Author Archives: mummstwocents

4 Months-A Girl in her Momma’s Pearls

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We are here yet again…4 months old! 4 more months of falling more in love with you. You, sweetheart, have stolen my heart and changed me. Not only have you made me into a mother but you have made me think of your needs before my own. My thoughts are always of you and how to better your future. I want you to have the best possible life. I want you to grow up knowing you’re loved, supported, cared for, and that your parents will always be there for you. I wish that you follow your dreams, work your hardest, show others your true self and have an open heart and mind. I never want you to lose your cute little personality that you’ve already grown into. I love you and I will always love you, even when you’re a teenager stealing my pearls from my room.
  
  
  
  Here are some pictures from the last couple of days.

Broncos fan!

shes too busy to cuddle anymore, I’ll take it when I can though

 Wearing some of the headbands I made!
  

Halloween Weekend

Posted in (unnamed), Family, Travel by

We traveled to see my parents and siblings for Halloween. We have officially traded in dressing up in extravagant costumes and going to parties for sitting next to the bon fire, handing out candy, and snuggling with our little one. I can easily say I didn’t even miss it. I was a little jealous though as I helped my sister get her costume ready for her Halloween party, but I told her to save her outfit so I can use it down the road!! It turned out pretty awesome.

Her and her boyfriend wanted to be Red Riding Hood and The Wolf (her as the wolf and him as Red). After spending pretty much the entire day searching for the right materials to put together, many youtube tutorials, and staring at other’s makeup how-to’s, we finally had a pretty awesome outfit.

 

brother and sister as wolves


blurry but her makeup turned out pretty cool

check out her tail, ears and boot covers that we made

We made the tail from yarn and a dog brush! Crazy or what?! Ours did not turn out nearly as cool as the video we watched, but we also didn’t want to spend all day making that dang tail. We braided the yarn (using several strands). Afterward, we took about 6 inch pieces (10-12 pieces) and held one end while we brushed it out with the dog brush. Repeated on the other side and attach it to the braided strand. It turned out pretty cool.

My mom loves her holidays and Halloween is by far her favorite one. Every other year she does an incredible witch party. She spends all year prepping for it and it really shows. Her house looks like you stepped inside a haunted mansion. Since this was her off year, we spent the time handing out candy. She still gets all witched up and has her cauldron with dry ice to hand out candy to the little ones.

a butterfly daddy for his caterpillar baby//momma the scarecrow

I spy…. [[a butterfly, red riding hood, scarecrow, two wolves, a cat on the floor, and a scary witch in the back of the graveyard]]

a witch in her graveyard

my brother and his girlfriend

  

loving the fire

Our baby girl was a caterpillar which was just too cute! She slept most of the time while Trick-or-Treaters were wandering the streets, but she was mesmerized by the flames of the fire in between bouts of sleepiness. It was a great Halloween weekend sitting by the bonfire, enjoying family and neighborhood company, and finishing the Halloween night with a scary movie.

      

Fall-My Favorite Season

Posted in (unnamed), Home by

The colors of the leaves changing, the smell of the crisp cool air, the sound of the cheering crowd from a football game, these are some of the triggers that get me excited for fall. I love fall. If I could live in a place that had fall year round, it would be my little slice of heaven. While my wonderful mom was staying with us, she decorated our house for fall! My husband and I couldn’t be happier with how adorable it turned out. I may keep the decorations up as long as possible!!


My husband and mom redesigned our entertainment center. My husband’s need for a bigger T.V. left us with deciding what to do with the entertainment center since the T.V. no longer fit. They decided to put it on top and add shelves, paint and redo the inside where the T.V. used to go. I will admit I was skeptical at first but I actually really love it!

I hate the feeling of chalk but if I mess up, wipe with water and start again!

  

  

How adorable is this sign my mom made us? On the other side it is ready for winter. She could definitely sell them! She is so talented and creative! I love when she comes.

//She used a blank piece of wood to start. Using my cricut, she cut out the WELCOME letters-just with paper! Before placing them down she painted fall objects on the wood. She then used Modge Podge to place the letters down. This makes it so the weather doesn’t ruin the painting and lettering on the wood.//

How do you decorate for fall?!

Top 11 Favorite Baby Gear

Posted in Baby & Mommy by

Someone asked me the other day what my favorite things have been so far for our baby. Let me begin by saying…holy moly there’s a lot of baby gadgets, gear, objects, etc out there! How does one possibly decide? I was so incredibly overwhelmed with what to put on our registry and what to buy as our “necessary objects” in case we didn’t get it. I spent hours searching what other people said to be the best things for their child and sometimes I thought…”Really, you’d spend that much on just that one object?!” From having a background in Early Childhood Education and many years of watching infants, I knew some of the things I had to have and things I would definitely avoid. I compiled a list of our favorite baby gear so far, in no particular order.   

1. The First Years Close & Secure Co-Sleeper – this was a must for us. After how sore I was delivering our little one, I hated getting up to pick her up out of her bassinet every few hours to feed. With the co-sleeper next to us, I was able to just pick her up while still laying down. I didn’t purchase this until about 3 days after delivering and it was one of the best purchases we’ve made. One of the other awesome things about this sleeper is that when I was exhausted and needing my husband to check on her, he didn’t have to get out of bed and come to my side of the bed to check on her, he could just look between us. The other great thing is how easy it is to pack up and take when traveling. We didn’t have to worry about taking the big pack and play or worrying about squishing her in our bed.

it even has a nightlight and side rails for safe sleeping

2. Medela Freestyle Breast Pump-choosing between which pump to buy if you’re a working mama and need to feed your baby while you’re gone can be tough. Don’t go with anything other than Medela! Yes this pump was expensive but completely worth it. I love that you don’t have to plug it in to use it and how hands free it is. A coworker of mine has to sit next to an outlet in order to pump…can you say inconvenient! I am even able to pump in the car and on the go. Yes- I have pumped going down the interstate before heading to a concert, on the way to a baby shower, and when we don’t have time to stop and feed our baby. The Freestyle is awesome!

pumping at work (lesson plans in the back)

3. Delta White Bassinet – this was given to us by a friend and it is what she is currently sleeping in. At first I didn’t think we would use this since we had the co-sleeper and a crib but once she grew too long for it, she now sleeps beside the bed in it! I love the spot underneath for storing diapers for those changes in the middle of the night.

 

4.  Baby Play Mat – this is one of the ones we have but there are tons of play mats just as good or better out there. We use this daily for tummy time and for playing on her back. Now that she loves grabbing things, she spends a lot of time reaching for the objects above her.

  5. Skip Hop Diaper Bag & Skip Hop Changing Station – we use the diaper bag and changing station everywhere we go. Goodbye purse and hello diaper bag! Of course getting rid of my purse I have to substitute it with a cute and functional diaper bag. I love how much space it has to hold all the crap cute baby things. The changing station is also perfect when you don’t need to bring that huge diaper bag with you to the bathroom. We use this for every diaper change on the go!

at school with mama (check out that Unites States rug!)

even looks cute when your husband wears it after his soccer golf tournament (which he won!)

6. Owl Noise Machine – when we run out of batteries for her owl, we will be unhappy parents. She uses this to fall asleep every night. When she wakes up during the night it is the one thing that soothes her back to sleep. Perfect for traveling and it has many great different sounds (even though we seem to use only one).

first day home from the hospital and she has her owl

7. Baby Björn Baby Carrier – there are so many different wraps, carriers, etc. out there. We have a Boba Wrap and also love it but they are totally different. Yes they serve the same purpose of carrying your little one, but the Björn has a lot more support the bigger and heavier your baby gets. I especially love wearing the Björn at work. When I go in on the weekend to get my classroom ready I have a way to tote her around while getting work done and she loves it. The movement of walking and bouncing and being snug against mom makes her fall right asleep. This is a perfect thing to have when you need to get things done and don’t have hands to hold your baby as well. For more on the Boba Wrap check out my other blog post called Boba Wrap.

two weeks  old

 8. Lamb Bouncer Seat – not only adorable but also a great buy so far! We have used this since day 1 and have continued to every day. Even as her little legs have started to hang over the bottom, we love this product. It is perfect because it doesn’t slant up too much where she slides down but she can snooze or just hang out in it. It plays music, vibrates, or does  a little combo of both if you want. It also has a mirror and dangling toy for baby to play with.

in her new swaddle blanket too (miracle blanket)

first day home from the hospital

9. Aden + Anais Swaddle Blankets, SwaddeMe Blankets & the Miracle Blanket – if I have to tell someone to buy one thing for their child, it’s swaddle blankets (to sleep in). I’m a firm believer that if you swaddle your child, they sleep well. I can’t even begin to tell you how many children I know who slept like rocks because they were swaddled. Just recently our little one has figured out how to escape her SwaddleMe blanket and wakes herself up. We purchased the Miracle Blanket and wow, what a difference. Her arms don’t move at all and it helps her to sleep wonders. Now the Aden + Anais Blankets are great for swaddling when they are itty bitty and for just using as an everyday blanket. They are our favorite blankets. Swaddle that baby! That is until they can roll from back to belly. You’ll be happy that you purchased them!

swaddleme blanket

  10. Wubbanub Duck Pacifier – another favorite! We have tons of pacifiers with the string and clip and lose them constantly. How can you lose a pacifier with a stuffed animal attached to it? Well we haven’t yet! We got this when she was pretty little and she loves to hold on to it. Now she is able to put it back in her mouth on her own. It’s also incredibly adorable seeing this duck hang from her mouth!        

11. Utter Cover Nursing Cover – this is something for nursing mamas. I love this for many reasons. First, it’s easy to throw on and fit in the diaper bag. It also has this bowed out neck so only you can peek in on your nursing baby. This company is offering discounts ALL the time. I only paid for shipping which was about $15. They have a whole line of products: baby slings, leggings, covers for car seats-which we have and love.

What’s your favorite baby products and gear?

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Solid Food for the First Time

Posted in Baby & Mommy by

I’ve been back and forth between when to give my little girl solid food. I know most research and people say to wait until 4 months but if they are able to hold their head up, act interested in food and such then start. Well, we are almost at 16 weeks (4 months on November 8th). Recently when I feed myself yogurt in the morning, she is all about my spoon coming to my mouth. Today was the day I decided to give it a shot!

  
I told myself if she didn’t seem interested then I’d wait a few days and I’d try again. As you can see, she loved it! She would grab my hand to bring it closer to her mouth. We had so much fun trying rice cereal. I gave her 1/2 tbsp of rice cereal and about 2 oz of breast milk (warmed). I love this stage where she is so interactive and is interested in the world around her. However, I’m not ready for her to get even bigger!

  

She ate all of her cereal and I could have probably given her more! =)

Stay tuned for making our own baby food next…

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A Perfect Fall Weekend

Posted in Baby & Mommy, Family by

What a gorgeous weekend we had! Fall everywhere. My family came to stay with us this weekend and we were busy as usual. We spent time visiting my grandparents, enjoyed a chili tasting event, went on a hike in the beautiful Sunday’s sun, played cards under the pergola, played in the colorful leaves, carved pumpkins and baked pumpkin seeds. It was a perfect fall weekend.

  

loved squeezing the leaves between her fingers

We are so lucky that our great grandparents are so close to us. They just love their little granddaughter. We wish my parents were closer, having them visit is always so helpful.

  

great grammy

great grandpa

this was my outfit

   Going for a long walk is something I also say I want to do but with work and just life in general, I get home every day and want to snuggle my beautiful baby that we don’t get out as often as we would like. Especially since we have a growing lab puppy, we need to get better at going on family walks. With my parents visiting and the gorgeous weather, we went for a nice long walk. It made us all feel more energetic after and we got a lot accomplished for a supposed to be lazy Sunday.  Pumpkin carving time! My cousins came over and we carved away. I could actually care less about the carving. I do it for the pumpkin seeds!
Look at this adorable little girl! She didn’t even fuss when we put her in the pumpkin. I was expecting screams considering how chilly the pumpkin was.   

Finished products! I carved the spider. Quick and easy…my type of carving. =) The spider didn’t last long though. Ollie (that hyper puppy I mentioned earlier) – he ate the entire spider out of my pumpkin! At least I got yummy pumpkin seeds out of it.

    
Boy were these good! After a day they were almost completely gone!

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A Birth Story

Posted in Baby & Mommy, Family by

This is a long one…

It all began at about 4:00pm on July 7th, 2015. I went in for my last doctors appointment and we had agreed to do a membrane sweep to start getting this baby to move. I was a day short of my due date and my doctor was shocked that I hadn’t already had my baby. I had contractions at 27 weeks and was 1cm dilated, 50% effaced. I was told to take it easy and we both thought I would be having a baby earlier than my due date. Well, back up a few weeks, I was trying everything to keep this baby in while my parents were in Italy 2 weeks before my due date! Once my mom and dad got back and came up to stay with us (thinking I’d have this baby since I was feeling stronger Braxton Hicks contractions) I was then ready to have this baby. So, about a week before, I tried everything to get that sweet baby moving. I did oil massages on my ankles and other labor inducing points, I went on many walks, I walked the hilly golf course with my husband, and he even caught me mowing the lawn up the hill of our backyard when he came home from work one day. I was told scrubbing kitchen floors on my hands and knees would help. Well, all that helped was my husband’s OCD as we had a sparkling clean home!

 

So, on July 7th, after the sweep, I went on a small walk and then ate dinner with my family who was in town (except for my brother). Around 8pm, I started feeling stronger and different contractions than the normal Braxton Hicks. I knew it had to be it. From 8-11 pm I started really feeling them come on. My husband kissed me goodnight thinking he’d have to wake up and go to work in the morning. Boy was he in for a surprise when I called him on his cell phone from the bathroom at 2:30 am. I hadn’t gone to bed because I was in too much pain, squatting beside our bed to help reduce the intensity of the contractions. I was in the bathtub breathing my way through each growing contraction. I did just what I was supposed to..time them and wait until they were 5 minutes apart for an hour. He was still in a fog when I called him, so he wasn’t totally convinced I was in true labor because it hadn’t been an hour yet. I opted to call my mom who was just sleeping in the room next to the bathroom and told her I was ready. She got him, my sister, and my dad up and they hecticly got all our bags and things packed in the car. My sister, mom, husband and I headed to the hospital and checked in at 3:00am. Why they make you preregister at the hospital before you go into labor is beyond me. They still asked me what felt like a million questions before I could walk upstairs to the labor and delivery floor. My biggest fear was being told I wasn’t ready and that I would have to go home. I was so scared because at that moment it was the worst pain I’d ever experienced and I didn’t think it could get worse! When the nurse said I was 4cm dilated and able to stay, I felt relieved!

checked in and smiling through the pain

  

massaging my back & stomach (tennis ball came in handy!)

resting through the contractions (before the epidural)

the point where i gave up

I came prepared to do this thing naturally! No drugs, no needle! Well, after throwing up my tatertot casserole several times, not sleeping, and being in excruciating pain, I started to doubt myself and my pain tolerance. I tested positive for Strep B, which meant I had to have 2 doses of penicillin before I delivered or my baby would have to be monitored an extra day. At that point, waiting until 9:30 am seemed too far away. I was crying and finally told myself it was okay to go away from my plan. I needed sleep and the only way I was going to get any was getting an epidural. Before I knew it, the anesthesiologist was forcing me into a bent over position and telling me sternly not to move a muscle-mind you, during a contraction! Within minutes I was laying down and the epidural started working its magic. I was a whole new girl! I was able to sleep, play cards, watch How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, joke-which seemed like something I would never be able to do considering the amount of pain I was in! I no longer felt pain which was great but it also slowed down the process of delivery. 

 Time flew for me, but unfortunately not for my friends and family in the waiting room. After many hours, 10 to be exact (from when we checked in), I was finally ready to push! After I delivered, someone asked me how long I pushed and my reply was “20 minutes maybe?” My husband gave me a look like wow you are insane! He said, “Try 2 hours!” Apparently the drugs helped! It didn’t seem as long for me! However, when trying to brush my hair the next day, I couldn’t. I then realized the 2 hours of pushing resulted in my arms hurting so badly that I couldn’t lift them at all. After those 2 hours of pushing, my husband announced to my sister, mom, and me (who were all in the delivery room), that we welcomed a little girl into our lives, as my doctor handed this new born baby to me.

it was hard holding my breath while pushing – had to use oxygen & a wet rag to help

already has daddy wrapped around her finger

One very proud grandpa

  At 3:41 pm on July 8th, 2015, a 7 lbs and14 oz, 20 1/2 inch bundle of joy changed our lives forever. I never knew I had this love for someone until she entered my life. She is the greatest thing to come into our lives and I love her more and more every day.

happy Mimi

great grandpa

great grandma

[[Thank you to my lovely sister who took all of these photos. I am so happy I have these to look back on! I also couldn’t have gone through that painful, yet amazing experience without my incredible husband and mother. You two were my rock when I needed you the most. With one massaging my back and other my belly-you two made it possible to hold off on the epidural as long as I did. I’m so thankful for all my supportive family and friends who were there for us that day. We are truly lucky.]]

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The Zoo

Posted in Family, Travel by

It was our little girl’s first trip to the zoo this weekend. She slept most of the time in her stroller and enjoyed the noise of the excited zoo goers. She fed the giraffes (with some help by my cousin), watched the elephant’s tricks, giggled and talked to the gorillas, and loved on all the family members that attended our busy and long adventure.

feeding the giraffe

cousin kisses  

momma and baby

Aunt Jenn

stroller time

2 day old baby zebra  

precious

my family ❤️

“I do it!” Sunscreen everywhere!

little frog

lego lion

Thanks Auntie Ry for my hat  

  

What a fun day!

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3 Months Old- October 8, 2015

Posted in Baby & Mommy by

Another month flew by! She has become so interactive recently. She really knows who we are now and her face lights up when she sees mommy or daddy.

pictures from the babysitter

My baby girl has been sitting up more and doesn’t want to lay flat on my legs anymore. This busy little girl wants to see everyone and what’s going on in front of her. She has been getting more hair on top of her head and it’s getting darker. Might take after mommy instead of her ginger daddy! She loves her early morning and late night times, imitating mommy’s noises! I am always so impressed with her!

Recently, we went through a week where she wasn’t sleeping through the night. She would wake up screaming and I knew something was wrong. After much research and lots of our friend’s professional advice, we figured out it was acid reflux. Inclining her bed and waiting to lay her down after eating has helped her once again sleep through the night! What a happy and rested mommy I am now!

smelling the flowers

 
  

How is it possible to love someone this much?

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Boba Wrap

Posted in Baby & Mommy by

This weekend we went to a high school football game with the family. Brr fall is officially here! It was cold and rainy all day which meant one great thing-BOOTS! I love being able to wear boots! Leggings, dresses, pants, you name it- I love my boots. Well, my husband and I bundled up our sweet little girl and headed for the football game. I wrapped her in a Boba Wrap that my awesome babysitter gave us! This was perfect. It is much better during cold weather than the Baby Bjorn because it kept us both nice and toasty. Not only was it comfy and warm, but I didn’t have to hold her in my arms the entire game. She slept the entire time, through the screaming students in front of us, the excited crowd cheering against their rivals, and even through the band geeks sitting beside us! Right after half time the rain started coming in. As we watched it come down heavier and heavier, deciding if we should head to the car or stay for the exciting end, there wasn’t much time to let us decide. The rain came full force and we were getting drenched. We made a run to the car, while DH never made a peep. She slept the whole time while my husband and I were soaking wet! What a trooper!

Bundled up at the game

I used the Boba Wrap again when the husband and some of our friends and family went to play volleyball at our school. I had some work to do in my classroom and figured instead of constantly trying to make her happy while I work, I would wear her! She once again, slept the entire time and even when we went back to the gym to watch daddy finish playing. I was able to get my work done and she was able to catch some sleep. Win for both of us! I love my new Boba Wrap!

 

Sleeping while watching daddy

We went to our cousin’s volleyball game this weekend-noise filled the gym and man it was LOUD! That noise put DH right to sleep! She loves snuggling with her Auntie!

Sleepy baby at her cousin’s volleyball game!

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