Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Six Months Old!

I cannot believe Parker is half a year old today! It literally blows my mind. The icing on the cake is that he is turning out to be such a happy baby! This previous month had a few "firsts" for my little guy.

He ate his first solid food. Although, I don't think he's a big fan of rice cereal.



He drank from a sippy cup...granted he only "drinks" from it on accident. He mainly does a lot of chewing on it!

He wore his first pair of shoes.



He went to his first play group. I thought he might be a little young for this, but we learned motions to "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and he loves it! We sing it everyday now and I always get a huge smile from him as we row away.

He played with another baby for the first time, (this is his friend, Kazwell).



I'm currently working with him to learn to roll over the "other way". He will only roll in one direction. The past few days I have been trying to entice him to roll the opposite way with a toy. He tries really hard, then gets frustrated and rolls over the direction he usually goes, and is surprised to see that the toy he rolled over for is actually further away!

I'm also trying to work with him on sitting unsupported. This usually results in him flinging himself backwards. Oh well.

It wouldn't be a proper "month old" post if I didn't talk about his naps. Have you guys heard of Scentsy? If you haven't, you're missing out! (My sister in law sells it; here is her website so you can check it out and shop 'til you drop.) Well, Scentsy has a new line of nursery warmers. One of which happens to be a "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" warmer which matches Parker's nursery perfectly! My friend Courtney and her Mom gave one to me for Parker.


The first day I had the warmer on, Parker took an hour and a half nap. I thought something was wrong with him. As you know, I'm usually lucky if he naps for 45 minutes. This continued the next day, and the next, and the next, etc. I firmly believe that the Scentsy is basically like aromatherapy for my little angel! He has even slept for 2 hours and 15 minutes! This is both for his morning and afternoon naps. I can tell these naps are what he has been needing because he is so much happier lately! And as a bonus, the whole upstairs smells wonderful!!!




I'm 6 months old today!!! I weigh 17 lbs. 8 oz. and am 26 1/2" long!





I sure have grown a lot since the last time Mommy tried to take pictures of me inside Daddy's guitar case, haven't I?

Saturday, October 9, 2010

And....She's Back!

That's what one of my friends wrote on facebook when she saw that I had re-launched my etsy store a month ago. I love creating fun jewelry, but my challenge when we first arrived in this town was that there was not a bead store. So, I put my little hobby on hiatus. However, while I was pregnant, I knew I had to make myself a breast feeding reminder bracelet. Some of you may remember this one that I made for sale a couple years ago.

The great thing about breast feeding reminder bracelets is that not only are they an easy way to keep track of the last time one has fed their baby, but it also plays double duty since one is supposed to switch it from one wrist to the other after a nursing to "remind" the mother which side to begin nursing from. Mine worked perfectly for me after giving birth. I was on a strict nursing schedule (every hour and a half) including waking both myself and Parker up during the night because he had lost so much weight. It was draining and I was seriously sleep deprived. For the life of me I never could (and still can't) remember which side I had left off on. The switching from wrist to wrist was such a life saver for me! Unfortunately, I broke the clasp that the charm is on after a few weeks. And, go figure, there wasn't a store near by for me to buy a replacement clasp. Although the "time" charm could no longer be used, I was thankful that I could still use the bracelet to remind me which side to have him start nursing from.

That's when it hit me. A breast feeding reminder bracelet can only be used by a select group of women. However, a bracelet that any woman could wear, but that could double as a reminder bracelet, seemed easier to market. And thus "Slinky Bracelets" were born! What I love about them is they are so versatile! They can be easily added to complete a "look" since there are no clasps to fumble with. A nursing mother can switch hers from wrist to wrist to "remind" her which side to begin nursing from. An enthusiastic sports fan can show her spirit by wearing one in her teams colors. How fun would these be for high school teenagers to wear one in their school colors on game days? I have high hopes that my "Slinky Bracelets" will catch on. So, with that being said, please visit my little shop at: www.blingonastring.etsy.com




My ultimate goal with Bling On A String is that I can begin producing enough sales in jewelry to allow me to continue to stay at home with Parker. I am not in any way expecting this little vision of mine to happen over night. But, I know that a small business like this cannot have success without the support and encouragement from family and friends. In the upcoming months I hope that I can have enough inventory of hand made jewelry that I can begin having a few trunk shows here and there. I think jewelry is something very personal and most women like to "try on" before they buy. Your prayers and positive thoughts for my little venture would be greatly appreciated!




I know that Christmas is right around the corner, so please consider buying a special lady in your life a gift from Bling on a String! I'm open to custom orders, but those will take a little bit longer to produce and ship. Slinky Bracelets are only $15.00 and would make a great stocking stuffer!

As of right now I am only selling on Etsy. I accept payments via paypal and in order to make a purchase you will have to sign up for an account on www.etsy.com, but it is free and literally only takes a few minutes!!!




Thank you so much for your support! Anyone wishing to "re-post" this blog has my permission.

www.blingonastring.etsy.com

Monday, October 4, 2010