Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Many, Many thanks

Thanks for all the helpful advice.

I really like the idea of toaster or waffle sticks for breakfast... during the week I have to have something I can just give him and leave to get ready... and he has been using a spoon for a couple of months at dinner and last night he seems to really be doing pretty well..

and I am so glad to know other people have the same issues with those bath toys. I think I will just find some other toys. We have one cup in the tub for me to help wash his hair but last night I took MK's advice and gave him 2 more cups and he was fascinated the whole time with pouring water in and out of them... over and over so much he was actually still for me to wash him... it was great... we'll see how long it lasts..

Thanks again

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

A small cry for help!

As a first -time Mom I am always encountering things I just don't know the answer to.... I usually just wait until I see my sister-in-law Amy and ask her but since these few questions have been driving me crazy... I thought I would use this blog to get advice from all Moms:)

1. How do you feed an 18-month old soup!!! Eli loves alot of soups and things like it, ex.. grits, oatmels, etc.... but how can he eat them himself? I don't mind feeding him myself but does that inhibit his self-feeding learning?

2. What can he eat for breakfast? Right now we do fruit, yogurt and cereal bars... of course with the yogurt I have the same problem as question #1. I just feel like the kid needs a little variety... I don't think the kid can look at another cereal bar again... BTW: Eli CANNOT have bananas... or really anything with bananas in it.... Any suggestions? Especially things I don't have to feed him myself.

3. Does anyone else have bath toys that retain water inside to that you can squirt them? If so, how do we keep these things clean inside? I have tried to squirt all the water out after every bath but it seems impossible and if you don't the next time you use them, they gave this nasty black mildew junk that comes out of them... In this area, how do I keep the kid still so that I can actually wash him during bath....

Any help would be awesome!!!

I have discovered one thing that I think is a great invention for Moms:) So I will share in exchange for any advice! Eli LOVES books.. that's all he ever wants to do and I found what they call a book rack on Ebay. I saw one in Pottery Barn kids but it was like $300, so I went searching and found one, a little smaller but much cheaper at $70 from Ebay that comes put together and plain so you can paint or stain it yourself..

Anyway, the point it, this is so perfect for Eli because he loves to pickout books himself so now he can look at all his books together and choose one without dumping the rest of them out, like on a bookshelf... and he can put them back so easily too.... It's so awesome, I wish I had two!

Here's a pic if it doesn't make sense.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Fish, Fish, Fish

This Mother's day, we went to the Chattanooga Aquarium and had a great time. Eli was very intrigued... especially with the otters and butterfly garden... which he calls "Bys"

We missed seeing Gram for Mother's Day, but thought about her all day:)

Here are some aquarium pics:




The seahorses were probably my favorite:)


Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Thank You, Spiderman!

This post may sound funny but I wanted to send a link out to Christy (since she asked to see it) and I love to mark milestones on this blog... It is like a diary for me....

Anyway, there is a website for newspaper designers to post the pages they are proud of and create an online portfolio... Papers from all over the world post their news pages... Every week or so, the creators of this website browse through what people have posted and make a slideshow on the home page... it's kinda an honor to have you page selected.... and I have always wanted to make the slideshow and last week, the Gwinnett Daily Post's weekend Spiderman cover did!!!

(It's been up for a week, so if you click here and it's gone...sorry!) Here's the website

Monday, May 07, 2007

Photography services

Several people have asked in comments about shooting things other than weddings and I didn't know how to respond to them so that they would get it immediately so I thought I would make a post.

I would be more than happy to shoot family and children portraits as well as wedding photography. I don't have a studio at my house, so my suggestion for family or bigger children is outside at a park, etc. I have done a couple of family portraits, as well as baby and children but not enough to make a portfolio.... of course, I did a ton of these kinds of things as a photographer at the paper.

If anyone is interested, you can email me at nicole.puckett@gwinnettdailypost.com

Strawberry fields

We went to Washington Farms this weekend to pick strawberries... More for the experience than the fruit being I haven't done much with the ones we picked.. After we told Eli to eat one, he thought everyone he picked up he had to taste. Funny thing is every strawberry he would pick up he would take one bite out of it and then put it in the bucket. It was hilarious.

anyway, here are some pics.








Thursday, May 03, 2007

New wedding photos

This last weekend, I traveled to Charlotte for the wedding of Anne Marie Cotter to Chris Ashley. It was such a fun experience. The Cotters are close friends of mine and I enjoyed seeing all of them plus my best friends from college. Doesn't get any better:)

Anyway, this link is for any family and friends who might look here for Anne Marie and Chris' pics. They are posted on my weddings site at www.weddingsbynicole.blogspot.com

I would encourage any potential brides to go to that site, but for everyone else, here is a link to their slideshow

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Arranged marriage?

Of course he is a little young but we may have discovered Eli's soulmate:)
Eli met my friend Lauriann and her beautiful daughter Taylor this weekend and it turns out the two have alot in common:) Other than their adorableness, they have similar vocabulary and motor skills....

Plus, is Eli going to find anybody cuter than this girl?


here are some other pics of Taylor... with such a cute subject I couldn't stop taking pics...