7 Months Old

My little one, roo, turned 7 months old today. It's been the quickest 7 months of my life!

Little miss number two, you certainly keep us busy!


New Skills:
"Rocking" (About to crawl!)
Babbling
Repeating some sounds
Starting to point (Not for requests)
Whines, squeals, & laughs to get our attention
Has one baby tooth

Loves To:
Scream
Laugh
Squeal
Smile
Play & giggle with her big sister
Jump
Stand
Role
Eat baby food
Watch her puppy

She is:
Happy-go-lucky
Determined
Stubborn
Sweeter than pie!

Thank you for being the wonderfully amazing, beautifully smart baby girl that you are!


**This post was written through Blogger's App for iPhone

Hello Idaho!

One more day until we reach Yellostone. Currently in Idaho.

Here is my sweet bear with her daddy earlier today as we drove through Utah:

Hello Utah.

Day one of our trip has come & gone.

So long Utah!

The Bear and the Bat (A Wordless Wednesday)

I think this picture speaks for itself.

So I'll leave it at that.


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I will be on a long road trip for the next two weeks so my posts will be slowing down a bit. We are visiting Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. I'll be posting pictures whenever I am able to, on my blog, on Instagram and on Twitter.

Happy Summer!

bear's mom 

Pinterest Inspired DIY Chalkboard Cookie Jar for Father's Day

I'm a little bit of a Pinterest abuser. I love it and I find myself skimming through all the pins whenever I find a moment to myself.

What I love about it is that it helps me plan for everything in my life: dinner, decorating, organizing, holidays, vacations, and of course gifts.

My husband is not too keen on me spending a lot of money on him for father's day. He doesn't view it as a holiday that requires gifts, which is something that I really appreciate about him. 

But I wanted to make the day special. And since he has been nagging me to buy a cookie jar, when I found this pin, I knew exactly what I could make for him.

Picture originally from Pinterest and Mom Advice 

This project is from Mom Advice. She has an excellent tutorial so if you're interested in trying it yourself head on over to her site! Plus, she has a template if you want to do your chalkboard like hers. 

Mom Advice did her cookie jar with a conversation bubble, as you can see in her post or in my interest pin.

But I wanted to do something a little different, make it my own... err, I mean, make it my husband's... 

My husband grew up in the suburbs of Chicago so he, of course, is a big Cubs fan. So I decided to make my chalkboard a cub.

So if you would like to try this craft all you need is: 

1 Gallon Cookie Jar (over by the jars in the kitchen section)- $7.44

Krylon Chalkboard Spray Paint (in the home improvement section)- $3.97

Avery Removable Wall & Window Signage Sheets (over by the office supplies)- $9.97 for 5 sheets

16 count chalk (in office supplies)- $.47

Scissors (in your craft supplies)

1 sheet of heavy cardstock (in your craft supplies)

*cited from Mom Advice

I also used a chalk pen instead of chalk. Brought back my days of drawing on the boards while I worked as a barista at Starbucks. 

Oh, and how I love chalkboard paint!

I see a lot more crafting with chalkboard paint in the future!

And here's the final product:

Now all I need to do is make the cookies!

Hope you all had an amazing Father's Day!

xo
bear's mom

P.S. Follow me on Pinterest: Jackie - Bear's Mom 

Guest Post: Easy Exercise Tips for New Moms

Easy Exercise Tips for New Moms 

by Katie Moore

You’ve weathered the seemingly endless final days of your pregnancy and delivered your beautiful new baby boy or girl. Now between getting to know your little one, juggling the demands of motherhood and dealing with sleep deprivation, you’re also starting to think about losing the baby weight and getting your body back. What’s a new mom to do? First of all, take a deep breath and relax. It’s okay to start small. Exercise is a known stress-reducer, and getting physical will also improve the few hours of sleep you manage to get each night.

Before beginning a weight loss program, consult with your doctor to be sure your body is ready for the demands of exercise and healthy enough to drop the extra weight. A doctor was you main resource for medical concerns when it came to learning about pain management, what to expect in the delivery and options like umbilical cord blood banking and circumcision, so post-delivery care and choices should be no exception.


Go on Walkabout
Walking is one of the best ways to begin your exercise regime with your baby and is one of the most natural human movements to get your heart rate up. You’ll spend plenty of time with the stroller in the months and years to come. In the early weeks, go for walks while cradling your baby in your arms or a sling. The extra weight will tone your arms and intensify your workout. Wear sturdy shoes for support and avoid uneven terrain or broken concrete. Walk indoors at a shopping mall on rainy days, but head outdoors whenever possible.

Dance, Dance, Baby
Children love music, and even newborns will turn their heads in response to sound. Dancing is an excellent form of cardiovascular exercise. As a bonus, it’s fun! Hold your baby securely in front of you, making sure to support his or her head, turn up the music and dance. Avoid sharp, swinging turns or bouncing to protect your baby’s neck. If you really want to get down, put the baby in a carrier or swing and cut the rug while he or she watches. You may see that first smile while you’re working out.

Get Down with Yoga 
The contemplative poses of a yoga practice strengthen and lengthen the muscles of the body, tone the abdomen, improve posture and reduce stress. Search online for a beginning or post-natal practice, and make tummy time for baby yoga time for mom. Spread your mat next to the baby’s blanket and try cat/cow, tricky cat, tabletop pose, child’s pose, and a twist. Plank pose is great for building six-pack abs. In addition to being physically challenging, yoga also promotes weight loss through mindfulness. When you feel relaxed and centered, you’re less likely to overeat.

Make Every Movement Count 
Fitting in a full-length workout is a challenge most new moms face, so it’s important to take every opportunity to get active. Park at the back of the lot, do calf raises while you’re doing dishes and crunches while you watch TV. New moms often feel so overwhelmed that they forget to eat. Especially if you’re nursing, take time to eat several small, nutritious meals throughout the day and be sure to drink plenty of water. With a little creativity and determination, you’ll be back in your pre-baby wardrobe in no time. You can do it!

Soon, you’ll be feeling back to your normal self with more energy and you can watch the pounds start to drop off. With healthy lifestyle choices, you can stay healthy for your baby and foster a healthy environment for them to grow up in. 

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“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.” 

A Day At The Beach

Last Friday we made our first trip of the summer season to the beach. We drove up to Huntington Beach, our favorite spot for playing in the sand and riding the waves.

Unfortunitly it was a bit windy when we got there. We were all chilly, even though the sun was blaring down on us. We still made it a fun family day and bear still managed to cover herself completely in sand.


Her are two of my favorite pictures of the day:

Bear.

Not such a baby anymore, I can't believe this pose! 

My little supermodel... 

Roo. 

The only thing she wants to do is play and explore.

So a beach tent is perfect for her (less sand in the mouth)!

xo

bear's mom

p.s. Congrats to my best friend and her husband! Their third baby girl was born just last night! 

Three Years Experience...

I've been looking at bear a lot lately. I can't believe that she will be three years old in just two weeks. That means that I've been a mom for three whole years. At times it feels like I've always been a mother and at other times I feel so uneducated in the way of parenting.

And so I've been reflecting. Reflecting on bear, on who she is and how I've been parenting her. In some ways I feel that I've been too hard on her lately. I expect a lot from her as I often forget that she is just two... 

Not only is she tall for her age but she speaks very well.

It's not until she asks some sort of question like this one: 

"Can I have a mustache for my birthday?" 

That I'm slapped back into reality. 

Oh dear. I forgot you were only two again, gulp...

As I begin to dissect this issue I've truly realized that I haven't been too hard with my form of discipline, it's my disciplining that has lacked what it once was. Originally I tried to use bear's mistakes, miss-behaving moments and whatnots as a time for some learning. And it generally worked, she responded well and we moved on.

But once I became pregnant and then had roo, bear became quite testy and I found myself having to be stricter. Giving her immediate consequences to let her know that I meant business. I also found a lot of her behavior directed at me, following roo's arrival, which caught me off guard, leaving me disoriented when it came to disciplining. It also left me a little uptight... 

There is a fine line with a bear and if one is not careful she'll walk all over you. I struggle regularly with that line.

It's time to remind myself to take a step back. Review the situation and talk with bear first about the appropriate behavior that she should be using in each situation. And then from there I can revert to the strictness that I have been sticking to. 

Sometimes as an adult it's hard to remember being a child. It's hard to remember that children just don't understand the world the way we do.

I remember being regularly misunderstood growing up. Often when I was in trouble myself it was a bit of a surprise to me as I didn't realize I was doing anything wrong. I was a day dreamy kind of girl, frequently side tracked, and I think bear is this way too.

Imagination is a wonderful thing! But it needs to be harnessed and focused and most importantly not punished. 

So I can't expect bear to act perfect all of the time and I need to remember that making mistakes are the best way to learn; the best way to mature, find focus, find a better way of doing things and the best way for bear to figuring out that what mommy has to say is important. 

And I think I need to relax a little, unwind myself, and continue to refocus. 

So forgive me bear. I am just as much a work in process as you.

This time last year. 
(Pregnant with roo)

XO

bear's mom