Shutterfly Giveaway

Oh man what a weekend! We had so much fun celebrating Mag's half birthday with Aunt Breeyn. We had cupcakes and sang happy half birthday, it was a regular hootenanny! And of course I have pics to share...

Isn't the bib scrumptious?? Just one of the A-dorable presents from Aunt Bree

A cupcake for my cutie! (no Mags didn't eat it, just in case anyone was alarmed)

Too precious for words

And also, in case you were wondering I did in fact make my self imposed deadline for Mag's six month photo book and if you're interested take a look here. I learned a lot during the process and I would love to make another one for her next six months, but I will try to not procrastinate this time and do a little bit at a time.

And last but definitely not least, if you are looking for some free Valentine's day cards, look no further. I have a gift code for 25 free personalized Shutterfly cards. Here's the card that I made.

Filmstrip Red Valentine's Day Card

Create personalized greeting cards and invitations by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

If you are interested in joining the giveaway just become a public follower of my blog through GFC and leave a comment on this post letting me know that you are following. If you are already a follower, just leave a comment letting me know. In order to get these cards (hopefully) in time, I am going to end the giveaway on Friday, February 4 at 12am. The winner will be chosen through Random.org.

So that's it for now folks, hope this finds you well!

Valentine's Day?

Image

So with the end of January I start to think about next month and the first thing that pops into my head when I think about February is Valentine's Day.

Over the years I have heard a lot of people complain about Valentine's day. That's it's a stupid commercial holiday created by the card and candy companies and that it shouldn't really count. I can appreciate that it shouldn't be considered one of the big holidays, but I think a holiday created just to celebrate love....what's so bad about that??

I am of the belief that you should try to express your love everyday of the year, but I think it is especially wonderful to have one day set aside to really do it up. Valentine's day lets the tough, unemotional guy or girl have a day when they won't feel embarrassed to express how they really feel. It reminds the beleaguered married couple that they should carve out some time for themselves and cherish the relationship they have. And it helps the family that gets so caught up in the day to day, with a small conversation heart that helps remind them to pause and appreciate the ones around them.

I haven't always had Valentine's on the actual day, but those years I tried to be the best Valentine I could be to myself. And that's important too. Take a moment to stop and remember that you are a part of the equation too, and that you deserve a cut of the love as well. It may sound cliche but if you aren't nice to yourself then you can't really be that nice to others.

Overall, I don't really see why anyone would have that big of a deal with Valentine's day...It's really just about being nice to those around you, appreciating each other and finally love. Because all you need is love....

So for this Valentine's day show someone that you care with a card or a gift. And if you are lucky enough to be on the receiving end of one if these don't forget to send a thank you card.

6 months old

So I am a day late with this and pretty late in the day because I am fervently working on a digital scrapbook for Mags and I am under a bit of a time constraint. When we got our Christmas pics with Santa, we got a gift certificate to Shutterfly and I only have until the 31st to use it. I have run into a few problems with the program I am using, but I think I have fixed most of the problems and things are going pretty smoothly, but like I said I am in a bit of a rush....Nothing like waiting till the last minute, eh Mom?? So in the interest of time, a relatively short month update and I will fill in whatever I missed later.

We made it!!!! The half way mark....I just can't believe it. I honestly feel like just yesterday I was a huge pregnant lady and now I'm the mom of a wonderful little 6 month old. Some people consider this the end of the infant phase and I guess that means that we now have a a full on baby. I am really enjoying this stage so far and I know we have so much more to look forward to.

New things this month:
- We are very quick to flip from our back to our tummy when we are put on our playmat and we have even flipped on our left side a few times. Occasionally we flip back from our tummy to back, but that is rare.
- We are eating cereal twice a day, oatmeal in the morning and rice cereal (yep it's back in the rotation) in the afternoon.
- We will be introducing veggies tomorrow and first up is good ol' green beans. This should be interesting.
- Sitting up time increases just about every day and we can sit for quite sometime barely supported by the boppy pillow.
- Still wearing 6 month clothes, although the 3-6 months are starting to get a little snug. Guess we will be moving up to the 6-9 months soon.

So we are heading to a new pediatrician (the last one was just a family Dr. and wasn't cuttin it in my eyes) and we will get the official stats then. Other than that just the same old, happy, beautiful and wondrous little girl! And in case you need some photographic proof, here it is....




Hope you are having a great Friday and that you have a great weekend!

Absolutely Fabulous

Thanks to Trop 50 for sponsoring my writing about fabulous bloggers. This year Trop50 is granting 50 fabulous wishes. Click here to enter for a chance to win $1,000 to help grant a friend's wish!


Hmmm my top five bloggers...although I have many blogs that I really enjoy, it isn't too difficult for me to pick a top five. Basically they are all Mommy blogs, because that is where my head and heart is right now and I love to see and hear about other moms' experiences.

So here they are...

#5
Here we go...
This is an awesome blog written by first time mom, Kristi, mainly about her daughter Nora, who is only a few months older than Mags. I find that I can relate very well to things that Kristi is writing about and sometimes I find myself going back in her blog to see what she was doing when Nora was this age or that age. It also doesn't hurt that Kristi is wicked funny and I find myself cracking up all the time.

#4

I love Jenni (from the blog). Again she has two adorable little tikes and her youngest, Brynn is just a few months older than Mags (yep there's a trend). She also hosts this really fun meme, Your Three Words, that I love to link up to. She also lives locally so we share in our Phillies' love!!!!

#3
Cleared for Takeoff
Another of my faves is this blog, about the life of a pilot's wife as told from Katie's perspective. Katie is really cool and her daughter Ellie Kate is adorable. I never realized how difficult the life of a pilot's family could be until I started reading this blog. Also, Katie is super creative and she always has some great tutorials on lots of intersting things.

#2

And here she is ladies and gents, the woman who started it all (well my blog that is). As I've stated before, I stumbled upon "Blair's" blog when I was preggers and she inspired me to start this little venture. I love how open and honest Blair is and her little Harrison is practically edible he's so adorable. Blair is also uber funny and that always sweetens the pot!

And Finally......(drum roll please)

#1


What can I say? This blog inspires me so much. It makes me want to be a better mom, a better photographer, a better crafter, knitter, fashionista, friend, wife...I think you get the gist. You can't read one of Kelle's post and not walk away feeling inspiration, love, wonder, energy, life. Needless to say her daughters Lainey and Nella are beyond words precious and it's so easy to see how much they are loved. This is the blog that I aspire to have one day, and if not at least a pretty good looking knock off.

So there you have it. This time last year I was completely ignorant of these wonderful little pieces of the interwebs and now I can't imagine what I would do without them. They help see this experience of motherhood in a completely different light and I am better for it.

Hope you are having a stupendous Wednesday!

Don't forget to enter the 50 Fabulous Wishes contest for a chance to win $1,000 to support a friend's wish. I was selected for this Tropicana Trop50 sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do. I received compensation to use and facilitate my post.

Your three words

It seems like every time I turn around now, my little, amazing girl is attempting some new feat. Whether it's actually jumping in her jumper (the first time she was in it she just swung around) to flipping herself from her back to her tummy and back and forth....to the piece de resistance yesterday and today when she..... clapped. It might not seem like much to some, but I am ecstatic!

The first clapping sighting was yesterday while I was changing her diaper (I am not sure why but this is also where she started blowing raspberries...I guess she does have a pretty captive audience while she's on her changing pad). Kind of out of nowhere she just started "clapping" her hands together. I don't think she was applauding ol' mom for the stellar cleaning job of the VERY messy diaper, I just think she finally made the connection with her hands. I tried to encourage her to continue, but no dice.

I figured that might have just been a fluke but then she did it again today, also on the changing pad. What a genius! She has always loved when her hands are clapped for her and lately she likes to put her hands on mine when I am clapping. So I guess it was just a matter of time before she attempted it on her own.

Other recent accomplishments....
-eating her oatmeal like a champ and leaning forward for more
- turning herself around in her exersaucer
- finding ways to get to toys that are a little out of reach on her playmat
-sitting up without assistance for longer periods of time

I can't believe all that has occurred in just six little months and I can't wait to see what else is coming up!

Hope you have a great weekend!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Link Up

Hmmmmm what am I loving on this actually sunny, and "warm" Wednesday?

• The fact that the hubs was home with us for the past two days (lots of fun).

• That there are only 8 more days till Mag's 6 month birthday (yep we're celebrating).

• And that means that there are only 10 more days till my bestie comes for a visit.

• Today I am loving that I got a lot accomplished around the house, including laundry folded AND put away, dishwasher emptied, bottles washed, more laundry started, general tidying up...

• And of course I totally loving on our beautiful family and my awesome little girl....
  

This girl? Totally loving on her jumper. She is a jumping fool!

Look at her adorable hippie pants...Thanks Grammy!

Hope this finds you well!

ONEder

So awhile ago I told you guys about the mommy blogger that inspired me to start my own blog. And since then I have encountered a lot of talented, inspirational women, who like me are trying to navigate the tricky waters of motherhood.

One such amazing mommy blogger that I stumbled upon a couple of months ago, is Kelle Hampton of Enjoying the Small Things. I'm sure some of you have heard about her, but I chose to spotlight her now because her beautiful daughter Nella is turning one this weekend and Kelle is asking for a rather unusual birthday gift.

Nella was born with Down Syndrome, which came as a quite a shock to Kelle and her family. After sharing her grief in a touching and moving Birth Story, Kelle bounced back and decided to rock out this amazing opportunity that had been handed to her to step outside of her old comfort zone and really and truly appreciate the big and small things.

Today Kelle and her family are asking her readers to help the Down Syndrome community with a "little" fundraiser. Well it started out little, with Kelle putting the goal at $15,000 (which she expressed some anxiety over), but within four days Kelle's family, friends and readers had smashed through that goal and raised over $50,000. The tally is now at $68,000 with a goal of $75,000.

If you have a minute I ask you to watch the video below. I think it really helps to put it all into perspective and then, if you can, donate. Start the year off right, by giving to those truly in need of our support.




And I can't leave you without a little Mags...I don't have my camera back yet, but my awesome in-laws lent me there's until I get mine back. Seriously I was starting to get the shakes from the withdrawal.

Hope you're having a great Monday!