Life Lately

Of course there days and moments throughout each day that Stella just wants to play independently and not want Ricky to touch her things but she has so much love for our little guy. She is such the mommy to him and it just makes me melt. To spy on them from the other room, while watching them play so nicely together-okay, by that I really mean Stella dressing Ricky up in Mickey and Minnie ears :)- just makes me feel so happy. She gets so much joy out of feeding him, washing him in the bathtub, shushing him and patting his back if he is upset, and being the first to greet him crib side after his naps in and the morning.  Her and I even set out one weekend afternoon to grab a coffee and hot chocolate while Rick was power washing and Ricky napped. She asked if we could bring the monitor to watch him sleep while we went on our coffee date. I hope they grow up besties.

Life lately...let's see...

one.

We have EGGS!!! We have officially began getting eggs from our chicks. Rick and the kiddies ate them for breakfast this morning and we even had a double yolk! i would have indulged but have been on a steel cut oats with blueberries and cranberries kick for breaky... :) We were waiting pretty patiently impatiently...but we are finally beginning to fill up our million saved egg cartons! Lay baby lay!

two.

I am going to blame it totally on preggo hormones, but I have shed plenty of tears while party planning for Ricky's first birthday. This has been the fastest year yet. I seriously cannot believe my little miracle baby is turning one. It honestly feels like yesterday that I was nursing him bedside in the middle of the night. He is now pulling himself up on EVERYTHING and walking along furniture, feeding himself, waving bye bye, givings hugs...I mean he is changing so fast right before my eyes. When I first began searching for boyish birthday party themes without any sort of character I would always find myself back in the girl themes pinning ideas for Stella's. Boy party ideas just seemed blah to me. But once a party theme jumped out to me- construction: pretty fitting  if you ask me since Rick works in construction?!- I got into it- big time! It has been so much fun collecting ideas and planning food and snacks all around the theme! And the smash cake?! He's got that in the bag!

May these last three days before my baby becomes a toddler go by ever so slowly. 

three.

We are more than halfway to meeting our next little boy. I still cannot believe we are having another boy! Ricky and the new little guy will be 16 months apart...I think it's so cool that they will grow up so close in age. bros fo-eva! Stella is starting to talk about the new baby all the time. She says he is getting big in my belly and that we should name him 'baby soda' or 'baby presents'?! "Sorry girlie but no way!" She tells me that we need to buy him blankies, and a new crib and she wants him to sit right next to her in the truck. :) Oh, her sweetness overload is too much sometimes. 

new baby's first little treasures.

four.

Stella is officially signed up for dance school beginning in September. She seems so excited about it; which is fitting because she gets her groove on all day long up in here'. We went to check out the school and walked through the entire place looking in all the dance rooms. That evening she told Rick all about it, how she is going to listen to the teacher, hold the bar, and told him that she needs to buy pink tights, pink ballet shoes, and a new tutu. "I guna be so essited!"  I really hope she loves it! 

Summatime Snackin'

My goodness I can remember last year when Stella would walk to the pantry and yell "Nack!" Now she is making snack requests on the double :) I love Summer time snacking much more than the other seasons. I still loooove the feeling when our pantry is freshly stocked and full; but being able to snack out of the fridge and freezer first...total win! 9 times out of 10, the snack is way healthier. okay, except for all the chocolate chip cookie dough Haagen-Daz containers currently in the freezer ;) When those bad boys go on sale, you just gotta stock up! We usually do our weekly food shop at the beginning of each week and then do a fresh fruit and/or veggie restock halfway through the week. Not because the fruit goes bad, because we eat it that damn fast. I honestly think half of my grocery bill is produce and black licorice Twizzlers- they have been a preggo craving every single pregnancy! Except this time around, there is a little toddler who likes to dig into my stash ;) Seriously what toddler likes black candy??!! 

We definitely have a list of current Summatime snackin' favs around here that seem to make it onto our weekly grocery list every single week! Totally guilty of not heatin' up the oven for some fresh baked goodies lately. Truth is every now and then nothing beats a hot fresh gooey chocolate ship cookie straight out of the oven; but with these hot ass days we head straight for the cold shit!

Here are our current favorites....in no specific order:

I'd say this is eaten on the daily here. Chobani Plain Greek yogurt with Bare Naked granola, honey and fresh fruit. In this case mango! We go through sooooo much honey! 

We gave these Dole Dippers a shot and have been hooked! Both the banana and strawberry ones are the bomb.com. Stella definitely prefers the strawberries over the bananas. But they are frozen, sweet and low cal- great for a late night snack for the preggo over here ;)

The kiddies love these and I love that they are all fresh fruit! Along with watermelon, I think these or any ice pop for that matter are best eating poolside or in the pool! 

I have mentioned both watermelon and fruit smoothies a million times here on my little blog. Both are staples here. Stella's smoothie requests usually call for the color to be pink! Even with the strawberries and raspberries, she has no clue the spinach that Momma put in there! Toddler and Mommy approved! 

Stella calls this the 'new' ice cream. We definitely indulge in a few ice cream cones around here topped with sprinkles of course! I gave this a whirl since it is a healthier version. Seriously only 150 calories for the entire pint! To be totally honest it is NO WHERE near as good as your typical creamy ice cream but it satisfies that ice cream craving :) Stella got to it before I did and put a pretty good dent in it. Not sure if she actually LIKES it or if she just likes the idea that it is new and Mommy's ;)

My two have pretty good palates and most of the time appetites when it comes to our three main meals. But these littles sure do like their Summatime snackin'!! As do i!!

Summer So Far

Summer so far has been...HOT! that is truly the best word to describe the Summer so far. Besides fun :) We have been outside as much as we can while staying cool inside to avoid some of the humidity. Summer has consisted of lots of pool time on the deck...Stella thinks it is completely necessary to fill all 3 pools each day! nuttin' like a lil pool hoppin' Pool days are full off not frosty margs at the moment-that's for sure ice pops, watermelon and fruit smoothies. Stella loves the water. If she isn't in the pool or her water table, she is trying catch the water coming out of the sprinkler. 

Summer also means lots of sunscreen which calls for daily evening baths. These two love bath time. So really it's a win win! I think there is nothing better than fresh bathed babes in clean jammies...that go to sleep niiiiice and early! okay...I seriously feel like I have said that a million times!!

We continue to take trips to the park with lots of ice water packed in a lunchbox to stay hydrated. We try and go early before the sun heats up the slides. Those suckers get effing hot! We usually find ourselves driving to the local ice cream joint for an ice cream cone after to cool us off ;) and I then usually find myself carrying sometimes one sometimes two babies up to their beds because they passed out in the truck on the way home. 

Ohh...yea, how can I forget? Eating outside is totally winning!! in my book. Clean up is so much easier- no sweeping and no vacuuming up thousands and thousands of crumbs. Also because some almost one year old thinks it's funny to either take a bite or drink and blow raspberries with a mouth full to give everyone sitting around him a shower!! 

All in all Summer so far has been a blast with these two! In other news we found out that the next Little Lykes is another....BOY!! We couldn't be more excited! I had a feeling up until about a week before our doctor appointment that it was going to be a boy. The day of the scan I was split right down the middle. Baby boy wasn't shy about hiding his junk AT ALL, as soon as the tech put the gel on my belly and placed the wand (not sure of the actual device name) on the gel, the very first picture of the baby that came up on the screen was a clear shot of the baby spread eagle!! it was quite a funny moment. He definitely didn't leave us hanging.... 

Ricky is Eleven Months

Dear Ricky,

Okay, so I am a little late on your eleven month update.  I am going to blame it on the denial that has set in that you are turning one in less than a month. This has been the fastest year yet and the best year yet.  Ricky you just light up our lives in every way possible. You are on the go and there is no stopping you. Your personality is shining like no other- you are a happy, giggly, full of energy silly little boy. You for sure have your moments and know what you want. You have learned so many new things this past month; I am still amazed by every single one. You love to play in the bottom storage draw of the stove and in my spatula draw as well. You are so ticklish and love to play in water.  Your smile when you first see Stella in the morning is ear to ear and you almost never leave the dinner table without food in your hair. One of your favorite things is when you, me and Stella all brush our teeth together. You are still my all time Momma's boy and I wouldn't have it any other way. I am so excited to see you become a big brother to the new baby in December. "Please slow down July...I want just a little bit more time before my baby becomes a toddler." Ricky you are so damn cute- I can just eat you up. I love you so so much. 
All my Love,
Mommy

always doing 'so big'!!

Weight: home scale says 23.4 lbs :)

Height:  we will find out at your one year appointment.

Appetite:  You love to eat and you know that it is meal time the minute you are put into your height chair. The sounds that come out of you while waiting for your food make us laugh every single time. You are our fruit, veggie and carb lover. You have loved anything put in front of you except egg salad! Some of your favorites are whole grain pancakes, bananas, strawberries. blueberries, poached eggs, broccoli, avocado, corn on the cob, salmon, baked potato, whole fruit popsicles...okay I feel like this list can go on and on. You are on all cows milk now and all 3 meals are served with milk. The transition from breastmilk to cows milk couldn't of went any better. 

Clothing Size: You are currently wearing 12-18 month and 18-24 month clothing and you are in size 4 diapers. 

Milestones: You are on the move and there is NO stopping you. You crawl so damn fast! And you are pulling yourself up on everything and anything- chairs, the coffee table, the window sills, the staircase gate, your crib- ev.ery.thing! When you pull yourself up you yell in excitement and show us just how proud of yourself and then you begin to shake your butt up and down (yep! you totally twerk!) You are walking along the coffee table to reach things- mostly Stella's things that she doesn't want you to have and forgets that you can reach them now. You wave bye-bye, clap- especially after you put a piece of food in your mouth, do 'so big', sway back and forth when you hears music, say "ahhh choo!" and pretends to sneeze, and looove to unravel the rolls of toilet paper! Note to all househeld occupants: ALL BATHROOM DOORS MUST STAY SHUT AT ALL TIMES!

Thoughts/Other: You are a belly sleeper...just like Stella was :)

Our routine: Rise and Shine at 7ish. You and Stella enjoy your morning cup of milk together and play. We eat breakfast around 8ish and play until you go down for your morning nap. Morning nap is about 9:30/10 to 11ish. Your naps usually last around and hour and a half. When you wake up is when we usually head out if we have errands or plans for the day. Lunch is around noon. We play the day away until your afternoon nap which usually falls between 1:30 and 2 for another hour and a half. Dinner is around 5:30 and then follow baths and jammies. We put you down for the night around 7:00 p.m and you snuggle up and fall right to sleep. You have really become the best sleeper! 7:00p.m to 7:00 a.m. baby!--my rockstar!! 

Your favorites: Some of your favorites at the moments are:

1. Food. :) 

2. pulling himself up

3. loud music- gets a kick out of Stella and I's kitchen dance parties. He looves when I dance while holding him.

4.  your crib
5. crawling and being able to get around all on your own.

6. taking a bath

7. Your blankies...you will not sleep without them.

8. being naked and when I tickle your chubby butt :)

love you little guy...xoxo