Sibling Rivalry

Coco has been so good with Denver. She doesn't get in his face or on his stuff. She wants to be everywhere that he is and she gets upset when he starts crying, especially if she can't see him. Sometimes when he's fussy & on his changing table, she'll jump up on her back legs and rest her front little legs on the shelf so she can stretch and try to see him. It's really sweet. The last couple of days I've actually had a few minutes to be in the office and try to work on a few things so I moved Denver's travel swing in there and put it beside my chair. Normally (before Denver) when I was working in the office Coco would come up beside my chair and want me to pet her and love on her. This morning while working on the computer, she wanted to make sure that she didn't get forgotten.


She squirmed her way between me and Denver's swing, just to make sure she got some lovin'!

Getting Ready

Mommy says we have to go to a baby shower today. I don't know what that is but she says that there will be lots of people that will want to see me and hold me. I like being held so I think it'll be ok. Mommy gave me a bath this morning so I would smell good for all the hugs and kisses. I like bath time. She put me in a new outfit. I don't know what that means but she has these weird things on my feet. I guess it'll be ok. After she put my clothes on she said I had to wait until she got ready before we could go. She had me sit in the bathroom so she could see me.


I like this chair thing. It's pretty comfy and I can sit up and look at stuff. Mom takes a long time getting ready. She keeps telling me that she is hurrying but I don't know what that means. I think I'm hungry. She is putting this stuff on her face and spraying different things that smell. When was the last time I had milk? Mom says she's almost done. Just a few more minutes. I need milk. Where's my milk? I'm tired of this chair. I want milk. (cue crying) -Denver

Denver's Birth Announcement

I made Denver's birth announcement on www.shutterfly.com last week and they came in today. I couldn't be more pleased, I think they came out great!


Isn't it so sweet? I just love the black and white pictures! I got 75 announcements with tax and shipping for $55. I thought that was a pretty good deal. It was the first time I had ever used them and I'm sure I will again - they have some great stuff. :)

Mobile Time

There is about half an hour or so a day where mommy really needs to get some stuff done and needs a way to pacify a certain little boy. So, I put him in his bed (it's the only time he's in there) and I crank up his mobile while I run around the house and try to be productive. I keep running back to his room to re-crank the mobile and then off to wash dishes, start supper, let Coco out, etc. and then back to re-crank it. It's a Godsend but I really wish someone would invent one that would play for about an hour. Don't get me wrong, all that running around is great exercise but it sure makes for one tired mommy! :)

I think it's adorable how much he loves it! He could lay there forever watching it!

Tummy Time!

We've had tummy time for a few minutes everyday but this is the first time I put Denver on his activity mat for it.


I started him out on his back just to get used to the idea of the mat and to have an opportunity to "take it all in". He did well so then I propped him up on his whale pillow and turned him over on his tummy.

He lasted about a minute before he started getting upset. I think one of the things he hates the most is the texture of the mat. It's very slippery for a little guy and he can't get any traction/leverage. The little whale pillow is made of the same fabric so he just slides around. Maybe it won't be such an issue as he gets stronger.


Once he had enough of tummy time, I flipped him back over so he could enjoy the mat on his back but he wasn't a big fan by that point. We put the mat up & called it a day. We'll get it back out in a couple of days and see if we have any better luck!

Bath Time!

Denver loves bath time. When he's super upset it's one of the only things that will calm him down. He's never cried during a bath. He just looks around and smiles and coos. It's the cutest thing.


He likes looking at himself in the mirror and staring at the lights.


He loves his tummy towel. What a great way to keep him warm!


And sometimes mommy plays around with him in the bath! :)


And then we get all dried off, have our baby massage, get all lotioned up and our pjs on, hair brushed and our ears cleaned out then it's time for bottle, some rocking and bedtime! There is nothing better than a sweet little clean, sleepy baby!

Mommy's Little Pumpkin

Denver's first Halloween outfit!





Can you believe how big he's getting?

Snoozing

Mommy likes to take lots of pictures of me when I sleep. She says that I look like an Angel. I don't know what that means but here's the evidence...











I have to go now, I'm hungry. Where's my milk? Where's my milk? (cue crying) -Denver

Breastfed/No Pacifiers Sticker

A friend suggested that I mark on Denver's hospital name sign that he should be breastfed only so we would steer clear of any miscommunication with nurses, etc. while we are in the hospital. I thought that was a great idea, but didn't want to mess up his name sign (I couldn't figure out a way to incorporate it and keep it cute), so I decided to make one more quick little "sticker" to go on Denver's bed to make sure that everyone understands our wishes for him while we are there. Of course, I made it to match the rest of our "gear" we are taking up there.

I have a bag that has all of our stuff in it, so that it's easy to get to and I don't forget about anything. I made sure that I have a pair of scissors, a roll of scotch tape, and a couple of command strips (for the wreath), so we should be all set once we get there!

Hospital Name Sign

I had some blue cardstock and ribbon left and time on my hands, so I decided to make a little name sign for Denver's bed while he's at the hospital. I'm sure that the nurses are going to think I'm a nutcase with all this stuff that I'm bringing up there but it's helped me pass the time without having a nervous breakdown, so I'm all for it. :)

Now all we need is a little boy to make his arrival so we can put all this stuff I've been making to good use!

Hospital Visitor Treats

Everyday that Denver doesn't come - I figure out something else to do to keep myself a little busy. If not, I'm way too anxious and kind of wander around the house looking for something to do. The last time I was at Hobby Lobby I picked up a plain paper gift bag for just 50 cents. I already had some treat bags and some "It's A Boy" ribbon. I just needed something to put in the treat bags! I really wanted something to pass out as people come to see us at the hospital. I decided to make shortbread cookies with royal icing. I made the dough up but had trouble with it when rolling it out (in hindsight I probably shouldn't have been trying to do it at 11 at night) so I got frustrated and just threw the dough away and decided to buy something. I called the bakery and depending on what I was looking for, they wanted anywhere from $1.50-$3 per cookie and you had to order at least $50. I wanted something cute but didn't want to spend a fortune on anything so when D and I were at Wal-Mart the next day we found some of those soft sugar cookies with blue icing. Each container was $2.50 and had 10 cookies so I picked up 4 containers for $10. Much better than the bakery alternative!

I just made a label to match the wreath and used spray adhesive on it to attach it to the bag.

And then I put each cookie in a treat bag and tied them with a piece of "It's a Boy" ribbon. Something cute and cheap to hand out to our visitors!

39 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights: How Far Along: 39 Weeks Size of baby: Watermelon (19 - 22" long, 6 to 9 pounds) Total Weight Gain/Loss: +12-15 pounds (depending on how swollen I am that day) Maternity Clothes: Just the one dress I bought and the one shirt that was a hand me down. Everything else is regular clothes (mostly pjs these days). Gender: It's a boy! Denver Ray Fountain Movement: I can feel him rolling around in there - to watch it looks like my stomach is possessed. It's pretty cool and creepy all at the same time! Sleep: Not sleeping that great here lately. It's VERY hard to get comfortable! What I miss: The occasional glass of wine or margarita! Cravings: Not craving anything, but I've been eating a lot of sweets lately! Lots of ice cream! Symptoms: Nausea, headaches, backaches, hip pain, pelvic pain, heartburn - I'm a barrel of fun these days. Best moment this week: One week closer to meeting our baby boy! We had a Drs appointment this afternoon and all went well. We are dilated to 2cm and 100% effaced, so Denver should be making his arrival soon. If he decides he wants to hang out a little longer, we're going to look into scheduling an induction on the 15th. Until then, we just wait!

Hospital Door Hanger

I bought a little door hanger at Hobby Lobby for 79 cents and decided to make something for the door at the hospital. In case you haven't noticed, I've had a bit of energy lately I took it outside and spray painted it Heirloom White and then just made another scalloped piece to match the jar, wreath, etc that I've been making. I used the last tiny bit of ribbon I had to make a bow. I just glued the bow to the top of the hanger and then used Elmer's spray adhesive to glue the scalloped piece to the hanger.


Because the wreath says "Oh Joy, It's a Boy" I didn't want something else on the door that said that so I put "Welcome Denver" instead.


Here's what it looks like hanging on a door. I can't wait for (someone) to get pictures of everything up at the hospital.

Wreath for Hospital door

My sister-in-law made a wreath for us to take to the hospital but I hung it up in Denver's room and was worried that the trip to the hospital and back might damage it some (while we're trying to lug everything else around) so I decided to make another one that would be cute but I wouldn't be heart broken if something happened to it. So, I sat down with some rubber bands, a styrofoam wreath base, a package of size 1 diapers (I used about 25), a hot glue gun and some ribbon.


Diapers and rubber bands. At least one end of the diapers should be white unless you don't mind seeing the decorations on them. These are Pampers.


Lay the diapers out flat and start rolling them from the open side first towards the closed (bottom) side of the diaper.


The key (I learned the hard way) is to roll the diaper in a slight cone shape.


It should look something like this - not a noticeable size different from the top to the bottom but it makes a big difference when you're attaching all of the diapers to the wreath. Just trust me on that one!


Then just secure them with a rubber band.


Then I started laying them out around the wreath frame to see how many I would need. In hindsight, I would wrap the wreath frame with ribbon. You can't see it once it's hung up but it does look a bit unfinished when you're just holding it.


I forgot to take pictures of putting the ribbon on. I just wrapped it around one diaper to see how much I needed then used that cut piece of ribbon as a template for all the other pieces I needed to cut. I cut them all out and then just wrapped it around the diapers and hot glued them on. Just pull the ribbon tight and put the hot glue only on the ribbon and you won't mess up the diapers (you especially want to do this if you're making this for a gift). Then I tied ribbon around the wreath base to use as a hanger and then I went around the wreath and hot glued all the diapers on.


I bought a little wooden sign at Hobby Lobby and spray painted it antique white. I knew that I wanted the wreath to match the "Oh Joy, It's a Boy" stuff I had been making so I decided to make the same thing I had made for the nurses' gift jar. I used Elmer's Spray Adhesive to secure it to the sign and then just ran baby blue ribbon through it to tie to the wreath. I hot glued it to the back of the wreath and then just made a simple bow and hot glued it to the top of the wreath.


And here it is all done! I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. I'm not going to lie - it was much harder than I thought it would be and took me about 4 hours. Will probably be the last time I make one!

Oh Joy, It's a Boy Nurses' Gift Jar

A couple of weeks ago I saw this picture online of a little gift jar to give someone when they have a baby (boy). I had been looking for something to do for the nurses when we go to the hospital, and so I really liked this idea. It's very similar to the Turkey Toes I made for Thanksgiving so I knew it would be quick and easy to put together.

I went to Hobby Lobby and got a large jar (not the mason jar kind) with a screw on lid. I couldn't find any blue and white polka dotted ribbon, so I got a white ribbon with blue and green polka dots.

I just put a line of hot glue down the seam of the jar, made sure I had enough ribbon to cover the lip of the jar, and then pressed it down.

I was able to find a light blue ribbon that I liked, that was smaller than I needed so I decided I'd use the larger white ribbon as a base and layer the blue ribbon over it. I just put a dot of hot glue at the top and one at the bottom and pressed it down.

Then I made a label on my computer, in Word and printed it, cut it out and then measured it. Then I went to my Silhouette machine and made a scalloped shape just slightly larger than the circle I had just cut out. I used light blue card stock and cut away! I used Elmer's Spray Adhesive to attach the label to the cardstock and then the cardstock piece to the jar.

Here it is attached. I made one for each side of the jar and for the top of the lid. I attached them all the same way.

Then I took the light blue ribbon and hot glued it around the lid and made a bow with the larger white ribbon. I just hot glued the bow at the seam of the blue ribbon, so it would hide it.

I cut the ends of the ribbon and heat sealed them with a lighter and it's all done! I haven't decided what exactly I'm going to put in it yet (something that doesn't melt if D leaves it in the car until after the baby is here).

But I thought that was a cute, easy way to say "thank you" to all of the nurses that help us at the hospital. I'm thinking it will be cute on their nurses' station!

Denver's Nursery

I finished Denver's nursery about a week ago and (finally) got around to taking some pictures. So, here they are (starting from the left side of his room and working our way around):

A sign for his bedroom door. It's a store bought metal sign from Hobby Lobby (half off for like $3). I added the vinyl and my mom bought this little owl and then added some "details" to it.

My Center Baby Shower Corsage that my sister in law made.

The left side of his book shelf. I found that frame at Ross for $4.99

The right side.

A friend of mine (and hostess at the Center shower) made us the picture frame with his ultrasound picture in it.

Here you can see the whole thing and the entrance to his room.

This wreath is on his closet door that my sister in law made. (I forgot to take pictures of his closet). Oh well, just know that it's full. :)

Another book shelf. It holds 2 more picture frames a friend of mine made, picture albums, 2 of his 3 piggy banks and just some little "forest" knicknacks.

This is the "wishing tree", that my mother made, sitting on top of that bookshelf. It was at the Waller shower and everyone was asked to leave a wish (on a leaf) for us. It's so sweet!

On the side of that bookshelf, I hung up my Waller baby shower corsage that my older sister made me.

To the side of that bookshelf is our glider and ottoman. I asked D's mother to make that blanket to hang over the back. Isn't it sweet?

This is all the little stuff on the table next to the glider.

And if you step back, this is what it looks like.

I made him a little toy bucket that sits beside that small table and his dresser. The first toy bucket wasn't big enough to hold everything he kept getting so I just spray painted another bucket (we received with bath stuff inside) and put "toys" on it with my Silhouette machine.

And this is the top of his dresser. I spray painted the white frame in the front. I had gotten it from the dollar store for just $1 :) The frame to the left, I got on clearance at Michael's for $6.99 and the frame on the right is a $3 frame from Wal-Mart. The plate I made this summer, the piggy bank was a gift from my little sister and the acorns and owl were decorations they used at the Waller shower, and were later given to us.

Stepping back, that's what his dresser looks like. My mother painted those little letters above the frame. On the other side of the dresser, I have his bouncer waiting for him. We'll be moving before too long so I decided not to paint or put up window coverings.

My mother bought him this cross that hangs on the wall to the side of his crib. My sister in law made him these sweet nursery letters that go above his crib. This is looking in his bed, on the left. I had my mother-in-law make his boppy pillow to match his nursery decor and D and I bought him his first little gloworm. The frog in the back is the stuffed animal D and I bought the day we found out Denver was a boy. It has an "It's a Boy" ribbon around his neck and when you press on him, you can hear Denver's heartbeat. Sitting with him is a bear a friend of ours gave him and the sweet little forest friends we bought him.

And stepping back, that is what his crib looks like. The sleigh -style sides don't allow the mobile to fit on the ends, so it has to sit in the front of his crib. The blankets and bumper are just for decoration. I'll be removing all of that and taking everything out of the crib when he starts sleeping in it (which will be a LONG time from now). :)

And in the corner, is his swing, the base to his bassinet (which I'll be putting in the living room), his diaper pail and then his changing table.

His changing table. Lots of goodies in each basket! :)

And the first toy bucket that I made him. :) And standing in his doorway, this is the best picture that I could get. This is his nursery. :) Now all we need is a little boy to arrive so we can use it!