Cute Hats!

I recently started to crochet hats for Malia and everyone thought they were so cute. So I am now selling them. I started an Etsy business for all of the little things I make for Malia! I am also about to list a baby boy hat that is adorable.

My Site: www.stylishsweethearts.etsy.com

I am offering 10% off one item to all of my blog followers. Just send me a conversation with the promotional code BLOG. I am also offering a free hat to one of my followers! In order to qualify for this you need to become a follower of this blog and leave a comment on this post. I will decide who will be the lucky follower on Thursday April 1st.

Happy Shopping

Nursery Rhymes

The other night I was reading Malia her bed time story with Tyler. I had picked a nursery rhyme book. We came to the nursery Rhyme "Little Miss Muffet". I was not raised with the traditional version of this nursery Rhyme. My mother wanted me to be independent and she started teaching me from a young age. This was the nursery rhyme I was told as a child.

Little Miss Muffet

sat on her tuffet

eating her curds and whey

along came a spider who sat down beside her

and she smashed that sucker flat!

Tyler however was not a big fan of this version. I stated my case as to why I liked it and we moved on. A couple of nights later Tyler was reading the nursery rhymes and this is what he said.

Little Miss Muffet

sat on her tuffet

eating her curds and whey

along came a spider who sat down beside her

and frightened Miss Muffet away.

Then she came back and smashed it.

This reminded me how much I love my husband and I thought I would share.

Crawling!

BREAKING NEWS

Malia is crawling!

This last week Malia started to commando crawl. We are not hands and knee crawling yet but she is pulling her self along with her arms and pushing with only her big toes. However this was not the first way Malia tried to crawl. Her first attempt at crawling had everyone in the room on the floor laughing. She would lay on her back and arch her back so far back that she was on top of her head. Then she would push with her feet. Essentially she was crawling on top of her head. At least she is creative.

This past week has been so hectic I haven't had enough time to even think! I am sure we all have those kind of weeks.

Swim: A little update on swim lessons Malia is a smarty pants ( I know I am her mother I am allowed to brag). This week we started to put their mouth and nose under the water. We went in the splash pool put a toy under the water and let them lean over to pick the toy up this way their nose and mouth would go under the water. Malia did this once and when we tried to do it again she looked at the toy then back at me and cried. The conclusion of this lesson for me was I can not trick my daughter into doing what I want not even at 7 months!

Tight Shopping

The Question: How many of you moms have gone in to a children's clothing store with your stroller and gotten stuck in aisles and in between displays? ( Seriously leave a comment if this has happened to you!)

The other day I went shopping with one of my friends at a mall. We both had strollers. As we went in and out of these children clothing stores I got more and more frustrated. How do they expect you to navigate these stores with strollers. What I don't understand is why this is a problem at all. These are CHILDREN clothing stores. Obviously these children do not go to these stores alone ( Although maybe thats what they think as their aisles would fit an average 5 year old). The people that visit these stores are moms and I would guess 90% of these moms have strollers! So why don't they cater to their clients and make their aisles larger! I just don't get it, it makes me want to just shop online!

Swimming!

Malia started swim lessons today. It was quite the adventure. I realize that some people think that swim classes for a 6 month old is useless. What are they going to teach your baby anyways. Well my take is this.

Realization: When I was 8 months pregnant I went to watch my little niece ( 10 months at the time ) at her swim lessons. I hadn't really thought about swim lessons for my baby until then. In the same pool there was a three year old boy who had just started swim lessons. He screamed and cried and screamed some more through out the entire lesson. Then I looked at my little niece who was smiling and having fun. What was the difference was my question.

Learning: So I thought about this over the next couple of days. This is when my realization hit me. He was never taught to get used to the water. They just threw him in at three and expected him to be ok with this new experience. Three year olds are not as open to change as a new baby might be. To my little 6 month old everything is new so she maybe a little reserved the first time in the water but it won't be months of screaming. A three year old has a schedule and rarely has any startling new experiences such as swim lessons. So I realized what they are teaching them at these baby swim lessons is to love the water. To want to go to swim lessons when they are three and beyond.

Malia loved the water didn't cry once. Who knows I might eat these words when Malia is three and she is screaming haha. For now I think baby swim lessons worth every penny.

Growing Up So Fast!

Yesterday Malia reminded me how fast your baby grows up. We had received this amazing mobile for Malia before she was born. I was not a big fan of mobiles until I saw this one it was perfect. It played classical music, the animals were tilted down so Malia actually saw them and these little disks would move and go clack clack as it spun ( that way she actually knew it was there). She loves to watch this mobile when she goes down for naps.

Last week I was sitting down stairs after putting Malia in her crib for a nap. I realized the music was going longer than it usually does ( it has a timer for 15 min). I went upstairs to check on her and as I came in I saw Malia reaching up and touching buttons on its base ( she was trying to turn the music back on). I guess she had seen that this is where I turn the mobile on so she was going to do it her self.

Yesterday Tyler put Malia down for a nap. After a while he peeked his head in to see if she is asleep yet. Malia is known for just laying there quietly. To his surprise as he peeked in he saw Malia had gotten one of the animals on the mobile in her hand and she was pulling it down. He rushed to save our mobile.

As of yesterday we took Malia's mobile down ( it didn't break thank heavens). It just reminds me how fast they grow up. She is now to old for her mobile. I wonder what will be next.

Pricey Pricey

I have had a couple of my girlfriends ask me what kind of baby food I buy. Before I started to feed Malia solids I researched all the different brands. This is what I learned.

The Conclusion: After looking into all of the different kinds of baby foods I started to run the numbers. The cheapest baby food I could find was .60 a jar which is only 2 oz. Well Malia eats 6 oz of baby food a meal. That is $3.60 a day and $108 a month! thats nuts.

My solution: I decided there was no way I could spend 108 a month on malias baby food. So I purchased a book with baby food recipes and started to make my own. I spend currently $30.00 a month on baby food.

Making baby food is easy all you need is a stove and a blender! and it saves you tons in the end!

The Adventures of Food

Malia and I have learned a lot over the last 2 months while she has been starting to eat.

Malia has learned more elementary things such as.

1. If she doesn't like fruit she does not have to eat it.

Malia has recently started to spit things out on a larger scale. She always some what spit food out but I could catch it before it made to big of a mess. Now however she takes a few bites and doesn't swallow. Then out of no where she spits this food out while turning her head at an alarming speed. The food then sprays all over her and the table.

2. Mommy can only feed you so fast.

Malia is not a slow eater. She takes a bite and literally one second later her mouth is open for more. This creates a small problem as I can not possible get food to her little mouth that fast. It is not humanly possible. So for the last month and a half. She would get mad cry put her hands on the table and then place her face on the table and just scream. This would prolong the time in between bites. She finally learned this week to just wait an extra second and she won't have to go through this hassle of crying. Hooray!

3. Vegetables are yummy fruit is gross.

She still hates fruit! My pediatrician said he had never met a baby who didn't like applesauce and banana's. Well welcome to my world! We tried pee's this week and she couldn't get enough she was so excited! I guess I will count my blessings it is easier to hide apple sauce then pee's.

Lesson Learned

The Lesson: Walmart shopping carts are gross and you should try to avoid your children having any interaction with them.

How I learned this lesson: I always thought those shopping cart covers were cute but impractical and expensive. You can just put a blanket in front of your kid on the cart and it would do the same thing! In theory. Well yesterday I tried this method. At first it was working great I thought to myself, " you are so thrifty!". Ten minutes into this adventure I was feeling pretty darn good about myself. I look down to Malia and to my horror she had put her seatbelt strap in her mouth! I mean those things are so so so dirty! I unbuckled her and then just watched her carefully. Then as I was holding her and reaching for something. She reached for an uncovered edge and put it in her mouth! I was done! I learned my lesson I will now be buying a very practical and affordable (compared to the hospital bills from who knows what diseases that lurk on Walmart shopping carts) shopping cart covers.

Does anyone know of a good buy on a shopping cart cover?