Birds of a feather flock together

I love pictures of Layla and Mariam together--probably because it's not that easy to acquire them. Mariam still cries a lot, and well Layla doesn't like to sit still for very long. Having a toddler and a newborn is very challenging and I've heard the first year is the hardest, but I know they will be close once they are a little older and hopefully the best of friends. 

Mariam's Carters microfleece jumpsuit can be found here. Layla's pink fleece kitty top can be found here.

The crying dress

Layla 2011

Mariam 2013

I don't know what it is about this dress that Layla and Mariam have both bawled in it when I put it on them. Maybe they didn't like the fact that I had to put them on their tummy to button the back? They were perfectly content the rest of the day wearing it though. ;)

The dress was given to me during Layla's baby shower a while back, but the headband was made by me. Find it here.

Have a great weekend!

Leopard and bows..

I'm obsessed with bows. It's true. I'm also crazy about pink and I'm loving animal print. I didn't always like animal print for the girls but it's really grown on me!

It's a new year..

I keep telling H we need to write down our goals that we want to accomplish for the family this year, whether it's doing certain things with the kids, or starting projects around the house etc....Alas we still haven't done it, but I have thought about my individual goals. These are some of the things I hope to accomplish or work on this year:

* Potty train Layla

* Spend more time with Serena (the littlest ones require so much that it's often hard to focus on playing games that Serena wants to play. I'd like us to be able to spend more time one on one.)

* Bring the keyboard out and play more. Resume lessons with Serena and introduce it to Layla

*Work on my arabic. It's a shame that H and I have been married for awhile and I still only know a few words. Adding onto that, speak to the girls more in spanish and arabic.

* Stop being so OCD about the house being clean. I'm bad about that, but I feel calm and more relaxed when the house is tidy. Of course with 5 people in the house it's a constant battle to keep it clean.

* Work out more. With almost back to back pregnancies, I haven't been able to have my body the way I want it. I'm lucky in that I'm naturally thin, but I'd like to sculpt it better. It's been an incubator and a feeding machine for quite some time now.

*Let the little things go, don't get so annoyed.

* Take the wall paper off the kitchen. This should be a family goal, but if I don't get it started, I don't see anyone else starting it. ::Ahem:: ::cough::.

* Continue to work on my business. Get into more boutiques.

To help me achieve some of these goals I bought this cute planner from Target the other day. I love cute planners. ;)

Last but not least, a quick outfit post. With the cold weather, I haven't gone out much--thus staying in my lounge pants and tops a lot. I haven't been getting ready for the days early in the mornings like I used to. Then again it's hard with a newborn and a toddler that wake up around the same time, and taking Serena to school. Nothing special, but I thought I'd share anyways so you can see where I'm at about 2 months postpartum. I will do a more detailed postpartum update at about 4 months. Yesterday I worked out and danced for about 45 minutes and I plan on staying at it at least 5 days a week.

Never too early to wear bunnies

It looks like Mariam is digging for treasure in the second picture. Ha-ha! Most of the pictures I got were of her crying so it had to do. This adorable pink bunny dress was a gift for Mariam from one of H's co-workers and it's absolutely adorable. You can find it on sale for $7.59 at Children's Place here. What a steal! Layla's ballerina slippers from Macy's can be found here. I just love dressing little girls. It's so much fun--I know I say this all the time.

Last week the girls and I went to the mall and I ended up really just looking at clothes for them. In the end I just walked out with a lipgloss that was on sale at Victoria's Secret. Womp...womp. I fail at shopping for myself now.

Hello little leopard bear

You can find this adorable Carter's animal print outfit here.

Roses are red, violets are blue...

Since Thursday I've been busy sewing and marketing my Valentine's Bibs for my shop. I just love them. :)

I want to offer my lovely blog readers a discount of $4.00 off any of my sweetheart bibs From now until Valentine's Day 2/14/12. Just use coupon code: PINK4

I haven't made any of my sweetheart bibs in boy colors, but if you would like one, I would be happy to make a custom one for you! Just browse the boy bibs I currently have, pick a fabric and email me.

http://www.fhjbaby.com

Obsessed

 

Clear clutch from Shourouck

Spring 2013

www.style.com



Little red coating hood

Coating hood. Ha! You like that? I made it up myself. Somewhere in the universe, an english teacher is shaking her head at me.

 I've been obsessed with little coats for Layla this season, and this little fleece set from Amazon with the little leopard trim was super cute and cheap on Amazon. You can find the set here. You can also see another one of her adorable coats here. I liked the top it came with, but the pants I did not like. I don't like putting brown on Layla, but the pants also didn't fit that great. the band on the waist was too tight.

Mariam Month 2

Weight

I'm not sure what her weight is, but she has definitely gained. She's heavier and much longer. Her head is actually peeking out of the bjorn now.

Health

So far so good and I hope it stays that way for a long time. One thing I've noticed is that she has started to get some little red bumps on her cheeks and some dry skin, but that's completely normal. Also, I think the little salmon patches she has on her forhead and nose have lightened a little. According to the pedi and from what I've read, they will continue to fade over the next few months. My godson had some too when he was born and by the time he was one, they were hardly noticeable and would only appear a little when he was upset and crying.

Sleep

Since December 11th Mariam has pretty much been sleeping through the night. Hallelujiah! Praise the lawd! I know the date because I started tracking her sleeping on my phone. She's been giving us 5 to 6 hour stretches and when she does wake up, she gets a quick diaper change, a feeding, and then she goes back to bed for a couple of hours. However she refuses to go down for the night until it's at least almost midnight, but then she's down. It's better than waking up every 2-3 hours. Layla was the poor night time sleeper till she was 9 months, so I'm really glad Mariam is doing better at night.

Clothes

Mariam isn't the chunkiest, but she is long. She has been wearing 3 month clothes since she was a month and a half.

Diet

Milk! As I mentioned in the last monthly check in, I cut out dairy but not completely. I can have a little bit of cheese or products that have diary but that's it. I made the mistake of having too much swiss cheese Christmas Eve and we both paid for it. Her colic has been much better though. One thing I've noticed about Mariam is that she doesn't like to feed very long, but she likes to feed often. Sometimes I feel like I might as well just walk around with my shirt off at home...

Crying

Her colic has gotten much better but there are still times where she goes through these crying episodes and it's a lot of work to get her to calm down. She still has a hard time laying quietly on her own and wants to be held constantly. She prefers you carry her in a way that's most uncomfortable for you...that means you better walk around cradling her the way she likes it. Don't think you can cheat either and sit on the couch and simulate the way it feels when you are walking. Oh no. That will not fly in her world.

Milestones

She is gaining strength in her neck and her arms have better control. I don't have to put the mittens on her anymore because she stopped scratching her face. It cracks me up how you can tell she's about to start fussing. She starts making these little "eh" sounds and her arms start moving really fast. We call them crazy arms...I guess you have to see it to understand.

Products I'm loving this month

The bjorn has been a lifesaver. I wear it in the house and take it with me wherever we go. I'm able to accomplish a lot with it. For example, I'm wearing her right now as I'm writing this. :)

Another product I'm loving is chamomile tea. I've been drinking 1-2 cups a day and I like to think it's helped her with her stomach. I can't be for sure, but either way I find the tea so refreshing and relaxing.

 

How to make a baby

 

Two weeks ago I came across this photo series taken by canadian photographer Patrice Laroche and I've been meaning to share it. Ha-ha! Makes me wish I would of come up with something like this. I love how he made his shoe fall off too. So creative!

2012: A year in review

2012 was an awesome year for my family and I. It really was and I'm almost a little sad to see it go. Layla turned one, Serena turned 10 and we welcomed Mariam into the world. I quit my job of 8 yrs in January to become a stay at home mom and I started my own business later in the year. H got a promotion and our families are healthy. I really couldn't of asked for anything more of 2012.

 

The year started out quietly with just Layla and I during the day and Serena at school.

 

 

There was family trips.

A surprise pregnancy.

Layla turned one.

 

Serena had her second ballet recital

 

My belly continued to grow.

I started my own online boutique FHJ Baby

 

 

We welcomed Mariam into the world.

 

 

A great year indeed.