DIY High Contrast Mobile

Teddy Bear is becoming very social. He regularly complains (loudly) when we aren't giving him face time. So, I feel bad when I have to leave him to his own devices. I really can't have my face in his face all day long (sad, but true). I decided that Teddy Bear needed more stimulation, basically something to look at other than my face, so instead of purchasing a fancy mobile, I decided to make one.

I did a Google search for high-contrast images. It came up with a whole slew of them. I had an elaborate scheme for making them into a mobile, but then decided that no one has time for that. Simple is good. And even better? He actually looks at the pictures and likes them.

Recently, he has been figuring out how to bat at the pictures and the toys hanging on his play mat. There is a lot going on in his little brain. So fun to see him learning and making connections. That is definitely one of my favorite things about being a parent.

Hmmm...very interesting.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

5 years; 2 months

This little guy turned 2 months old this past week.

And this big guy turned 5 years old!

Holy cannoli how does the time fly by so quickly?

Our little Teddy Bear is thriving. He is already up to 14 lbs (that's 2 lbs more than his brother and sister at the same age).
Teddy Bear is such a beautiful, chubby baby. He has big hands and feet, so we already know he'll do great things. He smiles and coos a lot these days and has been crinkling his nose up in the cutest way since birth. As compared to Buddy and especially Jellybean, he is fairly undemanding. That said, he still eats every two hours day and night. He is pretty cuddly, but is starting to want to be held upright rather than being cradled. He seems to really enjoy music. There have been several times where playing music seemed to calm him. He gets especially expressive when I sing to him as well. We still don't know what color his hair is. It was looking pretty red at birth, but now the top looks more blonde.  I must be the luckiest mom in the world since he tends to nap at the same time as his siblings. (thus, I am able to type right now.)

Buddy and Jellybean love their baby brother. He mostly tolerates them and he also enjoys listening to them play and talk around him. They really are good with him. Jellybean is a champion binky retriever and Buddy loves reading to Teddy Bear.

Buddy is a pretty cool 5 year old. He is really excited for Kindergarten this Fall. His current interests include: Super Heroes, Star Wars, Transformers and of course anything alphabet related. He has become obsessed with alphabets that are very different from our own. He loves the Hebrew, Greek, Arabic and Korean alphabets (to name a few). In fact, he can recite and write the entire Greek alphabet. He is also very interested in Morse Code and Braille. We are glad that his new school will have a Spanish immersion program. I think he'll do very well in it, I only wish it started in Kindergarten and not First Grade. His imagination has absolutely exploded since Preschool. He still loves to read, has an excellent sense of humor and loves to tell jokes. When he discovered that most of the words in Jabberwocky were nonsense, he laughed and laughed over how funny that was. (Maybe we should send him straight to college)

Buddy is, for the most part, kind and tolerant of his little sister. In fact, they make great play companions. Buddy has become a bit bossy, but mostly, he really enjoys pretending and being silly with Jellybean. She will miss him in the mornings when he starts school again. Jellybean didn't want to be left out of the photo taking, so here she is wonky sock and all.

I thought I ought to say a word about Buddy's birthday. He requested a cake with the Superman logo. (He likes Superman, but thinks he should call it a "Super Sigma.") He was also very specific about having all of the Greek letters on the cake as well. So, here's what I came up with.  He was thrilled.

He got to celebrate twice with family and enjoyed a trip out to the Planetarium with his cousin.  He loves space as well. That's why we ended up naming our new mini-van "The Eagle."

So proud of my two boys!

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Baby Photo Blast

In the spirit of catching up, I thought I ought to post my favorite photos of Teddy Bear from the last month or so. I actually have taken pictures of him, I've just neglected to post them. I'm trying to not make this an all Teddy Bear, all the time kind of blog, but he is pretty cute, so here you go.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Starting back up, bringing home a baby.

I've been itching to get back to blogging for a couple of weeks now, but I've had two obstacles to overcome. One, it is extremely difficult to find time to type when I have the use of both hands and Two, I have so many photos that I want to share at this point that I've been feeling overwhelmed by the task of organizing, editing and uploading.
Right now, I'm sitting on my bedroom floor with a can of Coke next to me. I just finished a tablespoon of peanut butter with a couple of Dove dark chocolate squares stuck in it and am attempting to type while I rock Teddy Bear's bassinet and continually shove his binky back in his mouth. I'm hoping to convince him to sleep. My efforts, bolstered by a spinning ceiling fan and a white noise machine, seem to be slowly working. It may take me the majority of the day to get out one blog post, but darn it, it's time.
Being easily overwhelmed by the time elapsed and the number of photos in my folder, I guess I'll just start slowly. (Read: this post will be very wordy and photo heavy.)
In mid-April, we welcomed Teddy Bear into the world. When the kids came to meet him in the hospital, Jellybean was immediately in love with her baby brother, but Buddy was less sure.

I think his excitement was diminished by how much he had missed me. D got this photo shortly after the kids came into the room.

It's a little out of focus, but I love that it perfectly captures a moment when my oldest son just wanted to be cuddled.
(Just a note: Fan, white noise, binky and rocking are NOT working.)
I wasn't sure what to expect bringing a third child home and it has not been without difficulty.  (I especially love the new experience of having three children yelling at me.) It helps that Teddy Bear is relatively mellow and both of the kids are really good with him. In fact, they both love him.

Babies are hilarious.

Like most newborns, Teddy Bear is mostly a lump. A eating, pooping, sleeping lump. One thing I can say for sure is that he really likes to eat (every two hours like clockwork even in the night) and it is showing in his growth (and in number of diapers, yikes)!

1 week old

1 month old.

6 weeks old.

Right now, I'm cherishing the few baby smiles and coos as well as the chubby baby cheeks, arms and legs, but after witnessing the transition from newborn to toddler in the other two kids, I find myself anxious to know who this new little person really is. I'm excited to hear him laugh for the first time and to hear his little voice speaking. I'm anxious to watch him discovering the world around him. I know it will come and go too soon, but I'm excited for it nevertheless.
(phew, he's finally sleeping)
For now I'm working on survival: staying awake for multiple night feedings, making it through each day on little sleep, pinched nerve, tension headaches, constant sugar cravings and, you know, trying to give the big kids some of my time and attention. I'm glad for summer. Hopefully, we'll have things figured out by the time Buddy is starting school.

I think that's enough for now. If all three children continue to nap, I might be able to get one in too!

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

When least expected...

So glad I took my self portrait last Thursday. Guess who decided to show up the next day (two weeks early)?

Yup. I am now affectionately referring to the new addition to the family as Teddy Bear. We couldn't be more thrilled by our new baby boy.

With that I'll be taking a hiatus from the blog. We've got to figure out the new normal before I can start making again.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

A Better Burp Cloth

I know a lot of pregnant ladies lately, so I foresee a lot of gift giving in my future. One of my mother's classic baby gifts is a receiving blanket and a set of burp cloths. They aren't your average burp cloths though. A unique shape makes them, in my opinion, a better burp cloth. So, I thought I'd share.

A good friend just had her third baby a few weeks ago, so I decided to put some together. You can never have enough burp cloths, right? I usually just use flannel, but because I liked terry cloth so much with my babies, I decided to use flannel on the front and terry cloth on the back.

And because I had a lot of terry cloth, I thought I'd put together a couple of wash cloths as well. I haven't actually given these to my friend yet and I don't know if she reads my blog, so they might not end up being much of a surprise. Oh well.

Interested in making some burp cloths yourself?  Here's the pattern:

Better Burp Cloth Pattern PDF 

Better Burp Cloth Tutorial

Here's what you'll need:

Burp cloth pattern (Note: I couldn't fit the pattern on my 8.5 X 11 paper, so you'll need to double up the fabric and add .25" before the fold when cutting.)

1/2-1 yard Flannel (depends on how many you'd like to make)

1/2-1 yard Terry Cloth

Thread, Pins, Scissors

Here's how I made them:

1. Cut out pattern in flannel and terry cloth. 

2. Pin flannel and terry cloth together (right sides together). Sew a .25" seam around the edge. Make sure to leave an opening for turning.

3. Turn right side out and iron.

4. Add some decorative stitching about and inch in from the edge and you're done. My machine isn't fancy, so I just used one of my stretch stitches around the edge.

Do you think my friend's baby will enjoy spitting up on these beauties? I hope so.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Another Little Announcement

We went in for my 20 week ultrasound yesterday. Before we went in, we asked Jellybean and Buddy if they thought they'd be getting a little brother or a little sister. Buddy was dead set on it being a baby brother and Jellybean was dead set on it being a baby sister. Those two kids are pretty opinionated. Jellybean even stated that she wouldn't share her toys if it turned out to be a boy. We've had a lot of conversations about that and it's good that we did.

We found out today that we're having a BOY!

Fortunately, Jellybean is the type of girl that will be able to hold her own between two brothers.

Jellybean got to come with us to the ultrasound while Buddy went to preschool.  She snacked on her goldfish and nodded sagely as the doctor pointed out different parts of the baby's anatomy. Then she repeated technical words as if she'd also earned her medical degree. We may have over estimated her medical knowledge, however. When D asked her where her brain is and she answered, "I don't have a brain."

I don't think I'll ever get over how amazing that ultrasound is. The doctor even zoomed in so we could see the baby's mouth making sucking movements. He looks perfect.

I can hardly believe that we're halfway there! When we walked out of the hospital, D commented, "Now, the hard part begins."  I was a little confused as I'm pretty sure I'm currently doing "the hard part".  Then he stated, "Now we have to figure out the name."

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Baby Doll Bath Time

This morning Jellybean undressed all of her baby dolls and decided that they all needed a bath. I happened to have an old infant tub in storage, so I got it out for her.

She then decided that she needed water in the bathtub, but seeing that none of the dolls could get wet, I decided to shred up some tissue paper and make some faux water.

She loved her baby bath and played with it all day long.

Over and over again: Dressing and undressing her dolls, washing them in the bath and then drying them off and having me help her swaddle them.

Shhh...they're sleeping.

My sweet little girl loves her baby dolls and I love her.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Sharing on:

Kids Co-Op

Crafty Mom Share
Show and Share Saturday

Taking Care of Baby

Our neighbors were cleaning out their old toys and thought Jellybean would like their old doll highchair.

Feeding baby cookies...

Wash it down with juice...

and burp the baby.

Looks like she has this mothering thing down. 

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Baby Zombies Like Brains and Waffles

For weeks she's been saying the same phrase over an over again, I couldn't understand what she was saying at first. Then I figured it out.


Baby Zombie from A Happy Song on Vimeo.

Also, who knew that zombies enjoyed wearing pink shirts with bunnies on them?

Happy (almost) Wordless Wednesday and

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Quiet Activity Idea: Handkerchief Folding

When I was a little girl, my mom would bring a simple white handkerchief to church and would fold it into a baby cradle in order to keep me entertained.  I loved it and would request it often.  As a child, it seemed like magic. Recently, I started carrying a bandana in my church bag and have been experimenting with some different ways to fold it.  Jellybean likes these handkerchief tricks as much as I did all those years ago.  It's a fantastic quiet activity for church or the doctor's office.  Here are two folding ideas that we've been enjoying.

The Bandana Bunny:

Start with a flat bandana and knot the top two corners. Bring the corners together and tie a big knot to create the bunny head and ears.

Knot the remaining corners into two little arms and bring the knot up in the back to make a little bunny tail.

Handkerchief Baby Cradle:

Fold handkerchief into a triangle. Roll each corner to the center, then fold in half. Take corner on very top and fold out and around to create the cradle.  Look, they're twins!

Jellybean likes to hold the cradle by each corner and rock it while singing, "Rock a bye, rock a bye."

Throw a bandana or a handkerchief in your bag and experiment with some folding of your own.  Here are a couple more ideas that I found out on the web.

Handkerchief Doll
Handkerchief Mouse (I couldn't figure this one out. I'm special like that, so maybe you can.)

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

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Weekend Photos

Just a few phone photos from yesterday.

Last Sunday (Easter), my new nephew was born.  Jellybean is in love with him.  We got to see the little guy today at my parents' house.  Here's Jellybean checking him out. He's being held by his beautiful aunt (my sister-in-law).  D asked me if the new baby made me want to have one.  I said no.  Though, there is something particularly sweet about holding a newborn baby that you don't have to take home with you.

I have to make a note about Jellybean's cute outfit.  I scored this adorable Lauren Ashley dress and those sweet turquoise sandals at my favorite bi-annual consignment sale last week.  $6.00, not bad.

We spend a lot of time swinging on Grandma and Grandpa B's porch swing. Buddy, Jellybean and some of their wonderful cousins got to hang-out Sunday evening. They have so much fun together.

What a great start to the week!

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Trip to the Zoo

 Some of our friends invited us to the zoo yesterday. It was chilly out and fortunately I was prepared with hats and jackets. Thank goodness for that. It looked so beautiful outside, I nearly left without them. It's Spring Break here so the zoo was, well a "zoo." Not only were the hats warm, but they helped me keep track of my little ones in the crowds.
 
Here they are. Each of them refusing to look at the camera.

studying the map

My children would not pose for photos, but some sweet baby animals did.  We got to see the baby elephant

baby and mama

and we got to see the baby giraffe as well. 

I love that you can see how tall this little one is from the numbers on the wall.

There is something so sweet about those ginormous babies.

Buddy and Jellybean had a great time running around and making me push an empty stroller.

They completely wore themselves out. I had to tickle Jellybean all the way home to keep her awake in the car. To keep Buddy awake, we sang Old McDonald's Spooky Farm (i.e. and on that farm he had a ghost...) and The Wheels on the Haunted Bus (i.e. the zombies on the bus say "Brains"). We don't do sleeping in the car right before nap time. So, I'll do whatever it takes.

I love these trips out.  Hopefully, this will be a fun memory for them in the coming years.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ