Our 2009 Professional Christmas Pictures

We had professional pictures done this afternoon. I wasn't really wanting a Christmas background. However, Ethan was in a very serious mood and wouldn't smile and wouldn't cooperate (isn't that always the case with kids??). Since we started with the Christmas background it was the pictures that turned out the best. He's such a ham in front of the camera at home, wish it was the same way when we go somewhere!

We ordered a 8x10 of this one.

I admit, I absolutely hate this pose because my booty. Sadly, it was the best picture of all of us. I cropped the photo lol 

 We got an 8x10 of this one. He looks like such a little man!

 

 

 He fell off the stool and we got a smile! lol

 

This look cracks us up!!

iCandy by Urban Fluff Review & Giveaway

~~~THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED~~~

A brand new "iCandy" diaper & has a Wick-Free Guarantee!

Who doesn't love super cute fluff?? Urban Fluff has just came out with the cutest iCandy 3 part diapering system that really is eye-candy! Plus it has a wick-free guarantee! I have your attention now don't I?

About iCandy from Urban Fluff!

Our new innovative (patent pending) design features a snap-in, wipe-clean, elasticized, waterproof liner that completely contains any messes and keeps them off your super cute iCandy wrapper!  Will wetness leak onto the outer cotton print? NO!  Why?  For the same reason that your baby’s cotton clothing doesn’t get wet when wearing a waterproof PUL diaper cover. Our snap-in liner is not sewn to the cotton in any way, so there’s no chance for wetness to seep through.  It has gentle gussets all around that keep leaks at bay.  And the soft, micro-chamois binding means no red marks or irritation on baby’s legs.

Our new soakers are made from three thirsty layers of microterry topped with premium microfleece (for a stay-dry feeling) and quilted for superior absorbency and comfort.  Simply lay the soaker inside your snap in liner and you’re ready to go!

Our 3-part system makes cloth diapering even more economical, reliable, and of course, fashionable.  Once you try it out you’ll see how simple it really is!  When baby is wet, just remove the wet soaker and replace with a fresh one.  If the snap in liner is soiled simply snap out the whole liner and soaker and replace with a fresh one.  You’ll almost never have to change your iCandy wrapper!

Prints so far of the iCandy system!
(click on any photos to enlarge) 

Prints coming soon to the iCandy system

Features:

*Available in two sizes, Infant (birth-20lbs) & Toddler (15-35lbs) for optimal fit.

*Snap closure keeps curious babies from removing their diaper-plus they are super durable and you never have to worry about diaper chains in the wash!

*Wipe clean, snap-in, elasticized, liner makes diaper changes easy and gets you the most use and economy out of you iCandy wrappers.

*Contoured, quilted, microfleece-topped soaker pad-advanced leak protection and coverage.

*Quick-dry fabrics-designed to dry in one dryer cycle

*Every diaper system comes with: 1 iCandy wrapper, 1 waterproof snap-in liner, 1 contoured, quilted soaker


Ethan's iCandy Experience!
We were sent the cute Monkey N' Round Banana print for review in the toddler size. You can see the photos above of the prints Urban Fluff has coming out so far of the iCandy diapering system. Aren't they adorable?? Once I got the diaper I checked it all out before washing it and getting it prepared. The wrapper is a cotton shell so it is recommended to wash it separately in cold to keep the print looking better longer. The snap in PUL layer is trimmed in the same microfleece so it is nice and soft. The PUL layer snaps in easy and fits into the wrapper well. The fleece soaker is a nice fluffy one and very soft.

After prepping the diaper I let Ethan wear it for 3 hours. He had drank quite a bit during the day so the diaper was full when it was time to change. I was excited there were no leaks or wicking! Yay!

 The iCandy diaper really is nicer than using wraps and prefolds which is what I would compare it to. The microfleece absorbs more than a prefold does and since it keeps Ethan feeling drier longer, he's a happy guy. I was able to get a nice snug fit around his skinny thighs and snap it small enough in the waist. The tabs give it just the right amount of stretch which is great since the rest of the outer is cotton. As you can see he still has a lot of growing room left. Overall I'm very impressed with the new iCandy diapering system.



BUY IT! You can purchase directly from Urban Fluff website! The iCandy diapers will be ready very soon! You can sign up to connect with Urban Fluff through social networks so you will know when the diapers are ready for purchase! Links are on their home page.

 

WIN IT! Urban Fluff is giving away 1 iCandy Diapering System: Includes 1 iCandy Wrapper, 1 Waterproof Liner, 1 Quilted Soaker. Winner will have choice of either the infant or toddler size and choice of print from is what is available online at the end of the giveaway.

Fill out the entry form below. 

Mandatory entry information: Go to Urban Fluff and read about the iCandy Wick-Free Guarantee. Tell me either about the 4 things that guarantee no leaks/wicking OR a fact about how the Wick-Free Guarantee works. 

Link to extra entries: Urban Fluff on Twitter
                                     Urban Fluff blog
                                  
Note:If you would like a confirmation email from me that I received your entry, please leave a comment on this blog post with your email.

           

Please copy and paste this for your tweets: 
Win the brand new iCandy by @UrbanFluff at @Smell_the_Rose. This #clothdiapers giveaway is open to US & Canada http://tinyurl.com/yzdqpmj

Giveaway ends Thursday, December 10, 2009 at 9:00 p.m.(CST) Winner will be drawn by the random number generator at Random.org and will be notified by email. Winner will also be announced on this blog. Winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn.

This giveaway is open to USA & Canadian residents ONLY. Please note shipping to Canada is first class and takes up to 2 weeks.  Must be 18 years old or older to win.

Please read my Disclosure Statement.

Thank you to Urban Fluff who provided us with the products mentioned above to do this review. All opinions are my own and no other compensation was received to conduct this review & giveaway.

~~~THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED~~~

Reminder of 4 giveaways ending tonight!

I just wanted to remind you I have 4 giveaways ending tonight: The Kolcraft Jeep Stroller, $550 worth of Bei Bambini Infant Clothes, the SafeSippy2 and the Thirsties brand new DUO DIAPER. Links are on the left hand side bar.



Have you entered yet? Also remember you can do up to 6 tweets today as well on each one.

Get FREE 50 photo cards!

Go read at the Freebies 4 Moms blog on how you can get 50 free photo cards! Ends tomorrow! You will have to pay for shipping now because of the high volume of people who have used this code, but it is only $3.19. Still a fabulous deal!

There are lots of options to customized your card or you can just put in into an already made photo card. I made 40 christmas ones and 10 new year ones with just Ethan.

Here's ours. You can click on the photos to enlarge. Ethan's new suit matches daddy. His tie does too, but you can't see it here.

 

Take Time to Share Your Giveaways Sunday

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Did anyone go shopping on Black Friday?

I have 4 giveaways ending tomorrow night! Have you entered them yet? Remember you can do up to 6 tweets a day on each one! See the left side bar for the links. If you love cloth diapers be sure to check back later today, I'll have a giveaway up of the brand new iCandy Urban Fluff Diaper!



Link up all your giveaways!

Christmas Traditions

Today at Kelly's Korner we are sharing our Christmas Traditions. We have a few, but I'm always looking to add others since I love Christmas. I'm looking forward to reading about everyone's to get ideas!

~~Click on the photos to enlarge~~

~Picture in front of the tree. Even though the tree looks the same every year, our family doesn't so it's nice to have a picture in front of our tree! 

We have been married since 2004, but we didn't start the annual pictures until 2007. The day we took our picture for our Christmas cards we found out we were expecting Ethan! I digi-scrapped the picture for his baby book.

Here's 2008 picture! I digi-scrapped our picture for our Christmas cards.

~Collage 5x7 photo for family.
I started this last year. I take several photos throughout the year that I like and make a collage for family. Since most of the family doesn't get to see all the pictures we take through the year or get many from us, a collage is a great way to share and document the year. 2008 held a lot of changes for us: new house, Andrew turning 30, and having Ethan.

~Christmas Stockings

Christmas stockings have always been a tradition. See my post here about the ones I'm making....I'm still working hard on Ethan's!

~Santa Pictures
Not sure how long I'll make the kids have their pictures with Santa lol

~Kids have their own Christmas trees.

I had my own little tree in my room growing up and I loved it! Nothing was more fun than decorating our tree and leaving the lights plugged in all night.

2008

2009

He has a tree AND a wreath that we just made from our first House Party! You can read about our House Party here.

~Collecting Hallmark Ornaments for the kids each year

My grandparents started this tradition of buying a Hallmark ornament for all of us grandkids after Christmas (when they are half off). We did not get our collection of Hallmark ornaments until we got married. So I had 24 beautiful Hallmark ornaments for our Christmas tree when we got married. I started buying one for Ethan last year. It's difficult to just buy one each year!

~Gingerbread House Decorating Party

This one is so much fun! It's a great way to have a Christmas party at our house to invite family and friends and it has a purpose. I'm sorry but just Christmas parties just aren't much fun! I remember going to a few growing up and they were boring with nothing to do. The Gingerbread party is a great experience for the whole family and memorable too. 

Next weekend is our Gingerbread Decorating House Party! I have a blog dedicated just to this and you can also see all the pictures from last year and see the invite from this year.

2008

Ethan was already eye-ing the candy before he was even eating solids yet ;-) It's hilarious now, because I know how much a sweet tooth he has, it's crazy!

I think that is it! I also want to get an advent calender and fill it with things for the kids each year. Does anyone do this and have suggestions? I probably won't start it this year. I'll look and see if I can find one I like and get it after Christmas on sale.

I would love to hear any traditions you have! Please share!

Our First House Party: Safe & Bright

Last Saturday night I hosted my very first House Party: Safe and Bright, sponsored by UL. I was sent supplies for several guests to make their own Christmas wreath while learning about home safety and enjoying treats! It was so much fun! Here's a few pictures from the night!

Food! I kept it pretty simple since it was 7:00 pm and I was in a business meeting until 6:00 pm!

What is a party at Chari's house without cupcakes?? I didn't have time for ones from scratch, but the frosting was, yum!

Getting started!

I'm helping Ethan make his wreath.

The other room getting started.

Ethan wanted to get down and play with the kids!

We're finished with our wreath!

Our wreaths! (I don't know what is up with the weird glare in some of the eyes!)

Next Saturday is our 2nd Annual Gingerbread House Decorating Party. I'm so excited, it's lots of fun! I've got plenty to do to get prepared. Look for my post afterwards!