Penelope's Practical Birthday Wishlist

lol - so some people don't know how to have fun and have already asked that I make a list of practical things that Penelope still needs. These are all items that I have been researching since I was pregnant and have my mind set on getting her sometime this year - so if we got them as gifts, that would be wonderful. So here it is:

This fun item is called the Trunki. It's a child's suitcase that is made of heavy duty materials to allow the child to ride it! You can attach a strap to use it like a wagon and pull your child through the airport. Perfect for going to visit Grandma :)

We have been looking into getting Penny a nice toy box for her bedroom. On the left, we have the Turner toychest by Pottery Barn Kids and on the right, Beat Our Chest found on landofnod.com. Both have excellent reviews and are made to last.

Potty time! I would like to start Penelope on potty training as soon as she starts walking (if she's willing). Clockwise starting with the pink seat we have a Disney Princess foldable training seat. Perfect for keeping in the diaper bag to use in public restrooms or when out visiting. Next is the Potty Bench by Boon. We have a tiny tiny bathroom and literally do not have any extra space for a potty seat, so we would have to keep the seat in either the living room or in Penny's room. This potty has compartments on the sides to fit wipes and toilet paper rolls, so that we can keep all of her potty essentials right with it!
The next two items are both by Baby Bjorn, a training seat and a step stool. These would be for when Penny is a little older and can climb onto the big toilet. Last is a pair of Imse Vimse training pants found on CottonBabies.com.

Penelope has hardwood floors in her bedroom. For now, we have foam puzzle pieces serving as a rug. Eventually I will be moving the pieces downstairs into Penelope's playroom and will be replacing them with either a 3x5 or 5x7 foot chenille rug. The top rug pictured is called the Shaquille Chenille rug from landofnod.com, the next two are both from Pottery Barn Kids: the Border Chenille and the Amy Chenille rug.

The closer we get to Penny's birthday means the closer we get to having a walker on our hands - and with that comes the need to get sensible walking shoes! Clockwise we have a pair of cute, soft soled Puma sneakers, the cute, pink shoes with the strap are by Stride Rite, Purple Chuck Taylor All Star high tops, and some sweet Mary Jane style shoes by the Target brand, Circo.

We will also be weaning Penelope soon and have been starting her on the sippy cup. We have decided to stick with the Tommee Tippee brand of training cups. So far we only have the style that is recommended for 4 months and up - above are the ones recommended for 6m+ and 9m+ , which will be our next steps up the training cup ladder...

Here are some fun options for dining utensils. The blue place setting in the top, left corner is by Skip Hop, the mat stays put and you can switch out the silverware and plate as needed. Clockwise from there, we have some cute cutlery by Gerber, the Tommee Tippee Explora mat. It sticks to the table and the large suction cup grips to the bowl or plate so Penny wouldn't be able to pick it up and throw it to the dogs! The bowls shown go with the Tommee Tippee mat.

Car seats! Penelope will be fitting in her infant seat until she is 30 lbs, but we would like to switch her to a "big girl" carseat sometime before then. We know that we would like to get a Britax brand, but are undecided of which we like best, so we narrowed it down to 3: The Round About 55 in smokey pearl, the Marathon in crocodile, and the Boulivard in castlerock.

The bookcase that is currently in Penelope's room desperately needs replacing - luckily she hasn't tried to climb on it yet. A screw has popped out of one side and now the side keeps separating from the rest of the shelf! We have also been unable to find a proper strap to attach it to the wall to prevent falls. So here are 4 options that we have come up with: The Carson bookcase sold by Target, the Thomas wide base bookcase by Pottery Barn Kids, the Cottage bookcase also sold by Target, and the Low Rider bookcase sold by landofnod.com. All have excellent reviews and would be sure to last until Penelope moves out of the house.

Penelope's Birthday Wishlist

I have already had a few people ask what would make good gifts for Penelope's Birthday, so I thought that it would be nice to put a list of ideas up here for everyone to see. Toys would be awesome - we have been anticipating an eventual overflow of toys. So, up until now, Alan and I have behaved about buying toys. What that means for all of you is that you're free to get her an awesome toy without receiving hateful glares from Alan and I :) Above is a cute Birthday cake toy by Leap Frog. The light on the tip of the candles light up and it has a sensor so that you can "blow" them out!General notes for gifts: we do not particularly care for cartoon characters such as Elmo, Dora, Disney Princesses, Little Einsteins, etc. - we make a point to leave the TV off until Penelope is asleep - not that Penelope will never watch T.V., we would just rather not expose her to those things this young.
Clothing: please keep in mind that Penelope still has some issues with eczema. So, if gifting clothing (or even stuffed animals and blankets), keep it 100% cotton. Currently, Penny is wearing size 6-9 / 6-12 / 12 months. For warmer clothing this fall, she will be fitting into size 12-18 or 18 months and size 2 shoes. For next spring/summer she will most likely be in size 18-24 months or 24 months and in size 3 shoes.Our favorite brands include: Gymboree, Circo, Baby Gap, Tea Collection and Old Navy. These brands are all generally 100% cotton. (Brands like Carters, Garanimals, and Jumping Beans have a tendency to slip in a small percentage of polyester or spandex. So keep a close eye out when shopping.)Now to toooooyyyys! Below is a list of things that are Penelope approved:

Penelope LOVES balls. Especially beach and play balls. Above is a super cute ball that I found at PotteryBarnKids.com that I know she would have a lot of fun with :)

Penelope is getting to the age where she's starting to figure out more complex toys. On the left is a "chunky" puzzle by Melissa and Doug. We have their Dinosaur puzzle and Penny loves it! If anyone can find their wire puzzle rack, that would also make a wonderful gift!
On the right are the Hide'n'Sqeak Eggs by Tomy. SUPER cute and super fun!

Penny loves playing with animal figures! So the more the merrier! I know Schleich is a popular brand that is found in many stores, but it really doesn't matter what brand they are as long as they are not small enough to swallow.

Ok... so going clockwise starting in the top, left corner, we have a cute, simple shape sorter by Imaginarium, a simple plastic shape sorter by FisherPrice, Picnic Basket fill and spill by Melissa and Doug, and wooden blocks by Wonderworld. She loves toys that involve taking things in and out of a container.
Also, as a side note, we LOVE Melissa and Doug toys :)

Books! Books! Books! We love books! Here we have Brown Bear Brown Bear, What do you see? and The very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss - 3 classics that Penelope has yet to own. She LOVES Dr. Seuss books and books that rhyme or that have "touch and feel" textures. So far, the only Dr. Seuss book that we own is Cat in the Hat, so more would be amazing!

For those who plan to "go in" on a larger gift or feel like being generous, here we have a foldaway slide by Little Tikes and a riding toy by Prince Lionheart. The slide would be getting tons of use. One of my big projects for this summer is to create a playroom for Penny in our basement. So not only will she be able to play with it outside when the weather is warm, but one this size, we will be able to set up in the playroom during the cold winter months.
...and last but not least, here are some TaDoodles by Crayola! With Alan and I being artists, you know that we want to start Penny young! The ones shown here are called tub crayons - they can draw on the tub and it washes off easily. They also have regular crayons, markers and stamps like these.

Most of these toys can be found at Toys'R'us, Wal-mart or Target. Any other questions or ideas, just let us know!


Also.... I find it absolutely critical that Penelope receive a couple pairs of these ASAP:


...seriously - how freaking cute? Their website is: www.rufflebutts.com

Penelope's 10 month update!

Oh, I don't even want to look at the calendar anymore! Is it really July already? My sweet little baby will be hitting double digits at the end of this week - July 5th marks Penelope's 10 month birthday! Which means that a REAL birthday is just around the corner now :(

For those who are interested, we have already begun the planning for her birthday celebrations and have narrowed it down to 3 parties in order to accommodate everyone! The first of which will be on Saturday, August 21st at North Forest Campground in Tomahawk, WI from 11 - ?. We will be providing lunch and cake by the playground. The second will be held at our house on Sunday, August 29th - times still to be determined. Will most likely be later in the evening, tentatively from 4-6pm. The theme is "Octopus's Garden", we will have supper and cake :)
The 3rd party will be held at a family friend's home in Santa Ana, CA on Penelope's Birthday: September 5th. We hope that everyone can come to celebrate our sweetie's first birthday with us!

She has developed so crazy much this past month, I don't even know where to begin! We now have a crawler! She gains a bit more momentum every day! She can also pull herself up on furniture and has started to cruise a few steps at a time and has even attempted to stand on her own a few times. She is gabbing like nothing else, the pediatrician said it's pretty much unheard of for a 10 month old to be talking as well as she does - she is already putting 2 and 3 words together! Generally, you want them to be doing that around 2 years old, so to be doing it at 10 months is pretty amazing. She says, "all done", "I like that", "Hi dada", "I like dada", and even told another baby, "good job!" the other day! She can also say, "Mama", "Hi-ya", "bye-bye", "nigh nigh" (night night), "na na na" (banana), "ball", and "ya" (yes).
We have also been working on doing sign language with her. She knows the signs for: hi/bye, thank you, milk, banana, dog, more, and all done.

Penny also has a bunch of new tricks up her sleeve. When asked to bounce, she will bounce up and down, she can clap her hands and knows how to "cheer", she has learned how to make a fake laugh, knows how to use drawers, when she gets tired and fussy, she starts to yell, "all done! all done! nigh-nigh! nigh-nigh!", she can pull herself up in her crib, is starting to use a sippy cup (finally!), can play peek-a-boo (she puts her head down and when you say, "where's Penny?" she pops up so that you can say, "peek-a-boo!", she can wave and say, "bye bye" or, "hi", will ask for more food, and now knows how to stick her tongue out and lick things :p

We have been super busy this past month, so here are some fun pics of what we have been up to:

Splashing in the pool at cousin, Ava's Baptism party with cousins Breleigh and Anna!

Finally getting to meet her Great-Great-Grandma Annie at the Geurink Family reunion! The youngest and oldest members in attendance: 9 months old and 94 years old!

Our branch of the Geurink Family (still missing at least 2 dozen who couldn't make it)!

Penelope all tuckered out at the family reunion :)
Mommy was in charge of taking photos and had to run youth activities - she was such a good girl for daddy and hardly fussed all day!

Penelope and her cousin, Zoe Jane!

My brother, his wife and their daughter, Zoe Jane came down to Milwaukee for a Brewer's game - Uncle La La (Alan) and I got to babysit while mommy and daddy went to the game. Both of my parents have June birthdays, so we took the kiddos to The Picture People at Mayfair Mall to get their photos taken as a special birthday surprise!

Penelope on the move!

Sweet smiles at the Milwaukee Zoo!

Oh yeah, Mommy had a birthday too! I am now 24 years old! Alan took Penny and I on a weekend get away to The Wilderness in Wisconsin Dells!

Daddy and baby on Mommy's Birthday vacation! Penny had loads of fun at The Wilderness' waterparks - they had 8 in total! We may have to make it a yearly tradition to go :)

Penelope crawling to Sophie!

Penelope's New Swing Set!

So, I'm sure everyone has seen all of the elaborate wooden swing sets and play equipment that they make for kids - these huge fortresses in everyone's backyard. Who wouldn't want one for their kids, right? It goes without saying: If you have a backyard, your kids should have a swing set? BUT... have you seen the ridiculous price tags on these things?! Even the crappiest of these beasts, made out of pine two by fours and hardware that'll rust by the end of the 1st winter and doesn't even include the slide costs $200! Are you kidding me?!

My Parents bought me one of these things for my 5th birthday, and it's still standing strong. Back then, they payed $110.00 for a huge, two story wooden "eagles nest", it was called. Came with a slide, a tarp to cover the thing, a swing and a rope ladder and a swinging rope. Now you're lucky if these things will even stand long enough for your kids to outgrow them!

My brother, Jeff just bought his daughter, Zoe one for her 2nd birthday. Nice gift, yes. Simple wooden swing set with a nice, but tiny tower that has a ladder and a small rock wall and a slide. Treated wood and decent hardware. Came with two swings, the slide and some kind of acrobatic bar to swing on. Will probably only last them about 8 years before it falls apart - it's small enough that Zoe will probably outgrow it by then anyway, but it's nice enough. How much did it cost? Nearly $500.

So what did I decide to do over memorial weekend? Build Penelope a swing set. Went to Home Depot to get some tan duct tape to patch up the fabric roof of our gazebo and ended up walking right past the paint department and ended up in the lumber aisle, picking through a stack of cedar planks. For about $100, I built this beast of a swing set:

Probably could have spent half that amount on it, but I said, "if I'm building it, I'm building it once." Completely made out of cedar, so it won't rot, all galvanized steel brackets and brass bolts and screws. Most of the money was spent on the hardware. It turned out a lot bigger than I thought it would - it is at least 8 feet high, but this thing isn't going anywhere. Right now, it just has the one baby swing on it, but it can easily fit two swings. I set out to make a simple swing set, and that's what I did. (And Alan only held a few boards in place while I screwed them in... I felt that I needed to add that.)
Took me about a week to complete, but I only worked for an hour or two each night. All for this sweet little face:

She absolutely loved it, as I hoped she would. Hopefully it will be the source of many laughs and smiles for years to come. We may add on to it as the years go by, but I'm very proud of myself for being able to figure out how to make it - and without measuring or a kit!

...or the steep price, for that matter :)

Wedding Wedding Wedding!

I forgot to mention on this blog that Alan and I have FINALLY set the date for our wedding! We got married in a court room about a year ago, but never really wanted to consider it as our wedding. We've been dancing around having an actual wedding for over 5 years now and finally we have the date set and the location reserved!

It will be here in Milwaukee, WI on April 23rd, 2011 at the South Shore Park Pavilion!!! We'll have a short re-commitment ceremony followed my a lovely reception. Since the wedding is the day before Easter, we will have an Easter brunch to following morning to celebrate the holiday with wine and an Easter egg hunt as well as open our wedding gifts :)

For all that are interested, I have started another blog - mostly as a place to keep track of ideas and thoughts that I have / find during the wedding planning process. Later on, it will be where I blog about our family, but will probably be keeping this blog just to blog exclusively about Penelope.

If you click the title of this entry, it should take you to our other blog. Otherwise, the web address is: primmpeople.blogspot.com/

Some of our favorite pictures from the past month or so :)

Penelope LOVES her puppy, Sophie! Wherever Penny is, Sophie HAS to be there - they're so cute together!

We have officially started finger foods full time now! She started refusing purees a couple of weeks ago, but other than that, she is a very good eater! Definitely not a picky girl. For dinner here, we have fish, bread, steamed cauliflower, and blueberries (her current favorite!)

Rub-a-dub-dub Penny's in the tub! No more baby bath tub for this little girl! She's now taking her baths in the big bathtub!

I have started to watch my friend's two sons on Wednesdays - here is Penny at the park with the younger of the two, Kieran. (He just had his first birthday on May 26th!)

We spent a whole week up in Northern Wisconsin at my Parents' house last week! We had family parties going on two weekends in a row, so we decided to stay up the whole week. The photo above is from Penelope's cousin, Zoe Jane's 2nd Birthday party! We have a photo like this from Zoe's 1st Birthday too - when Penny was in my tummy :) ... now Zoe's mommy, Jessica has a baby in her tummy! Next year there will be 3 babies in the picture... and possibly a baby in my tummy again? Alan calls it the "assembly line of babies" :P

I found this vintage Cookie Monster chair at a rummage sale for 50 cents. My cousins Matthew and Jason had chairs like this when we were kids and I was always jealous of them. Now Penny has one and she loves it! She is so proud of herself when she sits in it! (Here she's clapping her hands - she does "patty cake" when she gets excited!)

Penelope loves her Papa Geurink!

She has been becoming such a snuggle bug and a daddy's girl! ...which is a HUGE relief to mommy and her "girls"! They're so precious together :)

Penelope LOVE LOVE LOVES the water! We're in the water almost every day! When up north at my parents last week, we took her swimming to two different local pools. She relaxes so much in the water that she can float on her back all by herself!

Penelope at the park :) When it is warm out, we make a point to go to the park at least once a day. She loves going on the swings and playing in the sand (she also likes to eat the sand).

It's amazing how much she changes every month! It's hard to believe that my little coconut will be nine months old next weekend. Time really does fly when you're having fun!

New stuff from this month: She is eating finger foods, sitting very sturdily and can turn herself around while sitting. She has begun to army crawl and has crawled a pace or two on a few occasions. She can clap her hands (and even makes noise!), sings "lalala" and "bababa" to certain songs, makes the sign for "all done" when she is done eating and will duck her head down and pop herself up over and over again to play "peek-a-boo"! She can also stretch her arms up when you say "sooooo big" or "stretch"!