Vacation

Yea so I am just now getting around to posting the rest of the vacation pictures!  This is going to be a picture heavy post because I don't really have much time to write!  My goal for this week is to get back on track with my blog because it has been neglected for quite some time now!

Sitting Up!

This is just a quick post from my phone to show you River's new trick! He has been practicing sitting up for the last few days and he almost has it mastered!

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Just Another Day at the Beach

Baby life is so hard sometimes that you just need a day at the beach to relax,

Eat,

Hang out with Mommy,

Take a little snooze,

Do a little thinking,

And of course chill with Daddy!

I could definitely get used to this whole beach thing!

5 Months!

I realize this is over a week late but that is what vacation will do to you sometimes!

Apparently I wasn't interesting enough for him!

What River is up to this month:

- Weighs 19.4 lbs

- Just as busy as ever!

- Drank from a sippy cup for the first time this week.

- Had his first taste of juice as well.

- Rolling consistently from back to belly and sometimes from belly to back!

- Starting to eat solids and actually getting the hang of it.

- Still loves his jumperoo.

- His personality is really starting to show and is a complete ham and loves attention!

- Wearing size 3-6 month clothes but will be moving out of those very soon. 

5th Month in Pictures

Oh, how do you guys like my new blog design?!?! I still have a few things that I need to work on but I love it so far!

We're Back!

Hey guys! We are back and trying to get back in to the swing of things around here.  Florida was wonderful and River could not have been more perfect! Of course I took tons of pictures so now off to edit those and start some vacation posts!

And you just might die of the cute of this next pic!

Cloth Diapering!

I am so pleased to say that I have a guest blogger for this post! Callie is going to be telling you a little about cloth diapering and some of her faves!  I think we are going to try to do something like this every once in a while because I'm pretty sure you get tired of hearing from me all the time! So without further ado...

Hey ya'll this is Callie aka River's Mommy!  I thought since this blog is mostly about River that I would do a post every once in a while letting you know some of my fave stuff for him.  Cloth diapering (CD) seem as good a place as any to start so here goes!

At first when somebody mentioned cloth diapering to me when I was pregnant with River, I thought, no that is gross and the immediate picture that went through my head was pre-folds and diaper pins!  Little did I know that I would an exclusive cloth diapering mama in just a few months.  Kate first mentioned CDing to me a couple a months ago because she had seen it on a few blogs that she reads, at first I was a little apprehensive, until I really started thinking about it.  Kate decided to order a few to just try out and it has really just taken off from there!  The first 2 that we tried were Bum Genius 3.0 and Rumparooz. These are still 2 of my faves. 

So I figured I would break it down by diaper type and other categories.  First of all CD can be a little overwhelming at first because there are so many options.  For example, you can choose from, one-size, all-in-ones, pocket diapers, hybrid diapers, prefolds and covers etc. Needless to say, we definitely did our research before starting our stash!

Favorite Nighttime: Bum Genius or Rumparooz (these are little harder to get the perfect fit for River right now but I really love them. Hopefully as he grows, he will grow into them).  Both of these are pocket diapers, meaning they have pockets that you stuff with inserts. 

Favorite Daytime: Bum Genius.  We use the Bum Genius 4.0 with snaps and I like them but I also like the velcro that is standard with the 3.0. Velcro just seems to be easier than the snaps sometimes, especially when River will not be still long enough for me to change his diaper!

Favorite for Trimness: Fuzzi Bunz One Size diapers.  These aren't as bulky as the others and fit well under clothes and they also come in adorable colors!  This is a pocket diaper as well. 

Cutest and Softest: By far would be Lil Smudgeez.  I came across these through a giveaway over at http://www.exploitsofamilitarymama.com/.  I immediately ordered 2 of them and then actually won the giveaway.  These aren't as absorbent as pocket diapers but they are so soft and River seems to really like them.  They are actually pretty trim as well. Lil Smudgeez are all in ones meaning that everything is all together, no inserts to stuff which is also very easy when it comes to laundry day.  Happy Heinys are also very cute and I adore the cow print one that River has, it also has velcro and that is always a plus in my book!

Favorite All Around: FuzziBunz One-Size or at least for now. They seem complicated at first as they have adjustable elastic to get the perfect fit around the legs, but once you figure out the best fitting for your little one then you're set.    These just seem to work the best with River right now and I like them the best!

In a pinch:  If we are in a pinch we will use hybrid diapers.  For one they don't take up as much room in the diaper bag so if we are going to be somewhere for a while I will take a few pockets and one hybrid.  Hybrid diapers have a cover that can be used several times and you just change out the insert.  We have a few gDiapers with cloth inserts and the Flip with cloth inserts. 

We started out with 14 diapers but since our stash has grown to about 28 including the gDiapers and Flip.  You definitely don't need that many if you wash every other day like we do!  We just kept trying different diapers until we found the ones that we liked the best.

As far as washing goes, that is something that was somewhat of a challenge.  We started out washing every other day with Tide Gentle and Free.  This detergent seemed to cause some stink issues so we stripped the diapers and starting using Regular Tide and everything has been pretty good since then.  If you do have some stubborn odors as we did with a few of our diapers, you can use Bac-Out and seems to have worked pretty well for us! Oh and I have noticed since we've been on vacation that an older, top-loading washer works the best as far as getting the diapers the cleanest!

This pretty much covers it when it comes to CD but I will be back next week with a post about my fave CD accessories!  Hope everyone has a good week!

Decisions, decisions....

Hey guys, this is River!  I need your help with a little decision that I am trying to make...maybe you can help me! See my mommy, daddy and nana and my auntie have differing opinions on whether I should be a Clemson or Carolina fan. I mean I'm just a baby, do I really have to choose now?

 

Hey, I think I like these colors!

 

Well, maybe I like these too!

Then again, GO TIGERS!

 

Or maybe GO GAMECOCKS!

Guys I think I need a little more time to think about this...

Well I give up! Too many decisions...guess they will just have to wait and see!

Vacation!

So long SC, well at least for the week!  We will be away in FL for the week and I couldn't be more excited!  I am definitely a beach girl and have usually been around 3 times before now every other summer but this summer has been a little different.  First of all with school and work, I really haven't had the time to go on vacation until now!  This trip to FL is much needed and I can't wait to experience River's first trip to the beach!

Speaking of, this is the first time we are traveling with River so we aren't too sure how this is going to work out.  We are trying to make it as easy on him as possible by keeping his routines and everything the same but we shall see.  The only thing we are really worried about is the sleep issue.  He will be sleeping in the pack-n-play.  The thing is, the only place he has ever slept is in his crib in his room so we don't know how this will work but we are definitely going to find out!  I'm sure we will end up taking way too much stuff but I guess it is better to have more stuff than we need than not enough.  Wish us luck!

As for me, I am looking forward to laying on the beach and playing with River, reading good books, morning runs and blogging and writing! Oh and of course some picture taking!  Hope everyone has a good week! Be on the lookout for some pretty cool posts that I have scheduled for the week while we are gone!

This is HUGE!

Oh my goodness! I cannot even believe this is my 100th post!  I think that I pretty good considering I have only been blogging for 9 months!  So I'm thinking about doing some kind of giveaway or something but that is still a work in progress so stay tuned!

In other news, River has been a busy busy little boy lately.  I mean seriously, he has just grown up so much in the past week.  This is what his week has looked like so far (disregard the exact dates but since this is River's baby book, I need to docment them!) :

Monday: trying to sit up on his own so hard.  It seriously will not be long!
Tuesday 8/31: He rolled from back to belly for the first time and it wasn't by accident!  He was playing on his playmat and I walked in the other room to get something.  When I walked back in, instead of being on his back, he was on his belly and just looking around like what just happened!
Wednesday 9/1: Loving his new trick and trying it out every chance he gets! The only problem is, he can't figure out how to get back on his back yet so it is frustrating him!  I'm sure he will figure that out in no time at all!
Thursday: Nap on his belly for the first time ever!  He was put down for his nap on his back and when I checked on him on the monitor, he was asleep on his belly sucking his thumb! I so would have taken a picture if it would not have woken him up!

So as you can see River has been quite the busy baby this week, hence the lack of pictures on my part!  Well except for this one!

Being a baby is such hard work sometimes!

This time of year....

Folks, it's that time of year again! Yes I am referring to College football season and fall!  This is quite possible one of my favorite times and seasons of the year.  It brings back some many wonderful memories and I just love it!

If you can't tell already, I am definitely a Clemson fan.  This has been the case ever since I was little but has became more a part of me when I went to college and became a true Tiger! This picture seriously brings the biggest smile to my face.  My whole Clemson experience was wonderful but football season was the absolute best.  I cannot even put into words how much I love being in Clemson on gameday, it is just something you have to experience for yourself!

And honestly to see the Tigers run down the hill is definitely the Most Exciting 25 seconds in college football.  I have been going to games for years and it still is the most exhilirating and awesome thing to witness!  I think out of all the games I have been to I have only missed them running down the hill 1!! time!! 

Oh and we can't forget the tailgaiting!  No matter the time of the game we were always out there at least 4 hours before gametime if not earlier (or depending on the night before maybe a little later!).   In my early college days it was all about fun and friends but as I got older it was so much fun to plan the food, decorations, etc b/c well that is just my thing!  LOVE it!




However, its not just Clemson football that I love.  I love to just stay at home on Saturdays, lounge around, and watch football all day long!  Now, the important question is, which team will River choose?
Will he take after his auntie and be a Tiger or follow in his mommy's footsteps and be a Gamecock?  Only time will tell!