Sweet Smiles

Excuse the picture quality...these came from my phone! But how can you not love that sweet little smile?!?!

Favorite Fridays!

So I have decided I am going to try something a little different with our blog. I am still going to update on the day to day happenings in our new life with Lawson but I also wanted to start a product review of sorts. I have several friends who are expecting babies or who are thinking about trying to have babies in the near future. Although I have only been a mommy for a little over a month, I get many questions about all the different things that we use on a day to day basis. I do not claim to be an expert on any of these products but I do know what we have liked and hated. When I was pregnant, it helped so much to have another mommy answer all my questions and give me an honest opinion about the products that they found useful and not so useful. So this is my attempt to help all the soon to be mommies out there.

I am going to call it Favorite Friday! The way I think this will work is every Friday, I will pick a product that we love and blog about it. I will list the pros and cons (if there are any), provide a picture and then list the places where you can buy it with the best prices we could find. Hopefully this will spark some good discussions and help new mommies and daddies find useful products at good prices. With that said, let the fun of Favorite Friday begin!

The first official Favorite Friday product is: Gerber Side Snap Onesies (not to be confused with the Gerber bottom snap onesies).

Pros

We absolutely love these onesies. They are made of 100% cotton and very soft. Lawson seems to be very comfortable and can move well when in them. They snap on the sides to make for easy access. We found them very useful when visiting the pediatricians office and stripping him down to his diaper and then quickly dressing him when the appointment was finished. They do not pull over the head which is something that my child absolutely hates when getting dressed in the regular bottom snap onesies. We also found them useful at night. Lawson loves to sleep in his sleep sack but does not like the swaddle piece because he cannot move his arms. I used the sidesnap onesies to make sure his arms stayed warm. They also come with cuffs to cover his hands (because they get so cold at night) which is an added benefit because Lawson always finds a way to get the little mittens off. I also really like the side-snap t-shirts. They are great for lounging around the house in just that and a diaper; however, I do not use them at night because they ride up and I have to worry about his tummy getting cold. That is the added benefit of the onesie! It stays on and in place! :)

Cons

Unfortunately, if you have a long torsoed child, these onesies will not last you long. We were fortunate enough to be able to use the newborn size for about two weeks. Some of our friends had to use the 0-3 month size from day 1 and after two weeks were completely out of them, which brings me to my next con. I have not been able to find the onesies in any bigger sizes. They only come in newborn and 0-3 month. Lawson is not even two months old yet and we have almost completely outgrown the 0-3 month. I know that there are other companies that make side-snap t-shirts and onesies but I really like the Gerber brand. If you know that Gerber makes bigger sizes, please let me know! :)

We have only been able to find the side-snap onesies at Target. They are $9.99 for a pack of three. I have also found them at Amazon.com for a little cheaper but they are ALWAYS out of stock with no option for backorder. The side-snap t-shirts come in packs of two at Babies R Us; however they are available in packs of three at Amazon.com for $6.99 (and they are in stock more often then not). Happy Shopping! :)

Tummy Time and the Livings Easy!

So my child LOVES tummy time. I heard so many parents tell me that tummy time for the first few months could be a challenge because their child would scream non stop through it. I dreaded tummy time the first time because I did not want to hear my sweet baby boy cry his little lungs out. I made Caleb sit down on the blanket with me for moral support just knowing at the first sound of a scream, I would scoop him up and tell him he never had to have tummy time again! Because seriously...who wants to listen to their innocent little one cry out their frustrations when there is a simple solution that will make them stop?!?!

When Lawson was only a few days old, we sat down on the blanket and laid him on his tummy. I held my breath just waiting for the screaming to begin. Wouldn't you know...not a peep! He was content as could be and with each passing day, we increase the amount of time he spends playing on his tummy and he loves it! I occasionally get a nice scream out of him when I pick him up at the end of tummy time! Put me back down mommy! I was having fun! Now if only he was as content with sleeping through the night (or at least in 3-4 hour spans through the night)!!! HA!

Just Relaxing!

Look, Ma! I can lift my head!
This is hard work!

Oh! I bet you can't do this!!!

Lawson's Lovely Ladies

When we found out we were pregnant with our little monkey we were over the moon excited because we knew that some of our friends were also pregnant. We joked with Evan and Michelle, some very close friends of ours, that we would either have their little girl's best friend or her boyfriend. Little did we know that our other close friends, Heather and Stepehen, would be having a little girl as well. Now, if you know my husband, he was so excited that his boy would have choices, but I have already warned Lawson several times that he has two very protective daddy's to get through before he can even think about a glance in their direction! HA! Although I do think the kids will feel more like brother and sister than anything else...so it may work in these daddies favors to have a protective best friend stalking the prey!

We were also elated to find out that our friends, Hillary and Mike, are expecting a little girl in May. Yet another little lady for Lawson to befriend but also another VERY protective daddy to fear!

Now, I can tell you, the ladies that Lawson decides to bring home will go through the third degree...not by his daddy but by ME. In our household...the feared parent for any little lady (besides the three mentioned above) will be me. HA!

I look forward to these kiddos growing up together. I look forward to picking Lawson up from any one of these little girls houses and seeing him dressed up with make-up on his face...because lets face it, I know this will happen. Caleb of course does not think this is funny and may have a discussion with a few little ladies we know but thats the nature of being a kid! Good care free fun with your best little friends...boys or girls! Here are a few pictures of Lawson with his little friends. They are showing him the ropes so that in May...he can pass on the knowledge to miss Lydia. We cannot wait to see these kids grow together! :)

Lawson and Ava..Lawson was a little shy!

Oh Lawson...I'm over here!

Haddon, Lawson and Liam, Haddon is playing hard to get!

Oh Hello!

Let's Hug! (Lawson is looking around for Haddon's daddy!)

Oh good...your still there!

Lawson...no need to cry...it's gonna be ok!

How cute is this?!?!?!

Scrub A Dub Dub

So it is pretty well known that I cannot go a full day without taking at least two showers. I know, I know it is a sickness but I cannot stand to feel dirty and if I don't get at the very least two showers in a day, then I will lay awake at night until I can't take it anymore. It is a good day for me if I get to take three showers...one when I wake up in the morning, one as soon as I get home from work (or whatever activity I have been doing that day) and one right before bed. Why, you ask? Well, I cannot go to work in the morning feeling ready for my day if I do not wake myself up in a nice warm shower. I shower when I get home because lets face it, I LOVE the children I work with and they LOVE to share their love with me...which unfortunately also means they are sharing their germs. I prefer to let those germs wash themselves right down the drain before I let them loose all over my house! And of course...I shower before bed to relax! It is a vicious cycle that makes my husband cringe when he sees our water bill but it has been like an addiction that is hard to break...until....little man arrived.

Lake MacIntosh has stayed a little fuller since December 4th. I am very lucky now to get one shower in a day. People used to laugh at me while I was pregnant and say, just wait...you wont be showering three times a day let alone once...and I say this through pursed lips...they were right! While it took some time, I have learned to be ok with this and have also learned to appreciate the finer things in life like enjoying one shower a day when time permits. But what makes it all worth it...Lawson LOVES his baths! He can be screaming at the top of his lungs and when we put him in a bath, all becomes right in the world! And for that, he is truly his mommy's boy!!

Lawson is a Month Old

Ok...so I am a little behind on this post but on the 4th of January...our little man turned 1 month old. I cannot believe how fast the time has flown by. He has grown so much. We went to his pediatricians appointment and he weighed in at a whopping 10lbs 12 oz. He went from the 27th percentile in weight at a few days old to the 97th at a month old. He LOVES to eat! He was 20 1/4 inches at birth and at 1 month he had grown to 21 in. He is definitely a growing boy. Caleb and I are adjusting well to being parents. We are still sleep deprived, some nights more than others but things seem to be heading in the right direction (most nights). It is very hard to remember life without our sweet little man and neither of us would have it any other way! Happy One Month Birthday Sweet Boy! Mommy and Daddy love you so much! :)

Monkey's First Christmas

Christmas was a whirlwind in our house. We had such a wonderful time with family and friends. Here are a few pictures of Lawson and our family as we celebrated the magic of our little man's very first Christmas!

Lawson's very first interaction with the big man in red and he slept right through it!

Christmas Eve...getting ready for church!


After Church...at Aunt Hota and Uncle William's House...waiting on Santa
Cousin Livey and Me...I tried so hard to stay awake for Santa...I really did!

Mommy and Me on Christmas Morning!

Our living room Christmas Morning...Look at all the presents!

Daddy, Mommy and Me!

They love me!

All that present opening wore me out!

4 Generations cutting the Christmas Ham! YUMMY!