sweet little man

these small toes belong to a sweet little man who has captured my heart. my dear friend joy had her baby on tuesday. she was 35 weeks pregnant, just a couple weeks shy of being full term. john had to be taken early because joy's fluid levels were dangerously low. he entered this world early, quickly and dramatically.

he is currently on a ventilator in the NICU in a hospital in texas. his mom is recovering from her c-section and trying to be there to comfort and cheer on her little man. and, oh yeah, his dad is in iraq. this family has a large chunk of my heart, and has been dominating my thoughts for the past week. he is a fighter, just like his mom and dad. but he needs our prayers. please band together with me, come up along side of me, and cover this family in your prayers.

from joy's facebook this evening " holding onto God's word for myself, my husband, and especially my son... John 14:27 I give my peace to you. I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid"

don't put batman in the dishwasher

every day i say things that i've never thought i'd say. today, this is what it was :) levi is enamored with this tiny batman our neighbors gave him. it goes with him a lot of places, just the latest was being hucked into the dishwasher. he's figuring out that whenever the door opens, mom puts things in there, so now he hustles over to the dishwasher to make his deposit: tupperware lids (that are clean) sippy cups full of juice, and.....batman.

no worries, no superheros were harmed in the making of this funny.

he's a sweet boy, walking the majority of the time. he's teaching me to slow down. no longer can we hustle in and out of the stores. he likes to walk everywhere, holding my hand, getting distracted and spinning cookies, stopping in his tracks, dragging his feet. i'm trying to translate this lesson into other areas of my life..... as much as i want him to grow up "can't you just start talking so you can tell me what you want?" "you have to walk.... i'm sick of carrying you!" i just can't believe that he's already walking and signing and developing his personality. he's amazing and i love him to death, it's just hard to believe he's getting so big and old and...... not baby. he's a little boy. i'm working hard at remembering and relishing the every day moments we have together.

"enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things"
--robert brault

where i've been

we've been trying to enjoy the sunny days when they come, cuz winter can come back without warning. today we spent most of the morning outside, and levi's been sleeping for 2 1/2 hours so far :)

i got this inflatable car at target for $5, and i'm working on a homemade ball pit (i definitely need more balls for the pit)
and levi found where his bath toy bin is. think he has enough?

practicing standing, eating and playing with papa at the same time. he's a busy monkey.

brewery tour on valentine's day. my parents were in town, so we went to the brewery, then mat and i went to the batting cage, and then all of us went out for bbq dinner. what a great valentines day that man got!!!

at levi's dedication with great grandma ev

at levi's dedication with nana and papa

valentine's day smoothie.........yum!

he definitely has got the hang of a straw. he drank half of my smoothie!

i finally let him open his barn from his birthday; and he promptly tried to ride it. does that mean he has too many ride-on toys? haha

chili dogs and cole slaw. can you see how close he got to eating any cole slaw??

doesn't that smile just melt your heart?

and this is the most adorable thing i've ever seen! the zoo with nana and papa.

oh yeah, and i've been doing a little working at nap times :) i have 5 sets of closet dividers to be made, and a whole batch of lovees to deliver to the children's hospital. i am so blessed to be able to create, and work in my own home. it's definitely not a gold mine, or enough for mat to stay home, but it's an amazing outlet for me, and gratifying to know that i can bless others with my creativity. thanks all :)

snow days

we have had a lot of self imposed snow days around here lately. i say self imposed since i don't really have to go anywhere to get to work........and it's not like levi's preschool is going to be cancelled. we just decide not to go anywhere, enjoy snuggling, playing and drinking lots of hot tea. (i'm drinking so much of it, whenever levi sees my coffee mug he says "hhhhhhhot") here's a peek into our days the last couple weeks. :)we stand :)
we read LOTS and LOTS of books (big red barn 3 times today!)

we do a little blackberry-ing ;)

we stand in the chair and watch it snow.

we practice flushing the toilet (and turning on the dishwasher....little goober)

we finally figured out "touchdown" during the superbowl :)

we figured out how to open the cereal cupboard and help ourselves to kix

we chill

we play in the magazine rack

i love this littel goober. he makes me laugh all the time. and sometimes i laugh so loud, he starts laughing. so funny.

{mostly} wordless thursday

determination defined by a 13 month old. precious

valentine

Heartstrings Valentine's Day Card

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exciting

i have been prayerfully considering and thinking a lot about giving back, doing something more with my time, and blessing others. at christmas our pastor talked about "C.O.A.L.- Christmas On Another Level" which he expanded to simply be LIFE on another level. Meaning Christmas shouldn't just be a day or a week in our year, but a way of life, a manner of living, and state of mind in which we constantly think outside of ourselves and to others. he handed out stickers, 12 of them, to put on our calendar every month to remind us of our "COAL" commitment. he suggested putting them on the 25th of each month......you know, like Christmas. well......that's tomorrow. since Christmas, i've been thinking about what i can do to make a different and do something more. my first thought was children's hospital. i SO take levi's health for granted, i am so greatful that he is a happy, healthy, developing toddler who, thus far, as escaped any serious health issues. i know that not every family is so lucky. and i want to do something to help those families, and those babies. i know what i can do won't make much of a difference, it won't help pay their medical bills, won't heal the kids, and won't make the things they are going through any easier, but i want to at least provide a little blessing, a small ray of sunshine in an otherwise dark and scary time. i have been prompted and lead to make and donate one lovee blanket for every sale in my shop. that's right, for every sale that i've had or will have in the weeks and months to come, one infant in the NICU will have a snuggly, cuddly lovee blanket to help in whatever small way it might help. i pray that God will do something bigger with these blankets than i can do. i pray that God will use these blankets in a monumental way, to speak words of life, peace and comfort into the scared minds and hearts of the parents, and that he will use the simple gift of a lovee to........ i don't know, just bring a little joy into their hearts. i know that God can do bigger and better things through just a simple act. i humbly ask you to be with me in this, to be praying for the families that will get the blankets, and for the kids who will be fighting for their lives.
thank you in advance for your prayers, support and encouragement. if you want to donate a lovee, pick something out of my shop, or email me to donate one without a purchase!

wordless wednesday

sad

i got no entries in my giveaway.
i'm trying really hard not to take it personally. it seems so junior high-ish to say "no one likes me or my shop or my blog. why doesn't anyone like me?" i'm trying not to get sucked into this as a popularity contest or anything...... but i'm frustrated. and, to be honest, all those thoughts are running through my head. i'm not sure what i can do to make people care about what i'm writing and what i'm doing........

intentional

inspired by my dear friend heather, i have decided to choose a word for 2011. a word to remember and try to live my life by. a word that will hopefully give my life, my days, my activities, my mothering, my wife-ing.......direction and purpose. the word that i'm working hard to remember this year is INTENTIONAL. i'm trying hard to be intentional with my time, my money, my food, my choices, my attitudes, my activities, my talents, my attention, my heart, my energy. i'm trying to make intention the cornerstone of this year. no more half-assing things. no more laziness. no more wallowing.

"There is an eagle in me that wants to soar,

and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud"

-- Carl Sandburg

baby lovenotes and whimsy hair notions GIVEAWAY!

hello to all my readers, both old and new! i have some exciting news!
My dear friend Colleen at Whimsy Hair Notions has partnered with me for another GREAT BIG giveaway! This is going to be big. If you haven't checked out her page, either on Facebook or Etsy, go. do. it. NOW! Her flower clips are beautiful, and her hand knitted hats are awesome! Levi has one of her newsboy style hats, and even though it doesn't stay on his head for longer than 15 seconds, it's adorable. And I have high hopes some day he'll wear it ;)
For this giveaway, Colleen has sent me a whole box of beautiful deep purple flower clips, with plenty of sparkle, sass, and style! And for my part, I will be making a personalized, custom fabric covered initial hair clip holder. (This is a BRAND NEW product for my shop. So new, I've only made one and I don't even have a picture to entice you with! But trust me, it's good!) This package will be perfect for any little lady in your life. Unfortunately, it won't be over in time to be an in-time for Christmas gift, but it could be a great gift for a birthday, shower gift, or even a late Christmas present ;)

So, you want to know how to enter? There are several ways to enter. Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry (up to five entries)
1) become a fan of baby lovenotes AND Whimsy Hair Notions on facebook (and write on our walls to help us feel the love!)
2) follow my blog
3) visit baby lovenotes AND Whimsy Hair Notions on Etsy and tell me what your favorites are
4) make a purchase from either of our shops
5) share this giveaway with your fans or followers on your blog or facebook page

Have fun with this giveaway! I will draw a name on the 26th. That gives you TEN days!
Ready?
SET!
GO!

christmas 2010

Funky Christmas Wishes Christmas 5x7 folded card

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vintage love

i love the vintage pearl. my dear friend mysha got me this lovely necklace for christmas last year. it's amazing, i wear it almost every day. and every time i'm wearing it, levi grabs it and loves on it too. it's like he knows it's all about him :)

i would love to get a personalized charm with his name on it to go along with it. i had an "L" but levi tugged on it one too many times and it broke. but seriously, they have so much good stuff.

if you check out their blog, they are giving away LOTS of goodness.

some of my faves, in no particular order:

christmas 2010

Holly Frame Christmas Card

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shutterfly lovin

i adore shutterfly. i have made levi two photo books in the past year, both of which were free. i won one from a blog i follow, and the other one was a perk from the formula we use for levi. so while i didn't spend money on his books, i would have. the pictures are printed so beautifully, the covers are so sweet. i just love them.
another thing about shutterfly i love is their christmas cards. there are so many great ones to choose from. we've had a big year, with our little monkey turning one tomorrow, and i have so many great pictures i want to share with our christmas card list. even though i thought i had it nailed down as to which pictures i would choose for our christmas card, just in perusing shutterfly's christmas card options.......suddenly i'm doubting everything! one big family picture? several smaller pictures of things we've done throughout the year? a timeline of levi's growth and changes over the year? or, oh my gosh, the best of both worlds.......a christmas photo card AND christmas letter, all in one??? oh my word, this one is cute too!!
regardless of what decision i hope to make soon (inevitably i'll let mat pick something out, since he's usually more "i don't like that one" than i am. i'm usually so wishy washy.)...... i know i will be happy with my selection. anything i've ordered from shutterfly, be it the photo books, the custom notepads levi sent his grandma's for mothers day, or just my pictures printed at target, i've been elated with. and i truly think that this years christmas card will be my favorite. thanks to having two handsome men in the pictures with me, and thanks to shutterfly's (50 free photo card promotion) help :)

a couple of my favorite shutterfly goodies (other than the christmas cards and photo books!)
* these photostrips. ADORABLE!!! such a good idea for levi's thank you cards for his party!
* this mounted wall art. this would make great gifts for grandparents! i'll have to keep these in mind!
* these desk calendars. again, a great gift idea for grandparents who want to see levi's picture every month of the year :) i might have to take some "seasonally appropriate" pictures throughout the year for this one!

one thing i wish shutterfly made....... a photo address book. really i'd just like to put a family picture on the front of an address book. i'll keep my fingers crossed that this is in production :)

bobbin winder

i have become an excellent bobbin winder. and an excellent seam ripper.

which means........i've been sewing up a storm!

thanks to my favorite blog, Little Bit Funky, I was inspired to make a TON of ornaments this year. Most of them will be headed to Iraq shortly for the Cav 1-9 division. My darling friend Joy's husband is deployed there, so she asked me to make ornaments for all the soldiers in his division. I do have a few left that I'm hoping will be Christmas presents, and maybe give aways for some fans of my shop. This took up a boat load of my time, but I'm so glad I could bless the soldiers in this way, the men and women who are fighting for our freedom, who are away from their family for such a long time.

it's truly the least i can do for such amazing people. it warms my heart.

belated big announcement

another thing that has been keeping me so busy is my new etsy shop!! that was my big annoucement that i failed to announce here..... whoopsies. i launched my new shop the middle of june, and it's been keeping me busy this summer. i've been making mostly baby decor and such; my cards have not been as big of a seller, unfortunately. but i'm still staying busy, being creative and blessing those who order things from my shop.