Birthday Wishlist

Kate's birthday is coming up in 3 short months. I've been gathering ideas for a cupcake-themed party, but I realized the only thing I thought about getting her (or asking for) was her quilt that I would make. So I put together a little wish list of some things she could use.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 

1-3: Mega Blocks. After visiting her cousins this weekend and seeing how much fun she had with the mega blocks table, I knew she would be ready for these by her birthday.

4&5: Baby pool and Water Table. The weather will get much warmer after her birthday, and she already loves playing in the water. It's about time she has her own pool and play table.

6&7: non-skid tub mats and drain plug. She is quickly outgrowing her infant/toddler tub but we aren't ready for her to play in a full bathtub just yet. These things will help get our tub ready.

Little Laundry Tip

I don't remember who I heard it from- maybe my sister, maybe someone on TV a long time ago- but ever since we had Kate, and had to wash those tiny clothes, I have been using a little helper.

Baby clothes are cute and tiny, but those socks are even smaller! I didn't want to lose any, or have them get sucked up by the washing machine (or dryer). I had seen using clothespins to clip the pairs of socks together, but that was too tedious for me. Instead I use a lengire bag with a zipper. So all those socks just get thrown in the bag and the bag goes in the washer. I have not lost a sock yet.

Yay for no lost socks!

So while it's not a new or original idea, this tip has made washing Kate's clothes a little bit easier.

Hand-Me-Down Clothes

I am so thankful to have two beautiful nieces that have passed on their adorable clothes to Kate. i had already gone through the piles of clothes and sorted them by size, but they were 12 months +, so they just went into a trash bag and stayed in Kate's closet until I needed them.

Well Kate is officially only wearing 12 month now. She had been in a combo of 9 and 12 mo, but the sleeves and legs were just too short. I packed up the 9 month stuff this morning after trying to re-snap her pajamas and they kept popping open every time she moved a leg.

9 mo on Kate at Christmas. And this is after pulling the sleeves and legs down for the billionth time.

So out went the small, into a box to save for a friend's little one, and in came the big. I re-organized the dresser drawers- one for 12month, another for 18, and two more for 24 and 2T. My oh my do we have a lot of 24/2T! But we are lacking on the 18 month set.

18mo drawer- some PJs, a few shirts, and 3 pants

2 almost full drawers for 24mo/2T. Plus all the dresses hanging in the closet!

So, a question for any mamas reading this, how long will Kate be in 18 month clothes? Should I get a few key pieces and just merge them with the 24month stash? Or will she be in 18 month for a while and need quite a bit more?

Outtakes

Kate is 9 months old and trying to get a good pic of her this time was a trip! Her monthly post will be up after her appointment on Thursday, but I couldn't resist sharing the outtakes from her 'photo shoot'.

She is not walking yet, but is always on the go.

I wanted a picture of her standing, since she can do this pretty easily now, but that wasn't working out too well. 

And the cute shots of her in the glider? Yeah, those will probably have to stop. 

She literally climbed on the arm rest of the chair to get to the dresser.

Favorite Things

Kate is almost 9 months old! Where did the time go?

 Here are a few of her favorite things from the past 9 months.

Soothing Giraffe | Ladybug Night Light | Freddy Firefly | Sit and Stand Walker | Musical Chair | Image Map

1- Cloud B soothing giraffe. We got this after Kate was having a rough time napping. Seriously  she would only nap for 20 minutes at a time... max... The white noise helped calm her down. We still use it at night.

2- Cloud B constellation light. A gift we received from Adam's step brother. At first we had it on Kate's dresser to give off a little light during night time feedings. Now it stays in Kate's crib and she plays with it before falling asleep at night.

3- Lamaze Firefly toy. A gift from my aunt. The back of the wings have a black and white pattern on them so for the first month or so, when Kate was just lying on her back, it was something interesting for her to look at. Once she was able to bat at things, she grabbed the rings and the wings (which crinkle). Then she  used it as a teether. It's been put away now, but she would probably still play with it.

4- V Tech Sit and Stand walker. Hand-me-down from my sister. Kate LOVES the music and lights. Her favorite thing is to grab the purple phone and eat it. She hasn't used it as a walker (she's not ready yet) but I think she'll get a lot of use from it.

5- Laugh and Learn Musical Chair- Another hand-me-down from my sister, but it stays at my mom's house (she watches Kate during the week). Kate LOVES the music (again) and has figured out how it all woks now. She will sit (or climb on it) and as soon as the music starts she starts bouncing up and down.

Morning Playtime

I think I may need to raise her mirror up a little. But I love that she can occupy herself, and has a great time too.

I am so thankful for our happy little girl.

First Snow Day

Kate's Grandma gave her a super fuzzy snowsuit for Christmas. And Luckily, it snowed on Christmas eve! 

Just in time for us to try it out.

After taking these pictures, and getting her back inside for a nap, it snowed harder- with bigger flakes- which would have made for better pictures. But she still got to see the snow falling. And she loves just being outside anyway.