kitchen toys = entertainment

So sometimes when I am trying to cook dinner and a certain someone is attached to my legs I can pull out a bowl and a spoon and it entertains Grayson for hours. 

Got to love kitchen toys!



I have had a few comments about the storyboards I have created on my blog.  Thanks to my sister she taught me how to do this.  I use Adobe Photoshop and I have a few template files that I use to create the storyboards.  If you use Adobe and want me to send you the template files by email please send me an email. 

I haven't tried using the file an any other program so I am not sure if it will work.  I am happy to answer specific questions if needed just let me know.  It is easy to do after you do it a few times. 

Good Luck!

pouty face + cuteness

there are no words for this picture it speaks for itself



look at that face...

this is Grayson's new face...

this face appears each time he gets upset plus he stands up and falls on his bottom and throws his head back...it is very entertaining.  I hope it doesn't last long, but the pouty face is adorable!

I just love seeing Grayson's personality shine each and every day!  He is doing something new all the time! 

We hope you are having a great holiday weekend! 

Be safe!

Working Mommy Posts

Thanks to all that have commented or emailed me in regards to the working mommy posts.  I have received a great response and will be emailing you each with details on thoughts/ideas and confirming which day of the week works best for you to do the post.  I think it would be great to do the post here on my blog, but link up to your blog where you will have the post as well. 

Some ideas I plan on sharing on my post are:

~quality time spent devoting to the word of God and praying

~how to get things done such as dishes, laundry, keeping the house clean, etc

~how to spend quality time with your spouse, dogs, and little ones

~how to spend time with friends

~how to spend time with extended family

~keeping up with blogs and other social media 

~balancing it all because I think all moms out there take on TOO MUCH and we think we can do it all.  At least I am this way! HA!

I will have to say some of the above things I am great at doing and others I need to work on them.  If only there were a FEW more hours in the day...

Again these are just my thoughts and you can expand on them when you do your post, but I wanted to get them out to you so you can start thinking and preparing your post.  I am excited to do this series and look forward to hearing how other moms balance work and home life! 

If you are a stay at home mom and you work too I would love to hear from you as well.  Also if you are a stay at home mom Karen at Karen at Home is doing a series RIGHT NOW about the Day in the Life of a Stay At Home Mom.  You should go check it out!  Plus Kelly from Kelly's Korner is doing a week series on Week in the Life, this is where she shares her day with her readers.  I think it is great because it gives other moms ideas on things to do with their kids and more.  Go check it out too!

These two moms did not ask me to write about them.  I just think the topics they are sharing are wonderful and can add value to stay at home moms and I wanted to share.  You can read if you would like...

Again thank you for your interest and we will begin the series July 11th, 2011.  Please look for an email from me later today or tomorrow.  If you are interested in doing a post please send me an email or leave a comment. 

Have a Beautiful Day!



Sippy Cup HELP {Notes}

As promised I am sharing all the comments I received with all of you that are in similar situations as I am! 

I am ready to try some of these tips and hoping for success!  I will keep you posted on how it is going.  I am really hoping by our 14 Month Post I can say he is on a Sippy Cup 100%!!!!

Please note that everything listed below are from comments I received.  Take it as you want...I think it is great that so many moms out there support one another!  Plus if your baby isn't on a sippy cup I think this post is great to save for future reference, but again that is just my opinion! 

{Notes on Sippy Cups}

I tried to add links if a reader left one, plus if I haven't heard of a particular sippy cup I went on amazon and found it and listed the link.  I hope this helps everyone!

1.  Dr Brown's Sippy Cups

2.  One comment stated, "My sister had some sort of stoppers that she put in the lid of the sippy cup so that it didn't just flow out, they actually have to suck on it to get the milk out.  Then when they got use to that she took the stopper out."  Based on this comment I think that she is talking about the Playtex sippy cups.  The one we have has a stopper in it.  I just purchased this sippy cup this week based on a twitter comment I received this week too. 

3.  Tip for transitioning to sippy cup from bottle... go for it COLD TURKEY!  I think this is how we are going to have to approach this with Grayson, but I do have another plan that I want to try first.  We will see what happens. 

4.  Born Free Trainer Cups - they have a handle like a sippy cup but a spout that is more like a bottle.  This mommy also left the following tip, "We used this cup for probably 6 months or so before we transitioned to a straw cup, but still using the trainer cups in the morning and before bed.  In the beginning, we would even tilt him back with the cups as though he was drinking from a bottle.  It worked really well for us, even though the Born Free cups have more parts than other sippy cups.  It was well worth it to get him off of a bottle.  One thing I will say, though, is they have two types of nipples, hard and soft.  Stick with the soft, because the hard nipple is free flowing and one was always too fast and two it doesn't have a back-flow valve, so every time it gets tipped over it spills.  The soft nipple is slower and doesn't spill. 

5.  Playtex Insulated Hard Top Sippy Cup

6.  BornFree - they have a vent just like a bottle.  Actually the sippy lids are interchangeable with the bottle tops and vice versa.  They also come with a cap to throw in the diaper bag and removable handles. 

7.  Start with a soft top sippy cup, then move to a hard top sippy cup, and then a straw sippy cup.

8.  Playtex Brand - they have a good stopper in them.

9.  Munchkin Soft Tip Sippy Cup

10.  Nuby "Sport Sippers"

11. ThinkBaby Thinkster - they stated that it is just like the bottle but instead of the nipple it is a straw.  She did warn me by saying that it is pretty much spill proof which is a plus, but it is quite a pain to clean. 

12.  Straw Sippy Cups

13.  Break the habit of going to bed with a bottle or sippy cup.  My friend Kate sent me some GREAT details on how to do this and I am really excited to give this a try and break this habit all together.  Wish me luck!

14.  Open Cup - use a small plastic one, fill it a third of the way, and give it to your bibbed toddler at meals.  It encourages lip retraction -- when lips have to make a smiley face for words like "hi".  Straw sippy cups - They are mostly spill proof, so use them at home or in the car.  Benefits:  Promotes funneling -- when the tongue stays in the mouth to talk -- and also strengthens cheek and lip muscles. 

15.  TILTY sippy cups this sippy cup has a tilt inside so that your toddler doesn't have to tilt his/her head back. 

16.  Nipple Shaped Sippy Parts @ William Sonoma

17.  NUK Latex Learner Sippy Cups

18.  Use the brand of Bottle you used with your infant and see if they have a sippy cup.

19.  Avent Sippy Cups



spaghettiO's oh my!

For dinner last night I decided I was going to try giving Grayson SpaghettiO's...

let's just say he LOVED them!

what a mess...

and now he clean!

{love my sweet baby G}



Thank you so much for all the comments on my last post regarding sippy cups!  I love all of the comments and support.  I thought you would give me a list of sippy cups which you did, but some of you offered additional support on how to break the bottle.  AMAZING SUPPORT!!!!! 

So what am I going to do...well now I am going to go through all the comments and do a blog post so that all readers can get this AMAZING SUPPORT!!!!!

BIG THANKS AND A BIG HUG!

Sippy Cup HELP!

We are starting to get Grayson off of his bottle and on a sippy cup full time, however it is not going well at all! 

Problem: when he takes a nap or goes to bed he has always had a bottle before he goes to sleep.  Every time I give him a sippy cup he drinks a little bit and than sits up like he can't drink out of the sippy cup and go to sleep.  Does that make sense?  I feel as if the sippy cup flow of milk is faster than in a bottle.  I don't think he will have an issue converting to a sippy cup, but I think I just have not found the right one for him.  So can anyone tell me which sippy cup out there will be the best to transition from a bottle?  I would love the help!

Here is a list of sippy cups we have and have tried:

Tommee Tippee Sippy Cup

Nuby

Nuk

Nuk Air System

Take and Toss

Look at this sweet smile...



365 Project

Over the weekend I finally caught up on our 365 Day Project.  I usually don't do a post on our daily pictures, but I thought I would since I had 18 pictures to update.  If you follow me on Facebook that is where I keep this project updated.  I am happy that I have kept up with the daily photos it has been fun looking back at all of the photos. 

I created two storyboards and I will try my best to share a caption about each picture. 

1. first time playing in his baby pool

2.  at our friend's house playing on their deck

3.  G wanted to push the swing instead of being pushed...it was a little dangerous and it didn't last long before I started pushing him in the swing

4.  teaching Grayson how to sit in the chair, instead he kept crawling out of it and sitting beside it

5.  fun picture I took before Grayson fell down

6.  Grayson was starting to get upset and I was trying to get a picture of him making his face with his bottom lip sticking out it is too cute!

7.  Daddy watering flowers with Grayson.  This is the best way to do it.  I watered the flowers once with Grayson and he was COVERED in MUD afterwards!  He loved it, but it was a complete mess!

8.  Grayson finally likes the grass...

1.  At Meme's new house... he already knows how to turn on the bathtub!

2.  Summer fun...I was changing Grayson into his swim shorts in the backyard and he ran away from me and I couldn't resist taking a quick picture!

3.  Just playing

4.  Trying a cracker at Meme's house

5.  Cute picture of Grayson that I got mid-action of him starting to stand up!

6.  Grayson was teething HORRIBLE last week so I gave him a frozen waffle in the backyard and he loved it!  Hint..go outside it makes a big mess!

7.  I love this picture of Grayson he looks so much like his cousin Drew in this picture.

8.  Teething again...this is how he uses his paci when he is teething.

At Red Robin having dinner with friends on Saturday. 

Grayson loved getting the ballon!



Swim Party on Sunday.  Grayson had already went swimming and we were having a lunch break so he found some toys to keep himself busy.  I love his cover up, it kept him warm without having to change him out of his swim shorts. 

Question for all readers:

My friend Karen at Karen at Home recently did a week long series  on Stay at Home Moms.  I loved reading the posts each day and I was wondering if anyone of MY readers would be interested in guest blogging on MY blog for Working Moms.  I think it would be VERY interesting to READ how all Working Moms manage home life and work life.  Don't get me WRONG I strongly believe that staying home with your kids is being a WORKING MOM, but I was wondering if anyone would be interested in reading on HOW moms manage working outside of the home and all the details that go along with it.  I could start off the series and we could go from there... give me your feedback and I was thinking we could get started on July 11th, 2011.  I would love to share what I do in a typical day with work, taking care of our house, Grayson, and Bella. 

What are your thoughts???  

Have a great week!