#cornking

We have discovered the secret to enjoying our dinners together without Jonas running the show: give him a (mostly eaten) corn cob!! A few nights ago his first corn cob kept him happily busy for over an hour while we visited with friends in the park and last night we had friends over for an impromptu BBQ in the backyard and we were able to all sit down together and have adult conversation while Jonas happily munched next to us, for over an hour! People without kids: this is a big deal. This is the perfect teether for our little food obsessed guy since he can't choke on anything and this isn't going to fill him up since he basically gets about 5 kernels off each cob.

crayon making

As Jonas' first birthday creeps closer and closer I have begun thinking about his party. With the party comes a lot of things that can be costly, like favors. I'm not stoked on spending money on plastic crap made in China that will be thrown away after the day is done. I know kids look forward to the goodie bags and the kids at the party will range in age, so I decided on crayons in fun shapes. Most kids like to color and the babies can use them soon enough.

I put a request on my local Freecycle asking for used or broken crayons. I got 3 responses; 2 from teachers that "had" to get rid of their crayon stash because every fall they "have" to put out new supplies. I got BAGS of crayons that were perfectly fine, maybe 5 broken ones. Insane. For free, the best part!

Some of my crayon loot.

Besides the crayons you will also need a fun mold to melt the crayons in. I got this fruit one from eBay for $3.99. Most silicone ice cube trays can withstand high temperatures so when you search you don't have to search for baking molds, but ice cube trays too! IKEA has some great ones for $1. 

You will also need a knife and cutting board that you can dedicate to this project, no food should touch them from here on out.

Then you cut up the crayons in tiny pieces and fill the molds! You bake at 250 for about 8-10 minutes and allow them to cool completely, about 15 minutes. I think they are beautiful little pieces of art. 

{The grapes are my fave}

I have been saving baby food jars thinking I could use them for something and now I have! I will add the crayons in the jars for the birthday favors. I obviously need to get more, but maybe I can put another Freecycle request out or ask my mom's group.

I plan on spray painting the lids some fun colors to complete the look. This whole project (that provides me with supplies that will last well beyond the party favors) cost $3.99. Not bad!

Milky! (And some thoughts on breastfeeding)

I've been breastfeeding Jonas for over 8 months now and am getting close to my original goal of 1 year. I recently read on someone's blog that she wanted to nurse for at least a year, but less than two. That sounded nice to me. After I got through the initial hump of breastfeeding (pain from improper latching and emotion-messing from the physical demands and invisible chain that is wrapped around you and your baby) I loved nursing. Especially since in the first 4 months during the rough seas of colic it was the only time I could bond with Jonas. Breastfeeding really peaked for me right around 5 months. I loved it so so much. I am lucky that I am staying home with him because I know pumping can be a real pain. I did it in the beginning so Jon could give Jonas the occasional bottle, but it was harder to find the time to pump.

Up until the last month, Jonas has been a champion nurser. Lately he has become super distracted and will pull my hair, scratch wherever he can reach, pinch my arm, look at Jon and smile, come off entirely and laugh, you get the idea. He is just so busy! He doesn't want to miss a thing. Also, he now has four teeth and while biting was only a problem for a week or two, it has become a problem again. His latch is so strong and he doesn't want to unlatch at the end of a session.

I am in a moment where I really want to make it to a year or past but I am just seeing how things go. And since he is eating more and more solids he is actually nursing less. So it is important that I keep my milk supply up. Which is why I was so excited when Need Brands contacted me to try out Milky! Milky is an organic herbal cocktail to increase milk supply and promote faster let-down. As most nursing mothers know, fenugreek is the herb that increases milk supply. I have been taking fenugreek pills from about 1 month out, just incase. The suggested intake is 3 pills daily and sometimes I forget. I also tried Mother's Milk tea but it was disgusting.

Milky! is delicious. Think of it as a little energy shot (quantity wise) that tastes nothing like its name suggests, it actually tastes like strawberries! I have been taking two a day and I look forward to it. It might have something to do with those cute little bottles I can just throw in my purse. Plus, it doubles as a baby toy. ;)

Added bonus, Milky! was dreamt up by Tia and Tamara Mowry. You know I used to watch Sister, Sister all the time, so this was a happy discovery. Love those girls. I am totally not being paid to say this and once my free supply runs out, I am actually buying this myself. Highly recommend!

baby wants what baby wants

{Jonas and his Zip-Itz Zeke doll}

File this under Things I Never Thought I'd Do As A Parent. I thought I would provide Jonas with only the highest quality, organic wooden toys with patterns and colors that were appealing to myself. But then I realized I wanted moments of silence and happy independent play. Enter the brightly colored toys that I normally would have cringed it. Yes, I caved and I totally don't even care anymore! After the very young stage where babies are obsessed with all things high contrast and black and white they are attracted to bright colors! They reach for it, they grab it and eventually put it in their mouth. Which is why Jonas loves his Zeke doll. Once he gets older he will be able to unzip those zippers, but for now he loves sucking on the star tabs. 

And other things that are rocking Jonas' world right now? 

Straws, spoons and tags (note to moms-to-be: Don't cut tags off anything, babies love tags!).

Sunscreen overhaul

I recently read this post about 8 New Rules for Sunscreen at A Cup of Jo and read through all the comments. Things are not so simple anymore, when I think the only rule might have been to wear it. Lots of comments from women saying they don't wear sunscreen because fear of vitamin D deficiency and ones that love the organic sunscreens but also use the chemical laden self tanners. And the ones that avoid the sun altogether from 10AM-2PM (when the sun is the most dangerous). People are all over the map! It motivated me to read the rules, read all the ingredients on my sunscreens and do a major overhaul.

All of our sunscreens. Ones for baby, ones we purchased on our honeymoon when we ran out, ones that were pricey, ones that were cheap. Here they all are. First up, looking for the hormone disruptor and chemical that enters your bloodstream...oxybenzone.

These 3 had it, not surprised actually. They are the cheapest and most mainstream sunscreens I owned. Past tense, since I tossed them after this recent discovery. Reading up on Banana Boat on the Environmental Working Group website and its all really scary. They have the worst scores, even their baby blocks. Most of them also carry Vitamin A (Retinol) which may speed development of skin tumors and lesions.

These sunscreens were all listed on the EWG's list of 184 sunscreens that meet their criteria. The lower the score the better and LaVanila scored a 1 and the others pictured all scored a 2. The two pictured in the top photo, Korres and Jose Maran were not on the list. The Josie Maran product is a moisturizer with sunscreen that I LOVE but was puzzled it was not on the Moisturizer with Sunscreen list. And I cannot find a reason why the Korres did not make the cut, my only guess is it's low SPF of 25.
Of the winners, the California Baby is loads easier to rub in because it is mineral based which is the titanium oxide cutting down on zinc that is so very white.

What about you? How are you when dealing with the sun?

8 Months

I haven't done one of these posts in awhile and little man is growing and changing like woah. Time to document the latest!
At 8 Months his newest trick is waving! We had been waving at him constantly for about a week when he suddenly did it back! It was thrilling. (Spoken like a first time mama) And he did it several times later that day on separate occasions. Always with his left hand, and always freaking adorable. I totally cried the first time he did it and the second time he did it when I realized it wasn't random.

Jonas is eating more now during his breakfast and dinner solids. And when he is really enjoying something he slaps his left hand on the high chair tray anticipating (demanding?) the next bite! We also give him some puffs now to work on his pincher grab. And he is now getting lots of bites and tastes of whatever we are eating. Again, he hasn't met a food he doesn't like.

We definitely have a water baby on our hands. Our month of swim lessons went really well, Jonas loved being in the water with the other kids and didn't even cry or fuss when he would get dunked under water! He has since had fun with his buddies in the kiddie pool and at Jon's parents' pool, which is a big deal since both of those pools weren't heated like the one at the swim school.

He has just recently cut his 3rd tooth and the first one on top. So now he makes my skin crawl when he does his new trick of grinding his teeth together. Shudder! It isn't fully out but so far this tooth was so much easier than tooth #2.

Morning naps are still dependable and great, but afternoon naps are the new struggle. He just will not go down despite being very tired. It takes lots of patience to get through afternoons lately. And up until recently he never moved in his crib, always would stay on his back where we placed him. Now he flips over to his side or stomach and sleeps that way.

At 8 months this kid is just so much FUN! We get him laughing constantly and the sound of his laugh is one of my favorite sounds, ever. The other day I was holding him on my lap and he watched Pete jump onto the entertainment center and just started cracking up. It was hilarious how he found that funny?!?
He loves to stand but is still not super fond of being on his stomach which means there have been no hints to crawling anytime soon. He loves opening and closing drawers and the medicine cabinet, grabbing knobs, pulling towels off racks, pulling contents out of my dresser and playing with other adult and everyday things.
And he also just recently had his first cold and we used the Nose Frida for the first time. Despite a runny nose, some coughing and sneezing he was acting normal. And I can't believe it, but I am already thinking and planning for his first birthday. Which is around the corner, holy cow.