The Itty Bitty Bookworm & Giveaway

((UPDATE 1/23/16 - Yesterday Heather D. Was chosen as the giveaway winner. She was contacted and picked her prize! Thanks so much to all those who participated this week.))

Oh boy! I missed you guys. This post has been a long time coming.

Since Easter (has it really been that long?!) we've experienced a lot of great things including: finishing renovations on the Fixer Upper, selling our first home (from the first showing!), and celebrating Jasper's first birthday. I'll definitely discuss everything in due time but today I wanted to highlight the other 'great thing' that's happened this year. No, we're not having another baby... after months of planning, I opened my Etsy shop: The Itty Bitty Bookworm! 

I invite all of you to visit The IBB to see what I have for the trendy little kid in your life. I've just restocked with ready to ship bandana bibs (bibdanas) and the most perfect slouchy beanies. While there's more to come (*cough* toddler infinity scarves, ponchos, and more *cough*), there's plenty to peek at today. My goal is to offer affordable, handmade, and stylish items for your littles and I'm positive you'll find something to love. I also welcome custom orders and requests.

A little sampling of what's currently available:

Use code SPOOLANDSPOON to enjoy 20% off any order of $10+
(expires 1/31/2016)

This has been something I have wanted to do for several years but lacked the inspiration. Enter Jasper. He is my motivation, my muse, and my own little model.

Being his mama and personal seamstress is the best job I've had to date.

I'd love for your little one to rock one of my handmade bibdanas - if you'd like that too, please visit my shop The Itty Bitty Bookworm, and comment below with your email address AND your favorite bib print. On Friday, January 22nd after 12:00 p.m., I'll pick one random person to win their favorite!

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Easter + Baby's First Easter Basket

Happy Easter from our little family to yours!

Just a snippet of Jazzy's Easter basket (not including his other three books, two stuffies, and bandana bibs)

TIP FOR NEXT YEAR: Plant live wheat grass instead of using plastic Easter grass! I bought the seeds off of Amazon and it took only 5 days for the grass to get this full. It'll be a great textural sensation for our little guy to discover.

Who needs an Easter ham for dinner when I have a side of 'ham' everyday!? This kid!

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I'm linking to:

Tatertots & Jello | S3 | Classy Clutter | I Heart Nap Time | Mine for the Making | Flamingo Toes | Craftomaniac | Shabby Creek Cottage | My Girlish Whims | Stone Gable | Young and Crafty | Nifty Thrifty Things

Last Minute Bunny Treats - Toddler & Baby Approved

Every year I put together something handmade for our nephews. Usually it's a stuffed animal but given the fact that we have a baby at home now, I don't have nearly as much time to plan. It wouldn't be fair for our favorite nephews to miss out on some Easter treats though, now would it? 

How adorable are those bunnies?
These are a great chocolate-free Easter treat for the little ones! They are also the perfect last minute basket filler. The stuff you'll need can be found just about anywhere and take less than five minutes to assemble!

Start with an extra long Rice Krispies Treat or some Gerber Graduates Puffs

For the Rice Krispies treat:

Wrap it with a piece of white construction paper

Stick on some ears and oval feet

Draw on an adorable bunny face

For the Puffs:

Peel away the label

Tuck felt bunny ears under the lid (leave the canister's safety seal in place)

Draw on a face

Tie with a bow

The finished products are beyond adorable!

Oh, and how cute are those carrots?! They are bubbles from Target! I think our nephews are going to be quite pleased with their goodies tomorrow.

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I'm linking to:

Tatertots & Jello | S3 | Classy Clutter | I Heart Nap Time | Mine for the Making | Flamingo Toes | Craftomaniac | Shabby Creek Cottage | My Girlish Whims | Stone Gable | Young and Crafty | Nifty Thrifty Things

Free Fluff - A Cloth Diaper Giveaway

We are fluff fanatics in our house. I realize it's not the norm in all social circles but it's becoming quite the vogue thing to do with environmentally conscious and budget-minded parents.

I want to do my part to make cloth mainstream (#makeclothmainstream) and thought a giveaway was the perfect way to make a difference!

A randomly selected person will win their choice of 1 one-size diaper - a BumGenius 4.0 in Mirror (aqua blue), or a BumGenius 4.0 in Armadillo (gray), or a Flip Diaper Cover in Stellar (dark blue).

To enter the giveaway, simply do one or more of the following actions. PLEASE LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENTS FOR EACH ACTION TAKEN! Each additional comment earns you another chance to win. 
1. Leave a comment below telling me what you like about cloth diapers
2. Subscribe via email; comment with "Subscribed"
3. Like Spool and Spoon on Facebook; comment with "Following on FB"
4. ; comment with "Shared on FB"
5. Follow Spool and Spoon on Twitter; comment with your Twitter username
5. ; comment with a link to your tweet
6. Follow Spool and Spoon on Instagram; comment with your Instagram username
7. Follow Spool and Spoon on Pinterest; comment with a link to your favorite pin

Be sure to include contact information so I can notify you if you win! 

On Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. the giveaway will close and I will select a winning comment at random using the Random.com number generator. On Tuesday, March 10, 2015, at 12:00 p.m. est. I will announce the winner on Facebook and will contact them via the contact information provided.

Best of luck to all! And if you win, be sure to check out our printable wash routine.

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If you're interested in attending, MommyCon is offering Spool and Spoon readers $5 off of general admission tickets (not valid on VIP or pre-sale tickets).

March 28 - Atlanta

April 18 - Minneapolis

May 23 - Orlando (tickets available after Feb 28)

August 22 - Washington DC (tickets available after Feb 28)

September 19 - Columbus (tickets available after Mar 15)

November 14 - Newport Beach (tickets available after Mar 15)

November 21 - Seattle (tickets available after Mar 15)

Visit http://mommy-con.com/events/ and select the date of your choice. During checkout use code SPOOLSPOON15 for a discounted ticket price of $35! If you have a group of 20 or more (think church groups, neighborhood play group, MOMS/MOPS, etc.), let me know before purchasing as I can provide you a code to get your group tickets at $32 a piece.

If you've been to previous MommyCon events, shoot me an email! I'd love to hear about your experience!

Cloth Diaper Wash Routine + Free Laundry Printables

It's been two months since we started using cloth diapers and I'm hooked. Having used disposables for the first few weeks (and for years before as a nanny), I can honestly say that I prefer cloth to sposies. The benefits surely outweigh the minimal inconvenience of extra laundry.

Sure it's only been a couple months but our diapers look and smell as good as new. I credit that to the awesome wash routine I'm sharing with you today.

Our Top 3 Cloth Diaper Picks

Convincing my hubby to use cloth diapers was pretty darn easy. Who would have guessed that three months later we would both be fluff fanatics in our house.

Every family has their preferences but we're obsessed with the one-size options from the BumGenius and Flip brands. Only the best on our baby's bum!

How I Got Cloth Diapers "Hubby Approved"

While I was pregnant I came up with this *crazy* idea that I wanted our little baby to be diapered in cloth. The only factor I still had to consider was my generally sane husband's reaction. How do I convince him that cloth diapering was not outdated or wacky, and would actually be the best decision for our new family?

I researched. I read. I reviewed all the options. When I finally felt confident that I had all the info I needed, I sprung the idea on Joe.

Valentine's Day Photo Shoot - Perfect Last Minute Gift

Having a child at any holiday seems to make it 10x more special. But with the need to instill traditions while keeping things Pinterest-perfect, there is a lot of pressure as well. I am definitely not immune. Celebrating Baby's First Everything puts me in a tizzy. I want to document it all. It's also important to spoil the grandparents with baby love. For Thanksgiving we did footprint turkeys. At Christmas, we made handprint ornaments. I figured for Valentine's Day it was probably time to let up on the body parts haha.

Instead, we did a mini photo shoot for Valentine's Day and guess what - you can too! I promise, it's not too late. Within 15 minutes of shooting, I had the perfect custom Valentine for baby J's grandparents.

With places like Target Photo that print cards in store (or even using your own printer and cardstock at home) you can have cards printed within an hour of doing the shoot. About 10 minutes after placing my order, I got the email confirmation that my prints were ready for pick up!

What you need is minimal at best. A piece of fabric for a backdrop, a couple glitter hearts, and a coordinating holiday shirt. No pants necessary folks!

MommyCon 2015 + Discount Code

Motherhood comes with lots of unexpected perks - who doesn't love storytime and midday snuggles? I know Joe and I are enjoying bedtime books way more than the little guy considering we're the ones saying "just one more." Two words: Dr. Seuss. It's also a time for you to start finding yourself as a couple - a couple of parents. As I shared earlier this week, we have made some very specific child rearing decisions. I'm really lucky to have a best friend who shares a lot of the same parenting ideals. We can vent, celebrate, and have legit discussions with one another. Unfortunately she is states away. This is forcing me out of my element to start networking with other similar mamas.

Meeting other like-minded moms is a huge goal for me this year. Other than my bestfriend, I don't know another CD mom 'in real life'. Babywearing seems foreign to everyone we know. Our friends are puzzled by our Tummy Tub and our plans to make homemade baby food. Lots of people think we're the epitome of weird for co-sleeping.  So, I sought out a place where parents like us might gather.  Without a doubt, that place is MommyCon!

Our Breastfeeding Journey - A Rocky Road

Disclosure: What I'm sharing today is long and incredibly personal. I mean, you can't get a lot more personal than boobs and childrearing decisions. 

After successfully navigating the road to conception and carrying a beautiful baby to term, you don't think anything can get you down. Especially once you see that little pink baby in the flesh. I sure didn't. I have a ton of experience with children. I read all there was to read about caring for a newborn. I practiced swaddling until I got it just right. I researched different breastfeeding positions. We decided to bedshare and babywear to keep our baby boy close. I made plans to ensure he would be exposed to only the best - a top rated pediatrician, high quality cloth diapers, homemade baby food, and, the most obvious, his mama's breast milk.

Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned.

An Itty Bitty Introduction

I can hardly believe that two months ago we kissed our little man for the very first time. While I've shared countless updates via Instagram (hashtag #ittybittybabymauras), I'm finally ready for him to make his online debut.

Welcome to the world [wide web], little Jasper Lawrence!

Maternity Photos {by} Expressions by Nicole Marie

I'm so excited to finally share some of the pictures I mentioned last week! These are a few of our favorite photos from the extremely talented Expressions by Nicole Marie. She and I met through the power of social media - Instagram! - and I've grown obsessed with her work over the last year. If you live in the Philly area, I cannot recommend her enough. She's gorgeous, talented, and so much fun to work with. 

Maternity photos are all the rage nowadays but I still didn't want anything too cliché - no belly kisses or bare bumps. In just a couple of weeks, we are going to be a family of three (more like 5 because Quinn and Aubrey are very much a part of our family) so it was important to us to capture these final moments between Joe and I. Our photographer (Nicole Francisco) was the absolute best and completely understood my vision. She scouted out several locations for us and suggested that we visit the Artists of Yardley center in Bucks County, PA. It was the epitome of perfection with so many backdrop options - barns, fields, a meadow, a pumpkin patch, a gravel road, and even a pond. Just look at all of the incredible shots she took!

  

PHOTOS ARE COURTESY OF EXPRESSIONS BY NICOLE MARIE

 

What do you think? Did you get pre-baby photos done? I think it was a blast but I'm most looking forward to having photos that include our little man in all of his baby-faced goodness <3

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36 Week Bumpdate

How far along: 36 weeks and 2 days. 

Yep, I majorly slacked. Sorry about that.

(sorry for the terrible lighting - cell phones, no flash, and dismal conditions do not make for a great photo taking atmosphere)

Navy, Gray, and Aqua Woodland Nursery Inspiration

It's crazy how real everything gets when the gender has been revealed, kicks can be felt, and a name has been chosen. It's refreshing that our little guy finally has an identity. Joe and I are loving this stage and cannot wait for the next couple of months to fly by. Before he makes his grand arrival, we need to kick things into high gear over at the fixer-upper.

I was finally able to make a legitimate determination on the nursery. Here's what we're thinking:

PHOTO INSPIRATION:
Be prepared to swoon! Please note that I don't want all of these exact items, most are just photos from the web for DIY inspiration and can be found on my nursery Pinterest board.

MUST HAVE DECOR:
To Buy:
Wooden Mobile (I'm torn between the feathers and trees): The Red Bird Shop
Eddie Bauer Chair and a Half Rocker (be still my heart!): Target
Fillmore Crib: Pottery Barn Kids
Madame Aviary Throw Pillow: Land of Nod
Moose Head Hook: Zulily
Gray Surya Fallon Rug: Plush Rugs
Various Prints: Etsy
Basic white and gray sheet sets: Target
Kinderkram Woodland Friends Set: Blueberry Forest Toys

To DIY:
Stamped throw pillow
White dream catcher
Wood slice art
Clipboard gallery wall
Two-tone dresser & changing table
Rustic garland (either pinecones or felt leaves)
Chalkboard globe
Quilt and afghan

COLOR SCHEME:
Navy walls: Behr Marquee Opera Glasses
White board and batten: Benjamin Moore White Dove
Window treatments: Ikea Marmorblad Curtains & Ikea Emmie Roll-up Blind
Hardwood flooring - Minwax Wood Finish in Dark Walnut
Wood accents of varying tones
White & Gray upholstery
Aqua and navy touches here and there

Tell me, what do you think? I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the color scheme and theme - it's not much of a traditional match but does it work? I'm hopeful this will be a room he'll be able to grow into rather than solely being a nursery.

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I'm linking to:

Tatertots & Jello | S3 | Classy Clutter | I Heart Nap Time | Mine for the Making | Flamingo Toes | Craftomaniac | Shabby Creek Cottage | My Girlish Whims | Stone Gable | Young and Crafty | Nifty Thrifty Things

13 Week Bumpdate

I'm not sure that I'll do a 'bumpdate' every week but I hope you won't mind if I do. I have a feeling that this time in our lives is something I'll want to look back on and I'll regret it every second if I don't start documenting the experience.

How far along: about 13.5 weeks today

Weight gain: down a ½ lb from pre-pregnancy weight according to my scale (down 5lbs if you're referring to the OB's scale)

Maternity clothes: None yet – everything still fits fine! I don't really think I'm showing. I tried the belly band this week, just because I felt like I had a bit of a muffin top. Halfway through the day I took it off because it is pretty annoying when you don’t have a belly yet. My sister-in-law and her sister gave me a TON of adorable maternity clothes so I’m just dying for my belly to pop so I can use them :)

Best Moment this Week? Joe and I have been so busy with work and the fixer-upper so it was SUCH a delight to take a break and snuggle on the couch all of Sunday afternoon. We even treated ourselves to some Rita’s ice and custard :)

Sleep:  I used to have a fairly ‘dreamless’ sleep and that’s not the case anymore… I fall asleep and wake up 10 minutes later and I feel like I already had one weird dream after another. I’ve also been getting headaches at night so it’s been fairly uncomfortable. I keep complaining to Joe that we need new pillows so I should probably just bite the bullet and get some.

Gender: I’m convinced we’re having a girl, but I’m concerned that it’s more of a desire than of a true intuition. The baby’s heart rate has been pretty high consistently (155, 165, and 163) soooo you never know!

Movement: I may regret this later, but I cannot wait to feel this sweet little baby inside of me.

Looking forward to: Our next appointment on the 10^th… despite having the baby so close to me, I constantly feel like I miss him/her. I cannot wait to hear the heartbeat again

Food cravings: Fruit (preferably apples and watermelon), yogurt, and Power-C Vitamin Water.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Um, everything? The grocery store is my hell on Earth lately. Vegetables gross me out badly… especially avocados (just thinking about them makes me gag), salsa, seafood (which is crazy because it’s my favorite), and anything ooey-gooey or greasy. Pinterest recipes are not my friend as of late.

Labor Signs: If I had any right now, I think we’d be having some serious issues.

What I miss: Coffee. I miss it a lot. Like, A LOT a lot.

Symptoms: Headaches, stuffiness, dry skin, exhaustion…

Nursery: Finally removed just about all of the wallpaper from the soon-to-be nursery at the fixer-upper. Once we find out the gender (cannot wait until July), we will start work on the nursery... so, as of right now, we have nothing yet.

Belly button in or out? Innie all the way

Wedding rings on or off? On

Mood: Cranky (just because I’m sleepy) but generally, I think I'm really nice. Last weekend the nurse at the OB commented on how much she loves to deal with me because I'm always such a pleasure to talk to (thank you for the good manners, Nanny!)

Workouts: Quinn and I go for a morning stroll everyday and on the weekends we’ve been having 2 mile morning and afternoon walks. I’m looking forward to my energy returning so I can spend some time on my fabulous treadmill which has been neglected for two months. 

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