I am super excited for my sister in law, Cheryl & her mom, Ruth over at Peck Cloths. They will be having an open house on December 6th (which Kelsi and I will be attending of course!). Check out this fun little announcement I was able to make up for them to advertise the date :)

If you'd like to see more of their selection of cloths and others goods, make sure to check out peckcloths.com and definitely come check out the open house on December 6th.

Since we moved Emma into a new bigger room I've been trying to fill up the space and make it cozy.

It isn't until you become a mom yourself that you can truly truly appreciate the sacrificial love your mother has shown you for so many years. Thanking God for blessing Andrew and I with wonderful, beautiful and faithful mothers. 

Emma is busy learning how to stand up and we think she will be walking by 12 months which will be so much fun this summer! I kinda missed the mark with her 8 month pictures.. but here she is at 9 months.



I have been busy learning embroidery, and LOVING it. I started with a simple hoop design for Emma's door, and now I am working on pillows for our bedroom. If spring gets here fast enough I might have to postpone this "winter" craft and finish the pillows next year, but we will see. Check out my pinterest "Embroidery Love" board for fun and inspiring ideas :)

Woah. That went fast!

Emma is 6 months old, and getting cuter by the day. She likes to Jolly Jump, blow bubbles, chew toys, eat carrots & peas, smile, and most importantly hang out with her hip parents ;). We hope you've had a great past 6 months, ours have been filled with happiness and laughter over this little bundle of joy. Happy 6 months Emma Bean!

CAMPING with babe TIPS :

1. Bring a play yard.
2. Hammocks are key.
Emma LOVED laying in the hammock with Andrew or I & it gave us some relaxing down time too.
3. Stay close to home.
We were able to call it quits a bit early (as there was a massive heat wave going through all of Ontario). It was important to be no more then an hour from home, so we could make a quick escape if things got rough.
4. Make sure your site has good access to the water & washrooms.
5. Bring a good stroller.
6. Have warm pjs for babe.

We aren't huge halloween fans here at the Hodgson's, but I couldn't resist putting Emma in this adorable dragon outfit (gifted by Auntie Rita.) Hope you and yours have a fun and safe night. xo

Before Emma turned 4 months old we took her to the beach (more then a dozen times), camping, and flying across the country.

Some would say I am crazy, others "adventurous" but I call it livin' life with my babe. When Emma was born I needed to get out, experience summer and enjoy God's creation. I knew outings would change when we had a baby, but I was determined to make it work and still enjoy time with family and friends.

I've tried to compile some notes and tips on traveling with your babe. I'll have to break it up into three posts, starting with...

BEACH DAYS!!

Emma was 4 weeks old when she had her first trip to the beach. Here are some things I found useful for her many beach trips:

1. Make sure YOU are comfortable.
I wore a maternity suit (with a comfy t-shirt and shorts in the beginning) that I had from doing water yoga when pregnant. The suit made me feel comfortable in my "new body" and covered me up well. I think it is important to feel at ease with yourself before walking into a new adventure with your baby - if your relaxed, they will be relaxed. One of my favourite bloggers, Lindsay at Hello Hue wrote a post on "say no to the frump:: 5+ swimsuits that won't make you miss your teeny bikini this summer." It has great links to some great suits that will make you feel good about being at the beach again.

2. Grab some shade.
When we were first married, Andrew and I purchased a beach shade tent (he is a ginger and I am a marshmallow). We needed protection from the sun. Little did we know how absolutely perfect this tent would be for a baby. Emma would nap under our Coleman Beach Shade the entire time at the beach. Make sure you purchase a tent with UV ray protection like this one. The tent also made a perfect hiding place when I had to nurse Emma on the beach :)

3. Bring a carrier.
My mom or I would wear Emma in a carrier while we set up. This worked perfectly, and would give us more hands to carry our gear down to the beach. We use the Snugli front and back carrier, we love it.

4. Have a buddy with you. (or your cute husband if he is available)
I usually went to the beach with my mom, or sister. Andrew is less fond of the beach, and he was usually working when the waters called my name. Having a "buddy" with me was key. These two LOVED holding Emma if I needed a break. Mostly Emma would just sleep in the tent but if she was ever fussy and I still wanted to get a swim in, these two were willing to hold her as long as I needed.

5. Bring lots of blankets.
To sit on, lay your baby on, wrap your baby up if its chilly, or block the sun.

6. Enjoy it and make memories.
Don't be afraid to take some pictures. We moms shy away from the camera too fast and miss out on cute pictures and fond memories.

Andrew and I both had baby books. Over the years I would go and look through my book and check out the time I was born, who brought me gifts, and how much I weighed. My mom even had a lock of hair from my first hair cut (a little creepy, but also cute). We never imagine how neat these books would be when we had Emma. It was so fun to compare and we could finally relate to what our parents had gone through when we were babes.

So it became an important project for me to make Emma a Baby book. I will admit, it can be tedious, with a needy infant in your living room while trying to cut and paste pictures. Also, I am still twisting Andrew's arm to write in his pieces. But its all worth it when I know how much it will mean to her, to look back on when she gets older.

Emma's 3 month old pictures are a little late, as our iMac hard drive decided to kick it at the beginning of September. Leslie (as we call her) has been an amazing iMac for me since i bought her in 2008, so I'm not going to complain too much about the repair. Leslie came home yesterday, so I quickly put together some of the shots I took just after Emma hit her 3 month mark (as Nana was bugging me that I never put any up).

Hope you enjoy these as much as my mom will :) xo

Another month has flown by, and this little girl is growing like crazy. She's up to 23" long and just about 11 lbs, and she's absolutely adorable of course ;)

Before Emma was born I got an iPhone 5 for Christmas. I previously had a 3, but wanted the 5 so that I would be able to capture pictures and videos all day of my little bean. Well - I've successfully filled up my entire phone with Emma Lynn photos - O dear.

So now I have all of these photos on my phone.... what do I do with them? I found a great app by Social Print Studio, called Print Studio. They print your digital photos right from your phone onto beautiful thick matte cardstock and ship it straight to your door with record speed! Now I can take all of my iPhone pictures and put them into albums for safe keeping, to look back on down the road! I LOVE this app.



Another app that I have become very familiar with is Sprout Baby. This app helps me track all of Emma's major milestones, including her Dr. appointments, weight gain, diaper changes, feeding times etc. Its been my go-to app ever since Emma was born and it really helped me adjust to life with baby. Its surprising how hard it is to remember when you fed your baby last - maybe it has something to do with so little sleep ;)

Emma has been growing like a weed. I guess its true when everyone warns you to cherish every moment in the first year, as it flies right on by.

Em is now out of her NB clothes and into 0-3 month sizes. Its a bit of a toss up as she is swimming in some of the 0-3 sizes but the NB are way too tight, can't get them over her wiggling arms anymore.

I find that the brand Carter has always fit our little girl best size wise (although I prefer Baby Gap style wise). Today I went out to one of my favourite places - Once Upon a Child, and bought a few 3 month sized carter onesie's. Once Upon a Child is great for having expensive name brands like Baby Gap, Mexx and Carter's for cheap prices (because its all second hand :). This past trip reminded me of my pinterest board that I started while pregnant with Emma, called "I'd like my children to wear". Its a bit "dreamy" but here are some of my favourite shots from it... so adorable.

Wow, that flew by.




If you'd like to see even more recent pictures of Emma, or would like to stay updated on our lives (because I am so horrible at keeping my blog updated) - be sure follow me on instagram. :)