DIY Animals and Cars Baby's Nursery and Baby Essentials

We finally finished the nursery!  During the last few months of my pregnancy, I decided to make some things for my baby boy.  To be honest, these projects were my "nesting" activities so I went a little overboard, lol. I fell absolutely in love with the cutest nursery fabric called "Animals in Cars" from Joann's Fabric!  So I decorated my baby boy's nursery and made baby essentials coordinating with the animals and cars nursery fabric theme. I was able to find many things from thrift shops for cute decorations such shelves, hooks, pillows, picture frames, his dresser, and chair.  In addition, the nursery essentials and decorations were made by doing several DIY projects that I found on Pinterest. With help from my awesome sister in-law Marilee, we made some incredible baby stuff for my baby boy (beach balls, crinkle baby tag blankets, and a baby blanket)! I also made pillows, bibs, burp rags, receiving blanket and an owl, clouds, and hot air balloon baby mobile!

I Spy Quilt (Animals in Cars and Tools)
We were inspired by Obsessively Stitching Blog to make an I Spy Quilt!  We made our patches 5X5 instead of 4X4. My blanket turned out to be the size of the crib and perfect for baby to play on the floor!

The Baby Pillows

I found pillows and stuffing from a local thrift store for my stuffing, which is a total money saver compared to buying it bulk at the store. I used the following tutorial and template: How to Sew The Slip Stitch and Owl Plushie Template.

Baby Mobile
I was inspired by Craftiness is not Optional to make our own DIY baby mobile.  I hand stitched felt owls, clouds, and hot air balloons by using embroidery thread. I even stuffed them with fiberfill.  I used the following templates: Owl Templates and Hot Air Balloons and Clouds Templates.

Garland
Instead of a curtain or valence, I decided to hang a garland/pennet above the window and below the picture frames or shelves! Here is where I got the Template and Tutorial.

Wall and Shelf  Picture Frames

Boy Subway Art is from Simple Scrapper.
 Button "Z" Wall Art- I glued on tons of buttons that matched his room.
Free vintage owl, elephant, and monkey printables are from Hand Made Home

 Nursery fabric wall art on canvas- I was inspired by Blue Cricket Design
I spray painted a plain picture frame to a blue color and a chalk board to green.
Book Shelves
I bought a couple spice racks from Ikea and spray painted them green, blue, and orange. I bought all the shelves from a thrift store. By the way, the white clock is from Ikea.

"Z "book shelf  decoration (I bought the cardboard Z from a craft store and used Mod Podge to stick the fabric over the letter Z).

Crinkle Baby Tag Blankets 

I used the following tutorial Baby Tag Blanket Tutorial and 8X8 template.

Fabric Beach Balls
 Templates and tutorial are from The Purl Bee.

Car Seat Cover

The matching car seat cover was made by one of my daughter's friends, which happened to be made out of the same fabric we used. It is a perfect car seat cover for on the go!

Receiving Blanket 
I made a rounded  receiving blanket following this tutorial: Receiving Blanket Tutorial. I use this blanket in my baby's car seat!

Burp Clothes and Bibs 
Burp Clothe Tutorial is from Cloud Nine Fabrics
Chenille Bib Tutorial and Template
Bib Tutorial and Template

I'm pleased with my several sewing projects even though they are flawed or not perfect after all I am just a newbie learning how to sew! I look forward to making some other new cute things in the future!

Family of Five Plus Dog Photo Shoot

Since we are now a family of five and have an almost two year old bichon frise poodle mix dog, we felt it was time to get some updated family photographs. Our oldest daughter has a friend who is aspiring to be photographer someday so we gave her the opportunity to take our pictures. We decided on a navy blue, white, grey, and teal color pallet for our photo shoot. We picked a perfect spot to do the photo shoot at Kiwanis Park near Battle Creek Trail head in Pleasant Grove, Utah.

 It was a lovely autumn afternoon! The leaves were absolutely gorgeous with the sun shining above us! I love glow of the sun light that is seen in some of these photographs!

The pictures turned out great even though little brother was not very photogenic that day and became grumpy at the end while Jagger (our dog) would sometimes not look at the photographer while she took the photographs.

My three little Monsters

On October 30, 2013, we made some spooky food since John had to work and big sis had a party on Halloween.  Big sister was in charge of dinner. She made mummy hot dogs, ghost bananas, orange slices, veggies, and ranch dip.  For dessert, we bought a pumpkin and cheese cake roll and made witch hats out of cookies, kisses, and clear frosting from a tube. During that same evening, John made a killer spicy hot chili for his work contest! In fact, he won first place in the chili contest and received $50 dollars for his prize, woohoo! As for our Halloween costumes, John and I were super Dad and Mom, big sister was the famous classy Audrey Hepburn from Breakfast and Tiffany's, little sis was cute bat, and little brother was an awesome skeleton.  We either bought things from the Dollar Store or thrift stores. Some things were hand me downs from a friend. The kids and I went trick or treating at my husband's work instead of walking around the neighborhoods.  They got plenty of candy from John's work and corn dogs from Sonic! Little sister, little brother, and I watched some Halloween movies after trick or treating!  What fun Halloween memories we made this year!

John and I basically wore clothes from our closets expect for my blue tutu was homemade.  For our accessories, we used things around the house such as belts, diapers, pacifiers, receiving blankets (capes), and made a holster out of foam for the bottles (just stapled it together) !  We bought the bottles, glasses, and foam paper from the dollar store. We got the super hero printables from Super Dad and Super Mom and paste them on the foam material.

The pretty Audrey Hepburn costume included the following: an elegant black dress with fake diamonds, black heels, and gloves were from a thrift shop.  She borrowed the earrings, and necklaces from me. Her hair and make were done by her friend.

As for the bat girl costume, it was all homemade by my friend who no longer needed it. It included the following  bat wings, ears (hat), and eye mask. Her black nails, hair, and make up was done by me. She wore a black shirt, sweats, witch headband from a thrift store, and carried a bouncy bat decoration toy.

Lastly, little brother wore a skeleton outfit for his first Halloween costume, which was given to us by a friend. We bought a black winter hat and sock shoes from Old Navy.    

Boo'tiful and Spooky Layouts

You're Boo-tiful, 2004

Credits: The template is by Christy Vanderwall. The alpha, papers, elements are by Shabby Miss Jenn. The paper over lay, felt pumpkin and owl are by Gina Cabrera. The candy corn is by Jacque Larsen. As for the flowers, they are by Dani Mogstad. I used the following fonts: love ya like a sister and Kristen ITC.

Spooky Halloween, 2008

 Credits: The template is by Ashley Kennedy. I used the "Scared Silly" Kit by Dani Mogstad and Jacque Larsen. The spooky alpha is by Dani Mogstad. The m&m's are by Gunhild Storeide I used jokerman for my font.

Falltastic Golden Memories

October is finally here and we recently raked our first pile of leaves! The weather is cool outdoors and a splash of fall colorful leaves are seen on the trees! Everyone in our the household is craving something that contains the pumpkin ingredient such as roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin shakes, pumpkin spice donuts, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and pumpkin better than what cake!  On a cool fall night, we have sipped some warm hot chocolate or apple cider and ate a bowl full of homemade crock-pot stew! We love to take car rides up the canyon, frolic in the leaves, and watch golden sunsets. We absolutely love the autumn season!

Our little sunshine is five months old!

Milestones:  Little brother is now eating cereal twice a day (oatmeal for breakfast and rice cereal for dinner) in addition to breast milk from a bottle 5-6 times a day. He loves to play with his many baby toys, giggle at his silly Daddy, continues to strengthen his neck muscles while doing tummy time, can sit up on his own briefly then falls over, loves to listen to Mom and big sisters sing, and coo back at us when we talk to him. 

The Golden Days of Fall Layouts

Fall is finally fall here! The air is cool and the leaves are changing! I love this time of the year!

We are Family, 2000

Credits: The layout is by me. I used the "Barefoot" kit by Shabby Princess and P.S. I love you font.

Celebrating Fall, 2009

Credits: The template is by Michelle Filho. I used "Bountiful" kit and "Autumn Melody" kit by Shabby Princess. The leaves are by Dani Mogstad. I used love ya like a sister font.

Little Sis Joined the Glasses Club!

Little Sis's Cute Glasses

For the last couple weeks of school, little sister has been complaining that she cannot see the chalk board at school very well. So she has her first eye doctor appointment  at Costco on Friday September 20, 2013. She definitely needed some glasses. She picked out a darling pair of purple and black glasses! She says, "It is a whole new world with glasses on!' She looks adorable in her new glasses just like her big sister!

Grandpa Coleman's Visit

Grandchildren are Blessings

Since grandchild number five recently joined our family, Grandpa came out from Vermont to Utah for a few days.  My father finally met his grandson. While he was in town, we had a BBQ with Uncle Nate on Saturday September 7, 2013 and went for a drive.  Too bad it rained so much that day! On Monday September 9, 2013, we took Grandpa to our favorite places in Pleasant Grove. First, we went to Chubby's for dinner then went to Alisha's Cravings Cupcakes for dessert.  Afterwards, we drove to Manila Creek and watched the beautiful sunset.  The next day we spent some time with Aunt Karen at our house.  We had  fun getting out and doing things with Grandpa Coleman. I am certain he had a great trip!

Cravings Alisha's Cupcakes (Winner of Cupcake Wars)

 We got "Better than What Cupcake" and "Girl Scout's Samoas Cupcake"! They were delicious!
Manila Creek

Aunt Karen, Grandpa, and me!

Honey Boy is Four Months Old!

Honey Boy is Four Months Old!
On September 24, 2013, little brother had his four month old check up and shots. He is now 11 lbs. 12 oz., 25 inches long, and his head circumference measured 42 cm round. The doctor is a little concerned about his current weight and believes due to his recent surgery his body slowed down on growth a bit. Hopefully by his six month check up, he will gain more weight by eating cereal and increasing breast milk. His doctor was pleased that he  has accomplished most of his major four month old milestones! 

Milestones: Our baby is growing and accomplishing great tasks! He can hold toys in his hand, rollover from back to belly, loves tummy time, can eat 4-6 oz of breast milk during a feeding, and is finally eating rice cereal. He has great neck support, and can see me across the room. He is a happier baby since his surgery and smiles a lot. He has slept seven hours straight a couple times! Yay, hopefully Mom can finally gets a good night's rest!

Our Brave Baby Boy's Surgery

Our Brave Baby Boy's Surgery

When little brother was two weeks old, he was diagnosed with two hernias and an undescended testicle on the left side. At that same time, we were informed that he would need surgery in the future. From what we could physically see with our eyes and feel, our son had an umbilical hernia above his navel and a large rare indirect inguinal hernia on his left side. When our son would cry, the hernias would bulge. I believe he was in a lot of pain since we discovered the hernias especially with the large one that was probably pressing on his stomach. For instance, he would only eat 2 oz. of breast milk at a time and would hardly breastfeed at all. Within minutes after eating, he would scream in pain. I could physically feel the gas bubbles in his abdomen. I was constantly feeding him all day long because I was afraid that he was not gaining enough weight. Luckily, I had a great electric pump and milk supply. In the middle photo below, look on the right (his left) side was where the hernia bulge was located. It was more noticeable when he is crying or upset.

 The dreadful bitter/sweet day finally came!  On August 27, 2013, our three month old baby had a follow up appointment with a pediatric surgeon who works at Utah Valley Hospital. He weighed 10 lbs 14 oz and was 23.5 inches long. To our surprise, the doctor decided it was time to schedule his operation for Friday, August 30, 2013 at 7:00 AM. The day before his surgery the doctor ordered a MRI for our son. The MRI photographs were used to determine what needed to be done during surgery.  In order to do a MRI on my son, my baby had to fast four hours before the procedure because he needed to be sedated during the MRI.  That means no breast milk four hours before and he could drink Pedilite three hours before. I was worried because he had to fast two days in a row (MRI and for surgery the next morning). The nurse put an IV in his arm and he went to sleep. My son was sent home with his IV and we were instructed to flush it during the night that way they could use the same IV in the morning. My little guy was very groggy after his sedation. I had to wake him up a lot to make sure he was fed. I was confident that all would go well in surgery, but what scared me the most was the anesthesia. I had no idea what to expect how my son would react to it but he did great! What a strong little guy! 

The next day, we checked in the hospital at 6:30 AM. Our son was prepped for surgery and they carried him to the surgery room. He was in surgery for a total of three hours (was only intended for 1.5 hours). While our son was recovering from surgery, the surgeon reported to us that our son had an indirect inter parietal hernia on the left side, umbilical hernia, and inguinal hernia on the right side which the doctor found while repairing the others. He also fixed his undescended testicle. He had a total of four incisions. The surgeon explained to us that the he needed assistance from an adult surgeon to help him with repairing his indirect hernia because it is a very uncommon hernia found in infants and children. Indirect hernias are usually found in old men. In fact, the surgeon informed us that there is only one other child documented this May 2013 with this same type of hernia who is from Japan. My baby is definitely one of a kind!  We are so grateful for the wonderful surgeon Earl Downey and his awesome surgical team who took great care of our son! Little brother was very brave and my biggest hero!

 Our little boy was full of smiles two days after surgery thanks to many prayers, positive thoughts, and well wishes! He also received a healing blessing by his father the night before his surgery, which calmed my nerves. It is truly remarkable how quickly infants heal after surgery. I am looking forward to seeing him improve on feeding and sleeping better because of no more hernia pain! What a huge blessing to have modern medicine to heal us!

Our 2013 Summer Highlights

Big Sister went to Heber Girl's Camp

Big Sis went to Idaho with a friend.

The girls played in the summer rain!

We went up the canyon to explore Cascade Springs and had a picnic.

We went to the Redwood Drive-In to see Turbo

For our 16th Wedding Anniversary, John and I went to Firebird Pizza and Pasta and had cupcakes for dessert at Alisha's Cravings.

The girls went to Seven Peaks Water Park!

Milestones and Back to School

What a wonderful privilege to be a mother to three fantastic kids. I enjoy watching them grow up and learn new things. 

Little Brother at Eight Weeks Old

Milestones: He can almost lift his neck, smiles, sleeps five hours at night. At his two month doctor's appointment on July 30, 2013, He weighed 9lb. 15 oz. and was 22 1/4 inches long. He is slowly growing and is about 8% on the charts for his weight.
Little Brother at Twelve Weeks Old

Milestones: He is starting to roll all over the place and lifts his head up during tummy time. He is full of smiles for everyone especially for Mommy after he wakes up in the morning. He is starting to hold onto toys and focuses on our faces. He loves baths and music. He may look a lot like his Daddy, but he is a Mommy's boy!  He gets upset if Mommy is in the same room not paying attention to him. 

Back to School

We now have a Freshmen (9th grade) and 5th grader in our household! 
Big Sis-I cannot believe that she will be in high school next year. She is growing up to be an absolutely beautiful young woman. She is very helpful in cleaning the house, making dinner, and taking care of her little brother.
Little Sis- She is not so shy anymore. Her personality is blossoming! I recall last year she suffered with anxiety and so far no problems with it at all during her first week back to school. It could be due to having three of her best friends in the same class with her. Little sis loves being a big sister to her little brother. She enjoys reading and singing and to him.