Wade is 10 months old

...in fact, he'll be 11 months this week (!) so I'm squeezing this post in just in the nick of time.

What a wonderful month 10 months has been! It is so hard for me to believe that Wade will be 1 year old in just a little over a month.  I am having a really hard time with that.  I love the baby phase so much I'm having a hard time letting go.  Every day I get sentimental about this little one who is growing up way too fast.

Wade's monthly picture standing next to his maple.  We tried to convince Mc to take the picture with us, and this was the best we got!  This was Easter morning - Wade's first Easter, and he had a low grade fever, so he stayed home with Daddy while Mc and I went to church.  

On our way to his first official Easter egg hunt - a rainy day moved our hunt indoors at church. 

Poor little guy - this is where we realized he wasn't feeling very good.  He clung to Bo while McCord participated in the egg hunt. 

Wade's favorite foods are sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots.  Mc loves to feed Wade and always tells me, "save me that last bite!" 

Mc spent a couple of days with his grandparents over his spring break, and Wade was an only child for a couple of days.  Here he is pretty pleased with himself getting strolled around in the single stroller and loving a slower pace and lots of extra attention.

A Little Bit of Etsy In My Life

What a fun and educational 11 days it's been as I've been fumbling my way through all of this etsy stuff.  I am truly amazed by the team who constructed the etsy idea and site.  Brilliant and creative minds!  How very grateful I am to have an online venue to sell handmade goods and to be a part of a creative community.

A few orders that shipped out this week. 

I am equally thankful to instagram for helping me boost my sales too - I've learned that posting pictures of my designs on my insta page has helped send folks to my etsy site.  I've been using them hand-in-hand this week, and it's interesting to see how one effects the other.  When I post a picture of an item on Instagram, I'm more likely to make a sale from someone who saw that picture than I am to make a sale from someone who randomly found my etsy page on their own.

I am especially excited about this little belt that was made for the tiniest customer yet - a little guy  weighing only 12 lbs.!

Ten little boys and one little girl across SC, GA, AL, and FL have received a High Cotton Handmade belt since the shop opened. The shop and listings have been viewed 464 times and 23 people have "favorited" a shop or a listing. The Nautical Collection of the monogrammed belts sold out in the first week and was re-listed.

You have no idea how incredibly humbling this experience has been.

I remember two weekends ago, sitting at the laptop, trying to work out some of the verbiage I wanted to list on the HCH etsy page, and finally, just after midnight, holding my breath and hoping for the best, I pushed the "publish" button making the shop live.  Then I went to bed.  The next morning, I pulled up the computer to find that I had 3 orders.  No one was more surprised than I was.

And so I just sat at the computer and cried.

People are so kind and so very supportive, and I just absolutely can't believe that there are people out there who like the merchandise enough to purchase it - and then to have their children wear it.  It's so overwhelming in a wonderful, fulfilling sort of way.  A big huge THANK YOU to all of you who have checked out my etsy site, mentioned it to a friend, purchased an item, or reposted an image on your insta page or facebook page.  I am especially thankful to Bo who has an answer for every single one of my business questions, celebrates with me every time I make a sale, and doesn't complain when I show him yet another thing I've sewn. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Been playing around with the packaging and have settled on this combo for now.  The  High Cotton logo is a stamp that I use on everything - packaging, thank you notes, and the labels that are sewn into products - I just use different types of ink depending on whether I'm printing on paper or fabric.

I was searching for something to use for labels on my bags and found so many great options with the Martha Stewart Line at Staples. The boys and I spent way too much time looking at office supplies. 

This Navy Anchor belt from the Nautical Collection is by far the best seller.  I've done it  two ways: using navy top stitching (pictured here) and also with white top stitching (in one of the pictures above) and can't decide which I prefer.  Any thoughts?

Just ordered some seersucker fabric in fun summer colors and some new girly buckles - look forward to adding a Seersucker Collection to the belts with coordinating fabric bows for girls. 

Snow 2013

It snowed on Saturday, February 16th and it was not only Wade's first snow, but the most snow McCord has ever experienced.  Here are a few pictures from our fun weekend.

Here's a picture that Bo took of our front yard. Love that everything is so silent when it snows -  no traffic, no hustle, just quiet. 

Bo and Mc worked really hard on building this snowman (almost as tall of Mc!).  

I totally forgot about the gigantic hill down the street from us.  If it snows next year, I can't wait to take the boys sledding!

Wade is 9 months old

At the maple, 9 mos.  Wade's fist snow!

Bo snapped this photo with my phone without me knowing, and I'm so glad he captured this moment of Wade, freshly bathed and ready for bed.  He is especially cuddly at this moment in the evening, and I soak it up nightly.  

Hanging out at the playground is lots of fun these days!

Wade does this thing with his hands when he's especially smitten with something.  And sometimes I can't help myself, I just have to nibble on those chubby fingers!

A few highlights from the past month: 

- At 9 months old, you've been out as long as you were in

- Wade is growing a new tooth on the bottom (four on top and almost 3 on bottom!)

- Sweet potatoes top the list of favorite foods with carrots a close second

- He's working on crawling, but to be fair, he's a much better scootcher

- I'm pretty sure his favorite color right now is orange, because I see him repeatedly reaching for orange toys over other colorful items

- This month, Wade began sleeping through the night!  Hooray, time to celebrate!  It's been a long time since I slept 8 consecutive hours at night - especially since I didn't sleep while I was pregnant with Wade. And here we are, 18 months later, loving every restful second. 

-The past few nights, Wade has bathed without a baby tub - he just sits in the big tub with his brother now.  He seems to really like having free access to all of the bath toys.

- McCord has started a little game he loves to play at nap time called, "Hey Wade!"  I put Wade in Mc's bed before tucking Mc in for a nap, and McCord gets in Wade's face and says "Hey Wade! Hey Wadey!" And Wade just loves it - arms and legs flailing everywhere.  Then he starts reaching for McCord and McCord starts laughing. It's a special moment between brothers.  My heart doubles in size every time I witness their little game. 

- Wade's been enjoying his Kindermusik class and loves music.  He especially likes it when we sing the blessing "God our Father" or play his Kindermusik CD in the car. 

- Sometimes I think Wade was supposed to have wings instead of arms.  He gets so excited about things, that his arms just start flapping as if he's a bird.  At bath time, I love to hold his naked, rolly self up in the air and "fly" him into the bathtub.  He gets so excited about his bath, and those arms and legs are pushing the air furiously as he is trying to get to the tub as fast as he can.  He looks like a little cherub sending love and slobbery kisses to all in his path.  

  

Opening Shop: Etsy

I little over a year ago, I opened my etsy store High Cotton Handmade, and then I found out I was pregnant with Wade and thought it wasn't a good time to start up a new business.  I've been doing lots of sewing lately and have been dreaming of getting my shop up and running again.

I don't think I would have taken the leap so soon, but I put a few pictures on Instagram of some boys' belts I've been giving as birthday gifts, and one of my followers wanted to buy one for her nephew's 2nd birthday. And just like that, a custom listing was put on etsy, purchased from someone in TX and mailed to a little boy in FL.  And that was my first official High Cotton Handmade sale.  I will be forever grateful for my first client.

First sale on my etsy shop to an Instagram friend who used to work for Kate Spade

packaged and ready to ship

In order to get the order listed and mailed in time for the recipient's birthday, I scrambled to figure things out like shipping cost, packaging, and branding.  I'm still figuring out a few things like my shipping and return policy and I need to create a banner for my home page, but I hope to officially open the shop by Monday.

My plan is to only list a few monogrammed boys' belts (and a few bad boys' belts left over from the craft fair last year) at the start and then I hope to branch out from there: more giraffes, girly belts with tortoise shell buckles, pillows, and fabric bows.

My main items at start include monogrammed toddler/children's belts ranging is xs - large (12 mos - 10 years).  The seller can choose fabric (three collections: Nautical, Gingham/Check, and soon Seersucker).  Belts are $17 with $3 shipping.

Nautical Collection 

Sailboats & Seersucker option, block monogram

Whales, Swirl monogram

Checks & Gingham Collection

I can't wait to add some seersucker options to the mix too!

All of the above options are custom made and take 1 - 2 weeks for production.  However I have a few boys' belts that I plan to list this afternoon or tomorrow that are ready to ship. 

These belts feature a classic military-style buckle in nickle finish. 

Cheers! 

Wade is 8 Months Old

Wade will be 9 months old in a week and a half, so here I am trying to squeeze his 8 month post in before it's too late!

One thing about Wade: Wade hugs back.

I've never known a baby to be so cuddly.  Wade is such a lover - grabbing your face and hair to pull himself closer to you.  He loves to press his face into your neck - and he doesn't discriminate - he shares his love with whomever is holding him. Wade has been scootching backwards all throughout our house.  I put him down to practice crawling a couple of times a day, and before long, he's backed himself up against a wall somewhere.  I'll find him as happy as a clam, hanging out underneath a chair, under the dining table, or under the ottoman.

I think I will remember 8 months as the Month of the Mouth.  I'm not sure if it's because he has 4 teeth coming in on top at the same time (so he's more aware of his mouth now), but just recently Wade's been very curious about other people's mouths.  If I am nursing him or rocking him to sleep, he has to put his fingers in my mouth.  It's sort of like a prerequisite.  He'll just hang onto my teeth until he falls asleep - I am fully aware of how weird this sounds, but it's become so normal around here.

Winthrop played PC a few weeks ago, and we squeezed Wade into this onesie all in the name of school spirit!

Children's Museum

Wade and Bo standing in front of Wade's Maple, 8 mos. 

This is just for my memory - an audio of Wade's voice.  I had just finished nursing him and here he is having a big conversation with me.  Love this sweet little voice!