Munchkin mbaby apparel giveaway winner!

hey friends!!

sooooo sorry for leaving you guys hanging, but the husband was gone last week and we were all out of town this week! talk about missing your own bed (the guest bed is fine mom, although i am requesting a step stool. climbing the rocky mountains i tell you!). puh! feels good to be home and have life falling back into place. so yeah about that winner...

congrats lessye!!

29 months.

you're getting so old! not really, but yes! really!

you continue to amaze us every day. like that time you told daddy to sit with us at the table. you know, you used the term correctly and everything! we're just wow-ing over here.

your vocabulary and sponge brain are really the best. you're just soaking everything up.

some favorite sayings:

"where IS penguin?" *emphasis on is

"that's what i'm talkin' bout!"

"it burns goin' down!"

"good morning momma."

the other day i was talking to you about my upcoming trip to africa and i was getting all sad and mushy telling you how much i'd miss you and you came up and gave me a big hug, tiny pats on the back included, and said, "don't worry momma. he'll getcha out.". sweetest. moment. ever. really.

you're becoming such a big boy and i can hardly see the baby at all anymore. the chubby cheeks and feet, the innocence, where have they gone?

my my my, this is going by too fast.

love you forever my little man,

momma

8 months.

you're a quick little mover these days. once you've set your mind on something it's yours. nothing stands in your way. just like your brother, always on the move.

once again, we're total parent failures in the solid food department with you blah blah blah. you may just have to take charge of this one on your own sweetheart. i'll show you where the pantry is ;).

you love being outside and messing with anything that brother has.

the toy "MINE-ing" has already begun. sheesh.

sleep is going grrrreat these days. you're finally making it to 8:00-8:15 am! still sleeping perfectly through the night. proud and happy momma over here!

you're still one tough cookie though. we have good days and hard days and i'm STILL trying to figure you out.

you are one complicated soul, but we love you little lady!

love you forever,

momma

**i know, i know, tenley is actually 9 months today. what can ya do?!

munchkin mbaby apparel review and giveaway!

so let me just say that i was thrilled when munchkin asked us to review their mbaby collection! munchkin makes tons of great products including our favorite snack catcher so yea pretty excited over here.

we received a short sleeve onesie, a long sleeve onesie and the pinstripe sleeper. as i was taking them out of the box i noticed how soft everything was, the outfits are made of organic or 100% cotton and feel amazing! top-notch quality! the mbaby onester and sleepster collection was created with a double-layer in the front almost like a built-in blanket. the idea is that since babies spend most of the time on their backs (in the crib, stroller etc) their fronts are exposed while their backs are covered. this double-layer allows for better protection from the elements as well as extra comfort and warmth. what a clever idea!

another fun thing, that's probably my favorite, totally random, but you know how you always button up onesies wrong because you don't connect the right buttons? well, these outfits have gold buttons in the center so you cant mess this up! you, yes you! even my fellow blondes can't get this one wrong!

oh and tenley looks pretty darn cute in them if i do say so myself :)

annnnnd now for the giveaway! munchkin is giving one lucky Baby Baker Love reader $25 credit towards munchkin and mbaby products on munchkin.com!

 to enter you must be a follower of Baby Baker Love. visit munchkin.com and let us know in the comments for one entry. for extra entries follow Baby Baker Love on twitter, bloglovin, pinterest or instagram. for every media you follow you will receive an entry. leave a comment for each one followed. this giveaway will be open for one week.

thanks and good luck friends!

she who is brave is free.

via

i have a feeling i'll be repeating this to myself over and over again during the next few months. heck, this will probably become my lifetime motto, but whatever. 

today i committed to go on a ten day mission trip to Uganda with my church.

yes, i've been on mission trips. yes, i've been overseas. and yes, i'm still terrified of flying, but let's not go there.

it all started with an urging in my heart. from God? maybe, possibly, probably. anyway, i was convinced that i needed to go on a mission trip by the end of this year, which by all means was going to be pretty nearly impossible since i do have a baby and all. however, one sunday morning i noticed in the church bulletin that there was going to be a trip the month before tenley turned one! perfect! right? i somehow managed to wrangle up 6 cheetahs and make it to the one and only group meeting about the trip. i left feeling a bit torn. i was excited yes, but of course, as the Lord would have it, i'd be going with a group of total strangers (desperate introvert feeling) and i'd have a little less than a month to decide.

i went back and forth on my decision over the next few days and weeks and procrastinated it at best and excused it at worst. and then like many of old hailey decisions it came down to the wire and the answer just snuck up on me.

sometimes things or situations cause us to tighten our grips. you know, fear. nothing has caused this more in me than becoming a momma. it's easier to make excuses now, sometimes they are legitimate, but nonetheless, it's easier to get out of things and to let fear fester. i'm scared to leave my babies. i keep playing the what if games in my head, what if something happened to them or to me? i'm scared to miss something and everything. i'm scared to be away from them. i'm afraid that they might want me or need me and i won't be there. i'm afraid that ten days is too long.

but there's something that i'm even more afraid of, that my soul will not quit wrestling with...

i don't want to wake up one day and realize that i let my excuses, my fears, talk me out of being a living, walking, talking and breathing example to my babies of how to follow Christ. in 1 corinthians 11 paul urges the corinthians to follow his example as he follows Christ. Lord help me be an example worthy of being followed! may my children see your strength and power in me. help me to walk in your spirit and not in weakness or fear!

so yes! please be praying for me and with me friends as this will be a difficult and challenging time. i'm determined to not let satan win! to God be the glory!

-hailey