Car Seats

Hello blogosphere. Yes, it has been quite some time. We are still alive and busier than ever. But I need some advice, so I have come crawling back to you.

If anyone is still reading this blog, would you please share your thoughts on convertible car seats.

Nikolai has (nearly) outgrown his infant seat, and I need some advice from my trusted fellow mommy-friends. 


What has worked for you? What brand/model do you like? What are good/bad things to look for/watch out for?

Muchos gracias!

Backpack

We had a wonderful weekend!

Friday night we started out date night doubling with Mom and Dad at Esparza's in Grapevine.  Mom spilled her water, and Niko put his hand on the hot plate. What an adventurous night!

On Saturday we hit up Costco and took Niko in the BabyHawk Oh Snap! backpack style. He loved it! Niko was so happy all throughout our shopping and even while we were eating our lunch! After we got home and put away our groceries we went for a lovely long walk to the Park. Again I carried Niko backpack style. Again he loved it! And I loved it! Sometimes we make Niko earn his keep on the walks by carrying Buster's poop bag. Just kidding!!! Stas just thought it would make for a funny photo op!

Sunday we were able to go listen to Jenn and Shayne speak in sacrament meeting in their ward. They did an awesome job on two very difficult subjects. Jenn spoke on judging; Shayne on hypocrisy. They were excellent and I learned some new things. It was fun to sit with their kiddos. Nolan kept Pops busy, Ava was busy entertaining Niko, and Coco was spreading her love between all of us.

Out for a walk

Niko, Buster, and I were going a little crazy in the house this afternoon, and we decided to go out for a walk. The weather  wasn't too bad; just in the low 80s with lots of sun. That is so much better than when we moved here, although I am looking forward to wearing something besides shorts and t-shirts all of the time. Anyway, back to the walk--

Niko in the BabyHawk Oh Snap!. This baby carrier deserves a post of it's own. Or maybe five posts of its own. When it came in the mail, I literally was jumping up and down. Alot. I think my dad was a little worried. But more on that later. Or not if I never get around to it.

Buster!

cool old barn

pretty view in front of the barn

Babywearing

This is awesome.

When images of Licia Ronzulli cradling her baby daughter while attending a voting at the European parliament showed up online, you could almost hear a collective sigh (and "Aww!") from working moms worldwide.

Fittingly, the European parliament was debating proposals to improve women's employment rights and opportunities as 35-year-old Ronzulli of Italy snuggled her 7-week-old baby Vittoria, who slept peacefully throughout the proceedings, in a sling close to her heart.

Ronzulli's colleagues gave her a round of applause as she got up to speak on behalf of women.

"I am here symbolically with my daughter Vittoria to think of all those women who cannot reconcile serenely pregnancy and jobs, professional life and family life," she said.

"It was not a political gesture. It was first of all a maternal gesture -- that I wanted to stay with my daughter as much as possible, and to remind people that there are women who do not have this opportunity (to bring their children to work), that we should do something to talk about this," she told the Guardian.

Ronzulli says does not plan on bringing her baby to work on a regular basis, though. "It's an official meeting, it's not a creche. You can't have everybody coming in with children who might cry or who might want to play ... I'll come when it's possible. If I can bring her, I will. If it's not appropriate, then I won't."

Motherhood

Thank you Nicole for sharing this video.

Flying with baby

Nik and I are headed out to San Fran for a little b-day celebration for my dear Mommacita. She'll be celebrating in "the land of fruits and nuts" with her five daughters and one very lucky grandson.

So here's my solicitation for all the advice you can give on flying with a baby. Endow me with your knowledge!

Commentary on baby clothes

Yes, that's right. I am writing a whole post just about baby clothes. And it probably won't be the last one either.

First - today was a sad day. I packed away all of Nik's newborn-sized clothes. He's been wearing 0-3 months stuff for a while, but now he's officially no longer a newborn.

Second - what is with the size variation? Yeah, these two sleepers are supposed to be the same size (0-3 months). Hardly.

Note: the green stripes is in the top three of my favorite outfits on Nik.

Third - this sleeper has the shortest legs ever. Seriously they are less than two inches long. Definitely not for our baby!


Okay, that's it for now, but I'll undoubtedly share more opinions later!

my life in bags

it seems like these days i live my life by which bags i have. what ever do i mean? well i noticed the obvious when i saw these lined up by our couch:


diaper bag, breast pump bag, laptop bag, and purse

the purse is for those rare occasions i'm out of the house w/o the wee one
the pump, purse, and laptop go with me to work
the diaper bag goes with me anytime i'm with Nik

these days i sort of feel like i am constantly switching between them all and constantly trying to track down these items:
-power cord
-wallet
-clean bottles, ice pack, etc.
-burp clothes
-water bottles
-chapstick!!

what's next in my world of bags.......the church bag!

Mobile

Okay, I am the first to admit that I am not a crafty person. No really, this isn't just me being modest. I just don't have that crafty jean. The closest I get to being crafty is making spreadsheets. Now that I enjoy!

Back to the mobiles. I remember when I was a kid my mom would make these decorative wall hangings to decorate orphanages as part of Humanitarian Aid. The purpose was to give the babies something to look at so their developed properly and they would hopefully not develop vision problems. Then I read in my baby book about how babies prefer basic patterns and contrasting colors. Then I remember reading a blog post from my pseudo-big sis Mandy about the mobile she made for her daughter. Gee, I thought. Maybe even I could handle this one.

So after I couldn't even find the one pack of construction paper that has lasted all of my creative pursuits of the last eight years or so, I thought to myself "let's not over complicate things." So I stole a piece of paper from the printer and busted out the pack of markers that I bought years ago, but because I thought they might come in handy. Using a nickel for my polka dots and the edge of a magazine as my ruler, I set to work!

Here's the result:
Right now Nik's favorite are the purple circles, but in the last day or so I think he discovered the blue bulls-eye. We'll see what wins out in the long haul.

Note 1: I know, I know. Paperclips and rubber bands are not really safe to use around babies. I promise I will find a better solution as soon as Nikolai realizes that he can do more with his hands than just eat them.

Note 2: Yes, that is a pink bouncer chair. No, we aren't raising our son in some sort of crazy gender-neutral style. We just got the bouncer (and swing, too) from some friends in the ward for free. Yep, that's right. You can't beat free. Even if it is pink! ;)