Feelin' Foxy

The fox is having a moment right now, and I'm totally into it. If I were creating a nursery (and no, that's not happening any time soon) it would totally feature the fox. I've really been refraining from purchasing every little foxy thing I can get my hands on for myself (the Gap and Old Navy have some way cute stuff for momma right now) and the babe, although she does have a way cute teether I found on etsy a while back that she loves. Here's a selection of our favorites...

one | two | three | four | five

six | seven | eight | nine | ten

And, in keeping with the foxy theme of this post, here's a wonderfully weird video that's been making the rounds lately. And when the chorus is stuck in your head all day...well, you're welcome. ;o)

Month Seven Must-Haves

Here we go again! It's crazy how fast the months go by! 

1. Fisher Price Click 'n Learn Remote: Why are babies so attracted to remotes? Z was always trying to get at ours, so we knew this would be perfect. The moment we turn it on and the red light flashes, her face lights up. And of course, it's good for chewing on, too. (Isn't everything?!)

2. Suction Toy: Now that Baby Tuna is sitting in high chairs at restaurants, this toy may be the greatest thing ever. It sticks to most table tops and will keep her occupied forever. Now if someone would just explain to my why restaurant high chairs are so low...

3. B. One Two Squeeze Blocks: Perfect for little hands to grab, for little mouths to chew, and for mommies to build into towers. Plus, the sound they make when squeezed makes the dog act crazy. Worth. every. penny.

4. Johnson & Johnson Hand & Face Wipes: These are perfect for cleaning of teethers or binkies when they hit the floor at the mall, and for cleaning up after a feeding. Super soft and smell nice, too. We keep a pack in the kitchen, in the nursery, and in the diaper bag. 

5. Lifefactory Silicone Teether: We got these a couple of months ago, but Baby Tuna wasn't really interested until recently, when her teething was kicked up a notch (or ten). Now, I make sure there is always one nearby. It's easy for her to grab and hold with both hands, and I can stick it on my wrist if we go somewhere without the diaper bag. 

6. The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Chicka Chicka Boom Boom: Two of the best read alouds, and two of Z's favorites from very early on. She's been really into both of them lately, and I never get tired of reading either one. 

7. Infantino Cart & Highchair Cover: I was a little hesitant to buy one of these things, even though I knew they are a must (especially if you don't want your kid sucking on the shopping cart handle the whole time you're in Publix. Ick.). It's just that so many of them are so ugly, or so gender specific (we're not big fans of loud pink prints.). And to get a cute one on etsy was going to cost more than I was wanting to spend. This one is affordable, washes nicely, and fits carts and highchairs everywhere I've been so far. Even better, it's got an orange and blue thing happening (Go Gators!). 

8. Fisher Price Rock-a-Stack: A classic. Enough said. 

Seven Month Update

Seven months!! Holy wow, when did this happen?!

Z looked so stinkin' cute, and there were just so many great pics of her at her seven month photo shoot...so here's a few more:

I mean, really. It's so hard choosing pictures to share with you guys. I take about a zillion each month between my iPhone and my DSLR. So many in fact, that I have to start deleting them from my phone so that I can upload the new iOS7. And now that Baby Tuna is doing more, I'm taking even more... and videos now, too! I. must. be. stopped!


So anyway...we started with a new pediatrician this week, so we've got some current stats:
Weight: 16.68 lbs
Length: 26 in
Our little squirt is still fitting into most of her 3-6 month clothes, although some are just plain 6 month sized (depending on the brand). I've started buying Halloweeny stuff now, in 6-12 month or 6-9 month, and they all look so HUGE! I haven't had the greatest track record with her holiday clothes, but I'm just going with it...and trying not to buy out the stores (I mean, have you seen the new fall BabyGap stuff?! Seriously cute and I want it all!)

Baby Tuna seems to have grown up super quickly, just in the last week. Almost as if she went down for a nap one afternoon and woke up with the ability to do more. Just a few days ago, she started drinking from her sippy cup all by herself (not on the regular, but now and then), feeding herself puffs (instead of holding them in her hand and drooling all over them until they dissolve), and almost crawling, either by powering backwards on her belly or by grabbing the rug and hoisting herself forward. We just got her a real high chair, and I think it may be the catalyst for all this big kid behavior.

Somebody's creepin' in this shot.

Trying to get this crawling business down. 

This is what moving backwards will get ya.

The best personality is emerging from this kid. This month, Little Miss Sillypants has become ticklish, smacks her lips when she eats, and likes to make funny faces (all of them with a big smile) just to make us giggle. It's so amazing!

Now that we are in the throes of teething (no sign of any chompers yet, but the drool is unbelievable!), night wakings have become a big time problem. She usually goes down easy, but only naps for thirty minutes at a time and wakes up many times most nights. We. are. exhausted. Thankfully, she's a pretty happy little camper during the day, and when teething irritates her, teething tablets seem to help. As does chewing on EVERYTHING!

The past month was also the start of the college football season...kind of a big deal in our house. And although our team has gotten off to a bit of a rocky start (but did you see yesterday's game vs Tennessee?! So sloppy, but it looks like we've got a new QB!), I couldn't let the season go by without a little Gator spirit! 

Month Six Must-Haves

Another month, another list of must-haves. Baby Tuna's sixth month on this planet has been chock full of milestones, and most of these must-haves have really been...well...must-haves. Obvi. So with month six being full of teething, sitting up, crib-sleeping, and puree-eating (and pooping), here's what we couldn't do with out this past month. 

1. Arm & Hammer Diaper Pail: Of course, we've been using this guy since day one, but it wasn't until the babe started eating oatmeal and purees (and "pooping like a human", as the Hubs says) that I really started to appreciate it. See, the nice thing about newborn poo is that it doesn't really smell too terrible. Fast-forward to the introduction of purees, and you're dab smack in the middle of Stink Town! It's pretty disgusting amazing, actually.  We keep this pail in the open part of Z's closet, and I never smell one hint of a whiff of ickiness. There are little Arm & Hammer air fresheners that are placed inside, and as long as you change it every so often, the nursery will keep smelling fresh.

2. Skip Hop Hug & Hide Owl: A favorite at playtime. The wings crinkle, the baby owl squeaks, different things to chew on. All of that is great, but Z's favorite thing...beating on it to hear the chime inside.

3. Snuzza Halo Monitor: Thanks to this little monitor (it's about two inches tall), the Hubs and I can actually get a peaceful night's sleep (provided Baby Tuna is also sleeping). Because she likes to sleep on her face, we were always panicked about SIDS. This guy clips onto her diaper and measures breathing movement. If it doesn't detect any, it'll vibrate to wake her up and alarm to wake us up. There are other monitors out there that do something similar, but use a pad that is placed under the sheet. Since our kid moves all over the place, we wanted something that moves with her.

4. Aden & Anais Security Blankets: When Z moved into her crib to sleep, we wanted to give her something to snuggle if she needed to, especially since Woobie couldn't be in the crib with her. They are lightweight muslin, so we don't worry too much when she pulls it over her face. She'll chew on it, snuggle with it, and play with it. So cute!

5. Fisher Price Block Sorter: This was one of the first big kid toys we bought for Z, knowing she wouldn't be able to do much sorting. But she loves these blocks, and not just to chew on. I'll build a tower and she has a little too much fun knocking it down. Her favorite thing to do is dump out the blocks, and drum on the bottom of the bucket.

6. Click, Clack, Moo & I Love My Daddy: Of course books keep showing up on the must-haves list! Baby Tuna LOVES her books! We read many times throughout the day (would you expect any less from a former teacher?!). These two have been in heavy rotation this last month. Click, Clack, Moo is a favorite from my classroom. The mooing usually gets a giggle out of her. We have other books in the series, but this one might be her fave. I Love My Daddy is a pre-nap favorite. The illustrations are so sweet, and since she's a total Daddy's Girl, it's an obvious must-have!

7. Plum Organics: When we started Z on purees, this was the brand we chose. They taste so good (yes, I taste everything before Z does!) and are super convenient. I also love that, if you're feeling lazy, you can just squirt it onto the spoon and not have to deal with a bowl.

A Little Randomness for Your Hump Day

So these last few weekends have been packed full of business. We are still in the middle of our Ikea hack, the project that will never end. Not because it's particularly difficult, just that other things keep taking us away from it. Just needing to paint and stain, which the stormy afternoon/evenings have prevented. And I'm almost done with my new chalkboard (also delayed by the weather). Hoping to get those finished soon so I will have something to show you guys.  In the meantime, I wish you all a Happy Hump Day and present you with a little bit of randomness for the midweek.

For some reason, this camel cracks me up! I know this is crazy, but I really feel like that should be his voice! Makes me laugh every time! Let me throw in one more exclamation point!

Speaking of Ikea (well, sort of), two kind of awesome things happened: #1-We declared September 8th "New Sofa Day!" About a month ago, we trekked down to Ikea to check out the sofas, without any real intention of actually getting one anytime soon. Our current furniture has about had it, and once we had chosen something new, our old stuff started looking worse and neither one of us could get the new sofa out of our minds. So, next Sunday, the Tuna family will once again trek south with my step-dad's truck (since the giant boxes definitely won't fit in my VW Rabbit) and pick up this puppy:

IKEA Karlstad Corner Sofa

Of course this means that now we will need a new rug and coffee table and so many throw pillows!

And #2 - This arrived in the mail yesterday! Woot woot! It's the little things these days that make me giddy, and I have to say that coming home to see the 2014 catalog on the table made me squeal with glee. (I probably need to get out more!)

We did manage to make the most of the one and only storm-free evening by taking a walk around the neighborhood, something we haven't been able to do much this summer thanks to the mosquitoes and suffocating heat. This also marked Baby Tuna's first ride in the stroller like a big kid - without the infant carrier!! Of course, Abby Cadabby had to come along for the inaugural ride!

So, seven Labor Day Weekends ago, one of my oldest friends and I went out for a few drinks. That very same night, a tall and handsome fella happened to be in town and at the very same bar with a buddy. Well, I think you can figure out how this story ends. Even though we knew each other in high school, the Hubs and I didn't start dating until that night. We call it the night we "re-met." So this weekend we celebrated our "Re-Met-aversary" with a yummy dinner and what I call "Half-Assed Cookies & Cream Cupcakes."

I love to bake. My love of Oreos is pure and true, and I try to incorporate them into a lot of my baking endeavors. Usually I bake cupcakes from scratch, right down to the frosting. No frosting from a can in this house. But with a six month old, you gotta make some concessions here and there. So here's how it goes...For Father's Day, I made a batch of chocolate cupcakes and froze what we didn't eat that weekend. I love this recipe from Kevin and Amanda. Yes, it's from a mix, but it's so doctored up and chocolatey delicious, I may never make chocolate cake from scratch again. I use the gluten free Betty Crocker mix. They freeze and thaw so nicely so you can have cupcakes anytime you want! 

Now for my half-assed frosting...

To frost 4 cupcakes (plus a few spoonfuls to taste-test), I used half a tub of the new Cool Whip Cream Cheese frosting (which I would normally make myself), threw some Oreos (about 7 or 8) into my food processor and mixed all together. The frosting on it's own didn't taste exactly like homemade, but once the Oreo crumbs were mixed in...yum-o! Pipe onto thawed chocolate cupcakes, sprinkle with Oreo pieces, and Viola! Chocolatey Oreo yumminess! 

And finally, since it's now September, which should mean instantly cooler temps (but unfortunately it doesn't),

Just know that this temp does NOT include the insane humidity...it felt like at least 500 degrees!

I had to pop in to Starbucks to pickup my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season. I usually wait till the temps cool off a bit, but I couldn't resist. So since the babe had fallen asleep in the car, which meant I needed to kill some time while she slept, I hit the drive-thru. And having it iced wasn't so bad.

Now I'm ready to decorate the house for fall and am dreaming of fuzzy socks and open-window weather...which is still at least two months away. Boo to that!!