Back in Action After New Baby

Hello and welcome back!?! It has been quite a while since I was last able to post about anything.  I backed off a bit as it got closer to my due date, then pretty much put everything else on hold when baby number 2 was born.  Thomas Oliver is about 10 weeks old now, so it is time to pick things back up.

Let’s see, where to start.  Let’s do the family update first.  Eli and I are going great.  Tired and just about fully adjusted to having a newborn and active 2 year old, but so far so good.  Isaac took a few weeks to warm up to Thomas, but now he can’t go to bed unless he has given Thomas a kiss.  He even will give him kisses when Thomas is upset and I ask him to help kiss Thomas’s owies.  He has held Thomas a few times, but tends to ask to hold him when Thomas is eating so it doesn't always work out.    

Thomas gets pretty gassy most days, so it makes it difficult to put him down to get things done.  If he doesn't have gas, he is a good baby.  He has been holding his head up for quite a while now and does pretty good.  I've had him sitting on my lap or stomach (when laying on the couch) and he holds my thumbs to help him sit up.  He is pretty strong and is already showing signs that he is wanting to sit up on his own.  He will play for a bit with his play gym and stays awake quite a bit during the day.  He used to sleep pretty hard, but doesn't sleep as hard during the day anymore.  I can live with that cause he still sleeps harder during naps than Isaac does and he is usually in bed by 10 PM and doesn't usually get up until 7 AM.  It makes it so that I can get a good night’s sleep, unless something else wakes me up.

Isaac has been doing pretty good and has been learning to play on his own and to listen better the first time, especially since he has to share attention with Thomas.  He got a sty on his eye in November.  We just left it alone until December when it started getting bigger.  It has turned pretty red and will have white spots every so often, but has started to get smaller in size (finally!!).  We tried to put heat on it since that is what the eye doctor suggested when we asked about it (without actually trying to make Isaac sit through an appointment).  Isaac was fine with the heat, but didn't like his eye being covered so we had to hold him down while he was screaming.  It didn't last long.  No one was a fan of that, so when a friend said he had one for about 3 months before it just went away without him applying heat religiously we decided that would be our method.  The sty doesn't seem to bother Isaac and we just think it looks like he got hurt or something.  Isaac has also been potty training.  He has good days and bad days but seems to like being about to wear big boy underwear, unless he is sleepy.  He is getting better all the time, and though it may take a while, I’m sure he’ll have it down pretty good before we know it.  The true test will be the travel we have coming up.   Not only do we have long car rides in March, but we also have a plane ride.  It will also be interesting to see how he does when he is allowed to be outside more during the day.  It hasn't been warm enough yet, so we haven’t been able to see how he does with potty training when we are outside.

Well, now that we are updated on family, let’s turned to the business.  On Saturday I attended the Havre Bridal Fair.  It was my first business activity since about a month before Thomas was born.  There was a great turn out and I’m excited to hear from the brides who were interested.  A new event venue also opened this year in Havre, so I was able to meet the owners.  I’m hoping to meet up with them soon and take a tour of the space.  We were able to talk a bit at the fair and it sounds like we will be able to work together quite a bit and help both of our businesses grow.  We also see some of the same areas in which Havre is lacking, so we are hoping that once we are a little more established, we can fill in the holes.  I’m sure once March comes to a close and my big travels are done (good thing I planned them so early in the year), I’ll be pretty busy gathering information for brides and preparing for wedding season.  Hopefully I’ll be able to fit in some other events between the planning of weddings. 

Now that we are a little up-to-date on the happenings in the Yost house as well as in the For You, By Me Events business it is question time.  I am refilling my emergency kit.  It is typically needed at weddings, but I do take mine to all events that I plan.  At this point I don’t have any that I sell, but here are my questions.  Number 1: What are some of the items that you have needed at an event or when preparing for an event that you didn't have? Number 2: Any suggestions on what I should include in my kit that you think I might forget about? Number 3: If you were the bride (or the person setting up an event), would you purchase an emergency kit, if I had a mini-version available?  I wouldn't make it as big or include some of the items I use in the kit since a few are items that are standard to take with you when you are setting up an event, but I would be willing to put together a mini-version if people would be interested.

I can’t wait to get started on events now that the little one is old enough to go to daycare with his big brother.

So Many Pictures and So Many Firsts

Isaac has been busy enjoying a lot of new things and experiencing a lot of firsts. 

He got to play in his very own pile of leaves.

He started standing up in his crib so his bed got lowered.



He expereinced his first Halloween costume.

He was a little dragon for Halloween.

The costume wasn't his favorite because he doesn't like things on his head.

He got to help mom hand out candy.  He is social and liked seeing all the kids coming.

Isaac also started climbing on his toy box.  He hasn't climbed onto the couch yet, but it is only a matter of time.

He got to play in the snow for the first time after

the first blizzard of the season.

 

He got to switch to his front-facing car seat. 

Now he can watch mom drive or look out the window. 

He, of course, still sleeps most of the trip when we go any place.

 

He got to help daddy drive up Oma's driveway.  He wasn't as into

it as we thought he would be.

 

 

At Oma's he got to go for a wagon ride. 

Not only was it is first wagon ride,

but it he got to see his first bonfire.

Isaac has fun with these firsts and he has many more coming.  We have lots planned for the upcoming holiday season and for his first birthday, coming up in January.



Slippery Socks

Isaac has big feet.  So his grandma got him some new socks, some that fit just right and some that are too big but that will fit better soon.  The only issue is that most of them didn't have the no-slip bottoms.  Our house is mostly carpet, except for the kitchen and Isaac's room.  When we started putting him in the socks, I noticed he would slip a little if he tried to pull himself up but not too bad.

Then, last week we went to visit family who had no carpet, just area rugs in their house.  He was in his socks and just kept slipping, then of course his leg would go under the furniture and he didn't know how to free himself.



 Isaac has started pulling himself up on furniture more and more and has started walking along the furniture. It seems as though he only crawls to get to the next piece, if it is too far away to transfer.

 So, I decided that the socks needed to have no-slip bottoms.  Rather than getting new socks, I came up with a way to do it myself.  I used puffy paint (98 cents at Wal-Mart) rather than hot glue (my original idea) because I don't have a hot glue gun and our tiny Wal-Mart didn't have one (at least that I could find.)

 

First, I gathered all the socks that needed sticky bottoms and my puffy paint.  I chose to use black, but whatever color you choose will work.

 

Then I flattened out the bottoms.  No worries if it isn't perfect, it is just easier to apply the paint this way.  If you tuck the heel of the sock in, they will flatten out nicely.

 

Then...I went to town!  I did zig-zags on most of them because it was easier.  I tried to keep to the middle of the sock, but as long as it is on the bottom it will be fine.

 

I tried dots on one pair, but they took longer and I didn't think one way would work better than the other.  The dots also tend to stick up more than the zig-zag so if you are worried about them drying quickly that will be something to consider.

 

My puffy paint would randomly send out a big glob...I just tried to spread it out a bit.  It is the bottom of the sock so it won't be seen much.  Sorry about the blurry photo, Isaac was trying to help and my camera wasn't very appreciative.

 

So far the socks are working out really well, but the true test will be when we visit relatives that have less carpeting than we do...or when he dares to take a step without the assistance of furniture.

Busy, Busy Boy

Isaac has been getting busier and busier as I'm attempting to work on 2 of the weddings I have planned for June 2013.  I've made the brides their binders but am always thinking of pages to add...the only road block...my 9 1/2 month old who likes to check out the laptop every time I sit down to work.  I guess I'll get those pages done eventually.  Most the added pages I have thought about are ones that aren't necessary at this stage of the planning.  I'm also always looking online and on Pinterest for what others have included in their wedding planning binders.  Once I feel that mine is complete, I'll put them out there for purchase. 

Before I can do that I'll have to purchase a new printer, mine is starting to get a little worn-down.  Gotta love those circles, selling binders to pay for a printer but need a printer to sell the binders.  It is all about timing and managing money.  Once the binders are up for sell, those who choose to purchase one can have it personalized it they'd like.  This means that if you want certain things to be taken off pages (depending on what it is due to formatting) I can make that happen, or if you'd like information on something that isn't included in the binder, I can make that happen as well.

The little Mister is ruling the house and gets into everything.  Luckily, we have a great daycare he attends once a week.  Unfortunately that day is usually one that I spend researching or cleaning...occasionally I attempt to catch up on some zzz's.  Isaac is crawling like a mad man and is starting to pull himself up on furniture to walk along it.  This just means that he burns lots of calories and has to get up during the night in order to eat enough to make up these burned calories.

Last weekend we got the little Mister all bundled up to go outside, thinking it would wear him about a bit and we could work on whatever we needed to while he was napping.

He wasted no time at all getting into the flowerbeds in order to talk to the neighbor.  Luckily he likes being outside, but unfortunately now that winter is setting in there are days that it is just too cold to take him outside to play.



I figured I would rake some leaves since he was playing in the yard, and yes he had a ball he was playing with.  It didn't take long for Isaac to decide he liked playing in mama's pile of leaves better.  He then proceeded to empty the bag of leaves so he could play in them.  Luckily once I tied up the bag he decided that he liked the sound a it distracted him long enough for me to finish bagging up the few piles of leaves I had.

Guess I'll have to buckle down during his short naps, or stay up a little later to get things finished with the little going everywhere.  I'm always open to ideas for binder pages or ways to help the little one sleep better!

Updated Chair and a Little Bit Extra

This chair is one that my grandparents had at their house for all of us grandchildren. Grandpa would redo it when it needed to be repainted and it got A LOT of use. There are 7 of us that it survived through, and when grandpa moved it got passed onto me for Isaac.

 

 

As you can see, it wasn't in horrible condition.  I just needed a new coat of paint and a few stickers removed.

 

 

I gave it a new coat of paint and chose a lighter yellow.  Why yes it was left over paint...from Isaac's bedroom to be exact.  I added a little pizazz but using paint pens we have to mark his growth chart and just did some random swirls and stars.

 

 

Of course I had to add his name to it!  When we have more little ones (sometime in the not-so-near future) his name will get painted over so they have to share, or if he has grown out of it a new name will be written in.

 

Now for a little bit of extra news.  Isaac is growing like crazy and I have my first big trip without him coming up.  It is sure to be fun, but I will miss him like crazy!!  I leave in 2 weeks for 10 days in Hawaii.  Isaac will get to spend some time at daycare, which he loves cause there are other kids there to watch, and lots of time with dad.  They'll get to go visit Oma and Great Grandma.  On the way they even get to stop and watch relative in a football game.  He will be kept busy without me, as I'm sure I'll be kept busy without him. 

 

What does that mean for the business? Not too much.  I will be able to periodically check my email while I'm gone and Eli can let me know if there are any calls I need to return before I get back.  It only cuts into a few of the discount days of October, which is good for customers.  Hopefully most of the appointments get booked before I leave so that I can do that prep work before I leave and be ahead of the game when I get back, but if not it will be fine.  I can't wait to spend time with friends and it will be nice to have some me time.  Give me a shout out if there is something I just have to do while in Hawaii!