giveaway!!! cio prints

GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED!  CHECK BACK TO SEE IF YOU'VE WON!  GOOD LUCK!

i'm so exciting to be hosting my 2nd giveaway ever!  this giveaway comes to you from cio prints!  cio prints is an atlanta-based company (and if you don't know, that's where my heart is) that specializes in diy party invites!  not just any diy party invites- adorable diy party invites.  

 

see, i told you they were adorable..

here's how it works, and it's so easy.  1.  purchase a listing on etsy.  2.  leave detailed information during the checkout project (who, what, when, where, etc), plus you can modify colors!  3.  wait 24-48 hours for your proof.  4.  make changes or approve.  5.  receive your digital file to print your invites from your home!  basically, they're as customizable as you want!  

don't have a birthday coming up?  throwing another bash- say a baby shower or 4th of july blowout- cio prints has you covered.  they have tons of cute designs to choose from- you can even include a photo with some designs.  they don't stop at invitations though- they also specialize in little details to make the party extra special- goody bag labels, cupcake toppers & birthday banners.  besides the cute invites, one of my favorite items are the mommy calling cards- adorbs!

so you wanna win?  one (1) winner will receive a (from within the shop) diy digital download.  you can customize colors, arrangement and party info.  you receive your file and print at home!  printing services are available, but must be purchased separately.

also cio prints is offering EVERYONE will receive a 25% discount on their purchase!  ohbabyitsababy readers can receive a discount through the end of the YEAR(!) just by entering PARTYTIME at checkout!

winner must respond within a week after winning or i will have to draw someone else.  after that, winners have 30 days to claim or reserve (for a later date) their prize.  winners drawn via random.org

there are a few ways to win:

1.  you must be a follower of ohbabyitsababy- so leave a comment with your follower name thru gfc or bloglovin' (mandatory)

2.  visit cio prints on etsy- tell me what your favorite item is (optional- but recommended!)

3.  heart them on etsy, like them on facebook or follow on twitter (or do all  3!)  (optional)

4.  tweet or share this giveaway on facebook (optional).  sample tweet:  enter to win a customizable diy digital download for print-at-home invites from @cioprints hosted by @mcmellll 

so there you have it, 4 simple ways to enter & win!!  this giveaway will be open until 11:59 pm tuesday night (5.31).  i will announce a winner next wednesday (6.01)!  

good luck!

vote for our pic to win!

as you are reading this we are entered into a contest hosted by modern bird studios on their facebook page.  we had ian's 1 year pics made a few weekends ago and i can't wait to share them with you... but for now... here is a preview... this is the photo i chose for the contest...

seriously, he is so cute you'll wanna slap yo mama....

we would really love this picture to be made into a beautiful modern bird piece... and that's where we need your help!!  it's so easy.

1.  like modern bird on facebook
2.  find our little guy's picture and like it!  update:  we're photo #110

easy!!

i'd love you forever if you voted, but i already do...

cute as pie

besides colder weather, sweaters, great boots, and football... one thing i think of when i think of fall is all of the delicious food and baked goods that come with the holiday season.  one of my favorites: pie.  i am a fan of pie- pumpkin, apple, cherry, etc.  i'm not picky.  when i came across this pie pan at macy's, i just had to have it

image

absolutely adorable.  it's from the martha stewart collection- which always has new and interesting kitchenware, gadgets and accessories (i have her to thank for outfitting my kitchen in "martha stewart blue").  the bottom of the pie pan reveals a recipe for pumpkin pie!  you'll want to start serving pie asap just to cut away and reveal the bottom of your pan!  we went ahead and purchased this for a family member for christmas, but if i accidentally ended up keeping it for myself... oops.  there was also an accompanying apple pie dish, but i can't seem to locate it anywhere, which is really upsetting because macy's has a habit of discontinuing it's msc, and this is a relatively new item (i'm still upset about the kitchenaid mixer discon.).  it sure beats a boring old glass or metal pie pan!  get it now while it's available, and on sale for only $14.99- what a steal!

i also saw this pan, and couldn't resist showing it...

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happy baking!  what pies (or other goodies) are you looking forward to making this fall?

halloween

our halloween didn't exactly turn out as we expected- ian got hurt, and we weren't able to take him trick or treating. 

but, he was the cutest pickle ever.  ever.

 

beautiful boy

so, totally on a whim, we enter ian in a beautiful baby contest b\c a friend suggests it to us.  it's online, there are over 14,000 entrants, it's insanity. plus, only 1 winner gets picked per market (27 total) to move on to the national competition.  i thought it would at least be fun...

well, wouldn't you  know it... HE WON! 

we are now one of 26 finalists for the national beautiful baby contest with a prize of $5,000!!!!  of course, it seems crazy that we beat out so many people, but 26 other babies to beat now seems impossible. 

YOU can help!!

please, please vote for ian if you have the time.  you can vote 1x per day, per email address!! 

help our cutie if you can!!!

vote HERE

nyah, nyah

someone's "found" their tongue!

week 9

here is the rundown on the events that happened during week 8-9 in baby's life!

the week started out on st. patty's day. after much searching, i found a really cute outfit for ian, but he had pooped in it before i was able to get pictures. luckily, i wash baby clothes all week long, so we pretended it was st. patty's day again on thursday night! we also had baby massage class that day- and ian decided to sleep through the entire class, so i had to massage a doll instead. he's really missing out!

thursday, the ncaa tourney started. husband and i are in a pool that his friend chris runs every year, and then i am in a separate pool that my brother's friend chase runs. seeing that i picked kansas, i lost my winner on saturday (not good). although dave is in position to easily win the pool we're in together- and although it hurts my pride to lose, i'll take money in any form! hopefully this weekend we'll continue to have wins!

it was pretty warm most of this week, so we were able to take several walks outside. we went 3 times, twice in the stroller, and once in the backpack. ian usually conks out during these walks, plus it's a good workout for lazy mommy...

of course, all this delicious warmness came with a price. saturday was the first day of spring, and you would know that it would snow all day long. we also celebrated the 4th birthday of our nephew, christian. it was also a celebration for ian though- he turned 2 months old on saturday! can you believe it? because i most certainly can't! it's so hard to believe it's already been 2 wonderful, crazy months!

ian has continued to sleep well through the night, and he has improved some with his naps. sometimes he takes a 2 hour nap, and sometimes it's 30 minutes. we're still sort of doing the 4 s's. this was going well until ian decided he didn't want to be swaddled anymore. period. i had been trying to decide how long i wanted to swaddle him, and i figured at least until he was 3 months. he is still wild with his arms, and the swaddle helps control him. he started getting really fussy when we would swaddle him because he couldn't move his arms, so i'd leave one arm out, and he was doing fine. a few days later though, that didn't even satisfy him, so we left both arms out... that didn't work either. we took him out of the swaddle, transferred him to his sleep sack, and boom, he was asleep immediately. so, swaddle time is over, although i think he really needs it, but he's obviously not going to sleep anymore with it on.

monday was ian's 2 month check up. we got him up that morning to notice he had used his face like a cat uses a scratching post. his skin has been dry since he was born, but the dr. didn't seem too concerned. this time it was different- ian has eczema. it went from being dry every now and then to totally patchy- which is probably why he's clawing his face up. we've started a treatment with aquaphor all over his body, and we have him wearing little mittens at night (this is why i think he still needs the swaddle). the mittens have helped with fingernail scratches, but they contribute to another ian habit which is rubbing his eyes when he's tired. instead of just falling asleep ian likes to rub his eyes for 10 or 15 minutes until he can't stand to have them open anymore. this doesn't help when you have mittens on because it's 10-15 minutes of fabric rubbing against his face. he gets so red. we may be looking into the woombie.

ian's check up went very well. he's 10 lbs, 5 oz (25th percentile) and 23 3/4 in (75th-90th percentile)!! if he's going to be tall, he certainly didn't get it from his mom or dad... he also had vaccinations. i didn't think i would cry, but i was wrong. he had 5 total vaccines which were combined into an oral medication and 3 shots. poor baby. he turned 100 shades of red and then let out the most heart-breaking cry ever. afterward, he slept pretty much the rest of the day except for feedings, and was a little fussy, but overall, i'd say things went pretty well.

now, my favorite part... pictures! we took WAY too many pictures this week, and i just can't pick a few. my kid is so darn cute!!

it was school spirit week in our house. perhaps in honor of the tourney. here's an homage to daddy's team- they're actually good enough to make the tournament

best. picture. ever. i will laugh until i cry every time i see this!

wearing mommy's team colors. he's clearly cuter in red!

here's proof of how much he's grown if you compare this to bath pictures from a few weeks ago!

my sweet little boy!

happy st. patrick's day!

walking with mommy!

2 months

2 months... again!

hanging out with my cousin, annie!

here's what happens when i don't have my mittens on!

in bed with my sleep sack and my mittens

snoozing, per usual

Week 2

I'm still sleeping a lot...

Got your tickets to the gun show?


I either look like i'm perfecting some dance moves, or like a little monkey!

I cannot believe it's been 2 weeks already. You went back to the Dr. and you're up to 6 lbs 9 oz. Still not fitting into your NB clothes, but you were too big, or should I say, long, for most of the preemie clothes we bought you!! You are sleeping a lot, and you are finally starting to get this eating thing down- and mommy is getting the feeding thing down- although it caused both of us our fair share of tears in the beginning. You are doing well at tummy time, although you really don't like it much, and you're getting into a good pattern, and sometimes, sometimes sleeping in a 5 hour stretch at night! You're also more alert during your waketime. You do all sorts of cute things- oh, who am I kidding, everything you do is cute!!