I'm a do it "yourselfer"

Adley is having a tinkerbell themed first birthday party. So, i figured why not get her an adorable outfit to wear. Then, i thought to myself I could make one of those cute little bday outfits myself. So, I am (with the help of my little sis who has amazing sewing abilities). We started working on it today and here is what it looks like so far:






It is only pinned together at this point, so Paige still has to sew it and perfect it, but i think it looks awesome thus far! We made the bow too!

Here are the steps we took:
1--Cut up 4 diffferent colored chiffon fabrics into 6 4x10in strips.
2--Fold in half and bunch speratically along shirt and pin.
3--attach ribbon around top.
5--add bow to top of shirt and bottom of leggings.
6--bow: cut 4 pieces of ribbon into 8 in strips. Fold in half and sew the middle of each piece of ribbon. Make flower shape with all 4 pieces. Sew in the middle. Glew tink fabric to button. Glue to center of flower. Glue clasp to back.

love that we accomplished this!

Steps

My Baby Girl is starting to walk all by herself and she isn't even 10 months old yet. Im such a proud mommy!

Powerful

"Oh that our home on earth might be to them the pathway, the gate to the Father's home in heaven. Blessed Father, let us and our children be Thine wholly and forever. Amen."
-Andrew Murray
-A prayer found in "Baby & Child Care" by Dr. James Dobson from Focus on the Family

Favorites

My top 5 Favorite Places to shop for baby clothes:

1--Target
2-Babies 'R' Us
3-Gymboree
4-Old Navy
5-Childrens Place

I love the fact that you can shop online at all these stores and that their sizing is pretty true to size. Target is my most favorite simply because its cheap, durable and stylish. You cant go wrong with target! Babies 'R' Us is amazing, they have THE cutest stuff with accessories to match every outfit. Gymboree is a little more expensive, but if you hit it at the right time they have great deals, they also have the cutest swim suits. Old Navy always has stuff on sale, who doesn't like that? Childrens Place is adorable too, they always have great prices aswell.

Here is one of my most favorite items that Adley recently got from Gymboree (Mimi-my mom- bought it for her)

Lessons Learned

This morning we attended Biltmore Baptist Church for worship. We have been attending for a while now since we moved to Fletcher, but today was the first Sunday we left Adley in the nursery.

Andrew and I had discussed how important it is to have an uninterrupted worship experience, so we finally decided to let go and leave Adley in the nursery.

BBC is soooooo big, so of course i was a little worried about crowded rooms and someone picking up Adley and taking her who wasnt supposed to, but as soon as we were educated on how their nursery opperated i had no worries and was super impressed. Since it was Adley's first time in the nursery we had to fill out a form with things like her age, allergies, parents, phone number's, etc. Then, she got her very own number and name in a sticker that went on her back. They also gave us a sticke with the same number on it to give the worker when we came to pick her up. so, the only people that could get her were the ones with the matching number, meaning us haha.That was so awesome. Plus, if your child got upset and they couldnt reach you on your phone, they would put up your childs number on the screen in the worship service. They also had sign in sheets in each room where you listed anything your child may do or need while you are gone. It was so awesome and so organized. I was actually excited!

She was fione when we left her, just playing with toys and getting some social time. The best part was, Andrew and I got to have a focused worship experience and left feeling so refreshed with the Holy Spirit. I mean lets get real, it's hard to focus when you have a squirmy 9 month old wollering you during worship!

After the service we went back to the nursery with our sticker and got Adley. She was crying when we got there, but the nursery volunteer said she had just started and had done great the rest of the time. I could tell she was sleepy, she always gets fussy then. I was just happy she was good 3/4 of the time plus got some time with other kids.

So, Andrew and I learned to let go and take some time for ourselves to have a good sunday experience, baby and interruption free. This was much needed and will surely be a weekly occurrence.

Parents: It is OK to leave your baby for an hour or two. Thats why the nursery is there! Get your God time in, really, because we know you cant take full advantage with a young baby or child. We learned 2 lessons today. 1-the nursery isn't so bad, just the seperation. 2-A distraction free worship environment is more fulfilling.

Take Time

Taking time for yourself when your a mommy is so important. Don't get me wrong i would rather spend time with family and friends more than anything, but me time is so important. Especially since you must be happy yourself to make those you love happy!

When Adley takes naps I:
-Catch up on my shows (love DVR)
-Read my Bible and Devotion (I should do this more often)
-Clean around the house
-Cook
-Check emails and other internet stuff (facebook/blog)

A lot of time she only naps for 20-30 minutes at a time so i obviously cant do everything i need to at once. So, the most important things such as cleaning,and cooking take priority. I need to devote more time to God for sure. As a mom its hard to realize that things like cleaning should just be put off when you dont have much time to yourself. You have to make it a priority to have your "God time".

As a treat for myself usually once or twice a week i will take a long, hot bubble bath. While I'm in the bath I will read a devotion or get caught up in a great book while andrew and Adley are enjoying some daddy/daughter time. Even the simple things like a warm, un-interrupted bath can make you feel so rejuvinated. I am very lucky to have a husband that pushes me to take these moments for myself. He will sometimes even go start my bath water and pour in the bath salts he put in my stocking for Christmas.Ladies, he's taken. haha.

You also need to have alone time with just your spuse. Andrew and I hadn't been out by ourselves in so long, so we decided to leave adley with mimi & papa (my parents) and go out to dinner. It was so needed. We got to reconnect as a couple and have true adult conversation. Talk about our hopes and dreams, wants and needs. It was so amazing. We want to strive to go out, just the 2 of us, atleast once a month.

Remeber: TAKE TIME for: God, Yourself, and Your Spouse.

Useful Discovery

Adley has been eating baby food for a while now and the type she likes most is Plum Baby. It's an organic baby food that combines fruits and veggies and still maintains a smooth texture. No added sugar, salt or artificial ingredients. It's actually very tastey (yes, i have tried it). The cool thing is it comes in little squeezable bags which makes it very conveniant. I recently discovered an attachable spoon that screws on the end of the pouch. This makes it very easy to feed a younger child on the go, in a restuarant or even at home without having to use a bowl. I have been out shopping before and adley has gotten hungry so i simply feed her as im walking around while she is sitting in the buggy. It is so easy and so great to use! The attachable spoons are just an added bonus. You can squeeze the food into the babies mouth without the spoon attachment too, but it's a little bit messy! As your child gets older they can also self feed with Plum baby food by holding the pouch themselves and sqeezing it into their mouth. How great of an invention is this?!?!?! I definitely recommend this type of baby food to everyone!

Here are some pics to give you an idea of how great it really is. (Oh and I find the food at Target & Babies-R-Us)

About Time

Well here i am finally with a new post in over 9 months! Since i last blogged Adley Grace was born on April 30th, 2010. She weighed 81bs and was 21.5 in long. Now, nine months later she weighs 17 lbs and is 27 in long! It has taken me this long to get into the swing of things and start to even think about blogging again.

I cannot even begin to describe how wonderful it is to be a mommy. Adley has now started to give hugs and kisses, and smile when i enter the room ( and even cry when i exit). It is such an intense, warm and joyful feeling. Seeing her beautiful smiling face just remindes me everyday how much God has blessed me and my family and how much of a miracle our little Angel Adley is.

Everyone knows that a mother worries about a hundred million things. Always making sure your baby is breathing while they are asleep, making sure each bite is chewed and swallowed, picking up every speck off of the floor where they will be crawling, sanatizing toys and so much more. Worrying about every little thing is exhausting, and not to mention depressing at times. I found a tool to help me with this and many other mommy "woes" so to speak. it is a book called Power of a Praying Parent-by Stormie Omartian. It is an amxiety cure! I would suggest not only every mother, but every parent to a child should read this on a daily basis. Its not just for parents of babies it covers children of any age. Plus its important to start praying fir your baby's future now! The book talks about how to deal with things like parent anxiety, family drama, friendships for your children, your childs heartaches and so much more. It shows you how to handle all of these things through the power of prayer and scripture. How awesome is that? It is truly a spiritual life-saver.

A note to all new mothers & mothers-to -be: Prayer will get you through anything and if you start praying NOW for your child it will do the same for them! Be a great mother by being a Godly influence that they can SEE.