Maternity Session

Head over to my photography blog for more photos from Bao and Noah's maternity session! 

Citrus Lane - January 2014

If you read my blog often, you can recall that I wrote about December's box from Citrus Lane and that I was thinking about canceling the subscription. Well... I received January's box the other day and totally changed my mind about canceling it! When I got the box, it was pretty heavy so I knew it was going to be a pretty good one! Here's what was inside for my 7 month old son.

* Baby Car from Plan Toys - value $15.00
* Football from Little Taggies - value $7.99
* Cleo in the Snow from Barefoot Books - value $6.99 (for Paperback)
* Travel Dish Soap from Dapple - value $2.29
* Ruby Ribbon 20% off your first order code - value $0

Total value of January 2014 Citrus Lane box is $32.27

I really enjoy receiving these subscription boxes from Citrus Lane. Every month, I always find that I'm more than satisfied with them. I especially liked the football rattle ball for Anakin. He loves playing with tags and ribbons so this is perfect for him to tug at while he's in his car seat. It keeps him entertained while I focus on driving. I also liked that the dish liquid was sealed in a ziplock bag in case it leaked while being delivered. Thanks Citrus Lane for being pre-cautious about those kinds of things. I'm sure it costs you guys more if you had to replace the entire box due to damage from liquids.

I'm pretty sure I will wait until February's box now to see if I will cancel this box or not. I am still waiting on a $15 dollar credit that I won from a Twitter party they held back in November that I never got! I contacted them 3 times already and still no credit or no response. If their customer service is anything like this than that will be the factor in which I will cancel my subscription. We shall give them the benefit of the doubt and wait and see.

Our Day to Day Activities

I CAN NOT WAIT until the warm weather hits so I can finally take this energetic and curious boy outside to explore! He's very much like me in the sense that we both get bored staying home all day with seeing the same scenery over and over again. I can tell, he's an adventurist like me! Unfortunately, it's been snowing the past couple of days here in the Midwest and it looks like its not going to end any time soon. For once in my life, I am wishing for lots of snow - just not here where I live. I wish for lots of snow in Colorado since we will be venturing out there this Summer and I would love to be able to play in the creeks that are created from the snowy cap mountains!

Anywho, here are some pictures of my buddy I took today. He gets so curious about my camera and the bright light that shines in his eyes...

Throwback Thursdays

I don't even remember half of these pictures that I find myself in floating around Facebook. It's like, those years didn't even exist for me but, pictures never lie! These are photos of me back when I was young, naive, and oh so SKINNY! I remember being a size double 00 throughout my high school years. Thanks to walking every day to and from school and for running 8 blocks every school day for gym class. If anything, these pictures should serve as a motivation to get back into shape!

Wow! Look at me.... so young! Heehee.

Valentines Day Card

Look at these adorable little hands! I can't believe he stayed still for me while I traced his hands. It was a lot of work but well worth it! Here's what you'll need to get started with your own special Valentines Card:

- White card stock paper (to print the Valentines heart card and your photo on)

- Red and Pink construction paper

- Scissors

- Double sided tape

- Pen

- Envelopes

First thing I did was trace his hands onto the construction paper and cut out. Then I measured the palm to see how big of hearts I needed to fit. Then I cut out tiny hearts. 

I went to illustrator and created a heart card with "Peek-a-Boo! I love you!" and printed those out on the white card stock (size of heart card is 6" x 4.125"). I then chose a photo of Anakin and printed and cut those out (size of photo is 3" x 2"). 

I then placed 1 strip of double sided tape in the middle of the back of the photo. And then, I took another strip of tape and taped it half way horizontally - leaving the other half sticking out. I then taped one of his cut out hands to it and then secured the heart to it. Repeat on opposite side. 

And that's it! Feel free to get as creative as you can with this! I can't wait to send these out to his aunties and cousins! Do you celebrate Valentines Day and what crafts are you planning to do with your little ones? 

The 5 Love Languages

I've never read the book but I have done the Respect Dare with my husband and know a little about the 5 love languages. Although I do prefer receiving gifts, I do also like gifting! And quite honestly, its not so much about the gift than the gesture. If someone took the time out of their busy schedule to buy me a card or give me a hand written letter, then I know they love me because they did it from their heart. Take the test and let me know what you scored! http://www.5lovelanguages.com/

Mustache Man

Anakin in babyGAP mustache footed one piece

Here's my backyard today. We are expected to get 4-6 inches of snow tonight through tomorrow. Yippeee.

Anakin Lucky No 7

This little guy isn't so very little anymore once you get to know him and see his big personality! He's definitely a little ball of fire. Mama can't wait till you start to crawl (yeah right!). Here's what he's up to...

- This guy can sit by himself just fine now with no help. He wants to crawl to bad that sometimes he will lunge forward for something and get a major faceplant. He'll cry of course but he gets over it quick.

- He loves eating real food. Pho. Ramen Noodles. Rice. Yeah... this guy will hopefully develop a great taste and not be picky like his Daddy.

- He loves to splash water with his hands. In fact, he will push away all his water toys just to make room for his big splashes.

- He talks a lot now. A lot of "Baaa Baa Ba". I'm trying hard to teach him MaaaaMa. DaaaaDa. But that doesn't seem to interest him as much as BaaaBa.

- He just got over a nasty cold (so did Mama) and we're both doing fine now. He's back to his usual smily self. No more sick kids coming for visits! LOL.

- He can also eat those cereal snacks now. He loves them so much that even though he was sick, he still tried to eat as much as he could. Unfortunately, he spit it all back out, but he tried!

Anakin... you're growing up so fast. Mama can't wait to see what tomorrow brings for you and for all of us. We are so blessed that God gave you to us and now our lives are no longer full of silence. We pray that you have great health and that you remain humble in whatever you pursue. We also pray that you never lose the passion for adventure and that you'll always treat everyone you come across with respect and love. We love you so much!

Christmas Recap

Christmas with my side of the family was celebrated at my house this year. All the kids loved my great big tree and their eyes (along with the adults' eyes) lit up with excitement as they all watched the pile of presents grow bigger and bigger. Unfortunately, with a baby and the anticipation of our new present to ourselves (a camcorder) we didn't take any photos at all except on our cellphones. We did however, take lots of videos so those will be up whenever I get a chance to edit and upload.

Christmas always holds a dear place in my heart but now that Anakin is a part of my life, it means even more. I can not wait until next year when he can, hopefully, tear open his own presents. Here's what he received this year from his aunties and uncles.

Citrus Lane - December 2013 (late review)

I apologize about the late review on the December 2013 Citrus Lane box but as you can quite imagine, since I received the box around the time the holiday gatherings started, it was beeeeZy! I basically had received this with a bunch of my Christmas gifts I ordered online and was so busy wrapping those presents that I only glanced through this box and set it aside until probably just last week. So here goes...

The theme for December's box was "Holiday" and here is what I received for my 6 month old son:

* Handprint Keepsake from Pearhead - value $12.99
* Flatso Rattle (Cow) from North American Bear Co. 8" - value $17.00 (price for the 15")
* Klick Klack from HABA - value $8.99
* Suggly Lotion from Episencial 3.4 fl oz. - value $12.00 (price for the 8 oz)

My most favorite item in December's box was the Handprint Keepsake from Pearhead. Perfect timing for the holidays and since this is Anakin's first Christmas, it just means so much to me (and hopefully him when he's older) to have this keepsake. My next favorite items are the Klick Klack toy from HABA (I just love their products so much) and the Snuggly Lotion from Episencial (also one of my favorites). I would not have ever known about HABA or Episencial if it weren't for Citrus Lane. It's such a hard decision for me to cancel their subscription because they've introduced me to so many great brands but because I am now a SAHM and we are planning a roadtrip this Summer, I am sad to say that January will be my last box with Citrus Lane. I will continue to purchase products from my favorite brands like HABA and Episencial but it's time for me to focus on my other priorities.