Sesame Street Party

My daughter turned two in June, but we just had her party last weekend. There has been a lot going on since  we moved a few weeks ago.

I don't feel comfortable posting pictures of the party itself, but I thought I could show off some of the creations that were made for this event.

 Sesame Street party bags. We have Ernie, Cookie Monster, Elmo, and Big Bird. I think Ernie is the most creative, and his were by far the most difficult to make.

 Elmo cake: I was really pleased with this. It was my first time working with a shaped pan, so I was a little nervous. It did melt a little around the mouth on the way there, but it turned out really well.

 These were something of my own that I decided to try. It turned out to be a really cute idea, and my sister-in-law had the amazing idea for the trashcan lid hats. I would have never thought to cut off the bottom of cupcake liners to make them. I actually heard kids saying that they wanted one with a trashcan lid.

 These were just some little foam cut-outs that I made for decoration. They evidently were put up on the door to show where to go.

This is just the food table  before the cake and cupcakes were put out. Nothing on this table was specifically made, but I thought I'd show how we put it all together anyway.

The event itself was a big success. I admittedly was nervous about having a party. I am an introvert, and I don't always do well with crowds, and there were several kids there. However, my wonderful husband usually stepped in and gathered everybody if there was something going on that needed their attention.

Some fun highlights:
Our daughter actually managed to snag three, yes three, pieces of cake. The first was the one we gave her, the second was my piece that she stole (my husband grabbed me another), and the third was one she snuck off the table. I wasn't kidding when I said it was crowded. It was difficult to keep track of everything.

The present opening ended up being a group event. The kids were bringing her the gifts, since she didn't seem to understand about walking over to open them somewhere else. She would open a gift, run around with it for awhile, and then we would have to bring her back to open more.

Back Again

Hello, all! I know that it's been some time since I last posted, but that's because my family moved a few months ago, and we have decided not to have Internet at the new place, so I don't normally have a connection in order to post. Besides, my Kindle really isn't the best way to post, or I would be using that.

Anyway, just wanted everyone to be aware and know that I haven't abandoned the blog. I just don't have the time to devote to it. I am also working on another project right now. I am writing a novel, and I will be finished with the first draft shortly. I'm hoping to get the rest of it churned out by the end of this coming week, and then it's off to family and friends to read if they so wish. After that will be the lovely editing time that will eat up a good amount of my time. My friend and I are doing writing exercises now, that really are helping me to challenge myself.

Walking and Talking

Sorry for the long hiatus. I know it's been about 3 months since I last posted, but it just seems like life gets in the way sometimes.

From the day of the last post until now, Yuuki has started walking. Her 15-month appointment was approaching, and I was starting to wonder if she would be walking before she turned 18 months. She literally had no desire to do more than pull herself up. Then, over time, she started standing up on her own. At first, it was only for a few seconds at a time, but she got better at it until she could stand for minutes before sitting down again.

It was 4 days before her 15-month appointment that I placed her across the room, trying to get her to walk to me, that she took 9 steps, and she hasn't stopped since. Honestly, I can't imagine what it was like before she was walking.

When I was posting on Facebook about all this amazing progress that Yuuki was making, I know there were those who said 'just you wait, soon she'll be getting into everything ' or 'you say you're excited for her to walk now, but just wait'. I have to tell you that I have never once longed for the days when Yuuki wasn't mobile or when she was just crawling.

She's just so much more fun now that she's running around. I don't think there's anything greater than when she's across the room, and I motion for a hug, and she just comes running (which is maybe about half the time). I also love chasing her around the room, telling her that I'm going to get her, and she just giggles hysterically.

The way I see it, I just love her more and more with every new thing she does. She's walking, and I adore her for it. She's starting to say new words, and I adore her for it. Don't confuse this with loving her because she does these things. All they do is make the journey more fun.

1 Year

As I'm sure that most of my Facebook friends are getting tired of me posting about my daughter constantly, I thought I would write a blog entry instead. I need to start writing on here again anyway.

Yuuki turned 1 a month ago, which is amazing in itself. It's so nice to say she's 1 as opposed to 11 months or the like. It's much simpler. Of course, saying that she's 1 in conversation brings up an entirely new set of questions.

One of the main questions asked is if she's walking yet, which she is not. She can pull up and cruise just fine, but she has little desire to let go with both hands (though she will at times).

On Monday, June 11th, she took her first unassisted step. Yes, I said step. She hasn't taken unassisted steps since. Of course, this could be because at the time, she was going after her daddy's candy granola bar, but that's beside the point. J

My daughter is the master of doing something once and then not do it again for months. She seems to feel that doing something once is enough to prove that she can do it, and she's in the clear for another month or so. It was the same way with rolling over and saying certain words.

It's both an exciting and irritating at the same time. On one hand, it makes it very exciting when she does do something. For instance, when I can get her to stand up for a few seconds at a time, or when she lets go on her own and stands for about ten seconds, which is what happened just a day or two ago.

A weird thing with all this though, is that I never thought I would be that mom that would swoon over every little thing that my children do. Yet, I find myself clapping and hugging and talking in an overly high squeaky voice whenever she does something new. It’s remarkable really, the things you thought you would never do, and when you do those things, you really don’t care. You know, other than being embarrassed that somebody might have heard you. In case it’s not obvious, I embarrass easily.

It’s amazing what babies can do in such a short period of time. Just a few months ago she wasn’t saying ‘uh-oh’ or know the names of certain toys. Now when you tell her to go play with Phineas and Ferb, which was the theme of her birthday party and one of my favorite shows, half of the time she’ll go find them and play with them, you know, if she wants to. J She also knows who Elmo is and tries to get him to make the kissing noises.

She mimics myself and my husband a lot as well. She’s starting to realize how to use the pretend stethoscope that she got from her aunt, though she tries to put it over her head instead of in her ears and the thermometer she’ll stick in any mouth that she can find.

She really is turning into a big girl. In fact, my husband and I call her a big girl now as opposed to a little one. When you look at her from birth until now, it’s truly astonishing.

Little Things, Big Impacts

(Sorry for the long hiatus. I finally finished working on a big project and found myself with a little more free time to write, though I am working on a personal project now as well.)

So, Yuuki will be 11 months old on Monday. It’s the weirdest thing when you realize that a year has gone by, and that year has dragged on and on, but at the same time, it’s been the fastest year of your life.

Yesterday, I took the time to reorganize the nursery. One of Yuuki’s aunts took her for a short outing, and while I was cleaning, I came to a realization.

First, let me say that the day before yesterday, I did a lot of cleaning as well. I bagged a lot of Yuuki’s old clothes that I don’t want anymore, which will either be sold to Once Upon a Child or donated to Goodwill or Freecycle or something. I did this without any sentimentality, as these were already clothes that I had set aside as things that I never saw myself using with a second child, should I ever have a second child and another girl for that matter. It did absolutely nothing for me.

But yesterday, while Yuuki was having fun with her aunt, I was moving some things around. We keep everything stored in the nursery for convenience’s sake, and in particular, there is a box filled with formula for easy access. As Yuuki is almost one, I talked to my husband, and we decided that we were going to finish off the formula that’s left before starting Yuuki on whole milk.

I have been getting into the habit of putting everything that I don’t want Yuuki getting into in the crib so she can play on the floor without throwing bottles or spoons or dishes all over the place. I was moving everything back to their proper places when it hit me that I wouldn’t be using some of these items in just a few short weeks. In just a few short weeks, I won’t be using the box of formula, rice cereal, and the like that I keep stored on the floor by her books and toys. The bottles are going to be stored away here soon too as Yuuki moves on to sippy cups.

It just shocked me that such small objects that have been a very significant part of my life for the past year are going to be gone, packed away to be opened who knows how many years later. I had never thought of it before. Now, I have been gradually taking bottles away as it’s gotten closer to one year, but the thought that there would come a time where they wouldn’t be in sight is strange. I’ve spent I don’t know how many hours of my life making bottles, preparing them and cleaning them, and I won’t be making them anymore.

I imagine I’ll feel the same as she outgrows her toys, needs a new bed as opposed to her crib, even when she no longer needs to be changed and I can finally throw away the changing pad.

They are such little things within a bigger part of my life, but at the same time, they impact it in such a big way.

Yeah For Milestones!

I’ll admit right here and now that I’m not like most mothers when it comes to milestones. I have always been an ‘I can’t wait until she (fill in the blank)’ kind of mother. Yuuki will be 8 months in only a little under three weeks, and I love watching her reach new milestones.
One of the first displays of independence that Yuuki showed was holding her own bottle. She’s been doing this since about five months, and she’s been holding her own bottle ever since. I can honestly say that I don’t miss holding the bottle for her.

A few weeks ago, she started cutting her first teeth. My husband and I had suspected that she was teething for awhile at the time, and we had just picked up some gel to help with the pain. I had just put the gel on my finger and got it into her mouth. I had put some on her top gum and turned my finger to put some on her bottom when I felt something hard on her bottom gum. I started in surprise and looked down to see the white tip of a tooth sticking out. I tell you in complete honesty that I shrieked in excitement and jumped up and down I was so ecstatic. Now she has the other bottom tooth making its way through, and I’m watching every day to see when they’ll show themselves fully. If I see them even a millimeter taller I’m inwardly shouting in excitement.

Only today, Yuuki pushed herself up on her hands and got her legs under her. She actually stayed up for a few seconds before plopping back on her stomach on the floor. I was so thrilled that she is taking that next step towards crawling. She’s been doing mini-pushups for a month or so now, and occasionally tried to get her legs under her. She’s still going through the ‘trying to crawl but scooting backward instead’ phase, but now she’s finally starting to get the hang of it.

At this point, I don’t feel that I’ll miss when she isn’t mobile. It’s hilarious watching her roll everywhere (which she prefers to trying to crawl at times), and I know that it’s just one more thing about her that I’ll get to enjoy. Once she can walk, ‘look out playground, here we come’. Seriously, pushing her in the infant swing is one of my favorite things in the world. She gets so excited, and she giggles like crazy. I’m so glad that we have a picture of her in the swing with this look of absolute joy on her face. The next challenge the tackle: the slide. She was just confused the first time.

I’m so happy that she’s starting to become independent. If anything, it just proves that she’s our little girl.

Attention DIY Lovers: Uses for Baby Food Jars and Formula Cans

Disclaimer: None of these craft ideas are created by me. I’m just giving links to ideas that I think you would be interested in. So excuse the overuse of links. I’m trying to adhere to copyright laws.




If you’re like me, you don’t like to just throw anything away. You might even enjoy making a craft or two in your spare time.

Being that Yuuki just started eating solid food, I thought I would post a few links to some adorable and creative crafts using baby food jars.

This first one caught my eye immediately with how adorable it is. It would be a good craft to use in the nursery or perhaps the bathroom for when you have to get up in the middle of the night.

http://www.make-your-own-baby-stuff.com/baby-food-jar-crafts.html

Here’s a link to the main page if you like this idea: http://www.make-your-own-baby-stuff.com/index.html



This baby food jar garden would be a great way to spruce up a room or office.

http://funschool.kaboose.com/globe-rider/earth-day/crafts/baby-food-jar-garden.html

Their main page is http://funschool.kaboose.com/index.html



This one will probably take a bit to find the materials for, as most were salvaged or recycled. I’m sure this baby food chandelier could be modified as well for a simpler look. http://www.naturalhomemagazine.com/Homemade-Home-Decor/Baby-Food-Chandelier.aspx

Main page: http://www.naturalhomemagazine.com/



These hanging jar lanterns would make a nice touch for a porch when it starts getting darker outside. The creators are from Crafty Nest, and you can look here: http://www.craftynest.com/ for more ideas if you like this one.

http://www.craftynest.com/2008/10/hanging-jar-lanterns/



Now, for those who use formula, this site has a lot of great ideas for what you can do with the used cans other than throwing them out. http://rappleyefam.blogspot.com/2008/03/formula-cans-easy-pull-macgyver.html

The main page is http://rappleyefam.blogspot.com/. I looked through the site a bit, and they have some really cute craft ideas. The links are on the right side of the page.



Another great page is http://firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com/2009/09/4-ways-to-reuse-your-formula-can.html.

Main page is: http://firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com/

These are just a few ideas of what you can do with your leftover baby food jars and formula cans. If none of these appeal to you, you can always Google image baby food jar crafts or formula can crafts and take a look around. That’s how I spotted most of the crafts that I linked on this page.