The sleeve is finished... for now ;)

I had an appointment this past week to add the finishing touch to my sleeve, it turned out amazing.

The detail in the gates is unreal--- the pearly gates :) This was just after we got done so the skin is a little angry yet. I am so in love with all the work that Brian has done... like I said this finished up the sleeve..... but we will see if I'm done yet.

As for the kids they are all preparing for the end of the school year. They both get done June 4th, then it's SUMMER! I think they are both ready for a break and Aryssa is ready for more of a challenge. Aryssa will then be entering kindergarten and Carson will do another year of speech 2 times a week. Maycee seems to be learning new words every hour! She is repeating things after we say them and also asking what things are. When we don't understand her she will grab our hands and show us. Too smart! I can't believe she is almost 2! 

That is about it from here. If you didn't notice I added a new affiliate link on the left sidebar- Honest Company! Click here if you want to check them out!

I am very excited to get my samples to try out and review!

Until next time folks :)

Happy Birthday Maycee!

Maycee Mathilda today you turn 1!
I can't believe how fast the past year went. It seems like just yesterday I was praying my water would break and labor would start. You were my fastest labor and my biggest baby.

You were exactly what we needed as a family. You have an amazing personality and an infectious giggle. Still to this day we get comments on your hair and amazing smile.

You want to be a big kid so bad! Yet do not want to stand without holding onto something. My guess is you will stand and walk all in one day! Today you decided to climb the mall play land slide all by yourself! You didn't care who was in the way you were climbing it!
You love your big sister and big brother although they don't love you messing with their toys! You just want to be with them all day long and be involved in whatever it is they are doing.
You are already a little mommy so we got you your first baby for your birthday. You immediately started kissing her (who we named Daisy).

You also love music and love the drum and shaker toys we got you. You started banging on it right away.
I can't imagine our life without you and thank God for you (and your siblings) everyday.
You can say Mama, Dada, Uh oh and babble all the time. You sign all done and we are working on more. You can shake your head No and yes. You still like to nurse before bed and early morning....as much as I want to wean you, I will miss our nursing snuggles.
Happy Birthday Maycee, always remember to keep God in your heart and in the center of your life. With him all things are possible.
We love you Maycee!

Quick Update

I know I know it has been forever! So I am jumping on quick to post updates...
Aryssa:
Loving dance class
Seems to learn more everyday
Working on obeying the first time and sassy back talking

Carson:
Doing AMAZING with his speech- I have lost count of his new words and am so proud of his progress.
Slowly breaking out of his shell
Still my cautious little man

Maycee:
Says mama and dada
waves Hi and Bye
trying to say uh-oh
blows kisses
claps hands
slowly starting to stand without holding on to things

They are all GROWING TOO FAST!

I mean look at them!

Anyway stay tuned I have an amazing review and giveaway coming up soon for any iPhone user!!!!!

Busy busy

Sorry it's been awhile guys! I have some fun stuff planned so stick with me! 

Maycee is 8 months old today! I haven't taken her owl pic yet but I had to share this great picture Carson got! 

I was helping Aryssa in her room and heard my camera go off and when I looked at what carson all captured I saw this...

How cute is that! Like Maycee knew he wasn't supposed to be playing with it! 

I'll share her 8 month old pic later :) 

7 Months

How is it that Maycee is already 7 months!!! Serisouly it feels like yesterday we brought her home... and now 7 months old!
Maycee is getting into all sorts of trouble, crawling around and messing with her older siblings toys. Aryssa was doing a puzzle the other day and Maycee scootches on over and messed it up of course dramatic Aryssa "Maycee that's not the right section!" This week Maycee has really gotten onto her knees and you can watch her thinking about her next move, arm-leg-arm-leg. This means she is getting even faster! Just today while I was playing with her I could see a little white in her mouth... I think her first tooth is going to be making an appearance soon! She has been happy and content so far so I hope her teething stays that way. I have tried a couple food items with her but am still letting her take the lead on it. She has tried fish sticks, carrots, french fries, noodles, puffs and MUM MUM crackers. Last week she didn't care at all about food, then all of a sudden this week she is trying to eat and getting excited when stuff is on her tray. She still nurses every 3-4 hours during the day and is waking up once around 2am or so to nurse and then sleeping until 7am. I think the only reason she wakes up at 2 am is because she crawls and moves in her crib and will hit her head or get her arm stuck in the rails and then cry, as soon as she sees me it's all about boob then.
Here are a couple 7 month pics!

She is just such a happy baby! Don't you just want to squish her!!!

This also happens ALL the time! Downward Dog Yoga?! lol
I love the look on her face "what mom?" " I know exactly what I'm doing!"

We are so blessed :)

Mooney's Baltic Amber Etc .Review

I was super excited after I contacted Mooney's Baltic Amber Etc. and they agreed to send me a circle pendant style chewable necklace. It is no secret I love teething and chewable necklaces lol just see my past reviews :) I told her I was open to any color and was pleasantly surprised with a beautiful purple necklace. Maycee knew just what to do with it!

The pendant is the perfect size for little hands to grab. For safety reasons you are not supposed to let a child play with the necklace unattended or ever let a baby wear the necklace. Personally I let Maycee play with all my necklaces in the living room while being supervised.
What I love about these necklaces is that they are multi functional. You can wear the necklace while nursing so baby has something to keep them focused and after nursing baby can teeth and chew on it. Which with a 7 month old something to chew on at all times is a must!
Here are a couple more pics of the necklace in action!

This was right after nursing so I am still wearing the necklace and Maycee unlatched and decided she needed the necklace instead.
The pendant is made super well and I feel like it will hold up nicely. I like that it is a little thicker than other necklaces I have and doesn't seem to go all the way into Maycee's mouth.
You can purchase this necklace and others right from Mooney's Baltic Amber Etc. Facebook page She also sells Amber Teething necklaces that I swear by!


I was not compensated for this review. I received the item(s) free of charge for reviewing purposes. All opinions are honest and my own.

6 month update

So Maycee had her 6 month appointment Monday... Drum roll.....
16 lbs 14 oz 77% (although she nursed right after her appointment so I say 17 lbs)
26.5 inchess tall 85%
42.5 cm head circumference

Isn't she just the cutest!!
I always said while I was pregnant I was hoping Maycee would be my "medium" baby. Although I meant at birth she decided to be big and now level out. Aryssa was so tiny and Carson was HUGE. I guess it rings true now.
At 6 months Aryssa was 14 lbs 7 oz and 26.25 inches.
At 6 months Carson was 22 lbs and 28 inches.
At 6 months Maycee is 16 lbs 14 oz and 26.5 inches.
Right in the middle. My "medium" baby.

I haven't had time to update because Monday morning all 3 kids woke up congested and with a cough. By the afternoon Aryssa had a fever of 103 F. She was just sluggish and tired. She even took a 2 hour nap and fell asleep on the couch by 7:20pm. So Tuesday we wake up and Maycee was on fire. I took her temp and it was 103.4 F I gave her tylenol and called the pediatric office. They said to monitor her and as long as Tylenol brought it down then she was ok. They figured it was a mix of her shots and probably the cold bug that the big kids had. Thankfully Tylenol worked for the fever. It didn't help her mood all that much though. She was fussy and just not comfortable so it was a bunch of snuggles and cuddles. The big kids were pretty cooperative since they knew Maycee didn't feel good. Aryssa was sad though because she had to miss dance class. I called my sister to see what she thought and we decided to make her skip it. I figured she would have just worn herself out since she still didn't have a ton of energy. I also had to skip bible study again... I haven't been able to make a single one yet. First Maycee didn't feel good, then grant was gone, then cancelled from weather, and a gas leak, and now Maycee not feeling good again. I just didn't want to leave her since she has been nursing every hour and a half to two hours the past two days. Today still she has a raspy voice and just wants cuddles so again we have to miss church. Plus I started getting a fever and the chills last night and slept horrible and woke up with a stuffy nose and cough. I want them to all get a good nights sleep so we can go on our co-op field trip tomorrow. - As long as the weather cooperates! Darn Wisconsin get it together 4-6inches of snow on Monday and tomorrow an ice/snow mix.... is it spring yet?! Grant and I always ask each other "why do we live here again?"
So that's my update. Just praying we all get better quickly and back to our happy selves.

Sassy Baby Beads Review

Don't forget about my giveaway!

So if you have ever read my blog before you will know I love nursing necklaces, and teething necklaces and anything that helps keeping baby happy and content most of the time. Sassy Baby Beads feature everything you want in a teething necklace.
~~From Sassy Baby Beads Website
Features:

100% food grade silicone - FDA approved
Non-toxic jewelry - BPA free
Soft jewelry - ideal for gum and emerging teeth
Teething toys - for curious babies
Great sensory tool - help baby focus while nursing
Easily cleaned with dish soap & water - dishwasher safe
Made of 100% food grade silicone (similar to pacifiers & nipples)
With FDA, LFGB, RoHS, BPA free
Breakaway clasp for added safety
Waterproof, odorless pieces suitable to wear while playing sports or swimming
Heat resistant silicone jewelry will not support the growth of mold or bacteria
Relief for baby’s teething pain
~~Sassy Baby Beads are meant to be worn by adults, they are not a toy and are not intended to be worn by children. As with all jewelry, Sassy Baby Beads should not be left with any baby unattended.

I was excited to find Sassy Baby Beads and even more excited when she offered to send me a set of her necklaces to review. I picked the Sassy Baby Beads Mommy and Baby Turquoise & Gray Necklace Set

All Sassy Baby Beads arrive in that cute gift box so buying them as a gift for a new mom or an experienced mom is a breeze. I couldn't wait to open it and hand them over. I barely had them out of the package before Aryssa and Maycee took them from me.

Maycee was easily able to grab the necklaces and chew away! ~remember to never leave child unattended with any necklace~
Even while I wore the necklaces Maycee immediately grabbed them and went to town, the gray ovals are perfect shape for little hands.

Nothing was stopping Maycee from chewing on this necklace! Even when I was wearing her in the ring sling at our local mall

Of course these necklaces are also great while baby is nursing. - Funny story- we were at the mall and Maycee wanted to nurse, well we were on the other end of mall from the food court (where they have a family bathroom section and a waiting area with couches) so I sat down in one of the sections in the walkways of the mall where they also have couches for people to wait for others or just relax for a moment. An older man (my guess 50s) was sitting on a chair and as soon as he saw us and my getting ready to nurse he bolted! Didn't say anything rude just didn't want to be around while I nursed I guess. I am not shy when it comes to nursing and I don't use a cover, but as you see in this picture I am covered with my clothes very well. Probably more than some of the teenage girls that walk around the mall!

The only issue I have is that sometimes while wearing the turquoise necklace it pulls my hair. Unlike the gray one the turquoise necklace is not knotted between each ball and that causes my hair to get stuck between them.
So overall review~ these are great for both a teething baby and a nursing baby! I have even connected them to her carseat while out and about so she can grab and chew on them. I love the quality and colors I picked. Sassy Baby Beads has a wide variety on their website including gift sets and bracelets! Check them out for yourself!!

Sassy Baby Beads sent me a complimentary set of necklaces for my review. All opinions are honest and my own

Carson's First Speech Therapy session

First off don't forget to enter my toy/bottle leash giveaway!

Ok so today was Carson's first speech therapy session and I think it went GREAT! Ms Jen came over at 8:30 am- which if you know Carson was early lol. She came in and explained how the sessions would go and what to expect then we dove right into it! She had a book with real pictures in it and would have Carson point to things and try to copy her when she talked. Carson's main problem is not using consonant sounds so that is what she was working on. BaBy, PuPPy, BuBBle, More, etc. Ms Jen would use gestures along with the sounds to help show what his lips should also be doing. Carson did soooo great. It took a couple times but he was copying her and trying to do it on his own also. Of course he is only 2 and would get bored, but did so great. Ms Jen kept commenting on how great and cute he was :) I loved seeing him get it and he was so proud of himself when he did it all on his own. She worked with him for 45 min and it was pretty hard core since this was the first session and she wanted to see how he acted and learned. She even commented she was going pretty hard core to gauge his learning style and how he reacted. Like I said he did great the whole time, I had to remind Aryssa a couple times that this was his class and she needed to let him do things first before she "helped". We scheduled another session for next week at 9:30 am (gives him more time to wake up lol)
I think it was a little much for the first time though. Or that I need to let him take a break after before asking things of him. He was a little more emotional afterwards and when I would ask him to use his words he got upset at me and frustrated. I have to remember he is learning and not to push him too much. I also think he was getting frustrated when he didn't get the sound perfect. He would move his mouth but wouldn't always make the sound because he didn't want to be wrong. We would just encourage him and praise him when he tried anything!
I think after his classes I will make sure to have down time and alone time for him. Right now Aryssa is playing play dough and Carson is playing trucks in the living room by himself. Too much interaction this morning for him. Ms Jen said he is super smart and thinks he will do an amazing job as we continue.
It made me so proud watching his little mind work. I loved seeing his face when he "got it" or even tried. Melts a mom's heart.

Also yesterday Maycee turned 5 months!!! Where have the last 5 months gone?!?!?! Here is a cute pic of the newly 5 month old.

And a couple of the whole Krew... I have learned with 3 kids you just keep snapping and one should turn out :)

How blessed am I?!