During the past three years, I have received several baby shower invitations when our daughter was expecting their two babies.   I attended two of her showers for our first grandson and one shower for the second one.  It was almost as much fun at those showers as it was when I was expecting our babies years ago.  My favorite shower was the one over two and a half years ago here in our hometown where our daughter and son-in-law grew up.  We had so much fun looking at all the many cute baby things and trying to imagine what it would be like to have a little baby in the family.  Time sure does fly!  Baby J is no longer a baby but a two and a half year old, and Baby C has taken his place as “baby.”

When I think of cleaning a baby’s or toddler’s hands, I think of cleaning off dirt and germs that could make them sick with a cold or the flu.  But washing their hands cleans off more than that according to the Environmental Working Group.  It also prevents the transfer of toxic chemicals from their little hands to their mouths.  These toxins can be found many places such as some electronic equipment, older wooden swing sets, or some items with fire retardants.

IMPORTANT:  Hand sanitizers are convenient, but they do not remove dust and dirt which are how the chemicals are transferred.  Old-fashioned hand washing removes not only bacteria but also the grime.

Our daughter has this baby sling and used it with our second grandson, who is now nearly five months old.  She really liked using it when he was younger. Back in June, we were at a graduation ceremony and our grandbaby was comfortably and securely riding in this baby sling.  Unless you got up real close, you couldn’t tell there was a baby in there.  So this lady we had never met before said something to our daughter.  She thought our daughter was carrying some kind of “funky” purse until she realized that there was a baby in it.  We all thought that was funny!

CardsShoppe.com has creative invitations to personalize baby showers.  They have cute invitations for showers given before the baby arrives as well as ones for after the baby is here.

The style of the invitations set the tone for a baby shower.  If I get a cute invitation, then the shower is usually just as creative as the invitation.

If you are planning a baby shower, then check out their site and see which invitation you like best.  Be sure to order extra invitations in case there are people added to the invitation list at the last minute.

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This is the diaper cake from one of our daughter’s baby showers.  I asked for directions on how to make it, and so here they are:

Start by rolling each diaper tightly and place a rubber band around it to secure it.  Place diapers next to each other to make a circular shape.  Place a PCV pipe (from a craft store) in the middle of the cake for stability of the layers.  Surround each layer of cake with a large rubber band (also from craft store) and then place ribbon over the rubber band using the favorite colors of the mother-to-be or the nursery colors.  Decorate with baby shapes bought at any craft store (or Dollar Tree).  You can make two layers or more.  This particular cake had three layers.

It’s such an exciting time when a new baby is born in the family.  I know first hand because our second grandson was born a little over a month ago.  His older brother was born 21 months earlier.  The whole family was elated and friends and relatives wanted to know the news and how much the baby weighed, what was the weight, etc.  And what better way to share about the birth than with some stylish birth announcements.

If anyone is wondering where I am, I’m out visiting our daughter and son-in-law and helping take care of the two grandbabies, cooking some, etc.  If you are a grandma, then you know what I mean when I tell you how much fun I’m having.  I’m helping take care of our 20 month old grandson, Baby J, and our newborn grandson who is two weeks old.  Both are adorable, but there’s something so special about a newborn baby.  Their sweet little newborn sounds, cute faces they make, and the way they move their little arms are so precious.  Baby J is doing and saying the cutest things, has favorite words such as “no” (lol), “uh-oh,” “mess,” “shoes,” and is presently referring to me as ‘Bobba” since grandma is hard to say.  We asked him to say grandpa, and he said something like “Passa.”  So I guess temporarily (?), we’re Passa and Bobba which is adorable to us.

I plan to be heading back home tomorrow.  My husband jokingly told a friend that I had left him for two younger men and then explained about our two grandbabies.  He’s so glad I can be out here to help, too.

We have had such an exciting and blessed week.  Our daughter and s-i-l are the proud new parents of a precious baby boy.  Baby J (our 20 month old grandson) seems proud of his new baby brother and loves to point out Baby Brother’s nose, mouth, ears, hair, etc.

It is such a wonderful experience holding a newborn grandbaby, and just as much the second time around.  Such an awesome blessing!

Our daughter just recently designed new T-shirts for Baby J (our almost 20 months old grandson) and for our soon-to-be-born Baby C.  They are the cutest shirts!   One shirt says “Big Brother” and the other shirt says “Little Brother.”  She used CafePress.com to design the shirts, and they are just adorable.

If you have any special occasion coming up where a custom T-shirt would add to the occasion, check them out.  (This is not a paid post.)

Our daughter had a sonogram recently, and the news is out. They are expecting another boy in April. Baby J will be 20 months old when the new baby is born, so that means they will have two in diapers at the same time. Fun, fun!! We are excited, and of course all of the grandparents are excited. I think Baby J will make a good big brother once he makes the adjustment to having a baby in the house.