A Pinterest project: bridal shower gift cake

So I'm sure you are familiar with Pinterest, or have at least heard of it, but have you actually done anything with those cool ideas you've pinned? I am totally addicted to it, and I actually have tried many of the recipes and some of the crafts or DIY projects that I've pinned. I thought I'd share some of them with you so you could see it I action. Wherever possible I will provide the original source of my pins because that's only fair, but you can check out all my pins by following me on Pinterest (see the button on the sidebar).

I recently attended a bridal shower for a friend and I always try to give a unique gift or present it in a different way (other than a gift bag). So I dug around on Pinterest and found this :

Tea Towel Cake via Aly & Ash

and this:

Dish Towel Cake via The Cottage Home

So of course, I took the challenge. I checked out her registry and seeing that her dish towels were already purchased, decided to use the dish cloths rolled up. My dilemma was that I wanted to incorporate her wedding colors (not sure why) but those colors did not really match the cloths. But oh well. I included some utensils as decorations, added some tulle and flowers and set the whole "cake" on a trivet from her registry. Anyway.... Here's how it turned out:

What do you think?

A happy baby

As you may (or may not) know, Caleb has not be the easiest baby so far. Whether it's colic, or reflux or the witching hour or what??? we deal with quite a bit of crying screaming daily. It has gotten somewhat better and when he is happy, he is the sweetest thing you ever did see.  Just see for yourself:  (please ignore the dorky mom talking in the background)

We can't wait to have this happy baby around more!

Visit from (Aunt) Amy

At the beginning of August, Eric's sister, Amy, came to visit. Caiden had lots of fun with her in the pool and making her chase him around Target :) She was a great help and Caleb's screaming fits didn't seem to bother her much. She even nicknamed him "squeaky" because of the sounds he makes. She won big points with Caiden with her Thomas the Train book and pillow pal. He goes through the book about 5 times a day naming EVERY train! We were so glad to spend some time with her!





Gracious Friends

I'm sure I've mentioned that we have had many wonderful friends bring meals after Caleb was born. It was definitely one of the best gifts you can provide a family that just had a baby. We are so very grateful to all the ladies that went out of their way to help us during our adjustment period.  Everything was so delicious and we were able to try new things. I've had to get the recipes so I can start making them. I tried to remember to take a picture before dinner each night but my mommy brain forgot frequently. Here's a few that I did remember to photograph:

Caleb- 2 months

Caleb is 2 months old (and 5 days)

I wanted to wait to post this so I could get his stats from the pediatrician.

-Weight: 11lb 4 oz. (25th percentile)

-Length: 22" (25th percentile)
-Diapers: size 1

-Clothes: 0-3months, most fit him well, but some brands are a little big

- Sleeping: Similar to last month, he gives us at lease one 2 1/2 to 3-hour stretch, but then the rest of the night is rough with him waking up about every hour. During the day he'll take about an hour long nap in the morning and about 2 hours in the afternoon, and then maybe an hour again in the evening. Most of the time I have to put him in the wrap carrier to get him to nap.

-Eating: He's nursing about every 2-3 hours. Unlike his brother he is an efficient eater and doesn't nurse for long periods of time.

-Brotherhood: Caiden is still loving his brother, always telling people who he is. And always refers to him as "Baby Brother Caleb"!

-Milestones:

• We got a smile!  but he's pretty stingy with it.
• His neck is getting really strong, and he likes to hold it up and look over our shoulder when we hold him.
• He started talking or "cooing". It's such a sweet sound! 
• He's also started to bat at his toys hanging from the play gym.

-Other:

• He was acting pretty uncomfortable and fussy at the beginning of this month, so the pediatrician had me eliminate dairy from my diet and give him Mylanta 3 times a day. While it seems to have helped some, at our appointment yesterday she prescribed some medicine for reflux so we are hoping that will help even more!
• He likes his bouncy chair now, will sleep in it a bit and get it bouncing by kicking and flailing his arms. Still not a fan of the swing :(
• We started Stroller Strides on Aug 1. The first couple of classes were a little rough because Caleb cried through most of it. I think he wasn't too used to being in his carseat. I think he's getting more used to it now because the last class he slept the whole time!

Here's Caleb as he's growing:

Here's a look at what he's been up to this month:

 And a couple comparisons to big brother:

Visit from Grandma

Grandma Vickie came to visit July 16-21. She was so excited to meet Caleb and spend some time with Caiden. We finally got out of the house since I had her to help keep track of the big guy.

Tuesday, we visited Sea Life. We have a membership so we go quite a bit, but it was Vickie's first time. You can't use a flash so the pictures don't turn out great.

Wednesday we went to story time at the library. This was the 2nd time we've been and Caiden really enjoys it so I'm gonna try to take him more.

On Friday  we went to Grapevine Mills Mall. Luckily we hijacked a mall fire truck stroller out in the parking lot so Caiden got to drive!

Caiden was so excited to ride the train.

And we ate lunch at Rainforest Cafe to celebrate Vickie's birthday. Caiden was a little scared at first, but liked to watch all the animals.

It was great to spend some time with Grandma!

Baby wearing is my sanity saver!

I must finally admit that my baby is a fussy baby! I'm hoping he'll grow out of it eventually or we'll figure out what is distressing him. In the meantime, I'll keep him wrapped up in his cocoon. My friend Jamie lent me her "Sleepy Wrap". It's a long piece of semi stretchy fabric that you wrap around you and tie and then stick the little guy in his spot. Right now it's the only way Caleb will nap. And the plus side is that I can do some things at the same time (light chores or play with Caiden). Plus theres lots of sites out there stating that baby wearing is a great bonding experience! If you are expecting you might think about one of these. However you might see if you can find a friend to loan you one first. They are a tad pricey and your baby may not like it (Caiden hated it). I've also seen a tutorial on how to make one on Pinterest if you are a DIY kind of gal!

I (heart) Stroller Strides

I am so excited to start back to Stroller Strides this week! Why? you might ask. Because I LOVE it!- crazy, I know. First, just in case you are unfamiliar, let me tell you about it. Stroller Strides is a fitness program that moms can do WITH their babies. While the class includes a total body workout for the moms, the kids stay entertained through songs and activities. I started Stroller Strides three months after having Caiden (Aug 2010). It pulled me out of the new mommy funk I was in. Prior to joining, there were days I didn't get out of my pyjamas. Why should I? I was only going to be at home with a little baby and he didn't care what I looked like :) I am not what you'd call a fitness person, so why do I love this fitness program so much?  Here's 7 reasons why:

1. Farrah. She's the franchise owner and main instructor. She is super woman! She really inspires me in so many ways, in the health and fitness area clearly, but also as an entrepreneur. She has such a genuine care for our well-being and I really think she loves each of our children as her own. Farrah even came to the hospital to visit when Caleb was born. Can you say that about your fitness instructor?
2. It's an awesome workout. At first Eric thought it was just a bunch of moms walking through the park chit chatting. Until he went to the family class one day and was put to the test. We use resistance tubing and our stroller for strength training and do cardio bursts as well. I really think that continuing to work out in Stroller Strides while I was pregnant with Caleb helped me to have such an easy labor/delivery and recovery! 
3. Friends! Prior to joining, I didn't really have many other mommy friends. I am really motivated to go to class because I want to see the girls and catch up. Plus, chatting about green poo or pureed squash actually takes your mind off the physical pain of working out. They are some of the most down-to-earth ladies I've met and they are going through the same season of life that I am. We are always asking each other for advice, sharing funny/gross/frustrating times and supporting each other when needed. We are always looking after each others kids, chasing them down or picking them up, sharing snack and toys to keep the kids entertained. These wonderful women have been bringing us meals three days a week for a month now since Caleb was born! They are AMAZING!
4. Friendly competition- everyone loves to be challenged a little. I love participating in the Healthy Mama challenge, wall sit and plank competitions. Even though I complain because they hurt, the inner competitor inside comes out and pushes me do do better. I even won a plank competition last year. I don't remember how long I held it, but it was awesome! I was shaking like crazy, wanting to come down, but all the other mamas were cheering me on!
5. It includes the kids. During exercises, we sing songs or play peek-a-boo or give tickles and high 5s. We also have different themed classes where we include shapes, numbers and the alphabet. They really seem to enjoy themselves too!
6. It's an hour a day focused on ME! while this somewhat contradicts number 5, it is MY hour of the day. As a SAHM, your world revolves around the kids, so it is so nice to have a place to go where people ask you about YOU and want you to do things that are good for YOU!

Some of the other perks are the super great Plum Mom's Club and perks from sponsors. We frequently get samples from Plum, Luna, Episencial and we get a lot of discounts too! I'm sure there are more reasons, but I have to publish this post or it will never get done!
Here's a few pics from class:

Caiden even gets in on the action. He was stretching with us this day. (I think it was in February and a little chilly)