We decided to spend the long weekend in Ottawa visiting family and friends. We saw so many people, most of whom had not yet met Elara. Practically every meal was spent with someone new. It was certainly busy, but fun too. Elara got lots of new toys to play with, like in the photo above. She was greeted with a play mat at her grandparents place. Elara was a good sport through all the excitement, except for the long trip home. There was lots of crying, and it was definitely a test of motherhood listening to heartbreaking sobs but being powerless to do anything about it. However, we made it! I hope everyone had a great Labour Day weekend!

I decided to rearrange Elara's room, and the result makes the space look so much bigger! I decided to change everything around to make it more efficient and to have more space for her to move around. Plus, now that the crib is on the other side she can no long see us when we are in bed, which seems to be helping her sleep longer. We also moved her mattress down as she was almost ready to escape. I'm liking to results! 

I need to add some kind of art above the purple shelf. I'm planning to frame this photo below to put up there. Maybe on a ledge shelf, along with the white E seen in the photo above. The room seemed a bit awkward before, as you encountered the crib as soon as you walked in. Now it seems so big and the arrangement looks more appealing. We have been hanging out in here a lot more now!

Over the weekend I hosted a baby shower for a good friend of mine. This required a bit of out-of-the-box thinking so to speak. For one, it's the middle of the summer and I didn't think the traditional afternoon tea would be best, and my friend has a lot of allergies so I wasn't going to be making little sandwiches. I ended up going with a summer picnic theme, while still keeping with a baby theme. Everything went well and the mama-to-be seemed to have lots of fun!

I also created little milk cartons, decorated with stickers and ribbon, for the prizes. A little different design to the regular gift bags. 

We made an appetizer with apricots soaked in orange juice, topped with goat cheese and peanuts. Then I piled the veggie fresh rolls in a boat salad bowl for a fun look. And who doesn't like ice cream at a hot summer get together. These little lemon and mango sundaes disappeared very quickly! I had lots of fun putting together this summer baby shower, and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. 

Sorry for the short absence this past week, it's been a busy one! Unfortunately, it had nothing to do with new house renovations. However, here I am for the Friday post, and hopefully I will be back next week!

Elara is so lucky, all these wonderful people keep making her so many great things! Her uncle is really great with woodworking and created this rattle for her. He had to chisel out the rings from the original shaft of wood to create them. Which of course is how they will always stay on. It is finely sanded and so smooth. Elara is really starting to enjoy playing with it now (and of course eating it). Such an amazing gift for our new baby!

My mother made us the sweetest mobile for Elara. She loves it so much! They are the cutest little safari animals hanging from three balanced sticks on different levels. Each animal was lovingly made with the letters of baby's name, spelling out Elara. The letters were created each with different types of stitching, making every one unique. So gorgeous! Thanks mom for the wonderful gift, we will always treasure it.

And here is baby enjoying the new mobile for the first time. Definitely a great idea when your little one starts becoming interested in objects. Keeps them occupied for a bit in their crib, and helps them calm down before sleep. Lots of fun ahead!

We decided to start using cloth diapers. It's definitely a bit of learning curve in the sense that it takes a while to work out a good system. Although, we did go through the same thing with disposables in the beginning. I am still trying out different brands to find which work best for us. I still don't own enough diapers to be full time cloth yet. However, so far I really like it! If anyone is thinking of changing over, do it! It's really not much harder than disposables. Of course our baby is not on solids yet, so that could be interesting. It will save you a ton of money in the long run, it's healthy for baby as disposables have so many chemicals in them, and it's environmentally friendly! 

For storing the dirty diapers, we ended up buying a separate diaper pail with a washable liner, so everything goes into the washing machine. We now have one diaper pail for cloth diapers and another pail for wipes and disposable diapers (until we are done with them). When using the diapers I add a biodegradable liner that catches most of the mess and can be flushed down the toilet. This makes clean up much easier before the diapers go into the wash.

One down side I have noticed is a lot of her clothes don't fit over the larger diapers. Although people tell me I'll get used to the big fluffy bum. And as she gets bigger the diapers will fit better too. Plus they come in cute patterns and colours so they could work on their own.

Bumgenius
The most popular cloth diaper out there. It is known as an all-in-one, which means it's just like putting on a disposable. The snaps make it adjustable for babies of all ages, up to potty training. I like that the waist has elastic in the back, and that the closing flaps are also elastic which makes it a good fit. The only thing I'm not big fan of on these diapers is that when she sits up they are bulky and dig into her belly. They are also on the expensive side.

Thirsties 
We have an all-in-two from this company. I love their patterns! The all-in-twos have a snap up microfibre diaper and then you add a waterproof cover overtop. The great thing about these is they come in lots of sizes, so they are more trim. However, economically not the best as they will outgrow one size and you will have to buy more. They also have other options like an all-in-one which could be good to try.

Giggle Life
A cheaper all-in-two cloth diaper. They fit like an all-in-one with snap sizing, that will fit babies up to potty training, much like bumgenius. Then you need to add inserts to absorb liquid. You can add more inserts for heavy wetters or overnight. Even though this is more work I really like these ones. Since you remove the inserts to wash them, they dry much faster. When they come out of the dryer I just pre-stuff them so it's not something that needs to be done at the time of changing. They fit really well, and cost a fraction of other brands.

Kushies
This all-in-one diaper is huge, without any options to make it smaller. Maybe it would fit a bigger baby, however, the middle of the diaper is narrow, which seems like it would allow mess to escape. It has a velcro closure which is super easy to put on, but my baby has already figured out how to take it off! I wasn't happy with this one, and probably won't end up using it. I have other Kushies products that I really like, just not their cloth diapers for me. 

Apple Cheeks
This is Canadian company that looks quite easy to use. We actually have a swim diaper by them that we haven't used yet. 

Sun Diapers
We have ordered some of these diapers. Very similar to Giggle Life, with the snap cover and inserts. They are cheap and come over from China. Yet the website states they are not made in sweat shops and use natural materials. We shall see how they are. Thought I would try them out as I read a lot of people liked them, and there is not much to loose at $7 a diaper. Plus they had some super cute patterns!

Grovia
This is another popular company that I would like to try. Also looks easy to use.