I {heart} babywearing!

I love babywearing for a million reasons, maybe more. Here's just a few...

*She is content and secure, and still close to my heart.

Yes, Nora really likes it "in there". Yes, she CAN breathe. Yes, it is comfortable, for both of us. NO she's not going to fall out. I keep her in the *kissing* position - her head is always high enough for me to give her a nice little smooch.

{Earthy Rainbow Girasol shorty}

*I'm hands-free! I can do *almost* anything!

Bending down to pick something up is my biggest challenge, which has allowed me to practice using my toes. Don't laugh! You know you've done it too.

With Nora on my back, I can do dishes, make dinner, take out the trash, vacuum, clean the counters, and sew! Yes, I can even sew when she's on my back. And usually, she's passed out within minutes of being back there. Makes for a cozy nap.

{Wrapper's Paradise Girasol 4.2m}

{reinforced ruck}

*She can look people in the eye.

No sitting on the dirty floor in a car seat for this little girl! It grosses me out to think about how much crap can float right into a baby's face when they are that close to the ground. Besides that, carrying around bucket seats with a baby of more than 10lbs is incredibly heavy and so awkward. I just leave it in the car, and wear her wherever we are going.

Nora can socialize and have the opportunity to learn early communication skills. {love it!} She LOVES to talk to people and give big ol' smiles when I'm wearing her. She gets a lot of attention, for sure.

Over the past few months, there have been some stories in the news about baby carriers. I want to stress that wearing your baby is a responsibility. Parents MUST educate themselves on proper carriers and wearing techniquess. I believe that most accidents can be prevented with education.

So, go on! Educate yourself! Babywearing is so much fun and stylish too! Some of my favorite places are:

www.thebabywearer.com - A message board and For Sale or Trade forum

www.granolababies.com - A great retail site with a lot of wonderful information

www.youtube.com - For great instructional videos on babywearing

The carriers I used here are wraps. I also use mei tais and soft structured carriers. I blog about those in another post.

{head injury}

Last night, on my way to my mommy group, Clay called me to come home. During the call, I heard screaming and crying. You know the kind; the kind that every mom knows and dreads. It was the cry of my child, and I felt my heart break. Aaron had an accident and gave himself a nice gash on his eyebrow.

I rushed home. Well, I went as fast as I could without needing to avoid being pulled over. If you know me, you know that I have been pulled over a time or two – wink, wink. When I got home, Clay’s parents were there and sent us on our way with Aaron. They kept the girls, which was quite the special treat for Molly (she got to stay up a little late). My in-laws are amazing, in case I haven’t mentioned that before.

Checking in at the ER was easy, but the wait was longer than we’d like. Finally, we were in a room and waited for the doctor. At this point, we knew he had a cut, but didn’t really know if stitches were necessary. Aaron was in a great mood and was being his usual jovial self. Once the doctor was ready to really examine him, he thought that giving him some Verced would help him stay calm for the procedure. At first he was a little calmer, but when he had to be restrained from his shoulders to his toes, he became a little clausterphobic and anxious. Yeah, this was NO fun for any of us.

The doctor cleaned out his wound with three huge syringes of sterile water. Then, he revealed the true damage that was done. All I can say is, woah. Really, it was SO much worse than I thought it was. Clay was right there when he slipped on his blanket and took a header into the side of his bed. From the way Aaron hit, Clay knew it was bad, but I didn’t realize. The doctor gently pulled the wound open and man was it deep. My heart sank.

Aaron was in great hands, though, and the doctor placed stitches through two layers of tissue and got him all sewed up. His eye is still puffy and swollen. A black eye is in his future, for certain.

Remember the Versed that Aaron was given, well it didn’t sit well with him at all. At first, it kind of made him drunk. Once we were at home, it was not a fun and goofy drunk. More like a mean drunk, who didn’t know he was drunk and just wanted one more drink. Aaron had a violent reaction to the Versed. He was fighting us and screamed, “Mama, I don’t NEED YOU!” Again, my heart broke. Clay reminded me that this wasn’t our Aaron.

Sleep finally came over Aaron around 11:30pm. Relief. With all he went through, I was certain that he’d sleep-in a little, but no, he was up at 6:30am. Damn. He needed the rest. I hope he gets more tonight.

Did you ask for pictures? Are you sure you want to see? Close your eyes if you have a weak stomach:

“I look totally handsome with this wrap on!” - Aaron

Cleaning the wound.

It's just a scratch, right?

WRONG!!

Sewing it up.

Ready to go home!!

~*cute*~

Cute, huh!?

At one of the many quilt shows I've attended, I found this pattern and knew Molly would love it. This Flirty Skirty Apron was pretty easy to make, although next time, I'd do a couple of things differently. I'd make the neck strap adjustable, figure out a way to make the corners stay in place (they keep flipping out), and put a pocket on the top of the front.

Here's my little cook, all ready to whip up something delicious!

^^Birthday Boy^^

5 years go by in a wink. 5 years can pass far too fast...

Our sweet boy, Aaron, turned 5 last month. We had planned a fantastic party at the park, but were met with winter rains the morning of the party. My in-laws, who are amazing, let us bring the party to their house. It was a tight squeeze, but I think fun was had by all.

Aaron is really into Transformers and Power Rangers right now, so they were the "theme" for his party. Aaron can't have dairy, so I made him a dairy-free cake with rice milk. I was very surprised to see, and taste, how yummy rice milk cooks up in a cake. I got a pic of the Transformers logo and made it into a stencil for his cake:

All of Aaron's friends were so cute at the party! They had so much fun, and were so well behaved. This is Aaron and one of his bestest friends, Riley.

Aaron really wanted a pinata at his party, so we bought one with the strings you pull on the bottom to make the pinata open. That way, kids don't have to swing around dangerous bats and such to bust it open. Well, the strings came off our pinata, so we went "old school" and brought out the bat. The dads kept the kids in line and everyone got a good whack at it. I took at tip from Aaron's teacher, and put the treats and prizes in individual bags for the kids. This little trick keeps the kids from bashing into each other to get the coveted candy. Smart huh?!

What's next for our 5 year-old? Camping this summer and Kindergarten in the Fall. Time just keeps going by...