Saturday, January 11, 2014

Teething TORTURE

For the most part there are good days… no… GREAT days… I'm not trying to toot my own horn hear but Katalina has been and is an amazing infant/toddler. Don't get me wrong there are days I want to crawl back into bed slam the pillow over my head and call it a day but those days are far and few! Today was definitely one of those days. 

K is 100% a teething terrible terror. She woke up angry and screeched a good majority of the day. We finally had to give in and give her some infant tylenol. It got to the point where she was literally grabbing at her mouth. My heart hurt, I felt so bad for her! When the tylenol kicked in she was back to her sweet little self and played her little heart out! 


Thursday, January 9, 2014

Baby Lit!

Baby Lit books are ABSOLUTELY adorable! For those of you have never heard of them…  they are Classic Books of Literature written for your baby! They are minimal with a word or two on the pages of a board book. The pages are very pleasing to your baby's eyes with beautifully created illustrations!

I first found out about these books through one of my favorite Blog Mommy Reads (Little Baby Garvin) <- This girl is so Fashionable and creative and has THE BEST Chalkboards around! Last February Jessica posted some of her Valentines Day Favorites and included on the post was a Baby Lit book Romeo and Juliet. My best friend Laura ended up buying K it for Christmas this year and I bought her A Christmas Carol!

So anyway... Two days ago, while perusing Groupon, I stumbled across 8 Baby Lit Books! For HALF OFF!!!!! This is a STEAL especially when these books are normally like $10.00 a pop! I had to scoop them RIGHT UP! I couldn't resist!

The best part is that they are ALWAYS creating new books to add to your baby's collection! I can't wait to see what else Baby Lit has in store!!!!


Sunday, January 5, 2014

Crafty Chalkboard Tutorial

Being More Craft Savvy for 2014! 


One of my goals for 2014 is to be more crafty. I plan on purchasing < or being gifted ;) > a sewing machine. I also want to create more things that I have seen on Pinterest because lets face it… we all have an unhealthy addiction to that website. I know I do! Anyway, one of the things I constantly come across are Chalkboard Tutorials and I've always said I absolutely needed to try doing one of these. So here it is my SUPER EASY Chalkboard Tutorial!

Materials:

1. Chalkboard Paint
2. Paint Brush / Paint Roller
3. Any Size Picture Frame 
4. Chalk


First, I found this Picture Frame at my local Christmas Tree Shop, but it can also be found at Kmart (or so the back of the frame says). I liked it because of the white frame, which I fully intend I may go back and distress later on to get more of a shabby chic look.


Then, I removed the glass and paper from inside of the frame tossed them but KEPT the back board.


Next, I painted two coats of the Rust-oleum Chalk Board Paint onto the wood backing of the frame. This is the best part because I didn't have to purchase another piece of wood to attach to the frame.






~ Chalkboard Paint can be found at your local Home Depot or pretty much any store that sells paint (Chalk Board Paint has become SO popular!) 



Finally, I reattached the wood backing (freshly painted with Chalkboard Paint!), with the easy little slides, to the back of the frame. No nails or hammer necessary! SCORE!




That's it! That's all! The EASIEST project! It took me about 10 minutes to paint, remove and reattach. The hardest part was waiting for the first coat of paint to dry! So simple, so fun, and now I have this awesome chalkboard frame to hang (maybe in K's room?)!!!

Finished Product! 






Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Thats a Wrap 2013!

This past year has been SUCH a blast and I can't believe it's almost over! Katalina turned "1", Greg is one year closer to "30", and I've finally started to attempt to write again! I think some good things are in store for our little family for 2014! 

Christmas was awesome this year… Katalina got some amazing gifts that I just HAD to write about… 

This Disney Princess Little People Castle has been NON STOP action for K! She also got the separate princes and princesses little people as gifts from Greg and I. They sing adorable songs and she just loves to press the button to hear all of the different things they say and sing. 

This Teepee is fun for all of us. I LOVE the B. Toys brand. They have so many unique toys that provide entertainment for hours! Katalina keeps herself busy by climbing in and out watches the stars and lights from the mini lantern that hangs from the top. 


Nana and Papa also got her these adorable board books that are just so pretty and even have the glitz and glam of glitter! 

You can find them here


These are just some of my favorites, worth mentioning, from her giant mountain of Christmas gifts…



But mymy favorite memory captured from Christmas Day… 


Katalina with her new Cabbage Patch baby doll <3 


I hope you all enjoyed your Holidays, whatever you may celebrate, and Happy New Year! I hope 2014 has wonderful things in store for you all! 

Friday, December 20, 2013

Bloglovin!

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Cake Smash!

Instead of a Cake Smash with a photographer we decided to go the more traditional route (Ss a cake smash even traditional?) and use our good old fashioned Canon Rebel! I bought little cupcakes from King Kullen and Katalina LOST IT! She hoovered and I mean HOOVERED, she was like a little vacuum! When I tried to peel the crumbs out of little hand to put her in the bath she FREAKED! She and we loved every second! It was AMAZING! I laughed SO hard!








Katalina's First Birthday

I have been obsessed with the thought of Katalina's First Birthday since she was in utero! What color scheme? What theme? Cake Smash? Party at the Grandparents/Party at a Resteraunt? So after I had my little one I decided okay it's time to start planning!

The Theme:

Katalina's Sweet Shoppe

Color Scheme:

Pink/White/Silver + Stripes and Polka Dots!

The Catch:

We decided to give Katalina not one but TWO birthday parties… At her Grandma and Grandpa's and her Nana and Pappa's. Our reasoning was because we just could accommodate that many people in just one house. So we had TWO parties Saturday and Sunday one right after the other! Let me tell you just how fun and EXHAUSTING this task was. Needless to say… we pulled it off without a hitch thanks to our amazing families!

Here are some party shots from Grandma and Grandpa's Birthday Party!



The Goodie Buckets were a steal! I found these metal buckets at Target for $1! The I ordered the Chalkboard Sticker Labels from Landee on Etsy ! Wrote the kiddos names with chalkboard ink, on them, and PRESTO! 






Katalina's Guest Book was the same Guest Book I had at my baby shower! I took a Disney Princess Golden Book cut off the front and back cover and had it binded at my local Staples. I used card stock pink paper for the pages. 


All of the signs, and banners were hand made by me! I even made the Favorite Things canvas!


Some Pics from Nana and Pappa's Birthday Party!










More to come! Katalina's Cake Smash!