Asher's Closet - 6 to 9 Months

Lately I have been throwing so much clothing into the "Too Small" box in the corner of Asher's nursery. His closet has been dwindling down until I recently realized that there is not much left that fits! Other than the much-too-big 12 month sized outfits I have stuffed in the back of the closet, almost everything else is now outgrown. What else to do then build his wardrobe back up with some shopping?

My biggest peeve about baby clothes is that it is really hard to find something UNIQUE! It seems like anything purchased from the department store is sure to be seen on at least 2 other babies within the week. We want individuality around here! { Even if I am the one who chooses the said outfits... :) } So, I am left with no choice but to shop online, which, is one of my favorite past times. So it all works out. 

Another issue with buying baby boy clothes for us is the FLORIDA HEAT! All those cute layered baby looks pinned all over Pinterest and featured in photo shoots left and right... yeah, those aren't happening around here. We have to go with as few layers as possible, foregoing the socks and hats to boot. So much for coordination! We'd like the thinnest fabric available, please.

So, what IS Asher wearing these days?? I'm glad you asked. Let the baby fashion show begin! (Joan would be so proud.)

1. Rock Me Grasshopper One-Piece | 2. Tea Collection Fish Romper | 3. City Threads T-Rex Tee Charlie Rocked Striped Shorts | 4. Tea Collection Skull Tee & Surf Short | 5.  Carter's Firetruck Tee & Red Fitted Short | 6. Jumping Beans Truck Tee & Khaki Pants 7. Jumping Bean Robot Onesie & Patch Pants 8. Jumping Bean Sherrif Onesie & Plaid Short 9. Jumping Bean Car Onesie &  Blue Pants | 10. Jumping Bean Dig It Onesie & Cargo Short 11. Carter's Anchor Short Set 12. You had me at HOLA! Onesie

Thankfully, we no longer are dealing with the extreme spit-up that forced us to change clothes every hour or go diaper-only. This makes for one happy mommy. Now I can dress this kid up with all the fun looks!

I have to admit, I am a sucker for Ebay when it comes to baby clothes. I don't buy used, just new items with and sometimes without tags. Not that there's anything wrong with used clothes, I  have just had a bad run of luck when it comes to purchasing pre-owned articles of baby clothing, so I steer clear now. A few of the outfits shown here were purchased on Ebay. It takes commitment. Think at least one hour of scrolling through search results just to find one cute outfit. I'm picky. And apparently I have too much time on my hands. { I wish! }

I like to mix just a few "higher end" pieces in, but not too many because these clothes don't stick around long. If I'm lucky, I'll get 2-3 months out of something and I'm really pushing it there near the end. I probably could get a few more wears out of some of his things, but just the thought of stuffing Asher into something tight while he wiggles around and fights putting his arms and legs through the holes makes me just move on to something else. Into the bin it goes!

"How does this pug look on me, mom?"
You also may have noticed our old rug is back. The new one was the worst quality ever! :(

Zulily, of course, has been an excellent source of unique and fashionable baby clothes. Diapers.com has a nice range of options from lower end to higher end and their app makes shopping fast and easy. Kohls.com has some great things, too!

I have learned not to wait too long to wash clothes that you think you have a few months to go until they'll fit. Most of these clothes SHRINK! I can't tell you how many times I pass something by thinking it's still too big, then when I finally go to put it on Asher it's too small! :( Mommies beware.

I know one day Asher will thank me for putting so much time and effort into his perfectly coordinated and balanced infant wardrobe... Bahahaha! 

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Immune Boosting Maple Cookies

It's been one of those weeks (hence the lack of posts the past few days!).

On top of one of the busiest weeks at our Etsy shop that we've EVER had, my car battery finally died. It's been on it's last leg for the past few months; we knew it was going to. Every time I get into my car, the time is 10 more minutes behind. I have been helplessly late to everything because of this battery! (At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.) Yet, somehow we kept finding ways of putting the replacing of it off. Apparently BMW batteries are NOT cheap. Thankfully, when it finally decided to kick the can, Asher was not with me to melt in the 98 degree heat and John was just down the road. 

I felt ANOTHER cold coming on and even though I am not a proponent of taking antibiotics at every given chance, I decided to hit up that extra z-pack I had in my medicine cabinet. Last time I was sick, it lasted for 3 weeks and my ears still don't feel quite right. I didn't want to take any chances.

Which leads me to my next hiccup this week... I haven't been out in the sun in AGES. So, I decided to hit the tanning salon (I know, I know!!!) to give myself a tiny base tan and some much needed vitamin D. I've literally only been out in the sun one time in the past... year???... so, hey, give me a pass on this one. Anyways, I forgot that antibiotics make you sensitive to sunlight and I got burned, baby, burned! I just hope my red hot skin tames down before my massage scheduled for this Sunday. If not, that will really top everything off for me. This momma needs to get her relaxation on and I am not about the let a faux sunburn stop me!

On the positive side of things, our transition from the bassinet to the crib has been going magnificently well. The past 2 nights, Asher has slept through the night again (10-11.5 hours) and gone to sleep within 10 minutes of being put down. He's even starting to cooperate with being put down for naps, now, too. (Insert applause - make that standing ovation - here!) Take that Cry-It-Out. We barely even needed to use you. :)

So in celebration of our baby sleeping soundly at 6:30pm and also as a band-aid to my oh-so-stress-filled week, I decided to whip up some sinfully delicious Maple Cookies this evening. Did you know maple syrup (the real stuff, people, not that high-fructose-corn-syrup-crap) has immune boosting properties? Maple syrup contains zinc and manganese, both of which are key players in the function of your immune system. So if you happen to eat one too many of these cookies - it's all good! You're just building up your immune system, after all!

MAPLE COOKIES - FIND THE RECIPE HERE

Oh, you thought I made that recipe up? Not a chance. ;)

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Go and get some sun - some real sun - but don't forget your SPF! Learn from my mistake. 

...Lastly, I have to leave you with at least one cuteness shot from this week. Check out these adorably chunk-a-licious Jumperoo lovin' legs! Go, baby, go!

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Teething Update - Tooth Watch + Sign for "Hurt"

We are still on TOOTH WATCH only now it has been raised to "Severe". There are no teeth in sight yet, but there are lots of fun teething symptoms going on around here.

Reinventing these terms so commonly used by the national weather services, let's define "tooth watch" and "tooth warning":

Tooth Watch - An announcement that the eruption of a tooth and teething symptoms are possible.
Tooth Warning - A tooth or teething is imminent and expected, i.e. a tooth has been spotted

Any day now we'll be upgrading this "tooth watch" to a "tooth warning" when a little peak of white pops through those pink gums. That will not be a fun day! I wish I could fast forward a few weeks and bypass this horrible discomfort, but I know the relief would only be temporary as teething is not a short-term deal.

We are fortunate that Asher is easily distracted so the crankiness comes in short spurts. We've been surviving the extra painful moments with Hyland's Teething Tablets (in moderation, once per day if needed), frozen blueberries or peaches in our Nuby Nibbler, and cold teething rings.

1. Munchkin Teething Ring  2. Hyland's Teething Tablets  3. Nuby Nibbler with Frozen Blueberries/Peaches/Ice
4. Sophie the Giraffe 5. Lots of Hugs and Kisses! :(

{ Side note about the Nuby Nibbler - I like the one with the handle MUCH  better for handling purposes and because you can hook it to his pacifier clip so that it doesn't get thrown on the floor. A warning about using bananas in it, though - you will not be able to get the black gunk out of the net! Ick. }

Last night, Asher woke up around 10pm for a midnight snack, then was wide-eyed-and-bushy-tailed for about an hour and a half. I put him temporarily in his bassinet while I got ready for bed and he made sure to tell me that he was having some teething pain (although he was, surprisingly, tear-free). Check out his super impressive baby sign language for "hurt":

We actually have never practiced the baby sign for "hurt" with him, but he's only seen it on the Baby Signing Time DVD like a billion times, so I am not surprised he picked it up. Well... I kind of am, actually. There's no denying that this definitely looks like his mouth hurting is what he was trying to convey and he is having teething pain, so, it only makes sense. Smarty pants I tell ya. He's goin' places, this one!


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B2C - Night 7 + Wooden Teething Toy

Oh my goodness... can you get enough of that old-man-face cuteness?? I can't either.

We are on B2C NIGHT 7 - the transition from the bassinet to the crib. Last night Asher woke for a bottle around 1am (his eating schedule has been rearranged so I do believe he was legitimately hungry) and then it took him just a few minutes to fall back to sleep and he slept until about 6 when we brought him in with us until 8:30 for some extra Zzzzs.

This afternoon, we put him down for a nap in his crib at about 3:30 and he was asleep around 4:00. He resisted and we attempted to let him cry a little until I offered him a comforting hand to squeeze after about 10 minutes of steady tears and frustration. Within 5 minutes of that, he was asleep. I guess it was like a modified CIO. I just can't do the real thing but I don't think we'll need to. He napped for an hour and a half. Yipee!

It was bedtime at 7:07 and by 7:28 he was sound asleep and has been every since. He didn't cry, just groaned and grunted his way into slumber-land. He did let out one cry and needed my hand to squeeze for just a minute right before he nodded off. Hey - we may be onto something here. We'll just wean the hand and should be golden. Stay tuned.

Our newest excitement is this wooden teething toy from Hennie Rose on Etsy. This is one of the few teething toys that he actually likes chewing on. This shop has the cutest things! I might also get Asher one of the pacifier clips that has the wooden beads on it, as well, considering he is always chewing on the straps of his. So neat! I wanted to share. 

As luck would have it, we have to rise early again tomorrow to get a few things done at our shop while there's still time to get a shipment out. Oh well, maybe we'll hit breakfast after that if we get early enough of a start. Who knows what's on the agenda for the rest of the weekend... maybe the zoo? ;)

Have a fun weekend! Pin It Now!