Wordless Wednesday-Snoozing

Wordless Wednesday-Excited

Wordless Wednesday-Baby's First Christmas

Wordless Wednesday-Baby Kisses

August Is National Breastfeeding Month!

National breastfeeding month is something dear to my heart. It makes me happy that breastfeeding is getting acknowledged as a valid and necessary start to a baby's life. I have had a wonderful bonding experience with both of my children while nursing them. My daughter for ten months and now my son who is almost six months old. Each of them were unique in their feeding habits and each has posed it's own set of challenges. It was something I always thought I would do and I have fulfilled that goal with happiness. The road wasn't always easy but, it was attainable.

I will try and post some facts about breastfeeding in a few posts so that moms who are curious about nursing can see for themselves why breastfeeding should be a goal, at least for a few months of their baby's life. Not all moms can breastfeed but, the majority can. It's important to educate yourself on anything you choose to do for you and your family.

Did you know?:

• Formula isn't sterile?
• Formula contains Formaldehyde
• A Mother's breast milk is constantly changing as her baby grows to provide the exact type of nutrition the baby needs.
• Breast milk is species specific and is the perfect nutrition for your infant.
• Adults who were breastfed as babies often have lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and lower rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Here is a short video to give a general guideline of how nursing takes place in the beginning. Enjoy

Cold Seat-Review

I live in AZ and we all suffer in the heat out here. I have a four year old and a baby that is four months old right now. He cries and cries when we get into the hot car and I feel so bad for him because the A/C in my car doesn't really do much for my kids in the back seat.

I have been trying to find something that would help with this, and came across Cold Seat. This is a seat designed by a mom for the very hot Summer days she has dealt with, with her own children. She developed this innovative design with the help of cold packs that are put into the freezer and used in coolers, etc.

I really loved the thought of this so I talked with her about it. I was sent a Cold Seat in the pink flowers design, and put it in the freezer right away. The next day, I took it out and used it in my sons seat while we were at church. The time lapse was just at three and a half hours. When I checked the cover, I noticed that all of the freezer packs were melted already and realized that the temperature was about 113 degrees F in the car. I wasn't really surprised because of just how hot it was and had been that day. After testing in this heat again, I would say the cool packs last about an hour to two hours. Definitely enough time to do some things like shopping, or going out to eat!

Likes

• I like the patterns on the covers, there are masculine and feminine designs
• I like the cool pack idea and that they are non toxic if ruptured
• I like that it is easy to roll up and store in freezer
• I love that it keeps the seat itself cool and prevents me from burning myself or my kids on the buckles!

Dislikes

• The only downside to this really is that it doesn't last as long as I would like in the dead of Summer.

Wordless Wednesday-New Lovey

Wordless Wednesday-Real Boys Swing In Girlie Swings

A pic of my little dude in his hand me down girl swing ha ha.

Baby Update-2 months

I kept a journal for my daughter while I was pregnant with her and I still update it periodically, so that she can be gifted with it when she is older and can take care of it. I want her to be able to see things through my eyes and know how much she is loved and cherished. I started one for my little boy while pregnant but, along with not feeling well, I just don't have time to write down much.

I am realizing more and more that I need to be writing some of these things down on my blog so at least I have some things I can reflect on and put in his journal. Time is passing by quickly, too quickly it seems. I know we all struggle with time as we get older...

Ewan, you're two months old now as of last Monday. You're a little over ten pounds and you're almost 22 inches long. You have fuzzy brown hair, quite a bit especially in the back. Your eyes are getting lighter although they're still a royal blue color. You're getting very expressive. Since you were about six weeks old, you've been trying to hold your head up. You can now hold your head up really well for long periods of time. You're very strong and try to climb up me while holding you. You are also a fighter when I do something you don't like, like sucking out your nose or giving you medicine.

Your lungs work, ha ha. You are quite a screamer! You scream when your tummy hurts, you scream when you need to be changed, and you scream when mama isn't near you. That frustrates your Dad since you scream after short times of being with him and won't stop until Mommy gets you. You love showers and have been getting them with me since you were about three and a half weeks old. You mellow right out in the water and are really content to be in there whether it's a shower, bath, or sponge bath even! One of my favorite things is when you nurse, you get really excited and smack your lips. You also smack them when you're done drinking, it's really cute on a little tiny baby. I also love that when I hold you close, you grab hold of my clothing or my hair and hold on tight. You are a little snuggler!

Personality wise, you're changing a ton! You smiled the day you turned two months old and you are like mommy's family, you smile with your whole face :). You get really excited now when I talk to you and you want to talk to me so bad. You make little coos and your whole body moves to interact with me. Your eyes follow me now and that's pretty cute, your eyes also getting really huge when you hear my voice. I'm realizing more as you grow that you got my eyes. The shape and the iris. It's a little strange looking at parts of yourself on your little one. I love how genetics works, it's so amazing how we are all unique and yet we carry our family with us.

Your Sister sometimes resents you but, mostly she loves you and thinks you're so cute. She kisses you on your head and tries to help hold you and get your diapers, etc.

We love you baby boy, we are so thankful that we were given you as a gift after having to wait for 3 years almost. Our family is now complete!

Wordless Wednesday-Baby Boy At One Month

Wordless Wednesday-It's A Boy!

We are happy to announce that I am due Mid March with a little boy!!! Our family will be complete with this little one.

Wordless Wednesday-Baby On Board

We had an ultrasound last week that showed our baby is due March 16 and was bouncing around and happy. We are so excited and can't wait to find out the sex!

Wordless Wednesday-Baby Girl

My sister took this pic of my daughter when she watched her. It was just so adorable that I copied it. Not a great copy because it was taken with a camera phone.

Making Tuesday Tasty-Cinnamon Teething Biscuits

These shouldn't be introduced until 6 months. These contain wheat so if your family has allergies, talk to your Dr. first about introducing wheat into your baby's diet.

Ingredients

10 oz of flour
2 oz of dried milk powder - non-fat
2 oz of wheat germ *
1.5 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
A pinch of salt
6 oz of sugar
3 fl oz of vegetable oil
1 egg beaten
2 oz of apple juice frozen concentrate, thawed

Directions

Mix the flour, milk powder, wheat germ, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a bowl.
Mix the oil and sugar in a separate bowl and beat in the egg.
Stir in the apple juice, then add enough of the flour mixture to make a stiff dough.
Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 375 deg F/190 deg C.
Roll out the dough and cut into shapes, then place on a greased baking sheet/cookie sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes, until golden.

*recipe courtesy of mybabyfoodrecipes.com*

Wordless Wednesday-Summer Fun

Summer 2007. My silly baby.

A Family Loss Due To Fire

As originally posted on Kristie's Notes...


At 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, an old friend of mine lost her home, her belongings, her husband, her 4 year old son and her 8 month old daughter to a fire. She was saved by a neighbor who put a ladder up to her bedroom window. Her 12 year old step daughter also made it out on her own. The neighbors tried to put a ladder up to the children's window, where their father was trying to save them, but were unable to due to the smoke and flames. The fire department was able to remove her husband and children from the home within 10 minutes of arriving, but as I already mentioned, it was too late.

I've been having a hard time keeping my eyes dry for the last couple days. I know her story and this isn't the first time I've cried for her. When we were in high school, I remember going to the funeral home for visitation for her mother who passed away. I cried again for her at her wedding where they had a rose and picture of her mother set up front with the thought that her mother was smiling down on her wedding from heaven. At those times I couldn't imagine going through life and getting married without my mom by my side. Now I couldn't imagine the rest of my life without my husband by my side and watching my children grow.

This friend, Amanda, is only 27 and has suffered unimaginable loss. She could use a lot of prayers right now and, because she has lost everything, she is in great need of financial support as well. I don't have a very large reach on my little blog, so I was hoping that some of you could help me spread the word by blogging about this as well.

Her work place has set up the 'Buckland Family Trust Fund' at the Eastern Michigan Bank, but they are also accepting donations, for those who cannot make it to the bank, at the following address:

Ullenbruch's Flower Shop
C/O Amanda Buckland
1839 Lapeer Ave
Port Huron, MI 48060


***Update: There is now a Paypal account set up to accept donations. You can reach the donation page by clicking on the button below. If this donation button doesn't work, please use the one at the top of my sidebar (upper left-hand corner of my blog).

Again, I know this time of year is super busy and times are tight, but if you can please help spread the word and/or send a donation-no matter how small, every little bit helps. Of course, if you don't have the means to help in either of those ways right now, prayers are greatly appreciated! :-)

Thank you to everyone who has expressed their condolences already and to those of you who have been praying for Amanda and her daughter. I will be sure to pass on your thoughts and prayers to Amanda when I see her at her family's funeral tomorrow. (Typing 'family funeral' is not easy! Phew!)

*I also want to send out a safety reminder to anyone who reads this. Make sure you have smoke detectors installed in your house and that you change the batteries twice a year. (The recommended times to change them is when you change yours clocks for daylight savings time.)

**If you would like to read more about this horrible tragedy, you can do so here.

Wordless Wednesday-First Christmas

My mom bought Kaia a doll just about the same size as her, and I laughed. This and some other video is when we first opened it and turned it on. She was so concerned about the baby when it cried. It's hard to see her expressions because it was shot in the apartment and it was dark. Still cute though

Kidswearhouse.net Review And Giveaway!*CLOSED*

I came across Kidswearhouse.net while shopping for my daughter who is two, almost three years old. I, like most, am on a budget and can't afford boutique clothing. I am always looking for a great deal and I landed on their home page. Surprisingly, I found some high quality, name brand clothing at really low prices.


Kidswearhouse.net is a simply built website and conveniently categorized. At first glance, you may not think it's much but, they are very friendly people to work with, and they have awesome deals! They have baby, toddler, and child sized clothing up to size 16. They have play clothes, dresses, party dresses, holiday items, and more.


They just recently added a new line called Oatmeal & Raisin. Really adorable boys and girls baby clothing. They have a set amount for shipping no matter the size of order now, so it's really affordable to do your shopping in bulk through them. If you want it rushed, they have some affordable options as well.



My daughter received a Good Lad 3 piece scooter skirt set in a 2T. She is really becoming a girly girl and wanted to try this outfit on IMMEDIATELY. She had a great time posing for me. My daughter is petite but, is longer on her top than on the bottom. She is one of those children that usually needs separates because she is two different sizes. I asked Kidswearhouse how the fit was by email and was responded to in a timely manner about sizing. I felt confident with their answer and ordered my daughter the outfit as they said it was true to size. When I received it, I was pleasantly surprised how well this particular outfit fit. The top isn't too short, it fits just about right, the stretch pants bunch a little but fit her not too tight or loose. The skirt is probably the biggest and when she is wearing the stretch pants underneath or tights, it fits her fine. She has some room to grow. I found the outfit charming and she got lots of compliments at church! It is age appropriate and well made. The material is comfortable and stretchy.






Buy It

Go to Kidswearhouse.net and check out all their super cute clothes. They are offering a Thanksgiving discount of 15% all items with a code THANKS2009.

Win It

Kidswearhouse is being VERY generous this Thanksgiving by giving one of my readers a $50 voucher to purchase something special for your little one! Maybe it could be a Christmas outfit or a gift for the holiday?!

Rules

Please search around the website and tell me one item that you love! This is mandatory and must be done in order to be entered. Please leave me a way to contact you or I will choose another winner.

Extra Entries

-Purchase something from Kidswearhouse and receive 10 entries!!(please leave 10 separate entries. First entry should have email and order number as reference)

-Follow me on blogger for one entry

-Follow me on Twitter @kaiasmommy for one entry

-Enter my Digital Room giveaway for one entry

- Enter my Oompa giveaway for 2 entries.

Please leave a separate entry for each! Open to U.S. residents. You don't have to be a blogger to enter. Please leave your email or a way to reach you or I will select another winner!

Contest ends December 1, 2009 at 11:59 PM Arizona time.

*thanks to kidswearhouse.net for providing an outfit for review*

Wordless Wednesday-At Grandma's First Thanksgiving

Wordless Wednesday-Wedding In Vegas

June 2007 at my Brother in laws wedding, Las Vegas. Hot and very long day. Kaia was about six months old in this pic, it makes me laugh because she was wearing a 0 to 3 month dress. She was such a tiny thing.