Our Weekly Photo Project

Every week since Kenley was born, we've taken her picture to document her growth throughout the year. It's funny, because I never see a difference week to week, but when I'm editing the photos and I go back to the first few, it's a crazy difference. Just look at this one from Week 8:

And the most recent one from this past Sunday (which was right after Earth Day, hence the "Recycle" fabric):

I got this idea from Young House Love - and it's been really fun to do each Sunday. We have a different yard of fabric each week that we lay on our daybed in her room. She wears a white onesie in every photo, and her photoshop the week on it. The fonts I used for these pics above will not be the finals, they were just a temporary fix.

After I take the full body shot, I also get her face close up every few weeks. Here is Week 10:

Also, if the week coincides with a holiday or something, the fabric changes accordingly. This was our fabric for Valentines Day:

Obviously, we have lots of outtakes, too. Those are part of the fun though!

I hope to make a little coffee table book with each week on a different page. As for the fabric, maybe a quilt? Or maybe some cute pillows or fun dresses? We will see.

Just wanted to give you an idea of a really fun way to look back on your baby's first year. It'll be tricky when she wants to sit and/or stand, but luckily, we're not there yet :)

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I haven't posted over here in a long time! I didn't want this page to be overloaded with photos of my baby girl and her development, but rather a way to share helpful ideas for and with other busy moms. Now that I've been back at work for almost two months, I've gotten into a new routine. It's a busy one, but I wouldn't change a thing. Life is so much better with our little bug :)

One thing that we do differently in our house (because Kenley is only 5 months old), is to always put her down before we make/eat dinner. She goes to bed around 7, and since I get home from picking her up at daycare around 5:45, it's really important to give her undivided attention from Mom and Dad during that time at home. We've tried to keep her up later to have more playtime (so selfish- I know), but she's ready at 7pm, and sleeps until 7am with no problem.

This jumper is still a little big! I swear she's not balding, it's just the sun coming through the back...

We typically eat dinner around 8ish (depending on what I make), and it is uninterrupted, which is crucial to us. We catch up on our days, and it feels like old times- even though most of our conversation revolves around Kenley. Another great thing about an early bedtime is how productive you can be, and sometimes that helps you save a little money!

This is such a great way to save on one of those household items that really adds up. We do A LOT of laundry now, and when Kenley fits into her cloth diapers, we will do MUCH more. This homemade laundry detergent is a great way to minimize expenses. And it takes about 10 minutes to make. BONUS! 

I started with a bar of soap. Any soap will do, but it's best to use free and clear for babies. We got the Dr. Bronner's Unscented Baby-Mild.

Using a cheese grater, grate up your bar.

I added this soap to a pot with a gallon of water and heated it to dissolve the soap. Once it was dissolved, I added in washing soda and Borax (both found at the grocery store in the cleaning aisle).

Once everything is dissolved in the water, add in another gallon of cold water and distribute into two empty gallon containers. It will thicken overnight and be ready to use!

I spilled a little bit trying to transfer the liquid, so a funnel would probably be helpful. Ha.

Thank you to Pinterest for the pin and the instructions! The cost of the ingredients for about $7. That will make almost 600 loads of laundry - should hold us over for the year :)

HOMEMADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT

1 bar of soap (any kind you want)
1 cup of Borax
1 cup of washing soda
a big pot ( that holds more than 2 gallons)
a grater
a funnel
a long spoon
2 empty gallon jugs/containers

Grate your soap into a big pot and add in a gallon of water. Heat until dissovled, then add in washing soda and borax. Remove from heat and stir until dissolved, add in another cold gallon of water and distribute evenly between two gallon containers. Let sit overnight to thicken.

***UPDATE 4/6/2012 - I have been using this for a few loads and it works great! There won't be suds, but suds do NOT EQUAL clean! I've been using 1/2 cup per load, or one circle around the washer.

The Nursery Tour

Well, it's almost done. We still need to hang a few things on the wall, but I want to take pictures of her and we'll have a few family photos to frame once our professional newborn photos are done - so we are waiting on that stuff. For now, it's looking pretty cute.

When you enter the nursery, I added some hooks on the wall for our diaper bags and her little coats. Above the hooks will be a collage of framed family photos once she decided to make her entrance :)

On the next wall to the right, we have our changing table/dresser and the painting that my girlfriends gave us at our baby shower. (I accidently deleted the photo of our dresser, so I'll fix that tomorrow)

Next, on the right, we have our crib and her name decal. We decided not to hang letters above her crib because we wanted to do something a little different. It was Jeff's idea to make it more "kid friendly" with the tree limbs and animal decals.

(Again, I need to take pic of the crib)

Moving right along, we have the closet that we DIY'd with some fun chalkboard paint and opened up to keep us accountable for clutter and messes. Right now, it holds our swing and bouncy seat, that will more than likely move into the living room.  And don't forget the fun pendant light!

Next to the closet and below the massive window is a daybed. We put to box springs together and topped them with a twin mattress. I sewed a bed skirt (seen above) to match the closet, and also made some matching pillows from leftover fabric. This is for guests who stay with us, or even for Momma after a late night feeding :)

(Note to self - get a new lampshade!)

Kenley also received a sweet framed invitation from her baby shower - it matched the room perfectly, and we added a little birdie decal for fun.

For storage, we purchased this shelving unit and lots of straw bins from Ikea. Hopefully this will store tons of goodies for her. And yes, we bought a small flat screen for the nursery. It's for me to watch during 45 minute feedings (since we will have lots of company and nursing in the family room is not an option), and for guests.

So that's the nursery for now! Hopefully once we get some great photos of our little girl, we can update a few things on the walls. Until then, we'll be patiently waiting for her to arrive!

The Best Baby Shower EVER!

I've always known that I had some wonderful friends....this weekend totally confirmed that, and then some. We had a blast at our baby shower!

Here are some of the adorable decorations:

The pictures of Jeff and I were a little scary....we look SO much alike!

And check out these party favors, complete with a sign that said "Things got a little spicy in Mexico". Well, yes they did! This homemade salsa was perfect!

And how about this cake....amazing!

Of course, our baby girl was there - in full effect. I am large and in charge now!

We had our entire family here for the occasion. She is surrounded by love!

Her Aunt is DYING to meet her. I cannot even tell you. She is so ready to have a niece.

Thank you to all my ladies who took so much time and effort in preparing for and throwing this shower. We are so grateful to have you in our lives!

Can you believe the gift we received from our hostesses? It's a painting I spotted in MS a LONG time ago, and wanted to re-create myself at home (because of the price tag). They pitched in and purchased it for us! I'm hoping our little one will have it for years and years, and pass it on to her children someday :) I'm so in love with it.

T-minus 50 days until she makes her appearance. I cannot wait to meet my baby girl!

Let There Be Light!

We FINALLY got the pendant light installed last night. I've been putting it off, since replacing light fixtures is always so tedious. I hate trying to figure out which fuse is for which room. Luckily, we got it on the first try last night- score!

I am still trucking along at almost 25 weeks now. Next week, we leave for our babymoon in St. Kitts, and I cannot freakin wait! A relaxing week on the beach and riding in the boat is going to be right up my alley. Last week, our little girl was as long as an ear of corn...

Can you tell? Sheesh. She is kicking all the time, and Jeff felt her for the first time last night, which was really special. I'm feeling great so far, but my feet ache after long days of running around. Other than that, I have no complaints!

Last night, while Jeff made dinner (YES!), I started to work on the pendant. It had about 100 pieces (no joke), but it came together faster than I had thought. We loved this when we spotted it at Ikea, and we love it even more in the nursery.

Isn't that SO much fun? (PSST - Please ignore the box springs to the right- they will soon become a day bed.)

We had such a dim light in here before, so it's much brighter now, but still not overwhelming. We will add a couple of small lamps next to the glider and changing table for some extra subtle light, too. When you close the blinds and remove your "working" lamps, here is what it looks like:

I love the reflection of the big flowers on the walls. I imagine our daughter will too!

Who needs a mobile or projector when you have such a cool pendant, right?