Mallory's Musings

Disney Spring Break

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:25:00 +0000

We did the unthinkable- we went to Disney World during spring break. It was kind of last minute, our nephews were out of school so we figured, why not. We knew it would be busy but I don't think we thought it would be quite that busy. For example we got to Magic Kingdom at 8:30 in the morning and there was already an hour plus wait to see Mickey Mouse. It was nuts and that set us up for being in a sour mood about the crowds for the rest of the day. Did we have fun- yes. Would we have had way more fun when if it weren't such a mad house, definitely.

Despite all the madness, it was still fantastic to see how excited Aubrey got about everything. She loves to watch the Dreams Along with Mickey show on YouTube so when she was able to see it in person she got a little overexcited. We got her a seat right up front and a Mickey ice cream to hold her over while she waited for the show to start. Joe sat with her but I was standing off to the side with a sleeping Fin. Aubrey got so excited when the show started that she waved her hands really fast and her ice cream fell on the ground. Of course she freaked and tried to pick it up so she got completely covered with ice cream and then was upset she was so messy. Joe ran to get napkins while I whipped out my wet wipes. By the time Joe got back the crowds had pushed in and he couldn't get close to Aubrey. Thankfully the nicest woman in the world was sitting next to Aubrey and helped clean her up. The same woman also sat through the entire show while Aubrey sang every song and excitingly announced everyone who came on stage. She told us she got a kick out of it because her daughter is eight and never gets that excited anymore. I swear if I could bottle up all that joy Aubs was radiating I would be able to cure all of the problems in the world.

I have lived an hour and a half from Disney for a little over 10 years now so I have learned a few things. We have a great trips and some not so great ones. Unfortunately every time we have brought Aubs, it has been not so great. Hopefully we can get it together by the time she turns four. Here's some pointers:

-If at all possible the best time to go are September and October. We went once during the first or second week of September and we rode Splash Mountain 3 times in a row because there was literally only a 5 minute wait.

-Times to avoids are Christmas, Spring Break and the 4th of July.

-Best days to do Magic Kingdom are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursday.

-Make sure you know when the parades and shows are because the kids love them and there is no wait to see them. Especially the Move It, Shake it, Celebrate it parade which is immediately followed by the Dream Along with Mickey Show.

-Have a game plan and stick to it. Try to work your way from the back of the park moving forward. Many people hit the attractions as they see them but if you work from the back you might be able to shave a little bit of time off of your wait.

-Unless you have a kid who is a fabulous stroller napper, then head back to the hotel for naps and dinner and go back to the park later for the light parade, fireworks or anything else you may have missed.

-Remember that you can only get one fast pass every two hours so make sure you're getting them for the rides you really want and need them for.

-If possible stay at a Disney Resort. They are pricey but the convenience of the extra magic hour and transportation can make your trip. We stay at The Art of Animation Resort and it was the perfect place for a family with young children.

-If you have a kid who is addicted to Disney Junior like mine then you have to go see Disney Junior Live at Hollywood Studios, they will flip.

Swing Away

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:02:00 +0000

I love a good fair, carnival or festival. I particularly love small little ones because the lines are short and the prices are cheap. They also have the best cover bands who seem to have the exact taste in music as my dad did on road trips when I was little. Last month (sorry I'm a little behind) we went to a little festival in the park by my parent's house. We have gone every year since my parents bought their house here but this year was the first year that Aubrey was really able to enjoy herself.

I'm happy to say Aubs rode her first carnival ride and absolutely loved it. She went on the ferris wheel and the swings at least a half a dozen times a piece and also rode a bunch of other kiddie rides. Sadly I wasn't able to ride with her because Finley was in her standard spot, strapped to my chest in the Ergo, thankfully Gam was able to fill in. We were a little leery about letting Aubrey go on the swings because they were pretty official but we figured the worst that could happen was that she would cry. She smart enough to know not to jump off when she is 10 feet in the air. She didn't cry at all though, just hung on tight and smiled.

This is fantastic news for me because Joe hates carnival rides. Anything that spins makes his stomach queasy, he is such a baby that one. He is lucky that I love him so much because that would have been a deal breaker had it been anyone else. Maybe Fin will be have a queasy tummy too so she can keep him company while Aubs and I spin until our heart's content.

Aubrey's Rainbow Birthday Party

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 02:04:00 +0000

When I first began thinking about Aubrey's party I envisioned something that was perfectly themed
As the date drew closer and my stress level higher, I realized that her party didn't need to be pinterest worthy
It just had to be something Aubrey would love
Just a few of Aubs favorite things are rainbows, bounce houses, cupcakes, face painting and the park.
I made sure her party had all of that and most importantly- all of the people that she loves and that love her back

and a few phone pictures that I love....

and then you were three...

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 19:51:00 +0000

March 8th was just like any other day except that when you went to bed the night before you were two
and when you woke up you were three

You yelled out, "Mama!" to let me know when you were awake
I knocked on your door and you knocked back
The door flew open

"Doodle, it's you're birthday! You're three!"

You squealed, "Let's go tell Daddy."

We had a pretty low key day because your big birthday event wouldn't happen until Sunday- Your Rainbow Birthday Party at the park!
We went to Gymboree and the class started out by singing happy birthday
On the way home we stopped at the cupcake shop and you picked out some cupcakes for later that night
Then we grabbed a happy meal per your request- chicken nuggets with ranch and a sweet tea

You napped and then Gam and Granddad came over with a big birthday surprise- A Hello Kitty bike
It took you about a half hour to warm up to the big girl bike
Then we couldn't get you off
You still won't pedal though, we need to work on that.

Dinner was spagetti from our favorite pizza place
Following by another happy birthday song and a cupcake
March 8th was a fantastic day to turn three

6 Months

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 03:11:00 +0000

Dear Finley,

Oh Miss Fin, I have always loved you but now I really really like you. You are just the most smiley little thing, all I have to do is look at you and you grin the most adorable double chinned chubby cheeked grin. It's so fantastic to see you so happy now. For awhile there it seemed like you were on the path to depression and anxiety, I know that sounds completely ridiculous because you're just a baby but you always seemed so uncomfortable. Everyone told me you would come around and you finally have.

You are content to play by yourself for a little while now which is nice because I can make a cup of coffee or pee without holding you. You are also quite entertained by watching your crazy big sister. Oh, your big sis Aubrey, she loves you something fierce. You are the first person she asks for in the morning and she is constantly grabbing your face and giving you kisses. The other day I had you in your walker and I was in the bathroom doing my makeup. You started to cry but then stopped after a minute or two. I figured you had just stopped on your own but when I came out into the living room, Aubrey had given you your binkie and was sitting next to you holding you hand. You guys are going to have such a beautiful relationship.

There is one thing though, you still don't sleep very well. You go down fine but wake multiple times a night. I usually only feed you once between 2-4 but Daddy and I are usually in there at least three other times consoling you back to sleep. Sorry to break it to you but we might have to try some sort of sleep training in the near future.

Lots of love,
Mama

Other things that have been going on with Fin:

-She sees a chiropractor every week or two and it has seemed to help out a lot.
-She has started solids- So far she has had banana, avocado, rice cereal, butternut squash, apple, sweet potato and toast. I really want to do full on BLW but I'm still a little nervous about it.
-I stopped using the sleep suit and now that she has the freedom of rolling, she sleeps most of the night on her belly.

Stats:
15 lbs 12 oz- 48th percentile
25 inches- 26th percentile
Head circumference- 16.25 inches- 19th percentile

Likes:
jumperoo, mum-mums, being out in about in the Ergo, music, grabbing long hair

Dislikes:
When people shes not use to get in her face and when Aubrey grabs her face too hard

Adventures with Gam & Granddad

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 02:28:00 +0000

My parents are snowbirds. They spend their winters in Florida and the rest of their time in Pennsylvania. It has been like this ever since I started having kids which is nice because otherwise my kids wouldn't really know my parents that well. Actually my parents are the only grandparents(we have 3 sets) that Finley will even really allow to hold her because she sees them so much.

This winter we have been trying to do something fun together every week. So far we have gone to the aquarium, the zoo, Busch Gardens and tomorrow we are going to the bigger aquarium. I love it and so do Aubs and Fin. It breaks up our week and gets us out of the house. My parents pretty much take care of Aubs and I walk around with Finley strapped to my chest. The ergo is Finley's happy place so she rarely gives me any trouble as long as she is in it. I have a feeling that this little "adventures" will be very fond memories for my girls(and me) when they are older.

Here are a few pictures I managed to snap at the zoo.

This guy came right up to the glass and pressed his face against it.

I'm still here

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 02:00:00 +0000

I just wanted to pop in and say hi in case anyone is still stopping by. Life with Finley has been a lot harder than I had expected and I'm still not able to get back to regular blogging right now. She is almost 6 months old and I hear that is usually the end of colic so I will keep my fingers crossed and hope that the constant crying and fussing stops soon. Sleeping is pretty bad too. I had about a week that was good when we started using the sleepsuit, she was only getting up once or twice a night and then going right back down. Now she gets up a ton and most nights I end up trying to get to bed between 9 and 10 in hopes of getting a 3 hour chunk of sleep. Our whole house had been sick this past week too which has made it even worse. Some nights she has been waking about every 30-45 minutes because she been coughing or unable to breath well because of a stuffed up nose. On top of all that, Aubrey isn't in preschool anymore. I pulled her out the first week of December because she was getting sick too much. Anyway- those are my excuses and I really miss blogging and all of my blogging buddies. Hopefully I will be back sooner than later.

A Love Letter to Aubrey Hope

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 12:40:00 +0000

Dear Doodle,

I write your little sis a letter every month but you don't even have one. That's not really fair is it? So here's my love letter to you, my gorgeous girl. Your sister is tough right now. She is very overwhelmed by the world and she shows us that she is by crying all of the time. I know that she will come around as she grows older but right now I am having a unbelievably hard time with it. What gets me through is you.

You are truly amazing and I am so lucky to have you as my child. The baby crying all the time doesn't seem to phase you, you just keep on going no matter what. You are full of smiles and laughter day in and day out. Lately you have been making your dad and me laugh so hard. Tonight I made you sing "Goodnight Olivia" for daddy and it was the best thing ever, you make up half the words but still sing with such confidence. You have also been getting a kick out of the fact that you can make us laugh so hard.

You are kind and love people which seems to be a rare quality these days. Please don't ever get discouraged when people aren't so kind to you. Just because one person ignores you when you say hello to them doesn't mean that you won't make the day of the next person you say hello to. We were at a birthday party this weekend and one of the dads came up to me and said how much he loved your personality. His own daughter was clung to his hip and you were just walking around, talking to everyone you encountered even though you had never met them in your life. It makes me so happy that other people see your inner joy and warmth too.

I love you so much. Thank you for making my long days more bearable with your dancing, laughing, tight hugs and sloppy kisses.

xoxo-
Mommy

I Heart Date Nights (Giveaway)

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 01:50:00 +0000

It's been quite awhile since my husband and I have had a date night. The last one was about a month before Finley was born. We went to Cheesecake Factory and then attempted to go shopping but intense braxton hicks contractions cut our date short. I'm excited to be able to go out again soon. I actually get pretty jealous when I see all the moms with babies younger than Finley out on dates on Instagram. Fin is still a little too rough around the edges to leave with anyone at the moment. She will be five months old next week so I'm hoping that her extreme fussiness is on it's way out because I could really use a night out with my husband.

That's where Datevitation comes in. Datevitation is the web's first online platform to create a custom love coupon book. Unlike the pre-packaged love coupon books on the market, you pick the dates and can customize the text to your liking. Once you are done customizing the text in your book, Datevitation will print it out and ship it to you in a ready-to-gift box. This is the absolute perfect gift for valentines day because it's totally a gift that keeps on giving. It also works great for me because my husband is one of those guys who buys himself everything he wants so there isn't much left for me to get him. Also if you're stuck in the house like I currently am there are lots of coupons that are things that you can do at home. There are even a ton of "naughty" coupons you can select from. I absolutely loved them but for blog friendly purposes I steered away but I'm tempted to go back and make a book that's for the hub's eyes only.

Some pages from my book:

Here's some more about Datevitation:

-Datevitation's library contains over 200 date ideas ranging from skydiving to stargazing to steamy adult-only activities. We also have over 60 book cover options to suit any occasion.

-Although most people create books for their significant others, gender-neutral figures make it possible to make a book for anyone (they have male-male and female-female versions of every illustration in our library)

-Books start at just $20 so it makes for a thoughtful yet economical gift, and the perfect gift for Valentine's Day. You can use the code ‘MUSINGS’ for $5 off your purchase this month.

-Datevitation is a family business run by the husband-wife team of Alex and Olga Karpman. You can get to know them on the Datevitation blog, where they offer video guides to date ideas and romantic gestures. You can even watch Alex propose to Olga in a video they posted on Youtube as a Save The Date, and now has over 800,000 views (you can view the video here)!

Wanna win one for your Valentine?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Mightee Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 01:53:00 +0000

Aubrey is almost three. She is getting to the age where she is really starting to understand that there is more to the world then the perfect little one we try to create for her at home. She is also getting to the age where every little thing we do starts to shape the person she is going to become. It is so important to my husband and I that we mold her into a kind, compassionate and aware individual. That is where Mightee Kids come in.

Mightee Kids is company that helps educate kids in a fun and safe way about people and places around the world that may not be as fortunate. The way it works is that Mightee Kids sends a package to your child once a month, for three months or for four months. Each package has a cute tee and a kid friendly educational brochure explaining a new cause that the purchase of the package supports. Let me just say right now that the t-shirt is adorable and such a great quality, Aubrey asks to wear it again and again. (check out the video on the bottom of the post to learn more)

Each month Mightee Kids donates $5 from each subscription to a charity that supports children from around the world. This months charity is Smile Train. Smile Train helps children that are born with a cleft lip or palette to get surgery when they otherwise wouldn't be able to because of cost. Last year Smile Train provided a record breaking 125,000 surgeries.

Right now Mightee Kids is giving away 5 of their cute little tees. Just click the picture below, like their facebook page and share the contest on your wall.

Four Months

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 03:04:00 +0000

Dear Finley,

This is more of a four and a half month letter because your mama barely has time to think these days. You are quite the challenge, my dear. We thought that you were getting out of your super fussy stage about a month ago. You were letting other people hold you, you were crying less and you were sleeping better. Then you got sick. Your sister brought home a nasty cold from preschool. I tried my best to keep hands washed and coughs away from you but I was unsuccessful. You got the virus full on and it even turned into a lovely ear infection. Since then we seem to be back to square one. Now you don't even really like anyone to look or talk to you besides a small handful of people or you will start crying. Also the only ones who are allowed to hold you are me, daddy and your granddad.

On a good note you are sleeping better. When you were sick and about a week or two afterwards you were sleeping horribly because you wanted to fall asleep in your swaddle but then have it magically disappear once you had fallen asleep. This had you waking up every hour and a half to two hours some nights. I got desperate and posted a cry for help on instagram. Thankfully Chelsea told me about Baby Merlin's Magic Sleep Suit. The first night was still rough but after that you started only waking up one to two times a night and going right back down. It has been glorious, I'm so happy that we found something that you like and makes you comfortable.

Although you are a toughy, I want to thank you for the big smiles that you give me every morning. They give me a little glimmer of hope that the day will be better than the one before. Some days are okay and some are bad, we don't have many good but the a smile at the start of the day helps more than you know. Please just stop crying so much, okay?

Lots of love,
Mama

Likes: Evening dance parties, watching big sis on the swing, sleep suit and being lifted into the air

Dislikes: Rolling onto her belly, being put down and generally the hours of 3pm-7pm

Stats: Clothes- all over the place depending on brand and style, Size 2 diapers
Head- 15.75 inches (21%) Height- 24.75 inches (66%) Weight- 14.06 lbs (58%)

Twenty Thirteen

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 01:30:00 +0000

On New Years Day the weather was gorgeous so we decided to head to the beach
It was also Finley's first time there
We were hoping to catch the first sunset of the year but the clouds had other plans

Cheeks McGee

Who needs snow

Christmas Chaos

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 02:14:00 +0000

When I was little I remember my Mom being stressed out by the end of Christmas day. I never got it, for a little kid Christmas is awesome. You just get to sit back and enjoy all of your new toys and eat lots of delicious food and sweets that someone else prepared for you. This year I finally got what all the stress was about. With two little ones, Christmas was freaking bananas.

I'm not completely bah-humbug, I love the season. It's just those two days that get a little out of control. Let me break it down for you. Finley is still very unpredictable unless it's the evening and then you know she is going to be difficult. This makes having a nice Christmas Eve dinner with a bunch of family pretty impossible. The night started out like any other family get together, everyone wanting to hold Finley and Finley not having it. All the passing around makes her extra cranky and Joe and I ended up taking shifts holding her in the dark quiet back room while the other one ate. Aubrey was pretty good until my father in law dressed up as Santa and came out of the attic in the garage to surprise the kids. Girlfriend lost her shit and would let anyone put her down for the rest of the night.

Christmas morning was good but Aubrey is at that stage where she just wants to play with every gift she opens instead of going on to the next. I guess that's a good thing because she really like everything she got but it makes for a long morning of opening presents. My parents and my brother came over for brunch and all was good until about one in the afternoon. All of the excitement from the morning and the night before proved to be taking a toll on Aubs when she starting talking complete gibberish. We laid her down for a nap but no nap would prepare her for a whole other round of gift opening and dinner that we were set to have that night at Joe's dad's house. Basically the whole evening Joe and I were swapping which kid to hold because Finley was being Finley and Aubrey was just spent. She has this weird thing where she hates every dog but ours and won't let you put her down if there is one around. Well, Joe's dad has a dog. A dog Aubrey knows but it didn't seem to matter that day, she would not let her feet touch the floor and my sister in law Heather had to pretty much open all of her presents for her. It's kind of funny though because now she thinks that all of the presents she got while she was there are from Aunt Heather.

It's sad to say but I'm pretty happy Christmas is over this year. It was just too much for anyone to handle. Next year will be better, I'm sure of it.

2012- Oh What a Year it Was

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 01:25:00 +0000

January

It was a bit of a slow relaxed start to the year but we did make it to the beach for our first sunset of 2012.

February

We continued to beach it and hang out with family.

Aubrey and I went to lots of Wednesday night dinners with my parents while Joe played flag football with guys from work.

We went to the Blues Fest and Joey and my mom when on the crazy trampolines.

Aubs had her first ER trip

I made a big announcement

March

We celebrated Aubrey's second birthday with a trip to Disney World.

Aubs and I played in the backyard with the hose... a lot.

We found out that we were having another girl.

April

Aubs started going to preschool on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

I took my first stab at vegetable gardening

I began to chronicle my pregnancy week to week.

May

We spent a lot of time on the boat & at the beach

We grieved at the loss of a family member

June

We remodeled our closet

Aubs spent a ton of time in Nanny's backyard

Tropical Storm Debby did some damage

July

Aubrey fell in love swimming

More backyard water fun

Aubs first dance

August

Learned to blow bubbles

My belly grew to insane proportions

Finley Kate made us a family of four

September

We all had a bit of a hard time adjusting to the new babe

The family met Fin

Took some newborn pictures

Finally semi-successfully potty trained

October

Realized that we had a colicky baby on our hands

Finley became an almost constant fixture to my body like she never left the womb

Finley's first ER visit

We celebrated cousin Lia's 6th birthday

We went to the pumpkin festival

Celebrated Halloween

November

Had another Finley health scare

December

Made a gingerbread house

Met Santa

Spent lots of time growing as a family

Happy New Year!
Thanks for sticking around during these crazy lack of blogging times.

My Stars- Macy's Heart of Haiti

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 03:09:00 +0000

Being a mom and a wife has really made me appreciate family on a whole new level. Growing up I knew family was important but I thought of it as a cut and dry kind of thing. I never really the thought about what it takes to form a family and make it last. Building and growing a strong family starts with two people falling in love and I could not be more happy with the man that I fell in love with.

Joe and I have known each we were eleven years old. The thing I really love about this is that there is no crazy secret past to worry about. He knows embarrassing things about me like that I never really kissed a boy until I was nearly fifteen and I know that he kissed pretty much every girl he met from the time he was twelve to fifteen. We also have a lot of shared memories of people and places. We’ve come a long way since roaming the halls of high school. We have had many highs and lows but in the end it has made us that much stronger. I know that after a long stressful day with the kids he will come home after working ten hours and help me with the dishes. He is also the only one who can rock Finley when she is super upset and get her to calm down within minutes. He is truly my shining star in life and the fact that I have had the pleasure of knowing him for more than half of my life makes it feel that much more special.

Having children took out relationship and our lives to a whole new level. I know that everyone says this but you don’t really know unconditional love until you have a child. I am still getting to know our newest addition but I know our toddler inside and out. They make my life that much more bright. When I’m down and out nothing can cheer me up like a smile and a giggle from my girls. Even when Aubrey is being bad she seems to know just how far she can push it before she turns it around with a hug and a song and makes me forget about all of the bad behavior.

My family is my light, the three of them are truly my stars. The beautiful star that I received from the Macy’s Heart of Haiti campaign helps me reflect on that when I’m having a hard time seeing it on a bad day. Once Christmas is over the star will hang on my wall as a constant reminded of how lucky I am. The star is not available for purchase but Macy’s offers more than 40 home décor items that are handcrafted by artisans in Haiti. To date the program has employed 780 artisans, which has improved the lives of over 6,200 individuals. The Heart of Haiti initiative provides artists with an opportunity to make a living, feed their families and pay their children’s school fees. When doing last minute Christmas shopping or really any shopping in the future please consider these products as they help improve the lives of people who are trying to provide for the stars in their lives.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own. #CleverHaiti

Santa Fail

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 16:07:00 +0000

Aubs has been loving Santa this year
Or so we thought.....

This one is slightly better but not much. I do love the cheeks on baby Fin though,

Pictures from the last two years

Have you posted your Santa pictures? Leave the link in the comments, I'd love to see them.

Gingerbread

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 02:34:00 +0000

I love traditions. We're a young family so we don't yet have any set in stone but it's fun to try some out. When I saw that gingerbread house kits were on sale at Target, I snatched one up. I'm no gingerbread pro unless you count the numerous milk carton graham cracker ones I made in elementary school. Do you remember those things? Sure they were fun but what a sorry excuse for a gingerbread house. I always did have a fondness for real gingerbread houses though because my Great Nana used to send fancy schmancy ones to me and my brother when we were little. We would put them on out mantel and then dive into them on Christmas morning.

Over all our family's first gingerbread house making adventure was successful. The house was a little lopsided and didn't look nearly as lovely as the one on the box but we had fun. Aubs got a kick out of sticking all the candy on the tiny house and "helping" pipe the frosting for the windows. Next year will be better though, I plan on making one from scratch instead of buying a kit. So for now gingerbread houses are a new Christmas tradition in our house, one that I hope will stick around for a long time.

Linking up with The Paper Mama

3 Months

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 16:06:00 +0000

Dear Finley,

Well three months have come and gone. You are still quite fussy but seem to be getting better by the day. This weekend you were surprising content so hopefully you just needed these first few months of your life to warm up to the world. I can't really blame you, you went from a dark quiet and peaceful place to a bright loud and chaotic place. The chaos mainly coming from your big sis. She seemed to overwhelm you at first but now you seem in awe of her. You give her lots of smiles when she talks to you which she absolutely loves.

You rolled from your back to your belly at 11 weeks 6 days. More than a month sooner than your big sis. Since then you have been a rolling machine but most of the time you get mad that you haven't figured out how to get from your belly to your back and we have you flip you over. You have also sat straight up in your bouncer which is kind of crazy to us. You're just ready to go go go. I will not be surprised if you're an early crawler and/or walker.

Sleep is still iffy, you aren't very consistent. You'll give mama a really good night and then the next night you'll be up four times. I am happy to report that last night you slept nine hours and ten minutes, your longest stretch to date. I don't mind if you don't continue to sleep that long every night but please sleep at least six hours please! Your naps have also started to become 4-5 cat naps a day rather than long ones. It kind of stinks at the moment but I remember Aubrey doing this too right before she settled into two naps a day.

Although you scream more than I'd like, you are absolutely adorable. You have the chunkiest little legs and your cheeks are so chubby they hang lower than the rest of your face. You are full of lovely smiles and loud happy coos. We are so excited to have you as a part of our family, especially for the holiday season.

Lots of Love,
Mama

Likes: being tightly swaddled, walks while riding in the Ergo, funny faces, evening dance parties before bed, sink baths

Dislikes: baths in the infant tub, being put in the car seat, being trapped on her belly for too long

Stats: 3 months, 0-3 & 3-6 month clothes, about to move into size 2 diapers and fits into clothes diapers better now. Unsure of height and weight but I'm assuming that she is between 13 & 14 pounds.

Be sure to check out the One Grace Place giveaway! It is an amazing prize of a luxury full bed set for your child or baby. I am extending the giveaway through Monday.

One Grace Place- Giveaways Galore

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 19:27:00 +0000

One Grace Place is a new company that offers high quality children's bedding and accessories. They have everything you need to decorate your little one's space to make it truly unique. I especially love the Sophia Lolita collection which has a ton of bright girly colors in it that will easily blend with existing decor. Although I'm usually in a more feminine state of mind with my two girls, I can't help but love the Teyo's Tires collection. I'm a sucker for all things black and white and I think that any item from the collection would be great for a car themed room.

Finley is loving her Sophia Lolita blanket

What is also great about One Grace Place is that they are having a huge promotion starting today and going until Christmas day. Each day they will be giving away one of they're beautiful products. Today they are giving away a binkie blanket from their Sassy Shaylee collection to two lucky winners. All you need to do is like their facebook page and then and sign up for the sweepstakes on One Grace Place's facebook fan page. Everyday there is a new task to win more. In addition to giving away great prizes everyday, they will also doing a weekly charity poll to find out your favorite charity and giving the winning charities one of their bedding sets.

source

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One Grace Place has also been generous enough to offer one of my readers their choice of bedding set. Check out the rafflecopter below to see how you can win!

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Cry Baby

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 20:14:00 +0000

What used to just be the title to my favorite movie as a teenager (mmmm 90's Johnny Depp)is now the two words that describe my everyday battle. Finley girl is quite the crier. It's not just a regular cry either, it's a wail that sounds like someone is trying to rip the limbs from her body. It is at it's worst during the afternoons and evenings but it also sometimes rears ugly head in the mornings. She will be 3 months on Thursday so I'm hoping that it will end soon but colic can last up to six months so I might have to double the time she's already been here and just hope that all of my hair falls out.

Having a baby who is pretty much never content is the most frustrating thing in the world. I know I have mentioned this before but Aubrey was the most chill baby in the entire ever. It was rare to hear her cry and when she did you knew something was wrong and she would stop as soon as you fixed it. Everyone would praise me on how good she was and that I must be doing something right. I loved the praise and would often pat myself on the back and think what a damn good mom I was.

There have been no pats on the back this time around, no praise. Just a baby that everyone is terrified to hold because she more often than not will start wailing uncontrollably and then take forever to be consoled. It's heartbreaking to have such a sad little baby. I do everything that I know how to do to show her that she is loved and cared for. I nurse her, I wear her for at least an hour everyday, I talk and sing to her but none of that seems to matter. She's still mad at the world day in and day out.

Pardon my absence until I get this situation under control. I miss blogging and all the wonderful things that come with it but as of right now any spare time I have usually goes into house work or spending a few precious quiet hours with my husband. I will make time when I can and try to pump out a blog post or two a week to keep the momentum going. Later this week I have a fabulous review and giveaway with a ton of chances to win so make sure you check back for that. Other than that, I hope all my ladies out in blog land are doing well and enjoying the holiday season.

Pumpkin Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 15:08:00 +0000

These photos are a little late, I know
At least I got them up before Thanksgiving
There is a great farm about an hour south of us that holds a pumpkin festival every year
Living in Florida, it feels like our only authentic little bit of Fall fun

Chuck E...Chuck E...Chuck E

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:08:00 +0000

Watching her fav videos on the iPad.

Kids are such little weirdos and mine is no exception. Her thing for quite some time now has been her obsession with a certain overgrown mouse who goes by the name Chuck E. Cheese. She loves to go see the big guy in person but mostly she likes to watch Chuck E. Cheese videos on YouTube. I have no one to blame but myself because I introduced her to the world of CEC on YouTube. My intention was to make her less scared of him because if you remember from awhile back, she used to be terrified. I had no idea that it would turn into a full on love and obsession.

This was Aubrey's reaction to Chuck E. Cheese, way back in July. Obviously times have changed.

Some of Aubs Chuck E-isms:

-She thinks every Lady Gaga song is CEC related because of this video.
-Every thing she drinks must come from one of her two Chuck E. cups
-She knows every CEC character even though CEC has retired all of them except Chuck E
-She thinks that the guy on the pringles can is Pasqually. If you're curious to who that is here is a reference.
-Sings the verse, "Our mouse and his name is Chuck E Cheese," a lot.
-Also sings the CEC version of "Where in Thumbkin?" By asking where is Chuck E., Helen, Pasqually, Munch and Jasper.
-Thinks that all purple pom poms are Munch

***Since I began writing this post over a month ago her obsession has gotten better. She still asks for Chuck E. but it is no where near the level that it used to be. I decided to finished and post this entry anyway because I think it was really funny and definitely something I want her to know about when she is older.

My Own Art- A Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 19:53:00 +0000

It's no secret that using your own family photos in home decor is a big trend these days. Elin Tidbeck of My Own Art decided to take this trend a step further and create custom works of art from everyday photos and portraits. Elin, who has a background in architecture and illustration, found herself loving turning family and friend's pictures into custom pieces. She decided to take this love a little further and start My Own Art to help others have personal works of art in their homes. What is even more fantastic is that she can do it from any photo you have, it can even be a cell phone picture!

Check out what Elin did with Finley's picture, I absolutely love it. You all know that I am one for taking photos but I don't usually take it the step further and create something truly unique like Elin has for me. The photo was great to begin with but Elin really made it pop. I plan on getting it printed onto canvas to display in Fin's nursery.

Elin has been kind enough to offer her gorgeous design skills to one of my readers. It would make a perfect holiday present for that hard to buy for relative. The prize is for one custom portrait illustration (digital file not printed), style to be selected from My Own Art. Winner will email a photo they wish to have transformed and within a few days receive a high-resolution digital file of the custom portrait illustration.

Though the month of November you can also get $30 off by using the coupon code: 30offchristmas

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Hair Scare

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 20:52:00 +0000

If you've been reading for awhile then you know that we have had more medical scares with Finley then we would like. It started with my 20 week gender scan when they couldn't get a good read on her brain and sent me to a high risk doctor. Then the high risk doctor thought that she was too small and wanted to keep track of her growth. Thankfully by 28 weeks they decided that she was growing just fine and I was taken off high risk. The second scare was at her two week check-up when we were told that one of her hips was clicking and she would need to have an ultrasound to see if she would need to wear a harness to correct a shallow hip. Thankfully that time it was also just another false alarm. I thought that we were out of the woods for a little while but I was wrong.

I took Finley in for her two month appointment feeling confident that it would just be another well baby check-up. They would ask me all the questions, check her out, give her a couple of shots and we would be on our merry way. While the doctor was examining little Fin she spent a lot of time checking out her back, her lower back to be exact. When she was finished she asked me if I had noticed the hair on her back. I said yes and that Aubrey had the same hair when she was a newborn. She told me that most babies do but it falls out around six weeks. When it doesn't fall out it becomes a marker for spinal abnormalities such as tethered spine and spina bifida. We would have to take Finley back to All Children's for another ultrasound and an x-ray to make sure that her spine was okay.

At first I was a little panicky, I mean really her spine now!?! When I got home I jumped on Google which usually makes matters worse but this time it actually made me feel better. All of the cases I read about where a marker was found, the child had a ton of hair or a dimple. Finley had neither of these. Her check-up was on Tuesday and the appointment at the hospital was scheduled for Friday morning. I decided to just put it out of my mind until we found out if there was really anything wrong. This was pretty easy for me to do because I honestly felt in my heart that nothing was going to be wrong. My husband Joe was the complete opposite. He didn't confess it until the morning of the appointment but he was so worried that he had barely slept and spent hours at work researching possible outcomes. I absolutely hate that he was so panicked for the better part of a week and didn't tell me about it.

When Friday morning came, I dressed Finley in something that was easy to remove and we dropped Aubrey off at Joe's parents house. Then we made the all too familiar drive to All Children's hospital. The wait wasn't long and we were in the exam room within a half hour. You would think that a baby would scream through all of this but I guess it has become pretty familiar for Fin because she didn't make a peep throughout the whole ultrasound. The x-ray on the other hand she wasn't too happy about but she calmed easily. Once it was all over and I was dressing Finley, Joe asked the ultrasound tech if she could give us her opinion. She said that unofficially she thought that everything looked fine and that she has been doing it for twenty years. That put my mind almost completely at ease but not Joe, he wasn't convinced until he talked to our pediatrician. He called me around 1 pm to let me know that the scan and x-ray came back completely normally. Apparently he had called Finley's doctor 3 times asking for the results before they had actually received them from the hospital. So thankfully Finley is in the clear again but I'm definitely not looking forward to her four month check-up.

Our Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (Mallory Musing) — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 11:07:00 +0000

We all go through gaps in life where holidays aren't that fun. Sure holidays are always a little exciting because they're special but sometimes they don't hold that magic that they once did. I think that in my late teens and early twenties my enthusiasm about holidays took a but of a dive. I was no longer that kid whose parents were trying to create an amazing time for and I wasn't yet the parent who was trying to do that for my own child. So when Aubrey arrived and especially now that Aubs is getting older my "holiday magic" is back in full swing.

This Halloween was the best I've had since I was young. Aubs was excited about dressing up and had some sort of grasp that Halloween was a special and fun day. For me it was like going through all of that first time excitement that I must have felt at her age all over again. I can only see these times getting better as Aubrey gets a little older and I'm so happy that I get to experience it times two now that Finley is a part of our family.