The holidays become hard as I long to share secret little somethings that I am working on but then the surprise would be spoiled for certain visitors of the ole’ blog. Therefore I am excited to finally have something that I can share…I do not think that the recipient visits my blog but hopefully if she does she will act surprised at her shower! I have been anxiously awaiting an occasion to make a nursing cover and with a baby shower for a sweet friend in the near future I finally have the opportunity! I am really excited about the fabric as the front fabric is just very my friend. You know how some fabrics just fit a person? I think this is that fabric for her (at any rate it greatly reminds me of her). The back fabric (polka-dots) is actually from my neighbor. Her daughter passed away about two years ago and she shared all her fabric with me because she knew that I sew. Isn’t that a precious thing? I used my nursing cover as a loose pattern which was purchased from two of my friends who also enjoy sewing. This was definitely a fun little project. I need to make a few more things for the gift bag so I will be sharing those a bit later.

When Charis finds something that she really likes and is desperate for she will come right up to me and stare with large eyes saying, “I want it Mama”! Well, that is how I feel about this doll by Corolle. I know I know I am pretty old to be wanting a doll but I just fell in love with her. We first met earlier this week at a local toy store. I thought about trying to get Charis to fall in love with her but I knew that there was not much of a chance with stiff competition from Baby Mickey Mouse, Baby Cai Doll and Big Girl (again, we are so creative with names at our house). I do not have any use for this little doll but she just seems like a doll that you could tell many a story to (it is my inner child speaking) and experience many firsts together . I do love her outfit as well. She seems to have a funky style but yet oh so cozy as well. I just wanted to share her with those of you out there that might have a little girl who is looking for the perfect “friend” to tell her secrets to and cuddle with at night.

I was chatting with Charis this evening and she was telling me all about the things in the room that were for Cai. We have begun to pull more and more out as the day approaches and Charis has had fun leaning about all these new items. She is pretty inquisitive. As I said we were naming things and chatting tonight and it just kind of struck me when Charis started getting tongue tied what odd names some baby things have…fun names but odd! The Boppy and the Bumbo have proven to be the trickiest things as far as the tongue being tied it usually comes out as bupo! We had a good silly laugh over funny names for a bit. It was pretty entertaining but I do wonder where these names come from sometimes!

Yep, still pregnant! But Cai now has a place to rest his head so that he can make his big appearance anytime now! We have used this weekend to set up the Pack-N-Play (a place to rest downstairs) as well as the Portable Crib. We already had set up the second crib in Charis’s room as eventually Charis and Cai will share a room but we have to get the little man sleeping through the night first. Until then we have the Portacrib set up in the office where he can take his late night feedings without waking the rest of the household. It was really fun to see the Portacrib come together! Brad picked out the bedding and it is just really fun and cute and looks pretty cozy I must admit! We have had the Portacrib since Christmas and the bedding since a little after that so to have all the packaging gone and things really put together must mean that things are getting close!!! There is hope! I am excited to see the little one in their now. Charis “helped” us put the Portacrib together and is adjusting pretty well as far as we can tell. It took her a little bit to warm up to placing one of her stuffed animals in there but she did come around eventually. We are hoping that Cai will be a big fan of sleeping hence the three places to rest his head! Only time will tell that though but we are doing all that we can to encourage sleeping!

We received a new double stroller for the kiddos at a recent shower. It was quite exciting as Brad and I had really gone back and forth over this decision of a double stroller. Should we get a front to back, a side by side or one of the caboose strollers that has a place for a little one and then the sibling gets to ride sitting on a platform or standing up. There were so many things to think through on this decision. I think that Brad might of preferred a side by side but we ended up with a front to back in the brand that he really liked so that was the compromise. We ended up with a Peg Perego Tender MT Double Stroller. After talking with a few people and getting their thoughts I just decided that the front to back would be better for us. The main winning reason being that a front to back will still allow me to go to Joanns and fit down the isles. The side by sides that we had looked at would have a hard time fitting down some of the isles specifically in the fabric department at my favorite store. I also like the idea of keeping the kiddos separate with no tugging or touching being possible with this option. They are kids and I am sure that they will find a way to reach each other but anything that I can at least pretend to prevent I am a fan of! We tried out the stroller with Charis after receiving it and she was a HUGE fan! She has a Cabbage Patch Kid that she calls Big Girl so Charis rode in front with Big Girl in the back and she LOVED every minute of it! It was hard to coax her out of the stroller. She asks to get it out when we go to the store now instead of the single stroller but we will wait for Cai’s big arrival before using the double stroller on a daily bases. One more great feature of the stroller is that the seats will lay flat so Cai will be able to take naps while Charis and I peruse the stores. That is what guys like to do anyways while the women shop (you know that you have seen them sitting in those uncomfortable chairs at the mall snoozing away) he will just be able to snooze in comfort.

We had a good practice tonight at what life will be like with two little ones. We had Charis’s friend Maddie over and granted she is not a baby at almost 14 months but still two at anytime is practice at this point. Maddie arrived around 4:00pm and we all went on a wagon ride. This was probably the highlight of Charis’s night. She does love her wagon and to take a friend along with her was a blast. They both had their little drinks in the wagon cup holders and their little wagon seat belts on (wagons have come a long way). It was too cute! After the prying from the wagon we all came in and played for a bit. Charis was really good with Maddie and would bring her toys she even did pretty well with sharing. It gave me much encouragement for Cai’s arrival! I sat the girls in the highchairs to get dinner for them and a few minutes into the preparation I hear screaming. Pictures flash through my head of Maddie having a broken bone the one time that her mom entrust her into my care but it was Charis. We have a discussion almost every night as she sits in her chair (it is like a highchair top that fastens onto a chair) about keeping her legs down but she had used her legs to push her seat backwards. The chair hit the wall and did not make it all the way to the floor which I was thankful for as it could of been worse. Charis was pretty shaken and there is a large dent in our wall now but we all survived and that was the key thing. I did get dinner on the table for the girls and they were fed so that was a good thing. You learn that it is the little things that you do that feel like such a huge accomplishment some days. Brad made it home and we just played for a good bit before bedtime. Charis was a huge help in picking things up and moving things for Maddie. She surprised me with how much she listened to me and how much she was really willing to help this was so encouraging to me. Bedtime got shaky as Charis was quite tired after chasing Maddie around so much. I asked Charis if she wanted to go night night first or put Maddie down and she chose to put Maddie down. We got Maddie into the pack-n-play and then we were off to put Charis down. We could tell that she was a little fragile. Brad and I both sensed that she had a fear that we were going to go party with Maddie once she was down but we chatted with her for a bit and loved on her a good deal and we made it out of her room without a total meltdown. Everyone is asleep now and resting soundly which is a praise. Brad and I are pretty pooped but reassured that two is doable which is a good thing at this point since Cai is headed our way. Maddie’s parents will pick her up later tonight so Charis will be sad to see that she is gone in the morning but she knows that Cai’s arrival is approaching and there is something to look forward to in that.

Okay, Cai’s diaper bag is finally finished! Shocking I know! I just recently shocked myself by how much I want to accomplish by his arrival so I figured that I should get started! The baby announcements are coming along but they are just a little tedious. I am still working on Charis’s birthday invites which I have changed my mind on several times (just like Cai’s birth announcements). I also want to make Charis something for her birthday and there are a few little blankets that I would like to make for Cai as well. See, I really do need to get my groove on! There is a list of a few other things but these are high on my list for now. Here is hoping that I can get my groove on and keep it on!!!

Wild Animal Baby is a magazine for toddlers that Charis absolutely loves! I ran across it on Amazon a little before Christmas and added it to her wish list not really knowing what to expect. It is smaller than a magazine about children’s book size and it has much sturdier pages. The magazines are definitely something that you can keep and read over and over again. The little magazine has stories, rhymes, songs, pictures of animals and all kinds of fun things. We would highly recommend this to anyone ages 12 months to 3 years! It is a little pricey but I think that it is well worth the money as it is one of Charis’s favorites and you get a new one almost every month!

Charis has the Hug and Learn Globe from Leap Frog and at first glance it is really kind of neat. Kids can start learning early about the world and it plays neat catchy tunes. The thing is when it is on every time it rolls or moves it plays a neat catchy tune and when it is your child’s favorite toy of the moment the neat catchy tune becomes quite annoying. The globe has a tag on it as well with all the manufacturing information; we always keep the tags on Charis’s toys because she LOVES tags. She enjoys carrying the globe around by the tag causing it to play its little tune constantly. Yesterday even Charis got tired of the music after crawling around with the globe for about 15 minutes she crawled to me with the globe in hand and started crying as soon as I turned the globe off the crying ceased. It was quite humorous! This morning she wanted the globe on again and began crawling around the house dragging the globe by the tag. Anytime I tried to turn off the globe she would cry. Anytime I got near her and acted like I was going to take the globe away she would cry. She is pretty passionate about this globe. It is interesting to see what she gets attached to and how she reacts to things. If the globe keeps being her favorite toy and she only likes it on we may have to accidentally miss place it soon just for my sanity.

My mom says that Charis is now living in a gated community! Brad and his dad installed several baby gates around the house this weekend. I feel quite confined along with Charis but we are thankful for the new gates as confined is not always a bad thing! I am just use to freely moving about my home but now there are pauses for gate openings; all worth the safety of the little one though. The gates are really nice and easy to operate which I am really thankful for. It was worth spending the extra money, I now admit, for a nice sturdy gate that I will not get frustrated with. We also purchased the little outlet covers so that there will be no electrocution going on. It is always nice to not have to worry about such things. This mobility thing is a whole new world. It is amazing to watch Charis move about, sitting, pulling up etc. It is also amazing to think that she has now spent more time outside of me than inside of me. Time does fly and they really do grow up so quickly before I know it the gates will be gone.