It takes just a quick glimpse at the nursery and she always knows what will look just right. Each letter is hand-painted and decorated to match the room’s theme. If you’re interested in a nursery name by Jenae you can contact her via Facebook. She charges $15 per letter. Keep her mind when you receive your next baby shower invitation and are in the market for a gift that will be both meaningful and memorable.

I now know what true exhaustion is; it’s mental. It’s what you experience when you sit across the highchair from a master manipulator who’s constantly testing your resolve. This is when the true parenting begins. Now I wish I didn’t see so much of myself oozing out of my daughter each and everyday.

Nevertheless, there is nothing more fulfilling than being a parent. It puts life into perspective like nothing else can. For all your hard work, you’re rewarded with love. A very special love that can’t be put into words and is unique to all others.

In addition to the new attitude, Lizzy also acquired a sense of style. She’s all about shoes and jewels. Sometimes she goes into her nursery and brings a pair of shoes out to me. I can’t believe she’s already smart enough to grab a matching pair. Then she sits and tries to put them on herself. It’s absolutely adorable. Lizzy also loves her pearls. Her face lights up when me and her Dada put them on her. Her friends all seem to like them too. I haven’t had the heart to tell anyone that it’s actually my dog Chloe’s necklace. Yes, I went through a “dressing my dog” phase several years ago. But don’t worry they got the 3rd-degree Lysol treatment.

The video below was taken when Lizzy was 9 1/2 months. I can’t believe how fast time slips away. This blog has captured so much of her infancy. I’d suggest one to prego mamas everywhere!

Admission will deflate to the rates of 1991:  $5 for adults and $2.50 for children. The carnival will feature free ice cream, face painting, pin the tail on the T-Rex, the Triceratops Horn Toss, a dinosaur arcade, live raptors and a Compass Scavenger Hunt with Dino Egg prizes.

The celebration will also include a Dinosaur-themed food-truck competition with the following participants: Slidin’ Thru, Grouchy John’s, BBQ Boy, Sloppi Jo’s,Tasty Bunz and Sno Ono. A surprise celebrity judge will be in attendance.

Festivities begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at 4 p.m.. Visit the Natural History Museum’s website for more information.

(clockwise from the top)

1.) Babyators $19.99: Aviators for babies in all different colors- enough said.

2.) Mommy Juice $10: My friend included this wine in a gift basket for photos I had taken of her daughter. I thought it was the cutest thing ever and very delicious!

3.) Numa $12: These snacks for nursing and expecting mothers can be found at Whole Foods. They are packed full of the essential vitamins that do right by you and baby. Plus, they taste just like biscotti!

4.) Tag Blankie $19.50: It’s always the tag on the toy that keeps Lizzy mesmerized the longest. So when my best friend noticed this, she told me that some blankets are made almost entirely of tags. I found this chenille blanket on Etsy.

5.) Sesame Street Biodegradable Table Toppers $9.99: Is your baby chewing on the edge of the table at the restaurant too? Lizzy sure is and if you have the “Mommy Germaphobe” disease like me , than these table toppers will make you feel a whole lot better. Peel and stick them onto the table and viola you have a sanitized area for your little ones to do as they please. They come 18 in a pack, so they last a long time, because you know you’re not eating out as much as you used too.

6.) Chewbeads $30: I found this “mommy chic and baby safe” jewelry line at Kidville in Tivoli Village. It’s super cute and trendy jewelry for mom to wear while baby is teething that looks almost identical to the necklaces everyone is already wearing.

Image graciously provided by beckybakes.net

A single Oreo + a sweet chocolate chip cookie = a marriage you can’t help but drool over. Surely, there isn’t a recipe better suited to kickoff the Great Vegas Mom Recipe Exchange.

The Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookie was first introduced to me by Vegas momma Malorie. She found it on  BeckyBakes and believe it or not the combination didn’t at first seem appetizing to Becky. She said, “the idea of combining them just threw me.” However, after she gave them a chance she fell in love and is now “dreaming up variations.”

The following is courtesy of Becky:

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

recipe from the fantabulous Jenny of Picky Palate

2 sticks (1 cup) softened butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
10 oz bag chocolate chips
1 pkg. Oreo cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream butter and sugars together with a mixer until well combined.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl mix the flour, salt and baking soda.  Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips until just combined.  Using a cookie scoop take one scoop of cookie dough and place on top of an Oreo Cookie.  Take another scoop of dough and place on bottom of Oreo cookie.  Seal edges together by pressing and cupping in hand until Oreo cookie is enclosed with dough.  Place onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet and bake cookies 9-13 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Makes about 2 dozen VERY LARGE cookies.

If you have a recipe to contribute please e-mail it and a picture to 1vegasmomma@gmail.com.

The Great Vegas Mom Recipe exchange was actually created as an initiative for my behalf to start cooking more meals at home. I used to cook all the time… until Lizzy came along. But now that Lizzy is getting older I want to give her and my hubby the gift of dinner at the table sans Del Taco and BK. I’m also realistic. Therefore, if I’m only occasionally the domesticated diva I aspire to be than so be it.

P.S. dinner means dessert too. Don’t judge me for this recipe in light of my above statement!

Kids, 12 and under, can enter in the Food Factor Challenge tasting competition at noon. Children that conquer the fifteen fruit and vegetable stations will be awarded prizes in three surprise rounds. To register your child as a Food Factor for Kids contestant, contact Gloria Miller at gloriamiller@redskypr.com.

Give you and your family a break from the harsh Vegas heat to enjoy the summer’s bounty by sipping  an icy cocktail and learning new and fun ways to incorporate fresh produce into family meals!

"I'll eat anything!"

Lizzy acquired a couple of new nicknames in her 8th month: the Predator and Pitbull. Once she started walking, at a remarkably early age, we couldn’t keep her off the other kids. When she’d get one in her line of sight, say at church or the pool, the transformation would begin. Her breathing would become fast and heavy, her nose would wrinkle, and then nothing could stop her from TBD (total baby domination). I’m considering changing our welcome mat from “beware of dog” to “beware of baby.”

I’m lucky my mommy group finds all this endearing. They make excuses for her all the time when Lizzy leaps onto their baby’s backs or grips onto their hair. They say things like, “Oh, she’s just excited.” or “It’s only a phase.” I certainly hope so, because What to Expect the First Year is missing the chapter on baby anger management.

At her bestie's b-day party

Lizzy has added several new words to her vocabulary. She says mama, papa, dada, and baba. Her private rear-facing car seat conversations make me believe that these words actually have meaning. She probably feels the same way about my private forward-facing driver’s seat conversations. Speaking of car seats, I can’t wait to switch hers. I know there has been a lot of huff and puff about keeping babies rear-facing until they’re two now , but that’s just not going to fly in this household. In Vegas, the rear facing car seats might as well be called sweat-boxes. Last week to avoid an ULTIMATE BABY FREAKOUT on the car ride to Utah, we put Lizzy in her snazzy forward facing car seat. The trip was a million times better than the last several. She may not be one yet, but she definitely qualifies with the 20 pounds.

Cousins

The girl eats everything. Doctors say breastfed babies have more sophisticated palettes because of all the flavors they are exposed to in breast milk. Lizzy is their evidence. She hasn’t spit out a single thing. This is good news, because her first birthday is coming up and that means time to start weaning. I can’t get either event off my mind. We’ve been to several great first birthday parties this year and I want hers to be just as special. Lizzy is really into Elmo right now so I think that will be the theme. If I had it my way it would be shabby chic tea party, but remember a few posts ago when I promised not to live vicariously through my daughter. Speaking of using my daughter, the other day I told my husband I wanted to be Vanna White for halloween so I could wear a gown and I thought I could dress Lizzy up as the letter L. You should have seen his face.

The weaning part is scary because I’ve used breastfeeding as such a cruch. I’m basically a glorified Soothie. I’m dreading the pain of engorgement and the pain of Lizzy’s engorged attitude. She’s not going to know what hit her. I’m crossing my fingers that she thinks vitamin D milk is just as delicious as I do. Only time will tell. The next two months, I’m looking forward to staying lazy and babying her. Then when August rolls around she’s going to get a taste of her newfound independence. Wish me luck!

The girls love off-roading

The Udder Cover is the Maria style and is featured in the picture below. Nursing covers are essential. I use mine all the time. Even if you’re not nursing it would make a great gift for a mother who is or an expecting mother who plans to.

Taken from uddercovers.com

The Seven Sling is the Lucky Pink style and is featured in the picture below. The fabric is soooo cute. It is size 2. For more information on their sizes click here. I’ve never really used slings with Lizzy even though I made one for Lizzy prior to her being born. It was quite an endeavor and all I can say is that I thought it was a great idea at the time. Read the blog about it here LOL. Lizzy wasn’t crazy about the sling when she was really young, but maybe i should give it a try now that she’s a little older. I’ll have to keep you posted about how she does.

This giveaway will end 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, June 9 Vegas time. I will use Random.org to select the winners. I will post the winners on Friday, June 10. The winners will have three days to send me contact information and then I will ship the products the day they do, otherwise I will select a new winner. Thanks so much and best of luck

Taken from sevenslings.com

UP to no good

Month 7 has by far been my favorite. People tell me all the time not to wish-away Lizzy’s infancy, but it just keeps getting better and better. She has become so independent. We do everything together and I’m lucky to be blessed with such a loyal and entertaining companion. She is my best friend.

Personal blogs are synonymous with bragging and mine is no exception. There is just no denying that Lizzy is a baby-dominator. She is already standing by herself and she took her first step on May 19. This is one thing I definitely took the time to write in her baby book. Too bad I’m missing half the dates for her other milestones. I’ll have to just make an educated guess on first vegetable and “clapped my hands” so later in life she doesn’t give me a hard time about it.

Now that Lizzy is standing, I rely on well-placed accessories to hide the bruises. My stomach turns as I watch her showoff her new skill, but it’s amazing how fast babies get the hang of things. She rarely ever falls anymore, except purposely on her derrière. Now it’s mostly her head bumping into everything… Everything!

Lizzy is still a momma’s girl. It’s the sweetest thing, but it sure makes leaving her a nightmare. She reminds me of Baby Sinclair from “Dinosaurs.” She’s not afraid to let anyone know they’re “not the mama!”

My hubby and I have only been on a few dates since she took over our lives. Before Lizzy was born, we’d sometimes go to the movies a couple times a week.  I thought I had the most genius idea the other day when I suggested that we go to the Las Vegas Drive-In. That way Lizzy could come too without spoiling it for the whole theater. My hubby shot that it down soooooo fast. He tried to convince me that it’s not going to be what I expect. I still think it’s a brilliant idea and the only thing I didn’t expect is for him to rain on my parade. I’m hoping when we’re finally done with b-feeding in four months she’ll lighten up. I’m going to start saying my prayers now. “Please Lord, let Lizzy be one of those miraculous self-weening babies because I honestly can’t imagine what a nightmare it’s going to be.” Since God is probably more busy with the natural disasters right now, if you have any good advice please leave it in a comment below. Or if you have the number to any local exorcists, that might come in handy too.

"Lizzy's got a gun."

The most beautiful peacocks run wild

The Las Vegas Zoo is a great idea- if there is nothing else to do in town. Unfortunately, the value is just not there. Admission is $9 for adults and $7 for children over the age of two. So when we visited last week, we paid $25 to gain admittance and we could have covered the entire place in 15 minutes tops.

The petting zoo

However, my hubby reminded me that I am an animal lover and they need to eat too- so I should think of it as more of a donation instead. He always manages to put such a positive spin on things. In addition, there is a petting zoo there and I’m a sucker for petting zoos. It doesn’t matter what kind of animals or how many, I just think they’re the greatest. This one had goats. The most friendly goats I’ve ever encountered. One actually escaped while we were inside. I was so embarrassed. I thought I must have left the gate open. I went into a panic trying to figure out how to convince him to get back in before anyone noticed. While I was doing my best to herd the tricky fella a staff member came out. Luckily, it wasn’t to reprimand me; it was to to let me know he does it all the time.

Our experience at the zoo was also a little reminiscent of Christmas time. I, of course, couldn’t get enough of the chimpanzee. It was like the biggest and most exciting present under the tree. I could have spent our entire time there at that one enclosure and I was trying to convince my nephew that he should do the same. My two-year-old nephew, however, could care less about it. He was more enthralled with the pigeons running around in abundance, just like the cheapest, smallest present on Christmas day.

The biggest and most exciting present under the tree

If you do make it down to the zoo, make sure you print their $2 off coupon from their website and say “hi” to the goats and the chimp for me .