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A Robot Party!

My baby boy turned three years old this past weekend! Oh my gosh, I cannot believe he is already three!! Where has the time gone?!

Monte has recently become attached to the movie Robots. I actually had not heard of it until recently, but Monte wants to watch it ALL THE TIME. It’s okay though, because it’s a pretty cute movie. Travis and I decided we would have a themed robot party and he loved it!

We decided to have his party at the Grimes Community Center. We rented out a large room and rented the tumbling equipment to go along. It ended up working out perfectly! The kids really enjoyed burning off some energy.

I ordered special invitations from, of course, Etsy 🙂 Unfortunately, I do no have a picture of the invite, but you can take a look to see what they looked like and purchase yours from here!

I also ordered him a special t-shirt with a robot, his name and age on it. This has become a tradition. I usually order a t-shirt with his birthday theme, name and age every year. It’s something fun and something we can keep forever 🙂 I ordered his robot t-shirt from here.

We also got the idea to build robots as decorations from Pinterest. They were very easy to put together. We just wrapped old boxes with solid color wrapping paper, added googly eyes, glued pipe cleaners on the top for antenna’s, and used construction paper for the rest! They turned out really cute and Monte knew exactly what they were, “Robots!”

We had small snacks, cake and drinks. I found this fun idea on Etsy also! It was easy to print out the labels, fold them, and staple to snack baggies of chex mix. You can purchase these labels here.

I also offered a small craft … “Build a Bot”! I had foam shapes, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, pom-pom balls, popsicle sticks, and glue sticks sitting out. The kids were able to create their own robots. This was perfect for some of the bigger kids that attended and the little ones loved it also!

Of course, there was cake! We ordered our cake from Kissner Cakery and I highly recommend her! She did such a fantastic job and everyone loved the cake. Not just the appearance, but it was tasty also.

Overall, Monte had a great time celebrating his birthday. The robot theme came together very nicely and it was super easy! There are so many ideas out there!

What birthday themes have you done? 

 

Top 4 Baby Must Haves

I thought I would share some of my favorite baby products, I’ve discovered since Miss Amelia has came along. Some of these I had heard of when Monte was a bit older, but decided to purchase now, because we were in NEED!

1. Rock ‘N Play 

When Monte was an infant he slept in a bassinet that was on wheels. I loved that thing. We have hardwood floors, so all I had to do was roll it around with me room to room. When prepping for Amelia I knew I was going to use it again, so I washed it all up and had it ready. Well … Amelia had different plans. She was not a fan. She did not like to be completely flat. We needed something that would fit in our room and she would sleep in. My good friend introduced me to the Rock ‘N Play and we absolutely love it! We use it every day and night! She sleeps in it, hangs out and plays in it. It’s also very easy to fold up and carry with. Whenever we are going to the grandparents house, we fold it up and throw it in the car.

2. Crane Cool Mist Humidifier

I love this! Not only during the cold season, but all year round! I bought this when Monte first got congested, a few months ago. I could tell a HUGE difference in 24 hours of how he felt. Our house tends to be dry also and it also helps with this too. I also love all the fun characters and colors you can purchase! We chose the owl because we have a lot of owls around the house, including Monte’s owl themed room. The humidifier, humidifies up to 250 square feet, has a shutoff safety sensor, and no filter is required. I highly recommend this if you are dealing with dry coughs, congestion, dry skin, etc.

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3. NoseFrida

The snotsucker. Yes, snotsucker. It’s amazing. Sounds gross, but amazing. I highly recommend this instead of the sucky bulb thing, that barely works. What you do is stick the blue end into the baby and/or toddler’s nose. Don’t stick it UP the nose, just so there is a bit suction at the tip. Take the red end and suck! Don’t worry, no snot goes into your mouth! I was a bit weary of it at first, but after my first try and seeing how well it worked, I was hooked!

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4. Wooden Teething Rings from ApplnAmos

I came across Applenamos on Etsy (one of my obsessions) while Christmas shopping. I love absolutely everything in their shop. They specialize in eco-friendly wooden toys and Waldorf and Montessori philosophies. I purchased a personalized wooden teething ring for Amelia and also a Wooden Fly Me Hand Kite. She absolutely loves both 🙂 They have so many different items from baby to toddler. If you are looking for something unique and creative, this is the place to shop. I also love that you can message them and just about anything can be personalized to your wants and needs!

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What are some of your baby must haves?

Blank Park Zoo Night Eyes 2014 & Giveaway!

We made it out to the Blank Park Zoo Night Eyes again this year! Monte really enjoyed himself last year, so we made sure to check it out this year.

He went as a minion this year! It was hard to get a picture of him with the entire costume on (classic 2 year old), hopefully, before the end of the season, I will get one. I bought it off Etsy … I seriously have an Etsy addiction. Everything is so unique on that site!

I tried to get some good pictures of the event, but as the night went on, it got darker and darker and my pictures did not turn out the greatest 🙁

There were a lot of the same themes as last year like the Wizard of Oz, Pirates, When I Grow Up; but they did a great job of setting it up differently and adding some new things!

They also had the Fun Zone set up this year, which includes bouncy, inflatable houses, kettle corn, hot dogs, and more. We did not make it to this area in time. The Fun Zone closes at 7:30 pm

Monte enjoyed receiving candy from all of the different characters dressed up such as Woody from Toy Story and a Princess! He was a little shy when he met the princess. He wanted to go over, but never got enough courage to go and take a picture.

Monte also enjoyed riding the train, riding the carousel, and seeing some of the animals. While we were there the lion’s were super active and we saw the male lion get up and run! We also saw the tortisus’s up close.

I would definitely recommend putting Night Eye’s on your list of Halloween things to do! I love how the kids receive more then just candy, such as coupons, and how it can become a learning experience by viewing the animals and seeing some different, kid-friendly characters!

This weekend is the last chance to check it out.

It will be open Thursday – Sunday

Thursday & Friday 5:30pm – 8:00 pm

Saturday & Sunday 1:00 pm – 8:00 pm

If you go Thursday or Friday I would recommend being there right at 5:30 so you have a chance to check out the Fun Zone!

Giveaway!

I am giving away TWO free tickets to Night Eyes. All you have to do is go to my Facebook page and like, share and comment “done” on the pinned post at the top of the page. If the page gets to 120 “likes” by Wednesday, I will randomly announce a winner! Good Luck!

What is your favorite thing at the Blank Park Zoo Night Eyes?

Babywearing International of Central Iowa

Last week was International Babywearing week. I thought I would share with you, my experiences with babywearing and about an awesome support group, here, in Central Iowa!

I have been a lover of babywearing since Monte was little. I didn’t actually start wearing him until about 4-5 months old. I was not really sure about the whole thing. I finally decided I would give it a try. I started with an Ergo. Which is still my favorite carrier to this day. I also received a mei tai for my birthday, the year Monte was born. I wore it a few times. Below is a picture of me wearing him at the pumpkin patch in the mei tai.

A mei tai is a bit more wrapping and I was a little discouraged with this carrier so I did not use it much with Monte.

The Ergo is also great because it can be used for a back carry too! We used it just recently for Monte when we flew to Dallas in May. Travis snapped him on and went all the way through security to the gate, without having to take him off.

When I became pregnant with Amelia, I told myself I would start babywearing much earlier. For many reasons …

  1. Skin to skin contact is important for babies
  2. It makes my life easier to wear her while chasing around a 2 year old
  3. She usually falls asleep immediately when I wear her

I started off with the NuRoo Pocket. Which is not a carrier BUT it’s a shirt wrap and has the same benefits as many carriers. With the NuRoo Pocket, it can only be used for  babies up to 15 lbs. I think it’s one of the greatest items to practice skin-to-skin contact, while wearing. It allowed me to get things done around the house and play with Monte and still have skin-to-skin contact.

I keep mentioning skin-to-skin contact. It is so important to have skin-to-skin contact with newborns and babies in general!

  1. Helps establish the breastfeeding relationship
  2. Helps stable and create normal body temperatures for baby
  3. Helps stable blood pressure and heart rates for baby
  4. Less likely to cry
  5. More likely to exclusively breastfeed longer
  6. And it’s just super convenient 🙂

I decided to purchase another mei tai, which I LOVE. It’s a Baby SaBye Wrap which you can purchase from Etsy. It is handwoven, beautiful and so comfortable! If I am not using the Ergo I am using this.

With the help from our local babywearing group, I feel so much more comfortable using a mei tai!

If you are interested in babywearing and want to learn more OR try out different wraps/carriers …

“Like” the Central Iowa Babywearing group on Facebook.

“Follow” the Central Iowa Babywearing blog

Request to join the Babywearing International of Central Iowa group on Facebook

They hold meetings once a month in different locations through out Des Moines. You can check out dates and locations on their Facebook page.

You can also become a member for $30 a year! When you become a member, you have access to check out a babycarrier or wrap for an entire month. This is GREAT if you are new to babywearing and not really sure what will work best for you, before purchasing your own.

 To become a member e-mail centraliowaBWI@gmail.com

What is your favorite babywearing carrier/wrap?