Weaning - It's not all roses

My Baby Girl is not a baby anymore. She has turned a year old (and then some), has begun her version of talking, and walking, and drinking regular whole milk. We love our nursing relationship, but I am realizing she is demanding the breast when she doesn't need it. Many nights I have woken up multiple times with her just to have her nurse for 5 minutes or so before passing back out. I am not sure why she is waking so many times these nights. I know she can sleep through the night or wake just once, eat a little and then go back to sleep for the rest of the night. She has done this as well, but it is rarer than waking 2-5 times a night.
We have already gotten ourselves down to nursing just at night, but I am not so sure that this is best at this point. I have loved nursing, and all the benefits for both of us, but I also look forward to nights spend fully in my bed without trips to LJ and BG's room to rock and nurse she back to sleep. I know she needs to learn to sooth herself, and I am having the hardest time with that as well.
This mommy is so torn about what to do and how best to do it.
How did you wean your baby from nursing for the sake of the feel of it? How old were your little ones when you weaned or they decided to wean?
And on the other note: How did you get your nursing child to learn how to sooth themselves to sleep at night?
It seemed so much easier with LJ because he was already on a bottle, so that never changed for him. He also got used to not being in my arms every time to fall asleep. I need your help!


Until next time.... Happy mommy-ing.

Disney World... here we come!

Okay, well it is going to be a few months before we actually head down to Florida to Disney World, but the planning and excitement have already begun. Since LJ was born, we have known that Hubby's parents want to take LJ to Disney. When we found out Baby Girl was on her way, we knew we were going to wait a bit. Now we are at a point where we need to go this coming fall/winter or LJ will be in school. Yes, I said it... school.

Courtesy: @cdharrison on flickr

We head to Florida in the fall and winter months. Heat and I do not mix. November and January are the two months that we are considering to take our trip. That means that I have 9-11 months to plan and prepare for our trip (with of course the help of my in-laws and Hubby).
What this had meant for me right now is that my head is spinning with what to pack and have on had to occupy an almost 2 year old and a 4.5 year old for a long car or plane ride. This is where pinterest in coming in handy. I have already created a few boards to help me in my quest to find things that will keep the kiddos occupied and content for whichever form of transportation we take.

Where has the year gone?!

My little baby is a year old! I can't believe it. She has grown up so much. Monday night we even noticed that she cut her third tooth. Yes, she now has three. We go to have her 1 year well check Thursday. I can only imagine what her numbers are going to be like. At 10 months she already weighed more than LJ did at a year.

So, like many parents (well, moms) I have been planning a big party for this Saturday. The past few weeks have been so hectic that most of the planning has had to wait until this week. Before now I basically only had decorations planned out.Let me just say that I totally LOVE Pinterest.  All of the centerpieces below had at least some part of them inspired by something I saw on pinterest. :)

Being as "crafty" as some may say, I wanted to make BG's dress for her party. I thought it would be super cute. Well, that was more of a pain than I anticipated. Now, her dress looks like this:

Actually, that isn't totally true. After I took this picture, I tried putting it on BG. Well, the dress I used as a template was a knit, this was not. I had to go back in and add a zipper to the back. I have not tried it on her yet, I am thinking I better get on that.
Time has flown by so fast this past year. My baby girl has grown like a weed. She has gotten teeth, learned to crawl at a jogging pace, and even take a few steps before deciding that crawling is faster every time. She has gone from wearing preemie clothes to 12 month clothes, almost skipping 9 months entirely. Her smiles and laughter are contagious every time. Her smiles, waves, and everything melts my heart. Now my baby isn't going to be a baby but she is quickly crawling toward toddler-hood.
To my Sweet Baby Girl,
 I love you very much and I can't believe you have been here for a year now. I can't wait to see where His path leads you. Happy Birthday my Sweet Baby Girl.

Growing Lynifer

Lynifer has been my small business since around the time that LJ was born. It has remained quite small. Now things might move a little more and new doors are opening for me and my business. This really excited me and I can't wait to see where we end up in this venture. With new doors, comes the desire to put my best foot forward and do what I can to be as professional as possible.
First, let me start with the doors that have opened. There is a new shop that will be opening up in our neighboring town. It is going to be a "thrift and gift" shop. My sister-in-law happens to know one of the ladies who is heading up this new venture and she asked me if I would like her to pass my name along. Of course I am not one to pass down an opportunity like this. Now the shop lady and I have been in contact and quite possibly, Lynifer could be in a store! Not only will I have my Etsy "store front" but I will be in an actual brick and mortar shop. I love how this can have so many possibilities for me and Lynifer and it could take us in so many directions.
This has had my head reeling with ideas and thoughts about the business. What to make, what people would buy, how much this could get my name out there, maybe making a new logo, and then how things have changed since I last ordered business cards. Yes, I have business cards for Lynifer, but they are from when things first began. I have changed things along the way and added Esty as my storefront. I figure I should maybe get some new cards that will reflect the most current face of Lynifer.
Another thing that I thought might be nice to do is create a logo for Lynifer. Something that I can put on tags and be/feel more official. I brought this up to Hubby who set to work on ideas. At first our trains of thought were going in completely different directions, but then we were able to converge onto one track and roll with it. I am happy to say that Lynifer now has a brand new logo and you are the first to see it (outside of Hubby and I)

I give mad props to my Hubby for making this logo for me. I just love it. I wanted something to show that I deal with sewing, but to be understated and classy. This is what will soon be appearing on the tags of pieces made by Lynifer. I also have a logo that is just the needle and "L". I think I will use that for things that will have smaller tags.
So, what do you think? Also, anything you would love to see made by Lynifer?

Win an iPad2 or Kindle Fire!

During my last giveaway you may have noticed that I used a new method for entries. Rafflecopter is a great new platform for running giveaways and right now they are hosting a Launch Party.

Rafflecopter makes the whole process of running giveaways on your blog really, really easy. Over 80,000 giveaways have been created with Rafflecopter, and if you didn’t know yet, there’s a new version in town! Oh yeah, it’s free. If you haven’t used Rafflecopter, sign up and launch a giveaway in the matter of minutes.

To start the new year in style those at rafflecopter are running their own giveaway. For a month you can enter their giveaway to win an iPad2 or a Kindle Fire. Let them know that Lynifer's Blog sent you and then if you win, I win! The referring blogger of the winner will also receive a Kindle Fire.
I want to spread the word about this great giveaway because I have tried Rafflecopter and I love it. It has made things so easy to run a giveaway, but also to enter them. I must say, I am sort of becoming a snob when it comes to entering giveaways because Rafflecopter has made it so easy. I really tend to only enter ones that are being run through this widget.
Did you also know that they are trying to name their mascot? During this big giveaway, one of the methods of entry is to suggest a name for their mascot. If your suggestion is picked, you win a Kindle Fire.
The giveaway runs from January 9th at 1201 am until February 9th at 1201 am. It is open to US and Canadian residents. What are you waiting for?! Go ahead and enter!


a Rafflecopter giveaway