. very cheap on clearance and with store coupons in the store.  I often don't buy those types of clothes at yard sales.  However, you can't even find yard sale type deals on designer clothes when you buy consignment.  I don't pass up a designer outfit that's priced right at a yard sale.  Often kids clothes have been worn once or twice and look brand new.)

-Make it fun.  I often stop by McDonald's and get a large diet coke to take along with me for the ride.

still in her jammies...enjoying her new treasures!

Enjoy the hunt!

9 months!!

Dear Adeline Grace,

            Well baby girl...you are now 9 months old! You've now been in this world as long as you were in Mommy's tummy.  It just amazes me how time flies by each month.  You silly, spunky, full-of-joy girl, you.  We love you soooo much.  You have been such a sweet little busy body this month!

So what have we learned about you this month and what have you been up to in your ninth month of life?

Here are some of your firsts this month...
 

On 7.14.21 you went to St. Simons Island, Georgia for the first time for a family vacation! We also visited Savannah, Georgia.  Your Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Matt and Amanda went.  We stayed in a cute little beach cottage close to the water.  You had an absolute blase and loved the water and sand! You would dig in the sand, put it all over you, and play like crazy.  You even tried to eat it quite a few time! You would crawl into the ocean and let the waves come over you--you so loved this! You also got into the ocean with us and enjoyed floating in the pool!

On 7.23.12 you started clapping! Your Daddy taught you.  You hold your left hand still and hit it with your right hand.  You often say "yaaaaay" as you do it because you have seen us do that so often.  It's so cute and you do it every time something excites you now!

On 7.26.12 you seemed to really get the whole pulling up and being crazy, mobile thing.  You've been pulling up on occasion but I marked this day as the day you really seemed to get it.  You pull up on the couch, end tables, dishwasher, door, windows, everything!! :)

On 7.27.12 you started dancing.  You bounce up and down when we clap or sing or you hear music.  You wiggle your little butt...so cute!

On 7.28.12 you stood up in the bathtub and your crib for the first times.

On 8.4.12 it was your first time taking a bath in the regular tub without your baby tub.  You loved it and crawled all around.

On 8.6.12 you stood by yourself for a few seconds without holding onto anything!

This month you also:

-perfected the crawling thing....you are fast!
-really perfected that pincer grasp and picking up little pieces of table food
-started pointing at people and things you want
-say "ba ba" for bye bye
-ate meat for the first time (pureed turkey and chicken...now we've moved on to small pieces of cooked meat)
-"cruise" as you hold onto things
-take steps when we hold your hands
-say "oooh ooooh oooh" when you like something and want something (this is accompanied with bouncing)
-found a love for stuffed animals (you even pat them and say "awwww")
-perfected waving
-seemed to switch from pureed baby food to prefer table food
-doing the milk sign but we think it means "mommy" instead of milk.  ha!
-throw your hands up and rub your ears when we say "all done" --this may be your "all done" sign?

So what do you like and dislike?

You love…

-swimming

-Boone
-playing in the floor with toys
-pulling up
-emptying anything you can get your hands on
-stuffed animals (including your huge bear)
-wallering
-talking
-Puffs

You dislike…

-diaper and clothing changes

-when you are awake in your crib and Mommy or Daddy leave the room

-sitting still for any period of time

 

What are your sizes?

You are in 9 month sleepers.  You are also in 9 month clothing.  You are in size 3 diapers when in disposables and are in the largest snap setting in cloth! You still have lots of chunks and rolls....love it!

You weigh 17.5 pounds this month.  We will find out your percentiles at your upcoming 9 month appointment.

What are your eating habits like?

You nurse when you wake up (8ish), at lunch (12ish), before dinner (4ish) and at bedtime (7:30-8ish).  Your nursing always comes before you eat your three "meals".  You are also waking up during the night and nursing everywhere from 2 to 3 times.

As of today (it seems to change constantly), you are eating oatmeal or banana baby food for breakfast.  You eat a veggie and/or meat of some sort for lunch...really this varies.  If we're eating something you can, we also let you explore with table food.  You don't think twice about anything we put in front of you to eat off the table.  Seriously.  You also love to munch on puffs at lunch.  At dinner, it's the same as lunch...it changes every day.  You still love to drink water from your straw sippy! We haven't done juice at all.

How is your sleeping?

We really try to stick with a 7:30-8 bedtime and you prefer to sleep 12 hours total.  You wake up 2 and 3 times a night right now and nurse and go right back down with no fuss.

You nap in the morning a couple hours after you wake up four about 30 to 45 minutes and then you nap in the afternoon around 2 or 3 for about an hour.  (You still aren't a "napper". ;)

So what makes you, you this month?

I say it every month, but you are just so full of life.  You keep us on our toes and so busy, but we wouldn't want it any other way. You learn something new every day.  Sometimes it seems like every hour.  You are so sweet, cuddly and joyful.  You are slowly leaving baby and heading toward toddler.  I want to freeze time, but also adore seeing you grow and learn each day.  God made you so, so special and we love you more than we could ever tell you.  As the sweet quote says, "You have our whole heart for your whole life."

                                                                                                    Love,

                                                                                                    Mommy and Daddy

what I'm loving!

Linking up with the sweet Jamie today!

Today I'm loving...

*This new Pandora station I heard about for babies...Caspar Babypants.  Seriously cute!

via

*My amazing bible study I'm doing on Thursday mornings....James by Beth Moore.  I have always loved the book of James and how convicting and raw it is.  Beth Moore is seriously amazing at enlightening you to see scripture in a deeper way to closer to connect to Jesus.  One of my favorite parts of this is that we're handwriting the books of James throughout the study. How cool is that?  It makes it stick in a whole new way to visual person like myself! One part of James that's stuck in my head right now...

"Consider it all joy!" 

James 1:2a (paraphrased)

*That it's still summertime.  That's all I need to say about that! :D

*This article I found on Pinterest.  Definitely worth the read! So full of common sense, easy ideas!

via

 *All of your kind and encouraging comments on my post from yesterday.  I am so, so filled with joy over the fact that God was able to use my story to bless and encourage you.  You are such encouragement to me as well! Praise the Lord for how He works!

*That we just took an amazing family beach trip to St. Simons Island, Georgia. (I really hope to post pics eventually about this trip when I can find some time! I've got a crazy, mobile, pulling-up-on-everything crawler, y'all!) It was so fun to watch Adeline play in the sand and fall in love with the beach!

Happy Wednesday!