8 months

My little munchkin is 8 months old already. I am in disbelief. He is huge (wearing 12 month clothes!) and he crawls everywhere, pulls himself up on everything, and says mama, dada, baba, gaga and a lot of babbling that sounds like he is speaking in a different language. He goes to Gymboree and absolutely loves it. I recommend it to anyone with a baby! I originally thought that maybe you just put babies on equipment that in reality they are too small to use and watch them barely do anything haha! But that is so far from the truth, they sing songs, teach them different activities and show them how to use age appropriate equipment that help them develop motor skills. It's really a great thing! He is our little ray of sunshine we love him so much!

Cutest Video of little french girl

Once upon a time... from Capucha on Vimeo.
I remember watching this video when it was first very popular and I found it again and I absolutely love it. This little girl reminds me of myself when I was little when my imagination was so wonderful I could tell neverending stories that just came out of nowhere. I especially love hearing her french it's even more adorable!

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Happy Valentine's Day!

25 weeks

Us in the snow--we have like 3 feet here!

Baby V is 25 weeks old! Time flies when you have a baby. Today he rolled from back to belly for the first time. He rolled from belly to back when he was only about 2 1/2 months old but the other way took forever! We offered him his first rice cereal a couple weeks ago. I wanted to wait until he was 6 months but he was nursing so frequently because he's HUGE and I read up on the signs of when to start and he had all of them. I got the organic brown rice cereal and he loves it! He grabs the spoon and tries to get more. We are still only doing one feeding a day of that and only at night hoping he'll sleep a little longer through the night. It will be fun (and messy) once he starts to eat other solids. I have a little food grinder and I'll use my food processor too to make him food. He's SO close to crawling. He gets up on all fours and for a while he would just rock and get momentum and then lunge forward to grab a toy. However, now he actually lifts his legs up and will move his legs in the right motion he just hasn't gotten the motion of the hands and arms down yet. I run to break out the Flip cam every time he looks like he's going to do something so his dad won't miss it! We are in our new place and I love it! I'm still working on his nursery, looking at lots of websites and blogs for inspiration! I want to mix all his new furniture with vintage decor so I've been scouring antique stores and thrift shops for stuff for his room but I haven't found anything great yet! I'll post pictures once it is all done.

A Few of My Favorite Things...02.02.2011

 Making paper flowers...this was Martha Stewart's tissue paper flower making kit I bought a looong time ago and finally made them! I love them now and they are in a vase in my living room.

This is a tray that I decoupaged over the original image with magazine clippings I had saved and a quote I liked. I love collages and decoupaging and I hadn't done it in quite some time so this was really fun!

These squishy blocks from Target. I bought them for Baby V for Christmas and I didn't know if he would even really play with them but they are great. I can stack them up and he knocks them over and they can't hurt him and he squeezes them and chews on them. Plus they look cute.

And lastly, these pictures of Baby V. He is getting enormous!! My mom bought him this funny hat at a children's consignment store and then Daddy is holding him up to see the crazy amounts of snow we have been getting lately!

Fab Artist: Melissa Nucera "This Years Girl"

I actually came across this artist's photographs through Etsy's little program that finds things for you based on your taste. I want the Little Prince series for Baby V's new nursery! I am beyond excited to start decorating his nursery when we move into our new place. Up until now he has just been living in our room with us in our one bedroom loft apartment and finally we are getting a proper two bedroom. Melissa Nucera's Etsy shop called This Years Girl has gorgeous altered photographs that she sells as prints, pins, cards, and even adorable lockets.

Aren't these beautiful? I think the little animal prints lined up on Baby V's wall would look amazing. Check out more of her work at her shop.

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Fab Open Sky

I just wanted to showcase some of the awesome products in my OpenSky shop. These are just a few of my favorites.

Top from left to right:
* Organic Chamomile Milk Bath for Mom & Baby
* Orchid Wall Art
* Grow Food vintage style poster
* Glass Glitter Rainbow Bottle Set

Bottom from left to right:
* Lonnie the Boston Terrier door stop
* Mailbox Fill & Spill plush for baby
* Flat Cats-snuggly blanket/stuffed animal hybrid
* Pillowcase dress

Don't forget--With this promo code: 11102Join30pct  you get 30% off your entire purchase under $100! Only until November 21st!

Blocks!

How cool are these?

I just found them via Cool Hunting. I love the pastel colors and unique shapes. They are made out of sustainably harvested hardwood by a company called Tegu. Unfortunately, Baby V won't be playing with blocks for some time! I've had such a hard time finding him cool Christmas presents this year because he's only 3 months old! But I figure he'll be 6 months a little after December so by then he can play with more toys then.

A Few of my Favorite Things...11-12-2010

First off, Yogi Green Tea Super Antioxidant--so delicious and gives you just enough caffeine to wake up a little bit but not be jittery like coffee, and it's healthy! Another little perk, my tea bag tab this morning said, "When ego is lost, limit is lost. You become infinite, kind, beautiful." : )

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The website, Lose it! I actually saw a sign about this website in my doctor's office the other day! It is an iphone app but I don't have an iphone and I went to the website and it's basically like free Weight Watchers. Since I've been doing my 30 Day Total Health Makeover, I've been writing down everything I eat and do for exercise anyway. This site makes it even easier to keep track of how many calories you consume and reaching your weight loss goal.

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Ezekiel bread that I bought at Trader Joe's. It's a sprouted, flourless bread so it's much better for you than even whole wheat bread. It tastes great too, we just have a slice as a snack with some Smart Balance spread on it.

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Baskets! I never used to like baskets, but we received a lot at my baby shower and from people when the baby was born because they would fill them with gifts. They have become a life saver for storing and organizing baby products, blankets, etc.! 

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Fab OpenSky store. I just started my own OpenSky store! I love all the cool products they have to select from. I definitely am going to get Baby V some Christmas presents from this site. Since I started a new store I get a coupon code that anyone can enter to save 30% off of any order under $100. Visit the store and enter this coupon code: 11102Join30pct  at checkout but hurry because it's only until November 21st!

Baby Einstein Dvds

My new favorite baby item is the Baby Mozart dvd. Baby V has loved watching TV since he started to develop eye sight which obviously we do not condone but I think the brightness of the light attracts him to it. However, I found the perfect happy medium in the Baby Mozart dvd that I got as a gift at my baby shower. It plays mozart while showing large, colorful, or black and white images, and other visually stimulating baby appropriate things. He absolutely loves it! I can put him in his little bouncy seat a safe distance from the TV and he is so happy and mesmerized by the beautiful music and interesting images. I think I might buy the other composers such as Baby Beethoven and Baby Bach!

 

Fab Baby Shop: Orfeo

How adorable are these clothes?? These are all from Orfeo, a gorgeous online children's store based out of London. I love the pussy willow onesie and ruffled blackbird shirt! I've been wanting a little red pointy gnome hat like that for Baby V. I think I might try to knit one like it but if I fail I'll definitely return to this store. They also have beautiful toys for babies and children as well.

Fab mama

Ohh, I've been terrible recently, letting life take over and not going online as much as I should. However, I wanted this blog to not just be about food, art, and babies but about being fabulous and feeling great as a mother. Society sometimes makes it seem as if once you have children you can no longer be sexy or in style and as we all know, that is far from the truth. However, I definitely have not felt great about myself since having a baby and come to think of it I have never truly loved my body or felt fabulous even BEFORE the baby!

The Baby's Daddy and I just started the Marilu Henner 30 day Total Health Makeover. I'm going to document how it works here. We are both really excited about it and to be honest I'm very surprised he is doing this with me as it eliminates red meat! I only eat fish anyway so it will definitely be a little easier for me. The basis of the diet is eliminating red meat, sugar, and dairy from your diet and living your life toxin-free. Dairy will be the hardest for me as a vegetarian I have relied on it a lot to compensate for a lack of meat. However, I'm looking forward to seeing how I feel without it in my diet.

We are only on Day 2 and I am feeling great today. I need to incorporate some more exercise into my lifestyle and then I will feel much better. I will let you know how it goes! Visit her website for more information.

Fab Baby Shop: Sweet William

Oh dear, I am in love. Found via kenziepoo, some of you may have already heard of Sweet William. I, however, am just discovering the adorable-ness that is this children's store.

I have a soft spot for moccasins.

I also can't resist anything with ears!

Baby V's Dad would definitely approve of this one.

If I had a girl she would definitely wear these bling shoes.

This toadstool is a night light!

Again, if I had a girl, she would sport this awesome feather headband.

I could go on forever, check out the shop for more.



A Real New England Costume

How cute is this??

Source

We're a bit behind on costume planning with Baby V! So it's doubtful he'll be something this creative but hopefully we can whip him up a cute costume in time for Halloween!

The Sandwich Fair, Part Two

I am in love with the carousel photos!

See more photos at my Flickr.

The Sandwich Fair, Part One

New England's Fall is filled with fairs and festivals. This year it was the 100th anniversary of the Sandwich Fair in New Hampshire. My grandmother even has a picture of her eating a candy apple at this fair when she was a little girl. Now, it has become more like a mainsteam fair filled with junk food and carnival rides but it still preserves its origins through agriculture, animals, and crafts.