Christmas 2016

The month leading up to Christmas was filled with Etsy Shop craziness for my business. One of the things we hand paint is ornaments & amidst all your wonderful orders I squeezed in a fox tree slice for Cooper's 1st Christmas.

Christmas Eve started with THIS amazing beef brisket recipe at home with just us three. Followed by family time at 7, something we've never done with baby who thoroughly enjoyed gnawing on all of his gifts. We also have a natural born present opener which is crazy. 

There hasn't been a little one around on Christmas Eve for 10 years which made having Cooper around even more special.  Plus we're about 90% there with sitting up & only need a hand nearby in case balance is lost, making toys in the lap & hands in the air a new found favorite.

One thing that made Christmas 2016 a piece of cake was shopping with, wrapping in front of & putting everything under the tree with baby- all before Christmas day. Something I know we won't get to take advantage of again.

The next morning Eric hopped up when Cooper awoke, turned on all the Christmas lights & I opened my eyes to baby sitting in our bed beaming at me. The perfect wake up call.

Among Cooper's favorite presents were THIS infant seat from Grandma & Grandpa (perfect timing since we're outgrowing the Jumparoo), THESE blocks which come in a super cute carrying case & THIS finger puppet book series of which we now have three.  We are also now the proud owners of an ENTIRE basket full of books to get us through the winter & one seriously grateful mama for all of it.

Breakfast was full of cinnamon- with french toast & Grandma's coffee cake recipe, plus spinach & cereal for Coops (yum-o) who will probably be very excited to get in on that sugar filled meal next year.

After breakfast, & a late nap, we packed up to head north to an aunt's house for early dinner. Coops was thrilled watching his cousins run all around & showed off his new found sitting up skills to anyone who would watch. Plus this particular aunt has two rabbits which had baby enthralled as they hopped to & fro in their cages.

A couple hours later we were on our way home with full stomachs & baby snoozing in the back of the car.  Bedtime stories & feedings followed & the day ended with hubs & I watching an Indiana Jones marathon with drinks on the couch. #thatsmykindofnight

I'd love to hear from you!  How did you spend the holidays & what are your favorite traditions?

6 Month Photos & Favorites

Where have the past 6 months gone?? I feel like we were just in the hospital savoring that warm newborn baby feeling & now here we are with a sweet little guy determined to crawl as soon as he can figure out how to get those back legs out of frog position & under his butt.

Nursing is still going great minus 2 biting incidents (omg), but a wonderful mom friend gave me the advice of looking out for playing verses feeding mode & stopping feedings before baby stops paying attention.

The 6 month checkup meant 3 shots, including a half dose of the flu (the second half will be in a month), which led to a couple days of soreness & our first dose of Infant Tylenol- such a lifesaver. 

Our pediatrician is wondering if Coops may crawl before walking because of how well he supports his weight when standing, something I didn't even know was possible & feel totally unprepared for.

So far we've only eaten greens & cereal, but I'll be adding in a few "orange" veggies over the next month & then on to fruits.  Stay tuned for our first baby food diary post!

6 Months

Height

30.25"

Weight

21 lbs 8 oz

6 Month Favorites

Tummy Time ALL THE TIME

"Crawling" on the floor by sticking out his belly & flailing all 4 limbs. 

Shoving everything he can get his pudgy hands on into his mouth. 

Shadows 

Babbling & Laughing

Looking Forward to

Our first Christmas with baby!

The Crafty Baby: DIY Snow Globe Ornament

Recently we had a few younger cousins in town & with Christmas just around the corner I turned one of my ornament designs into this super simple DIY.  And with my hand holding his, baby Coops painted his first ornament, making this artist mama beyond proud. 

Snow Globe Ornament

*Acrylic Ornament Ball (can be found at a local craft store, or HERE)
*All Purpose Acrylic Craft Paint (I used Martha Stewart in Black & Orange, found HERE)

*Mini Styrofoam Balls (available at Hobby Lobby, or HERE)

*Small Paint Brush
*Ribbon

Empty the Styrofoam Balls into a large Ziploc bag, remove the metal top of the ornament & scoop the "snow" inside. Adding a little Styrofoam means you can shake the ornament for a snow globe effect, more Styrofoam (like we used) gives a a solid snowball appearance. 

**Messy Floor Warning: the Styrofoam balls are INCREDIBLY static-y & will stick to anything, so depending on your kiddo's age keep an extra eye on them for this first part.**

Once the snow is inside the ornament, put the top back on.  Then paint two black circles for the eyes & four for the mouth, followed by a long orange triangle for the nose.  

I also added the year "2016" on the back of our ornament & am debating whether or not to put Cooper's name there as well.

Next up- an adorable footprint snowman Coops & I are putting together to gift to family this holiday season, & at less than $15 for A DOZEN pieces we saved A TON by going handmade for Christmas!!