Life as 4: Week 3

I am not sure how much time I have to write this post, as Baby Cakes was lulled to sleep by the sound of the dishwasher about 2 hours ago.  She could wake at any moment!

Baby Cakes is growing like a weed.  She had her 2-week checkup on Monday and weighed in at 9 pounds 6 ounces, so she has more than gained back the goal of her birthweight!  We had a 2-day stretch this week where all she wanted to do was nurse...around the clock...  Thankfully that ended last night and we all enjoyed our sleep.  She has moved out of newborn clothes and into 0-3 months now.

This past week was full of more “firsts” for Baby Cakes and our family of 4.  Saturday we enjoyed a visit from my brother and his family.  Baby Cakes was spoiled by being held all day, and the princess was overjoyed to get a new Cars toy.  (It’s the simple things.)  We enjoyed seeing my brother and his wife, Cousin B, and my sister-in-law's growing belly!  We are excited to welcome another nephew to the family in August! 

Sunday was of course Father’s Day.  The girls wore matching dresses to church and even coordinated with Daddy’s outfit.  Too bad one kept gouging at her eye and the other had a difficult time keeping her finger away from her nose and mouth.  This is the best picture we got! 

Of course they looked great in the pictures without Daddy:

After church, the princess and Daddy enjoyed looking through Daddy's Mixbook. 

We all took naps in the afternoon and then decided to venture out to Pizza Hut in the evening for Daddy’s Father’s Day meal.  We figured we would go somewhere a little more “safe” for little kids, just in case of fits and crying.  The girls did great!  The princess was highly entertained by crayons, and Baby Cakes slept the entire time. 

Other firsts:  I tried my BumGenius 1-size diapers on Baby Cakes, and they fit!  She is now a cloth diaper girl along with Princess Boo.  And I now do laundry quite frequently.  J

The girls continue to get along well, and Princess Boo loves to play with Baby Cakes and entertain her.
 

 I asked Boo to pick out one toy for Baby Cakes, and this is what we ended up with:

That pretty much sums up our week!  I continue to try to get out of the house daily with the girls.  I have found that it works better if we stick around town where Baby Cakes can be worn in a ring sling.  She is not a fan of her carseat, mostly because she spits up a lot, but she loves being worn in a sling!  Most stores are about 30 minutes away from our house, and venturing out usually requires at least one stop to nurse along the way.  I am impressed with Princess Boo's patience at those times.  She just plays with toys and waits cooperatively.  What a great sister she is!



Mixbook: Product Review + 20% Discount Code

I love scrapbooking.  But sometimes I just do not have the time or energy to pull out all of my supplies, come up with ideas, choose and print the photos I want to use, and then actually do the scrapbooking! 

One solution to this issue that I LOVE is the concept of a digital scrapbook.  I was very excited to make a digital scrapbook at Mixbook.com for a product review.  The issue I had was coming up with a theme.  I finally decided to make a Father's Day gift for my husband, from my daughter's perspective.  I had so much fun going through pictures of the two of them and choosing themes for each page.

The next issue I had was selecting a book theme.  Mixbook has over 70 themes already designed, and you have the option of simply adding your photos and text to these themes.   I wanted something "fun" that would symbolize Father's Day but could be read on any occasion.  For this reason, I decided not to use a pre-designed theme.  I was able to select different layouts for each page of my scrapbook based on the number of photos I was including, and I chose backgrounds that looked "fun" and "kid-ish".

A helpful tutorial pops up as you first begin to assemble your book and is accessible via the "help" button for reference later.  There is also the option of a "live chat" with a Mixbook representative if you have questions during your scrapbook assembly.  I also really liked the idea that you can make your scrapbook available to friends and family in order to work on a project together.  What a great idea for families like mine who are spread out quite a bit!

Of course, this review would not be complete without photos of my completed Mixbook.  Here it is, my 20-page 6x8 inch softcover mixbook in letter format:  "Dear Daddy"...

Front Cover

Back Cover

I was very pleased with my creation, and I was so excited to present it as a Father's Day gift.  Mixbook's prices are very reasonable, and their shipping time was excellent.  I was very pleased with my experience working with them.

Are you interested in making a digital scrapbook of your own?  Check out the Mixbook website, or find them on Twitter or Facebook.  I am pleased to be able to offer a 20% discount on a purchase from their website, via the code:  TOMOSON20.  This code has no expiration date, but it can only be used once per customer.  Share it with your family and friends, and enjoy being creative!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com created by WebBizIdeas.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Life as 4: Week 2

We have been having a blast here at the Farley Funhouse.  Don't get me wrong:  We are all still adjusting, and we are all cranky and short-tempered at times.  But overall, we are just having a blast and enjoying our time as a family of 4.

Baby Cakes is showing her sweet temper.  She is an easy baby so far.  Of course, she is still under 2 weeks old and things could change.  But she is easy-going, sleeps about 18 hours a day, and only seems to cry when she's hungry or over-tired.  She sleeps well at nights, going to bed around 8:00 and waking up every 4-5 hours to eat until her morning wakeup time of about 7:00.  Actually, many times I wake her to feed her because she grunts and roots around in her sleep.  I can't sleep through that, and I know she's hungry, so why not?  :)

Sweet little sleeper

Baby Cakes had many "firsts" this week.  She had her first bath on Saturday and she LOVED it.  Sunday was her first week at church.  We didn't make it through much of Sunday school or church, but she and I were there.  :)

First Sunday dress

With her silly sister

She had her first few sessions of tummy time and doesn't hate it.

Love those big eyes!

And we broke out one of her first toys this week:

Boo enjoys it too:

Princess Boo is still adjusting.  We are getting back on track with the bathroom issues I mentioned last week.  Our diet has changed to include a greater variety (and quantity) of fruits and veggies, Activia, and white grape juice.  That seems to be helping a lot.  She still wants her diapers as well.  But she is as sweet as ever, and growing so much every day.  Oh, and I'm pretty sure she's a genius.  She can spell her own name.  Who taught her that?!

She is a puzzle whiz and loves to put together her "red beep beep" puzzle:

I have been trying to make special efforts to spend time with Princess Boo every day.  On Tuesday we went to the playground with some friends.  She had a blast there.  It was definitely an activity she needed, and I am hoping we can make this a weekly thing in the future.  Baby Cakes slept in the sling the entire time, so we all enjoyed it!

That was our week.  Daddy is enjoying some much-needed time out of the house today.  I am enjoying some much-needed alone time, as the girls have been napping for the past 3 hours!  I hope to get out of the house with Baby Cakes later today to do some shopping, but we'll see!

Adjusting

Sweet little Baby Cakes is one week old already!  She is home, she is doing well, and we are all adjusting to our new life.  We have been blessed to have my parents staying with us for the past week, and we have really appreciated all of their help.  Baby's room has been painted, curtains have been sewn for it, clothes have gotten washed, both children have gotten the attention they need, and hot meals have been prepared every evening.  My parents have been working hard on their vacation, and we really appreciate all they have done for us this past week.  Tomorrow they head back home, and we will begin officially adjusting to our life as a family of four.

At the Beach

Princess Boo is such a great big sister.  She is so gentle with Baby Cakes and gives her hugs and kisses all the time.  She makes sure Cakes has her little blue bear at all times, and she helps Mommy by getting diapers, wipes, burp cloths, etc when needed.  We have been reading a LOT more books lately, as that is something Boo enjoys doing while I nurse the baby.  It is working out really well right now, and I pray she stays interested in reading books rather than making trouble during this time!

Love the "Big Sister", "Little Sister" shirts and the matching bears!

Sweet kisses

Playing "Night Night".  Notice they all have their blankets and their blue bears...at their feet...because
"We don't put toys by Baby Cakes' head"  :)

While she loves her little sister, Princess Boo is obviously going through a transition.  She was potty trained for about a month before her sister came along, but the day we brought her home from the hospital, Boo went back to diapers.  That's fine - we pretty much expected that and we realize she will be easy to re-train when she is ready again.  However, she was never potty trained for stool before.  This has become a big issue, because she just won't go.  She holds it and holds it and cries and throws fits because she doesn't want to go.  I don't know how to help her.  It is really frustrating for all of us.  She was difficult to get to sleep last night and was up this morning at 5am.  I believe this was due in part to her bathroom issues.  She is currently on hour number 4 of her nap though (very rare for her), so hopefully the afternoon will be more pleasant than the morning!

We took a trip to the beach yesterday.  It was 10 degrees cooler there than at our house, and we ended up being rather chilly!  Here are some cute pics though:

Baby Cakes' first trip to the beach!

She's not a fan.

Exploring sand for the first time

Awwwww - our little family!