Homeade Hooded Baby Towels...

I'm looking into how to make homeade hooded baby towels.  I have been looking at different websites to see how to make them.  I'm disappointed in the outcome of the websites though.  I think they could be a lot cuter.  Pottery Barn Kids has really cute towels, to copy.  This is my next project.  If anyone has advice or has made them in the past let me know! Attached are some websites I have been looking at in preparation for this project.
http://www.make-baby-stuff.com/hooded-baby-bath-towel-pattern.html

http://www.skiptomylou.org/2007/11/29/hooded-towel-tutorial/

Here are the Pottery Barn towels that I would love to copy...
http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/nursery-bath-wraps/?cm_src=rel

If we are doing cloth diapers... why not cloth wipes???

Cloth wipes aren't the most glamorous thing to talk about, but I have been having so much fun getting them set up!  I busted out my grandma's Singer sewing Machine, and made over 30 wipes to fit in an old Huggies disposable wipes box. 

Click here to see how I fold my wipes to fit into a disposable wipes container.... 

This was my Grandma's sewing machine!

Lately I have been using it for all my "innovative mother" projects.

 I have mixed 2 cups of water, with 2 tablespoons baby oil, and 2 tablespoons baby body wash.  After I mixed it all together, I have stored my solution in a spray bottle.  You shouldn't mix much more than this because the solution can go bad.  This solution is great on the baby's bottom.  I spray the cloth wipe and leave some of the wipe dry.  After cleaning the bottom, I dry him off before putting on the diaperThe solution prevents his bottom from drying out.  I have heard of putting tea tree oil in the solution to kill bacteria... I haven't tried this yet, but I will let you know if I do.  I know you only need two drops for this amount of solution.  A little goes a long way.

 This is an old Huggies disposable wipes container.  I have measured the size of the box to make my own cloth wipes out of old receiving blankets.  If you fold the wipes properly, you can get the wipes to pop through the hold like disposable wipes.  This makes storage simple, and no different than using disposable wipes.  Some moms even use the warmers to keep the wipes warm.  You can put the solution directly in the box so each wipe is saturated if you choose.  We prefer spraying each wipe with our solution before each use.

These are my homemade cloth wipes made from old receiving blankets.  I cut them larger than the width of the box because I double folded each side and sewed them.  This prevents the edges from fraying, and is necessary.  I tried one load of laundry without sewing them, and I had strings from my wipes all over my cloth diapers. 

We Switched to Cloth Diapers...

We went one year using disposable diapers. After finding out our second baby was on the way, and we would have two babies in diapers we decided to make the switch. We were very skeptical about cloth diapers... not willing to do it the old fashion way. Fuzzi bunz was a great comprimize. We don't wash out our diapers in the toilet... things have changed. We have both one size fits all and medium size diapers to try out both. We will be using the one size diapers for the new baby and keep Payton in the Medium size until he is potty trained.

Payton is showing off his Red, one size fits all Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapers

Our drawer is full of colorful cloth diapers.  This is what it looks like right after I finished the laundry :)

• Check Out the Fuzzi Bunz website to see how and old fashion concept has been innovated.  We love our new cloth diapers!

http://www.fuzzibunz.com/

We "Carried" Payton Through Hawaii...

I love using carriers.  I used the Baby Bjorn for the first year with Payton carrying him in my front only. Once he got to about 25 lbs, he was too big for that carrier.  I found this carrier that works on the front, and the back.  Kevin and I both used this carrier in Hawaii, which made hiking, going to the beach, and chocolate tasting tours possible with a 1 year old.

 Payton and I walk through Bamboo on our chocolate tasting tour in Kauai

 Dad carries Payton while hiking in Hawaii

 Uncle Ben, Payton and Kevin take a break while hiking along the Na Pali coast in Kauai, Hawaii

Payton and I went for a walk along the beach while Dad, Uncle Ben, Grandma and Grandpa Rikli went boogie boarding

 

Payton and I watch Dad and Uncle Ben jump off Ki Pu falls