Jennifer's Junky Life ~

Little Climber

I've never had to deal with these before...

...and the boys (and I) thought their Legos were safe from tiny hands and an even tinier mouth when they put them up on the steps!

Luckily, she doesn't remember them every day. Yet.

When my other kids were babies, we were always living in one rental or another and none of them ever had stairs. So, it's a whole new world dealing with a climbing eleven month old!

Mark's planning to build a gate to go across the steps here. We just didn't think we'd need it so soon!

She pulls herself standing on everything these days and giving her a bath requires a course in Wrestling 101. Just this week, she discovered that she can pull herself standing in the tub, as well! It's a constant battle trying to get her to sit or lie down during tubby time because standing in a slippery tub is so much more fun than getting cleaned up.

She's at a fun age, soaking up more and more things every day. She says 'boo' when playing peek-a-boo. Mama, Dada, Dah (Nikayda), bah (for balloon. We still have helium balloons floating around from Valentine's Day), buh-buh (buh-bye), and I'm sure a couple of other things but my mind's drawing a blank at this late hour.

She points at everything all the time with her tiny little finger and waves at everything, as well, from strangers at the grocery store to the fan on our ceiling. She loves to wave her little hand.

She hasn't figured out that I like to be as discreet as possible (with four kids in tow) while we're out grocery shopping or thrifting, yet. She waves at every single person she sees whether they walk by her or at the end of an aisle. And, of course, so many people will come up and start talking to her because of it.

We haven't been out much this winter but I sure have enjoyed our outings lately on the days when I've been feeling better. We still have a ton of snow but I'm getting excited for spring. It'll be here before you know it and all the snow will be gone so for now I'm continuing to enjoy the beauty of it! Nothing prettier than a freshly fallen snow on the pines out here in the woods.

{As an aside, the treads are on and the stairs skirt is up! We're planning to do a bunch of painting in here this spring. - Freshen up the walls on the first floor and at the same time, paint the stairs. On Aria: Shirt, Old Navy, thrifted. Pop Color Skinny Pants from Old Navy. Moccasins, Kaboogie.}

Stand Up

At 10 1/2 months old, about a week or two ago, Aria learned how to pull herself standing. These were taken a few days ago, the first time I'd ever seen her do it, but the kids told me she had done it before! (And no one told me!) She still hasn't figured out how to get down once she does it so after she tires of feeling like the big stuff, she usually starts hollering and someone runs to help her. She also learned how to put herself sitting up on her own about the same time. She just sort of scootches backward/upright from laying on the floor.

She recently started pulling her knees up under her in a crawling stance, as well. She hasn't moved too much doing that yet, though. She's still doing the inch worm type crawl she graduated from the army crawl to.

I think she may have figured out the standing thing a little sooner, as well as the crawling stance, if it weren't for our wood floors. She has slid anytime she's attempted it in the past but I think she's finally figuring out how to get a grip - yet her knees still slide out from under her when she tries to crawl!

I have no idea what ages my other kids were when they reached their milestones. (Although, I have it all written down somewhere.) I've a terrible memory for those types of things but I know Carter was my latest walker - sometime around 13 or 14 months old. I kind of feel like Aria will be the same. She's in no hurry to do anything - which is fine by me! I want this baby phase to go as slowly as possible because I'm treasuring every moment after all these years and I know full well how fast they grow.

{She has her mittens on because we had just gotten home from thrifting - and it was a 'warm' winter day so she's wearing a more lightweight sweatshirt with them. Mittens from Fawn Vintage on Etsy. Sweatshirt, thrifted.}

Random Miscellaneous Mind:

I have a virus on my laptop (that I'm using right now to type this) so Mark's planning to drop it off to get looked at on his way to work. Hoping it's an easy fix and it'll be good as new by Tuesday or Wednesday because I have new things to list in the shop (and won't be able to with this gone since all of the photos are on here)!

I made an appointment with a chiropractor, who comes highly recommended, for my hives issue going on. He does a lot of testing for things like this so I'm hoping we can figure out how to get rid of it (without the use of all sorts of strong drugs) - but I couldn't get in until July(!!!).

I started working out again a couple of weeks ago after not working out for two months because of this rash/hives. It has felt so awesome to get back at it! And even though I flared up again this weekend, I've kept at it these past few days. I'm determined to get healthy and fit. It's been a battle for years but I haven't given up since I really started changing things a couple of years ago. I may get sidetracked here and there... But I haven't given up.

I'm hoping to get an area rug in the living room some day but it's not on my list of priorities at the moment. (Kind of wish I'd had one all this time for Aria.)

I can't remember if I've mentioned it on here or not, I feel like I'm always repeating myself because I forgot what I write all the time - but I'm saving for a DSLR. I'm really excited to finally be working towards one instead of just dreaming of one after all these years! I've been wanting one for about five or six years!

Favorite Things :: A Teething Necklace

I'd never used a teething necklace with any of my babies until I tried one with Aria starting at about four months.

Four kids and eleven years later and I wish I'd known about them the first time around. Now they're not a cure-all perfect answer to teething but the lack of drooling alone is enough for me to love them and highly recommend them.

If you are familiar with babies, they're kind of a messy bunch.

And they're super cute but they drool.

A lot.

A

lot.

Like, really a lot.

After caring for four babies, I'm no pro at this mom thing and by darn if one of them has yet to arrive with a pretty little instruction manual explaining all of their bells and whistles and hollers and cries but I have discovered that baltic amber teething necklaces stop drooling.

And that is almost as good as a manual for all of the clothing changes that has saved me with this one baby alone.

I've worn bibs on every single one of my babies. except for Aria. She'd just started drooling enough to wear one about the time I put this necklace on. So I was able to see a drastic change within a few days and she's never drooled enough to need a bib since. (She is and always has worn the necklace around the clock.) Totally worth it.

When the necklace isn't enough, I also like these.

Photos:

1. 4 months old - we began wearing ours. (Recommended age is three months but that's just when we got ours.)
2. 6 months old. We like music.
3. 7 months old - Teething necklaces are *not* for chewing on. But she doesn't care about that so that's why I'm glad that every bead is individually knotted for safety. (The baltic amber warms against the skin which in turn releases whatever it is it releases in order to soothe the discomfort that comes with teething. (That's my super technical explanation.) They're intended to be worn against the skin at all times. I'm completely comfortable with that but everyone has to make that choice themselves whether or not to wear it 24/7. We do. And always have. It only comes off during her baths. It has to warm up against the skin again each time you remove it in order to do its job. And you want to keep it clean of lotions and oils so they don't inhibit its efficacy... admittedly I'm not very good about that - but it still seems to be working just fine.

eta: One of my friends said on Facebook that she wraps it twice around her daughter's ankle during naps/sleep time so it's still in contact with her child's skin. Thought I'd pass that on as well for anyone who is concerned about wearing it around their child's neck during those times. Also, I never fully explained why I feel so comfortable wearing it during sleep time... and that is because the necklace isn't long. So, I feel personally that it's not long enough to get pulled under the child in order to get tight enough for choking. But, as I mentioned above, each parent needs to make that call for themselves! end of edit.)
4. Our 'tiny' baby.
5. See, she really is wearing a diaper.
6. Still not listening with the chewing... That's why I'm also glad the necklace has a twist closure for extra security so she can't yank it off.
7. 9 months old. Eating a troll.
8. 9 months old. Ready to go.
9. 9 1/2 months. Chicken pox.
10. 10 months old. Busy girl.
11. 10 months old. Baskets are really fun.
12. 10 1/2 months old. Getting everywhere.
13. 11 months old. Boy clothes make good pajamas.

I hunted through all of my photos and these were the best ones. I have relatively few that show the necklace well - and that's because it's always under her clothing, against her skin, as it's intended to be. If you use them, or are planning to, I hope you like them as much as we do!

Six and a Half Years

I really do have other kids. Here's one of them for proof (Carter). It's just so much easier to get pictures of the baby all the time but I need to make more effort to capture the big kids, too.

This is the used-to-be-baby of the family. And he did.not.want a baby sister. The entire pregnancy he was so not impressed that we were having a baby girl. He's six and a half years older than Aria (making him seven now).

He plays with her all the time and it melts my heart. And he didn't believe me when I said he was going to love her to pieces when she was born.

Fatties or Skinnies

We always affectionately call Aria 'our little fattie' or 'our chubby lovey' and lots of other cute little 'chubby' baby nicknames. I love wearing leggings and skinny jeans on her chubby little legs. There is no way around it, this little lady is so completely and deliciously chubby and fat!

For Christmas, she got a pair of kelly green skinnies from Old Navy from us. (Lizard Laura Pop Color Pants. I would love a pair in every color!) The first time I put them on her, Mark called them her 'fatties'. I thought it was pretty fitting...

{On Aria: First outfit: Blue velour sweatshirt from her grandma, Polka Dot shirt from a local second-hand shop (that has since closed), pants from Old Navy, and moccasins from Kaboogie on Etsy. Second outfit: Same polka dot shirt, pants, and moccs., vintage elephant sweater from a friend via La di Dottie on Etsy.}

Valentine

{On Aria: Carter's pajamas that I thrifted at the Salvation Army near my hometown. I found the pants first and got really lucky because the shirt was still available when I searched for it. (They have everything separated in the shop.) I love them and am going to be sad when she outgrows them. They're 12 months size and probably won't fit her for much longer.}

I'm excited to surprise the kids for Valentine's Day. I've never done it before... that I recall... but I decorated the kitchen with vintage paper lace hearts, a vintage heart tissue paper banner, and mylar balloons - and they have some little treats wrapped up for them with a card waiting on the table. I even put a bright pink mylar balloon on Aria's high chair.

And I bought pop.

The kids were asking for pop for their Valentine's Day party when I was on my way out the door to run to the grocery store tonight/last night and I told them they didn't need pop.

I guess it never hurts to shout out requests when I'm on the way out the door!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Determined

This little lady is into everything these days. About a week ago, she went from rolling everywhere to doing the 'army crawl' and she's getting faster at it every day. (She's nine months old.)

{Her new favorite spot is under the end table in the living room. She just pulls the table aside or pushes the basket of school books away and crawls under there to play.}

We keep our laptop plugged in all the time and the cord is across the floor... and it's becoming a bit of a problem lately...!

Trouble in a tiny package.

Clean Up

I'm working on making a bunch of changes around here on the blog.

Out with the old, in with the new as they say.

{That tired little baby finally took a really long nap this afternoon for the first time in a long time. Sleep training just might pay off after all...}

I've got a few blog goals I'm hoping to achieve this year and I'm tossing around the idea of switching to a new blog as I turn my focus on growing my Etsy shop. I haven't made up my mind yet (whether I'm going to change the name of my blog or not) so I may have just mentioned that for no reason at all (if I don't switch)!

I'm considering cleaning up my blog in the hopes of attracting sponsors this year as well... something I've thought about many times over in the past few years. (i.e. move my blog roll to a separate page, etc.)

{I'm very much hoping she'll start getting the hang of nap time in her crib so we can start seeing less of this...} :)

{Our driveway when viewed from the direction of our house. This is why I love winter here in the north woods so much! The freshly fallen snow is so beautiful on the pines.}

I know absolutely nothing about HTML and might have to start learning. I've been wanting a new blog header for a few years now. And there are a bunch of other things I've been wanting to figure out. (i.e. how to add a search box on here, how to link to printable pages for my recipes, etc...)

I might not get to all of it and it might take me a long time to get to any of it. But it's all been written down on my list of goals for this year... so we'll see what gets done.

Random Miscellaneous Mind

{On Aria: Thrifted Baby Gap sweater. Hand-me-down Baby Gap dress from Nikayda (found at a garage sale). Legwarmers made by my mom. Moccasins from Kaboogie.}

I want this Q & A a Day for Kids: A Three-Year Journal for my kids.

I want to try making these but using this sauce.

I was fired up to come across these on Pinterest. Perfect for storing and dispensing homemade baby food!

It's my dream to find a crib like this. I love the color, too. It seems nearly impossible to find the styles that I'm in love with here in the states. I have a Jenny Lind style but I'm not planning to assemble it this time around. I'm hoping to find something with straight slats.

Aria really likes these for teething and this rattle, as well.

Whales are one of my favorite animals and this is so cool.

I couldn't find any info. on these vertical files on the bhg site... I came across them on Pinterest and really like them. Does anyone know where I can purchase these - or some that are very similar? {They're Pottery Barn. Thank you!} I'm in dire need of organization when it comes to the trail of paper clutter in this house!

Little One

This little one is so fun. She just lights up our life! And she's one spoiled little baby to show for it - but thanks to a bunch of tips on Facebook, I'm learning how to be the mom of a baby again.

We've been struggling with naps and although I fear we have a long way to go, I received a bunch of great advice and am putting some of it into play.

Watching for tired cues was a big one I completely forgot about after all of these years - and that really helped today for getting her to sleep better. I really appreciate that reminder! It's amazing the things you forget after not having a baby for this long...

I was trying the whole method of putting her down, walking away, going back after a few minutes, laying her back down, and walking away again... etc... but she was screaming her head off and hysterical every time I'd walk away again.

It wasn't working. And it was breaking my heart to listen to her that upset. So today, I ended up putting her down, and stayed near her crib reading my book so she could see me and she settled down much better and only fussed a little. Although, it was a good 20-30 minutes before she actually fell asleep because she's used to sleeping with us and even for naps, I'd been lying down with her. (One of the luxuries of having older kids - I sure wasn't able to do that with my oldest three!) But it's progress. Now that she's a little older, I'm trying to break her of the habit of needing me to get her to sleep...

I mean, seriously, though... I have such a hard time resisting that sweet little face...

{Everything Aria's wearing is thrifted, including her yellow ruffled socks, with the exception of her moccasins from Kaboogie. Her dress and sweater are vintage. Her onesie is probably thrifted, too, unless it's a hand-me-down from her siblings. I've thrifted most of her onesies and socks so far.}

Her favorite place to be. Okay... maybe it's mine, too, but after nine months I'm getting a little antsy to start getting things done around here and to start doing some projects once in awhile. {My necklace is from Chewbeads. I love it because it's perfect for her while she's teething and she can't rip it off and break it like my vintage necklaces.}