pretty pretty baby-giveaway!

It's been a while, so how about another adorable giveaway from pretty pretty baby?! Just in time for Christmas, pretty pretty baby has the cutest applique shirts for your little one to show off their holiday spirit! You will have the chance to win a pretty cute reindeer letter shirt OR a pretty cute santa's belt letter shirt.

She has so many other appliques and don't forget about her bows, bibs & burpcloths! If you see something else you are interested in, pretty pretty baby is offering FREE SHIPPING to all of my readers through Friday, December 3. Make sure to leave a message to seller that I sent you!

Here's how you can enter the giveaway:
-MANDATORY: Leave a comment on which letter style you would like to win. (1 entry)
-Add pretty pretty baby to your etsy favorite sellers list. (1 entry)
-Like pretty pretty baby on facebook (1 entry)
-Follow my blog or let me know you are a follower (1 entry)
-Grab my button and put it on your blog (2 entries)
-Blog about this giveaway and link back to this post (3 entries)

Remember-You must leave a comment for EACH entry. This giveaway will run through Friday, December 3 at noon (est), and I will choose a winner using random.org. Good luck!

Stella and Dot CyberMonday!

Here’s a gorgeous CyberMonday offer! Today only, spend $99 with Stella & Dot and receive a complimentary ring of your choice (Take your pick from 1 of 6 gorgeous styles!) See graphic below for details. Get this offer at my personal website at www.stelladot.com/rebekah. AND now that your shopping engines are revved, check out our big sale! Markdowns have been taken on this season’s favorites – now up to 50% off! Quantities are limited. Shop the “Sale” category on my site for these great deals!!

14 months

Hampton is such a busy little guy these days. He runs and runs until he collapses. It is fun, crazy, and oh-so-tiring!! All of the toys in are house are seriously a waste right now. This curious little guy loves exploring the house, peeking in closets and behind closed doors, and ripping through all the "unlocked" cabinets. He used to sit in his pack-n-play and drink milk, play with toys and occasionally glance at Mickey Mouse on the tv while I was showering and getting ready, but now, he wants to be out out out!! (This is when the unlocked bathroom cabinets come in handy. He looks through everything while I'm right there blowdrying and straightening my hair. Win. Win!)

Fun new things this month:
-H now goes to my friend K's house 2 days a week while I'm at work. Her youngest, G, is 3 months younger than him, and they have such a great time playing! I'm so fortunate that she has been able to help me out in this way, and H is getting to spend time with other little ones!
-We experienced our first "real" sickness-croup. I never thought the misery would go away, and he still has a lingering cough and some congestion, but it is clear that the real sickness is gone.
-2 molars have popped through (possibly more! I think I felt his top ones tonight but need to check again), and he now has 10 teeth total. I love his big grin when you can see every last one!
-He's a little acrobat. He loves to bend over and stand on his head!
-Eating has gotten much better. He's still finicky about some things (vegetables in particular)
-I haven't found a fruit he doesn't like.
-He doesn't say much but babbles a lot, but he definitely understands what we say! We'll tell him to get his ball and he goes and finds one or I'll say "Eww. You're stinky! Let's go change your diaper" and he'll walk back to his room and wait at the changing table. I love it!
-He LOVES being outside! Running in the grass, wagon rides, runs with mom & dad-you name it, if he's outside, he's happy!
-Second to outside, the bathtub is still his other favorite. He plays and splashes and pours water over his head and loves every second!

It was pretty hard to capture a picture this month. I had to chase him down to get one of his face! I'm going to have to try again...

it's a little like crack

The kid and his paci, that is. He didn't like it as a newborn. We seriously went through many options before realizing the only one he was going to take was the Soothie. He would take it every once in a while, but he was perfectly happy without. Then, he became very predictable with it: when he was tired, he searched until he found his paci, put it in his mouth, and came to be rocked. Now, he's an addict. He wants his paci most of the time, and I would not dare leave the house without it.

I don't know what happened here....we went backwards. I'm not stressing about it now because it doesn't bother me that he still likes his paci. We'll cross that bridge when we get there! :/

Free holiday Cards for bloggers!

Last year was the first time that I sent out Christmas cards. I never thought I'd be one of those people who sent out a picture of my child(ren) each year, but you better believe that changed when Hampton came into the picture! Last year, I used an online site to design a card and printed it myself to save money. I was not pleased with the quality, but it was the best I could do at that point. This year, I want to do better. Enter Shutterfly! When I read on another blog, The Power of the Pink Lines, that Shutterfly was giving away Christmas cards to bloggers, I HAD to see what it was about. They have some adorable photo cards!

Here are a few of my faves:I'm having a hard time narrowing down which card we will actually use, but I'll be sure to share it once it's complete. First, I have to find an outfit for the monkey AND take his picture. Ah-so much to do!

Shutterfly also has birthday cards, photo mugs, calendars, you name it! Make sure to check out their site for your holiday cards, and if you're a blogger, take the time to register your blog for the 50 FREE holiday Cards! Who doesn't like FREE STUFF?!?

(P.S. Scroll over the site name throughout this post, and there are links. I don't know why they don't show up differently. I'm working on figuring that out...)

Wordless Wednesday: fun with a wiffle ball

first haircut

We finally found the time on Saturday to go get the monkey's mullet cut off...I mean first haircut! Poor kid was starting to look a little too shaggy! We went to a kids salon, where they have a firetruck and airplane chairs! I was fearful there would be tears, but he was such a champ. So, here we are, another milestone that proves my baby is really not a baby anymore. ::sigh::

the never ending sickness

Hampton came down with a cold (or maybe a sinus infection?) the night before Halloween. He was so pitiful that whole week, but I knew the end would be near. A couple days in, I became sick as well. Taking care of a sick baby while you feel so bad yourself is the pits! By Thursday, I had no voice, and H seemed to be losing his as well. Add in some raspy breathing and seal bark coughs, and we decided it was time to call the doc. After a visit to the after hours clinic, we were told he had fluid in his right ear but no infection. Other than that, he had a cold, and to continue with vicks vapor rub, saline and suction. Ugh!

Fast forward a week, and his cold has not gone away. I guess this is fairly "normal," but to us it wasn't. At night, his coughing was getting worse, and he was gasping for breath after coughing fits, so I knew it was time to call the doc again. He's now been diagnosed with croup and been given steroids to take over the next 4 days. I hate that he's been so uncomfortable and that there is just nothing I can give him to make it better. I hope it goes away for good very soon!

back to the doctor

Monday we had our first appointment with the RE about starting this whole process again. I love our doctor and the nurses there. We walked in and everyone was so excited to see us. While we were in the waiting room (which was FOREVER thanks to two emergencies having to be taken care of), our doctor walked in the front office and saw Jordan and I sitting there and gave a big goofy grin and waved. A & S, our two nurses, asked to see pictures of Hampton, wanted to know when we were going to start again, and kept saying how happy they were to see us back. These people really enjoy what they do, and A even made the point of saying that not just any nurse could work at an RE's office. I couldn't agree more!

Once we got in to talk to Dr. L, it was quick. He basically said that I could start as soon as my next AF--testing in November, BCPs in December, and ER/ET in January. This actually took me a little by shock. I didn't think they would do anything over the holidays, but once he said that, I realized that I wouldn't be stimming really until the new year. This gave me butterflies in my stomach, but more excitement than nervousness!!

BUT, we won't be starting that early. We just aren't prepared to pay the $10,000 (+ cost of meds) right this second. And we would have to VERY quickly with that plan! We've decided to go talk to our friend at the bank, where we got our original loan, and see what our different options are. The RE's office is now offering a discount if you buy 2 IVF cycles at the same time. Unfortunately, if you get a BFP that first cycle, you've spent money that you didn't need to. For us, it only took one fresh IVF and three frozen IVFs to get pregnant, so if that was the case again, it would still be cheaper to not pay for 2 fresh cycles up front, even with a discount. Of course, there is that little voice that says, "you never know." (Shut up, stupid voice.) Their new finance plans haven't been approved yet, so I don't know if that will help us this time, either. Ah, the joys of fertility treatments....

So, here we are. I have the paperwork, and all I have to do is make the call. Dr. L is going to go ahead and "present our case" in their next meeting so that we can be ready to go whenever.

Yikes! Yay! Please, God, help me to stay a sane person through the process this time around!!!

And just for a laugh, my silly monkey:

corn maize and farm animals

Last weekend, we went out to a dairy farm in the area that just opened this year. We'd heard a lot about it and wanted to take Hampton to do something "festive." My little monkey is such a BOY! Ha. Seriously, we put him down, and he took off-running through the corn maize, taking a break in the dirt, and just getting dirty. He loves it!!

I do have to brag. Throughout the maize, there are questions and you answer them to find your way through. We came to one sign and the question was: Chocolate milk comes from brown cows. True (left) False (right). Hampton go to the sign, stopped, appeared to think about it for a second, then turned right and took off. He's so smart! What can I say? ;)I thought this place had a petting zoo, but it was more of a look-and-see kind of thing. You were allowed to pet the pigs, but there was a huge warning sign that they may bite. Ummm....pretty hard to keep a 13 month old from being to violent with the piggies, so we passed on petting! He sure is fascinated by animals.And of course, we stopped in the pumpkin patch on the way out to get some pictures!