Recording baby’s first year (and my very first give away!)

My little guy is 12 weeks old today. 12 WEEKS, seriously, where has the time gone. I actually don’t want to think about it too much because it makes me a little sad that my tiny newborn is getting big, sometimes I wish I could just freeze time and keep him this little forever. (And then I remember what it’s like to kind of sleep through the night and I get happy again that time does move forward!).

Which brings me to today’s post… different ways to record your baby’s first year. I’ve only woken up now to do this, and I could kick myself that I’ve already lost 12 weeks. Anyway, I’ve set reminders on my phone for the 21st of every month going forward and I WILL capture a photo monthly.

Here are some cute ideas I found…

Love this photoshop tutorial from Young House Love

I also like the idea of placing baby in the same spot throughout the year to see how they are growing in comparison. Love this from Cheap Chic Nursery.

And this idea from Under the Sycamore

And so…. last but not least… I love the idea so much (even if I’m a little behind in my months), I decided to pull some creative director rank in my home and together with my darling graphic designer husband we came up with the following two designs of monthly (vinyl) stickers that you can use to capture those months that go by oh so quick.

Each sticker is 10cm in diameter and can be used a number of times to ensure you get the perfect photo each month. Stick them on their onesies, t-shirts, nappy bums etc, snap away with your camera and in a years time you’ll have some great photo evidence of how your little people have grown throughout the year. A great alternative to the standard gifts of bum cream and bath products at a baby shower  🙂

I’m selling them for R120 for a pack of 12, inclusive of postage. I am going to give a set away – all you need to do is ‘like’ my very very new Facebook page for the stickers. Any tweets will give you additional entries, and we’ll do the draw on Tuesday 13 Nov…

Pop over here if you are interested in buying some

Our Family of Four

Remember me… I’m the chick that used to blog just about every day here… anyway, I’m the same chick, I just don’t get here that much at the moment, I’ve made my excuses in previous posts, so for now I’m just going with the flow and trust I’ll be back here more frequently when the time is right…

So many of you have been so supportive in our journey as parents though, and so I did want to share our latest news with you, and yes, I am so very proud of my family that I’m taking all opportunities to share our special blessings with the world.

So… without further ado… let me introduce to you little Miles John Foulston. Born on the 21st August, by C-Section, in Durban, South Africa. 3.02kg and 48cm of perfectness for us. Watching him sleep right next to me I am amazed daily at what a miracle each and every birth is and just how amazing God is to provide us with our son.

My biggest little monkey is being an amazing big sister so far, with lots of cuddles and helping hands. She’s test driven his bottle and dummy and there have of course been moments when she’s had her wobbles, but over all she’s a great big sister and still the apple of our eye.

Here are a few photos from a photo shoot we did with the amazingly talented Megan Hancock this week.

 

 

xxx

 

What you’re doing matters

I saw this video clip on Colour Me There last week and just fell in love with what was said… So – two things, if you’re a mom… open the video clip and listen the the words, you’ll love it, and secondly, pop over to Colour Me There‘s blog – she’s my blogging hero, the reason I started blogging, she loves colour, she shaves her hair to support kids with cancer, she’s a real real mom and put’s it perfectly when she describes her blog as “bright and happy and colourful. But what I like to share most of all is happy.”

All things Jelly… or Jello…

Here’s my confession… nooooo, I don’t have some juicy story to share with you to explain my absence from my blog, but what I can tell you is that I love jelly (or as my husband has just informed me – what they refer to as jello over the seas)… red jelly to be exact, covered in custard when ever possible!

I saw this recipe for Jello Biscuits, from I Heart Nap Time and was about to share on Facebook, but thought I’d do a blog post of Jelly instead 🙂

I’ve got my monkey’s 2nd birthday party coming up (more of that to come obviously) and think I’m definitely going to try making some of these for the party… My mom always used to make a layered jelly ‘cake’ for my birthday parties, so I reckon having something made of jelly will be a good continuation of mini tradition! Recipe over at Our Best Bites

And how about these Jello Shots from JSTK – so much of pretty!

And then I had to share this idea from Party Frosting with you – the picture isn’t great, but just love the idea… not sure I’ve seen blue jelly in South Africa, but as I said, I’m a red jelly girl so don’t bother looking at the other colours! Anyway – for anyone having a boat or nautical party for their little ones….

Anyone in SA know where I could get letter moulds to try this out? (From Plenty of Colour)

Over and out, off to raid my daughters bowl of Jelly that’s in the fridge… no body tell anyone..

Colourful kitchen utensils

Sorry, not a long post today, but couldn’t resist sharing this quick and easy DIY project with you! How much would these brighten up your kitchen, and soo easy to do as well. You can see how they were done over at Little Bit Funky

Save our Rhinos

I have to be honest, I’ve tried to ignore the fact that our Rhino population is rapidly declining due to dumb ass poachers who take their horns for cures to every illness in the world. Here’s a heads up… Rhino horn doesn’t cure cancer, it doesn’t cure AIDS, it’s not going to have the same effect as viagra… 2011 has come and gone, leaving in its wake 448 known rhino carcasses despite the best efforts of so many.  According to acclaimed rhino scientists, if poaching continues at its current rate South Africa’s rhino herd will go into population decline by mid-2012. So far this year alone, 64 Rhinos in South Africa have been poached… it’s just unacceptable…

If you’re like me and want not only your kids, but their kids too, to be able to view these magnificent animals in the wild next time you spend a weekend in the bush, (or visit Africa for the first time) well, let’s all do something about it.. whether it’s raising awareness of this massive problem, donating to saving them, or teaching our children all about these beautiful beasts, let’s not keep our heads in the sand (ostriches don’t need our support for now), let’s stand up for the Rhino’s and actually do something to stop their elimination!

Cute nursery art from Etsy

For the mom, don’t you like this Rhino Journal, also from Etsy

The perfect way to record each month of your baby’s first year (and let’s hope not the number of rhino’s poached!)

(Available from Etsy)

And this guy might be my favourite…. love the picture of him with the dinosaur – a good reminder to us on how close we are to reading story books to our grandkids on how Rhino’s used to roam Africa, just like the T-Rex!

We also love these cute little soft and cuddly Rhinos from the Crazy Aunt Company. What we love even more though is that 25% from every sale of these rhino’s is donated to the World Wildlife Fund and their efforts to save Africa’s rhinos.

The perfect gift for Dad!

I’m in love with this idea for the Dad in our family – he loves nothing more than his back tickled and I’m quite frankly not the worlds best back tickler… Our little pink monkey isn’t that into her cars and trucks at the moment (I’m giving her time cause I remember growing up one of my favourite toys was my brown suitcase full of cars and trucks that I played in the sand / mud with). I’m thinking she’s going to be seriously encouraged to start playing with some cars though, either that or pressure to produce a boy baby next time 🙂

You can find the full post on how this is made (together with a template to copy if you’re artistically challenged like me) over at The Blue Basket 

Cool pressie idea though, don’t you agree?

Seriously, this is my kind of tree!

So I know I posted just a few days ago on Christmas trees, but seriously, that was before I came across this tree!!! And you know how much this gal loves a rainbows… so

And if you’ve got some felt to use… how cute is tis rainbow Christmas tree?

 

And then here’s some ideas for some rainbow decorations!

I’m a little bit head over heels in love with these, not sure how easy to make, but they look easy enough… And perfect for our very  Christmas tree. See how  to do it here…

 

You can dye some pasta to make pasta chains for the tree (or pretty necklaces) – see how they do it here

My Happy Family

The weekend of our family photo shoot finally arrived and we couldn’t be happier with the results. (If there’s any family reading this post please don’t show the grandparents as they’re getting some of these in their Christmas stockings!)

A massive thanks to our friend Megan Hancock for capturing our gorgeous monkey so perfectly.

 

 

 

Dear Santa…

I’ve been a very good girl this year…I’ve been nice to my husband, I’ve cooked some decent meals, I even tidied up one of the cupboards last night! These are the things I’d most like to find in my stocking this year…

I’ve blogged about these before, but I do just love the bright and chunkyness of these chew bead necklaces. I don’t wear much jewellery and probably none (except my wedding rings) since my monkey was born as it just seems too much of a temptation to get ripped off! I do love these though, especially the fact that they are 100% silicone and safe for babies to put in their mouths.

I’ve been craving an iPhone for months now. (ps – as much as I love this wooden toy phone, FYI – I’d quite like the real thing. This one would be great for my monkey though if you feel like throwing it in as well)

Moving on…. do your elves make things that are as cute as Macaroon? I imagine Macaroon’s studio to be more lovelier than your workshop at times… seriously – I mean no disrespect to the work you do up in the North Pole, but you’ve got to agree that the stationery from Macaroon is simply delicious… Perhaps they’ll do some business cards for you and Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolf.

ok… and then there’s this leather Jeankelly baby bag from Shooshoos… I have no words to describe how badly I would love one of these and how much it would up my cred with the moms in my hood..

Anyway, if you all haven’t got your letters off to Santa yet, then feel free to download this template for the letter and envelope from Molly Moo

Thanks Santa, safe travels for you on the 24th…

Yours in goodness

Jude