Pages

Saturday, January 28, 2012

I am going to be an AUNTIE again!

Jason and I are so excited that his brother and wife will be having a baby this September. Jason and Justin are very close, and being twins they grew up doing everything together. So naturally, I expect that our kids will be very close – more like brothers from another mother rather than cousins... I hope J

I wanted to make Mallori a little “survival kit” to help her through her pregnancy. We are SO excited for them, and I had fun doing this. I am looking forward doing lots of crafty things as we get ready for this special little baby! I figured I have 9 months (well 7 1/2 ;)) to buy for the baby, and Mom may really need some things until then. I talked to several friends at work and got the idea to make her a "survival kit." We came up with several things that we could not do without while we were pregnant to put in a gift basket for her. Here's what I started with: a basket, cinnamon hard candy, peppermints, lemons, saltine crackers, ginger ale, white cheddar popcorn, chex mix, Palmers Tummy butter, sick sacks, a personalized tumbler, Tums, a travel toothbrush and toothpaste, kleenex, and The Belly Book. 



       I tried to incorporate both things I know she likes (white cheddar popcorn & ginger ale vs sprite) and the go-to pregnancy must-haves. I also tried to come up with some cutesie sayings to go with each item. I tried finding some ideas on pinterest and google and didn't find much. (So- please post if you have ideas of better sayings or things to add!) Here is what I came up with ---

a basket: "A BASKET to help you keep it all together"
cinnamon hard candy: "CINNAMON to help light your fire"
peppermints: "to remind you that your job as a mommy is worth a MINT"
lemons: "when you feel like a LEMON"
saltine crackers: "CRACKERS to keep you from cracking"
ginger ale: "GINGER ALE to help with the bubbles"
white cheddar popcorn: "when you feel like you're gonna POP
chex mix: "to help MIX it up"
Palmers Tummy butter: "to help you STRETCH"
sick sacks: "SICK SACKS for when you feel like you're gonna loose it"
a personalized tumbler: "to always have a full CUP"
Tums: "TUMS for your tum-tum"
a travel toothbrush and toothpaste: "'cause sometimes you just gotta BRUSH (for your purse)"
kleenex: "Kleenex 'cause somedays are just gonna BLOW"
The Belly Book: " THE BELLY BOOK to help you remember every moment"

After coming up with some sayings ... (I know some of them are cheesy - I started running out of ideas at the end) I got my cricut out and got to work! I cut out tags for each item and wrote the saying on the tag (our printer only prints black and white). I also cut out the personalization for the tumbler and the cross for the front of the "survival kit." 

All TAGGED up!




I used yellow, green, and off white tags -- Since we don't know if it's a boy or a girl!

Loaded up in the basket

Close up of my sign -- it looked cuter in person







New Year

We got all the Christmas decorations down, and the house is looking a little bare. I am ready to do some re-vamping of my decor! I also took time to add pictures of Jacob to our wall frames, it turned out great!
Here are some pictures of the changes I made to the hall. Now I just need new decorations for my front and back door and  new kitchen table (to name a few!) :)

My sister welcomed her new additions, and Jacob and I made a quick trip to Texas to meet the girls. Casey did great and made it to 35 weeks. Madison (baby B) weighed 4 lbs 7 oz and McKinley (baby A) weighed 4 lbs 15 oz they had a little trouble breathing and had to be on CPAP for a day and needed a little observation for about a week to monitor their feeding. Casey and the girls are doing great and resting up at home. I cannot wait for our next trip to Texas so I can HOLD those girls, and study their sweet little faces!
Starting to teethe ... I think 

"Uncle" Gary

Rolling all over the girl nursery

I helped Casey get the house ready for the girls

McKinley

Aunties first look - before getting kicked out of the NICU

Casey's first time to hold McKinley

Just learned to stick his tongue out and SPIT!




Christmas

Jason and I both had to work over Christmas so we invited everyone to Memphis for a late Christmas celebration. We had a great time, and it was one of the most memorable Christmas yet! It was a bit crowded but we had a great time and were able to relax and just hang out with family. Here are a few pictures from Christmas--
















UPDATE!

Things at the Craig household have been CRAZY! Jason has finally made it back to Memphis, and we are looking forward to him being home more! I am still working nights in the intensive care as an RN, and having a hard time adjusting to the schedule. Here are some pictures from the last few months...
We had some terrific pictures taken of Jacob for Christmas.