Isabella's on Solids!

It's been just a day over two weeks, since Isabella started solids. We started with green beans, and that first spoonful did not go over well. She made a scrunchy face, but she kept on eating. Every time she tries a new food she makes the same face with each first bite. Except for peaches. It took her two meals to finally accept peaches, or get used to them. She was not a happy camper with the first bowl, but she ate her second bowl just fine. She does not make the same scrunchy face with veggies. Bella's first week of solids was veggies, and now we've moved onto fruit. She eats approximately 2 tablespoons of solids twice a day. She wakes with a bottle, then she'll have food for lunch with a small bottle, a regular bottle mid-afternoon, food for dinner with a small bottle, and one last regular bottle before bed. Although, bottle feeding has become a pain! As soon as she gets full enough, she'll start playing with her bottle. It's sooo annoying. But I LOVE feeding her food. And I guess, it turns out, Isabella didn't like the first watery cereal we were feeding her. It hit me all of a sudden, after quite a few attempts, that maybe she didn't like the cereal, and she didn't. LOL! Poor baby. I was making her slurp up that watery gunk when she really wanted some real food. Well, we've got it down now!

Officially Potty Trained!

It's been a month since we'd started, and I guess I can officially say Jacob is potty trained. He has had 1 major accident in the last month, and a few teeny tiny accidents. But we all know those won't go away for awhile. When he gets consumed with something, he easily forgets he has to go to the potty, but he'll squirt a little, realize he's wet, and tells me he has to go potty. He's doing really well. At night he wears a pull-up, but, more often that not, he'll wake with it dry and will let me know he has to go potty. He also goes #2. That took a few weeks, but he's getting more and more comfortable with it. The chart and M & Ms are looong gone, but we still praise him when he goes. We either say Good Job! or give a high five. He also does the same to us when we use the potty! It's so funny. He'll be like, "Good job, Momma! Pee pee potty!" I'm super proud of him for doing so well. A month ago, I seriously thought it would take like 3 months. Thankfully, it did not.

And on another note, I've been slacking on my blog(s). I'm busy with, and obsessed with, a couple of other things at the moment. And I should be blogging about it. I've got to get back on track!

Isabella's 6 Months!!!

In Jacob's words: Oh my goodness! <---I love when he says that. Anyway, it has finally arrived, Isabella's 6 month birthday. And we had her doctor's appointment! Isabella is 21 pounds (99%!) and is 27.5 inches tall (95%!). I could not believe that she's above the 90th percentile for height and weight. I knew it though. Looking at my baby girl, she's sooo long and solid. Obviously, a good eater. Speaking of which, Isabella's been on solids for a little over a week. Veggies are definitely not her favorite. More on that in another post! She had her usual shots, and she won't have anymore 'til her 1st birthday. Yay! A break. I hate when she gets her shots. It breaks my heart. She never cries unless she is really hurt. The doctor said she looks perfect, and very strong. But! She's still not sitting on her own. She's sooo stubborn! He said she has enough core strength, but she just doesn't want to. She's almost there, but she just throws herself back, or she just tips to the side. Nothing to worry about. Baby girl did well at her appointment, a little crying, then a nap.

And a few weeks ago, Bella found her feet. Anytime she can, she tries to play with her feet. It's so funny 'cause sometimes she grunts. Hehe. And she's rolling everywhere! I put her on the floor and she'll end up everywhere but the starting point. And she loves to sleep on her side and tummy. Talk about stress for momma. I can't catch a good night's sleep. I have to get up a few times a night to check on her. But according to her doctor, there's a super slim chance for SIDS. Ugh, I hate even saying/typing the word. Doc also said the risk drops even more dramatically at 9 months. Ok, ok, enough of that. Developmentally, and physically, baby girl is where she needs to be, and I'm very very happy :0)

The BIG 3-0!

I can't believe it, but today I am officially in my 30s. I remember looking forward to my 16th, 18th, and 21st birthdays, but I knew after that there really wasn't a number to look forward to. But I disagree. While I don't feel like I'm 30, I accept it with open arms. And while I'm not doing anything super special, I'm grateful to be sharing it with my loving hubby, 2 beautiful children, and my family. Woah, I just realized in 10 years I'll be 40!

Anyway, happy 30th birthday to me! LoL!

Brazilian Blowout @ 1 Month

Exactly one month ago today, I got my BB! And one month later...I still LOVE LoVe love it! At first, I thought I was going to have problems with it, but it's perfect. My hair dries so fast. As soon as I get out of the shower, I wrap my hair in a towel and it soaks up the extra moisture while I get ready. When it's time to do my hair, it takes me only 5-7 minutes of blow drying to completely dry my hair. And I don't even use a brush on it, just my fingers, and I'll throw it in a bun for a bit to curl the ends. If I'm going out, I run a flat iron through it, curl the ends, and in 10 minutes I am done. It's crazy. I also only wash my hair every other day. So, I've gotten the question, would I do it again? Yes, I would! But not anytime soon, maybe next fall or winter. My curly hair is easier to maintain during the summer months and swimming. But anyone considering it, should give it a try at least once.

Before...

After the 1st washing. Partial dry using fingers.

One month, day after washing. Complete blow dry using fingers.

We're going on a boat trip!

We're going on our first BIG family vacation! And now that it's getting closer, I'm starting to get excited! We're going on a Disney cruise to the Mexican Riviera! Wahoo! It's perfect for us: we don't have to fly, it's Disney, and we've never been to Mexico. I know Jacob's going to have a ball. They have a Toy Story stage show, and tons of other stuff for him to do. I can't wait to relax on a beach. At least, I hope I get to relax on a beach. I have no idea what to expect of this trip. All I know is that it's Disney, and it should be nice. But I'm not looking forward to packing. Yuck. And I've never been on a cruise. Ever! Now I'm going with a toddler, and a baby. But that's okay, since most of my family is going too. LOL! Jess and I will have tons of help...I hope. Oh, and it's one of the reasons we potty trained Jacob. Anywho, I'm so excited for the kids. I hope they have a ton of FUN!

Potty Training

Yup, its true! We're potty training Jacob. The first day was hard. And thankfully, I had a lot of help from my sister and niece. The first day, as soon as he woke up, I took off his diaper and put on his undies. He was a little unsure about it, but we kept asking him if he had to pee. He kept saying no but we kept putting him on the toilet. He'd drank milk and had eaten, and had a couple of small accidents. I know he had to really pee and nap time was coming around the corner. Well, nap time came and went, and he still had not went pee on the potty. He didn't even pee during his nap. Finally, after lunch, he peed on the potty and he got a sticker to place on his chart, and he got an M & M. After that first pee, the accidents were few. We made it through the first day. At night, for now, he's been wearing a pull up. The second day was still hard. It's like he had forgotten all that he had learned the day before. The second day was similar to the first, but it was the third day that you could tell he made progress. He went pee early on in the morning and had begun to tell me he had to pee without me having to ask him. And by the end of the third day, he had filled his chart. His reward, picking out an Xmas gift to open. The fourth day was even better. He woke up w/ a dry pull up, and he was vocalizing to me he had to pee before he had a major accident. He could also hold his pee for long periods of time. However, and it's a big one, he had still not gone #2. Well he had, a little, but when he wore a diaper it was at least once a day. In 4 days he'd only gone once and very little. For #2, he gets a sticker and 3 M & Ms. So, we we're then dealing with constipation. Yipee. And had lead to a diet filled w/ fiber, lots of oranges, corn, oatmeal, apple juice, and very little dairy. Oh the joys. No, but honestly, I think Jacob is getting along well. Its amazing to see how far he's come in just 3 days.

And now, after 2 weeks of potty training, Jacob is doing extremely well! He's not had an accident since the first few days, and still verbalizes if he has to pee. We've gone on a few outings, and he still did not have an accident. During these outings, he had worn a pull up, but verbalized when he had to pee, or kept his pull up dry until he came home. I'm super proud of him. Every morning we wake up and he picks out his undies he wants to wear. And he can wear pants, too. We've stopped the sticker chart, and we give out M & Ms here and there, but he's doing it on his own. At first, I really didn't think he was ready, but again, it was me who was not ready. It meant my baby was no longer a baby. I have a big boy.

He loves his undies.

He has a ton to choose from,

 they include Yo Gabba Gabba, Mickey Mouse, and a Disney combo.

He'd fill a chart every 3 days.

He was done with charts after a week and a half.

This thing was constantly filled with M & Ms.

His favorites were the yellow ones.

He loved this book.

He asked for it every time he sat down. 

{DIY} Christmas Gifts - Treats!

My last and final gift was a bucket of goodies! I scoured the Internet for easy, tasty treats. Well, except for the fudge, I found that recipe while watching my new favorite channel - the Cooking channel.

The first thing I made was fudge. I love fudge. And this recipe, by Nigella Lawson, is seriously the best, and it's sooo easy. It's ridiculous! I'm giving a link to the actual recipe, but I have to warn you that it's WRONG, and well, the one I made was way better!

Here's my variation on FUDGE!

Ingredients:
12 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (14-ounce) can condensed milk
2 tbsp butter
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup of walnuts, or any nut you like.

Melt the chocolate chips, condensed milk, butter, salt, and vanilla extract in a pan over low heat.

Put the nuts into a freezer bag and crush until broken into small pieces. Or you can do what I did, and just chop them up with a knife.

Add nuts to the chocolate mixture and stir well to mix.

Line a 9-inch square dish/pan with foil, and spray with a light coating of vegetable spray.

Pour chocolate mixture into dish and smooth the top.

Let the fudge cool, and then place in fridge util set.

Cut 8 by 8 lines to get around 64 perfect tiny bite sized pieces.

This should be kept refrigerated for quality and taste purposes.

This next recipe is so yummy too! It's for a peanut butter cookie by Betty Crocker and it's called the New-Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies. I knew I wanted to do a peanut butter cookie, but I wanted a chewy peanut butter cookie. All the ones I've tried,or made, were always hard and crispy. This one is not! It's chewy and moist, and it uses box cake mix. I followed the recipe almost exactly except I used chunky peanut butter. What can I say, I like nuts! Give these a try! They're so easy!

Finally, I made some Mini Chip Snowball Cookies from Nestle. These were okay. Not very sweet, but a close relative to the Mexican wedding cookie, which I love. And I should've just made them. But anywho, these were a pick because the recipe made a lot of little cookies. I used the recipe almost exactly except I didn't have mini chips, so I chopped my regular size chips with a knife. And I also added some chopped red and green M & Ms.

{DIY} Christmas Gifts - Mod Podge Clothespins

This little project kind of fell into my lap. I saw it in my reads, and I've been wanting to mod podge clothespins. Now I had a reason to do it. I had all the supplies on hand so it was not only cute, but cheap. I got the idea from this blog, and I changed it up a bit.

Supplies:
Clothespins, cardstock, Mod Podge, foam brush, exacto knife.

 

For this project, I printed out some words on cardstock in a font I liked. I looked through a bunch of free fonts online and found one that I liked.

I left enough room between each word so that I could cut them out, and left enough room to podge a clothespin on top of the word.

 

I let them dry for a few hours, and then cut them out using my exacto knife. I swiped on a coat of podge over the top and sides of the paper, and let dry.

I printed out some cardstock to clip the clothespins to, and that was it. Simple, cheap, and fast.

{DIY} Christmas Gifts - Monogram Candle

As is becoming tradition, I made Xmas gifts for everyone this year. And I already have my gifts planned for next year. I made 3 different things this year and I will be sharing each in a 3 part series. Today I'm showing you...

Monogram Candles!

I got the idea for monogram candles from Centsational Girl last year. I loved how her candles came out, but I made a few changes.

Supplies
Candle jars, candles, frosted glass paint, spray paint, mod podge, foam brush, glitter, monogram stickers/designs, exacto knife, glue stick, masking tape.

1. Instead of using monogram stickers, I used my Cricut and cut out the letters/designs I needed for each candle.

2. I made sure that my glass jars were clean, and I then used a glue stick to stick the letters/designs onto the jars accordingly. Next, I taped off the top of each candle so paint would not go inside the candles.

3. Once the letters were attached and dry, I then sprayed the jars with an even coat of frosted glass, and let it dry to the can's specifications.

4. Once the frost was dry, I then spray painted the glasses white. I did about 2 coats for each glass. I then let them dry to the can's specifications.

5. I then brought out my mod podge, my foam brush, and my glitter. And I painted each glass with mod podge, sprinkled it with glitter, and let it dry over night.

6. After the podge was dry, I peeled off the monogram letters/designs. Excess gunk was scraped off with the exacto knife.

7. Finally, I dropped a scented candle in and wrapped each candle in cellophane. I tied them off with a piece of ribbon and a bell.

They were a hit!

Stay tuned for gift #2 - Mod Podge clothespins.

The candle below was made similarly to the tutorial above, however instead of mod podging the whole thing, I used white glue to fill in the letter only with glitter. I LOVED the result! I'd wished I'd did them all like this.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a lovely New Year's weekend! I did, kind of. It was low-key and quiet, but I was tired from a very long week. We celebrated at my sister's with an Asian feast, a scrabble game, and planning for our vacation. The rest of the weekend was spent just hanging out. We couldn't really go anywhere special because of Jacob's potty training. We also spent the weekend putting our holiday stuff away. I was so sad to see it go. I love my tree. Anywho, hope your weekend was just as lovely as ours was!

And speaking of the new year, I usually don't do new years resolutions. I feel they set people up for failure. But anyway, I've decided to do one this year, it's nothing special and not a real resolution, but I'd really like to cook more. I bake, but I rarely cook. My goal is to cook at least one meal a week. I doubt that's going to happen, but I'm going to try. LOL! My first meal of the new year will be my favorite, chicken cordon bleu with prosciutto. Yum! And I have quite a few posts coming up including projects, updates, and other fine musings, so stay tuned for a new year of blogging!