Week 24

September 29, 2012

Here's what happened in our neck of the woods...

~ we decided to move up to the parents house for a couple of months to save rent monies. After Dean is born, we'll start house hunting :)

~ I gave my notice at FatCats . . . been there for a year and a half and it's going to be weird not thinking about FatCats 24/7

~ Calin was finally able to feel baby Dean's kicks

Dollar Tree Autumn Decoration

Goal: Make a fall fireplace decoration

Budget: $5

Here's how I did it

1. Hit up Dollar Tree & bought:
~2 strands of fall foliage
~3 frames


I already had the mod podge, candles & metal pumpkin and I picked up the pine cones during one of my walks with Bruce.

2.  Remove the backs of the frames & glass. Using a hot glue gun, quickly glue down the glass to the frame.

3. Cut desired amount of leaves from fall foliage strand & Mod Podge the fronts of the leaves. Place the leaves face down on the back of the glass. Using a brush or fingers, spread a thin layer of Mod Podge over the entire glass. This will make a cool stain glass texture and will hide any imperfections. Dry overnight.

4. Hang or set your new fall frames!

Initially I wanted to hang the frames but, since we're moving, it didn't make sense to make holes in the wall that I'd have to fill in a few weeks later... :)

Simple, cheap & fun!

Week 23

Sept 19, 2012

Week 23 has been full of surprises baby & non-baby related. Calin & I are making some difficult life-changing choices.

Our apartment contract is ending soon (October) so, we are trying to figure out if we want to keep throwing money out the window or acutally use it as a mortage payment...

I'd love to hear any home buying advice y'all have to share :)

A Brief Guide to Breastfeeding & Infant Nutrition

I would like to introduce y'all to my very first guest blogger, Katie Moore. She has a super cute blog, Moore from Katie. Something that she is very passionate about & likes to blog about is healthy living. 

As a mommy-to-be, I feel like I am not completely prepared for all that is about to come... 

Read Katie's post about infant nutrition (below)--it may answer some of your questions like it did mine :)

A Brief Guide to Breastfeeding & Infant Nutrition

Introducing your newborn baby to the world is an exciting and joyful time. Of course, the first few weeks can also be nerve wracking. Your infant will require certain nutritional needs; excellent nutrition is imperative for the overall health of your infant.

Why Infant Nutrition is Important

During the first year of an infant's life, he will experience high growth rates. After the first five months, an infant's weight will double. After the first year of your infant's life, his weight will triple. Due to these high growth rates, correct nutrition is essential. If your baby is not receiving the best nutrition, he faces the risk of having a slower growth rate than normal.

Where Does the Right Nutrition Come From?

In order to provide your infant with the correct nutrition, you have to first know where it comes from. For infants, most essentials to their diet can be found through carbohydrates, fat and protein. Of these three, protein is one of the most important. In the first year of his life, your baby will use half of the protein he eats for growth. In addition, your infant will use the fat he ingests to supply important fatty acids. Finally, the carbohydrates your infant takes in will provide energy.

The Best Diet Plans

When it comes to providing your infant with the best diet plan possible, most experts agree that breastfeeding has shown to be essential to providing the right nutrition for infants. Although many experts agree that formulas can provide similar nutrients for infants, breastfeeding milk has ingredients that can't be found in formulas. For example, infants take in antibodies through breastfeeding milk. Antibodies decrease the risk of infections in infants, making them a must have. Furthermore, further studies have shown that infants who are breastfed are less susceptible to infections and allergies during the first 18 months of their lives.

When you are preparing for delivery and speaking to doctors and nurses about post-delivery options like circumcision and cord blood banking, consider speaking to a lactation specialist about breastfeeding if you’re not sure if you’d like to breastfeed or formula feed. A lactation specialist can answer a lot of your questions and to help you and your baby when he’s born.

Most experts recommend that an infant be breastfed at least until the first year. If breastfeeding is discontinued after the first year, it's recommended that a formula fortified with iron take the place of breastfeeding.

When to Feed Solid Foods

Most infants are ready to start eating solids between the ages of four and six months.
When an infant starts eating solid foods, he should eat them by spoon and not by bottle. As it's been shown not to cause allergies, baby rice cereal is recommended for infants just starting to eat solid foods.


Mothers can ensure that their infant receives the right nutrition through attention to detail and consistency. Providing your infant with the right nutrition doesn't have to be hard; as long as you know what your infant needs, you'll be on the right track.


“Katie Moore has written and submitted this article. Katie is an active blogger who discusses the topics of, motherhood, children, fitness, health and all other things Mommy. She enjoys writing, blogging, and meeting new people! To connect with Katie contact her via her blog, Moore From Katie or her twitter, @moorekm26.”

Thanks Katie for the wonderful post

If you have any more questions about breastfeeding, I suggest checking out BabyCenter's top do's & dont's article. 

Week 22

September 14, 2012

This week Calin & I got to go to the Utah State Fair, yay! 

The saying, "you always want what you can't have" is SO true... I was itching to ride the Tilt-a-Whirl, flour sack slide & Tidal Wave. 

As soon as this baby pops out, I'm riding the nearest roller coaster :)

The nick-name "Turtle" was created because I am working on Dean's nursery and turtles have been my inspiration. I'll post my cute turtle crafts soon :)

Me & Hubby in front of all the side show posters

mmm...lemonade :)

Yes, that IS a sculpture made of ALL butter...

We ate corn dogs, chili cheese fries AND (wait for it...) A FRIED SNICKERS BAR! I'll be working that off for a couple of days. Good thing we shared this one because I don't think I would have been able to down one by myself.

Thanks Honey for a fun date night! Love you more than a fried snickers :)

Diapers & Wipes...Stocking Up!

Sept 12, 2012

Diapers can be expensive! Calin & I decided that it would be wise to start our diapers and wipes inventory now rather than later. We did some hard core investigating on price & quality.

Everyone seems to have their own opinion about which diaper wins the gold so, you may not agree with my purchases BUT I will provide my findings :)

Average customer ratings: 3.5-4 stars

Average customer ratings: 4 stars

*prices reflect $6 coupon (mailed to members)

Average customer ratings: 3 stars

Average customer ratings: 2.7-3 stars

*both are unscented*

We are going to stock up on both Parent's Choice and Huggies. Just to be on the safe side, we are taping the receipts to the boxes in case we need to return a case. 

Spending $20 here and there is going to help the 'ol wallet once baby comes :)

Let me know if you've found anything better

Week 21

Sept 1, 2012

I am 10 days late posting this which means I'll be late posting week 22... Geez! You miss a blog and it all falls apart :)

Week 21 was a HUGE week for us. We found out that we're having a boy, yay! We also went camping with my family. I didn't take my normal weekly pic so I am sharing my week 21 picture with my boyz :)

Picture was taken just after a CRAZY hail storm. Luckily our tent survived with only a little bit of wetness inside.

During the hail storm we took refuge in my parent's cabin. 

Poor Calin :)

Sisters & puppies waiting out the storm

WHAT THE HAIL?

Bubba Bruce in his adorable Big Brother shirt :) 

He only had to wear it during our gender reveal party, ha!

Bruce is definitely NOT a camper. He snuggled at the bottom of my sleeping bag and it took him a while to get out of bed in the morning :) Silly puppy

Gender Reveal Pinata

With the family all gathered together for our yearly trip to Nephi, I decided to make it special. I knew I'd be finding out Baby Hess' gender a few days before so I started planning for a fun reveal-- a pinata.

Here's what I did:

1. I used a punch balloon (found at Walgreen's 2 for $1), newspaper & paper mache "glue" (equal parts water and flour)

2. Cover balloon and let it dry completely. This process took me a couple of weeks because I wanted to do a ton of layers to make the pinata harder to break. 

3. After all the layers were dry, I drew a rough outline on the pinata for the tissue paper (used 10-16 sheets, found at dollar tree 8 sheets for $1)

Calin and I spent the day watching Supernatural and gluing on the blue, pink & yellow tissue paper

4. After finding out we were having a boy we hit up the nearest Winco for candy. It was surprisingly difficult to find blue candy. We used: Crunch bars, Pretzel M&Ms, blue salt water taffy & blue Jolly Ranchers. We used the remaining blue tissue paper as confetti too.

September 1, 2012

watch the family find out . . .

(please excuse my mother's crazy video tapping abilities)

It's a Boy!

August 30, 2012

Calin and I went to get our 20 week ultrasound. We were anxious to see the overall health of our growing jelly bean & excited to find out the gender.

Baby was in a very good position to see all the necessary items :)

We were watching the screen as the ultrasound tech typed the words "BOY"

Calin and I were so excited to finally know we were going to have a health baby boy, Dean Calin Hess.

Although I knew there was a little person growing inside me, my entire pregnancy perception was changed after finding out the gender. Now that I know Dean is coming our way, I am the happiest person on the planet earth :)

I can't wait to be Dean's mommy

face

both feet

boy part :)