Coming up for air

I feel like I've dropped off the face of the blogging world. Most likely because I have in fact dropped off the face of the blogging world. Last week allowed no time to blog.  Kris was overseas for the first time since I’ve returned to work.  Two babes + work + dog + bottles + packing food + laundry + etc etc etc = a mix of sleep deprivation and teetering on the brink of insanity. How single working moms keep it together is beyond me. My head did not hit the pillow before midnight. I drank more coffee than humanly possible. I didn’t wear my sunglasses while driving for fear that the shade would cause me to doze off and end up in a ditch. My children don’t sleep so yeah, there’s that too.  They make up for it in cuteness.

But finally, FINALLY, we are leading up to one of my favorite weekends—Memorial Day weekend.  Officially kicking off summer is 100% acceptable in my book. The festivities will start with a weekend trip to Ohio.  El Vaquero will be happening (obvi), a trip to the zoo and aquarium will be taken (which I’m dying to visit.  It’s Jack Hanna’s zoo! Parker will love it.  Or maybe I will love it more.  Teagan will definitely love it since she loves everything and everyone), water will be splashed poolside if the weather permits, and the Memorial Day parade back home in Michigan will cap off the weekend.  Yay for sunshine and fun and OH-IO!

Zoo trip last Sunday. Parker very much enjoyed feeding leaves to the elephant statue.

Teagan very much enjoyed watching.

I’m very much so looking forward to all the fun we have planned for summer.  Between our two favorite local lakes, aquatic center, zoo, outdoor concerts, movies in the park, 4^th of July vacay in Traverse, Kris and I both celebrating our 29^th birthdays for the second time, 4 year wedding anniversary, and ending with vacation round two to Myrtle Beach, we are busy beavers this season! We also have some pesky nice weather things to tackle, like having the exterior of our house painted and removing a very large tree.  Both things I need to get calling on to find some (hopefully) good quotes.

Bring it summer—we’re ready for ya!



Happy day

Diapers & nursing & rocking. Kissing boo-boo’s, handing out hugs, & making snacks. Sesame Street, building towers, & belly sandwiches. Falling asleep with a baby on my chest & again with a toddler in my arms. Realizing a little more yesterday just how lucky I am to have not just one, but two little dears to love on this Mother’s Day.

The day was nice and chill.  Whole wheat oat pancakes were shared by all (with a white flour version for our seemingly wheat sensitive baby T), a flop of a photoshoot was taken, and my very favorite dinner was cooked (Mitchell’s Shang Hai Sampler, super yummo).  Kris changed his work schedule to fly out to France late Sunday night rather than the original plan of Saturday afternoon.  “Family first,” and it was much appreciated.  Handcrafted tote and new kitchen counters (order pending) rounded out the festivities.  I bring a tote of goodies every week to work.  Now I have a cuter way to bring them into the office :)

I wore something other than yoga pants/shorts and the babes were in matching outfits.  Perfect time for a photoshoot.  But we all know how that goes.  Too much effort = the most interesting of pictures.

We now have documented evidence of hair grabbing at its finest.

Learning the great life lesson of being quick to forgive and forget.

Starting a rap? Laying down a high five?

Putting her hands in the air like she just don't care.

And in case you were wondering what snack I made, see below.  Greek Yogurt Peanut Butter Honey dip.  I saw this on Pinterest a while back and honestly don’t know who to link this up to.  But the concept is simple.  Mix greek yogurt, peanut butter & honey together.  Eat plain.  Eat with apple slices.  Eat with graham crackers.  Repeat & repeat & repeat.  I didn’t measure anything, but something around ½ cup yogurt, 2 tablespoons peanut better, and 1 tablespoon of honey will do the trick.  For an extra nutritional boost sub in sunflower seed butter.  I made this peanut free version for Parker’s classroom once and it was enjoyed by all.  Extra bonus—it keeps you full for so long.  And keeps you from wanting to eat the entire Costco sized jar of Nutella that’s only a desk drawer away from you.   

Happy Mother’s Day!

April Recap

Another month of fun!

Gymnastics classes finished up.  Parker seemed to really enjoy the bulk of it except when it came to interacting with the instructor.  16 weeks with the same teacher and 16 weeks of Parker going all out to avoid any close interaction.   If Ms. Melissa was at a circuit, Parker wouldn’t do it.  The only time Ms. M felt the Parker love was at the end of class when she would stamp their hands and feet.  What is it with kids and stamps?

Easter (technically March) greeted us with sunny skies and two babes cooperating with wagon time.  We walked all through the sub with ease.  I wasn't quite sure if Teagan would be able to sit and not flip forward and sometimes it's quite challenging keeping Parker contained but a successful trip it was.  Quite different from the wagon ride yesterday when we didn't even make it to the sidewalk.  Note to self: broken Nutrigrain bars result in toddler fits of rage.



Teagan flashing it back to the 90s with her talk to the hand gesture.



The BOB Duallie finally hit the pavement.  I’ve been dying to get a good run in with this thing once spring hit. Mid-40s with a hint of wind was the bulk of April and while not exactly the spring weather I hoped for, it worked.  I huffed and puffed during the entire jog and I’m not going to lie, it was tough.  But I’m determined to get back to where I used to be.  Being pregnant every other summer messes with my jogging routine :)

Never do I want my babies to be sick but if they have to be it might as well be on a day that’s 70 and sunny.  Teagan was at the tail end of her week long ear infection/viral infection/general mad baby infection so it was very much so an enjoyable day playing hooky with the girls.    The usual occurred—Parker diva’d, Teagan smiled. 

If this isn't sassy pants I don't know what is.

 

Parker and Teagan played together, alone, for ten minutes while I put some final touches a weekend meal of pasta with sausage and Alfredo. Words cannot describe how my heart feels watching them interact.  How has my heart not exploded from all this cuteness yet?

Perhaps the most exciting thing of the month is that Parker can ride her trike! She is SO incredibly proud of herself.  And I’m so proud for her.  I cannot tell you how many hours we’ve spent outside with her bike the past couple weeks.  All the instructions on how to pedal just clicked and off she went. 

Lazy days were spent napping on the couch, Kris ripped out the basement with a little help from Yuengling and the kegerator, and a nice sunny day was spent at the Villages.

Great month as usual.  We're all looking forward to the nice sunny days May has in store for us!

7 Months!

Happy 7 months, sweet girl!



Same story every month, but it's a good story--Teagan is still the happiest little thing.  Everything makes her smile and laugh, especially when you get water from the outside of the fridge.  It's the simple things in life, right? :)

She's got nothing but adoration for her big sister and since Teagan has started sitting, her and Parker are really able to play together.  Yesterday morning both babes were keeping each other entertained with toys while I got ready for work.  My heart melted as I peeked out of the bathroom to see them on our bedroom floor, laughing and hiding under the fort Parker set up.  Yay for sisters!



Three second later Teagan pulled Parker's hair.  The photo looked a bit more...dramatic by that point.



Likes:
-petting Sydney.  If you ask Sydney, she would call it something different.  Like pulling.
-sippy cups.  Girl gets so excited when you put her in the highchair with her sippy. 
-snuggling up to sleep at night with mama
-being rocked to sleep
-laughing at Parker when she throws a tantrum
-vaccines, apparently, as she didn't even cry from her shot last week.
-swinging

Dislikes:
-being on her tummy.  This is one of the few things that really sets her off.  Unless she's sleeping.  Then she's all about tummy time.
-pacifiers.  I though it was weird that it took her until like 3 months to really entertain the idea of a paci.  It must have been because she wanted nothing to do with it in the first place.
-rolling.  She's been there, done that, and doesn't want to experience it again. Teagan is perfectly content with how life is and is in no rush to change things :)
-the sickies.  See the text below.

The 7th month brought major sickness to poor T.  One night I woke up to her not breathing.  A couple quick wacks to the back and those slow, sleepy breaths came back.  I’m not even going to think what would have happened if she was sleeping alone in her crib.  Sunday she was running a fever and by Tuesday poor babe was less than happy.  Happy wide opened eyes were replaced with that zoned out stare, smiles were certainly turned upside down , and that cough…it was so deep and sad sounding.

Our pedi ruled the following: double ear infection, another infection, and a few questionable things—rash on her body and needing to verify whether the infection was bacterial or viral—sent us to the hospital to run labs.  A lot of worst case scenarios were run by us.  Thankfully, we were blessed with better scenarios.  The infection was viral, meds were given for her ears, and we were on our way home.  It took lots of hugs, cuddles, and a week to get our pumpkin back to tip top shape.

The sickness brought a super sore throat which put a damper on solids.  Teagan was unable to swallow food unless it was very, very watered down, so our BLW plans were once again put on the back burner.  Just towards the end of the month T slowly got back on the non-pureed food bandwagon.  But silly me sort of said, ehh whatever, to the four day food wait rule.  In a perfect world you’re supposed to introduce only one new food every four days. Then if baby gets a bad reaction you know exactly what food caused it.  I didn’t do this and sure enough, worse diaper rash ever.  It was bad.  Like bleeding bad.  Like California Baby stung when applied bad (that stuff is making its way to the garbage can and being replaced with the highly reviewed, all natural Weleda Calendula cream. It should be on my porch as I type).  Was it the broccoli? The wheat bread? I’m guessing wheat but we’re holding off on both for a while.

Teagan has tasted kiwi, oatmeal, peaches, apples, black beans, peas, carrots, bananas (covered in wheat germ for easy gripping), sweet potato, brown rice, lima beans, avocado, and green beans to date.  She’s pretty good at feeding herself now and I cannot wait to make homemade teething biscuits this weekend, thanks to Kelly over at Sippy Cups and a Pitbull Pup.

I started planning her first birthday party.  How HOW is that possible?!



Nothing to see here.



I often find myself trying to soak in little moments with Teagan.  The way she rubs her feet together in a fury whenever she has socks or shoes on until they are successfully removed from her feet.  The way she puts her little hands on either side of my face and gives me sloppy open mouthed kisses. The noises she makes as she learns how to talk—we’ve even heard dada multiple times this month.  How sweet and serene she looks lying in her crib.  How comfortable she is snuggled up to me at night.  The hair in the front of Teagan’s hair constantly seems greasy and I finally figured out why this month.  My kisses most often end up on her forehead, my lipgloss ending up on her itty bitty bangs.  It’s all the little things that I love. 

xoxo baby Teagan!


and to compare...Parker (6 months), Tegan (6.5 months). Wow, talk about similarities!