Scored these pink and gold dot gift bags at Target for a whopping $0.48 per set of 2! $0.24 each! So great to have on hand for that last minute gift!

We love love love our stroller. I first posted about it here. We purchased our UPPAbaby Vista stroller knowing it would last us through not only this baby but the next one as well. It includes a bassinet and a seat that can be back facing or forward facing. You can purchase a car seat adapter for it but we didn’t, we instead bought the infant seat cushion and used that. This ended up working out for us because Declan hated his car seat! We only used the bassinet a few times because Declan preferred to be up where he could see what was going on, but we did use it a few times for naps. We still have him facing backwards and have upgraded from the safety bar to a snack and cup holder for him since he loves to eat puffs!

(We are insanely blessed to live here)

(I added this one cause it is just so cute!)

One of the biggest reasons why we chose this stroller is the many options it offers. Bassinet, car seat, rear facing, front facing, sitting up, full recline, double seat, standing area for older kids (that’s right, it can hold up to three children at once!) it is the stroller that grows with your family. When we have our next little one we will purchase the second seat that attaches below the first. No double-wide strollers here! The storage basket underneath is very spacious as well and it is positioned so that you don’t kick it when walking. I would say the only cons were the price, although I would say it is worth it) and that we had to buy a separate attachment to get a drink holder. Those two things aide I would definitely recommend this stroller to anyone looking to buy one stroller for a growing family.

Note: This is not a sponsored post. I always appreciated baby product reviews when I was pregnant (heck, I still do!) so I wanted to review a few of my favorite products.

Well that was an unexpected break. Lots going on over here which means not much time for sitting at the computer. And even though we are only one week from Declan being nine months old (say whaaaat) I wanted to get this post in even though it will be a short one.

I am trying to remember what happened last month as opposed to the last 3 weeks… It seems like things change every day so it is hard to say when something happened. I can say that month 8 brought another cold from daycare and teething (top two). It was filled with lots of veggie purees, while still not many fruit. Crawling and more crawling, and pulling up on things. We considered removing the coffee table due to the numerous spills but never got around to it. We signed another year lease for our place, which will be a first for us as we have moved twice in the last three years. And that is all that I can say for sure happened in month 8. A lot has change din the last three weeks so next week I will have that update!  I will also have a few more product reviews (non-sponsored)  with some essential-to-us baby products and maybe a few crafting posts. Stay tuned!

You have a three foot long duck in your shower.

Yep. It’s true. Which is why I didn’t join until now. I knew it would take me over. The good thing is that I can now quickly post all of the inspiring ideas I find without having to write a whole post on it. Because I just don’t have the time! In the first day of having my account I went through and cleaned out most of the items I had starred on my Google reader, which I meant to post, but never found the time to. I have felt bad neglecting the blog, not putting the same time into I did when I was planning my wedding (3 posts in one day?! what?) but now I feel a bit better about it. I will continue to post baby updates, DIY stuff and things I really love here, but you can find the things I find inspiring daily over on Pinterest. So, as cheesy as it sounds to say (write) this… follow me!

I am starting to think about Declan’s first birthday party (I know it’s early) so I thought it would be a good time to join Pinterest. I requested an invite and have been wait listed… What? Really? I wonder how long the list is…

Edit: I’m in! I feel so special… and a little scared as to how much time I will now spend on this site. Here we go…

You find a dirty silicone covered spoon at the bottom of your purse.

I went to a friend’s baby shower last weekend and since this is her third child (she has a boy and a girl and will not be finding out the gender this time) she requested diapers only. I had meant to go pick some up at Target all week but somehow it never happened. Luckily I had a shipment of diapers coming from Amazon Mom so I just grabbed a few packages from my diaper drawer. I grabbed a package of wipes and I was all set. For the wrapping I used a large cellophane bag that I had on hand and I put some blue, yellow and pink paint chips to use! It came out pretty crafty looking but it was original, quick, and free!

Last weekend was grandparent’s Day, and since both sets of our parents became grandparents when Declan was born I honored the occasion by ordering each set a notepad from Pinhole Press. They were a hit and I heard there was some fighting over who would get to use it! Ordering was easy and the customer service was great, I will most definitely be using Pinhole Press again.

This month has been full of ups and downs. This month he:

- Began day care 3 days a week. He still cries when Bryan drops him off, but once he gets past his first nap he seems to do okay.

- Got his first cold. He made it through two weeks before the day care cold began. A runny nose and fever turned into a runny nose and cough. I took him to the doctor and we were told to wait it out. He now just has a cough and is back in day care (he was too sick to go all last week) so I am hoping he doesn’t get a new illness right on the heels of this one.

- While sick he nursed a lot more and ate less of his purees so we didn’t make many advances in food this month. He still doesn’t like fruit purees, although we have found that he likes Watermelon and peaches if we put it in his mesh feeder. He has also gotten really good at eating his puffs and loves to jam the baby mum mums in his mouth!

- Transitioning to his crib wasn’t really working, and then with him getting sick we just kept him in the bed. We keep talking about getting him in his crib but are hesitant to go the Cry It Out route. He doesn’t really know how to self soothe (although he can do it as we have seen it) which is the main problem. We know that this is because of the choices we have made along the way (bringing him into our bed in the first place, letting him nap on us, etc.) so we are just trying to feel out the best way to make the transition. While we have enjoyed having him in our bed, we know that he needs to be able to self soothe and to sleep longer periods of time. We are ready to put him to bed at 7 or 8 and have a few hours of us time. Whether that is spent blogging, reading, watching TV or just catching up on laundry, that extra few hours would be wonderful!

- We booked our trip back east! I am excited to go back (it has been a few years) and to be in New York again. We will have him christened and then have Thanksgiving with my in-laws, it should be fun! We booked a non-stop flight through Jet Blue which I hope will go smoothly. My youngest sister is flying out with us (she is his God Mother) so it will help to have an extra person, not to mention a whole side row of seats, to keep him busy!

- Crawling has been mastered. He is now pulling up on everything and letting go with one hand. He can’t quite catch the cats yet but he is getting there!