and she turned into a beautiful butterfly

Like that our baby is one!

We had an awesome day and Miss A was totally spoiled.

Mum & Dad decorated their house

  

and there was loads of food

  

and cake

    

and of course our gorgeous little caterpillar

who was spoiled and got lots of new goodies including this

Now onto planning the next birthday (which is February for Miss K’s 6th!)

What to get a 1 year old

Disclaimer – I’m not receiving anything for the products I link to. They are just ideas or products I personally own or sites I have bought from before.

My goodness, that has snuck up fast! Miss A will be one in a couple of months. I’m so not ready.

We’ll be doing lots of birthday prep sharing soon but today I wanted to share a list I’m working on that I thought might be useful for other mums of littlies – what to get a 1 year old

We’ll be asking guests to Miss A’s party to not buy toys this year. Now don’t get me wrong – toys are awesome but we have heaps. Boxes of toys that belonged to Miss K, most of which are still in great condition. Miss K and I will be sorting them soon into toys to keep for Miss A, toys that have sentimental value, teddy bears (cause you never get rid of teddy bears lol), toys to give to the needy (cause I really want to instil this in my girls each year before birthdays and Christmas but more on that another time) and stuff that can just get chucked out.

So what does one buy for a 1 year old that isn’t toys? With the help of the internet, mums in my birth group, friends and family, I’ve compiled this list of handy non toy suggestions for you.

• Books. Kids can never have too many books. Write a little note inside to the recipient with the month & date.
• Clothing. Check with the parents for size/season recommendations or if they have any preferences
• Vouchers. Grab a voucher parents can use to buy baby goods – things like nappies & wipes. Boring but useful.
• Memberships. If you have a zoo nearby grab a membership.
• put some money in their saving account
• A coin set (My mum has done this for Miss K – a set each year since she was born)
• A dish/cup/spoon/fork set
• a little something special for the mum & dad
• Music CDs designed for little kids
• DVDs for kids
• Something my godmother did was to buy me a charm bracelet then a charm each year
• Something personalised – towels, bowls, cups
• An IOU for babysitting/day out with the little person
• Adopt an animal on behalf of a child (eg. through WWF – yeah I know it comes with a toy but it’s sooo cute AND a good cause)
• Have a toy made out of a special piece of baby clothing – like the onesie they came home in. Check out Beary Special Memories
• Something knitted or crocheted. I can recommend the Beanie Bunch
• Pram liners or car seat liners. I can recommend Max & I
• Handmade bibs

Over to you. What non-toy gift would you give a 1 year old?

Updating & some milestones

All is well here. Kara is growing very fast.
Had an appointment with the Child Health nurse today. Kara now weighs 4kg and is 54cm long. The nurse is happy with how Kara is growing :D
Milestones & important dates (up to March 10)
20th Feb – came home
22nd Feb – first Child Health visit. Has gained 120g since leaving hospital.
22nd Feb – first bath at home. Screamed. Not a huge fan of having a bath (or having her nappy off)
22nd Feb – what was left of her cord fell off during a 4.30am feed.
26th Feb – Second Child Health visit. Now weighs 3.56kg 
27th Feb – slept through a thunderstorm (which woke everyone else in the house up)
27th Feb – first major outing. Jonathan’s first birthday party. Slept nearly the whole time.
4th Mar – went to town for the first time. Managed to sleep most of the four hours while we went to Bunnings, Crafty Critters & Kmart.
6th Mar – Another major outing. Great Gran’s 90th birthday. Slept through most of the evening, even with being handed around to a few of the rellies for cuddles.
10th Mar – Another Child Health appointment. Now weighs 4kg. Had foot print taken.