Three Months

Our littlest man turned three months old on Friday! Time is flying by quickly and we're busy trying to soak up the moments with our littles. Our sweet Ryder boy, your little personality is starting to make itself known. You are happy and smiley and we love how your face just lights up when you see us in the morning or after your nap. You even smile when your big brother comes in your room loudly and proudly after your nap, because he's so excited to see you.

This has been a big month of firsts for you, little man. First, you started rolling over from your back to front at 11 weeks! Finn didn't do this until around 5 months, so you seem to be way ahead of the game in this area. You rolled over front to back the very next day. You probably would've done this sooner, but your stellar parents haven't put you on your tummy very much since your big brother tries to pick you up. Because of this new little trick, we've had to unswaddle you when you sleep. This transition was the absolute worst with Finn, but you breezed through it like a champ! It took just a couple days for you to get used to the idea, but once you were out- you were happy as can be. Because of this, it seems like you turned into such a big boy overnight!

You're still sleeping like a champ with a solid 10 hours at night and 2-2.5 hour nap in the afternoon. Your morning nap is so varied due to the fact that we're usually on the go, but you nap like a pro in the ergo when I wear you. You also take a short catnap around dinnertime before bath. You're eating every 2-3 hours during the day and your daddy loves to give you your bedtime bottle. You have also become quite the "talker" these days and seem to want your voice to be heard just as much as your brother.

We don't have a doctor's appointment this month, but I would guess that you weight around 13.5lbs and have gotten a good bit longer. You're about to outgrow 3 month clothing and you're now in size two diapers. You had your first cold right when you turned 3 months old thanks to your loving, sharing brother. You love staring at lights and fans. You still hate your car seat. You took your first car trip this month to Aiken and next month, you'll get your first trip to the beach! We love you to pieces little man!

  Our house is loud and messy and I love it.

 Mommy loves matching outfits.

 We visited your great grandparents.

 You took your first trip to Aiken and we stayed with Oma and Opa for Father's Day weekend. You also got to meet your aunt Miranda and cousins Reese, Brooke, Sawyer and Colton.

 You celebrated your first Father's Day! We think daddy is pretty great around here.

 Smiles for days.

 

Twenty One Months

Our sweet big boy will be twenty-one months tomorrow! Since I've been doing his updates, every three months, it's that time again. It is so hard to believe he will be two in just three short months!

Finn, we are so proud of the sweet big brother you have become over the past three months. In so many ways you are still our baby boy, but this added responsibility of being a big brother has made you grow up in so many ways. Over the past three months, you have started holding our hands so that we don't have to carry you everywhere (although mommy will in a heartbeat!) You have learned to be so patient when getting in and out of the car as you seem to understand that mommy has to get Ryder in and out first (because you'll run off if I get you out first). You are learning what it means to be "sweet and gentle" because you hear us say it about 100 times a day. You call your baby brother "Ry Ry" and will whisper it and point to his door when he's napping. You take baths together, although, most of the time is spent making sure you don't sit on him or pull him out of his seat. You try to share your toys with him, but don't seem to understand why he doesn't want to play with them. I just know that you boys will be the best of friends and it makes my heart so happy to know you have a built in buddy for life.

Last I checked when I weighed you at home you were around 26lbs. You are still in size four diapers and 18-24 mos. clothing. You've started to wear some 2T, but it's still a bit on the bigger side.

You LOVE being outside and would live out there if we let you. Daddy takes you to play in the yard almost everyday before dinner and you come back in wet, muddy and sweaty.You love "doing yard work" with daddy

Now that I am fully recovered from my c-section, we go on walks to the playground and try to get out of the house somewhere everyday. Even if it's just to Target.

We've been to the pool a few times, but you seem a bit more interested in watering the flowers, picking up trash and sweeping.

You like playing hide and seek, but still need some practice.

This pic is blurry but still conveys your excitement for your favorite toy. Your dirt devil jr. that we got from the thrift store for $2.95. Your favorite things right now are definitely cleaning in any form- vacuuming, sweeping, dusting. You love helping us do laundry by switching the clothes and taking them out. You are such a great sleeper and we've recently given you a pillow to use. Your head is rarely on it, but it seems to occupy you when you wake up and try to put your toys inside the case.

We've been going to a lot of playtimes, storytimes and music classes.

You have the sweetest little heart and one of our favorite things you do right now is lean your head forward for a kiss on the head. You do this all. the. time. And I LOVE it. You'll do it during meals, you'll stop whatever you're doing and do it in the house. You'll do it in appreciation for something if we give you a special treat. I'm pretty sure it's your way of giving kisses right now, because you also do it to Ryder when I say "love baby Ryder".

Your favorite foods right now are pasta (a boy after his mama's heart!), sweet potato, avocado, broccoli, all fruit, chips and salsa, Trader Joe's fish sticks, chick fil a nuggets, edamame, raisins, blueberry waffles and cereal.

You love animals- all kinds, but especially puppies and chipmunks. You still love airplanes and will still put your hands up in the air when you hear one. You still love dancing and will start the minute you hear any kind of music- at home, in the car, in the grocery store. Your newest move involves stomping your foot. You also started trying to jump and it might be the cutest thing I've ever seen.

You love spinning in circles and we have to spot you, because you'll keep doing it until you fall down.

You've figured out how to unbuckle the top part of your car seat which has led me to purchase a cover for the buckle so your happy hands can't let yourself out. You've always loved books, but now are letting us know your favorites- anything with a truck or a tractor. You love playing with balls of all kind- tennis, soccer, golf, beach balls. You love playing golf and soccer with your daddy and he loves it just as much. We are so proud to be your mommy and daddy and consider each day a blessing that we know we don't deserve. We love you higher than airplanes fly, baby boy!

Whole 30 Update

Well, I am here to admit I'm a Whole 30 dropout (sort of). As much as I wanted to do it while breastfeeding, it just wasn't possible for me to keep my calories up enough to maintain my milk supply no matter how much I ate. I ended up losing 5lbs in 4 days- which is normally great, but not while nursing. With Whole 30, one of the biggest keys to success it preparation. You really can't have any pre-packaged food, so in order to have any snacks on the go, I had to make them ahead of time. Chasing around an active toddler and feeding a 3 month old around the clock doesn't leave much time for healthy snack prep on a regular basis. At the rate I've been eating, I can only eat so much fruit, veggies and things with dates. Dustin, however, is still doing it so I am still making Whole 30 meals and eating them with him. I am just adding back in my pasta, whole grains and a mug of ice cream at night dairy. Combine this with the fact that I'm back in the gym and I still think I'm moving in the right direction. Anyway, here are a couple recipes that we have loved and I wold make again Whole 30 or not.

Date, Shallot and Rosemary Chicken (originally from here)
4 large chicken breasts (I actually used 8 smaller chicken thighs as they were on sale)
2 large shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
7 medjool dates, pitted and diced
3 large sprigs of fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Grease a baking dish with cooking spray (I used coconut oil)

3. Line the dish with chicken and top with your sliced shallots and dates.

4. Now pull the rosemary off one of the sprigs and toss over the chicken, then place the remaining 2 rosemary sprigs around the chicken.

5. Mix together the oil and your vinegars and pour over the chicken.

6. Bake 30 min covered and then 5-10 min uncovered to brown the top.

Lemon Artichoke Chicken (adapted from here)
3-4 chicken breasts
1 can of artichoke hearts (I bought mine from Trader Joe's)
1 sweet onion sliced
1 lemon
2 cloves of garlic- peeled and chopped
1/2 cup pitted kalmata olives
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Spray your baking dish with cooking spray (I used coconut oil)

2. Line baking dish with with chicken and top with artichoke hearts, onion, olives and garlic.

3. Slice lemon and squeeze some of the juice on top, and then lay the slices on top of the chicken.

4. Sprinkle olive oil on top of chicken and season with salt and pepper. I also topped mine with leftover rosemary from the dinner listed above.

5. Bake at 350 covered for 30 min covered and then 5-10 min uncovered.

Cashew Coconut Energy Bites (adapted from here)
1/2 cup cashews, soaked in water for at least 1 hour
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
8 pitted dates
1/4 cup dried cranberries (I actually used a dried fruit mixture without added sugar)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
1. Combine everything in food processor until it forms a ball. If it seems too dry, add water one tablespoon as a time until it sticks together.

2. Roll mixture into small two-bite balls and then roll in shredded coconut.

3. Refrigerate in an airtight container.

Carne Asada (from here)

2-3lb flank steak
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
2 limes, juiced
4 cloves of garlic minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp smoked paprika

Directions
1. Combine vinegar, oil, lime juice, garlic and spices together in a bowl for marinade. Allow the steak to marinate for at least 1 hour up to 24 hours. 

2. Broil the steak for 6 minutes on each side and allow to rest for 10 minutes. You can also grill it if you'd like.

Top with some fresh avocado and enjoy- this was so yummy! I served it with pineapple coleslaw (recipe below).

Pineapple Coleslaw (from here)
1 cup broccoli slaw
1 cup diced pineapple
3/4 cup dried cranberries (no added sugar)
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
Juice of 3 limes
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Mix everything together in a large bowl and enjoy!

Summer so far

We have now hit the ground running full on into summer with 95 degree days, trips to the pool and sweaty walks to the playground. Here are some pictures of our first few weeks of summer.

There is a gymnastics gym that hosted "open gym time" during the school year and we made it to the last two of the year.

Our first trip to the pool this year. He loved watering the plants more so than the actual pool, but he looked cute!

#1 had his first of I'm sure many injuries to come.  He tripped while walking in his room and hit his head on the dresser... at bedtime. So, of course, we had to keep him up an extra couple hours to monitor him and thankfully all was good with our sweet boy. Somehow, we managed to avoid stitches with this one.

Dustin went on his third annual trip to Trinidad with KLife and they took 17 high schoolers this year!

#2 has smiles for days now

 #1 playing hide and seek

We had a run-in with the sprinklers on our walk.

 Little Acorns playtime up at our new favorite shopping/dining/everything area, Avalon.

Food Truck Tuesdays complete with a fire truck

Splashing at Brook Run Park while waiting for our friends to arrive.

Lots of love from Teagan.

3 mommas, 5 babies and a dog make for a fun morning.

Full arms=full heart

Free doughnut day at Dunk Donuts

We took the boys to a Teeny Tykes music camp at a church not too far away and Finn loved it! We can't wait to sign up for the fall class in September!

Finn "loving" his baby brother.

Finn made his first craft in Waumba Land at church.

My shopping buddy

 

All smiles around here lately and I love it.