Hip Hippo ray!

The munchkin celebrated her first birthday 10 days ago.  We had a hippo themed party last weekend.  People asked me if she really likes hippos and that's why we did that theme.  Nope, I picked it.  I'm not into the princess thing and L is too young to really like a particular character.  But she definitely likes animals and I thought hippos would be cute and not something you see all the time.  I had a pretty tight budget. As a result, it took a little more effort to get ideas and find materials that worked but thanks to people much more talented than me and Pinterest, we had a hippo-riffic day!

A friend of mine was a graphic designer by trade and designed the hippo image and signs.  She also gave me the idea to display them as pennants.  I printed the hippo logo on iron transfer paper and put it on a onesie for munchkin to wear that day.

Another friend was gracious enough to help me with the cake.  It was made from 2 round pans and 1 square pan=two boxes of cake mix and 3 cans of frosting.  She used frosting bags to make the eyes, ears, and teeth.  My very talented sister in law made the cupcakes.  She took nutter butters and dipped them in dyed almond bark and used mini chocolate chips for the eyes.  It's hard to tell in the picture but I found these cool German hippo shaped cookies at World Market.  I only bought 2 boxes (10 total) because they're about $5 a box, but they looked so neat and people snatched them right away.  The store will email you coupons often and I saved 10% on them.  I also had a half sheet cake from Sam's because of the number of people that came.

A couple hours before the party I went to Party City and got the balloons.  It's only $1 each and while they said the helium only lasts 6 hours, it was a lot longer.  The pink balloon said Happy Birthday on it.

My graphic designer friend made the thank you notes as well and I filled little treat bags with coordinated color Sixlets from Party City.  We did this for our wedding reception favors too.  If you get on their email list, you get lots of coupons and I got the drink cups as a BOGO.  I had to make multiple trips over the last month as I got new coupons, but there's a store right by my house so it was worth the effort.

We requested that instead of getting the munchkin a gift that people instead bring baby items for a crisis pregnancy center.  L was still spoiled with lots of presents but people were very generous with their donations.

The party was a wonderful celebration of our little one's life and we were glad so many of our friends and family were able to join us.

Adventures in Home Ownership

I've heard stories of other people having challenges with their houses right after moving in so I was somewhat prepared to expect the unexpected...and we have had a few "surprises".

We hadn't even moved in yet and one night strong winds tore off some shingles on the roof.
The garbage disposal and dishwasher didn't work.  But...my awesome husband fixed them both without spending any money!
We have a leak under the kitchen sink.
We have some unwanted visitors and had a pest control company come out this week.
Our dryer died this week.

I have reminded myself multiple times that these are all rich people's problems and that has helped to keep these inconveniences from becoming more stressful.  I have also tried to remember the truth of John 10:10-"A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and live it more abundantly."  The Enemy wants to rob us of the joy that is this gift of a home and we must fight back with God's truth and promise.

With that being said, here is what I love about our new home-
My husband's commute is cut in half, which means he gets home earlier each night.
We have two toilets!
Full size washer and dryer = less time doing laundry.
The munchkin doesn't have half of her room as an office.
A large fenced-in backyard with a basketball hoop.
Our new floors (you may have seen the pics on Facebook).
Being able to paint the walls whatever color we want (again, see Facebook).
Having friends within walking distance.
Our city library is awesome.
Everything we need for running errands is close.
Returning to my former parish and seeing lots of old friends.  A classmate of my husband is a priest there!
The neighborhood is quiet.

I'm hoping to write posts as we do improvements.  Almost all of the boxes are unpacked and we're about at the point we can hang things on the wall.  It's been fun to find things I didn't use at our old house that I wished I had (the garlic mincer is my new favorite kitchen accessory) and reorganize and keep on purging things we don't need.  Having a mobile baby has slowed me down but we're making progress.

Ten Months

Looking back I realized I never did a nine months post.  We closed on a house the day after she turned nine months so between packing, renovations, moving, and Christmas it didn't happen.  Hopefully a post about home improvement soon.

But now the Munchkin is 10 months old.  Hard to believe I need to start planning her first birthday party (Hippo theme, in case you were wondering).  She is a lot of fun right now.  We've gotten into a pretty good routine of naps and sleeping schedule.  She typically takes a nap in the morning and afternoon, sometimes a second in the late afternoon.  She goes to bed around 9, sleeps until around 4, nurses and then goes back to bed until 7ish.  In just the last couple of days she's been regularly standing on her own.  She likes to hold her hands in the air to show how proud she is of herself (and she knows we'll praise her every time she does it).  She's a fast crawler and pulls herself up on everything.  We've got three and a half teeth that she uses to eat everything.  I'm not having to puree foods very often anymore because she's such a good eater and likes to feed herself.  I've trying to give her water and at this point she prefers drinking from an open cup rather than a sippee cup.  Around this time the books say she's supposed to get that separation anxiety but she hasn't had it at this point.  Little L is talking more- dada, yaya, mama.  When we're eating she says num num.

Things that she loves-
Mirrors!  We have lots of them in our new house and she likes to wave at herself.
Eating whatever she can find on the floor.  I am sweeping a lot more often now.
Cords.  I blame her Papa Alex for introducing these to her over Thanksgiving.
Her Little People nativity set and Noah's Ark from her grandparents.

As I'm unpacking I'm considering what we can and can't have out for her to get into.  Would appreciate any tips from experienced parents on babyproofing.  We want her to learn what she can and can't touch, especially if she is at other homes that aren't baby friendly but we also want to make our home safe.  Any product recommendations?

Photo freebies

Thought I'd write a quick post about some freebies I've cashed in on this week-

I've always been big on taking and printing pictures, but ever since the Munchkin was born I try to keep up with all the ones we take on our phones and camera.  I have accounts with lots of different sites and always take advantage of their deals.

Walgreens uses promo codes online and in their ads every week and sometimes you'll get items for free, no other purchase needed.  You can use multiple promo codes for one order. This week I got an email for a free photo book; in this case I did have to pay shipping, $3.  I've gotten free photo collages and 5x7 prints before, all I had to do was pick it up in the store.

I get emails from Plum District, it's like Living Social but the deals are recommended by moms.  I had a $10 gift card that I used to get some animal wall decals for Little L's room. Then they sent me a promo code for a free photo book from My Publisher.  It's a neat software you download to create their projects.  Just paid shipping on that.

For both photo books I decided to create them in terms of a storybook that I can read to the baby, with captions to go along with the pictures.  I used pictures from our days at the zoo in the fall for one book and pictures from her first Christmas for the other.

I got an email from CVS as well for a free photo mug.  My hubby is probably going to take it to work.  It's going to be shipped to the store so that didn't cost me anything.

Shutterfly mails me coupons sometimes and I made a free photo book for my grandpa for Christmas since he doesn't have email or text and doesn't see pictures of the baby as often.  Just paid shipping.  You can combine coupons on their site; I made a photo book of our maternity photos for free earlier this year.

Hope these tips help you save a little!

Hoping to do a post on our new house soon, trying to work on unpacking before I post some pictures!

Thankful

In the spirit of the holiday I wanted to write about what I am thankful for this year-

My husband
He rides his bike 28 miles a day to and from work in whatever weather so I can have the car during the day.  Despite being tired when he gets home from a 12 hour day, he always has a smile on his face for us and is willing to jump in and take care of the munchkin so I can have a break or work on other things.  He is a great spiritual leader for our family and adores our daughter.

The munchkin
I have never learned so much about patience, humility, and sacrifice than in these last 8 months.  I have spent my life around kids but I had no idea how hard it would be until I had my own.  My priorities are completely different now.  I don't take showers and 8 straight hours of sleep for granted anymore.  Everyday is new and I love being able to share new experiences with her.  She is growing so fast, just like everyone told me she would.

God's provision
I am so grateful that I am able to stay home with L and work periodically.  It's been a sacrifice but we've never been without.  We've learned what we have to have, pray all the time about good stewardship, and have been blessed by the generosity of others.

Our church
I love being Catholic, its rich tradition, the beauty of the Mass, the wonderful priests we can call friends, the Sacraments.  My time with God is different now, but thanks in part to iPhone apps, I have my time with Him everyday.

Community
We have seen each other get married, lose and get jobs, travel overseas, have babies, lose loved ones, move all over the metroplex and experience physical and spiritual highs and lows.  These women have made me who I am and continue to teach me how to follow Christ and be a godly wife and mother.  They also are happy to watch the munchkin so we can get a date night every once in awhile.

My best friend from back home just visited and I realized the night before she left that we've been friends for 20 years next year.  We have been through the worst and best of times together. She is one of the most generous and sacrificial women I know.  I can count on her to always tell me the truth and she's the best shopping buddy I could ever have!

Since becoming a mother I've developed new friendships with other moms.  As much as I cherish my friendships with those who aren't parents, there's a different connection with women who understand my life now.  They get conversations about diapers and breastfeeding and making your own baby food.  They are a constant source of advice and understanding about each new challenge.

Our parents
It's been amazing to see how a baby has changed my parents.  They just light up around her and smile so much more.  They've been another invaluable source of advice and encouragement and free baby-sitting.  I'm beginning to appreciate even more the sacrifices they made to raise me.  I am so grateful that my in-laws live close by and that L gets to see them so often.  They also spoil her rotten!

Happy Thanksgiving!

8 months

The last couple of weeks have been a lot of fun, watching the munchkin change.  She is starting her version of crawling, although she tends to move backwards about half the time. She is also starting to pull herself up onto her feet, using me for help. She stood by herself for about two seconds.  We've also been having a lot of fun with food.  She is doing well with her pincher grasp and feeding herself bites of raisins and her little organic puff snacks. She is eating a mix of puréed foods and other things off the table.  We've discovered she likes eggplant and cottage cheese but fruits are her favorite. One tooth has poked through on the bottom and she's working on a second.

Happy Halloween

This year's pumpkin

We had a great time celebrating Halloween.  The octopus costume was a success!  Little L wore it three times-to a party at her aunt and uncle's house, a party with my moms group, and at the zoo with her friends at the Mommy and Me class.  The extra tentacles made moving a little more difficult but they were also fun to chew on.  The munchkin enjoyed helping her dad carve our pumpkin while "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!" was on.  L and I met her grandparents and cousin at a pumpkin patch on Halloween afternoon.  She liked the hayrack ride, trying to eat the hay, and petting a pony.  No trick or treating this year; we don't need the candy in the house.  We also had an All Saints Day trip to the Arboretum and a beautiful Mass that night at my old parish.