Hi everyone!  Hope you’ve all been doing well~!  We’ve just been busy here as usual.  I know people say this all the time but I seriously don’t know how time goes by so quickly.

9 Months!

Dear Evan,

Now 3/4 of your first year of life has passed.  At times like this I reflect and can’t believe how much all of our lives have changed in such a short period of time.  I guess I just wanted to take a minute to say thank you for bringing so much joy into our lives.

* You’re always trying to stand now…it’s like your full-time job.

Swagbucks – Amazon Gift Cards

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  I won a little contest for submitting this quote…

“Eat, drink & be scary!” 

So I follow a ton of these mommy and money-saving blogs and I kept hearing about Swagbucks.  I finally decided to take a look and sign up.  Before recommending it to people I wanted to try it for a few months to make sure it’s worthwhile.  I’m glad I signed up because in the past 2 months I’ve already gotten $60 in Amazon gift cards.  I know it isn’t that much but hey~ it was all for just searching the internet which is something I always do anyways.

Swagbucks is an online search engine where you do searches (like with Google or Yahoo) and you periodically win “Swag Bucks” which you can later redeem for prizes.  It’s really simple.  I think the hardest hurdle for me was to break my habit of automatically going to Google to do searches.

PROS:

• It’s like getting paid to do internet searches!  Who doesn’t like free money?

• The search engine is powered by Google & Ask.com.

• It’s really easy once you get into the habit of using it.  I feel like I could get even more Swag Bucks if I tried harder (like following them on Twitter, referring people, etc.) but I haven’t done a lot of that stuff yet.

• It’s fun!  Sometimes I’m just randomly doing a search and I’ll win a Swag Buck and it’ll put a smile on my face.

CONS:

• Sometimes the search results don’t seem as thorough as the ones I’d normally get from Google.  For example, I’ll see that Swagbucks has 4 pages of results while Google has like 10.  Not really a problem for me since I’m not doing any kind of real serious business sort of searching.

• Even though the results are from Google & Ask.com I find that it can be a little odd sometimes.  For example, I’ll type in “yelp los angeles” and the actual Yelp link shows up as the 2nd link.

TIPS:

• It doesn’t help to just sit there and type in random things to search.  I’ve tried that, hehe.

• Install the toolbar so you don’t end up forgetting to use it.  Plus, the toolbar gives away free Swag Bucks sometimes.

• I don’t do this but the bloggers I follow do – they sign up for the newsletter, Twitter and Facebook and get free Swag Bucks like that too.  Those guys must be doing something right since they’ve already gotten hundreds/thousands of dollars in gift cards/prizes.

• Instead of typing in a web address like Gmail or clicking on my favorites, I’ll just type it into the toolbar and then click the link.  Yes, it’s one more step than necessary but I’ve won a bunch of Swag Bucks that way!

• Just go for the $5 Amazon gift cards which cost 45 Swag Bucks each.  I think you get the most bang for your Swag Buck that way.  I just get the code and enter it into my Amazon account and it’ll be there the next time I buy something.

• You get Swag Bucks for referring your friends!

Sign up here >> [Click me!] and let me know if you like it and if you have any questions!

Random Rumblings & Questions

* I’m sooo behind on everything Xanga~ posting, commenting and messages.  Sorry for always being so tardy in keeping up with you guys!  Hopefully I’ll be able to catch up soon.  I had one simple goal when Evan was born…to post at least once a month so I could chronicle his growth.  Evan is already 8 months and I’m just getting around to doing his 7 month post!  *sigh*  Sometimes I feel like there are sooo many things I want to do but I just don’t have enough time to do them.  Can you share how you keep up with Xanga -- posting, your subscriptions, commenting??

* I’ve been hearing rumors that Xanga might be shutting down.  I hope not!  Are you staying or is there another good blogging site you’d recommend?

* Any suggestions on nice gifts for 1-year-old boys/girls & 2-year-old boys/girls?  What are some of the best gifts you’ve received or given?  I love giving gifts so I usually spend a great deal of time and effort trying to pick out the best gifts.  I wish I could still do the same but it’s getting harder now that it seems like birthdays are coming up every other week!

* THANKS and have a wonderful week!!   

Now this is what I call ROFL… 

Michigan

Michigan was all about Sandy & Marvin's wedding.  Sandy & Marvin were married at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.  It was truly a beautiful and memorable wedding.  Sandy & Marvin are so perfect for each other.  I know they’re going to have a fabulous life together.    Here are some of my favorite photos!

Wedding rehearsal & dinner

We stayed across the hall from the bride & groom so we could see them through the peephole!

Getting ready for the big day

Evan loves his Auntie & Uncle! 

Evan actually slept walking down the aisle even with the thunderous applause he received!

Family! 

The drive-in movie exhibit played a slideshow (that's me & Sandy in the pic!)

We stayed at the Best Western circa 1920, hehe.  One of the coolest parts about being in a museum after hours is having access to all of the exhibits.

Evan in his tux!  Thanks to my Xanga angel March_Bride who helped me get this tux!

If you’re planning on traveling with your little one here’s a site (Travel Mamas) that has some great articles and tips (info on air and road travel, checklists, useful links).

6 Months!

6 Month Check-up

Weight:  17 lbs 3 oz (44th percentile)

Height:  26.5 inches (52nd percentile)

Head circumference:  44 cm (56th percentile)

Evan is no longer a giant bear…he’s an average bear!  Our dr. said it’s normal for his growing to slow down at this point.  The good part about this is that he won’t keep outgrowing his clothes so fast.  He also said that Evan is super strong~ that he’s doing things babies do at like 8-9 months.  I credit that to his magic play mats, hehe.  Evan is one of the youngest in his baby class but one of the first to start pushing himself up and start scootching around.  I kind of wish he’d stay stationary a bit longer.  The constant movement makes it harder for me to keep up with him and for him to sleep through the night.

6 Months!

Dear Evan,

It seems like I just blinked and half a year has already gone by!  Half a year in any other part of my life may have passed without much thought but these past 6 months will forever be documented and memorized in my heart and mind.  Sometimes I find myself just daydreaming about when you were born…the first few months…what you were doing just the other week.  Nothing anyone told me could have prepared me for this extraordinary love and awe I have for you.  How you became YOU is just mind boggling.  Here’s a look back at the last month…

• You look like you’re always doing baby yoga when you’re on the floor.  It’s so funny!  You’re a master at the downward dog pose.  It also looks like you’re doing push ups…up and down…up and down.  It’s awesome when you do this during the day but not so awesome when it makes it harder for you to fall asleep and stay asleep.  So many times at night I’ll find you doing your push ups and crying.  It’s a sad but cute sight.

• We celebrated Daddy’s 1st Father’s Day.

• I love how your sense of humor is developing.  One time you kept cracking up at Bella when she was jumping around like crazy and squealing.

• You learned how to throw the ball!

• You now turn on the mobile in your crib by yourself to stay entertained until I get you.

• You’re now starting to learn how to drink from a sippy cup and a regular cup.

• Our sleep schedule is still a bit crazy.  Last night you cried for an hour before going to bed and then you woke up at 4am and cried for half an hour.  I didn’t know what to do so I just prayed to God asking him to let me know how I can help you.  I know this is just a phase though so we’ll tough it out together.

• You moved up from size 2 to size 3 diapers!

• The past few weekends you’ve been spending quality time with Grandma & Grandpa while Mommy & Daddy have been going on date nights.

• You love grabbing your feet with your hands.

• You get bored so easily now that I feel like I need to constantly keep you entertained.  You’re the prince and I’m the court jester!

You, my darling Baby Bear, make me want to be the best person I can possibly be.  As imperfect as life can be sometimes…the moments when you look up at me with your puppy dog eyes and softly touch my face are just perfect.  I hope the next 6 months don’t go by as quickly so I can relish this time we have together.  Happy 6 Months!!

Love,

Mommy

Dapple Baby

When it comes to baby items I will research a product to the end of the internet spending countless hours reading reviews and finding out everything I can about that product.  That’s what happened with Dapple.  I could probably be a spokesperson for the company, hehe.

From the website:  Dapple is a line of natural-based cleaning products for households with children.  Dapple products are baby-safe and baby-specific -- using ingredients found in nature that are also proven to tackle unique baby cleaning challenges, from dried milk on bottles to sticky fingerprints on toys.

I admit I’m a bit of a germaphobe.  However, when it comes to baby items I can’t stand the thought of using products with harsh chemicals in them.  I was so happy when I found Dapple because their products are exactly what I was looking for.  I also love that this company was started by two moms!  All of their products use natural-based ingredients that are environmentally-safe, biodegradable and free of parabens, SLES and phthalates, as well as synthetic dyes or fragrances. 

Toy & Surface Wipes and Toy & Surface Cleaner Spray:  I love these!!  We have a ton of toys and I’m always trying to figure out the best way to clean them.  There were actually some toys we had for months but I didn’t give to Evan until we got Dapple.  I needed to be sure they were CLEAN!  I also use these to clean Evan’s play mat, swing, changing table, board books, carseat and anything else Evan spends a lot of time touching.  The travel size wipes are awesome because I keep it in my bag to clean toys Evan flings on the ground and to wipe down tables at restaurants.

Baby Bottle and Dish Liquid:  We’ve been sterilizing bottles and pacifiers since Evan was born but with the Dish Liquid I feel better about just washing them.  The Dish Liquid worked so well at removing milk residue that it made me think maybe we don’t always need to sterilize everything.

I love using Dapple products so I bought a bunch to make gift packages for friends.  I set aside two for you!  Let me know if you’re interested and I’ll give away 2 sets of Dapple products each including 1 full size Toy & Surface Wipes, 1 travel size Toy & Surface Wipes, 1 travel size Baby Bottle and Dish Liquid and a coupon.

If you didn’t want to read my essay on Dapple here’s one sentence to sum up why I love this stuff…Dapple products are safe for babies, green, pediatrician recommended and don’t leave yucky/chemical residue on baby stuff!  If you’d like to buy Dapple products you can find websites and stores that carry them on the Dapple website.

Questions

Could you please recommend a good vacuum?  We have hardwood floors and carpet.

Can anyone recommend a Christian and family friendly church in LA?

I know sleep + baby is a boundless topic.  However, does anyone have any tips on how to get a 6.5 month old baby to sleep soundly through the night? 

THANKS!!