Baby Girl Nursery

I have wanted to share pictures of Maddie's room since we started working on it. We LOVE how it turned out. The room feels so warm and friendly. 

First of all, I made these letters on canvases to display Maddie's name. (thank you Pinterest!)

The curtains were a very important part of the room to me. I looked a long time and love these that we found. We also painted the window sills just to accent the room. (thank you HGTV)

We are using an antique vanity that I've had my whole life for the changing table.

A girl needs dolls, and books....

My sweet friend Kayla made this bow holder for Maddie:

I made this board for her. We also bought these hooks at Hobby Lobby- they were black and Josh painted them white:

 

I LOVE Maddie's bedding!! The bumper is from Carousel Designs. I made the mobile over her bed.

My mom gave this to Maddie for Christmas, it just goes perfectly in her room.

I think this room is so fun. I like that she can grow older in here and just change a few little things. I plan to do a post soon with everything that I made for her room.

Favorite Baby Stuff 3-12 months

For a long time I have been wanting to post some of my favorite things for Gus. I will be putting a link to this post under Helpful Posts so you can come back and look at it later if you like. You can also check out my favorite newborn picks there. I know a lot of you read Kelly's Korner, and I thought it was so interesting that a lot of the things she said you DON'T need, I really used! Each family and child is different. But this is what Gus enjoyed.

Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Table:

A friend of mine had one similar to this. When we first got this, Gus was sitting up. We just attached two of the legs, so he could play with it while sitting. One day, I looked over where he was playing, and he had pulled up to standing on this toy!! It was such an exciting moment. We then attached the other legs. He pushed this toy all over our house as he was learning to walk. Now, he loves pushing all the buttons. This was a great purchase.

Push Car:

Gus loves to be pushed around this in this car. My grandparents have one at their house that they keep inside. He is happy to be pushed around for a very long time. This allows them to not have to get on the ground or pick him up or hold him since he is heavy. We have one that we push him around the neighborhood in. Gus has always been able to sit up well. We got this when he was around 6 months old. At first we put another strap around him, but he was quickly able to just use the seat belt. A child needs to be able to sit up well to use this.

Little Tikes Walker:First off, this was difficult to put together! My husband did not enjoy it at all. also, the blue and green flaps you can see on the front come off, and we have ended up just leaving them off all the time because Gus pulls them off. All that said, Gus has had hours and hours of fun with this toy. He used it a lot before he was able to walk on his own. And now he still uses it. He almost runs through the house with it. You can tighten the wheels so it won't go to fast. You can also fold it up, so we have taken it with us on trips.


Books, Books, and more Books!!!


These are just a few of the books Gus looks at on a daily basis. If you look back at my other Favorite Books post, Gus still also enjoys those books as well. I think books are so important for children. Reading to them early will help them learn to love books later in life!

Fisher Price Rumbly Tumbly Pooh
We got this for Gus for Christmas. I saw it and fell in love. Now, Gus is really enjoying it. He knows how to turn Pooh on, and he gets a big smile on his face when Pooh starts talking.

Cart Cover
We found this one at Target. I use it whenever I go to the grocery store and also to cover his highchair at restaurants. It makes me feel like he at least is protected from a few germs. And it is soft for when he was learning to sit up.

Tiny Diner
We use this when we go to eat somewhere. It works great to just put on the table, then you can set food on it and know it isn't dirty. I confess I don't always use it now, but I did when Gus was really little.

Alphabet Mat

We don't have carpet in our living room, so I needed something a little cushioned for Gus to learn to crawl and sit up on. This worked perfect. After he started crawling, he learned to pull it apart and put it in his mouth. But it worked great to protect him while he was learning.

Fisher Price Musical Mobile Gym

Gus loved to sit under this and play. It gave him something to do while I was cooking dinner, etc. Even after he started sitting up, he would sit near this and play with it. I put this on top of the alphabet mat, and he spent hours there.

Bumbo Chair- Gus didn't use his Bumbo chair very much, but I know a lot of people that used them. He only sat in it a few minutes each day.

Bouncer- Gus wasn't crazy about his bouncer either. I used it occasionally just so I could have a few minutes to cook dinner, but it wasn't his favorite.

These are just a few of our favorites!! I feel like I could keep adding things, but I'm going to stop here. If you ever have a question about if we used a certain baby item, feel free to email me.

Confessions and a Baby Bible

I think it is so funny to read other people's confessions posts. It makes me feel better to know I'm not the only one who..... has a dirty house, or watches certain tv shows, etc. So I will start off this post with some confessions:

~ I have not been planning our meals very well lately. I went to the grocery store on Tuesday but did not make a good list. I had to make something other than I had planned for dinner..... note to self- make a better list and actually look at it when shopping!!

~Gus stayed in his pjs all day yesterday. It's cold, and he needs pants on, but he can't crawl as well in jeans as he can in his footie pjs. So- he stayed in his pjs. Less clothes to wash.... right?!?!

~I was very proud of myself for not getting stressed out this Christmas. We planned easy meals, which was a good thing since our kitchen sink got stopped up and we couldn't use it.

~I have made two New Year's Resolutions. I never have been very interested in resolutions because the ones people chose are often hard to keep.

~I am very ready for all the snack food to be gone in our house. I want to eat all day long, even if I'm not hungry.

~All our Christmas decorations are still out. We will probably put them up this weekend. So since the tree is still up, I still turn it on! And you can't have a Christmas tree without Christmas music, so I'm still listening to that too....

Enough confessions for now.

I wanted to share one of my favorite gifts that Gus got for Christmas:
My mom and dad gave Gus this. I have been wanting to go to a Christian bookstore since Gus was born to look and stuff and never got it done. This Bible is so cute. I read it to Gus this morning, and he already can almost pay attention through the whole thing. I think it is a great introduction for kids. I highly recommend it!

Favorite Newborn Picks

For a while I have been wanting to do a post about my favorite baby things. This may take more than one post but I wanted to start today. I am going to put a link to these pages under my Helpful Links page if you ever want to look back.


For a Newborn:
Chair
Before I had Gus I often wondered what I would do if I needed to go to the bathroom or just needed to put him down for a minute. This was my answer. He really enjoyed sitting in it and still does sometimes. It vibrates which can be soothing for a baby. When he gets older it will convert to a little rocker.


Plenty of Blankets We never had too many blankets. Every time that we went out he would use a blanket and we wrapped him up to sleep too. Carter's makes really soft ones, I have this one pictured, my friend Randi gave it to me!


Soothies I looked into which pacifier to use before Gus was born. These are supposed to be some of the best. I gave Gus a pacifier a few days after he was born and he liked it. I know some babies are picky, but I think these are worth a try.

Wubbanub This is a must have! It is a soothe pacifier hooked onto a small stuffed animal. Because of the animal, if the pacifier falls out of the babies' mouth, it won't fall far. Gus learned very quickly how to get his pacifier back in his mouth. They also make ones you can hook other types of pacifiers on if you use something else. Because this was Gus's first pacifier, we call all pacifiers "puppy".


Pacifier Wipes
I have used lots of brands, but it is just nice to have in your diaper bag for when the pacifier gets dropped. They also will work on toys.

Pacifier Clip
I don't think this really needs an explanation!

Infant Carrier Cover Gus was born when it was cold, so this was great to kee him warm. But also, it keeps people from touching your baby which is a big deal to me. People, do not touch children you don't know!!! I think that topic deserves a post of it's own.

Pack-n-play
We used our pack-n-play for Gus to sleep in when he slept in our room. It also has a little changing station which is nice especially at first. It will vibrate to sooth the baby and also played music. We use this when we travel and have flown with it.

Animal mat
I was given this mat as a gift. Gus slept on it (with a blanket too) for a very long time. It helped keep him warm and also I think made him feel secure because it was soft and fuzzy. I loved it.

Swing
I probably should have bought this swing sooner that I did. Gus really enjoyed it although it took some getting used to. I chose this swing because it had lights and a little mobile that turned to hold his attention. It also plays music and sounds. It can change directions but we never changed it. Now we actually turn on the lights and sounds at night when Gus sleeps to sooth him. (the swing does have purple on it which I didn't realize until it came in the mail)

Amazon Mom:
Cheapest place I have found for diapers and wipes

We used Pampers Sensitive diapers and wipes with Gus. He hasn't really had much of any diaper rash. We use Johnson & Johnson bath wash and lotion.

The cheapest place I have found to get formula is Sam's Club.

I keep thinking of things to add, but I think I will stop there! If you have any other questions about what we have used with Gus, just ask! I know a lot of my readers are already moms, but I just wanted to write about what we have liked. It is so hard when you do not know where to start when you are having a baby!

Favorite Books and Recipe

I wanted to share the books that Gus loves to have read to him. There are only certain books that hold his attention right now.

Gus Loves this book!! He likes to read it over and over again, and I have it memorized now. I saw this book at the grocery store and thought it was sweet.



I also found this Little Golden Book at the grocery store. It talks about all the jobs that daddies have. I love old books and the illustrations are great. It reminds me of a book that I would have grown up reading at my grandma's house.



My mom gave Gus this book last weekend. Josh, Gus and I all really like it. It goes through lots of animals and the sounds they make.



My mom also gave Gus this book. It also talks about several animals and is kinda like a pic-a-boo book.


I also wanted to share a recipe for chicken I made this week for our diet. It tasted really good and was very easy.

Chicken with Mustard and Thyme

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken on foil in a pan. Cover the chicken with Dijon mustard, and then season with thyme, salt, and pepper. Fold the edges of the foil up so the chicken is in a "package". Bake 30 minutes or until done.

This chicken was delicious and is healthy! Also, if you need something quick or don't want to go to the store, you probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry and frig.

We had Mexican food last night and it was amazing!!! Luckily we didn't really gain weight when we weighed this morning! We plan to have protein and vegetables today.

Have a great weekend!!