month by month: 11 months

it’s crazy that our little guy will be one in a month! bitter-sweet. here are some of the wonderful bastian has been doing the past month:

• he is still not walking although he has taken 4-5 steps in a row. he doesn’t seem too interested in trying either.
• he is moving all around the furniture and sometimes gets daring and will really stretch to get somewhere. he uses his walker to get from point a to point b.
• he loves putting things into containers and then pulling them back out
• he makes a clicking noise with his mouth and likes to scream with his mouth wide open
• he practices taking a lot, mostly when he is alone in his crib. his new sounds are “uh-oh” and sometimes sounds like he is saying hi and bye.
• his personality has blossomed so much in the past month. he is more confident around people too. he laughs at the silliest things and he will just keep laughing and laughing no how many times you do that “funny” thing.
• we started swimming lessons and he really likes it. he goes under water and doesn’t seem too upset by it. it’s so fun to share the experience with him.
• he prefers to feed himself and his favorites are lasagna, waffles and pancakes, strawberries, blueberries, hummus, Cheerios and beets.
• he has started to dance. it’s adorable. he will hold one had up in the air and then just bounce up and down.
• he is so good on the go. he’s a great errand runner and loves to go to the zoo and play dates.

sometimes i look at him and can’t believe he’s mine. how did i get so lucky? in a month we will celebrate his first birthday and we are so excited. i don’t know how a year can fly by so fast. i can say though that we are really excited for everything to come in year 2.

powder room makeover

i recently did a mini makeover to our downstairs powder room. before, it was drab and kind of boring. the color wasn’t bad, but our whole house is painting that neutral tan (it was that way when we moved in) and i was in need for a change. i have this problem (maybe it’s a good thing?) with wanting to have some kind of project to work on. whether it be design work, crafts, or house mini-reno’s. so i end up moving from room to room finding different things i want to change. this time it was the powder room.

i was inspired by this room i saw in the land of nod catalog. first i painted the room benjamin moore’s royal breeze. then i spray painted the mirror, waste basket, vanity door knobs, toilet paper holder and hand towel ring bright gold. i also added a gold stripe detail on the soap dispenser. i bought gold contact paper from here – i need more and am hesitant to buy from this place again because i think it’s over priced with shipping and some other stupid fee the company tacks on…so i am waiting to find it somewhere else. i then measured and cut out 40 circles that around 8 inches in diameter. i didn’t get a circle cutter but i am sure it would have saved me time. i then pealed off the back of the contact paper and began randomly sticking them on the wall. i made sure some of the dots wrapped inside the corners of the wall then cut some circles in half and had them butt-up to the ceiling and door frame. i am really in love with the final product. it’s fun and quirky – perfect for a small space like a powder room. if you are wanting to try something a little wild with your house, test it out on smaller spaces because then it won’t be as hard to change it if you end up hating it in a year.

style: spring outfits for baby

baby tee | drool scarf | baby leggings | sneakers

i am really in love with everything about this little baby boy outfit. i actually bought these leggings for bastian…can’t wait to get them in the mail! i think we are all ready to trade in our winter duds for some new spring fashion. the biggest thing for me is to not break the bank when it comes to baby clothes. there is some adorable pricey stuff out there…but i just don’t have the stomach to spend that much on clothes for a person who still poops their pants. i have to say, boys clothes have come a long way…so long light-up-shoes with spider man emblems all over! i can hear 100 moms saying “just you wait!”…yes i know, so i will have my fun now.

baby top | headband | baby leggings | sneakers

this little lady’s outfit is just simply perfect in my mind. girly, but not cheesy with a pinch of sporty i’m-the-cool-girl-on-the-block. someday when i have a girl (yes, i hear you can plan these things right?…) i will be tempted to flood her in pink and bows, but i do love the sporty girl look too. how awesome are those sneakers? i want them in my size!

a new ergo baby carrier

i will have to admit, although i love the idea of baby wearing and did it quite a bit when bastian was smaller, i haven’t been wearing him lately. i will give myself the excuse of winter…it’s too cold to get him out of his carseat when we are out of the house. well anyways, the other day at baby and me one of the moms told us that ergo was coming out with a new forward facing carrier. now there is all sorts of talk out there that forward facing carriers are bad…so for those of you that don’t like the baby bjorn because of the “crotch dangling” this is your product. it is supposed to be a very supported forward hold! i have a baby bjorn and like it – mainly because bastian likes to face out. i have worn him while doing yard work and he will just hang out in there without a peep. two things that i don’t like about the baby bjorn are 1. there isn’t enough support for the wearer – even when carrying shrimpy bastian my back starts to hurt after awhile and 2. you can’t wear them on your hip or back. i also have this ring sling and i love it too! but having all his weight on one shoulder does start to hurt after awhile. recently i have been thinking for about getting an ergo carrier, but wanted to wait until baby #2 (which is not in the works right now fyi :)).  i hear rave reviews from friends, and now with the new version coming out that combines everything i love about the bjorn with the comfort and support of the ergo, i am definitely getting one! why not get one now and be able to enjoy it with all my kids, rather than wait for the next one. i have heard through the grapevine that toddlers are really good candidates for baby wearing. with them learning to walk and constantly wanting down, it could be more hectic going places and sitting in shopping carts. kids always seem more calm and entertained when they are being worn. they also get to see all the things you are doing at your level and is a good way for them to learn. here is the demo video of the new ergo:

ergo says their new carrier comes out spring 2014…so i will just wait patiently…until then i need to get some use out of my other carriers!

cupboard fun

i think this is the cutest progression of bastian discovering the tupperware cupboard. he really likes to get into everything these days. we have started to put child locks on the cupboards and he isn’t too happy about it. i am keeping a few of them lock-free because these “toys” keep him occupied so i can get some things done in the kitchen.

i have been really busy lately, hints the lack of posts. i have a project finished that i want to share, but just need to take some photos of it! with the weather starting to warm up, i feel like i have more energy, which means more ideas in my head for projects…so hopefully i will have more stuff to share!