Pumpkin, Pumpkin Who's Got the Pumpkin?

Yesterday, we had a fun filled day at Berry Patch Farms.  We have been there several times over the years and have always had a great time.  Nathan carried Celeste around in the backpack I bought at the consignment sale.  It was her first time riding in it.  She thought it was such an adventure!

They have some farm animals.  They really like the baby cow and goats.

Next, the kids went to get their face painted.  Grant was the "brave one" that decided to go first.  It is so funny to me.  As a child, I loved to get my face painted!  Cooper and Kindle have always been hesitant to get their face painted.  They have done it in the past, but typically turn down getting their face painted.  After seeing their little brother go first, they decided they wanted their face painted too.

We then headed out to the pumpkin patch to get a pumpkin.  You get to ride on a hayride out to get a pumpkin.  The kids always love that!

Gunnar hung out in the sling the entire time.  He was so sweet.  We got lots of compliments on how cute the kids all were.  Grant and Gunnar had matching shirts.  Kindle and Celeste had matching shirts and hairbows too.

Each of the kids picked out a baby pumpkin or gourd.  We also picked out a bigger pumpkin for our front porch.  They loved walking through all of the pumpkins.  There was also some cotton plants.  We had just been discussing in Cooper's school about what clothes are made out of (cotton, wool, etc.), so it was neat to tie it all in.

 

 

We took the hayride back and headed to the playground.  The kids wanted to slide over and over.  They had a really great time!

 

Since Gunnar was in the sling, I wasn't able to get photos of his cute pumpkin shirt till later.  He looked so big in it with his jeans.

 

This post is also my submission for this week's You Capture.  The theme this week was "togetherness".  As you can see, yesterday was full of togetherness and I loved every minute!

My Bumbo Babies

After Kindle was a baby, I discovered Bumbo seats.  I purchased one when I was pregnant with Grant.  I think a lot of people have seen these before, but just in case you haven't, I will tell you a bit about them.  

The Bumbo seat is made to help assist babies that can't quite sit up yet.  It is also great for babies that can sit up, but need to be kept still for a bit. (Please note that your baby needs to be able to control it's head and neck before you use it.)

I needed to run to the restroom, so he sat in his seat with Kindle watching.

I have used mine to feed Grant and Celeste when they were starting solids and beginning to sit up.  They make a tray that you can put on it as well so that children can have toys or finger foods on it.  When Gunnar starts with solids, I will be using it with him as well. (Please note that you should never leave the baby on an elevated surface unattended for obvious safety reasons.)

Grant at 7 months eating his dinner.

Celeste eating rice cereal (notice the tray).

Celeste after eating her peas in her Bumbo seat.

One of the great things about the Bumbo seat is that cleans off really easily.  Anyone that has fed a baby knows how messy they are!  Even though mine is now almost 4 years old, it still looks brand new.

I have seen lots of these at consignments sales for amazing deals.  Since you can clean these so easily, must of them look brand new.  I would recommend that any new Mom picks one of these up.  It will be worth it!

Who Doesn't Like Getting a Deal?

I have been getting some amazing deals lately through websites that offer group coupons.  I thought I should share a few I have found with everyone so you to can enjoy the savings!

I am sure many of you are familiar with Groupon.  Basically, each day they offer a discount to the best stuff to do, see, eat, and buy in the major city you live near.  I live near Atlanta, so I get the Groupon info for there.  Many major cities are offered, so just click on the link at the top that says "view more cities" to change it.  The item changes daily and you basically purchase the item at a huge discount (a minimum of 50% off).  Each day a certain number of people have to purchase the item for it become active, but typically that is no problem.  Recently, they offered a Groupon for $50 worth of Gap merchandise for only $25.  If you refer a friend, and they purchase something from Groupon, you get a $10 credit to use to purchase a Groupon of your choice.  So, I was able to get a coupon for $50 worth of Gap merchandise for $15.  Pretty Sweet!

Another website that I have gotten some deals at is called Baby Half Off.  Each day they offer a different child related product for at least 50% off the normal price.  The deals are added Monday through Saturday at 10 am EST.  Some of the items are very popular so I recommend going there quickly before they sell out.  I have bought some of my FuzziBunz cloth diapers for half price from there.  I have also gotten some BabyLegs from there too.  You can also become a fan of theirs on Facebook so you can see the daily deals.  They also have an Archive section where you can purchase some of the previous deals that didn't sell out.  

Another great website that offers deals is called Baby Steals.  It i similar to Baby Half Off.  They offer one day each day for at least 50% off.  Their deals are posted daily at 11am EST.  These also sell out quickly, so I recommend signing up for their daily emails.  Just enter your email address next to "daily alert sign up".  They have lots of great "steals".  They even had Ergo baby carriers half off last week.   They have an Archive where you can purchase some of the previous steals.

They have a sister site with items for children called Kid Steals.  Same deal on how it works and the times as Baby Steals.  You can sign up for their daily alerts as well.  They have lots of clothing items from designer labels like DC Shoes.  As well as toddler and kid friendly items like Piggy Paint.  They have an Archive where you can purchase some of the previous steals as well.

They also have a sister site for scrapbookers called Scrapbook Steals.  Same deal as the other two sites for times and signing up for daily alerts.  They have an Archive as well.  Of course I would prefer you get all your scrapbook stuff from me at Creative Memories, but I know you don't so I will post this anyway :)

Another great discount website for designer children's clothes, baby and kid gear and items for Moms is Zulily.  They feature new items each day that last 72 hours or until they sell out. You can sign up for daily emails as well.  Like Groupon, they offer you a $10 credit when you refer people and they make their first purchase.  They have brands like Zutano and Moby Wrap.   

Another great site is called Mother of a Sale.  They offer several options.  One is Mother of a Daily Deal.  It is where, they offer a daily deal on different products Moms and kids will like (similar to the other websites mentioned above).  They are offered at a huge discount until they are sold out each day.  They also have Mother of a Discount.  These are items that are offered until they are sold out as well, but don't change daily.  They have items like FuzziBunz cloth diapers, Agoo leggings and SillyBandz.  It says coming soon is Mother of a Coupon.  Not sure what that will be, but check back.

Another website that is similar to Groupon is called Eversave.  They post a deal daily and you can select the big city closest to you.  Today, they had a discount I grabbed for $26 in merchandise to Greeno Bambino for only $13.  Plus, you get a $5 credit just for signing up for Eversave.  So you can get this coupon for only $8!  Also, if you refer a friend and they purchase something through Eversave, you get $20 in credit to be used towards a future coupon on Eversave.

I know there are more out there.  So please feel free to share if you have something that I don't have listed!  

Happy Discount Shopping Everyone!!!

A Solution for Hotel Pack n Plays

We do not travel too often where we can't bring our own pack n play along.  Last year, however, Nathan, Celeste and I flew out to California for a few days.

Of course, we could not bring our pack n play so I arranged to use the one from the hotel room.  At the first hotel we stayed in, the lady at the front desk told me upon arrival that they never have any babies so they were going to have to go and find the pack n play in a closet.  I immediately thought, "Oh great.  This is going to be a pretty old one."  Sure enough I was correct.  The hotel gave me one of their twin size bed sheets to put on the pack n play mattress which was obviously way too big.  Not to mention the fact that it is not safe for infants to have blankets in the bed with them.  Luckily, I did have the forethought to bring my pack n play sheet from home.  I told Nathan that I wished there was something that would cover the sides of the pack n play as well.  Celeste had just started to stand up, so she would hold on and put her mouth onto the sides.  I did take a baby wipe and wipe it all down (that was all I had to "disinfect" it with), but I know that it doesn't really do a great job.

After Nathan's photoshoot was over, we traveled to Anaheim to go to Disneyland for the day.

That night, we stayed in a different hotel near Disneyland.  I had arranged for there to be a pack n play for Celeste there as well.  After a long day at the park, we arrived around 11 pm to our hotel.  Upon arrival, they told me they would be sending a pack n play up shortly.  We went to our hotel room and waited.  After an hour, we called and they told us that they had run out of pack n plays so they were borrowing one from the hotel down the road.  We waited some more and finally got a knock on the door.   The guy came in and told us that he did get a pack n play from a different hotel, but it was actually broken.  One of the sides would not stay up.  He told me they were willing to keep looking for one at another hotel or we could have that one right then.  I took a look at the broken pack n play and decided that it would not be smart to put an infant in there.  I have read way too many stories of baby equipment malfunctioning and harming kids.  It didn't seem like it was worth the risk.  So we waited some more.  Finally, a few hours later, the arrived with an old pack n play.  I put my sheet on there and wiped it down with baby wipes and put Celeste to bed.  Again, I wished that I had something that would cover the sides.  (Just as a side note: The hotel apologized many times.  They gave us complimentary breakfast and a discounted rate on our hotel room.)

Later in the year, my friend, Candra, was watching the show Shark Tank and saw something called a Coverplay.  It is a slip cover that goes over most pack n plays that completely covers all of the inside and outside of the pack n play.  This was exactly what I had been wishing for!  Shortly after that, I found out I was pregnant with Gunnar.  I decided to go ahead and purchase a Coverplay.  I also got a matching sheet.  (Just so you know, you can use any pack n play sheet with this or none at all, but I just wanted it to match :)  I decided to go ahead and get the Coverplay out and put it on the pack n play that Gunnar is sleeping in now.  It does exactly what it says.  It covers it completely.

It is a pretty snug fit as you can see at the bottom, but it would do the job very nicely if you are using it for traveling.  It comes in a matching bag to store it in as well, so you could just pack it up and put it in your suitcase.  In this photo, you can see the sheet I also purchased.

I wish I would have known about this product last year, but I am very happy I own it now!  The only down side that I have is due to the double mesh (1 set of mesh is from the side of the pack n play and 1 set is part of the Coverplay), I can not see Gunnar through the mesh on the video monitor.  However, this is not a big deal especially when you are traveling.  I would highly recommend this product to anyone that travels frequently with small children.

A Week of Firsts: Gunnar Rolls Over & Kindle Goes to the Dentist

Gunnar figured out last week how to roll over from his tummy to his back.  I keep finding him in the mornings flipped over.  He is so happy when he wakes up in the morning because he is proud of himself that he flipped over.  However, at 4:30 am last night when he flipped himself over, he was not happy at all. I went in there and flipped him back and he went right back to sleep :)  I got a picture of him when he was waking up from his nap this afternoon to show him flipped over.  He was still a bit sleepy, but you get the idea :)

This is his "why are you flashing the camera in my face, I just woke up" look.

In other news, Cooper and Kindle have a dentist appointment tomorrow morning.  This will be Kindle's first time at the dentist office.  She has been very nervous about going.  So, I went to the library and picked up a couple of books about going to the dentist.  We read them this past week and have been really talking it up.

Cooper on the other hand LOVES going to the dentist, so he has been doing a daily countdown till he gets to go.  I can completely understand why he loves it.  We go to Children's Dentistry in Woodstock.

Taken last year

The office is decorated to look like a jungle.  They have a indoor playhouse for kids to play on.  They also have free video games (Xbox 360, PS2, etc.) and free arcade games the kids can play while they wait.

Video games while waiting last year

When you are getting your teeth cleaned, the kids have a TV on the ceiling that is playing a kids movie.  You get a free toothbrush, toothpaste and dental floss.  After you see the dentist, you get gold coins to use in their vending machines that have prizes like balls, stickers, jewelry, etc.  What kid wouldn't like all that stuff???

Picking out his prizes last year

Getting his teeth cleaned by the hygentist

Cooper has been really talking the dentist up to Kindle.  He even told her he would hold her hand while she has her teeth cleaned.  I thought that was so sweet.  I told him that they probably wouldn't let him do that since he should be having his teeth cleaned at the same time, but I appreciated that he offered.  

Getting x-rays last year

Nathan will be taking him so I don't have to bring Gunnar along.  I think all should go well.  I told him to please *try* to remember to take pictures while he is there.  We shall see if that happens or not tomorrow....

No cavities last year