Holiday Cards with Basic Invite

Thank you to Basic Invite for sponsoring this post. All opinions included are completely my own.

Hands down, one of my favorite things about the Christmas Season is sending and receiving greeting photo cards. I absolutely love to see how families have grown and it always warms my heart to see the smiling faces of so many people that I love. It is also fun for me to look back through the cards that I send out each year and see how my own family has grown and changed.

Greeting cards are so incredible nowadays with limitless customizable options for you. Websites make it easy for you to personalize your holiday cards with your own unique style and preferences. This year, we decided to trust our prized Christmas cards to Basic Invite and we are so pleased. We've used Basic Invite in the past for thank you notes, so I already knew how fabulous the products would be.

One of my favorite things about Basic Invite is that they have almost unlimited color options for you to choose from. To any men reading this, you might not even realize that there are 180 different color options in the world, but all the women know what I'm talking about! When selecting your cards, you can choose from 180 color choices to make the card exactly how you prefer. Once you select your design, you can change the color of each element (down to the smallest detail). I prefer more of a crimson color instead of a bright red, so I chose the color Cardinal to use on our Christmas cards. It was very helpful that each color sample was large enough for me to see the difference in each color. Another great custom feature is that Basic Invite offers over 40 different colors of envelopes. In addition to all of the color options, they have tons of design options to choose from. I really like their vintage Christmas cards selection. Basically your options are endless when creating cards and invitations.

Basic Invite is a mother's best friend during the holidays for many reasons.

1.) The first is the most important - all of their envelopes are peel and seal so you don't have to lick a single one! And because of the seal, you know that all of your envelopes are securely closed. I've spent way too many years licking envelopes and getting a rather unpleasant taste in my mouth. You don't have to worry about that with Basic Invite. Plus, the peel and seal saves you time!!!!

2.) They offer an address capturing service. You can share a link on any of your social media sites and request that your friends and family give you their address to be stored in your Basic Invite account. This is so helpful! Also Basic Invite offers recipient address printing at no cost on all Christmas card orders (another time saver). You can customize the fonts of your address printing as well.

3.) You can have your cards mailed out for you! Short on time? Select this option and have the cards delivered to your friends and family without having to worry about stuffing envelopes yourself. And don't worry, you will still be able to see what your cards look like because they also offer custom samples. You can order a printed sample so you know exactly how the cards will look and feel.

4.) Return address printing is also included. No need to worry about ordering return address labels separately, you can have your return address printed directly onto each envelope at no additional cost. We really liked this feature because we recently moved and I was able to customize our return address to let everyone know we have a brand new one.

I love Basic Invite for the quality of their cards, the almost limitless customization options and the ease of using their website. As a busy mom, I'm often short on time and Basic Invite helped me save time because the ordering process is so simple.

Now through the holiday season you can save 30% your order when you use coupon code holi30. Want to save even more money? Check out this link to see their cheap holiday cards to really save some dough.

And once the holidays are over, for goodness sake, please don't throw away all of those precious cards from your friends and family. Check out this blog post I wrote last year about how I save all of the cards we receive and enjoy them year round!

Thank you to Basic Invite for also including a little bonus for me with my order. They printed an ornament with a photo of the kids for me to keep. I immediately hung it on my upstairs formal tree because the colors matched perfectly! How did they know I had a white, black and gold Christmas tree? :)

9 Months Old

Here we are at 9 months old - it happened in the blink of an eye!!!!

Stats: We had Knox's 9 month check up last week and he weighed in at 19 pounds, 12 ounces and is 28 inches tall. He is around the 50th percentile for height and weight. This cracks me up because almost everyone who sees him comments on how chunky he is - I wonder what they would say about all of the babies who are in a higher percertile?!?!

Development: Knox is a very fast crawler and we think it will only be a matter of time before he picks up walking. He pulls himself up to standing at every chance he gets as he prefers to stand. He also cruises around the ottoman and the length of the bathtub. His gross motor skills are developing so nicely! Also in the fine motor skills department, he is perfecting his pincer grasp and can easily pass toys back and forth between his hands. If we cover something up or hide an object, he is aware that it has been hidden and will try to find it. He is very verbal and makes lots of noises all day long. He hasn't put too many consonant sounds on his noises yet, although we have heard a -y sound a few times (ya ya). He can finally hold his own bottle to feed himself too!

Loves: As I've mentioned almost every other month, Knox loves to eat. He hasn't refused any foods at all! Now that we are giving him more table food (more on that below), he gets really excited when it is time to eat. And of course, he still loves his sister. When we go to pick her up from school, I always see him trying to lean forward in his car seat so he can see her when she gets in the car. It is adorable. He prefers to be around his sister any chance he gets.

Dislikes: The boy is consistent, the two reasons he will get fussy are when he is tired or hungry. Other than that, he is a pretty happy baby and doesn't dislike much else.

Sleeping: His sleeping has improved drastically. He is a more consistent napper now and usually takes a really good nap in the morning followed by a shorter nap in the afternoon. He occasionally needs a quick cat nap around 5 p.m., but it doesn't happen everyday. His bedtime is anytime between 7 and 7:30 p.m. and most of the time he will sleep until 6:45 or 7 a.m. Every now and again he will wake up crying around 5 a.m., but he is getting better at putting himself back to sleep.

Diapers: Size 3 Pampers Swaddles are what he is currently wearing. I think he will be in this size for awhile.

Eating: As mentioned above, he loves to eat. He hasn't refused anything I've given. I can definitely tell if he doesn't like something as it will take him longer to eat, but he will still eat it (this is true for green beans). We are giving him table food as often as possible. He devoured some chicken spaghetti and broccoli cheese soup. I think he really likes that we are giving him more food that we eat! He's unsure if he likes bananas and avocado; it might be a texture thing for him. We had pizza the other night and gave him some bits of sausage that he really liked! He still drinks a bottle of breastmilk four times a day, but the amount is decreasing as we continue to give him more table food.

Clothing: Size 9 months and 12 months are what he wears mostly. But he can actually still fit in a few 6 month pieces. Since we have had a lot of really cold days, I keep him in fleece pajamas as much as possible. They help to keep him warm and also make it easier for me to change him. I haven't put any shoes on him yet, but I think I will start since I'm sure he will be walking soon.

Miscellaneous: The kid is constantly on the move and does not like to sit still for anything. Diaper changes have become increasingly hard because he doesn't want to hold still for any amount of time. I keep reading articles that say separation anxiety will start to develop around this age, but Knox continues to love people and has shown no sign of just wanting to stay with me. He is very similar to his Daddy and has not met a stranger. Knox especially loves men with beards as we think the beard reminds him of his Daddy (and it is also something he can grab onto!).
It is amazing to me how different my children are. Knox is VERY curious and gets into everything unlike his sister when she was this age. He touches anything in sight and recently pulled a lamp off a table and knocked over a vase. Luckily he didn't get hurt by either incident, but he is keeping us on our toes.

Pajama Gift Guide

Happy Thanksgiving Week!!!!

If you are anything like me, you've already made plans to get comfy and cozy this week while you relax and spend time with family. And maybe when you look at your comfy clothes you realize that your pajama game is not so strong. Well, I am here to help you out!!! Because if there is one thing I know, its how to be comfy in style.

I've compiled a huge list of my favorite items right now. From loungewear to sleep sets to robes and slippers and even super soft throw blankets, I've got you and your shopping list covered. I even included some cute holiday coffee mugs, because nothing goes better with loungewear than a hot cup of coffee.

I must tell you that the Plush-Knit Lounge Joggers you see below are a dream. They are so soft, wash really well and come in three colors. I already have them in black and I will most certainly be scooping them up in the wine color as well.

In the slipper department, I bought both this pair and this pair last year and cannot decide which I love more. I'm all about blush this season, so I'll certainly be grabbing a blush pair this year too.

So scroll through this list and click "add to cart." Everything you see below is super affordable; you won't break the bank with these purchases. I give you permission to go ahead and buy several things for that fab gal pal you might be shopping for.

And if you see anything below that you want to add to your own Christmas list, feel free to forward this post along to anyone you like. Just call me your little pajama elf!

Ready for Anything with Britax B-Ready G3 Stroller

Thank you Britax for sponsoring this post. We have always been fans of Britax; all opinions expressed are completely my own.

Get ready for this mamas, because I'm about to introduce you to what I consider to be THE stroller that you need in your life. Feast your eyes upon the Britax B-Ready G3 Stroller. This stroller is perfect for almost everyone. Whether you just have one baby or two small children or twins, this stroller conforms to meet your needs.

First I must say that we have been a Britax family for over five years now. When I was pregnant with my first child, we did a lot of research on strollers and car seats and we determined that Britax was the brand for us. Their safety standards are unparalleled. In fact, Britax engineers their products to exceed the safety standards set by the federal government for car seats. They conduct twice the number of tests required so we as parents can feel secure knowing that these seats have been tested and retested for safety. Plus, Britax is continually enhancing their products with new technologies that distribute crash forces away from your child during a crash. You can read a thorough description of their safety standards on their website.

We've always been pleased with our Britax items and have found them very easy to use. We recently started using the Britax B-Ready G3 Stroller and are blown away by the features included. I'll break everything down for you below.

Halloween Through The Years

Happy Halloween Eve!!!

I thought it would be fun to share our costumes through the years. We make all of our own costumes and I've become quite proud of our creations. This is Tolar's absolute favorite holiday and it has also become Kendall's favorite. In full disclosure, until I met Tolar I never really celebrated it because I do not like anything scary. However, once Kendall was born and we decided to dress in theme for our costumes, I have developed a love for Halloween. I even remarked this year that I love how creative we are becoming and I look forward to the time that Tolar and I spend putting the finishing touches on the costumes.

I do have to give credit where credit is due. My mom has helped us create some of these costumes due to her wonderful sewing skills and we are so thankful. She luckily has taught me some sewing knowledge and thanks to being a theatre major in college I picked up even more. Maybe next year I will actually get my sewing machine set up in our house so I don't have to bother my mother.

It is fun to look back and remember the awesome times we had. It is also fun to see how my photography and staging have improved over the years.

2013 - Kendall's first Halloween
Super Mom, Diaper Decimator and Captain Chaos
All of these costumes were created on the fly, using items we had around our house.