Wren's Paci Collection......

Wren has a drawer in her room where there is a basket of paci's that she doesn't use. We only use the Nuk brand. One day I pulled out the basket to see what she would do with them. She played for 20 minutes, putting them in, yanking them out, putting another one in. This has become one of her favorite activities. Here is she trying them out. I especially love the hospital ones. They are so cute, but hard to keep in!

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mothers Day to everyone! Recently, I had Wren's pictures taken by Katie. The pictures turned out amazing!! This one is one of my favorites. Being a mother has been the best 8 months of my life. I can only imagine what the years ahead will bring.

I also wanted to mention how blessed I am to have a mother that has taken it upon herself to watch my daughter for the past 5 months while I work. I can't tell her enough how thankful I am that I never have to worry for a moment that Wren isn't in the best of care. I love you mom! Thank you for all you do for me and your granddaughter.

Happy Easter to all

Praise be to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Sunday mornings are good for.....

bad hair days.

how about that naked behind? I have to chase her around the room to put a diaper on her now.

4-13-2011

Our Wren is 7 months old! What have you done this month little bird?
You are in size 9 month and 12 month clothes
You wear a size 3 diaper
You are picking up puffs and putting them in your mouth
You have mastered the paci flip
You are crawling all over the place
You are starting to stand unassisted holding onto furniture
You are saying Bah Bah and Ki Ki (which is kitty)
You are a little fish in the water, you are kicking your legs and paddling your arms
You are in the big bath tub now
You eat 2 baby food meals a day, one fruit at lunch, vegetable and fruit at dinner
You are sleeping a little bit better now, going down at 7:30, up at 3 to eat, up for good around 8
You are learning how to kiss and like to kiss anything and everything

It seems like you have grown up over night. You are changing and learning so much day by day. You are the sweetest gift we have ever had. We love you our little bird.

Swimming

The past two Saturday swim lessons have been a success. Wren has decided she loves the water. Here's a nice thing about becoming a mother, instead of me caring about looking like a water buffalo, I could care less. That's a nice change. We are working on kicking legs and going under water. This weekend my parent's got her a baby pool. Since it was 90 degrees on Saturday, she was happy to take a dip in the 2 inches of water. As we approach the 7 month marker, I can't believe how much she has changed in one month.

The paparazzi (grandparents) were shooting photos the whole time. I had to tell them to hide for a few minutes because all she wanted to do was show off for them.

Here we are practicing floating on her back.

A shot of Wren in her baby pool.

This was after her dip in her pool. She is lounging in her pool chair.

One of these things.....

I am.....a mother.


I want....to be able to afford to go to graduate school.


I have...more empathy than I can stand sometimes.


I wish...I could stay at home with my daughter verses bring home a paycheck.

I hate...close mindedness.


I fear...aliens (seriously).


I hear....myself tell others advice but rarely take my own.


I search...for a career that will make me feel good about myself.

I wonder...if my daughter will ever know how much I love her.

I regret...that I had too much fun in college and didn't go to grad school while I still qualified for financial aid!


I love...God, my family, and my friends.


I ache...for children who do not know all encompassing love.


I always....react impulsively and never think things through fully.

I usually....clean the kitchen before I go to bed. I can't stand it messy when I wake up.

I am not....as nice to my husband as I should be.

I dance...every time Ellen does.

I sing...to my daughter several times a day.

I never...get enough sleep.


I sometimes...watch a little too much reality tv.


I cry...everday, sometimes two or three times.

I am not always...as positive as I should be.

I lose...my mind several times a day.

I am grateful...for my parents who would walk backwards and shoeless to the ends of the earth for me.

I need...nothing.

I should...eat less, worry less, smile more often, and relish in the moment verses wishing days away.

You're next: Courtney, Beth, and Renee!!!

Best dressed...Worst behaved...

Lauren went to her first swim class today. Like the title says, she was the best dressed 6 month old there but her attitude was similar to a cat taking a swim lesson. I had these ideas of grandeur how she would take to the water like a fish, learn some baby swimming techniques, and make lots of friends! The class is packed and there are 2 other little girls around her age. They acted like swimming was second nature and Wren acted like I said, a cat in a swimming pool. This is only lesson 1. We have 4 more to go. I am hopeful that my little bird will learn to become comfortable in the water. If not, at least she got to get good use out of this super cute swimsuit...

Sunshine girls.........

Wren and I thought we would bring a little Spring to our evening with our yellow cardigans. Hope you all had a wonderful Friday night. We did!

What makes me happy........

This squinty little smile is a hint of me.

Those chubby checks are the most kissable thing my lips have ever touched.

This beautiful face looks like the man I married.

She loves her daddy so much she can't get enough of him.

She and I both have hair that sticks out all over the place.She loves her Grandpa almost as much as I do.She and I both have a few "wrinkles" around our mid-section and thighs.

3/13/2011 6 months!!!!

I can't believe it. Wren is a half a year old!!!
You are wearing size 2 diapers and size 3 at bedtime.
You are eating solid foods at lunch and dinner. You hate bananas!
You started drinking from a sippy cup this month.
You have the rolling over back to front mastered.
NO MORE SWADDLE!!! HOORAY!!!!!
You sleep with your paci and taggy burpcloth for naps and you like to sleep on your side.
You are wearing size 9-12 month clothes.
You are 18.5 lbs and 28 inches long!
We are having a very rough time at night. You are waking up several times for your paci and still to eat at 3:30. I have tried the CIO method. Let's just say you will wait me out any night or day. I am sleep deprived to the point of delirium most days!
You are starting to take longer naps during the day, 1.5 hrs.

I loved this pose!

I love those bird lips!!

What a beautiful day..........

What an amazing day it is today!! We had our first blanket on the ground lounging kind of afternoon. We first took a walk and then enjoyed the weather on a blanket in the front yard. Luckily family was over at Grandma Phyllis's, so they came over to visit with us. I wish Lauren wouldn't have tired out so quickly. I could have stay outside for hours.

Wren and Nanny

Sunglasses Girls

Love the lighting

Wren and Aunt Lisa

Wren and her lovie Lucy

Best Baby Item!

Chicco 360 Degree Rotating Hook On Chair

I want to tell everyone about the highchair that we have. I opted out of the large free standing chair because we do not have a dinning room that has a place to store one. When I saw this online, I thought it would be perfect for us. We eat mostly at our breakfast bar and this chair fits right in between us perfectly. Instead of having to use restaurant high chairs that she is still a little to small for, we can easily fold this one up and take it with us. We have yet to find an eatery where it doesn't fit nicely on the end of the table. It's also great to take to our family get togethers. She is always in the same chair and she feels comfortable in it. Another great feature is that it has the 360 rotating seat. This is great for when one of us wants to eat so we swivel her 90 degrees so the other one can feed her. She also likes to people watch so I can turn it so she can take in the view. The only feature that I dislike and other reviewers agree, is that it is a little troublesome to clean. I scrubbed it last night with some spray on cleaner and a brush but it took Ryan a couple of minutes to figure out how to take it completely off the base to do so. But other than that, I would say this is one of the best baby items we have right now! So if you are in the market to buy a chair, look one up. I would strongly suggest NOT buying the 2 other options Chicco has out. They are the older models and didn't get the rave reviews that this one did. I got mine at Babies R Us but I see that you can order it on Amazon as well. Oh, and I didn't get paid to say any of that! Just wanted to share how much I love this chair!!!

Random Post....

Nothing too exciting going on in the Farley home. Work is nuts, weather is starting to remind us that there is life after Winter, and Lauren is gearing up for bikini season. She is starting to sit up a little on her own. Flipping back and forth from her stomach and back, which makes changing her diaper a little like wrestling a monkey. Other than that, we are just enjoying her day after day.

Her yellow polka dot bikini

I made her some baby legs from trouser socks found at Target. Online they are $12. I made them for $2.99.

Sitting up without help. Well, for about 10 seconds.

The look a likes

Getting ready for her first jewelry party, wearing her pearls.

Do you live in Southern Illinois?

Guys, could you imagine not being able to afford food for your children? Or having your child go hungry? Do you live in Southern Illinois? If you do there is an amazing program called the Gum Drop Kids. They are a non for profit organization that started in 2008, that provides backpacks full of child friendly food for at risk children during the weekends. Whether you would like to believe it or not, there are a lot of children that leave school on Friday afternoon that don't get a good meal until Monday morning when they return.

Currently they are doing over 1000 backpacks a week! Right now there are 487 children who aren't receiving backpacks. Here are the schools that are participating right now.
Carterville, Herrin, Murphysboro, Giant City, Johnston City, Marion, Tamms, Elkville, Pinckneyville, Desoto, Christopher, are the schools that are participating. I know several fellow bloggers and readers of my blog that are from all of those towns!

Here is how to help:
Donate Food
Help Pack Backpacks
Or Sponsor a Gum Drop child

Food Items needed are posted below:

How awesome would it be to make this a family activity? You could take your child to the store to pick out the food for their Gum Drop friend! Please visit their website http://www.gumdropkids.org

Girls, I know that we can make a small dent in that 487 backpacks still needed. Will you be one of those that feeds a hungry child in your hometown?

To all my fellow bloggers, if you are willing to help, copy and paste this on your blog so it will be passed on to several more of us. It is unexcusable that a child go hungry anywhere, especially in our hometowns!

You can sew just about anything!

Wren loves anything that has that crinkle sound or has tags. So I decided to make her something with both. I began thinking what I had that I could use for the crinkle material. As I was looking through my pantry I decided that a potato chip bag would be a perfect (and free) option. Surprisingly, it held up beautifully during the sewing process. I was so happy to finally get to use this material. I have had this fabric for 4 years now. I love the Olivia series, so when I saw it I bought it right away, knowing that someday down the line I would use it! So here is the final product! I made it in less than 15 minutes. Talk about re-purposing!

Completely Free Project!

The finished result

A happy little bird and her favorite pig.

Weekend of Random

Ryan left on a little ski vacation, leaving Wren and I to have some girl time this weekend. We had a wonderful time, eating out, shopping, and visiting with our family. She even got to go to our favorite restaurant Thai Taste!! We had a wonderful weekend but we are glad Ryan is home!

Friday night dinner with Nanny and Grandpa

These two are ridiculous

Big girl in a high chair!

Love this shot

I just had to!

Happy Valentines Day!