Blog Makeover

So I was really bored with my blog layout/name. I've been working on it for awhile. I tried lots of free layouts, but wasn't really happy with any of them, so I decided to try to do it myself. Here it is. I am proud of myself for learning quite a bit more about graphics and html code. I think that I'm pretty happy with it. What do you think?

9 Months Old

Fiona is 9 months old today. This cutie has been making our lives crazy and happy for 3/4 of a year.

She has gotten faster, even though I didn't think that was possible. She can stand for several seconds at a time now without holding onto anything. She's cruising the furniture, not just pulling up anymore. She has the funniest sense of humor, she keeps us rolling on the floor most days. She likes to tease her Daddy. She will reach for him, then when he reaches for her she turns away and laughs, repeat process. She is having more and more days where she will only eat things that she can feed herself. This often leads to hissy fits at meals. She likes to take things apart. She managed to get the little plastic snack holder off the exersaucer somehow. She still loves to dance and anything with music. She loves to sing in church or in the living room. It makes me laugh because when I was pregnant if I had music on she never stopped moving. I used to say she was dancing along, and now she really does. She is trying hard to get a few more teeth. She has 2 more that are just about to come through that have been really bothering her lately, but not quite there. Her favorite signs still all revolve around food: nurse, eat, more. She is showing more interest when we sign animals with her.

This month has been kind of rough for her too though. I've been doing daycare more regularly and so she has had to share her Mommy and her toys. She was developing quite the princess complex, so it has been good for her. Since we have been watching a small baby, she is finally starting to learn the word "gentle". She is not very good at it yet, but she tries hard.

She has also become attached to this silly fleece blanket. The child is a furnace and is always hot, so it is strange to me that out of all her blankets she chose this fleece one that makes her sweat even more. It has to go pretty much everywhere these days, especially if she is the littlest bit tired/cranky. I'm going to have to see if I can't find a backup blanket in case it gets lost. She doesn't care so much about it when she is awake and busy playing. However, if she is tired she will drag it over to you and ask to be held.

Time keeps flying by. I wish I could make it slow down. Mommy and Daddy love you, Fiona!! Happy 9 months, big girl!!

Love/Hate Relationship

I have a love/hate relationship with our dog, Toby. He is a very sweet dog and I do love him, but he is soooo naughty. He has been since the day we got him. As a puppy he chewed through more things than I can count. He still occassionally eats a pair of underwear or socks. We've done the whole obedience classes and worked hard with him. It only makes him behave while you are watching him.

He is such a cuddler though and so happy to see everyone. He really loves Fiona and she loves him too. Fiona's love comes with lots of hair pulling, pinching, and body slamming, but he takes it all without even batting an eye. If she cries, he comes to get you and cries until you soothe her. He even likes to cuddle up with her for naps.

He was actually cuddling more with her, but I left the room to get the camera, so of course he had to come check it out. When he went back to laying with her, they weren't snuggling as much, but it is still cute.

However, he also loves that she is eating real food now. He used to be content with just begging food from her and she would happily toss him a few bites. The other day I got her out of the high chair, left the kitchen for a minute and returned to find this:

He was busily cleaning off her tray for me. Yuck. He has even gotten brave enough to attempt this while she is in the high chair. Such a naughty dog. It is hard to be angry though when the baby is giggling hysterically.

Well Toby, you are safe for now, but only because Fi loves you so much. Naughty dog.

Fi has FuzziBunz

Over the last few months I have been fortunate enough to try out a handful of different cloth diaper brands. I like trying the different kinds and am always in search of the one that will work the best. It seemed like whenever I talked to other cloth diapering moms FuzziBunz was mentioned. I have to admit I was a little hesitant to try these diapers because of all the hype. Everyone said they were great and that I would love them. Surely, there was no way that they could be that awesome. I've not always had great luck with diapers that other people swear by. However, I decided that I wanted to at least give them a shot before writing them off.

Laura B over at FuzziBunz was wonderful enough to send me not 1, but 2 Perfect Size FuzziBunz diapers to review! I have had my eye on the daisy print, so I was super excited that she was able to send me a red daisy print and a lavender. I decided to go with the Medium size because Fiona is about 17.5 pounds right now and the Medium goes from 15-30 pounds. They are a little big/bulky, but the fit around her legs and tummy are great. I don't mind that they are a little big because that means they will last for quite awhile.

Aside from the appeal of the cute colors and daisy prints, the first thing that caught my eye was that this is a snap diaper. That is good, because Princess Fiona figured out how to remove aplix (velcro) diapers a couple of months ago. She has yet to figure out snaps, so they are essential to keeping her cute bottom diapered. What is even better is that their snaps are guaranteed to be sturdy and not need maintenance. That means they will hold up better if you want to use them with a second child.

FuzziBunz are a pocket diaper. That means they have a waterproof outer layer, a soft microfleece inner layer, and a pocket in between where you stuff an absorbent insert. The nice thing about pocket diapers is that you can customize how absorbent you need the diaper to be. The inserts that came with my diapers are super absorbent and work great for daytime, even nap time. We put them to the test and had absolutely no leaks. I didn't trust just one insert for overnight, so I added a second. The diaper still fit just fine with the extra insert and I could have stuffed it quite a bit more if I had a very heavy wetter.

These diapers even pass the Daddy test. My husband thought that they were easy to use. He even helped stuff them! I know you are all jealous ;) That is amazing because he is pretty picky and usually uses any excuse he can think of to avoid anything diaper related.

These diapers were awesome! I wish I had jumped on the FuzziBunz wagon before. The Medium is a little big and bulky on Fiona, but it should fit her a very long time, maybe even until potty training. That means these diapers are better for your wallet, even though they are a sized diaper. These are definitely some of the first diapers I grab. Now I just have to get my hands on a couple of the other daisy prints :) I am a FuzziBunz convert!

Wordless Wednesday: Attempt at a Family Photo with a Distracted Baby

Body After Baby: Almost There

So I have been a total slacker on the Body After Baby Challenge the last 2 weeks. The Body After Baby Challenge is being hosted by MamaNotes. I was such a slacker last week that I didn't even blog about it. Thankfully, even though I have been a slacker I have managed to maintain my weight loss.
I have done okay with eating healthy. I haven't been horrible, but I haven't been making super healthy choices either. I think that I have managed to change a few bad habits though, as far as not reaching for junk food first and increasing the amount of water I am drinking.
Exercise has been pretty nonexistent lately. We did go to the zoo this last weekend and for a walk the weekend before, so at least there has been some moderate stuff.
Not to make excuses, because there is no excuse, but since I started babysitting I am finding it a lot more challenging to squeeze exercise in. When I just had Fi, it was easy enough to stick her in the high chair or the exersaucer and work out. It has been a little harder to find a time when 3 and now 2 babies are happy to sit by themselves while I work out. I know if we have a second child it will be the same, so I'm working on brainstorming different ways to squeeze in a workout. We did have a dance party in the living room one day last week and I worked up a sweat, but it was mainly because I was having a rough time keeping everyone happy.
Anyway, I've made up my mind that I am going to finish up the challenge on a good note. I am recommitting myself to do better on this last stretch. Go Red Team!

Diaper Sprayer

I almost have Nathan convinced that a diaper sprayer is a necessity. He would definitely be sold on the idea if I won one for free. Luckily, Momma Molly is hosting a diaper sprayer giveaway. You could go over there and enter and then donate it to me if you win :)

Wordless Wednesday: Ray of Sunshine and Cool Storm Clouds

AppleCheeks Diapers Review

I was lucky enough to win the Fluff Friday Twitter giveaway over at The Cloth Diaper Whisperer a couple of weeks ago. I was very excited because I won 2 AppleCheeks diapers and 2 inserts. I had been wishing for a couple of these diapers because I thought they looked really cute and they have some very pretty colors.
I ended up with a St. Lucia and a Forget-Me-Not. I absolutely LOVE the St. Lucia. The color is just gorgeous and looks rather good on Miss Fi. See isn't it yummy! My second choice was a Mrs. Robinson, which is a pretty dark blue, but those were out of stock. I did not get AppleCheeks inserts with the diapers, I got BG inserts, which was fine.


These diapers come in 2 sizes. That is nice because that means the diapers will fit your baby longer, so fewer diapers for you to buy. I chose a size 1 for Fiona because it said it fits approximately 7-20 pounds and size 2 fits approximately 18-40 pounds. I probably should have chosen a size 2 since it would last longer, but at the time she was sitting at abou 15 pounds and I wanted a diaper she could where right then. However, these diapers run just a tiny bit on the small side. I'm not sure that the size 1 is going to fit Fiona until she is 2o pounds. I wouldn't say she has abnormally chunky thighs, but she is already on the last snap of the leg setting.

Did I mention that these diapers are snaps. We have a definite love of snap diapers these days since Fiona can remove velcro. Here is what the inside of the diaper looks like:
Overall, I really love these diapers. They have something that alot of other diapers are lacking, which is elastic on the tummy. I really like the elastic in the tummy because Fiona is a major tummy sleeper and sometimes in other diapers that results in leaks. The tummy elastic on these helps to keep everything in the diaper. Speaking of keeping everything in the diaper, we have had absolutely no leakage in these diapers, and they have seen some poop disasters. They are amazing at containing messes.


My other favorite thing about these diapers is the pocket. It is very wide and easy to stuff. Plus, you don't have to unstuff it. The inserts come out in the wash. I admit, I did not originally know this and with the location of the pocket, it meant reaching through poo to unstuff the diaper. I was really frustrated and grossed out with this. Then I got online and did a little research and realized that you don't have to unstuff these diapers. Yay!! I love not having to touch gross, soggy inserts!

Two things that I am not crazy about with these diapers are: ease of use and fraying.

As far as ease of use, these are not the easiest diapers in the world to get on. It requires some stretching out of elastic and it can be a challenge. I think they are totally worth the challenge. However, these are not diapers that I can hand to hubby to use. He has a horrible time getting them on. It isn't going to stop me from using them, but they get points off for this.

The other less than ideal thing is that the edges fray a bit. I washed them with some aplix (velcro) diapers and inevitably one or two of the aplix diapers came undone and caused the edges on the AppleCheeks diapers to fray a bit. Not a deal breaker either, and you could just avoid washing these diapers with your aplix ones.

So to wrap it up, I love my AppleCheeks diapers and am hoping that the budget will allow me to purchase a few size 2 diapers soon.

My Week

This last week has been a fairly crazy week. I feel completely disconnected from the world because I basically had zero time to get on the computer or talk to grown ups. However, it was a pretty good week even though it was crazy.

Our garden is going gangbusters and we have gazillions of tomatoes, jalapenos, and green beans. This is just a small sampling of our tomatoes. Aren't they pretty? I've been eating lots and lots of tomatoes since Nathan really doesn't eat them. That is just fine with me because I LOVE tomatoes out of the garden. Say what you will about Nebraska's icky hot/humid summers, but it produces some very tasty tomatoes. (I've had homegrown ones in other states and they just aren't quite as good.)

There have been a few cranky baby moments at our house this week, mainly caused by refusing to nap and some jealousy. See example A:

The main reason that the week was crazy was that I was babysitting 2 other babies. L who is a little over a year and G who is about 2 months.

Aren't you impressed that I was able to get a picture of all 3, even though 2 are very mobile? It took some doing.

Thankfully, my sister Maura was bored and came over to help keep them all occupied for 2 of the days. These 2 are super busy, but they did keep each other occupied quite a bit.

Fiona was very jealous anytime I held/fed/paid attention to Miss G. She gradually got over it as the week went on, but at the beginning she would throw herself on the floor in a screaming temper tantrum when I was trying to feed G.

Fiona's new favorite place to play is underneath the exersaucer.

It was pretty chaotic at our house. When one cried, they all cried and there just isn't quite room for 3 babies on my lap. Boy, did I look forward to nap time. Next week will be better because I will just have baby G.

I have rarely been more glad for the weekend. I was exhausted after this busy week.

Baby Half Off Giveaway

Baby Half Off is giving away a $50 gift certificate to one of their Facebook fans for their grand opening. It ends tomorrow, so you could go enter, or not, because I would really like to win.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gilbert-AZ/Baby-Half-Off/144546841912#/note.php?note_id=116557892621&ref=mf

Wordless Wednesday: Zoo Edition

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Honey ... I Lost the Baby

Fi is quite the mover these days. She was never a baby that held still, but with her new found mobility she is never in the same spot for more than a few seconds. The other day she was playing in the living room and I ran down the hall to grab something. I was not gone for more than a few seconds and could hear her happily babbling to herself the whole time. So you can imagine my surprise when I walked back into the living room and did not see a baby.



Our living room is pretty small and there is not a lot of furniture in it. There is a baby gate up, so no little people can escape from the living room. I could still hear Fiona happily talking away, but I didn't see her. I had a few moments of sheer panic. My heart was racing.



I calmed myself down and followed the sound of her voice to behind the couch. She was just chilling back there chewing on a block. Of course the second I went to grab my camera she crawled out.



Hi, Mom!

What a little stinker! But, such a cute one!

Body After Baby: Halfway!!

We are halfway through the Body After Baby Challenge. That is both exciting and scary.

I have done really well with eating this week. I am really pretty proud of myself. I resisted a lot of temptation, because Nathan has been eating garbage all week. He keeps doing things like buying ice cream and making cookie dough, but I have been good and haven't eaten it.

I have gotten some cardio in this week also. I am not doing very well on the weight lifting/muscle toning. I need to work much harder on that for the second half.

I am definitely seeing some changes in my body. My clothes are not fitting any more, in a good way. My transition clothes, that I bought because none of my old clothes fit, but it was too depressing to keep wearing maternity clothes, are now too big. Woo Hoo!! Plus, I am feeling a lot better. I am happier with the image in the mirror and I have more energy (even on the days where I haven't gotten much sleep at night).

The most exciting news ... I lost 3 pounds this week!! Yes, I have managed to hit pre-baby weight!! I am ecstatic. I do still have a couple more pounds I would like to lose, but I wouldn't be sad if I could just maintain this weight.

The Body After Baby Challenge has been awesome. Head on over to Mama Notes and cheer on everyone else participating. Go Red Team!

Who's Smile?

When you have a baby everyone immediately tries to figure out if the baby looks more like Mom or Dad. The debate has been going on at our house since Fiona was born. I think that she looks a lot like both of us. She does look a lot like me, but there is a lot of her Dad there too. Nathan doesn't agree. He thinks she only looks like me. Help us settle this debate. Who do you think she looks more like? Pictures of me on the left side about the same age as Fiona, and pictures of my husband on the right side.

The Downside of the Clothesline

Ridiculously early this morning when Fiona decided it was time to be up, I went to change her diaper. Mind you, that this is early. I am still pretty groggy from sleep (or lack of) and haven't had my required cup of coffee yet.

I grab a prefold out of the basket and lay it under her rear end. Then I see something move quickly across my vision.

I blinked and shook my head.

Then I spot it. A big spider, right on the diaper and very near my poor baby's bottom. I let out a shriek of surprise grabbed the diaper (careful to avoid touching the spider) dash the few steps to the bathroom and launch the whole thing in the toilet. Yuck!

I still have the willies just thinking about it. Fiona thought the whole thing was a great game and was chuckling away at Mommy's panic. I made my hubby fish out the diaper and check to make sure the spider was indeed in the toilet and more importantly that he was dead. After all it was his fault it was there. I always diligently inspect the diapers as I take them off the clothesline, but he did me a favor and took them down last night. He apparently is not as diligent about inspecting them for bugs.

Wordless Wednesday