Feet First. Helpful Tip #1

Readers, Fellow Parents?

Yes, this one is more so for you than it is my daughter at the moment but Katie Belle when you grow up and become a babysitter, Aunt, or Mommy of your own you can apply this too.
Being a new mom I have discovered plenty of situations that I didn't exactly know how to handle until they were placed in front of me. With tons of practice, I have learned some pretty neat ways of dealing with them. This post is a Helpful Tip that I would have loved to know when my daughter was a newborn. I would guess that some or all moms and dads know this, but I will openly admit that I had NO CLUE! =) So, here is a Helpful tip that I'm sure you already know ;)
         
                                                                       Feet First
A newborn baby is so tiny, fragile and precious. You just want to hold them and cuddle all the time right? Yes, but one thing that is a absolute! You have to support their head until they gain control over it. This is a given. I know when my daughter was born, I was so nervous to dress her in any outfit that I did not enjoy trying to put a onesie on her at all. Trying to hold her and keep her head safe and slide clothes over her was not fun nor easy for either of us. A few weeks after going through this, I noticed the neck opening on most onesies were big enough to slide over her hips and up to her neck. I didn't even need to mess around with her sweet little head. This way is so much easier and nicer for the two of us.
                                                     Here is how we do it. Step by Step.      


                                                                             
                                                                              Step #1

Pull the onesie up through the neck hole and allow the feet to stick through the bottom.
                                                              ....  A.K.A Feet First ....
                                  (If your baby is old enough they just might help you.)
                                          

 Step #2
Bring the onesie up underneath the underarms and button your bottom.

mommy why are you taking pictures of this?

Step #3

Put arms through the arm holes.

And now you are finished! The product is a happy baby and a happy mommy. I never had to lift her little head or feel nervous. As your baby gains control over their head it is less scary to put a onesie on over the head but I find this way to be much easier. It also allows dressing time to be much faster and efficient. It's even better if getting ready is not your sweetie's favorite activity.

                                               She was so happy to chew on her bows.
                                    All dolled up and pretty in her new outfit daddy bought.                                                                                               (Thanks Daddy)

Well, I hope you found this to be a Helpful Tip, even if you already knew to do it!
It made our life tons easier.

Apple Chips

Katie Belle,
The last few days have been long, busy and just out right tiring! That would make sense to why you are asleep here next to me while I type this. ;)
On Tuesday we took a fun trip to the grocery store where we bought some pretty cool foods. We got a coconut, papaya, pineapple, cucumbers, and more. You did a great job and I was so proud of all the patience you showed. I attempted to create a papaya smoothie when we got home and boy oh boy was that a terrible idea. It smelt so bad in my opinion but I would love for you to try papaya when you get older. You just might love it, and hey if you do, great! It has tons of health benefits.
Well after that we created some delicious Apple chips. This is how we made them...
I preheated the oven to 225 degrees and sat you in the bouncer while you watched me bop around the kitchen getting ready to cook. You looked so cute!

I sliced a green apple into thin slices and placed them on a cookie sheet.
I then sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar and placed them in the oven on the middle
rack for 1 hour.

We played, nursed and you napped while they cooked for the first hour.
When the hour was up, I flipped the chips and stuck them back in the oven for another hour.
During this time you had fun playing with cousin Lily and walking around the house with me.
Finally the chips are done!!


To close the day you had some much needed and tremendously fun daddy daughter time.

hmmm..where did daddy go?

Oh! There he is!

Way to be a rock star baby! You are such a trooper.

Momma's Day!

Belle,
Yesterday was mothers day and it was incredible! I woke up about 6:30 or so only to find a beautiful gift awaiting me on your changing table. You and daddy followed me in the nursery so you could see my reaction. You gave me a picture frame filed with "magic" paper and a sweet little hand print. =)
Thank you princess.

We got ready for church after that and we were stylin profilin! We didn't capture a picture of all 3 of us but here's the 411. Daddy wore a yellow polo and dark gray shorts and shoes, I wore a white tank top under a blue and white stripped dress shirt with blue capries and gray flats, last but most eye catching of them all! You wore a blue and white stripped dress that had a yellow flower and buttons on it, and to top it all of you rocked a yellow bow and occasionally your heart shaped pink sunglasses.
Bam!! Gorgeous!

We had a great time at church and you loved playing with the flowers we got. After Church we went and had lunch with Grandpa at Village Inn. After a short nap we headed off to the mall to shop! Thanks for being so well behaved with daddy while I looked around. You helped pick some stuff out and I'll admit, you have a good eye for fashion! Fashionista huh?! I may have forgot to mention a little something.... you may have made your pretty little dress wet while daddy Was changing your diaper earlier. Haha!! Good thing mommy had a back up in the diaper bag. You still looked breath taking.

You decided to try driving us home but needed another rest so daddy took over the job. =)

We sat down to a delicious Olive Garden dinner at home and called it a night. Thank you husband for being soooo amazing and giving me a break today. And special thanks to you baby Belle. You are my sunshine.
Happy Momma's day fellow mothers.

Airplane Hanger

Katie, Today you went inside an AIRPLANE HANGER! Yes, the 2012-13 Athletic banquet was today as your daddy was the MC and MIC (man in charge). It was one crazy cool experience. There was an actual plane parked in the hanger and you got to touch the wing of the plane! Sorry I didn't capture any photos. You wore your oh so cute baby Under Armour pink onesie and blue skirt. You were 100% pooped just like daddy so you crashed when we got home. Later we went to BabiesRUs and got tons of cute stuff for you including bows!! Then we continued to Dicks Sporting Goods and looked at golf stuff with daddy. All in all it was a great day. I'm proud of you big girl. Mother's day is tomorrow and I am so blessed to be your mama! Here's a picture of you in your new pink bow on our way home from shopping. =)