Thursday, October 30, 2014

Gibson 7 Months

Our little guy turned 7 months over the last weekend and is making some big strides developmentally.

Just the other day he was FINALLY able to sit up on his own for a few seconds! YAY!
 
Kissy Face...
 Sitting...

Monday, October 27, 2014

Stitch Fix #6

On Friday I came home to this beautiful box!

 I always get so excited to see it on my doorstep... Oddly so does Hunter! (He likes to jump on my stitch fix box... I can vouch that it is made from very sturdy cardboard)

I didn't write a post about my Stitch Fix#5 because I was so busy when I received it that I simply tried on the items and ended up returning them ALL for various reasons.

SO.. I was really interested to find what was in this box and if anything would excite me... the note was encouraging... I mean I LOVE dresses so this was sure to be a slam dunk right???



Bay to Baubles: Marka Teardrop Gen Statement Necklace ($42)

I failed to take a photo of this one but here it is from another blog 
Via

It felt super cheap and it wasn't worth the money to me... I would rather them put in a unique piece that cost more. I still love my Teardrop Bracelet from the first box and just wish that they would come in with another slam dunk in the jewelry department. At the moment it just feels like they cannot find a 5th item so they just throw in a random jewelry item.

London Times: Carina Ombre Belted Dress ($98)
I was SOOOO excited the second that I saw this. It was the one item in the box that I was sure I was going to keep.

and after trying it on... not impressed. The fit was okay... bunched a little under the boobs. Honestly it just looked really matronly to me. In fact even Emma and her friend said that it looked like an old lady dress... not the response I'm looking for.

41 Hawthorn: Breyson Split Neck Pleated Sleeveless Blouse ($54)

 
At first glance I liked this top... Until I saw where the arm hole hit... they were SUPER long and you can see my bra

41 Hawthorn: Dorie Stretch Collarless Blazer ($88)
I was sure that I would hate this... I don't wear blazers alone... they belong with suits people!


So my first attempt at wearing I put it on with the black shirt and purple top...
 

Next I tried it on with a Cowlneck dress... they had it with a dress like this on the style card... Still not blown away.

So my cute hubby told me to try it on with some jeans and heels...


 Okay I can work with that...

Pixley: Kathy Striped Fit & Flare Dress ($68)

I'm all about a stripe

Emma and her friend loved this dress

In the back of my mind though all I could think about was a dress that I JUST purchased from Target for $28... I like that it mixes up the stripe look with a shimmery gray and I love the pleats in the front.


I think I will stick with my Target dress on this one...

So that was my box.

Here is the breakdown...


Necklace: $42
Ombre Dress: $98
Purple Blouse: $54
Collarless Blazer: $88
Striped Dress: $68


TOTAL: $350

If I were to buy everything I get a 25% discount. So with the discount and minus the $20 styling fee AND minus $30 in credits my total would be $217.50.
 
I'm not going to keep everything though... I am going to keep the blazer though... at $88 minus the $50 my total comes to $38.

Friday, October 24, 2014

Favorite Things Friday

Cannot believe that I have not done a Favorite Things since August!!!

Here are a few things that have been catching my eye!

I love this tutorial for adding personalization to Billy bookshelves and making them look built in!
 
I am so excited that FALL is quickly approaching! These candy corn containers would be super cute little treats to make for Emma's classmates or even my co-workers!
 
I am a huge fan of the Under the Sycamore blog. This family has such an amazing story and they are all so creative! I cannot wait to purchase this book and start sewing with Emma! I really do find sewing to be therapeutic and think that it would be a good skill to teach Emma.
 
I've honestly been thinking that once Hunter and Gibson start bunking together that I would like to turn Gibson's room into an office as opposed to making it a guest room again... This studio office is a dream... I just want all of my sewing and crafting tools out at all times!

 
THIS salad WILL be made in my house this weekend! Goat Cheese and Figs!!! Yes please!
 
I plan on making a lot of our Christmas gifts this year (full post to come). These adorable Monster bibs would be a great gift to make for Gibson.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Gibson Medical Update: October

Our little guy is almost 7 months old (2 days away) and while I will do my regular monthly update on Monday I wanted to provide a separate health update


A few weeks ago we had an appointment with a WONDERFUL doctor at Children's National hospital in Washington, D.C. to try to determine why Gibson was failing to put on weight. The appointment was in the Genetics and Metabolic Clinic and I was pleased that they were so thorough and answered all of our questions. We never felt rushed... in fact a genetic counselor was with us for about 30 minutes and the doctor was with us for almost an hour talking about everything and giving Gibson a good once over. As of now we still do not have concrete answers but we do have a good guess as to what is going on. It seems likely that Gibson has an increased metabolic rate and will require DOUBLE the amount of calories until he is 18-20 (when he stops growing). Once he gets to 22 Pounds we will be able to officially test his metabolic rate

The test will look like this ... but with a different Mommy and Baby :-)

Additionally, It was recommended that we hold back back on filling solids until 8 months as we do not want to fill up his belly with foods that are not high in calories... At 8 months we will start to see a nutritionist through Children's to make sure that his diet continues to meet his need for increased calories.

We also made an appointment with cardiology for an echocardiogram to rule out a heart defect. To date they have not heard a murmur but his older sister, Emma, does have a functional bicuspid Aortic Valve... so better to check and rule things out at this point... The appointment for that will be next week

On top of all of our "failure to thrive" issues it was also discovered that Gibson has a few other physical abnormalities in his arms and hips. We do not know to what degree yet but we are in the process of finding a good physical therapist in the area... This explains why he has not been able to sit-up without assistance.

LOTS of doctor appointments! I did put my foot down recently and said that I emotionally cannot handle an every week trip to our pediatrician for a weight check (which I refer to as our weekly play date)... Just to see the scale stay the same or go down is like a kick in my stomach every time and really the doctor cannot truly do anything except refer us around to other specialists at this point. It is nice to have a check-in but we are going to do so every 3 weeks to a month... even with cutting that back though we have managed to have at least one appointment each week this month (with various specialists) and with the addition of physical therapy... well bye bye free time... and all of my leave!

So that is our update. I know that lately I have been a horrible friend/daughter-in-law and I have not kept up my communication as well as I should. Between work, the kids and Gibson's medical stuff I've often felt like I'm just treading water. It is a victory to make Hunter's lunch daily and manage to do the laundry (even if it is only once every two weeks). So again, a blanket I'M SORRY if we haven't talked lately!!!!

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Kiwi Crate Review

A while back I signed up for Kiwi Crate for Hunter and I have to say that I was extremely impressed with the service and would HIGHLY recommend (Hint hint it would make a GREAT gift)
 

 
Within the box there are two main activities that revolve around the theme of the month. The theme for this box was glowing animals and Hunter had a glowworm friend and racing jellyfish to make.
 

Below the theme introduction that you see above there was a little welcome note and some scissors to use with this box and for future boxes... I thought that this was an extra special touch.

Below the scissors there was a booklet with activities and lessons that enforce the theme of the month.

and now for one of the activities...

I love that the box is split in two sections with a colorful instruction booklet on the top of each side which provides all of the details for the activity along with details describing parental involvement, etc. and materials under the instructions.

We decided to make the glowworm friend...

The box came with everything that we would need... Hunter was VERY excited about the markers...

He helped stuff the cotton into the fabric tube to form the worm body...


After the worm was stuffed it was time to color...


Mom... why do you keep taking photos????

He also liked coloring on the other sheets included.


I think that he really enjoyed his first activity...

Here were the instructions for his glowworm.

After we finished the worm we held it up to the light and went into a dark room to see it glow... this concept was a bit over Hunter's head.

Overall, I was very happy with the crate. My first thought was that while Hunter had a great time crafting the worm and completing other activities... the actual theme of the box was over his head and too old for Hunter Man. Which isn't surprising because the crate is intended for kids ages 4-8 and Hunter is only 2...

WHICH IS WHY I'M SO EXCITED about Koala Crate which is a NEW subscription option for kids 3-4... When it was revealed I instantly sent an e-mail to Kiwi Crate asking to change my subscription to the box catered for younger kiddos. Hunter should be getting his first box in the mail within the next week or two and I will be sure to share it with all of you.

** Please know that I was not compensated by Kiwi Crate in any way for this post. All thoughts are 100% my own and I just wanted to share with all of you as it would make a GREAT gift for a kiddo!