Baby Life - A few of my Favorite Things

Life with a kid goes so fast. I wish I had been better about writing things down with Ryley's milestones but I always forget and by the time I remember I forget when it actually happened. Same thing goes for our favorite baby items and toys. So here is my post of trying to get the list out of my head and down on "paper".

Newborn stage:

• Rock 'N Play - this was one of my FAVORITE things. I didn't use it as a bassinet but would put her in it while Matt and I ate, I needed to go to the bathroom, really anytime. Ryley never liked the vibrating but she loved the rocking. It was a serious lifesaver and it was inexpensive. I highly recommend this one
• Sound machine - there are a billion options but I think anything that has multiple types of sound options will work. Ryley still uses this for naps
• Boogie wipes
• G Diapers - I LOVE these things. We wanted cloth diapers but they were so big on Ryley. These come in 4 sizes and actually fit her well. Plus they hold more than disposables, and of course have far less waste

Infant stage:

• Monkey bouncy seat - once Ryley was too big for the rock 'n play we got this seat. Ryley had so much fun reaching for the monkeys and bouncing. This seat was quite useful when I needed to take a shower :)
• Pacifier clips as toy clips - I happen to think this idea is genius! We use the pacifier clips and put them on toys and clip them to Ryley so she can't toss them. This is great for restaurants, walks, etc. It's also been really useful for teething toys
• Gum brush - speaking of teething toys, this has been Ryley's favorite
• Korean play mat - this thing is mostly for me, it's squishy and comfy for me plus good for Ryley crawling. I like it more than the puzzle type ones because it's thicker, Ryley can't take it a part and it's easy to clean
• Usborne Touch & Feel Books - Ryley loves books and these are some of her favorite!

Toddler stage:

• Little People ride on - Anything that plays music Ryley loves but this one especially
• Bubble Gum Machine - It was amazing watching her learn how to use this toy. How to put the balls in the top and press the leaver to release the balls
• Kid Chair - She loves grabbing a book and climbing into her little Pottery Barn chair, so stinking cute! I also got another from Target. She loves both
• My First Touch & Feel Cards - My dad got her the First Words edition for her birthday and she loved them so much we got her the rest of the set. They have great questions for parents to ask their kids too. She isn't to that point yet but we will get there

Once I publish this I'll probably think of other things that I love but for now these are some of the things I want to make sure my fiends know about :)

What are some of your favorite things?

Married Life - We bought a house!

Wow I can't believe it happened but we've finally purchased our first home! When we first moved to San Jose our plan was to only stay for a couple of years and then move on to Austin. We even spent a weekend down there and checked out open houses. Pretty crazy what you can get for your money there!

Back to our new home...we finally bit the bullet and just went for it! The house is a great starter home. 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom at 1600 sq ft. It's a cute little house with a bit of spanish flare. Before move in we worked on the house, the previous owners had a few interesting things set up in the house.

Before move in we, as in 98% Matt, we worked on -
1) Garage: They had built a laundry room in the garage so you couldn't park in there. We took down that room and then need to put in some extra rafters to support storage in the top of the garage to house all my decorations

2) Family Room: In the 70's they put in a conversation pit around their fireplace. They raised the floor and then dug in a hole for the pit. We had to pull up all the flooring, fill in the hole with dirt and concrete, grind down the concrete that was under to be smooth, patch in dry wall, lay new floor and put in a new sliding glass door. This one is a big project, we aren't done yet but it's been fun and really hard so far!

3) Outside: They had an old rotting wooden deck in the back. I took it out, BY MYSELF!! Woot woot, go me :) So eventually we are going to put down a tile porch and build a pergola. It's going to be very fun and relaxing place once we are done!

Can't believe we did it! But we love our neighborhood and our house, even though it still needs some work. We are so excited to have our own home :)