Baby

Family Teamwork Raising Baby Cardinal

/ Jodi / 25 Comments

The circle of life goes on.

Monday was one of the saddest days I’ve had since I began blogging.

But at the same time we experienced a great loss in our family, we also have the joy of watching this sweet little family that built their nest right outside our bedroom window.

Don’t you love the teamwork?!  (I hope you enlarge to watch this “riveting” video in full screen).

Baby cardinal was 8 days old here.  When Momma didn’t have anything for her to eat….

Poppa to the rescue!  What do you think that green thing is???

And did you see how quickly it went through Baby?  LOL!

How many more days till Baby flies the coop?

As you might have noticed, Baby is an only child.  There is still a lonely little egg in the nest that just doesn’t seem like it is going to hatch.

The circle of life.

It is a beautiful, sad, happy, joy-filled experience.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Houston – We have a Baby Cardinal!

/ Jodi / 48 Comments

Baby Cardinal Day 1

The wait is over!

Remember I shared with you that we had a Momma Cardinal building a nest and then laying eggs right outside of our bedroom window?

Well – right on time – on Mother’s Day afternoon – the first baby cardinal was born.

You can barely make the little bugger out above, and he/she isn’t quite what you might call “cute” yet, but oh what a thrill!

And I wasn’t home when it happened!

My Mother’s Day started out with a trip to the gym in the morning with my youngest son, Nick.  When we got back home, I was surprised to find my oldest son, Jake and his wife, Colleen in the kitchen with hubby, Marty preparing a beautiful surprise Mother’s Day brunch.  What a sweet way to start the day – eh?  It began with a Mother’s day toast of orange pineapple mimosas, homemade chocolate-covered strawberries, pastries, bacon-wrapped filet Mignon, cheesy potatoes and luscious miniature spinach and brie quiches.  And as if that wasn’t enough, there was fresh flowers, cards, and a bunch of fun watercolor art supplies.  Am I the luckiest or what?!?

After stuffing ourselves and relaxing and visiting a bit, the kids asked if I wanted to go play tennis (which I haven’t done for years!),  so off we went, leaving Marty and Mikey home to enjoy some much deserved and coveted quiet R&R time.  After about two hours of sunshine and tiring, sweaty, but oh so joyous running around the court and hitting the ball to racket a few times, I got a text from Marty with this photo:

baby cardinal just born

We had been watching diligently as this was Day 12 after Momma laid her eggs, so this little baby can’t be more than two hours old here, and likely less.

As the day grew dark, still only one baby and one egg remain, and Momma is keeping them both warm.

Is that the icing on the cake for my Mother’s Day or what?

Happy Monday friends.

Wishing you joy in cherished moments.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

PS – I thought this photo would be a perfect submission for this week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge:  Forces of Nature.  What greater display of nature than this?!  A brand new birth – the most extraordinary force of nature.

Rubber Ducky Diaper Cake

/ Jodi / 26 Comments

rubber ducky diaper cake

Looking for a fun baby shower gift?

How about taking a box of disposable diapers and making it into a “cake!”

Yesterday, I shared my Rubber Ducky Watercolor Card.  Here is another part of the gift that goes with it.  A gift bag full of baby hooded towels, and I am ready for the shower.

This is so simple to make.

I re-purposed an aluminum serving tray and hot glued a cardboard paper towel holder to the center.  I then took an 88-count box of Pampers Swaddler Diapers, rolling each diaper and holding it together with a rubber band.

Begin by placing the rolled diapers around the center paper towel tube.  Tie together with string, and then surround with another ring outside that.  Repeat four times for the bottom layer.  Then make the middle layer with two circles and the top layer with just one circle around the paper towel tube.  Cover the string/rubber bands with ribbon and make a decorative bow.  Decorate your cake with various rubber duckies and/or any other “theme” you choose to complete your gift cake.

Those of you that have been “lifeinbetweeners” for a while might remember the Birthday Money Cake I made for my son a few months ago.

Isn’t it fun to find creative ways to bake make cakes?!

What are you baking up today?

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi