My Baby Turns One

 I know everyone says it, but it's hard to believe she is already a year, but if any of you have your own children, you know what I mean.... How did I keep her alive for a whole year???

Custom bloomers from Breezy Oaks Designs

It has been the best and the hardest year of my life. There is nothing like having your own child to show you how much love you are capable of or how much patience, or lack there of, you can have for one needy little person. 

This past year I have never been so busy physically but at the same time, struggling mentally for things to challenge me. Since leaving my job as a Telemetry Nurse in a level II trauma hospital to be a Stay-At-Home-Momma, I have been fighting to find the balance between the independent me and my new role. Getting crafty, planning trips and parties, and filling our home with tons of out-of-town guests has been filling up my schedule.

 Tissue Paper Pom Poms by Dress My Cupcake 

 The weekend of Jemma's birthday was also the weekend that I co-hosted my baby sister's bridal shower. It was also the weekend that she moved into our guest room to live until her wedding at the end of September. I wasn't even sure if I was going to get to do a birthday party for Jemma with all the chaos. 

 Burlap banner from Amazon hand painted with acrylic white paint

My in-laws were arriving the following weekend and since Jemma had no idea that she had turned one, I decided to have a small, belated party... because let's face it, the party isn't for the kid, it's so that I can take all these fun photos!  

Cupcake flags made from Washi tape and toothpicks

All I can say is that I am extremely lucky for a tolerant husband who loves to help me host, for my wonderful friend Mary, my sister, and my in-laws who helped in countless ways.

Big balloon from Hobby Lobby

  

 My sweet little girl loves her bubbles 

Having a toddler opens your eyes to things we take for granted. Sugary foods for one. Jed and I committed to not giving Jemma any processed sugar until her first birthday, in hopes that she would be a good eater of healthy things. Since we have, thus far, only had one test subject, it seems a bit premature to say that our theory played out as we predicted since Jemma eats basically anything and lots of it.

We held strong until Jemma was 11 months old and we visited Oahu. Jed and I love Hawaiian shaved ice and couldn't keep it from little Jemma's grabby little hands. 

  

  Kisses for daddy

I have been dying to get Jemma working with paint! Though I knew she was probably a little too young, I thought it would be fun for her and the other babies to get messy.... Turns out, paint doesn't taste like frosting, even though it looks like frosting, and that doesn't make it as fun.... at first. 

Yucky paint

  

  

Really getting into it

  

Artwork by one year olds 

We realized afterword that we had forgotten Jemma's birthday hat!

It didn't last long anyways!

As always, I have a DIY to share. I made Jemma's birthday onesie that you see her wearing in the pictures above. The pictures below were taken on my iPhone and the clarity and colors aren't very good but here are the steps.

I used onesie that she already owned that had cute stitching around the collar and a little strawberry on the chest. Using a charcoal pencil to do a rough sketch, I drew a cupcake and the number one. Tip: Charcoal pencils work great because they leave a mark even when you press really lightly, making drawing easier, plus it comes off easily in the wash.

Next, using fabric medium paints, I made an outline of my picture, then fill it in.

Lastly, just add little details 

All that needs to be done now is to heat set the picture so that the colors stay and don't fade when they are washed. I explain the process of heat setting on my 4th of July Post. 

Have a wonderful week!

4th of July Shirts

Happy 4th of July Weekend!

It's our first 4th of July as a family of 3, plus the pup, and I couldn't be more excited! Jed's parents, my baby sister, Tanya, and her fiancé Nate, are coming into town tomorrow tonight, and I have so much to get done. Meal planning, groceries and a bunch of cleaning. Hours of work are needed, and my windows of time are pretty short these days. My little Jemma is so active, and wants nothing more than for me to help her walk everywhere. 

I can't help it though, all I can think about is getting cute pictures of our first 4th of July together. And, as every girl knows, you gotta have a cute outfit for the day!  So, instead of cleaning, baking or shopping, I started painting! I am sure my company will understand!

Please try to see past the terrible backdrop and permeant cup ring. This is the heavily lacquered top of the wet bar/craft station. Before you ask, no... I did not pick it out. It came with the house and we haven't gotten that far on our remodel yet. I can't wait!

Here is what you will need: paint, fabric medium, brushes of various sizes (I used two sizes, a large and a smallish one with long bristles, pictured below), a few mixing cups (I just used red solo cups, because I want to party), a cup of water, a drying rag for your brushes (paper towel is fine too), a pencil and tape. Mix your fabric medium per the instructions on the back, but it is usually a 2:1 paint ratio. 

I decided to paint a flag, big surprise! 

I figured out pretty quick that the shirt wasn't going to stay in place when I ran the brush over it. To help, I taped down the shirt in each corner, it kind of worked. At this point I also should have checked to see if the paint was bleeding through, I didn't, and it was. This could have been prevented by sliding a piece of paper or scrap material between the layers of the shirt.

Since the red stripes on my shirt needed to dry before I could continue, I started on baby J's shirt. She is also getting a flag. Original ideas, I know.

I drew it first with a pencil, then followed the outline with the small brush. Filling in the center at the end for the desired effect.

As I was going for a more rugged/shabby chic look, this is how I left it. Then, using my small, long bristled brush, I painted messy wavy stripes. 

Easy peasy!

After my red stripes had mostly dried (I am not a patient person), I started on the blue.

First drawing my edges with the side of my large paint brush to get a messy line. The more imperfect, the better! 

Leaving lots of different layers of blue and even some white patches for a more worn look.

Using my small brush, I placed white paint dots where I wanted my stars to go.

This project was super easy. Took less than an hour to prep and paint. I will let the shirts sit for 24-48 hours, then I will heat set them so they can be washed in the future. 

How to Heat Set Cotton Material

First, turn off the steam setting on your iron. If you don't have a switch, then just remove all the water from the iron. Next, turn your iron on a medium to high setting, and iron the painted area, moving the iron around constantly. I always worry about the paint melting onto my iron. When I heat set, I place a scrap piece of fabric between on the paint and just iron overtop. 

Homemade Baby Food

I am not a complete health nut, since having Jemma 10 months ago, I pretty much crave donuts on a daily basis. However, I have been trying to keep my little family filled up on healthy meals. As a nurse, I have seen numerous cases of childhood obesity and diabetes; the majority of which are brought on by high carb foods and sugary snacks, provided by the parents. These children have an over-developed "sweet tooth" due to these foods being eaten too frequently. Our impact on our child's food preferences and habits starts as soon as we begin giving them solids. Babies are born with a fully developed sense of taste just ready to be shaped. As soon as we start feeding our babies solid foods, we are impacting their taste development. Studies show that "Infants developing a sweet preference may “pattern” their eating habits for later in the toddler years for sugar and fat intake." The types of foods we chose to give our kids now, will influence their food preferences, weight, and overall health. 

Many parents give their babies apple juice in their bottles. Thankfully, this is less common as more and more doctors are warning against it. High intake of sweets can lead, not only to obesity and diabetes, but also dental carries, even if the baby has no teeth at the time they are drinking the juice. 

Sugar content wasn't the only reason that I decided to make my own baby food...have you tasted it?  Most of it is disgusting!

When I first thought about making my own baby food, I thought it would be way too much work, or take too much time. But it doesnt. It is so easy and I typically make a 2 week supply each time. I found this wonderful little system by Infantino on Amazon for under $18.  Infantino says that food can be stored for up to 2 months in the freezer and up to 48 hours in the fridge. This means you could make a 2 month supply each time! It comes with only 10 food pouches (hence my 2 week food supply) but you can buy more bags and stretch out the time between making the food. The Infantino bags technically are not reusable but I haven't had any problem washing them out in the sink. I usually also run them through the dishwasher to sterilize them. 

I often include a boiled chicken breast as it is a great source of protein which baby girl needs more now that she is nursing less. I also always have cooked sweet potatoes around for snacking on so they are easy to include as well. When attempting to make baby food for the first time, keep it simple. If your baby doesn't like the taste after a couple of tries, then add another carrot or a few strawberries to sweeten it a little bit. Natural sugars are easier for our bodies to utilize and digest.

Homemade Baby Food

1 Chicken Breast

1 Cooked Sweet Potato (bake at 390 for about 50 min depending on size)

3 Cooked Carrots

1/2 C Cooked Squash

1/2 Avocado

A handful of Spinach

Plus any other veggies you want to try

These are rough measurements. Think of them more as guidelines.  Cut each ingredient up and add them to your blender. Add water a cup at a time until you have blended everything to the consistency of apple sauce. If you were working with warm ingredients, then let it cool before you bag them. 

Tips & Tricks

Slide pouch into stand, then roll up the food pouch from the base to squeeze the air out before pouring the food into the tube. This will help reduce the amount of food that comes back out when you unscrew the tube

Getting children to eat healthy foods will always be a battle. However, as their role models we can determine how big or small that battle is by what foods we keep in our homes, what we eat ourselves, and how creative we are with our recipes. If the food tastes good, they will eat it!!!