Two Posts in 1 Day?

Yes!  Too cute not to share.  Squishy's first nine months!  We decided early on that we wanted to chronicle her first year like this and when I found that sweet hippo picture at Costco I knew what I had to do.  Some months we've been in a little late, but we've still chronicled each month thus far. :)

Activities for an 8-12 Month Old

When I first had Squishy there wasn't much she could do other than sleep and eat obviously.  Now that she's 9 months we finally have stuff that we can do.   I know that sometimes I struggle with new things we can do so I thought I'd share what we do together and hopefully if you do something different with your little one you could share it in the comments!

Speed Round Update w/ a Photo Bomb!

Squishy is 9 months old!  Ahhh!  I can hardly believe it.  We are desperately trying to figure out what we're going to do for her first birthday.  Party at our house?  Party closer to family?  No big party?  I have no idea.

Updates and photobomb after the cut.

Goody QuikStyle Review

Oh my goodness, do I love Influenster.  Since I signed up in the fall I've been sent dish soap, Eboost, lip gloss, oatmeal, nail dressings, face masks and, my new favorite, a hair brush to try out for free.  I love it because as long as I try them out and review them (being 100% genuine), I can continue to receive stuff to try.  In fact, I did so well reviewing the dish soap a few months back that the company sent me free toothpaste, body wash, and hand soap (didn't even need to review it).

This past December I received my favorite product to date, the Goody QuikStyle brush.  I'd seen it a few times at Target and I was intrigued since it looked so funky but I was a little leery to shell out the money for something that may or may not work. 

As you can see it looks kind of funky.

I received the round brush but it also comes as a paddle brush.  The goal of the brush is that your hair can dry more rapidly as the microfiber bristles help to suck the moisture out of your hair.  I was skeptical.  As it is, I rarely dry my hair since it's so long and there is so much of it, drying my hair typically takes nearly half an hour.  With a 9 month old, I rarely have that half an hour to spare.

Much to my surprise, when I first tried the brush is seemed to cut down on drying time.  I used it in conjunction with a blow dryer to dry my hair fairly straight.  (I still need a straightener no matter what since my naturally wavy/curly hair likes to frizz.)

So, for the sake of an accurate review on Saturday I used the brush and my dryer to see how long it took to dry my hair.  It took 15 minutes.  Half the time it normally takes.  Not too shabby when my hair is down to my chest.  After 15 minutes it was dry enough to safely use my hair straightener without having to worry about any moisture causing smoking.  Plus, it already got my hair somewhat straight so my straightener had less work to do.

I can honestly say I LOVE this brush.  The only downside is that it takes a little bit more effort to clean it than a regular brush as the microfiber bristles do make cleaning out the hair a little more difficult.  This brush is worth the money.  I'm thinking of adding the paddle brush to my collection as well.

Disclaimer: In case you skipped over the top, I did receive this product for free from Influenster in my 2012 Holiday Voxbox.  However, my reviews are 100% genuine and I don't get special treatment for favorable reviews.  If you have any questions about Influenster and how to become one, feel free to leave a comment and I'll fill you in. 

Goody Website
Goody Product Page

A Woman Who Couldn't Breastfeed

Today is Milk Day.  Apparently, on January 11th, 1878 milk was delivered in glass bottles for the very first time.  In honor of such an auspicious occasion a baby food company that I've "liked" on facebook posted one of those obnoxious ecards.  This one featured a mother gently cradling her smiling baby while the tagline read "My mommy makes milk.  What's your super power?"  I cringed.

First, let me say I do agree that breast is best.  Breast milk is free.  It's portable.  It helps build the baby's immune system.  And, although breastfeeding in itself isn't easy for many mamas it is an easy (faster) way to calm a crying baby.

New Dish Soap - Palmolive Fresh Infusions!

A few months back I joined a website called Influenster.  They collect a group of people who are interested in checking out new products, or sometimes relaunched products, and trying them out for free.  If you chose to review the products, you'll improve your Influenster score and be eligible to try more products.

NOTE:  When I'm doing a review of a product I receive I promise to always be truthful in my reviewing.  A lot of friends and family read my blog and I would never want to steer them wrong.  I also promise to not become a blog all about reviewing.  I had a favorite blog do that and it was so disappointing. 

So, last month I finally got my first box to check out!  I recieved 3 full size Palmolive Fresh Infusions dish soaps (one in each scent) as well as some really nice coupons.  Palmolive website

The Fresh Infusions come in 3 really interesting scents.  There aren't any Mountain Spring or Fresh Rain shenanigans.  It comes in Lime Basil, Lemon Thyme, and Ginger White Tea.  My favorite was the Lime Basil by far.  It smells amazing and I've been using it instead of hand soap when I need to wash my hands in the kitchen.

Has it Really Been Almost a Month?

Oops. Life has been pretty busy. Let's go through the bullet points

• We had our family photos taken for Christmas
• We went trick or treating with friends.  Well Squishy actually just hung out in my arms
• My chickens escaped a lot
• A good friend is dealing with some majorly jacked up shit
• We started selling hubbys Magic the Gathering cards
• And the biggest time suck of all....GISHWHES!  

What is GISHWHES?  Only a giant international scavenger hunt full of craziness.  For a week my friends and I went kind of crazy doing some very strange things.  Google it and do it next year.  I promise you won't regret it.

As for Squishy, she can now hold her own bottle and only needs help if she yanks it out.  She sleeps in her own room (usually without needing help in the middle of the night).  She sits up like a champ and enjoys sitting in shopping carts and the high chairs at restaurants now.  Oh and she is no longer short and chubby, she's just chubby.  She jumped from 30th percentile at 5 months to 58th at 6.  She's 88th for weight. 

Now for photos