Thursday, January 29, 2015

Pete Loves Nora

It really does amaze me how much Pete loves Nora.  He is so good with her, which was not really what I was expecting while I was pregnant but I'm thrilled! Pete even shares his Rescue Bots with Nora which is incredibly surprising since they are his favorite toys. Nora loves crawling around and trying to see what he is up to and join in the fun by gnawing all his stuff.

Giving Nora his Rescue Bots that don't change
Pete was "reading" a little book and Nora crawled over to see what he was up to.  Pete let her look over his shoulder for a little bit, until she started drooling on it and attempting to eat the book, so then he moved away for some strange reason.

 
Can you tell these guys have an English teacher for a Dad?!


Tuesday, January 27, 2015

MommyCon Blogger!

Hey everyone if you are friends with me on facebook then you have seen the good news but I'll share it for those that aren't on facebook.  I've been selected to be a MommyCon Blogger that means I'll be posting about all of the exciting things coming up with it and sharing a code (KPPN15) for you to buy your tickets with a discount.  What is MommyCon? From their website:
MommyCon is a boutique style convention dedicated to bringing modern parents and mothers-to-be together. Our focus is on natural and organic parenting methods and timeless tidbits as we journey through parenthood together. Our seminars and workshops include; babywearing, birth, breastfeeding, cloth diapering, car seat safety, natural health and medicine, baby gear, childproofing and so much more! We end our day with amazing giveaways and each attendee gets a gift bag from our sponsors.
Want to learn more about MommyCon? Check out the site.  I'm the most excited about the first one of the year in Chicago on February 21.  I'll be going and would love to see some of you there.  There are also events being held in Atlanta, Minneapolis, and Orlando with more dates and locations to be announced soon!

Are you planning or thinking about going to MommyCon? Use the code KPPN15 to get $5 off your ticket.  Promo codes just make everything better.

I'm super excited about all of the fun that will be coming up with MommyCon and learning about even more ways to help my family and just have a good time too!



All I Asked for...

Was a Smile...
But this is much more fun anyway!

Pete is getting to be such a ham.  That hamishness is quite the love-hate relationship.  While it is fun it would also be nice to get a picture with a normal smile.  I get one occasionally if I bribe him with something so normally I put up with the goofy ones and just remember that some day he will be dating someone and they will make great fodder for that, then I start smiling too.

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Good Morning, Sunshine!

 I can't believe I wake up to this little sweetie every day.  It is amazing to think about the fact that she hasn't always been around and that she is now 7 months old.  Pete is normally already been awake for awhile before Nora wakes up and depending on how Nora did that night before I'm awake too!
 Nora is now 7 months old! She is such a big wonderful baby girl.  I weighed her this week and she is an amazing 16 pounds 15 ounces.  Still no teeth but they are so close it is driving us nuts on a nightly basis.  She is crawling around and getting herself into everything she wants.  Her favorite toy is her Sophie Giraffe that she chews on in her car seat.  
No one believes me that Nora does cry.  She was done with her photo shoot in this shot. 

Friday, January 23, 2015

The Boys Build a Snowman

We finally had it warm enough to build a snowman last Friday.  It was actually packable snow that was great for the task of snowman making.  Pete has been dying to get out and play and build a snowman but it was so bitterly cold the snow wouldn't pack well and was mostly worthless, other than for delaying and cancelling school. 
snowman selfie


Thursday, January 15, 2015

Dreft To-Go Instant Pen and Stain Remover Spray Review and Giveaway

Kids are messy. If you haven't figured that one out, you are either (1) neither a parent nor been around children or (2) only interacted with magical unicorn-type children, in which case we need to talk and I need lessons!

A while ago I was given the opportuity to try out the Dreft To-Go Instant Stain Remover Pen and Dreft Stain Remover Spray.  Both have now been used quite a bit and are ready for reviewing. 

My first chance to test them out came at a family dinner with pickled eggs and beets.  Grandma splashed beet juice on her shirt, so I quickly whipped out the To-Go Pen and tried it out.  Amazingly, it took the stain out, and she was able to wear her shirt the rest of the day. She washed it at home and no permanent damage was done.  I've used it since then, and it does great on food stains.  I always keep the To-Go Pen in my diaper bag to save my and the kids' clothes from any accidents. One downfall is the lid seems to get caught on stuff and pop off, which is just annoying but not really worrisome since it won't stain or ruin anything in my diaper bag.  I've also only tested it on food related stains since that is mostly what we encounter on a daily basis in the winter. I've tried other brands' stain sticks in the past but find this one the easiest to use. Also, it smells wonderful.

The Dreft Stain Remover Spray has gotten quite the workout with Nora starting solid foods, especially the orange colored ones like sweet potato and carrots.  Nora was kind enough to smear her face across the arm of my brand new shirt the other day while having carrots for the first time.  I thought it was a pretty hefty task, but the spray measured up and saved my shirt. Again, I've only really had a chance to try it out on food stains, not many grass or dirt stains in the winter, though I better not tempt Pete to try! I've also not tried it on baby poop stains because we rarely have blowouts due to cloth diapers.

a Rafflecopter giveaway Here is a link for a coupon for $.50 off any Dreft stain remover product.

Dreft also has an app for capturing the moments of your pregnancy and baby's first year.  Great for showing and organizing all those tons of pictures that you take so you can show your little one in the future. Find out more information and get the app here.

Dreft is also involved on the web, facebook, instagram, pinterest, twitter, and youtube.


I received the products  for free in order to review, but all comments and reviews are my own and not that of the company's.  The logos were provided by Dreft for my use.





Monday, January 5, 2015

Mimijumi Very Hungry Bottle Review

Nora seems to have a keen sense of what she likes and doesn't like; she's rather opinionated when it comes to what goes into her mouth. She has never liked a pacifier, which was not something I was thrilled with in the beginning and some days still.  She is also rather picky about her bottle when she actually needs to use one instead of just nursing from me.  Pete never cared where his milk came from as long as he was getting fed.  I have quite a stash of pumped milk in our deep freeze and use it when I get a subbing job or have a date night with Phil. Before trying out the Mimijumi Very Hungry bottle we had one bottle that Nora would halfway eat from if I wasn't able to nurse for some reason.

I found this bottle on a top bottle list for breastfed babies and decided to contact the company for a chance to review it on the blog for you.  Well, we love it!

First of all, Nora will eat out of it without nearly as much fighting. She seems to have a very strong gag reflex and if the nipple is too long she gags and spits it out. Most bottles are too long for her liking and she gets frustrated and shuts down for a nap instead of eating.
Using our Mimijumi on vacation after Nora decided against nursing at the rest stop

The texture of the bottle is great for Nora. The nipple is soft and pliable and has a almost skin-like feel to it.  Phil noticed that Nora interacted more with this bottle than the other one that she will take.  She likes to eat with her hand up on the beige part of the nipple/cap of the bottle.  This is very similar to what she does while she is nursing.



Starting off dinner
It is very easy to clean, just a couple of pieces and no nooks or crannies.  I also love the fact I can put it in the top rack of our dishwasher and actually tell it is clean.  No special bottle brushes or straw cleaners that I have to use to pre-wash before using the dishwasher.

The price is fairly steep personally.  I spend most of my time with Nora as a stay-at-home mom, so I'm able to nurse on demand.  If I were working full-time away from home, it would be very worth it to purchase considering how lousy Nora does with taking other bottles.  I don't stress out about leaving her with my mom or another sitter because I know that she will eat from this bottle, though sometimes she gets a bit too relaxed and falls asleep before she finishes!

Getting ready for a snooze while eating.

If you'd like to learn more about mimijumi and their line of bottles checkout their website.  They are also active on facebook and instagram.

I received the Very Hungry Mimijumi bottle for free in order to review, but all comments and reviews are my own and not that of the company's.  All of the pictures are my own.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Vacation: Salt Lake City

After Logan our next stop was SLC. We got a hotel room and then that evening met up with Phil's brother and sister to seethe Christmas lights at Temple Square.  They were amazing! Pete sadly enough is not really into lights. Lame. 



We picked a hotel that was close to the train so we didn't have to drive and deal with parking. Pete loved it and begged to use it more. Nora slept most of the time we were on temple square in the morning. Pete was a grump most of the time. 
Pete and Phil on the train
Nora snuggled up in her ergo carrier. We didn't even bring a stroller with us and just used this. It is one of the best investments!



Friday, January 2, 2015

Vacation: Evanston and Logan

We started out our day in Rawlins, Wyoming. We fueled up and hit the road, then immediately stopped because of a jackknifed semi that blocked the whole road. All of the traffic was forced to get around it by driving on the shoulder. We finally made it to Evanston but not until just before church with Phil's sister Amanda. We stayed for the first hour of church then headed out for Logan Utah and Phil's brother. 
Pete and Nora at church the Sunday before Christmas

Once we got to Logan we unpacked the car at Ben's house for the night. There was a Sunday dinner at Phil's aunt Janette. Pete played, ate a little and then joined in on the cookie decorating fun with his cousins.  At bed time he got to "camp" on his cousins bedroom floor. 
Nora just couldn't handle all the fun and fell asleep on daddy
Pete decorating cookies we Stewart and Hannah.