Be Careful What You Wish For.

The other day I was reading through my blog and realized that it's sort of become a "fairy tale blog", something I never intended for It's a Wonderful Life. While my life is extremely wonderful, it's not as perfect and flawless as I make it out to be. I've always tried to be honest and real with the stuff I write, but lately that rule seems to have taken a back seat to many, "My life is perfect" posts (how did this happen?!)

"I really need to write a real post," I thought as I scrolled through months of sunshiny posts. And then the very next morning it happened:

I injured my baby for the first time ever. Ever!

We were leaving story time at the library and as I turned around to see where one of the other children had gone BAM! THUD! CLUNK! WTF? poor Henry's perfect little head was greeted by the (very heavy) closing door. The crying that followed was ah-mazing. I have never seen H so upset. He cried so loud and hard, he screamed until he was blue in the face, he clenched his toes and fingers until his knuckles were white. Maybe it was because we were in a library, but I swear he cried even louder than when he had his first round of shots.

And people stared! Oh, how they all stared. H kept looking up at me with this fear in his eyes and a quivering lip that said, "Momma, what just happened? Why do I feel so awful?" And there was absolutely nothing I could do but rock him back and forth back and forth whispering, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so so sorry", while trying to ignore the glares. We ran out to the car and sat there for a long time, huddled around Henry. We patted his fuzzy, bruised head singing, "It's okay Henry, it's alright. Shhh, shhh, shhh."

I know this probably isn't the last time I accidentally hurt my baby (big old sad face) but god, I hope it doesn't happen again for so long.

Moral of the story: Hurting your baby sucks and the next time you wish for something real to write about you might just get your wish.

A BIG Thank You!

The fabulous Emily from This is the first day of my life was kind enough to think of me and this little blog when passing on her blog awards! If you haven't already heard of Emily and her blog, you should really go and check it out, like now.

Seriously, click the link and then come back and read my boring posts later...I promise you'll spend a ton of time scrolling through her posts and pictures of her beautiful family and that I'll still be here when you get back, typing one handed with my kid hanging off my boob.

Thanks Emily, you made my day :)

Here are a few quick things that make me happy. Quick because I really want the focus of this post to be about Emily and the other awesome momma blogs I'm passing this love onto.

Happy: My little family, watching Henry grow and learn, snuggling my husband under clean sheets, breastfeeding Henry at night, when you're holding a kitten and it stretches out all four limbs because it's afraid it might fall, my first car, and good music.

Now, if you haven't yet please go visit Emily and then be sure to check out these other wonderful mommy bloggers as well!

Ashley at Happy Fun Love
Jamie at Grumbles and Grunts
Desaline at Every Little Wonder
Ailen at Everybody Loves Baby
Andrea at Silence and Noise
Yana at Heart Go Boom-Boom
Brittany at Unexpected Surprises
Mrs. B at Discovering Wildlife

I love all of you ladies and your beautiful babies!

My Definition of Beauty.

When you have a baby every new day is better than the last. Just when you think it's impossible to love someone more, your baby does something new and wonderful and your heart literally aches with such joy, it's indescribable.

This little person staring up at me with such admiration and trust as he holds onto my breast is my definition of beauty and love.

"I love you more today than yesterday, but darling not as much as tomorrow." - Spiral Staircase

I wish we had better thrift stores in Savannah. I want this for Henry!


Vintage Fisher Price Record Player

Henry's First Picnic

Every day I fall deeper in love.

Our Awesome Weekend With Chazz.

We had so much fun spending last weekend with our good friend Chazz. We ran around Savannah, exploring the neighborhoods and showing off our new little city. We ate so much good food, listened to great music, and shared some of the best conversations I've had in a very long time.

I've really missed being able to talk to someone who has known us since the very beginning of our relationship. I miss having a friend that you can share happy tears and bottles of cheap wine with. We were sad to see Chazz go, but are certain we'll be making it our goal to see him again real soon. He's just one of those people that makes you remember what love is all about and when he leaves, you feel like a new person.

Chazz, you hit our reset buttons...thanks!





Please vote for us a TopBaby blogs if you have a second...all you have to do is click the brown bar and then click the vote button and your vote is counted. Thanks!

The six smallest feet I know.

Yin Yang.

And now, a lovely picture of my boys to counteract the negativity oozing out of my last post...

Mom! That Girl's Feeding Her BABY!

When we go out to eat and I have to breastfeed Henry, this is how I see the restaurant. The first thing I do is scan the room for all old men/teenage boys/middle aged men/little boys. Where we sit is then strategically chosen based on the location of the males, which usually = breastfeeding on a toilet in the bathroom stall (because I am still too scared to do it in front of strangers).

What I really can't stand is how frustrated and mean I get! Looking at the guys I think, "Why did he haaaave to sit there?" and, "Couldn't that group of men eaten someplace else today?" and, "Eww. That little pervert is totally going to like watching me feed Henry". I feel like every male in the room is staring at me and thinking something unpleasant and I get all sweaty and flustered and pissed off. I know these thoughts are pretty unreasonable and totally not legit but they still pop up and the whole meal I'm judging, judging, judging.

I seriously need to grow some and get over this fear already...

Ack.

image source

Songs We Love 4/50.

At the Bottom of Everything by Bright Eyes.

You might want to turn your speakers way up for this one...just sayin'.

Dear Henry

Dear Henry,

About a two weeks ago you started being able to hold onto the things we placed in your small hands. Now you can not only hold onto those things, but also bring them to your mouth for a feel-taste and then drop them when you are finished. We could watch you do this over and over and often do, lately we're always finding new things for you to grasp and explore.

It seems like every week you learn to do something new. Each time I tell myself that it's my absolute favorite trick of yours and then you totally prove me wrong by doing something even more exciting!

Isn't it amazing that although we teach you new things everyday, you still learn to do the small things (like grasp your toys) on your very own? You are such a smart boy, I love watching you grow.

LOVE,

mom.

Fox in the Woods

How adorably wonderful is this Fox in the Woods locket by Papersparrow?

PaciPlushie Review and **GIVEAWAY!** (CLOSED)

As you may recall reading in my "Henry Hates His Paci" post a few weeks ago, H has never been too attached to his pacifier. He usually only if he's unsure about a new situation or really tired. I think part of the reason he never really took to one was because he had such a hard time keeping it in his mouth. If he wasn't sucking, it was popping out. So when the people over at PaciPlushies contacted us about reviewing one of their pacifier attachments, I was immediately curious to see if it would help him bond with his binky.

PaciPlushies are little stuffed animals (about five inches long) that attach to your babies binky through a silicon loop. They are the ultimate soother, as they combine "lovey" with "paci". They are offered in a variety of animals (we chose Lovey the Lamb) and are super soft and adorable.

AND guess what?

H actually used the pacifier more with the plushie attached because holding it and propping it up on his arm held it in place! There was even a few times that the paci would plop out and H would put it back in his own mouth, because he was trying to get the actual lamb up to his face.

It was incredibly cute watching Henry hug the lamb, something he doesn't do very easily with his other stuffed animals. I think the way the Plushie falls on their chest encourages babies to touch and hold the soft bodied lovey. The cute little animals are about five inches long, just the right size for a baby and younger toddler. I probably wouldn't put H to bed with the Plushie attached, but that's only because I'm super cautious about anything potentially suffocating him.

Another great thing about the PaciPlushie was that it made finding the pacifier so much easier. I'm sure you've all been there: You're running late for something and suddenly can't find the pacifier ANYWHERE. Or, you get to the restaurant before realizing that you left the paci in the pocket of a sweater you wore the day before. With a larger stuffed animal clipped onto it, it's pretty hard to loose.

I'd imagine that weaning your child from the binky would be easier with a Plushie as well, because you could treat it more like a stuffed animal that can only be snuggled with at night. You could tell your child that they can't take their stuffed animal to school or out and about because it might get dirty or lost.

The other day as I was running late for work, G said, "You need a PaciPlushie for your KEYS!"



Stacy over at PaciPlushies not only sent us a Lovey the Lamb to review, but kindly sent us an additional Plushie for one of our lucky readers! We are so excited to be able to send cute little Paisley the Panda to one of your homes!

Here are the ways you can enter:

Mandatory entry: Visit PaciPlushies website and leave a comment telling me which furry friend you think is the cutest! (Please make sure you leave someway for me to contact you if you don't have a blog)

Additional entries (leave a seperate comment for each):

1. Become a fan of PaciPlushies on FaceBook and leave a comment telling me that you did.

2. Follow my blog publicly (or tell me that you already do)

3. Vote for my blog by clicking the brown TopBaby button below (you can vote once per day and leave a comment every day you vote!)

If you do all three you would be leaving a total of FOUR comments below (and then one extra for everyday you vote for us!)

We will pick a winner on Friday, April 30th at midnight (Eastern Time).

*Contest only open to US and Canada.

Good luck everybody!

Happy Earth Day!

And oh, what a wonderful one it was!

The Chazz is Here!!

Doesn't he just look so rad? Well he is and if you come to Savannah we'll share him with you!

We are spending the last part of this week and our entire weekend with our good buddy Chazz. Henry and I drove down to Jacksonville yesterday morning and brought back with us one of the nicest and most interesting people I have honestly ever met. So far we've been eating a bunch of delicious vegan food, painting, listening to the boys play music, and drinking beers on our tiny little porch. Henry just adores his Uncle Chazzy and even went from TOTALLY FREAKING OUT last night to smiling and cooing once Chazz entered the room.

Sorry if I have been slacking on posts lately...I'm quite sure you understand. I'll make up for it next week!

OH hey...giveaway tomorrow!!

And the Shoes Go To...

I wanted to do something creative to pick/announce the winner of our felt booties giveaway but (as most things go these days) found myself short on time. SO, using Random.org's number generator (can someone puh-lease teach this computer illiterate dumbo how to paste that image onto a post...I have wasted TOO much time trying to figure it out just now. Frustrating!) I am excited to announce that a pair of shoes will be made and sent to :

Marcella from Mar & the Peej (comment #10)

I can't wait to pick out fun decorations for Pella's shoes tomorrow and will start sewing them soon!! Please e-mail me your shipping information as soon as you can. Congratulations to both of you!

Thanks to everyone who entered, I seriously wish I had the time to make shoes for all of your beautiful babies and babies to be :)

We'll be hosting a product review giveaway on Friday so be sure to check back then...

And now for some serious, serious sleep (please, Henry?)

Henry is THREE MONTHS Old!

Recycled Cat says, "I know what Panda got you for your birthday..."


Towards the end of the night, the party got a little out of control.

Happy three months, Baby Henry! We're so lucky to have you...you make us so happy :)

Clean Hands.

I'm usually pretty fast when it comes to catching Henry's accidents. I can lift his shirt out of the line of fire while simultaneously grabbing another to catch the pee. I can quickly scoop two heels away from a poopy diaper with one hand and aim his body away from the things I'd rather keep clean. But today as pee was spraying all over his onesie, the blanket, his socks, and the Fisher Price village, I just sat there in a tired haze and watched it happen. I even realized that I had been holding my hand flat out under the stream the entire time, like one would do if testing the water before a bath!

Isn't being a super tired mom just lovely?

hkjhjjjjkh

Henry says, "If I had known peeing on myself meant having to go naked all day...I probably wouldn't have done it."

Don't forget to enter our shoes giveaway.... It ends tomorrow at midnight!

Our Earth Day Weekend

This weekend we had a ton of fun spending time as a family and recovering from our extremely busy and (in G's case) stressful work week. Saturday was Earth Day downtown and we had signed up to volunteer at the Bike Campaign booth. Once we arrived, we discovered that there were already a ton of volunteers and very little space. Also, Henry had decided it would be a great day for freaking out every time the stroller stopped moving so we figured it would be best to skip the booth this weekend and enjoy the festivities instead.

We're loving this southern heat wave and have been trying to do as many outside activities as we possibly can. I love that we can finally show off Henry's deliciously chubby baby legs and it's been so much fun dressing him in his little onesies that were too cold to wear just a month ago.

On Sunday, G got two new tattoos and they look awesome. Both cover the back part of his shins and illustrate his love for biking.



* On Friday (April 23rd), It's a Wonderful Life will be hosting our very first sponsored review/giveaway! We received our product just a few days ago and have really enjoyed trying it out and taking tons of pictures (something we're reeealllly good at doing lately!). Be sure to enter our felt shoes giveaway which is ending this Wednesday and check back on Friday for our next giveaway!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend :)

Please vote for us if you have a second and thank for all of your votes so far!

Books We Love #2

Old Bear is written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes (know best for his books Julius, the Baby of the World and Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse). We love this book for it's strikingly bright watercolor paintings and think it's the perfect book to read in the spring!

The Story: Old Bear settles into his cave for a long winter's sleep and dreams he is a little cub once again. In his dreams he visits each of the four seasons and pictures all of the things he loves best about each one. When he awakens, he steps out of his cave and is greeted by the blooming flowers and warm sun of spring!

We Think: The most loved page of this book is when it rains blueberries on Little Bear. We could read this book over and over, learning about the seasons and soaking in the very bright colors.

Songs We Love 3/50

Momma's Boy by Chromeo.

Thanks For Nothing, EB.

WTF. Am I the only mom who didn't make an Easter basket for their new baby this year? Wow, what a lame Easter Bunny I make!

The Best Gift Ever

Last Christmas, my two youngest sisters recorded this song (Lindsey guitar/vocals and Karli piano/vocals)and made this video for Henry. I used to play it over and over and over to him, headphones strapped awkwardly around my belly.

Until tonight I hadn't listened to it since he was born. Now that he's here, safely sleeping on my chest, I watch this video with tears pouring down my face. Hearing this song again brings back a rush of memories and feelings that I haven't experienced in months. It reminds me of when I used to lay awake late at night, hugging my belly as he kicked and flipped around. I'd poke him and hug him as I laid curled on my side, imagining over and over what it would be like to see him for the first time. It reminds me of the anticipation and wonderful stress of waiting for labor. It reminds me of the first time I held his fragile little body and looked into his puffy newborn eyes, the first time we fell in love with each other.

"Oh Henry, he's beauty".



Thank you Lindsey and Karli for making such a special gift for both of us and for allowing me to relive such life changing feelings of joy and love and wonder as I watch Henry sleep to this song....

Henry, size: tiny.

H's New Shoes and A GIVEAWAY!! **CLOSED**

Ever since Henry's naps have become more predictable, I have been able to find the time to start crafting again! Oh, how I've missed it! Lately I have been into sewing him these fleece booties (awesome pattern found here). I love how colorful they are and the fact that they are so light weight makes them comfortable to wear even on these hot Georgia days. Also, you can totally embellish them in any way you choose, which makes then fun and personal.

Lately I've been wanting to do something to celebrate the fact that I have recently found a bunch of awesome new readers (and they aren't even related to me!) What better way to celebrate than with It's a Wonderful Life's very first giveaway?

I will be giving away a pair of these handmade shoes to the lucky winner on Wednesday, April 21st. I'm not too sure how many people would really be interested in entering a giveaway of this sort (increases your chances of winning though!) but I'd love to make a pair of these for a baby other than Henry, so I thought we'd give it a try.

The shoes will be different than Henry's pictured above, but the design will be a total surprise. I'm not implying that my sewing skills are anything to brag about either, but I think that's part of what makes these shoes so unique. Feel free to enter even if you don't have a baby (perhaps you know someone who is expecting??) The largest size shoe I can make is about six months, so please keep that in mind.

Here's how you can enter (if you do all three, you have three chances to win!):

1. Leave me a comment telling me whether you'd like girl, boy, or gender neutral shoes.

2. Vote for my blog by clicking the brown button below and leave a SEPARATE comment telling me you voted.

3. Follow my blog publicly and leave me another comment telling me your favorite Beatles song.

Good luck everybody and hello to my newest readers!

(open to US and Canada only)


UPDATE: I am excited to announce that a pair of shoes will be made and sent to :

Marcella from Mar & the Peej (comment #10)

Thanks to everyone who entered, I seriously wish I had the time to make shoes for all of your beautiful babies and babies to be :)

Oh, Hello Fingers!

Henry was born with the need to suck. Right from the start, he hated having his hands swaddled tightly to his side, preferring to have them right next to his chubby cheeks. In the beginning the only way we could really comfort him was to offer up one of our fingers, which meant many nights of falling asleep with my hand stretched awkwardly into his bassinet.

I wasn't too sure I wanted H to be a "paci-baby" at first, I've seen how hard it is for some kids to give those up and I was afraid he'd reject breastfeeding because of nipple confusion. But after two weeks of waking up to a crooked neck and a hand that had fallen asleep, we decided that perhaps a paci wasn't too bad of an idea. Besides, I did like that they supposedly reduce the risk of SIDS and considering the fact that I sucked my thumb until I was in the first grade (I can prove it...it's still wrinkly! ACK!!) H probably doesn't stand a chance against some sort of finger sucking addiction. No way would my baby be a thumb sucker! Children won't be running around singing, "Baby, baby sucks his thumb!!" at my kid! Right?

Wrong. Henry merely tolerated his pacifier up until recently when this happened: he discovered his hands. Now it's so long binky, hello fingers (and sometimes whole fist!) Seriously, this kid sucks on his fingers so much that they are constantly covered in sticky, blue lint (what?) Looks like my H is destined to be a thumb sucker after all, just like his mom.

I'm learning that no matter how hard you try, you just can't decide what your child is going to do/not do.

I do think it's rather cute (at least for now!!)

Please vote for us, it only takes a second. Just click the brown bar below and then click the screen and you're done! It will help us find new readers! Thanks!

My Little Sister

My sister Megan is coming to stay with us for a week! She has been in Uganda for the past four months (you can read her blog here!!) and will be flying in early May. It has been over a year since I last saw Megan and I'm definitely looking forward to spending time with my little sis. May 6th really can't come soon enough....

All Night Diner

Henry,

Every time my boob is not in your mouth tonight, you are noticing that you have gas/hate the way I'm rubbing your head/ the cat wants something she obviously can't have (shuuuut up cat!!!!)/ have a slightly stuffy nose/the neighbors just got a new puppy/are swaddled in a way that isn't to your liking/your daddy's snores very loud.

I have already fallen asleep twice (sitting up) while comfort nursing you. I love our special time together, but holy crap kid I'm not a buffet line!
Will you puh-lease just let your mama sleep?? She's exhausted.

The Baby Pirate

This week at work, our theme is "Clues and Adventures". We've been practicing giving and following clues, creating imaginary expeditions, learning how to read maps, and using our five senses to find "buried treasure".

Today was Pirate Day. The day the couch turned into a tall ship, the love seat was covered in pretty mermaids, and the bedroom became a dark and spooky cave.

The tiniest little pirate took it all in from the Baby Bjorn and even slept during a most terrifying rain storm that almost sunk our ship! F says, "Awwww. Your baby pirate is sooooo cute."

I AGREE!

Please vote for us today?! Quick! Before the sharks bite your toesies!

Sharing My Favorites

Henry has really started enjoying his picture books lately! We've been reading to him since the day he was born, although at first he only liked story time for the cuddling and the soothing sound of our voices. Tonight as I snuggled him on my chest, we read The Very Hungry Caterpillar and he stared at the bright colors and slobbered on his fingers (also a new thing). It's so wonderful watching his eyes widen as I turn a new page. I could literally read to this kid for hours and hours and hours.

In celebration of Henry's newest discovery, I am going to start a new weekly post here at It's a Wonderful Life. We'll call it "Books We Love" and start it off with the (appropriately titled) book, Henry in Love by Peter McCarty.

This book was sent to Henry by an old friend of mine (hey Marc!) and we immediately fell in love with the cute story and beautiful illustrations.

The story: Henry the cat has a cute little crush on Chloe the rabbit. He spends the majority of the school day trying to catch her attention. In the end, Henry's teacher has rearranged the chairs and he gets to sit next to Chloe for snack. When she asks him what he brought, he offers up his only blueberry muffin and she accepts it. Go Henry!

We Think: Henry in Love is definitely going to be one of the most well worn books in our collection.

Here's a "browse inside" box so you can check it out for yourself!! Isn't his artwork just the sweetest?


image source.

Can We Listen to the Monkey Song AGAIN?!

Number of times we listen to this song at work? Approximately 12. You seriously don't know what you've been missing until you've seen a three year old do the crawl.

Our Tradition

Every night after bath, I lean over Henry and kiss everything I love about him. I tell him, "You are my baby and you are perfect. You have a perfect nose (kiss), the most perfect smile (kiss), the most beautiful eyelashes (two kisses), such a handsome nose (kiss), my favorite belly button (kiss), such delicious cheeks (kiss. kiss.), a perfectly perfect bald head (kisses all over), and the most wriggly toesies (ten tickly kisses)."

If I ever had to miss bath time, I'd be terribly upset.

Songs We Love 2/50

"Think I Wanna Die" by Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin.

We Love Saturdays!

Oh my, what a fun and busy day we had today! We all headed downtown and had a nice lunch together and then went shopping. Henry is getting awesome at dining out and usually let's us eat worry free. It's crazy to me that just a month ago, taking him to a restaurant was a HUGE deal and I spent the majority of our meal thinking, "Oh crap, what if he starts freaking out??!!" So much changes in such little time when it comes to babies...

I found some awesome sunglasses for ol' Hank and he looks ridiculously adorable in them. I've been looking for a pair for some time now, mostly because I'm super picky and really can't justify spending more than nine dollars on a pair of glasses for a baby.

Our friend Neil came over in the evening and we grilled catfish and steak on our BBQ. We learned that Neil just put in his two weeks notice at work and he and Larissa will be headed back to Oregon soon. They are really the only people we've spent a good amount of time with here, so it will be hard to see them leave.

Henry fits into his first three month old outfit now!! I found him the cutest pair of overalls a while ago and couldn't even picture him being so BIG when I snatched them up (for only $6.00!!!) Oh wow.

Here's some pictures from our wonderful day. Just look how lovely the weather is getting here!

















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