Christmas 2013: Adylee's second Christmas

So it's been a while since I last made a post and decided that I would like to try to start this up again. Not only for updates on Adylee but also to maybe be able to get out some of my thoughts that jumble around in my head! 

Anyways!!! Christmas was recently (duh) so I thought that posting what miss Adylee Marie got for Christmas would be a great way to get back into the blogging world! So here we go :) 

Christmas started for us on Christmas Eve when her Mimi and Papa handed out the traditional Christmas Eve pjs 

Then on Christmas Day is when the fun began! First up was Christmas Day at my house with my parents and boy was she spoiled rotten! Santa brought lots as did mommy, Mimi/papa, titi and tio! From Santa came her princess chair, Minnie Mouse, an outfit, hello kitty pjs, puzzle, Cinderellas pet pumpkin (such a cute story behind this!!!), rapunzel and Flynn little people, Barbie DVD, fisher price laugh n learn chair, sofia the first puzzle mat, a Cinderella wand, Cinderella socks, pack of socks, Minnie Mouse wand, m&ms, purse, care bear book, laugh and learn sis puppy, Minnie Mouse book, piano princess book, links to play with and her fisher price vanity! Wow that's a lot!!! 

Then from her Mimi and papa came her little people princess castle which she absolutely loves!!! 

Mommy got her a sofia the first ball pit! 

Then came her Tio (uncle) and aunt Kelly! They added to her little people collection with the little people Ariel carriage 

Then her titi (aunt) got her the matching sofa of her princess chair 

Her second Christmas was at her grandma and grandpas house. Daddy had surprised us and came into town so that was one of her gifts from him. He also bought her something that we got today. But from her grandma and grandpa she got lots of Minnie Mouse things! They had decided to do a theme and got her nothing but Minnie Mouse which she also loves besides sofia the first. Included in this theme was an umbrella stroller, towel with Minnie wash cloth, two sets of pjs, Minnie outfit, an overnight bag, medium sized Minnie with a blanket, and a Minnie Mouse hair dryer set. 

From her aunt dawn and uncle nick she got the Snow White cottage to add to her little people collection 

Then her uncle jim got her a cute little monkey 

And her uncle Shawn and aunt Alyssa got her a slumber party Minnie, mini my little pony and a dollar to add to her piggy bank. 

Then today, her daddy sent me some money and told me to get her something that she would love. So I decided to add to her little people collection! She got belle and Prince Adam and the Klip Klop stable! 

Oh and not to mention all the stuff that the church and one of my parents got her for Christmas as well!!! And she still has one gift left from one of her teachers! 

Needless to say miss Adylee was a spoiled rotten girl this Christmas! She enjoyed every single minute of it though. I was so excited for Christmas with her this year since she could open gifts and understand a little more! Next year will be ten times more fun! I am so thankful for what everyone has given her!!!

Nursery Theme Idea!

I have decided to change Adylee's nursery theme because we are starting a new chapter in our lives this week and it's time to take out the old and start with the new. I have been racking my brain trying to figure out a cute new theme for her that doesn't involve animal print because I want her to have something new and fresh obviously. 

Then I came across this on Pintrest....

And I decided that I had to do a pink and navy theme that has anchors incorporated  Basically a nautical theme but I'm not going to be doing a lot of the fish aspects. Just mainly doing anchors and adding in a few whales. Lots of stripes, chevron and polka dots though!

I will be painting one wall a navy blue and maybe do it half pink as well. I wanna try and replace knobs on her furniture to look something like the below picture.

I'm going to mod podge outlet covers to look something like this:

And lots more navy and pink with the nautical accents. I can't wait to start bringing this idea together after her birthday party. It's been a long time coming for us to start over fresh and new. I have recently become obsessed with anchors and really want to have one of her murals be the anchor that Carter's had on their shirt because I am in love with that design. I plan on also getting an anchor tattooed on me somewhere. Adylee is my anchor and it's only fitting that she now have a theme to express that. 

DIY Tutorial: How to Make A Tutu

Recently, I made my first tutu ever and boy was it fun, pretty easy and quite cheap. All of my favorites!! So I figured I'd do a little tutorial on it for my readers. There are tons out there I am sure but it never hurts to write your own :)

So first off you're gonna need the basics:

-Tulle (if you're doing one color I recommend 2-3 rolls depending on your model. if bigger than a toddler i would say 4. and if you are doing two or more colors i would say anywhere between 4-5. don't open them all because if you end up not using that many you can always take them back! i used 5 rolls on mine.)

-Elastic (1/2 in works best)

-Scissors (fabric or rotary)

-Needle and thread or sewing machine

The tulle, elastic and scissors I got at Wal-Mart for cheap! The tulle cost me 2.97 per roll, the elastic was like a 1.98 or so and the scissors were 3.00. The sewing part my mom did for me because she had a sewing machine.

The first thing you are gonna do is measure your model's waist. Then cut off 2-3 inches from that. So say the waist size is 20" you're going to cut it down to 17" or 18". I know this seems drastic but the elastic will stretch. 

Then you will cut your tulle which if you use the rolls from Wal-Mart just measure out 20" and cut. You can do longer if you are working with an older model. I used 20" on mine for Adylee and it is perfect. I may end up cutting them a little shorter just cause some end up in her face when she sits down.

After all that, you will sew the elastic together. It'll look like the bottom picture.

From there you will need to find a cylinder or a hanger to hold your elastic while you add your tulle. Don't go for anything too large or it will stretch it even more. I did this with my first one and ended up having to cut it at the end to fit my daughter. 

Once you get it all situated on a cylinder you're going to take your tulle and fold it in half like so:

After that you are going to take it and put it underneath the elastic.

You will then take the bottom part of the tulle and bunch it together in order to bring it through the top, like so:

Once you pull it through you will then pull it tight. Not TOO tight but tight enough so that it is secure. Once you do a couple you will understand what I mean. It's kinda hard to explain in words lol.

Continue doing this until you reach the end. If you want a real fluffy tutu like I made then you're gonna have to push them all together real tight which will reveal some more elastic so just keep adding tulle. Once you reach where you sewed it you will want to 

Once you have finished up using all your tulle you can add a flower or bow to where you sewed it together because it's going to be pretty hard to add tulle to that piece since it sticks out so funky. I have not done that with mine yet since it if for Adylee's first birthday so I have some time. But here is the finished product:

I ended up having to go get more tulle because I ran out and they didn't have the same pink anymore so I had to go through and add in a darker pink but it ended up coming out pretty good for my first tutu.

11 Month Update

I literally can't believe that my princess is now 11 months old! Only one more month and she'll be a year old. YIKES! This year has flown by so fast. I don't know where the time went. I feel like one minute I'm counting down the hours until I went into labor and now I have an almost one year old child. 

Adylee is weighing 22 lbs and 9 oz these days. BIG GIRL! I seriously don't know where she gets the weight from because she only drinks three 6 oz bottles and then one 8 oz bottle and she has weeks where she just munches. So I was shocked when the doctor told me that at her last visit. Height wise I'm not sure because her doctor only does those on her monthly visits and she doesn't have another one of those till next month. 

Her main thing these days are balls. She is addicted to them. Anytime she sees one she grabs it and won't let go. The minute I try to take it, oh good lord, all hell is breaking loose. 

Her other favorite toy is her baby doll. She loves it and it has to be in her crib with her when she sleeps. She doesn't always cuddle with it but I think knowing its there makes her happy.

Aside from that, she has a huge attachment to me. I expect that since she's only ever been with me. I get a lot of crap for it from everyone but I love it. I'm glad that she knows that with her Mama she is safe from harm. We do a lot of co-sleeping these days so I know that adds to the attachment issues even more. Recently, I began co-bathing and I love it! Such a relaxing time with your baby.

As you can tell from the above picture she is such a little diva and anyone who knows her would vouch for that. Sad part is that she knows it too haha. She can throw a temper tantrum with the best of them these days. But, no matter how mad she gets at me she still comes running up to me just to give me a big hug and a kiss. Those are the moments that make all the temper tantrums worth it.

She's a full blown walker now and it is nearly impossible for me to get a picture of her standing still. As soon as I start to walk back she's walking towards me haha. She's a little ham sometimes. She's also learned a few new words lately: no, mo (more), and yeah. I'm working on "up" right now but shes being stubborn. And still...no teeth. GRRRR!

I am so excited to see what this next month is going to bring us. I feel like every month is different. She either says something or does something new. I am always so proud in those moments. They make me feel like I am doing something right when it comes to her. Like I am actually teaching her and helping her learn. I always blame myself for when something goes wrong with her development because I was so sick and because I had to take so many medications. I know I shouldn't but I do. And when she learns something I wash away that doubt for a few minutes. 

She's my world. And not a minute goes by that I don't tell her that or tell her how much I love her. I always will. 

Sleep little angel...

These are the moments I love the most. When Adylee needs me. This doesn't happen very often so when it does I treasure every single second of it. She has become so independent within the last few months and I always feel like I'm not needed as much as I used to be. It's always the same routine...I lay down with her while she holds her bottle and drinks it. Then she rolls over, sticks her paci in her mouth and off to sleep she goes. But tonight....tonight she needed me. I got to hold her and hold her bottle for her while she drifted off to sleep. I can't even remember the last time I was able to do that. It makes me feel so wanted when she does things like this. Or when she wakes up in the middle of the night and cries out "mama". Even though I complain about having to wake up in the middle of the night and how I get no sleep, it's still something that makes me feel needed. Because with her, I don't get that very often. Especially now that she is off and running. Pretty soon she's not gonna want me to cuddle her so when the oppurtunity arises, I take it. 

I had always said I would never co-bathe or co-sleep. But since her dad and I split, I have done those. Not because I wanna be defiant against him but because those little moments make memories. So what if she wakes up in the middle of the night sometimes and wants to sleep with me? Ill let her! She's a mamas girl and all that it entails. She looks for me when I walk out of the room. When my mom picks her up from my job because I have to close that night, she comes running to me as soon as I get home. I've been the only constant thing in her life since the beginning. And that will never change. I love my daughter more than life itself. And I will do whatever it takes to make sure that each day she wakes up and knows that her mama loves her with every inch of my body. 

Because one day, she's gonna be a mom herself and I want her to look back on these moments and think "wow, my mom did everything she could for me and that's the way a mom is supposed to be." 

She's my world and then some. I can't wait for all the fun that is to come tomorrow. She makes my days. 

Just remember that you'll always be my baby....

There I was ten years old

Waiting in my room for him to come home

I just knew he'd be so mad

Though I begged my mother not to, she told my dad.

There was no denying I let him down

But instead of being angry

He put his arms around me and said

In the sunlight or the rain, brightest nights or darkest days

I'll always feel the same way

Whatever road you may be on

Know you're never too far gone my love is there wherever you may be

Just remember that you will always be my baby.

There I was twenty one

Oh I was so ashamed of what I'd done

On a country road

Parked one night

What started out so innocent

Crossed the line

There was no denying

I let God down

But instead of being angry

He let his love surround me and I heard

In the sunlight or the rain, brightest nights or darkest days

I'll always feel the same way

Whatever road you may be on

Know you're never too far gone

My love is there wherever you may be

Just remember that you will always be my baby yeah yeah.

There he is my little man

I'm sure he'll get in trouble every now and then

And I pray to god that when he does

I'll be just as understanding as my father was

'cause the last thing that I want to do is let him down

So instead of being angry

I'm gonna throw my arms around him and I'll say

In the sunlight or the rain, brightest nights or darkest days

I'll always feel the same way whatever road you may be on

No you're never too far gone

My love is there wherever you may be

Just remember that you will always be my baby be my baby

10 Month Update

Adylee turned 10 months on the first and boy has new things started arising already! She always seems to have milestone moments on the first. When she was 4 months she sat up assisted, 6 months she sat up unassisted, 7 months she started crawling. Now at 10 months she is walking. She still crawls a lot and has to pull herself up holding onto something but once she does she's off and running.

I am so proud of my princess. I literally started crying at work when she just kept walking and walking all day long. 

Adulee has such an amazing personality now. She is always laughing, smiling and makes the cutest faces. She is such the litter daredevil too. She has absolutely no fear at all. She's recently learned how to climb and she will climb up the stairs like it's nothing. Her new thing is to climb into her little rocker bouncy seat and stand up in it. The first time I caught her I about had a heart attack. Adylee is such a girly girl but will be someone who I will have to worry about taking those risks all the time. I can definitely see her giving me a run for my money. Lord help me now! 

Some facts about miss Adylee Marie:

-She weighs 21 lbs and 10 oz. My little chunky monkey

-She's 28 inches long

-Wears a size 4/4.5 in shoes

-Clothes wise she is wearing anything from 6-9 months all the way up to 12 months. 

-Is eating table food completely. Hardly eating any baby food anymore unless it's those little Gerber Graduate pouches

-She loves to watch Disney Junior in the morning when she's eating breakfast

-Favorite shows are Sofia and Mickey Mouse

-Takes a pacifier to go to sleep (just started this at 9 months)

-Has to have her princess blanket to hold onto when going to sleep and then has to be covered with one of her leopard blankets

 I am so excited to start getting everything ready for her first birthday party! It's gonna be such an amazing party :)

I was given the best gift possible the day she was born. I literally could not ask for a better daughter. She's everything I dreamed she would be and then some. She's my whole world. I am so lucky to be able to call myself her momma. My little punkin is growing up way too fast for me but I am excited for all the things to come for us in the future.