I need to start blogging!

Yes it has been forever, but I would just like to say that I AM alive! We got moved into the new place end of August and we are doing just well. Brayden is about to turn ONE October 30th and I couldn't feel more shocked at how the year went by so quickly. It was one of the toughest, yet BEST year of my entire life. He is worth everything and I love him just to pieces. I have been quite busy planning stuff for this month, including his party on the 29th and I have to say I love it all. When you stress about something amazing I call that good stress! Haha I know I'm weird. But if your a parent you understand what I'm saying, right?

In 2 days he will be dedicated to the Lord, at what they call a "Baby Celebration" at my church, Harvester Christian. I think this will be a wonderful experience and I'm very much looking forward to it. Everything else is set and good to go. Like, his birthday cake...I sketched it out and have a lady to make it, his one year photo shoot...hired a lady to come out to our house where I will have 3 different "outfit" photo shoots, the party of course...his first haicut, or I should say trim haha! That's this Friday also, and what else...and you can't forget the one year check up and shots! Not looking forward to that one but it will be nice to see how big he is :) Oh and we got his Halloween costume and our plans set as well. Just the day after his birthday! OH and did I mention all the other baby birthday parties we are invited to all within the SAME week?? Ya, crazy but exciting, too. I hope we make it to all of them but we may not. Depends if my hubby gets his 2 week vacation granted...prayers please!!

There are so many other things I could write about but I'd like to do a couple other things before I go to bed and it's getting late! So what will I write about the second year around being a stay at home Mommy?? Hmmm well it's still my first time so stick around and find out with me! :D Goodnight all, sleep tight.

*bear hugs*

Lots of Excitement!

I can't believe how much my baby can do now, and how BIG he is getting! Ah and he will be a YEAR old very very soon! Brayden is clapping, waving, crawling super fast, cruising, and walks with holding onto his walker toys. So I am told by many people that that means walking is just around the corner, eeep! I also love it every time someone says to me, "I can't believe how GOOD he is!" Which I get told that a LOT lol. And it's true. I know this is the result of us not spoiling him and having him play on the floor since he was really tiny. He is definitely not the baby who want to be held ALL the time. He likes his independence and LOVES to explore! Now don't go thinking we don't give him tons of love and hold him, because we DO. He is definitely the most kissed baby, and the most played with baby!! But I wanted from the beginning to teach my child it is ok to play by himself and entertain himself when Mommy and Daddy are busy. I kid you not this boy will play for 1-2 hours straight while I do house work and such. That is an awesome thing in my opinion! So, to sum it up, my boy rocks ;)

Moving day is set for this Sunday (AHHH 2 days yippy skippy!) and I'm very excited about it. Can't you tell? If the place hasn't been inspected by then, then we will still move most of our stuff and just not actually live there til Tuesday, because that is Jon's next day off. But they are working really hard over there to get it all finished, yay! I am most excited about this place because I am actually going to get NICE furniture and also decorate! A girl like me loves that kind of stuff. And I already got Brayden room painted. It's green and looks really good! The place we have lived in the past 1 year is not so very modern and we hardly have any furniture, and it is not decorated at all. Blah. But I will say one thing nice about it here, and that is that this was my baby's first home. There are so many wonderful memories I will hold in my heart forever and for that I will miss it. A little ;)

I am not for sure when, but with us having a yard and all we have really been thinking about getting a doggie for Brayden. He LOVES dogs! And I want to see him light up like that all the time. It is sooo cute when he is around a doggie. So we are still deciding but it would have to be a really good dog that I can trust if it's going to join our family. Only the best for my Bray Bray!! :D I will update again once we are moved probably. So until then ta ta for now and don't miss me too much, I'll be back!

*big hugs!*

Countdowns

Brayden Turned 9 months old Saturday and you know what that means...t minus 3 months until he hits the big ONE. It's too soon! I have seen how quickly 3 months flashes by with having a baby and I never knew time could ever dart by that fast. Crazy. I am getting a little excited to get ready for it and plan, and I will let you in on what I know I want to do so far! I want a small, intimate birthday party at casa de la Roberts' (our house lol). All of our family and friends are in California and we have met some great people here in St. Charles to call friends and they will for sure be invited. The more I think about the party being on the small side the more I love it. Less stress, less money to save, and more one-on-one time to spend with our guests. Plus everyone who will be there will be special because they are joining my closest family members and ourselves for this wonderful day in our lives. It's pretty important to Jon and I! And I want the theme to be "Prince Brayden." That also brings me to some other great news, we found our new home and will be moving in sometime this month! This was such an answer to prayers, and I feel God is rewarding us for all our hard work and dedication the last year. It has been quite a ride to say the least. :) So anyways, let me share some of the great details! It is a duplex, 3 bedrooms 1 1/2 bathrooms, 2 story with first floor underground so no need for an icky basement, all laminate floors, comes with all appliances (except washer and dryer, we already have those), a small fenced yard with a swing set left by the last tenants, and a storage shed. Another awesome thing about this place is, is that the entire downstairs is almost complete from a total renovation. There was a random flood a couple months ago (first time ever) and went into the downstairs of the 2 duplexes, but they are going to build some nice brick walls surrounding the entrance where the water got in, so it will almost be impossible for another flood to sneak it's way into the house. Oh, and I absolutely LOVE our landlords! They are awesome. They have been doing all the labor on the place (except for the dry walls) and really take great care of their properties, which is extremely important. We are used to really old landlords who are really strict yet slack on getting stuff done, that needs to be done. But they are younger, and really nice and cool people to talk to as well. I'm super excited ya'll! YAY! And finally I will be able to do our laundry IN our home without having to go down and up stairs to a basement. That is kinda hard with a baby who needs to have an eye on him all the time. And my favorite part? I am a nerd for this but that would be the DISHWASHER!! Never in my life have I had to hand wash dishes until we came to Missouri where almost no one puts them in their rentals. I mean, what the heck? I hate it. Hand-washing dishes til my fingers are all pruney like raisins and dry is not my forte! So that's the info on the new place. Everything else lately has been going awesome, including Avon. I love selling it and although it's still the beginning I love having my own business that's something of, well, my own! I'll have to try and get on here a little more often than I have been. Gotta go now, baby just woke up early from his nap and doesn't sound happy about it! :P


*hugs!*


some 9 month photos of Brayden!

Oh the busy life

So new things to share with ya'll! First I will start with the most exciting... I decided I wanted to add another source of income for my sweet little family, as well as start a new passion. (I have many of those) Since I am not working and all, I have a lot of free time, and kinda miss working. That's a BIG kinda. I don't actually miss going into work, having a boss to impress, and being tied to so many hours. But I DO miss the feeling of making money! And not in a greedy way, ok ;) I decided to start my own Avon business! I am my OWN boss, I set my own hours, and I get to put my famous customer service skills to use! You should know something, I am very excited about this, as also a little nervous to see who will and who wont support me. I could only hope that I will earn the business of my dear friends and family. I mean, they are buying this stuff already else where (and probably paying a lot more) so why not put their to a greater cause? That's the way I see it. So anyways, I also have my website and it is shopwithKL.com, so feel free to contact me through there, or even here, if you don't live near my town. I also ordered my business cards and stamp! I am doing everything I can from the start to get supplies I need. Stoked!

I religiously post about Brayden and what he's up to so here ya go...He is 8 1/2 months now, crawling up a storm but still goes back and forth with army crawling, has 8 teeth, mastered the "pincer" grasp, eats real food 4-5 times a day, still babbles a ton and even said "da da" yesterday, wants to stand up every chance he gets, and the cuteness he exudes just increases every day. He is still an amazing sleeper, however I got a conclusion as to why Bray would sometimes wake up 1-4 times in the first third of the night crying/screaming. He has sleep terrors, or confessional awakenings. Unfortunately this is something that is passed down from his Daddy but it doesn't damage or bother him. He doesn't even remember what's going on. But when he has several days where he is only getting 3, 30 minute naps it causes them to happen and usually in clusters the more days in a row he has had insufficient sleep. The past several days have been awesome and he is back to getting the sleep he needs. I hope it stays like that! As of today my sweetie has another little cold. He's just coughing and has had a high temp since yesterday, but if it's like the last one he had it will go away real soon and not change things that much. 

I have continued with my sewing hobby and have made little things here and there but not as much as I did the last time I posted about it. I just went to the craft store yesterday and got new fabric and ribbons so I will be starting up again in no time! I still need more supplies, though. It's crazy how much you can buy at those stores and still realize there's all this other crap ya gotta get! lol Here's a pic of a monogram "taggie" I made Brayden.

I didn't cut out the holes like the instructions tell you to because the print is just SO cute! I will probably make another one with different fabric anyways because I just love it, and it's super fast to make. :)

Well I know I don't get a chance to post as often as before but I will do my best to keep it interesting so thank you for following and reading. Seeing that "views" number makes me feel special! Ya, I'm a bit cheesy. Toodles!

*Hugglies!*

I'm Back :)

Well our trip was successful! We ended up staying 3 nights and 4 days like we wanted to. Brayden did awesome! He slept like he did at home, so I am very proud of him. We stayed 2 nights at my Mom's and one night at my sister's. I really missed my sister and nephew Jaxson, who I haven't seen since Easter. Her husband and my other nephew are in California so we didn't get to see them, and I sure miss them too! Can't wait until they get back. Anywho, the fourth of July/Husband's birthday was nice and we all had a great time. The part of the trip that I will always remember was when my husband lit a mortar and it fell to it's side, facing my mom's house, and continued to shoot everywhere towards where we were all standing! It was scary, lol. And this was the first time in mine and my husband's life where we even got to light one of these bad boys. I was recording a video at the time and forgot my camera was even on and you can't see what going on but you can hear my shrieking screams, which makes it hilarious. I will definitely be posting it on youtube! So the past couple days since we got back home I have just been taking it easy with the baby and also catching up on z's. Yesterday was Jon;s last day of 6 days he had off so we had a movie night after the baby went to bed and had yummy treats. It was the perfect end of his vacation! It's just sad when he had to go back to work. I'm a softy ;)

I am excited for tomorrow morning because I am meeting with a local Avon rep to get me set up to start selling! I for sure don't want to be one of those nagging women that goes door to door or hits up random people while at the grocery store (been there!) but instead I will just let my friends and family know that I am doing it and hopefully will get support from them! I mean, I know all these women use makeup and beauty products already so they might as well support a cool stay at home mom like myself, don't ya think? ;) So the point of me doing it is so I can help out with our bills and not feel like I am doing NOTHING. I love being at home, but I also like to be busy some of the time. And I feel for my hubby, going to work 40 plus hours a week. I want to help out! I will have a website where anyone can by stuff from Avon, through me, no matter where you live. So I am stoked about that part! And that's pretty much it about that...for now.

I am feeling pretty tired tonight so naturally I can't think much of what to write about or what to update on. I will, however end this post with the video I mentioned. Hope it makes ya laugh :D

You can totally see at the very end it land right in front of me! Kinda wish I kept the cam rolling haha.

 *hugs n' sparklers*

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*
 

The final sleep training results!

   I'm uber excited to share this with you guys! It's been 2 weeks and 2 days since we started Brayden's sleep program, so I figured some of you would like the final results! I will first backtrack and remind you of what he was like before...

  Brayden was not very consistent with the hours he slept through the night, and how he would go down to sleep. Then he eventually built a habit of needing to nurse to sleep. Not that big of a deal, (and I didn't mind that much) but it caused him to have night wakings and it was difficult getting him stay asleep when putting him down because that was his way of going to sleep, and almost nothing else. So for a week we had to do a sleep log and it had every single detail written out. Then Nancy, the sleep RN, (or who I like to call the sleep fairy) looked it over and said he was not getting enough sleep per day for his age and noticed right away his habits and the fact that he WAS capable of going to sleep on his own, since he would occasionally. Everything was normal! And that made it easy to give us a plan. So our major goals were to get him to be able to fall asleep on his own with no assistance, (no nursing, rocking, patting ect.) and to sleep ALL night long. At his age and weight she said right off the bat that he should definitely be sleeping through the night. I was not aware of that at the time so I was very relieved to hear it. Then there's the sleep training details, which you can find bits of those in my previous posts labeled with the word "sleep" somewhere in the titles (appropriate right?) And for the final results...........................are you ready?................................You like the dramatic affect? I love to be dramatic and.......ah ok I'll shut up now, I went a little far! Bwahahaha. Silly me. He now goes to sleep for naps and bedtime by me just laying him down in the crib, handing him his loveys, giving him kisses (about a hundred, actually) and walking out of the room. While he is still fully AWAKE, but tired of course. He now just lets me put him down, since babies usually begin to prefer one parent over the other to put them down (weird) and I'm totally happy with that since Jon works most nights and I don't have to do anything but lay him in the crib! He takes 3 naps a day about the same time, and sleeps anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 1/2 hours per nap. It's wonderful guys! Then his bed time every night is 8 o'clock sharp and every single night it takes him 2 minutes tops to fall asleep. And before he goes to bed at night he has his same little bed time routine which is kinda different night to night but same basics, and Jon and I take turns doing them. He never fusses or anything (well, when he was at the peak of his teething it was a different story, you can read that in a previous post lol) accept sometimes for a minute or 2 when he goes down for naps. Only because like most kids, he doesn't like to be told it's nap time! ;) AND, my favorite part, he sleeps ALL night long every single night and doesn't wake up until he's ready to be up for the day which is around 6-7am. And once in a while 7:30. Those days are pretty nice :) So that's it. Need I say more to convince you this is the best program in the world? And his plan was specially picked for him, and our needs too. Our thing was, we want sleep, and we don't want to do any cry-it-out methods. (Actually, she is totally against those methods anyways!) I will recommend St. Luke's over and over (and over again) to anyone who wants sleep, and/or wants their baby to get the sleep they need. And who doesn't like sleep? Duh! Jon and I still talk daily about how we can't believe this is real and that he sleeps like this, and how WE sleep! We have so much freedom at night it's redonkulous. I also feel really good about Brayden starting healthy sleep habits now so it help with the toddler years and won't have to deal with it then, when he's more stubborn! I also have learned that everything revolves around how much baby is sleeping and how well they sleep. Like their moods, eating etc. He was already the happiest baby in the world but now it seems even more so! So anyways, I am going to add the info here so you can do whatever you want with it. It does not matter where in the world you are because she works everywhere by phone! But if you call the number you need to leave a message and also let her know I recommended you, because that's the nice thing to do! :D

Here you go pals: Nancy Birkenmeier 314-205-6350
stlukes-stl.com/pediatricsleep (You'll find some free handouts on there that you can print)

*hugs n' cuddles*

Good times and some planning

  So things are going pretty good this week so far! Brayden has now three top teeth that broke through so he seems to be feeling much better, yay! Although, he still has one more big middle tooth to come through but at least it's just one, and not 3 at once. Also I'm happy because starting June there will be new associates starting at my Hubs job, so that means the double shifts will be taking the back seat. So more time with his loves! Yesterday the three of us ventured to Babies R Us and got some stuff we needed along with a few unexpected purchases. They are having a HUGE sale on clearance clothes that I just could not pass up! Ah boys clothes are so stankin cute. :D OH and you know what today is? Yes, It is Memorial Day, but it is also Brayden's 7 month birthday! This is exciting because this is the age that the books say you can introduce meat to their diet. So I am going to start with our fave, chicken! Mmm I bet Bray will love it! It will be fun coming up with some new dinners and mixtures. So there's that, and also I believe sometime this month Brayden will start to crawl. He has been army crawling for a month now (and EVERYWHERE) so he has had a lot of time to build those muscles. Plus he has already started trying! He gets up on his hands and knees! Sometimes with my help and sometimes he will take me by surprise and do it on his own. He is such a fast learner it's a bit overwhelming! In a totally good way of course. What else is fun at his age is giving him new foods and fruits to try. Today he had plums for the first time (one of his mommy's favorites) and love love loved them. That's my boy! ;) He also really likes his fruity grain puffs, so I got him 3 more containers at Babies R Us yesterday, 2 of them are new flavors so he'll really like that. We really spoil him, and I feel that's what he deserves! He has some new big boy toys he's really getting the hang of, and next I want to get him a walker. He kind of likes his jumperoo still, but gets bored with it quicker and like moving around so much more. So that's next on my toy list. Yes, I keep lists for every darn thing you can think of!

  So I have a few friend's with babies around Brayden's age that are starting to plan birthday parties and what not. It's a bit soon, but I may start to do a little planning myself. I won't give and info of what I'm thinking about doing because nothing is set in stone, but I have some pretty cool ideas floating around my head. I can totally wait for him to be 1 but to have a party for him I am totally giddy about when my mind goes there! But as of right now, I have got to plan what we are doing for my honey bun Jon's birthday...it's July 4th!! It definitely would be a lot cooler if we had our family and friends here to join, but I got to work with what I got. Even if it's more low key this year I know he doesn't mind one bit. And that's what we did for my birthday in November. Jon and I and our 2 weeks old son went out for the first time after having baby to Cheesecake Factory, and it was lovely. So I'm looking forward to that as well as some firework action. Cha chow!


*hugs n' sparkles*

Warm Fuzzies

  Today God has really been answering my prayers! I'm so glad because I have been praying up the ying-yang. To fill ya in a little bit, the past few days have been rough. Brayden has been teething top teeth STILL and has not been quite himself. He has started to go back into the habit of wanting to fall asleep nursing, and by accident he did and now he's having a rough time going down for naps. (You know what that's about if you read the sleep training posts) It has been making me so emotional because I'm alone and Jon has been working SO much. The crazy part is is that he goes down for bed perfectly and sleeps all night! Last night he slept for 10 hours and 40 minutes! Anyways, to make a long story short God has really been helping me figure out things to do with him to keep him happy and to help him go down for naps easier. Today has improved and he actually ended up going to sleep in his crib again without help. Took 20 minutes but his crying was a lot less. :) I guess I just needed time, time to really try everything and I feel so good that I have came to some conclusions. I have been waiting for a few phone calls to be returned and felt helpless the last 2 days, but now I see it's a good thing they haven't called me back. So Amen, and Amen again!

   Well I have figured out which teeth Brayden has been getting! The top two left. Yes, that's the one in the middle and then the one to the left of that tooth! The one to the left has broken it's way out, but the one in the middle is still working it's way. It's getting super close too! And it's a big one so that explains his pain! Poor little guy. Yesterday when he was all upset I just held him in my lap and turned on one of his videos and gave him his frozen wash cloth to chew on. It was precious. He actually was calm the whole time and I just felt all kinds of warm fuzzies cuddling up with him. There's nothing like the feeling of making your baby calm down like that just from your love. Ahh melts my heart! He's VERY good at doing that. ;) Also he's starting to show interest in learning to crawl! It's so very soon but he will push up onto his hands and lift his mid section up by pushing his feet. (This is really hard to describe fyi) And when he gets up onto his hands and knees by my help he sits there and starts to rock. It's SO cute!! Any day now it seems he will just take off.

  Ok it's time for me to get back to making Brayden's baby food! He's not running out just yet, but getting low on the food in the freezer. I can't believe how long that stuff lasts after cooking it! I still have food in there I made a little over a month ago. And when I prepare and serve it to him it still smells so fresh! I feel so confident in my Mothering skills because he eats all fresh homemade food, and today's accomplishments really help with that too, hehe. Oh and not to mention the TONS of milk he has frozen in the freezer, I almost need a separate freezer to hold all of it! Thank goodness that stuff last forever as well. It's so nice to know your baby is well taken care of, ya know? Anyways toodles for now!



*hugs n' fuzzies*

                                              Here is Brayden today playing and very happy!

In Complete Awe <3

  My heart is overflowing with joy and love, thanks to my baby boy! I just came to bed but right before I stood for a couple of minutes the living room glancing at all the toys randomly laying throughout the living room floor by Brayden. It is so precious how he plays and takes toys everywhere with him and makes a mess. I LOVE it! He just makes my heart oh so happy. Also yesterday he started to give me smooches on purpose. Oh. My. Goodness. I had died and gone to heaven! I can't even explain how my heart feels when he does that. I feel like I'm floating on a cloud in the sky! I don't care how corny that sounds either! He has also made me proud, once again, tonight. It was time to start the 3rd step to the sleep plan...putting him in the crib and walking out of the bedroom so he falls asleep with no one in there. And he did just that in minutes. I never heard a peep out of him. He's just too darn perfect!! And I know this sounds silly, but even though he's only about to be 7 months, he's already the smartest kid I know. ;) He knows how to work toys that are above his age and he just does all this other stuff that makes me go "wow!" His mind is soaking up every little thing and he just screams genius baby. I wish he would stay this age forever but that would only be beneficial for me and not him lol. Well my eyeballs are screaming so I need to head to sleepville!

*hugs n'smooches*

A 24/7 Mom

  Just like it sounds, I am a 24/ momma! This post is going to be a little more of a (healthy) vent for me. We all need to do that once in a while so here it goes...

What a 24/7 Mom is like through my eyes:
No alone time with adults, including Hubby. 
Trying to fit in time for a shower when the pits are already smelling up the house.
Trying to keep baby off kitchen floor because I already have used all the Swiffer pads, it gets dirty THAT often.
Rushing around at least once an hour for a new spit-up rag, along with a new shirt or sometimes pants.
Laying on the floor while baby plays because I have lost the energy to keep my dizzy head up because I STILL need more sleep. Just because the baby sleeps all through the night doesn't mean I do, due to my brain being stuck in the habit of needing to wake up once or more from all those months of night wakings.
Looking at the piled up dishes in the sink makes me feel uneasy because I would like to eat off them, not look at them all nastay.
Constantly changing diapers. That's all for that one.
Looking forward to a nap all day then the baby decides 30 minutes is enough time to sleep, when that's how long my brain has now become accustomed to actually begin to fall asleep. Sometimes longer.
Almost getting to the point of going upstairs to ask the neighbor to come over when I barely even know her.
And the big one, just never feeling like I have the time to get any household and personal things done.
There is much more things to add to this list, but the "Mommy Brain" makes me forget so many things by the time I get here to write about it.

  Now, please hear me out. I know I am truly BLESSED to be a stay-at-home mother to my wonderful, beautiful baby boy and I never take it for granted. But at the same time being a 24/7 Mom is hard work and it makes me mad how some people think that it's easy! Those people have never been a stay-at-home Mom. I don't want to hear how "good" I have it right now, I just want to vent and get things off my chest because I never have the time to do that, and it really helps. I don't want to hear how much "harder" it is to work and be a parent, I have my husband for that. And actually he doesn't ever complain. (Probably because he sees first hand how hard it is sometimes for me.) Not everything can be rainbows and roses all the time people. I am real, and I want my blog to be raw for ya. I will not fake how my life is for the sake of my followers on here. Yesterday was one of those days that was just flat out hard. I want to cry when I think about it. And if you want to know more I'm sorry, there's just too much detail for that one peeps. But today I am already much better, but I still wanted to share this, like it or not. You know, sometimes I wish I was in Bakersfield where my friends are all my FRIENDS and will actually come over, or talk to me on the phone, and I feel comfortable reaching out to them. So that also adds a little stress not being around them. I have been so blessed to have a couple friends here that I have been able to just cry on the phone to and get amazing feedback in return. Yesterday I was able to talk on the phone a little bit, but it was tough to not really have the chance to say more. Anyways, I'm done venting here!
  ...Hmm, maybe not. Can I just say how retarded I think yesterday was with all this "rapture" business? It makes me laugh really, but also pissy. Why was everyone going along with it like that might actually be real?? Yes, I believe it will happen one day like the Bible talks about, but Matthew clearly states only God knows when this will happen. People get all high and mighty thinking they are God (or whatever) and can time exactly when this stuff will happen. (End of the world etc.) And they are just PLAIN morons. And the dude who started this whole thing with it being May 21, 2011 at 6:00pm, or whatever, makes all Christians or Baptists (I don't even know what he is) look oh so bad. And anyone partaking in it looks bad as well. Be smart people and stick to what you have trusted in your whole faith life, the BIBLE. Boom.

  Ok, I want to leave this with a good note so I want say that I love God, my baby, my husband, and my life. Everything is so wonderful right now in the big picture, even though the little paintings get smudged here and there. My boy is continuously sleeping through the night and just really rocking it with this sleep program. Maybe Mommy should start a new sleep program for her! Hahaha. Seriously, I need to reteach myself how to get good sleep and to not wake up so much. Pregnancy ended almost 7 months ago, and night wakings are pretty much a thing of the past. So I need to get back on track! Not sure how yet, but I'll let you know how it works out. ;)




*hugs n' slobbers*

Cribs n' Grins

  Last night was the first night of step 2 with the sleep plan. This is where we put him in his crib and a parent sleeps on a mattress that is level with the crib. Now that he falls asleep on his own without assistance, he now will learn to do this in his crib, and not right next to the parent. He did beautifully!! He fell asleep in about 5-10 minutes with no crying. WOW, my baby is definitely a champ! :) And that's not even the best part, he slept all night long until shortly after 6 am. Sweetness! This morning he was extremely tired by the time he had been awake for 2 hours, and that's how it should be. He went in the crib for his nap and fell asleep real quick and has now been asleep for going on over an hour. This is awesome because since starting the program they say their naps will be really short and gradually will get longer as their bodies get used to sleeping at those exact times every day. I'm happy my little man is now getting the sleep he needs, as well as Mommy and Daddy! Yipper skippery doo!
  So yesterday my son's top tooth finally decided to start breaking through the gum! I still can't believe in a matter of days he will have 3-4 teeth. I feel like I'm not ready! But it's also very exciting to see all this stuff happen. It's not at all like when I saw it with other babies. Now I get to see what happens every single day and what a whole day's difference is. Very cool. I'm also a little confused but this toofer because it is to the left of his left middle tooth, which seems a little TOO far to the left to even be the middle tooth! Might he be getting a random top tooth and not the usual third tooth? Who knows, he is already so special that he might just want to keep the surprises coming. :P Only time will tell, just like every thing else in the baby life. I'm just happy to know he will soon not have to deal with teething pains. Temporarily at least!

  One more update, I've started saving money towards my DSLR camera. I am so excited about that! It will take a long time to get what I need but who cares! I like the feeling of putting aside extra money and that soon it will go to something that I feel I EARNED. Just a little something that makes me feel good, and happy. :)


*hugs n' smiles*

To sleep or not to sleep?

  It is now the fourth night since starting step one of the sleep plan: get baby to sleep unassisted. Last night he went to sleep in 10 mins, barely a fuss, and woke up once and cried, only because Jon had to clean him off from peeing all over himself! Poor buddy! Today has been SUCH a success! Each nap he went to sleep in under 10 minutes with little fussing. And then tonight when I put him to bed he drifted off to sleep after only laying him down for 2 minutes, and not a fuss! We are so close to starting step 2-3: getting baby to sleep in the crib, all night. I wonder how that first night is going to go! I think he'll be a champ don't you? ;)

  So being a stay-at-home mommy to a 6 month old sure keeps a gal busy! Didn't realize how busy till I got here. There is so much cleaning to do now that he is army crawling just about everywhere, laundry that goes on and on, food to cook and throw together to make sure I don't starve myself, trying to fit in a nap so I can make it through the whole day that is too short, and SO much more! Some days I feel like I can't even fit in a shower! But its wonderful all at the same time. And it really makes me soak up the days my husband has off and is here with me. But, sometimes I still can't get everything done because I have all the errands to run when he's home lol. You would think I mind, but I got to say I love being a busy momma. Its exciting to try to fit in all these things into our schedules, keeps me on my toes a bit! Well I'm off to bed with my little man. He looks so sweet and peaceful right now, I really am so blessed!

*hugs n' wubbanubs*

Sending Kudos To Men

  Men are incredible, and my husband continually surprises me! I have to give him a shout out for the amazing job he has been doing with the baby for his sleep training. As you know, for the past 2 nights he has had to take care of all the nightly routines with Brayden. He's fed him dinner, which wasn't required since I have been home for dinner, given him his bath, reading his bedtime story and everything else I normally do at night to get the little man ready for bed. Plus he's been strong the whole time Brayden has cried when going to sleep and during the night wakings! He is doing better than I would do, I know that. So wonderful! And I can tell he is REALLY loving this extra bonding, since for 6 1/2 months it's been mostly about Mommy. It is the cutest sound listening to him playing with him in the bath. He really gets animated and Brayden squeals with such delight. It's not that I ever underestimated him, I am just so pleased to see how well it's going. I mean, I've never seen him take care of the baby ALL by himself before, this is our first one after all! I'm pretty bummed he has to go to work and close tonight, so we are going to try our best to have baby wait to go to bed with him. If he doesn't last I will have to do it.
  Another reason why men are amazing (and lucky) is how they can lose weight so fast. During my pregnancy and continuing after, Jon has gained some sympathy weight. Which normally men do! But all we have been doing lately is not drinking sodas, going for more walks together, and we both have been cooking more rather than getting food out. And I am just seeing the weight melt off. Why can't it be that easy for women?! LOL Anyways, I thank him and appreciate him very much. He has been keeping me strong during this time of sleep training the baby, even when I was about to not try it at all. He knows we need good sleep at night to be the happiest parents for Braydonian. And that's what this family deserves. :o)


*hugs n' remotes*

Ok, ready for night deux!

  Here I am! Where? Oh, back to my bedroom chillin while Jon does the whole bedtime routines with Brayden. :) I have more confidence in my little guy now that I saw him make it through last night and he was SUPER happy today! Yay Bee Bop! And he did very well with not being able to fall asleep while nursing today. That amazed me! However, in the afternoon it seemed like he wanted to but I just played with him and kept his attention on other things, like his awesome new big boy toys we got yesterday hehe. I haven't cried today either, so that's good. I'm curious if I will tonight again. Oh well its helping me move on I guess. :/ So anyways, I'm sure u want to know about last night. Basically he cried for 30 mins, fell asleep for 20, then cried another 30 and went back to sleep again. Don't worry, Daddy was cuddling with him the entire time! Then he woke up around 12 and then 4 and another time after that and then just a little too early for wake time so we waited until his rise time to get him up from bed. He was happy to see me let me tell you! Tonight I only had to leave a little over an hour before bed time instead of 2 hours, and tomorrow I won't leave at all. (Plus Jons working anyways)

  New status: I took a break from typing for a little while so I would like to inform that Brayden is now asleep! First he lightly cried for about 15 minutes, then Jon tried to move him and he woke up and cried harder, but for only about 7 minutes!! This is going good and that makes me SO happy! Guess I wont be crying tonight! (Lets hope) ;) Ok well I'm going to finish getting ready for bed then off to sleepville I shall go. Tune in tomorrow for the next update!

*hugs n' loveys*

Night one step one!

  Right this moment I am chilling in the basement having ice cream and doing laundry. Not bad! I cried AGAIN earlier today as I nursed my son to SLEEP for the last time. (If this works for him) I am okay with moving forward and all, its just giving up this one thing I have done since my baby was newborn is seriously difficult. Its like he's growing up before my eyes...oh wait, he IS! I bet he will be a superstar tonight and it's going to be Mommy having the hard time. That's usually how it is I hear! Any hoot, step one is me being gone 2 hours before his bedtime and he won't hear or see me at all the rest of the night. Sad, I know. Now u know why I cry? Lol He will be sleeping with Daddy on an airbed on his bedroom floor. That's pretty much the main stuff. We have a time limit of him crying and if he exceeds that we will stop the program for now. But I know my little man is tough, plus he LOVES his daddy! *sigh* ok back to my ice cream. Stay tuned and tomorrow I will let y'all know how tonight goes!

*hugs n' snuggle bugs*

Busy Bees, Sleepy Bees

  Wow, so much to talk about! Several days have past and as always a lot has gone on but I will try to cram it all the best I can. Thursday and Friday were both busy BUSY days for us! First on Thursday, we went ahead at took Brayden to see his pediatrician because for a whole week he had been extra fussy and would cry out of no where when playing. Our instinct was that it was teething but we wanted to be sure nothing serious was causing it. Well we were right! It was a nice visit that morning because Dr. Adil wasn't busy and actually had time to talk with us and dote on how adorable Brayden is. She was impressed with his skills and even asked to walk him around the office to "show him off!" I love her, she is an awesome doctor. :D Right after that we headed to our one on one appointment with the RN in Sleep Medicine at St. Luke's and got our whole sleep plan set up for Brayden. It is a 3 step plan that is going to make his transition the easiest as possible. In only 3 nights he will start to catch on to it. (At least catch on to step one!) It is very detailed so obviously I'm not going to describe it on my blog, lol. But it involves only Daddy for the first 3 nights, then me for 3 nights, and so on with exceptions here and there due to Jon's work schedule. Same for day time naps, Jon will do them in the beginning. We were going to start this on Thursday night but when we got home I broke down in tears. There was no way I was ready to start that night. So we are going to start Sunday night. I am just soaking up his current routine and getting my boo hoos out, so to speak. Oh, and the last two nights have been extra tough too because Bray has had trouble staying asleep! Might be a growth spurt haha. I say "haha" because in a previous post I had said he was going through a growth spurt, but who really knows. He's 6 months and changing all the time. Its super hard to tell! However, he is teething really bad on the top. Those suckers need to make their appearance already! I may not be ready for him to have 3 or four teeth yet, but I just want him to be comfortable. Yesterday and today have been good with that though, so yay! So, after the sleep training starts I will have a lot to write about, you better believe.
   Thursday we also had our first appointment with a christian counselor and it went awesome! This lady has personality for days and a sense of humor so much like mine I was wowed! She has been married herself for 32 years and knew exactly what we are going through. She read us like a book and Jon and I are very confident to continue seeing her for the next 6 weeks or so. And a God thing happened while we were there! She told me about her primary physician, who happens to be a christian as well, and gave me his number. This is awesome because I have been putting off getting signed up with one out here in Missouri (Hubs too) so I am looking forward to getting that taken care of and get a check up scheduled. :)
  And now for Friday, which was super busy too because we had our "payday" shopping to do. You know, groceries, essentials etc. and I even got to go to Goodwill and just look and shop for as long as I wanted while Hubby went home with the baby! It was awesome to get to do that. Then we had dinner plans at a friend's house and that was a total blast. It was so cool to get together with another couple and our babies and hang out and eat a delicious home cooked meal!  Today has been back to normal so hopefully Brayden will get good sleep, as well as his momma and dadda since it's the last night of our old ways of going to bed. I pray this will all go smoothly and we will have a wonderful outcome!! (And I hope I cry a little less) ;)

*hugs n' rattles*

It's negative!

  Ok, so I started to notice something random (going to spare the tmi details here) and decided to ask my lactation consultant about it and she said it's something that just happens with change in hormones. So I thought, why would I have a change in hormones?? And I got to thinking of some other symptoms I've noticed lately and decided to take a pregnancy test. She had also said that was a good idea. Until I saw that negative result, I really got to thinking of just how much I DO NOT want to be pregnant and have another baby yet! AH! So from now on I am going to be extra careful. It's something to laugh about now, but you don't want to know what was running through my head when I thought of the possibility!! Sure, I think of having my next baby ALL the time and how I can't wait. BUT, right now I feel I need to be responsible and take care of my little man as a baby the best way, and that's with only him! Heck, he's not even sleeping all through the night yet! Then when he's older and at an age some what more independence, I can try to have the second baby. Phew!

 I've talked about teaching my baby some signing since I got pregnant and wasn't really sure the age to start it but I found out that that age is 6 months! Which means it's time to start, yay! I already sign him the alphabet as I sing the song, since he was really tiny, just to get the idea of signing in his head. So it might be pretty simple for him. Can't wait to see! This morning we watched a Baby Einstein video called First Signs. It was great! Taught me some sign language and Brayden also loves to watch those videos because of the cute noises and puppets. He smiles so big at the tv!! Anyways, a friend told me about a website that also teaches you for free so I'm very happy she shared that and now I have another resource other than buying a book. :)
 And another thingy that has turned on a light bulb in my Mommy brain, baby PROOFING! I need to get on it a.s.a.p as Brayden is moving everywhere and getting even more curious as to what things are and what he can nom on, lol. He came into the kitchen for the first time today! He usually gets to the threshold part and just stays and watches me, but now he's decided he can crawl over it haha. Such a silly boy, and a smart boy as well! Not looking forward to spending a lot of money on that stuff but it's very important to keep my baby safe.
  
  Last thought, if you rememer from one of my previous posts, tomorrow is our appointment with the sleep clinic YAY! I can't wait to get my family on a personalized sleep plan and teaching Brayden to self soothe! One thing I'm not looking forward to, though, is the first nights of getting him trained. There will probably be crying involved and I'm not used to him crying without automatically giving him what he wants! Don't worry, we are not about the cry-it-out method, at all. But it is ok for him to cry as long as a parent is there with him. So for now I have to suck it up and give this a shot! Whatever that is! Still have to get our plan first hehe. I will let you know about it after wards!

*Hugs n' rattles!*