This weekend felt like Summer. Rick came home early from work on Friday so we kicked off our long weekend with a trip to our local ice cream place for an ice cream cone before dinner! breaking all the rules! It was a weekend full of family, friends, bbq, water, water and more water. Stella is a water baby through and through. I can foresee our Summer being full of pool, water table and hose fun and super early bedtimes all season long. This warm hot weather along with being outside all day long playing whoops their little butts. By the time dinner is over, I am lucky if I can squeeze in a quick bath. With full bellies, both kiddies are ready to crash. Some toddlers even fall asleep while eating dinner ;) Summer is all about putting the kiddies to bed smelling of left behind sunscreen and sticky faces.
We took Stella and Ricky into town on Monday morning to watch the Memorial Day parade. Stella waved to all of the firemen in the trucks, and others walking in the parade. She waved her flag proud! But I think the candy that was tossed to her was by far her favorite part. Candy thrown at a toddler is like Christmas morning, I guess Easter morning would be more appropriate.
Bring it on Summer! We are ready for you; hot ass temps and all.
making// everything on the grill these days! Chicken, ribs, veggies- you name it, we grill it. I love the minimal clean up after grilling an entire meal. We have also been eating lots of eggs- poached, scrambled and hard boiled. Good thing I won't have to buy them much longer! let's go chickens- start laying! I also can't forget to mention our homemade popsicles- they seem to be a winner around here! Honey roasted almonds...Stella digs these and so do I. Also making animals out of our breakfasts...I love it just as much as they do.
drinking// smoothies, water, loving lemon lime sparkling seltzer lately- so refreshing on a hot day :)
reading// Eek! I really need to get reading...but I am totally going to use this excuse- I just don't have the time. I am probably just as tired if not more tired than the kids after they go to bed.
watching// The Bachlorette- total guilty pleasure of mine. Game of Thrones and the kids have been loving Chicken Little. I am finally back to my daily walks on the treadmill! Woohoo! As I walk on the treadmill, I always watch one DVR'ed episode of The Chew. So weird- walking to burn off the crap that I ate and watching a food show....hmm...
eating// lots and lots of watermelon! And I have found the very best place to eat it is in the pool, the water just washes away the stickiness :)
smelling// the charcoal grill- yummy! Campfire clothes- with the kids going to bed early because of being outside all day, Rick and I sit out by the fire for a bit and relax. Guilty: I totally make smore's without the kids ;)
enjoying// our after lunch ice cream cone trips to Jimmy's! Their ice cream faces are the cutest!
loving// this video clip. She really gets him going...
hoping// Ricky continues his night sleeping habits....he is rocking it lately!!
needing// to do a thorough playroom clean out and some rearranging. On my to do list for next week is to create a reading corner specifically for reading in the playroom.
wearing// Stella's favorite get-up lately is a bathing suit paired with her chicken coop boots! go get em' girl!
bookmarking// lots of ideas for two birthday parties that are coming up in the next few months! Cannot believe Ricky is going to ONE and Stella is going to be THREE! Also- lots of popsicle recipes! Popsicles are a must on these hot days.
and looking forward to// more strawberry picking next week with the kiddies and a three day weekend with Rick home!
Fresh fruit is our jam- all year long. However, we are pumped that it's time for locally grown fresh fruit. Time to not only stock up the fridge for snacking, but it's time to buy extra to wash, cut and freeze for popsicles and foozies (smoothies), as well as the frozen yogurt recipes that are on our to try list! We definitely didn't waste any time getting to the orchard to pick some fresh strawberries. Two large containers were washed and eaten in less then two days! That only means one thing- a second trip is needed- stat! We have a handful of favorite snacks this time of year around here and fresh strawberries are definitely at the top of the list.
Is there anything sweeter than a sticky, stained watermelon face? These two are watermelon addicts. Those small triangles are the perfect refreshing snack while playing outside. Watermelon is another favorite :) It's also yummy frozen, sprinkled with a little crushed sea salt or blended into a fresh watermelon margarita. sorry kids those tasty looking drinks are not for you! I always find myself taking pictures of them eating watermelon...I just think it is so cute to watch them bite into the fruit and see the sticky juice run down their faces and arms and when they are done, they are left with pink smiles.
Another favorite of Stella and I's are frozen grapes. When she was younger I would put green grapes onto long wooden skewers, freeze them and let her chomp away. So this one has been around for a bit. However, we have been going the red grape route these days, and throwing some in a bowl in the freezer. Easy to reach in, grab a few, and pop in your mouth on the go :) It's kind of like taking a bite of grape flavored icy.
Homemade popsicles could probably have a post of their own. I find myself on pinterest all.the.time. searching for yummy popsicle recipes. There are so many out there it's a bit overwhelming. After making so making popsicle recipes last year and having to ditch so many because of crappy plastic popsicle molds, I finally caved and bought a decent mold tray. It's a mix of silicone and aluminum and uses good old fashion wooden craft sticks. So far we love them. The popsicle comes out of the mold with the stick unlike how we used to pull the stick out with no popsicle treat attached! Our first recipe to try this season was chocolate hazelnut popsicles, with strawberries of course! Using our ninja smoothie maker, we blended two and one fourth cups of almond milk with 1 heaping cup of nutella. Before pouring the blended mixture into the molds, we dropped a few chopped strawberries in each mold and then filled each mold with the milk mixture; froze over night and YUMMY! Stella loves them! These blueberry lemon pudding pops and Lava Flow Pops are both on the list to try very soon!
All in all, thank goodness for wet ones because Springtime snacking is the best, but not the cleanest! Sometimes messes make snacking that much more fun.
I just love you so much. You make me feel so lucky to have you as mine. I am cherishing these days that you are my baby and soaking in all the moments that you need me and depend one me. Because one day you are not going to need me like you do now. You are through and through a Momma's boy and I would be lieing if I said that I didn't love it. Your cheesy smile with your new pearly whites is soo contagious, it seriously lights up a room. I love when you nuzzle your head into my shoulder and your open mouth kisses are to die for :) I love how you open and close your hands along with wiggle your toes super fast when you are excited or want something. Not sure how or why it started but I always call you my little monster... Ricky I love you so so much. My world would not be what it is today without you in it. You hold a very special place in my heart. All my Love, Mommy
Weight: 21 lbs 6 oz
Height: 27 3/4 inches
Head Circumference: Still in the 100th percentile :)
Appetite: The excitement that you show when you know that it's meal time is soo funny! And the sounds that you make when the food is in sight?! I swear someone watching you eat for the first time would think that we don't feed you. :) All three meals are pretty much what I make for Stella, Daddy and I. Not that I minded, but it is so much easier cooking one meal :) I just do my meal planning with you in mind! You definitely have a few favorites these days. For breakfast you absolutely love the Kodiak whole grain pancakes and enjoy one egg either scrambled or poached (no runny yolks of course!) You also love about every single fruit that we give you. For lunch you are digging cottage cheese with prunes and for dinner....you really will eat just about anything but you are a pasta and sweet potato lover...big time, just like your sister. Your favorite veggies at the moment are sweet potatoes, zucchini, and peas. Graham crackers are by far your favorite snack. You have 4 milk fixes a day.. 7ish, 11ish, 3ish, and before bed. All meals are served with water.
Clothing Size: You are currently wearing 6-12, 12-18 month clothing and you are in size 4 diapers.
Milestones: You definitely are getting around even if it is moving backwards. You get up on all your hands and knees with no problem but can't quite get the crawling forward thing down. Once you get tired of sitting and playing, you fall forward onto your belly and begin wiggling backwards. You have wiggled backwards to point that you are in the next room. Once you get tired, you begin to cry and show frustration. You cut two teeth on the top which took forever to break gum!! So you now have four teeth!! your smile is the cutest thing ever!
Thoughts/Other: We took you out for a pancake breakfast for the first time. You were hysterical and couldn't get enough! And...I am about to order your first birthday party invitations. How the hell has this first year flown by this fast?
Our routine: Wake up has been around 6:30. We usually snuggle, play, have a cup of milk and watch a cartoon in Mommy and Daddy's bed with Stella for a short bit before we make our way into the kitchen to eat breakfast. After breakfast which is 8ish we all play or you like to cruise around in your walker. You also love to play on the floor with Stella. You usually go down for your first nap around 9:30ish. This nap is usually about an hour to an hour and a half. If we have any plans or errands to run we usually do so after this nap because you are freshly fed. Lunch is around noon. I make sure to wheel out your high chair so we can have a picnic outside on the deck for lunch. clean up is soo much easier :)And then more play; if it is nice out we usually hang outside in the back yard. Your second nap is around 1:30/2ish which is another hour to hour and a half. Dinner is around 5:30/6ish. We all eat at the dinner table together. You get in some Daddy play time after dinner and take our evening bath before bed. You nurse once more before you go to bed which is NO later than 7:15. lately it's been 6:45. We had a few nights in a row this month that bedtime was pretty rough. Inconsolable crying and rocking you to sleep kind of nights. Daddy and I totally blamed them on those top teeth! Glad to say that we are back on track with our bedtime routine. You are a rock star a majority of the time at soothing yourself to sleep.
Your favorites: Some of your favorites at the moments are:
1. chasing Stella in your walker
2. cruising in the crazy coupe
3. swinging on the swing
4. Food. :) this should have been #1 5. relaxing in the hammock
6. taking a bath
7. Your blankies...you will not sleep without them.
8. Stella :) She makes you laugh so hard.
9.You still love to nurse- not too much longer little guy before cows milk!
There are a number of things that we have been loving over here so I figured I would throw together a few favorites on this Friday the 13th?!
One.
After painting our kitchen and Rick putting up the subway tile back splash I wanted something special for our large back wall. I looked around a ot and wasn't going to settle because it's a wall that we look at all the time. I wanted something simple yet elegant. I found this shop on etsy called House of Belonging and I actually ended up having trouble choosing between a few of their pieces. After waiting patiently for it to arrive, it was finally delivered 6 weeks later! I am so in love with it and couldn't of been happier with my choice. The saying says it all. I will never be able to count the number of memories that our kitchen holds, but I am so happy that this sign is now a part of it :)
if you want to bring happiness to the whole world, go home and love your family. - Mother Teresa
Rick and I will be doing a little custom work to our kitchen table in the next couple weeks which will complete our new kitchen look- I'm super excited ;)
Two.
Our hammock is our jam! We all end up in it at some point. It is the Eagles Nest Outfitters hammock and it is so friggin comfortable. I could seriously sleep in it. If we have time after dinner to play outside, the kids and I lay in it for a bit and it really relaxes Ricky. Last night he actually began to fall asleep in it :) I never thought we had the proper trees in our yard to hang a hammock but with their adjustable slap straps, it works perfectly! I sometimes look out the back door and see Rick taking a few minutes to swing in the hammock after caring for the chickens. It really is tempting- so it a tall frosty beverage while swinging in the hammock :)
Three.
I have mentioned before that Stella has two favorites dinners and they are tacos and spaghetti with sausage. Two super easy dinners to prepare. When I know I am going to prepare spaghetti the next day, I defrost my sausage at night so I can put my sauce on first thing in the morning. After putting my sauce on in the morning, dinner is pretty much done. All I need to do come dinner time is boil water and cook the pasta! I love easy dinners because dinner time always seems to be complete chaos around here and Ricky totally gets a case of hangry baby if we don't eat on time! Now that Ricky is eating what we are eating for meals, I have to choose wisely what I am making and what I am cooking with. Come to find out he shares Stella's love for spaghetti; but really what baby doesn't love pasta??? This video I can seriously watch over and over.
Four.
Putting Stella to bed lately has been a favorite. and it's not because she is the last to put to bed which means all babies are asleep- okay maybe a little bit ;) I have been walking out of her room giggling every night, heading straight to Rick to share the things she said. I honestly have no clue where she learns these things! For example, I ask her for a kissy lip kiss each night before bed and she takes both hands, grabs my head, pulls me in and plants one on me. I then kiss her a thousand times including her cheeks. After kissing her cheek, she looks at me and goes, "Aww, your so sweeeeet!" I laugh and tell her that she is the sweetest girl! She then goes on to say, "Well I love you Momma, and your my Maaver (mother)!"
Five.
Bean Boozled. So I am not going to say that this is a favorite game per say, but it is so hilarious! I ordered this after seeing it lots on the internet and TV and thought Rick and I would give it a go. Rick couldn't get past three jelly beans! The flavors legit taste like what they are called- barf? rotten eggs? spoiled milk? canned dog food?! All I can say is have a flavored drink, or some Listerine close by. :) hmm...this game just may help deter toddlers from loving candy ;) Oh Stella...do you want a jelly bean?? hehe
Six.
Stella is still loving the chicks. I just can't get over how she calls them her girlies. "Come here girlie girlieeees!" And they are officially outside! Woohoo! That means, one, I get my laundry room back and two, I can finally get my treadmill out! Rick and Pop did finish the run in so the chickens have plenty of room to roam around during the day. Rick ran electric to the hen house so they have a heat lamp for the night time when the temps tend drop a bit. We lock them up in the hen house for the night around 8 p.m and Rick let's them out before leaving for work around 5 a.m. So far so good :)
I feel like motherhood happens so fast. I wanted to be a mom my whole life and here is it is. It is happening now; right now. time is a beast. I have been a mom for almost three years now and it has flown by. way. too. fast. I look at Stella and I feel like I just woke up one morning and my first tiny baby went from being an infant, to a toddler to now a little lady that I adore so much. I look back and am amazed at all the changes she has gone through in these past years and where she is and who is she today. As much as I would kill to have my first tiny baby back cuddled up on my chest sound asleep, it is so fascinating to watch her grow each and every day into the little lady that she is becoming. Her little heart loves so damn much. I am not sure how it is possible some days. But when a two and a half year old looks at me out of nowhere and says "I love you Mommy," my heart just wants to explode in those moments. She must throw out a thousand compliments a day..."Mommy I love your shoes, Mommy your hair looks so pretty..." Seriously?? When she isn't throwing out compliments or trying so hard to make Ricky laugh, she is probably in the kitchen shaking her hips, waving her finger to Meghan Trainor's No No No! Rick and I are in trouble- big time. She loves to cook and bake in her and our kitchen, dress herself, pull Daddy's truck in the garage, pick flowers and put them in her wagon, dig in the dirt, a shower Ricky with kisses most of the time :)
Motherhood has taught me so many things; Stella and Ricky have taught me so many things. Motherhood is now. The time is now. And it is whizzing by like the speed of light. As many times as I find myself on my hands and knees picking up cheerios off the floor which is all day, everyday, or using the bathroom with a little audience to entertain, these are the best times and I wouldn't change them for the world.
getting told by my two and a half year old that I am a wild child...These really are the days. Being a mommy is exhausting, and some days you just need a 10 minute recharge, and I will proudly say it is an effing hard job but damn is it rewarding! To look at Stella and see a product of what we are raising and teaching is for a lack of better word- incredible. How the hell is my first baby going to be three in just four months? Time is a beast!
Its feels like forever since I sat down to write a blog post. I could be writing Ricky's nine month update still can't believe he is going to be nine months tomorrow but I figured I'd play catch up on some happenings around our parts.So let's get to it.
One.
I can't even begin to explain the excitement Stella had for Rick's birthday which was Friday. I mean the excitement began days before his birthday. It really was so so cute. From making Rick a card, to wrapping random toys around the playroom that she thought he would like the most...I was just blown away at how excited she was and it wasn't even her own birthday. When Rick would call her she would totally spill the beans on whatever we had done in prep for his day. I was smart in not telling her what was exactly in the box that we were wrapping for him. :) Still not sure if he was surprised by his donut cake that we made for him or if he caught on to her two fifteen slips. When Friday rolled around, she sat at the window waiting for him to get home because all she wanted him to do was open his presents and read her card. I think he didn't even get both boots off before she was telling him to come open!! She sure does know how to make someone feel special on their birthday. Love her little heart.
Two.
Speaking of Stella I have found myself stopping abruptly in my tracks lately thinking to myself did she really just say that?? Just the other day I was pumping while Ricky was napping and Stella walks in and she usually just sits next to me and chat until I am done. However, she walks in, sees that I am pumping and says..."Oh wait right there Mommy, I am going get my phone and take a picture of you pumping your boobie milk!" not making this shit up. How about another? She begins to walk out of the room the other day, turns back at me and says "tata for now!" no idea where she heard that...
I gave her rye bread for the first time for breakfast. She looks at it and yells, "Oh no Mommy! There are buggies all over my toast!" no Stella, they are seeds sweatheart :)
totally chatting on her cell phone while nursing her baby...okay, I can probably guess where she's seen this before... ;)
Three.
I am totally in denial that I have found myself browsing on pinterest for party themes for Ricky's first birthday! In my opinion, there are so many more ideas for girl parties than boys- not counting character themes. I will continue my search until I find one that I know for sure will fit him. Last night both kids were sleeping and Rick and I were sitting on the couch waiting for the first one to make a move to head into the kitchen to prep for the morning- get the auto brew filled and ready- pack Rick's breakfast and lunch blah blah blah... We found ourselves lost in old pictures and videos of the kids, reminiscing. If anything makes a momma tear up- it's looking at pictures and videos from when her babies were smaller.
Four.
Stella and I drink so many smoothies especially in the warmer months when we are spending lots of time outdoors. We just love a refreshing fruit smoothie. There is no denying that Ricky digs them too. But I will be the first to admit I began not making them as much because our blender began to really suck at blending the frozen fruit. Our smoothies began to get chunky to the point it would clog the straw. Not sure why, but I just never bought a new one. Well, I finally found one that I wanted to try and immediately fell in love after the first smoothie. This Nutri Ninja is bad ass. We have actually been leaving it out on the counter because it's getting used daily. Not that my kids don't love fruits, but it's another great way to pack TONS of fruits and calcium into their daily intake. We have been hooked on a strawberry key lime smoothie....
1 cup of frozen strawberries
1 ripe frozen banana
1 cup of coconut milk- sometimes more
1 5.3 oz container of greek key lime pie yogurt
Stella took her first sip and says... "I looove this foozie mommy, it is soooo yummy!" I cracked up. She calls our smoothies- foozies. It is the cutest damn thing.
One strawberry key lime foozie coming up!
Five:
Our chicks are getting big and extra messy and stinky! We love them but are counting down the days until we have move them on out to their coop! If the weather hadn't taken a turn for shit, we could have them out there during the day but it is just too cold for them still. We are in the process of weaning them off of the brooder lamp getting them ready for cooler temps. They have gotten so many feathers and don't have too much down left to loose. Most of the down that is left is on their necks. Rick also began building the run in for chickens which he will finish this upcoming weekend. One step closer to having their home complete. The past number of mornings all three of us have been having one egg with rye toast one multi grain pancake for Ricky instead of rye and splitting an avocado. I prepared the pans as usual and got ready to whip up some breakfast and found myself egg-less! Total disappointment. I am looking forward for never!! having this problem again.
Six.
Just a sneak peak into some playroom fun
'Goals' for the Week-
begin a daily 20 minute workout- my treadmill is pinned in the basement thanks to the chicken pen and I need to do something!!
