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.

Stationery card

Wishing You Merry Christmas Card

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I have had NO time for blogging lately... Working nights, keeping Jacob, and helping out with Patriot Defense Arms has been more than enough to keep me busy. I really HATE it that I dropped the ball on birth anouncements, but I did get my Christmas Cards ordered today on Shutterfly's Cyber Monday Sale! 40% Cards + 20% off Coupon Code + Free Shipping.............Really Love Them!

Settling In

Things at the Craig Household have settled down over the last month, and everyone is starting to get used to our new roles and schedules. Jacob has been quite a good baby and had lots of adventures over the last couple of months. He has been out to eat at nearly every restaurant in town, to a wedding, rehearsal dinner, loads of doctor's appointments, & to visit our friends in the NICU twice (we still need to go visit the night crew!).Jacob is growing like a weed! At his last doctor's appointment 14 weeks actual age (3 weeks adjusted) he weighed 8 pounds 13 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long! The pediatrician was very happy with his weight and growth. We also have visited the physical therapist who is checking Jacob's progress on his developmental milestones like head control & pushing up. He did very well, and scored in the 75% for his adjusted age! The PT was very happy with how well he is progressing!

First Week at Home

The first week at home has been pretty uneventful! Jacob has been eating every 3-4 hours and sleeping in between. It was been really nice to have Mimi here the first week to help! She was a HUGE help those first few nights and she woke up with me every few hours to help! She also helped finish up the nursery and make some last minute adjustments to his custom crib bedding she made. Aunt Mallori setup an online form to coordinate meals, and we had lots of great meals brought by some really great friends! Here are some pictures from the first week at home!

A temporary door sign left over from the NICU

The Bed and Custom Bedding... Special THANKS to Mimi!

Another View of the Bed & Bedding

The inside of the bedding before tweaking... We added a button on the center panel and made the bumpers a little less full! They look AMAZING!

My very comfy chair and coordinating pillow

Window Treatment to match before the panels were added

The bedding after tweaking :)

The bookshelf/changing station... Thanks to Mimi for decorating it!

Jason's unauthorized purchase for the nursery... It is an airplane pedal car! 

Mimi hard at work on the room!

Aunt Mallori helping with Jacob!

Snuggle Time with Daddy!

... I hope he likes Food Network! :)

Mallori's Sister Elizabeth holding Jacob

Had to get naked for the doctor... First Check-Up went great. 5 lbs 3 oz!!

Mimi might kill me for this one... This was about 3 am! Mimi helping with Jacob... She still looks so pretty! :)

Hanging out in his little seat! He LOVES it!

Aunt Casey came up from Dallas... This is her first time to hold Jacob!

Mommy tried to have a photoshoot... Did not go so well! It ended up with one unhappy little boy and a lot of dirty blankets --- He peed on every blanket we own! HA!

Aunt Becca and Uncle Richard (not blood Aunt and Uncle but close enough :)) came over to visit Baby Jacob!

Well, that is all for today! Thanks for checking in on us.... I am LOVING having Jacob home and we are settling in nicely. Daddy had to leave on a 6 day trip for work, but we are holding down the fort here! Lots of LOVE - Mommy and Jacob!