My 1st tip post: Baby Photography!

Any picture of a little one is always bound to be super duper cute! But I would like to share a few tips that I have learned and noticed myself when taking pictures of a baby. Or anyone!

#1 Snap snap snap: Keep snapping that cam over and over and worry about what they look like later. That way when you go back and browse you will be surprised with wonderful shots you didn't realize you took! Sometimes I'm like, wow, did I take that?? And then eventually you will figure out what you did and can take those pro looking pics next time on purpose. Everything takes practice though. I still snap snap snap because I just love taking hundreds of pictures of the same thing. Don't judge me. ;)

taken with my Galaxy S cell phone

#2 Natural lighting: Try not to use a flash as much as you can. Natural lighting is way more attractive and makes the picture stand out more! Plus with the flash you end up with nasty red eyes you have to go edit after, and that can take a while if you took hundreds of pics! (Yes I have been a victim of that torture many times)

Casio Exlim

#3 Get up close, super CLOSE:  Pictures of kids and babies always look way cute when you can take a picture really close in their face. (That sounds invasive) But it's true! You can see those gorgeous eye colors and sweet facial features really well.

phone pic

#4 Edit: Editing is really fun, especially if you have Photoshop! But you don't HAVE to have Photoshop. Most Cell phones with cameras now days have awesome applications you can download...and for free! That will give your pictures some sweet effects. A hobby of mine is taking photos myself, then turning them into pics that look like they were done in a studio. Most studios charge an arm and a leg for those features to be added to your pictures and I say, PAH! I can do that myself yo.

phone pic

Before

After-Photoshop

#5 Keep that camera near: My must have everywhere I go is a camera. You may think that's silly, but I have pictures of pretty much everything my son has ever done. I keep my phone on me at all times that doubles as a camera. And whenever I leave the house I take my actual camera, too. Keeping it nearby and ready to grab and snap ensures you will get those random silly faces and "firsts" on film or photo. And that's just priceless!

#6 Different angles: Take pictures from different angles than just always doing straight on and centered. Play around and take a snap off centered, crooked, diagonal, and even upside down. Straight is boring when you only take pics that way, and you get different dimensions and features by turning the camera around some!



#7 Get those cute grins: For a baby, I always do what I know makes them smile or laugh over and over to catch it on camera. (And no matter how ridiculous it makes me look! lol) He seems to be starting to catch on that that's what you do when Mommy has the camera!



#8 Any camera will do: Of course, you probably know my love and desire for the SLRs and how I want one oh so bad, but right now I just have my Casio Exlim and the camera on my Android phone. And they get the job done, for now. (I still plan to get an SLR!)  You can get a good quality photo no matter what type you have. (That's MOSTLY true haha) You just have to learn how to work what ya got Momma! Or Daddy! lol



And there you have it. My kiddo photography tips 100 % by yours truly! Hope you like and feel free to comment if you have any sweet tips to share. If I think of any more I will edit and add it here. :)


*hugs n' grins!*

Getting so strong!

Today started out tough for this Mommy...It started out with me tired  for what seemed like forever, I was spit-upped on, peed on, and had a non stop screamer for about 30-45 minutes when it was time for nap #2. So, I decided to do a "cheater" nap and take him on a walk. Worked like a charm, like always. Thank goodness it is nice enough outside to do that! (The weather this week has been fantabulous) It was a life saver for myself as well because it got me energized and cleared my head, which calmed me. I really dislike being frustrated around the baby. Make that PERIOD! Then I did a workout a little later since I was feeling mommylicious (that's when a mommy feels good about herself, I just made it up lol). Little did I know Brayden was going to start a workout of his own, CRAWLING. Oh. My. Gosh. This is a miraculous, not to mention CUTE thing to witness! He's starting to do it slowly, and only a few "strides" at a time. (I think I worded that right) I am just too proud of him! He's been acting like he really wants to do it for weeks now. And it doesn't stop there...he learned to pull up to stand some time ago and hasn't really cared to keep doing it often. He gets stingy with his performances hehehe. But since yesterday he is now all over it like frosting on a cake! And today he's been doing it non stop. He now gets into everything on the second shelf of the bookcase, right after I had completely cleared off the bottom shelf yesterday too! Guess that's what I get! Oh and he loves to going from laying to sitting up over and over now, like he can't make up his mind. Ha! I swear, every time he he wants to do new stuff he goes crazy with it all at one time. Like when he turned 6 months, that was an event! He will be 8 months old in 6 days so it makes sense. Wait, 8 months old? AH he's such a big boy I can't even believe it!! I still see him as my teeny tiny new baby. Ok one more adorable thing he did I have to share! He started going away from me (I was sitting on the couch, he was army crawling around on the floor) and I tried getting him to turn around and come back to me but he wouldn't. Then I said "You want nay nay?" That's the name we came up with for nursing when he was newborn. Anyways, he stopped then turned around and crawled his way to me moaning the whole time then came and pulled himself up on the couch and even let out a "Ma!" AHHHH my heart dropped to the floor and melted into putty!! It was so amazing, and it is great to see he actually knows what nay nay means! So so smart I tell you. I LOVE that boy more than the whole wide universe. <3

Blurry cause he's on the move!

First time he stood up with this toy

We have our plans for my Hubster's birthday/Fourth of July! We are going to Columbia for a couple days and it's going to be extra fun because my sister's mother-in-law and her daughter will be visiting! We haven't seen them in almost a year so they haven't even met Brayden yet! I'm excited, we love them very much. :D So I will make Jon a cake like I do every year and I'm sure my mom will be cookin' a good meal...still need to talk to her about all that though. And of course we plan to get our firework on. (Katy Perry has totally ruined talking about fireworks for me) So a simple yet exciting time in store! I can't help but wonder how Brayden will do with his sleep and all, since this is his first trip since the sleep training. I hope my friend is right and he will surprise me!! We wont know if we want to stay 2 nights or just 1 until we see how that first night goes. I'll let ya know how he does, cool? Alrighty everyone have a great weekend! Toodles!



*hugs n' babbles*

A Crafty Time!

I've been keeping my sewing machine company lately making fun baby stuff! All the ideas I have been using are from online, and all from other bloggy blogs by crafty ladies. (The pros) I thank them so much for posting such neato stuff and making tutorials for newbies like me! It helps to have detailed instructions I tell ya. Although, I like to bend the rules a little bit and improvise. So, I don't follow them the the T and they still come out looking fab ;)






First, I made this adorable sippy cup leash since my little Prince likes to throw it on the floor! The tutorial is HERE.










Here I took 2 burp cloths and made them one with style! The plain white ones are pretty boring and ugly if you ask me. HERE is that tutorial.

Yesterday I used some new cloth I bought at Joann's to make an adorable burp cloth! I love this and so does your royal highness. (He went crazy playing with it) And the Hubster helped pick out the fabric. What a team we make ;) Tutorial is right HERE. Mine is not as long as hers though.

And for the most complex thing I have made yet, the vinyl pocket bib. It defiantly isn't perfect but it serves it's purpose and I am just in love with it!! I am going to make more, I have tablecloth for days over here.
HERE is where I found the toot.

He's just too darn perfect!

Wearing it so well don't ya think? ;)

I have been shopping to get more supplies for my new super cool hobby lately. I've been to Joann's, Wal-Mart, and Hobby Lobby. Next I want to check out Micheal's. I'm sure I will have a favorite craft store soon. Can't wait to share more projects with you guys!

My spiffy craft shopping bag from Joann's

 Oh and I have also started designing Brayden's birthday invitations on the computer! It's pretty exciting, yet overwhelming because I keep changing it, constantly, and can't stick put with a design. There's so many things I can do. Maybe I should just keep it simple, that's what I keep thinking. Either way they will be way cool since Mommy is making them. ;)  Well until the next blog enjoy your day and time with loved ones!



*hugs n' sparkles*

Brayden Says...

"Oh cool new things in my mouth! What else is there to do than bite Mommy? Fun!" 

"I just peed, get me out of this crib right NOW you know I won't go back to sleep!"

"I don't like your shows Mom and Dad now put the tv on something cute and musical"

"Ya, you know I run this house!"

 "OOOO shiny! Oh wait, I'm still mad...but SHINY...no. I can't get distracted now!"

"No Mom, I'm finished with this, that's why I threw it on the floor, DUH"

"Wow, that maybe made me laugh 3 months ago but now it's so old news. Ok, I'll give you a pitty laugh for your efforts"

"I said I don't wait to be on the changer table! Oh toothbrush in my mouth, sweet."

"What's that? You don't want me to crawl over here? Oh I can't here you. (hehehe, winning)"

And what I actually here: "Ah ba ba ba ba! "Waaaahhhh!" "Ba ga ga ga ga. Squeeee!"

And nothing is more precious!!
What will I do when he actually knows how to talk back? I can definitely wait to answer that! ;)

This one time, at the zoo...

Get ready for a long post because there is a lot to talk about! Hmmm where do I start? We, Brayden and I went with some ladies and their kids to the zoo yesterday! It was his first time and we had a BLAST. He did really well, too considering he has had a cough and his allergies acted up while we were there as well. So we had fun, saw lots of animals yadda yadda yadda. I just want to bring something up that makes me feel mad and sad about the "world." I have not had the situation come up since Brayden was born where I need to nurse him in a place that is not "nurse friendly," and my first time made me very flustered. I know the gal I was with was too. She had went to the information thingy to ask if they had a place for mothers to nurse their baby and they gave us directions on how to get to the area and all that. We went on the little train with our group (FUN by the way) and got off near where the place was. By the time we got on the train my baby was mad other than the times we were actually moving. SO, as mothers I'm sure you all understand how that can be frustrating. We get to where they told us and all it is, is benches outside where people were smoking and then a public restroom with a single stall bathroom right next to it. OH, and I should mention this was a HOT tamale day! So I decided to just sit outside and whip out my nursing cover and get him going. It was just too hot for us so I went to the public restroom since my friend was in the one staller. (I didn't use that one because I had blisters forming on my feet and I really just needed to be seated) So, I hop on the bathroom counter (moment to lol about that) and continue feeding my precious boy with nursing cover on. I felt SO awkward like a kid in school who has no friends and eats in the bathroom. (well, at least they do that in the movies!) Women, yes WOMEN were giving me dirty looks and you know what? I did NOT give a rats a**! Parson the french usage but remember, I was pretty livid. And, it was sitll hot in there. Not as bad as outside but still hot enough to keep Boo Boo and I sweating. Glad it didn't last long, but I will never allow myself to get in that situation again. And to women out there who have a problem, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? I'm sorry, but I will ALWAYS choose my baby's needs over what the world thinks of me! Heck if I didn't have the nursing cover I would still do it! Get a life. :D But it was a great day. We were there from late morning til around 4ish. Long day!

Brayden has had a little something that I don't even know if I should call a cold. But he's been coughing, mostly when sleeping. No other symptoms! And he's been pretty happy except when it comes time to go down for bed at night or his naps. The humidifier has been awesome and stops the coughing as soon as it's been on a few minutes. But, since that was making his room hot, he would cry and cry until I turned on the air conditioning! Then he would go to sleep. So what I did today to solve this issue but help the cough was we went to Target and bought him a more pricy cool mist humidifier. It's in the shape of a froggy, totally adorable! And I love it! We also bought more Vick's vapor rub because somehow I've lost the one we had. I did something new...I saw online and even the Dr. office told me to do this: Put a thick coat of the Vick's on the soles of baby's feet then cover with socks. I did that plus a tiny bit on his chest and what happened? After story time he was put to bed, and stayed completely silent! He didn;t even move around or anything. I feel like my amazing sleeper baby is back! I hated him being so mad to go to bed because he knew it was going to be uncomfortable. My little love dove!


 This weekend it going to be a nice relaxing, fun weekend. Jon is off for 4 days for Father's Day! I think tomorrow he is going to take me to Hobby Lobby to get some sewing materials I need to start more projects. Awesome! Then Sunday we get to go to church, ant time we want since he's actually off. (That's kinda rare) Not sure what else he wants to do but it's all up to him. He is an awesome Daddy and deserves it all. Honestly he is probably going to want to be home with us more than anything because he loves that. Family time is important and very precious. :) Well there is so much more to share but I will just have to save some for future posts. I am getting sleepy (it's only 8:45 what is wrong with me) and I want to have some quality time with Big Daddy before I hit the hay. So goodnight wonderful people and have an amazing Father's Day weekend!!!

P.S. I am going to start blogging some helpful tips, tricks, and stuffs I have learned in my days of being a Mommy because they have worked so well and feel the need to share and help! Everyone could use those so stay tuned for some cool updates my pals!

I Just Sent a Letter...

I just sent a letter. Oh look! It's a letter to my friend's! (Hopefully you've all seen Blue's Clues to get that. I put my own little spin on it for this post hehe)

To my friends here in STL,

  Thank you for adding me to your life, which was already full of friends. You have made such a difference that you probably don't even realize. I moved here knowing no one, and felt pretty alone. Especially since having my first baby and those haywire hormones! There is a special lady who I would like to shout out first.... her name is Jessica. If I hadn't met you Jessica, I wouldn't have even met all these wonderful Moms to begin with. *sniffles* Thank you for including me in your Mom's group! Such a wonderful idea and I want you to know I am grateful. Your a busy gal who does so many wonderful things for your family, and I'd like to start hanging out more when you have some time. You're pretty much awesome! If it wasn't for my dear friend Leann, who I met in labor, I wouldn't have met Jessica either. Thank you to her! (she probably wont be able to read this) Another beautiful, wonderful woman and Mother. And thank you to my friend Brittany, who I've had such a wonderful time getting to know and I value our friendship as well as our little play dates! We have both had our up and downs as new Mommies and it has helped so much to be able to share them and exchange advice. You are a fantastic Mother and I hope you get told that over and over, girly! I also want to give a shout out to my sweet friends and Momma's over there in Bakersfield! Even though I now live thousands of miles away I thank you all for keeping in touch with me this whole time and being there for support! Your a part of why I miss Bakersfield, and there are not many other reasons! ;) And I can't leave out 2 Moms who also live here in Missouri, MY mom and sister. Even though you guys live an hour and a half away you have still been here for me when you can and always will be. Well, of course since we are related you're kinda stuck with me. HAHA just playing! But I love you 2 so much and I'm grateful God picked you to be my mother and sister. No matter what crazy things come up we are all still here for each other. So, I love every single one of these women with all my heart and I just know we will be in each others lives for a very long time! I just have the feeling. It is so important to have girl friends by your side, ladies, they keep us sane and healthy. It is proven, go Google it! :-P *hugs everyone*

Love always and forever,
Karilyn

When accidents happen

I want to erase this image from my memory so bad, why can't that possible? I swore I would NEVER let my baby get hurt EVER and I made it 7 1/2 months, but Brayden fell out of his swing today. I was not in the room when it happened. He went from what I thought wasn't falling asleep to screaming the loudest he ever has on the floor underneath it. I feel like the worst Mother in the world right now when just right before I felt like the best Mother in the world. He has already had a tough time this morning from having a fever and cough to being woken up 30 minutes into his first nap by the stinkin' poop fairy. (literally) And the swing was the way to calm him down so he could get back to sleep to finish his nap. I now hate the stupid baby ransacker. He fits in it just fine but the straps don't fit around him any more because they made them too slappin' small. I want to report it to the company, seriously! So I put on the lap tray and until today it's always kept him in and secure. Some how he figured out how to climb out, the obvious. Now I know it's time to retire the stupid thing and take it to the basement, although I'd much rather set it on fire and kick it around some. I'm so upset and have too many emotions running through me. Oh, and so you don't go freaking out Brayden is fine. Not a scratch or bump on him. Thank you God! Although our babies are super curious and at times get into mischief, their Mommy's constant prayers keep them safe and protected. I really want to feel better already. But it's just not in me to forgive myself for not watching him constantly. They say it's impossible but bow I feel like from now on I HAVE to. It's the only way I can start to feel like the best Mommy again. I want that feeling back. :(

Made with love

I have started using my sewing machine, and I have to say that I feel like an official homemaker from back in the day! Which basically is saying I feel like I'm my Grandma, but a modern version. I made a couple simple things I'd like to share with ya'll, hope you like them!

So I first of all I want to share that I am HUGE on reusing old things and keeping them around and long as possible. This saves money and gives so much usage out of things that you think have no purpose anymore. The first thing I made I don't have pictured because it was just to start practicing but it was a little blanket that turned out to be a pillow case for a little pillow Braydonian has. Now I'll show you the other stuff...

This is a changing pad I made out of a fleece blanket passed down to Brayden from his cousins, and a towel that had no use for! The picture above is of me turning it right-side-out after sewing the layers together. I made this to go in his diaper bag so I don't have to keep using thin receiving blankets. The towel was so it would be thick as well as absorbent! (I like to think practical)

Finished product!

Next I made a burp cloth out of 2 old receiving blankets, (2 to make it double sided) also passed down from his cousins, and that same towels left overs. After making this I started to really feel like I'm getting the hang of this sewing jig and am pretty proud of myself!

Cool beans!

It turned out the perfect size and thickness and it's SUPER soft! Next time I make burp cloths I want to add cute ribbons and quilt binding, as well as use batting instead of towels. Also I will be using some of Brayden's now plain white burp cloths, they need some flair for sure.

 Well I better get back to my motherly duties here at mi casa, but I am excited to share about my little homemade baby goods! I love the idea of hand making things for Brayden. It's like those things will have so much love behind them because of the time and effort it took and not just bought at a store. It will be nice to even start making gifts for some friend's and family who have babies and are going to have new babies arriving!  Maybe one day I will be good enough to start a sewing tutorial blog ;)


*big hugs!*

Sew, It's Summer Time

  Summer is here!! I love summer time, it makes me all chipper and perky! Although, being out in the heat really makes me sleepy more than anything, that's weird now that I think about it lol. It's already super duper hot outside but that makes it more fun to go swimming and stuff! We took Brayden to a local swim park and he went in the pool for the first time! It was sooo adorable. Especially seeing him in his baby swim trunks haha! He was scared and did not want to be an inch away from Mommy or Daddy. He didn't even freak out that bad, just whimpered off and on! We were able to walk in the pool all around and he was calm as long as we held him right against us. I think it was a mix of the cold water and all the people around. I hope eventually he will warm up to the swimming pool and start to love it. After all, his Mommy is a HUGE swimmer and loves the water more than anything! It makes me think of when he gets older and how fun it will be to put him in swimming lessons and things like that. I loved swim lessons as a kid and still have the best memories from it. But that is a long time away and I still have loads of baby days to enjoy! Jon has been barbequing a lot too the last couple weeks. It's pretty great to have a husband that really loves too bbq and cook, I gotta say! Especially since cooking isn't really my thing, but I do it anyways because that's one of the jobs of a stay-at-home Mommy. I do, however, enjoy cooking all of Brayden's baby food. It's so much fun, and I don't even like cooking! There's something about it, and it makes me feel good.
  Well you know how I started saving up money for an SLR camera? Well I used some of that to buy me something that will give me LOTS of new projects this summer, and beyond... I got a sewing machine! I seriously feel like the ultimate, old fashion homemaker now! (Such a dork) I am really excited to use it and I already started practicing! I haven't even used a sewing machine since Jr. High school but I am picking up on it like I've always remembered. Not to brag or anything ;) I have always been crafty (I take after my mom and grandma) and it is actually really simple to use. I can't wait to go shopping at the fabric and craft stores and start making things for Brayden and the house. I have a couple things in mind I want to make and then I'm also going to look at a website a friend told me about (allfreesewing.com) and then later I'm going to maybe pick up a book or magazine for more ideas. So as far as the camera goes, I will more than likely be getting that by the beginning of next year. The time will go by fast so I don't mind waiting.
  And like always, I have a "first" to update about! Brayden now can go from laying on his belly into sitting position all by himself! I was taken by such surprise this last Tuesday evening at Jessica's house, when Bray and I were there for Mom's group, and he did it! It was cool, but I kinda wished Jon was there hehe. That's how is though, he can only see some of his firsts and not all. He has also started moving forward while on his fours. He only steps forward with his hands 1-2 times then rocks and goes back to his belly. He is such a trip! But he's really learning to crawl and I swear it's going to be where he decides one day to just take off and then I will look back and think it's crazy how he ever got around before then. I was just thinking the other day, how weird it is to think back before Brayden was mobile and just laid there. Happy as can be just, LAYING there all still! And it's even crazier how short of a time ago that was. As he gets older there are so many bittersweet moments like that. I sure love my baby boy! And he will always be my baby boy no matter how much he grows and learns! :)


*hugs n' bobbins*

Untitled update!

  Golly, it's been a while! I had a busy weekend, my mom was here visiting :) And of course the baby keeps me occupied as well! Jon has been home a lot more recently too so I really soak up our family time. Lots of barbecuing going on at the Roberts' residence! Hmm I guess I will first update about Brayden's skills and development and that fun stuff. He's doing sooo much more rocking on his hands and knees (fours), and he pushes up into the position all on his own constantly! He even army crawls differently. He so badly wants to crawl and is definetly getting there! The way he army crawls now is he lifts his torso up and down with each scoot. It's so cute and kinda funny to watch. Before he would basically just drag his body everywhere and use one leg to push but now his muscles are so much stronger. And today he was on his fours rocking and actually stepped forward with his hands 2-3 times! He's still figuring our how exactly how to use his knees. Very exciting! He also knows how to get from sitting to crawling on purpose so I no longer have to sit right by him when he's sitting. Everything else he does is getting more advanced as well, like his babbling, eating, and communications. He doesn't sign yet because he's only 7 months, but I really see him concentrating and thinking when I sign to him things like Mommy, eat, more, drink and much more. His sleeping is still wonderful and now he even lets Daddy put him down. I figured out that he just needs to be happy when he gets put down and not wait to the point when he's crabby. Duh! And you know something surprised me, he started sucking a pacifier again but just when he goes to sleep! This is surprising to me because he only liked a binky until he was 3-4 months old, and here he likes it again. Actually, when I think about it I should not be suprised. He now has found something to suck and soothe him that's not mommy, but good enough for him. It's just silly because it's now been a few weeks since starting the sleep training so I know he would sleep without it hehe. Whatever makes my precious boy happy. :)

 
  So it's been about 6 days since I last posted (which never happens) so I probably have forgotten by now what things I wanted to write about. Silly "Mommy Brain!" To to the men out there, yes, it DOES exisit so please give your wives a break if they constantly forget things you told them seconds ago hahaha! My brain feels fried all the time, and I wish there was a reset button or something to make it go back to before being pregnant. That would be awesome!! So anyways, I am pretty excited for a date coming soon that I have been looking forward to for several months. That would be August 11! That's the date our lease is up on our rental agreement here so we have already started browsing and checking out other places. We are sticking to renting for a while but we knew when we moved into this place it was just a starter to get a roof over our head. And don't get me wrong, we were really blessed to find such a spacious apartment in a wonderful neighborhood for a decent price! I just REALLY want a dishwasher now that we have a baby! Lol I know its silly but handwashing is just NOT my forte :p I'm a little spoiled, I know. There are also a couple other amenities we'd like to add as well, like for example a garage, if we can find something with one that would be awesome. So pray for us that we find the perfect home for my family close to August! :D

Ta ta for now! *muah*