movin' and groovin'

stay tuned for a new web address for this here blog. since it's no longer *just* the isa show, we thought it only appropriate to rename the blog to reflect both kiddos. but don't fret, all the old posts and pictures and videos will still be there, just under a new name. new year, new baby, new blog... wow. stay tuned.

sledding!

here is a slideshow from the weekend's sledding adventure. as cold as it's been this december, it's been a rather slim month for snow. so when it started falling christmas night, we were all excited to get out and play!

gerd baby, gerd.

sylvi has GERD. this would explain the spitting up, gagging, arching, crying, not sleeping, and so on. we just got back from the pediatrician with prescription Zantac, which we are hoping will work.

STOREWIDE SALE!

Time to clear out some merchandise... Mountain Aven Baby STOREWIDE SALE! Won't last long, don't miss out!

Forced out of Business? Thanks CPSIA.

We interrupt this regularly scheduled baby blog for some sad news regarding the state of Mountain Aven Baby and tens of thousand of other small businesses. Chances are, most of you have not heard of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act that is to take affect February 10. Well, time to read up and pick up a phone (or pen!). This piece of legislation is intended to protect children in the United States from the harmful affects of cheaply made toys and clothing. Remember the lead scare of 2007? Right. Well, unfortunately the law is very poorly written (intentionally or unintentionally, depending on your viewpoint) and will make it illegal for businesses like mine to operate. This law states that any product intended for children under twelve be thoroughly tested for harmful by-products like lead and phthalates. This includes handmade clothing. Not surprisingly, this legislation was sponsored by some of the largest toy retailers-- Wal Mart and Target, who only stand to gain. The largest toy makers are likely the only ones who can bear the cost of such testing without raising their prices significantly. Go figure.

So what's the future of small businesses like mine? That's not entirely clear, though it doesn't look good. But it's not too late to have a say! PLEASE CLICK HERE or on the "Save Handmade" link to the left for more information about the law itself and what you can do to stop it!

sylvi says:

this is the life. they practically fight over who gets to snuggle me!

ATT

all terrain triking.

Happy One Month Sylvi!

HAPPY ONE MONTH SYLVI!

It's hard to belive it's actually been a month. Too fast, too fast. But it's true... a month ago today, sylvi was born! She has changed so much already and seems to continue to change even more by the day. She hardly looks like the same baby in some of those photos.

So how's it going, everyone is wondering? Well, pretty good actually. We are definately in the trial and error stage of "what can mommy eat" and what will Sylvi's belly tolerate. Her sleep seemed to take a nosedive about a week ago, so the good ole Elimination Diet was revisited (we went through the same thing with Isa). And while Christmas is no time to cut out so many foods (ok, almost everything), it had to be done. It seems like Sylvi is quite glad about it too! Last night she slept like a dream... going from being awake and uncomfortable nearly ALL night, to sleeping like a log and only waking waking up once. Miracle of miracles. We also decided to try her sleeping in the carseat, so as to be reclined and not lying flat. I think this was a big factor as well, being that she seems to have reflux too. While I am sure that this post will jinx us, I have to say that we are very relieved to be on the way to figuring out her sensitive stomach... this insanely bland starvation diet may just pay off afterall!

So there you have it, Syvli at four weeks old. Happy One Month Miss Syvli, we love you.

the christmas wrap-up

phew. christmas was a whirlwind around these parts! but a very fun whirlwind. isa treated all of us by sleeping in until 9am. then we started opening gifts, and opening, and opening... and we still have one more round to do today! need less to say, isa came away with quite the stash this year.

after all the morning's excitement, nanny treated everyone to a fabulous dinner. this year was really special for lots of reasons, but especially because we had three grandparents and several good friends to spend it with! the schneiders arrived mid-afternoon and got in some good baby time before it was time to eat. after the food was put away there was still alot of good time to be had. sylvi was content to hang out, isa was thrilled with having three grandparents to dote on her, and mommy and daddy enjoyed talking and laughing with friends... a beautiful christmas all around.

for bub and queen

'twas the night before christmas, and all through the house... isa was showing off her best holiday dance moves with elmo! as promised, here is the goose and her Christmas gift from papa bubba and queen. as you can see, she's pretty entertained so far! although the jury is still out on what might be her favorite feature, she thoroughly enjoys knocking him over (or body slamming him, actually) only to hear him ask to be picked up again! she sends a very big thank you and a special holiday hug and kiss to you both!

p.s. sorry it's a little dark, but you get the point :0)

the view from here

this is the view i get for a large chunk of the day... sylvi in my lap, in the recliner. it's usually before, after, or during nursing. being that she likes to eat so much, we spend alot of time here. so it seemed only appropriate to get a shot from this vantage point.

speaking of sylvi, it's hard to believe she will be a month old in a few days! as cliche as it is, time really does fly. she is starting to look less like a squishy newborn and more like an infant. her little cheeks and thighs are starting to get chunky and she is stretching out her arms and legs and looking around like never before. and she keeps smiling too, which is always nice. when her stomach isn't hurting, she is just about as content as can be. to be fair though, even with the most wicked of gas, she is still a really happy baby, all things considered.

gingerbread live

Here it is in action. Luckily she made it through half of the construction before she realized it was all edible. Next year Nanny has promised to get Isa's help with a life-size Santa cake.

little julia...

... just keeps baking! the kitchen craftiness continues. today: sugar cookies.

the gingerbread house

no doubt, the gingerbread house was a HUGE hit this afternoon. hours of entertainment. followed by hours of sugar high! luckily isa didn't really discover the candy aspect until the near end, though she still managed her fair share of decoration eating before it was all said and done. there is hopefully a very cute video to come. stay tuned!

the weekend rundown

sylvi at three weeks.

isa at three weeks.

here's the quick and dirty:

nanny is potting training isa... woohoo!

sylvi is apparently not the napper we thought she may be... boohoo!

there is alot of "who does she look like?" game going on around here. this leads us to the flashback, two days late... while sylvi and isa don't look as similar as they did at birth, you gotta admit, they look pretty darn similar in these two photos. am i wrong?

yeah, yeah...

we're quite aware that we missed flashback friday and that there are probably some people wishing for more photos. well... patience, patience. we've been a tired bunch lately. with a teething toddler (who took her first nap in about a week today! yippee!) and a new baby with a stomachache who seems to be most in pain in the middle of the night... well, we just haven't had the energy for updates. but stay tuned, there WILL be more to come. hopefully soon.

sylvi says:

whoa.

sweet sylvi

... and her Sprout Pouch. as you can see, someone's little cheeks are starting to fill out! she passed her two week well-baby visit with flying colors and she's made it back to her birth weight, plus an ounce. she now weighs 7lbs even and is starting to fit into her 0-3mo clothes. in general she is still a mellow little creature, though she seems to be following in her sister's footsteps with a sensitive stomach. looks like i might be on the road to the ole elimination diet once again. bummer. good thing she's so dang cute though eh?

decking the halls...

good thing there's alot of decorating to be done! with it being so cold out, we have been hard pressed to find things to keep the toddler busy, busy, busy. after making playdough, going to art class, a short and cold trip to the park, baking cookies, reading books, and watching christmas videos... we moved on to tree decorating. this afternoon we made some decorations to fill in between the ornaments and lights-- isa was quite proud of her construction paper garland! of course with a two year old's attention span, the project was short lived, but that just means we'll do more tomorrow and eventually we'll have a loooooong strand for the tree!

ruh roh!

it appears that isa may have officially entered her big sister "rough patch," as she landed herself in time out THREE times at the sitter's house this morning. apparently she was being a little instigator and hitting her friends as well. this is definately a first. when she got home, i asked her if she had been in time out and she said, "yeah!" and then when i asked her why, she told me that she was "in twouble!" ruh roh.

first bath

sylvi got her first soak in the tub this evening, at two weeks old. and she LOVED it. there wasn't even the slightest hesitation or flinch, just instant relaxation. looks like we have another little fish on our hands.

flashback!

okay, okay the top picture is a flashback to this morning, but whatever! still a flashback! the bottom picture of isa and daddy does indeed go way back though... all the way to december of 2006, when isa was just a few months old.

the girls

we're still getting used to phrases like "the girls" or "our kids" and what not... you know, now that there are TWO of them! isa is continuing to warm up to her roll as big sister and has become quite the helper. she's usually pretty good at predicting what sylvi might needs too, which makes her even more useful! whether it be pacifier or wipes or diaper, isa can be called upon to help when need be.

funny face

we are constantly amused with sylvi's faces. as we've mentioned before, she smiles ALOT in her sleep-- but she also likes to entertain us while awake as well!

grandparents = cookies

if new sister = presents, then grandparents = cookies. here are some fun shots of isa and nanny baking up some of daddy's favorite cookies. yum.

blog reader discount!

in an effort to say thanks to the fabulous blog readers out there. Mountain Aven Baby will be giving a blog reader discount on any item in the shop from today until December 15th -- 15% off your order! all you need to do is enter the words "blog reader" in the comments section of your order at checkout (your discount will be refunded to you via paypal). happy holidays and many thanks!

p.s. if you're a local buyer (hooray for locals!) let me know and i'll refund your shipping as well, and you can either pick up or have your item delivered to you.

it's the economy, stupid.

yeah, how many times have you heard that over the last year right? well, apparently it rings true in several ways. not just in politics, but also small town art shows. *sigh* Art in the Afternoon was today and i am disappointed to admit that it really did not live up to expectations this year. every vendor i spoke with agreed that people just aren't spending the money like they have in years passed. and for artists and those who sell handmade goods, this is a big hit, as we can only lower prices so far to appeal to lack of consumer confidence.

for the record, it wasn't *that* bad really, just alot lower turnout (attendance wise) and my sales that were about the same as last year-- no growth. yet i had about four times as much merchandise! oy. luckily everything that was left over are things that sell well on etsy. so i'm not at a loss. but i would be lying if i said i wasn't really bummed that i didn't have alot more in sales. one thing is for sure-- i am SO glad i had all the scarves! they sold out fast and left me wishing i would've made twice as many! oh well, live and learn... and hope that online sales will save you! ha!

ah, saturday!

it's been a nice saturday morning around these parts! we had two seperate sets of visitors this morning, which meant alot of sitting around chatting, catching up, holding babies, and entertaining toddlers. luckily all of our friends are great about interacting with isa too, and not just oogling over the new baby. this is appreciated all around. speaking of which, you might be wondering what's that bright colored thing on isa's head? that's a tutu of course, compliments of isa's friend charlotte. not only is it her "dancing skirt" but it's also her favorite hat! thanks charlotte :-)

double flashback!

isa enjoying an outing at the park last winter.

sylvi cracking a smile on day one of her little life-- happy one week sylvi!

isa says:

bouncy chairs are not just for babies, ya know. they're also good for kicking back with your favorite snack and a catalogue.

the blanket

i've gotten countless comments on the beautiful blanket that miss sylvi is often pictured with. every nurse on the obstetrics floor came to love it and in the words one our favorite nurse Judy, "well, you can't NOT touch it!" and it's true. so i thought i'd give the now famous blanket it's own blog post. i purchased it on etsy a while before sylvi was born and i am happy to pass along a little shout out to the seller Bella Mia Baby. not only is the blanket itself fabulous, and already sylvi's favorite, but i highly recommend the seller as well. it was worth every penny!

since we love it so much already, and i just happen to have some minky swirl fabric left over from the scarf project, i have decided to make another one! so what print to use? while i am normally not one for animal prints, i come back to the brown zebra or the cow print every time. the giraffe seems to be working well for us, so why not carry on that theme right? oh the possibilities. stay tuned for more photos of the fabulous baby and her fabulous blanket(s) in the posts to come!

sister = presents

this is how isa has come to see her sister's arrival... presents all around! we've tried to make sure that isa doesn't feel left out in the all of this gifting, but at the same time we don't want her to think that every day means more gifts! we'll see how that works out in a few weeks. here is a funny video of isa opening one of these gifts from her grandparents. as you can see, she's pretty excited about her big girl sockmonkey sheets! enjoy!

and one more

...picture of sleepy sylvi. good thing she's so cute when she's snoozing, because she sleeps alot! it's been that kind of day around here. it's finally cold and snowy out so we've been taking advantage of many good excuses to stay warm and snuggly inside. isa was thrilled to be back with her friends at the sitter's house this morning and the rest of us enjoyed the quiet. so there you go. that's what we're up to these days... sleeping and snuggling and enjoying. stay tuned for a very sweet isa video later tonight!

big sister in action

Yes, we do still have another child. She has been warming up to her new sister slowly, at her own speed, and it seems to be working better than I expected. She has had a lot of attention this past week, primarily from her Bubba who came from Georgia to help with the transition. Many thanks!

Here are some shots from a Saturday trip to the Buffalo Park (our name), which is at the mouth of Sinks Canyon. It seems that she has become such a big girl in the last two weeks. She can very clearly count to ten, she knows so many animals and the sounds they make, and she can ask for just about anything she wants or needs. Now with Sylvi in comparison, she seems so heavy and her hands and feet are so big. I'm so proud of her for being up to the task of big sister...

Phil

your daily dose...

... of baby pictures. you know, for those blog addicts who check several times a day ;-)

the transition to home has gone relatively smoothly. many thanks again to papa bubba for making sure that isa is never lacking in attention (or cookies!). speaking of isa, rest assured that she is getting lots of love from everyone as well. there will be a fun goosey post later to prove just that. she has even taken an interest in her new baby sister in the last day or so as well! granted, she still doesn't like to hear any crying, but she has asked several times to, "hold it! pet it!" and has even showered sylvi with a kiss or two.

as for the rest of us, we are doing just fine. sylvi is generally a laid back baby so far, so aside from getting use to the newborn/sleep deprivation stage again, it's been pretty painless. as you can see from the pictures, sylvia is pretty alert when she is awake. and she has more smiles and funny faces than any newborn i've ever seen. as for sleep, she seems to have her days and nights confused a little but last night was better than the night before. and well folks, that's progress! and progress is good!