Happy 1/2 Birthday Small Fry!

Just 6 short months ago, it was a cold, sunny day, and I was waiting eagerly by the phone to get the call that they had room for me at the hospital. Turns out at about 4:30 pm, they called and asked if we still wanted to come in. Um, YES! So, we headed in and got the induction started about 7:30pm. Our little Small Fry was born at 10:50 pm on January 31st, weighing 6 lb., 6 oz. Turns out we were part of a record number of births in one day at the hospital.

And six months later, here we are. It's been an extremely busy and full half-year, not only with our immediate family, but with our extended family as well. I'm just so happy to be surrounded by so much love, support, caring and kindness, and I feel beyond blessed to have such a wonderful life.

As far as Small Fry goes, he's absolutely AMAZING. He is still a little cranky, but he's the only one who can't run, jump, and eat regular food - I'd be pissed too.

He is sitting up, eating every toy (and non-toy) he can find, eating oatmeal cereal and some baby food and even crawling. Yes, that's right, he's crawling - he's mobile. It's a whole new world when your second child becomes mobile. The first time around, there definitely wasn't as much for the Monkey to get in to, because there was no toddler to constantly be making a mess. I've found Small Fry gnawing on old sippy cups, train tracks, trains, toy cars, books, and the occasional baby approved teething toy. I definitely get it how second and subsequent kids are totally different than your first.


I don't have any weight or height stats today, he goes for his appointment tomorrow, so I'll update with those later. We're thick in the joy of cloth diapering, and for as crazy as my sister thinks I am, it really is so cool, and I wish I'd started when the Monkey was little. But, we're doing it now, and I'm enjoying time in the studio making all things diaper related (that is, when it's not 100 degrees in there!)

The brothers :)

"Look at that cute tongue!!"

"Check me out - I'm going to crawl!"

"Yup, I'm crawling. And I'm HAPPY about it too!"

"It's 100 degrees, so I'm relaxing pool-side in the shade."

Cloth Diapering - Day 1

So, the diapers got here Friday night and I got them in the wash as soon as I could. It's so different than "back in the day", so many cool materials and colors to work with, no wet storage, no diaper service, and a lot easier (at least I'm assuming).

I got them all washed, and hung the covers to dry. (They're actually "pocket" diapers, and you stuff the insert into the pocket of the diaper). I washed and dried the inserts a few times to increase the absorbency.


Got everything stuffed back together and went to sleep anxiously awaiting the morning when the boys would wake up and I'd need to change their diaper and get to put on a cloth diaper!

We changed the boys and headed out to my father-in-law's (grandpop's) house to swim at his neighborhood pool. When we got to his house, Small Fry had a wet diaper, but the Monkey's was still dry. It was totally a funny thing, but hubby and I were kind of excited that we'd had our first dirty cloth diaper.


After the pool we had another dirty diaper, not pretty, but the cloth diaper did the job. A few more dirties during the day, and I thought I'd wash them up. I actually enjoy doing laundry, so it was fun. I'm so glad that I was properly armed with all the information (I'm the girl that reads manuals to make sure I'm doing everything right).


I stuffed two inserts into each of the boys' diapers tonight so they won't (hopefully) leak during the night. They looked so cute all freshly sunned, bathed, and ready to go to bed.

Cloth Diapering - I'm doing it!

I think a little bit of me always wanted to do cloth diapers, but with the options nowadays, I was completely overwhelmed with everything and just ended up doing disposables. The bug to do it was always in the back of my mind though, I figured one day I'd still check it out.

I don't know what sparked it, I think a combination of discussions on a few of the "mom's" message boards that I participate in and the constant sticker shock every time we go to Costco to buy diapers (it's a $100 trip every six weeks for 2 giant boxes of diapers and wipes).

So, with my 29-month old who is not at all interested in potty training, and my 6-month old, I decided to take the plunge. A friend who is a cloth diaper guru spent a Friday morning teaching me everything I'd need to know. Everything from all types of diapers available, what materials they're made of, how to wash the diapers, what brands are good, what you carry them in, where you store the dirty ones, etc. It was as overwhelming as I imagined, but I left her house armed with loads of info and a PLAN, actual knowledge of what I wanted to get.

I bought 24 diapers, Fuzzi Bunz, the coziest things you can imagine. I waited the whole week for them to get here, in the meantime, making cloth wipes and talking to hubby about how it was all going to work. Thankfully, he's totally on board with it all, so it was an easy transition.

My diapers arrived on Friday night, and like a kid at Christmas (seriously), I opened the box and checked out all of the diapers - tried them on the boys and finally got them in the wash.

I'm here!

Wow, it's been a while. I've been SWAMPED these past few weeks. Daily life (kids, school, "real" job, family, etc), and my Etsy shop are keeping me so busy.

I'm busy working on a lot of new projects that I'll be debuting in the next few weeks, and one of the things I'm most excited about will be my journey into the world of cloth diapers! I don't know yet if I'll be making diapers, but please be sure to keep an eye on my shop for all cloth diaper accessories - wet bags, wipes and more.

I've even finally found a source for wonderful, soft, organic blanket material - so I'll be going green and sustainable with some baby items in my shop.

Leave me a comment and let me know if you'd like to be notified when this great stuff is listed in my shop - or better yet - let me know what YOU want, what you'd like to see in the shop!

It's hot!

No air conditioning in our house leads to some interesting days. I absolutely hate hot weather, I'm uncomfortable when the outside temperature is anything above 75 degrees, so you can imagine my attitude when it's 83 degrees inside our house!

On Saturday, it was ridiculously hot, and we were all so uncomfortable. So, the boys were in their diapers, Monkey was enjoying a banana popsicle ("manana pople" according to him), and I was trying to do some work in my studio.

Small Fry was cranky, I think because he was so hot. So, I had the bright idea to put him down on the linoleum floor in front of the fan. He was as happy as a clam and totally content to lay there and roll around for quite a long time!

Happy 4th of July!

We used to celebrate the 4th by going to a rapids soccer game and watching the fireworks after the game. But these days, it's SO much fun to light off fireworks in the street like we did when we were kids.

On the morning of the 4th, we went to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival with my mom and dad. My mom has gone every year for as long as I can remember, and I've honestly never been. This year, our friend had a food booth (this COOL new item called "Frfroneys", a fruit fritter with organic honey - amazingly yummy and delicious), so we decided to make a day of it and take the boys. We met my parents early in the morning to try and see a lot of the Festival before it got too hot.

They had a creativity area for the kids, and the Monkey loved painting with the glue and sticking down sequins and beads (and then he painted glue all over the kids' project next to him, OOPS!). It was hot though, and there wasn't too much shade, so we ended up leaving around noon.



At home, it was hot and the boys got naps while hubby and I got ready to have my parents and his dad down for dinner. My dad brought down the banjo and Small Fry was mesmerized. He loved the sound, but upon closer inspection, he really wanted to taste it!




After a yummy (yet crazy, thanks to two kiddos) dinner, we headed outside to enjoy the fireworks. Our neighbors joined us and we sat outside for a few hours lighting stuff on fire!



The Monkey got to hold his first sparkler, he was so good and just sat as still as a statue watching the flame. He stayed up late and got to see all the stuff go "boom! boom!" Thankfully, Small Fry slept through the loud noises. We ALL slept in on Saturday, exhausted from our long Independence Day.

Small Fry is 5 months old!

Well, we've made it...5 months. I'm exhausted, hubby is exhausted and we can't imagine life any other way. Despite the exhaustion, tears, frustration and challenges of being a parent of a newborn and toddler (and feeling like you're learning it all for the first time because your second is so different), we are so incredibly in love with our little guy.

Small Fry is changing every day. We finally pinpointed the source of some of his crankiness - reflux. I hate the diagnosis (I'm just not a fan of medication), but the Zantac he takes is helping. I'm only giving it to him before bed though, since he's laying down for so long. Hopefully he'll be completely off it in the next few weeks.

He can roll over now, not with great ease, but he can do it - both from tummy to back and back to tummy. He's trying SO hard to sit up unassisted and play with his brother, who he is so in awe of. He loves playing under his numerous play gyms and in his exersaucer, although his absolute favorite source of entertainment is a 20 oz. empty plastic soda bottle (thanks to mommy, he's got plenty of those).

Drool is abundant, and spit up is decreasing, always nice for mom and dad (I can keep the same shirt on ALL day!). Sleeping is still a challenge, but I'm not a good sleeper either, so we keep each other company late at night. He's sleeping in longer stretches, and mean mommy lets him cry sometimes too - but he's learning to soothe himself and that's going to be hugely key in the future. Plus, in about 10 minutes of whimpering and crying, he's found that he can go back to sleep. Being able to roll over I think is helping him sleep better too (we stopped swaddling him at just about 16 weeks).

I don't know weight/height stats - we don't own a scale and he doesn't go to the doctor until 6 months, but he's growing out of clothes at lightning speed. I was planning on using most of the Monkey's old clothes for him, but at this rate, he'll be one size bigger than the Monkey was come the fall - and that means a shopping spree (hubby will not be pleased).

Well, that's about it for now (not short, but I've never been one to skimp on the details for potential excitement and more to the story always lies in the details). Enjoy some pics and thanks for reading!

I can roll over AND suck my thumb at the same time!

The brothers.