My Storybook Baby Shower

This is long overdue, but better late than never!

I am so lucky to have the most thoughtful mommy and sister!  They threw me a storybook shower...literally.  It was a book-themed event, down to every detail.  Here are some of the highlights.

The invitations were made to look like Golden Books.  Everything was inside.

The shower information was printed on library cards...love!

Each invitation had a bookmark that explained the wishing well.

Guests were asked to put this label in the book that they brought for the wishing well.

The tables each had antique, glass baby bottles holding baby's breath...get it? 

They also had wooden baby blocks, jars of baby food as candle holders, and printouts of classic children's books. Every seat had a little packet, fastened with a blue diaper pin, with games and spaces to write messages to the baby.

The wishing well was a bed...for all of the bedtime stories...get it?!

I highly recommend My Book About Me.  It's a Dr. Seuss activity book where children learn and write about themselves.  Also, On the Night You Were Born is a great book that you are supposed to bring to the hospital when baby is born.  Everyone there--doctors, nurses, guests--writes a little note to the baby in the book.  Then, you read all of the sweet notes every year on your child's birthday.  It was hard to get people to sign the book, but I am looking forward to reading the notes that we did get on Denver's first birthday. 

The favors were mini books that were actually boxes. Inside was a moon bookmark.

  A candy buffet! ...storybook themed, of course. I am crazy for candy buffets!

One of my very best friends put this together.  She did such an incredible job!
Does the banner look familiar? It hangs over Denver's crib, now.

Each candy matched a classic book title.

Beautiful, right? Everything was incredible.  Isn't it crazy how much thought and time goes into these celebrations, and then they go by so quickly?!  I really tried to take it all in. 

...I miss my bump.  I loved being pregnant!

It was a wonderful day with amazing friends and family.  

And to think...it was all in preparation of this little man.

A Spin on the Perfect Gift

For Christmas, I made my sister an ornament that held her wedding invitation. Perfect for a gift-giver on a budget! ...and super sentimental!

(wish I could have gotten a better picture)

As I mentioned in that post, it was not my idea...I snagged it from Pinterest, which you can read about in my earlier post. Is my addiction becoming apparent yet???

By Christy @ From Glitter to Gumdrops

I vowed to never throw away another invitation or announcement! ...and that's just what I did. Sorry friends and family...spoiler alert.  

Anyway, I held onto one of my friend's invitations with the intention of making her one of these clever gifts. I was so careful to keep it in a safe place that I couldn't find it! After a week of frantic searching, I finally spotted it amongst all of the cards we received when Denver was born. Then, I made Ian go into the depths of our attic to get my clear Christmas ball ornaments. I sliced up the invitation, curled the pieces, twisted them in...and then it hit me. My soon-to-be married friend celebrates Hanukkah, not Christmas. That's right. Some friend I am. So off to the craft store I went, with my little sidekick who was perfect the whole time.

My friend had a beach wedding in Aruba so I found this perfect round bottle with a cork and a nice starfish charm, and problem solved! I think it came out just as nice as the ornaments and it can stay out all year.

Another successful craft project! Thanks Pinterest!

Picture Problem Solved

If you pin as much as I do, you probably came across this gem.  I had no idea it would be so easy, but it really really was! If I can do this, anyone can do this.

Ian and I were looking for a way to display our first family picture.  I was going to order a canvas print but it was expensive! Worse than that, it was really hard to create a canvas print in Shutterfly...sorry Shutterfly...you know I love you, but seriously.  So, our picture ended up in a plain, old, boring, matte-less frame.  So lame!  So lame, in fact, that I shamefully displayed my beloved picture in a dark corner of our house.  

Then it hit me...I pinned something that just might work perfectly. So off to Michael's I went.  In fact, it was my first shopping trip with Denver. He was great! I bought Mod Podge and a gel medium...I had a super hard time finding the gel medium since I had no idea what it was or what it is really used for. Hint: check the paint aisle.  Then as I was taking advantage of Denver's awesomeness, I stumbled upon a slice of a tree, bark and all, for $6! 

Next stop, Staples to make copies of our family picture.  I made a black and white and a color copy because I wasn't sure if one would look better than the other.  While there, I also bought a date stamp for another project. More on that later.

I followed the super simple video step by step.  First, gel medium and face down print...let dry over night.

Next, wet and rub off all paper residue.

Finally, Mod Podge.

That's it!  Too easy.  This is definitely a go-to project for gifts...you hear that friends and family? You might just get one with a big red bow one day!

Zzzzz...

Denver finally did it! He slept through the night! I guess you could say that since he slept for 11 hours...too bad he went down at 6:00pm and was ready to start his day by 5:00am.  Now all we need to do is push back bedtime a bit...as if this single accomplishment sets a new sleep standard.  I guess we'll see over the next few days.

So how did he do it? I searched everywhere and read every tidbit on how to get little ones to sleep through the night. What I learned is that every baby is different...no doy. And although not every strategy met Denver's liking, I did appreciate reading about what other people had tried, whether it was successful or not.  I am no expert, and I would hardly call one night a milestone, but I am so excited (and well rested) that I thought I would blog about what works for us...my way of giving back to other new moms, haha.

At first, I thought that if I could keep Denver up most of the day, he would tire out and sleep well at night.  WRONG! My mom suggested more regular naps throughout the day, morning, noon, and afternoon.  Then our pediatrician told us that "good sleep begets good sleep." In other words, if he rests well during the day, he will rest well at night.  She explained that just like we get overtired and buzzy, so do babies. 

Around 5 pm Denver gets very cranky. Like I mentioned, I used to try to get him to work through this in an effort to push back his bedtime and tire him out.  WRONG! I read about bedtime routines and decided I wanted to start trying our own bedtime routine in the early evening when he is obviously ready for bed. It has definitely eased the crankiness! 

I read about a lot of other people's routines and took bits and pieces that work for us. I have to say that our bedtime routine has become my favorite time. It is so calm and relaxing, and it has become a very special time for the two of us.

I start by drawing the curtains in Denver's nursery and I put on Pandora lullabies. Then I lay him on his changing table...it helps that this is by far his most favorite place in the whole world! We talk a little bit as I start to undress him for bed.  I change his diaper, wash his face and neck with a warm washcloth. I add a dab of Johnson & Johnson's body wash to keep him fresh and clean. Now that I think about it, I'll probably go buy the bedtime wash. It comes in a purple bottle so maybe it has lavender which is supposed to help you sleep.  Noted.  Then I put baby powder on him while I give him some baby massages. He loves this. We talk and sing and just enjoy the calmness.  I really take my time with all of this because I want him to be relaxed but I am trying to push back his bedtime a little bit, too. I also take this opportunity to brush his teeth. I know it may sound crazy, but we got an infant and toddler oral care kit. It not only cleans his gums, but it massages them for teething and also gets little ones used to brushing their teeth at night. It can't hurt! 

Next, we will usually slow dance to a song or two.  He loves to dance and it always tires him out. If he's in a really good mood, I can usually get him to sit for a story or two...but this is rare, for now. I think once we sit in the rocker he expects his bottle so a book just annoys him. 

So last but not least, I give him a bottle.  I usually give him just a little bit more than he is used to drinking throughout the day so that he doesn't wake up hungry too soon. I turn out all of the lights, except for his nightlight and I put on some white noise. I got a great app for my iPhone called Sleep Pillow. 

I've tried lots of white noise apps and there are plenty that have a lot more sounds and options, but I like that I can multitask and use other apps (Pinterest) at the same time while he sleeps. He usually falls asleep as soon as he is done with his bottle but I hold him until he is in a deep sleep...otherwise he will wake up as soon as I put him in his crib. I know we need to start sleep training, but that will come. He's already pretty good at putting himself to sleep in his crib in the middle of the night, so I know he'll be able to do it for naps and bedtime when the time comes. Like I said, I truly enjoy letting him fall asleep in my arms. And once he's sleeping, I get to Pin away and look at his gentle sleeping face at the same time! Can life get any better? I submit that it cannot.

I will be thrilled if a full night's sleep becomes more common! I could certainly use it.  I hardly had a restful night because I kept waking up anticipating him waking up.  The little man sure got me.  

The best part of Denver going to sleep is that this is what I get to wake up to in the morning. It's 5 am with poor lighting and blurry, but you get the idea.

FOLLOW UP: I didn't have time to actually post this yesterday but I am happy to report that Denver slept through the night again! And even better news, he pushed back his bedtime by about an hour so he woke up closer to 7 am! Needless to say, I am well rested and very excited about this new chapter...although I'm not expecting it to be this good forever!

DIY Mobile

One of the DIY pieces in Denver's nursery is this mobile.  

I searched everywhere for something unique, colorful, and inexpensive, but I couldn't find anything I really liked.  Then I came across a mobile on Pinterest from ohdeedo.com that I thought I could work with.  

Without a tutorial or a close up view, I had to wing it.  Unfortunately, while making my mobile, I didn't think to snap pictures for a future blog post...lesson learned. So follow me, if you can...

1) I bought a book of scrapbook paper that was boyish and full of primary colors.

2) I used a circle punch to create hundreds of uniform circles. I also used a smaller punch to make smaller circles so that I could layer here and there to add some extra pizzazz.  

3) Using a stylus, I punctured a hole in each circle. By making the hole just slightly off-center, the discs lean in different directions. 

4) Then, I strung the circles together using lightweight, clear jewelry wire...or you could use fishing line. You can make your strings as long or as short as you like.  

5) When I had all of my circles strung, I had to start assembling the three concentric rings that would create a layered mobile.  I bought three circular looms in three different sizes and painted them white. Then, I tied each string of circles around the inner ring of each loom. I used clear Scotch tape to keep them in place.  

6) The hardest part was bring the three rings together. To do this, I cut four pieces of white ribbon, all the same length.  I measured out four points of equal distance on each ring.  Then, I wrapped the ribbon around corresponding points on the three rings to connect them into tiers. This was not easy...Ian had to help!

7) Then, I replaced the outer ring of each loom to finish off each layer.  This also helps to hold everything in place.  

8) I gathered the four ribbons at the top and tied them to a ring so that I could hang the mobile over Denver's crib. 

Now that Denver is almost 3 months old, he is able to focus on the mobile and enjoys watching it when I make it spin.  I think I am going to go to Radio Shack and buy a small, simple motor so that it can spin on its own...more on that later!

Baby Giftwrap

I guess the crazy, obsessive teacher in me wants to make sure that I provide opportunities for Denver to learn and be enriched...even at 11 weeks old (please keep eye rolls and snickers to a minimum). I am also always looking for ways to spice up cards and gift wrap....ding ding ding, learning opportunity! Denver has been practicing his art while also exercising his hand eye coordination and fine motor skills. ...at least I'm telling myself that all of this is happening.

Denver is going to meet his cousin for the first time this weekend.  They are about a month and a half apart in age so I am excited for them to become best buds.  Anyway, Denver wanted to get something for his cousin so I of course had to think up some sort of crafty gift wrap. I took some old wrapping paper and taped it to a lap desk.  Then, I had Denver grasp different color markers and unintentionally draw all over the wrapping paper.  He loved it!

I just added some ribbon and links for a little embellishment (and every mommy knows what prized items links can be!), and suddenly had a super cute, super personalized gift wrapped gift!

...I think he's going to be an artist

Am I Ready to Blog???

I think my husband and I were both slightly fiercely disillusioned when we thought that I would have more time to blog since I was staying home to raise our son for his first 8 months of life.  Ian bought me an iPad, acting under the assumption that I would have free time during my maternity leave and that I would have ample time to blog about all of the projects I was completing and meals I was cooking.  I'm lucky if I have time to brush my teeth! But now, as Denver approaches 3 months old, I realize that I have managed to be productive, and even a little crafty. I have also become a master multitasker. So, here is a mini post to say that I am going to try to get back into this blogging thing.  If I can do one thing a week, and blog even once a week, I will consider that a success! So here goes...