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?

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

Happy Fall, Ya'll!

China Cabinet

About a month ago we (meaning Greg) finally took the time to refurbish the china cabinet we found through Craigslist! Here's a shot of it "before".



Pretty old fashioned if you ask me. Our original plan was to paint it black, and then scuff it up to give it a rugged look. In my mind I loved how the wire work on the glass doors were going to give it an almost Gothic look. I thought that would be pretty neat with my crystal I plan on displaying on the shelves.

However, Greg convinced me that we should just do away with the doors altogether. Mainly because it was going to be extra work for him! Ha, ha! But after thinking about it, I decided he was right. The cabinet does not have lights on the inside and since crystal is clear I wasn't sure if anyone would really be able to see it through the doors. So, away they went!

The other thing that surprised me was after it was painted black, we decided not to scuff it up! I just thought it had a kind of elegant look and we decided scuffing it up could always be done in a few years if we get tired of how it looks then! So, here it is, complete with some of my crystal! What do ya think?

5 Months Old!

Parker turned five months old yesterday! I can't get over how fast time seems to be flying! I took him to the county health department yesterday to have him weighed and measured, only to be told they were remodeling and to call in a week to schedule an appointment. I was pretty disappointed. So I returned home and decided the only way I'd be able to see how much he weighed was to try to weigh him myself. Apparently scales aren't used to a baby being placed on them. They said he weighed 0 pounds! So, I weighed myself, then I weighed myself holding him. I know he weighs 18 pounds, but I don't know how many ounces. He is 25 1/2" long.

Most of his fourth month just coasted by with no big milestones. He did receive his second round of immunizations. I was so proud of how well he took the two pokes, only crying for about twenty seconds after the second shot. Three hours later, he was boo-hooing up a storm! After spending thirty minutes trying everything I could think of to calm him down, I finally administered his first dose of baby Tylenol. Luckily, the effects of the medicine kicked in fairly quickly and he fell asleep in my arms. I'm really not looking forward to his next round of shots!

Unfortunately I spoke too soon about finally learning how to get him to take naps. I still battle with him every day. And now he knows the routine!!! It doesn't matter if he's exhausted or not, as soon as he realizes what's about to happen, the whimpering begins! I mentioned before that he liked to be rocked. Now, as soon as my bottom hits the rocking chair, the screaming begins. I have to quickly jump up, hold him upright against me and pat him on the back for a little while while twisting my body from side to side. Once he's settled down, I drop him into a cradle hold. He usually wakes up then and whimpers, so I then add a slight bounce to the twisting motion. (Side note: I keep having people ask me how I've lost weight. Maybe they should begin standing with their feet shoulder width apart, twist from side to side at the waist, then add a bounce in with it, all while holding 18 pounds of weight! Do non-stop reps for five minutes.) Then I slowly walk backwards to the rocking chair. I rock him for about a minute or two, then reposition my hold so I can place him into the crib. Stand up slowly...walk to the crib...lower him in. If I'm lucky he stays that way. Sometimes I have to repeat the whole process again. If I'm having a really good day I get to do it three times. Yesterday was extra special; I got to do it four times! He then proceeds to nap for about 30 minutes, tops.

His hair is continuing to grow at a rapid rate. I am kicking myself for never measuring it when he was born. To date it is 2 1/4" long. Unfortunately, he has inherited my wavy/curly hair. I say unfortunately because I'm not really a big fan of guys with curly hair. I've resorted to using massage oil to try to keep it somewhat tame. I truly hope that when he grows up, he can have really cool hair. And not a big frizzy mess like mine can be. When the day comes that he begins caring what his appearance is, rest assured, Mommy will be right there with the hair products!

Another thing that is constantly growing are his finger nails! Those things are sharp! Despite my best efforts, he always seems to have several self-inflicted scratches on his little face.

Obviously, the biggest event for Parker happened recently. He rolled over! And I was fortunate enough to catch his second roll over on video after having missed his first roll over. Funny me for thinking that it would take him a lot longer to learn how to roll back over from his tummy to his back. He had been trying from back to tummy for over a month but I had never even seen him try during any of his tummy time to roll to his back. The little smarty figured it out five minutes after his second roll. Of course it was while Mommy was taking a bathroom break. Regardless, I am so proud of him!

He had his first baby sitter this past month! Well, technically my father in laws girlfriend was the first. She let us go out to a bar one night while we were in Oklahoma, but he was already asleep by the time we left and slept until we got back home. This was the first time I left him while he was still awake. We went to a neighbors Patio Party, so we were only a few houses down the street. One of my good friends and her husband came to the house and watched him. The party wasn't as fun as Greg and I had hoped, so we were only gone for about an hour and a half. It still counts though!

I'm a huge fan of Britney Spears. She has a song (I'm forgetting the name at the moment) that she wrote about her baby boys. One of the verses says, "I smell your breath, it makes me cry." Of course, she means it in a positive way! Ha, ha, without the actual song to hear I can see how one would take that the wrong way. Before I had Parker, I always thought that was kind of gross. Who would want to smell someones breath? Well, I have to say, I love the smell of Parkers breath! It has the sweetest scent to it, which is surprising since his diet consists of strictly milk! My favorite part of holding him in my arms is when his mouth is open and I can smell the wonderful aroma that escapes from it.

Other random Parker tidbits: he loves to be outside! He is fascinated by leaves on trees and generally likes being taken on walks. When I hold him now, it feels like he's beginning to "hang on". He is a "morning person", always cooing and smiling, whereas night time he begins to get a little fussy. He loves to pat my face when I'm holding him. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I always pretend to eat his little hands. He's starting to last longer periods of time in his bumbo chair. His Daddy can make him laugh better than anyone else.

Again, I sucked at taking pictures this month. So, these are literally all the ones I took:
Ready for a walk to the park!

I like being in my crib a little bit more now that I have a friend in there with me (courtesy of the crib mirror)

I am 5 months old today!

I love checking my feet out when I'm in my Bumbo!

Why I HATE poopy diapers!

Aside from the obvious reasons...I hate poopy diapers because they made me miss an important step in my son's life today.

Maybe all mom's deal with a son whose poopy diapers are so loaded that they leak everywhere. That's what I try to convince myself anyway. So today was a typical day in my house. I had finished nursing Parker and put him in his swing. Since I knew he was safe and sound, and above all, happy, I ventured upstairs to my master bathroom to work on peeling a little section of wallpaper. Like I said, typical day in my house! LOL! (For those who don't know, we're remodeling our fixer-upper house so I'm constantly doing some sort of home improvement). I finished peeling my small section and decided it would be a good time to go run a few errands. I went outside to start the truck so it could cool off, then came back inside to change Parker's diaper and load him up in his car seat.

That was when I discovered that he had a dirty diaper. And in typical Parker style, it was exploding out the side of the diaper. Thus, not only was his onesie covered in poop, so was the fabric cover of his swing. I took him to his nursery to change him. Now, again, maybe most Mom's are like this, but it takes me a good five minutes at least to change a poopy diaper. Especially when I have to take his clothes off and carefully sit them someplace where they don't get poop everywhere, then I have to not only wipe his rear, but his thighs, feet, and (new today) bellybutton!!! Sheesh! I have gotten a little bit smarter in the sense that now I lay a pad down on top of his diaper changing pad that I can wash, because there's no avoiding getting fecal matter on that as well. Once he was all clean, I placed him in his crib so I could rinse out his clothes, then take the fabric cover off of his swing, and then down to the basement where I stain treated and loaded the washing machine. That whole process may have taken a good six minutes (keep in mind the truck is still running out in the driveway and the "low gas" symbol had popped up that morning).

I hurriedly entered the nursery and was headed straight to the closet to pick out a new outfit for Parker when something caught the corner of my eye. It was Parker. In his crib. On his stomach. I knew for a fact I had laid him on his back. My little angel had rolled over for the first time! And no one was there to witness it. I literally had to fight back the tears. Parker has been almost rolling over for a month and a half now. I was so very upset that I didn't get to see that huge milestone for the very first time. (And as I'm writing this I'm even more upset because it just dawned on me that I didn't even take a picture of him on his stomach in his crib! Ugh!) He was happy as could be: kicking his little feet and gnawing on the corner of the little cloth that I keep in his crib so I don't always have to wash his sheet when he spits up (Yup, I hate changing the crib too!)

What was funny was that it was almost as if he was proud of himself. When I lifted him out of the crib and onto his changing table he had the biggest grin and was just kicking his feet like crazy. This continued all the way into his car seat, and even during the few errands I had to run. Since my truck was running (and almost out of fuel) I didn't try to get him to roll over for me again. And, of course, he fell asleep on the short drive home from the gas station and he's sleeping as I type this.

I've got my video camera charged and can anyone take a wild guess as to what I'll be doing once he wakes up???

Weird

All my life I have had friends call me weird. I figure it's not a big deal, because I know there are several times when someone will make a comment and my immediate response will be, "you're weird". So perhaps being called "weird" a couple hundred times before one turns the ripe age of thirty is "normal".

This past month I noticed a slight deformation of the skin on the back of my right arm. In fact, I could recall seeing them several times over the course of the past several years. But since the spots are on the back of my arm I tend to forget about them. They are three round little circles of what looks like peeling skin. They don't itch, so although my first initial thought was ringworm, I've had ringworm before and know from experience that ringworm itches like crazy!

Parker had his well baby visit two weeks ago and I figured I'd be a little sneaky and since I was already in the room with the doctor I would ask him his opinion (and hopefully save on a co-pay!). The day before I showed a friend of mine and she suggested hydrocortizone cream. I didn't have any so I decided to wait and see what the doctor said about the situation.

Just as planned, during the visit I asked the doctor what his opinion was on the spots on my skin. He looked at it and began "thinking out loud" saying that it wasn't shingles (*gasp* I hadn't even thought about shingles!), or it wasn't this, or it wasn't that. Eventually he said he didn't know what it was but to try putting some hydrocortizone cream on it. (When I told my friend this she said to pay up! LOL!) I have a tendency to repeat what doctors say as to make sure I'm understanding them correctly, so I asked, "so you've never seen anything like this before?" He replied with a simple, "Nope." From the back of the room Greg pipes up and says, "You're just weird, Felicia." The doctor looked at me and said, "Hey, he said it. Not me!" We all know that that means he was thinking it he just wasn't going to say it!

So there you have it! Since a doctor thinks it, it must be true! I'm officially weird!

*As a side note, after using hydrocortizone cream for two weeks the spots are now gone!*
*As another side note, the grammer rule "I before E, except after C" does not apply to the word "weird". I learned that from using spell check. Is it just me or is that just a little.....weird?*