We're Still Here!

I'm SO sorry that I've been MIA for the past 2 weeks! Business has been booming with our Etsy store. It's been absolutely crazy and has required a lot of my time, leaving very little for blog updates. :( So, while my posts may happen a little less frequently, I am determined to keep things going here, as well. 

So what have we been up to???

We have had so many things happening just within the past 2 weeks! Asher now has THREE teeth, all on the bottom. This is accompanied by lots of crankiness and discomfort. Thank goodness for our mesh feeders filled with frozen fruit, and good ol' Sophie the Giraffe.

good ol' Soph

Check out this hilarious jChew Chocolate Bar teether that has already caused a few second glances (and Asher loves!): 

Can't forget the chicken wing appe-teether, either! Yum!
(The wetness is water from the ice in his mesh feeder.)

Asher is now MOBILE - eeeek! - and has mastered his "army crawl". He can get up on all fours now, but hasn't quite figured out how to crawl with his tummy off of the floor. That certainly doesn't stop him, though! This little guy is determined to get from a to z as quickly as possible. He has a weakness for the remote, phones, and the window. If any of those three things are within a few feet of him - everyone, out of the way!

Watch as he pulls himself around:

We are also babbling away now and there is still a lot of "mama" and "dada" coming out. He's also added LOTS of "yaya". I still haven't figured out what that might be referring to - maybe just anything and everything. You have to admit, it is a fun word!

We are still having quite a few night meet-ups with this little guy. Sometimes it's only twice night, but most of the time it's three. We make do.

"It's 3am and I must be lonely..."

Asher has decided that he HATES being at the shop with us. Along with the homemade baby food, the cloth diapering, and the non-use of "cry-it-out", another well laid out plan goes out the window.

I checked into some child care options and not only are places booked with infants but they are so expensive!! And really, I only need about 3 days a week...

ENTER LITTLE SISTER TO SAVE THE DAY!!!!!

Thank goodness for miracles. My little sister is able and willing to babysit Asher 3 days a week AND help out with a few chores around our house for less than we would have paid a daycare. Hallelujah!

The amount of work that I get done in 3 days without Asher at our shop is the equivalent to 5+ days of work with him there. He is no longer missing naps, in fact, he is taking 2 naps a day again. He is SO much happier. While I miss not being at home with him, I honestly feel like myself again being out and about and working on my own. Now when I am home with him, I am refreshed. I wouldn't go as far as to say "stress-free", but I defintely feel like I can tolerate more without getting overwhelmed now that I have a little time away. 

This leads me to my next announcement...

We have entered our business, Z Create Design, into a contest and we made it into round 2! Intuit Quickbooks has partnered up with entrepreneur Bill Rancic and coach Jimmy Johnson to find a small business worthy of a truly life changing prize in the Small Business, Big Game Challenge. The prize? A Superbowl commercial! Could you imagine that kind of exposure?

I need your help everyone! Click here to see OUR PROFILE and VOTE. Oh and there is a video. Yes, we made a video. Yes, it may be corny, but you gotta do what you gotta do. :)

Or.. click the button below to cast your vote. You can vote once a day, so keep voting! Help us win! 

We couldn't be more excited to see what happens... 

Since I am not able to update you all as frequently here on my blog, be sure to follow me on twitter and on instagram for daily updates! I'm also pinning all the time, so follow my boards on pinterest!

Well, it's 8pm and Asher is bright-eyed and bushy tailed after about an hour of fighting sleep already under his belt for the evening. It's just might be another long one... 

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Maternity Photo Shoot for My Sis

Today I took some photos for my sister who is "Ready to POP!" with baby boy #4! We used some of the photo props that we sell in our store, Z Create Design, and some of the new maternity photo props that I am going to be adding to our stock very soon!

We can all guess that little Kellyn is going to be as handsome as can be. I mean, look at his brothers! These boys are all going to be heart breakers. 

It was quite the challenge to wrangle 3 rambunctious boys for a photo shoot, but we made it happen and, if I do say so myself, we got some pretty awesome pics!

CONGRATULATIONS to my sister, Nikki, the mom-to-be. I can't wait to meet my newest nephew very, very soon! :)

We took a quick pause to photograph Asher with his Grandma and Grandpa!

FIND THE PHOTO PROPS HERE

(If you don't see the one you want listed, send me a message via Etsy.)

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Happy { Belated } 4th

You may have noticed that I have been M.I.A. for the past week. We were on VACA! Well, as much of a "vacation" as you can have driving 12 hours away with a 5 month old. ;) On our last day there, I came down with a serious cold, perhaps even the flu, so now I am fighting a sinus and ear infection that has led to laryngitis. Ugghhh. I WILL BLOG ON!

We went to John's parents' (Asher's Nonna and Grandpa's) North Carolina house for a week. John's brother's family went, as well, with their 3 kids so the house was full of life! In fact, the entire street was full of life as John's aunts and uncles all have houses there, too, so the whole week was filled with family, family, family. It was wonderful seeing everyone and many were meeting baby Asher for the first time. He loved every minute of it! Well, except for the drive...

I have so much to share from our week and will be breaking it down into several posts because there is just SO MUCH. Today, I'm going to share our wonderful family vacation pictures and July 4th pics. Asher was out by 8pm, so this year wasn't as exciting for him as future firework-filled Independence Days will be. But we were still festive!

Then, be on the lookout for these topics later this week:

Traveling with Baby + Packing Checklist
Babywearing for Outdoor Activities
10 Days Without Cloth Diapers
5 Month Update - Photos & Developments
Photographing Fireworks

Hopefully I can kick this bug quickly and get back to my frequent blog posts. There is always something to talk about in the world of baby!

Without further ado, here are some pictures from our family vacation to NC:

Our first day in the mountains, we broke out our Stokke MyCarrier for our visit to Chimney Rock. A complete review with more details and more pictures is soon to come, but I will say that this carrier was ideal for an outdoor activity such as this. Asher was 110% secure in the Stokke carrier and that made me feel much better about taking him 2280 feet in the air!

 

My white shorts are a Zulily steal!

Stokke MyCarrier with Bib Accessory

Asher's camera onesie was purchased from Kakabaka on Etsy

The next few days were full of rain (on and off, but mostly on) so they were spent visiting with all of the aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins.... and Asher was in heaven. We also went downtown and checked out the shops and restaurants a bit.

The sun stayed out long enough for us to take the Smokey Mountain Train Ride. It was loooong... but still a fun time. I'm so glad that Asher was exposed to trains so that he has some idea of why I often say, "Chug a chug a CHOO CHOO!"

{ We had an impromptu outfit change for Asher on the train ride home, so that's why there are two outfits going on in these train pics. }

My yellow shirt was a Zulily steal!

 

We decided to visit an indoor (covered) farmer's market to escape the heavy, heavy rain that eventually started and did not stop for the rest of the week...

Lillebaby Carrier - Complete review and detailed pics coming soon!

Now, 4th of July - still raining - complete with my first attempt at night photography using a tripod and remote. I think I'm in love! I'm going to have to play around with this awesome technique some more!

John wore the Stokke carrier with ease. It easily converted from my size to his.

What a fun vacation! I can't wait for next year when Asher will be running around with his little cousins. Oh - they grow so fast!!!

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