Friday Feature

Last Monday, I posted my first Pinned It Did It! And today I have my first Friday Feature (where you email me fun stuff you've done from Pinterest and I blog about it).  Today, I’m featuring a friend most of you don’t know.
Meet Faye.  We went to Illinois State together where we met in our Early Childhood Education classes.  The last 2 years in this major, almost all of our classes were with the same group of people.  Along with her sweet twin sister, Emily we all got to know each other very well.  We even did some group projects together (side note,  whatever happened to Stacey?)  Faye’s a perfectionist like me, so those worked out fabulously.
These days, she’s got an adorable family and is mommy to a sweet little guy who’s 15 months.  She also makes some amazing creations on Etsy.  Check out her Mouth Watering Wednesday post where she cooks up a Pinterest recipe for crock pot Barbeque Chicken.  It’s on my list to try!  Thanks Faye!  I couldn't agree more that if we lived closer, we’d DEFINTIELY be close friends. :)

Pinned It, Did It Monday

If you’re like me, since the invention of Pinterest, I’ve wasted spent hours on that site gathering ideas that are supposed to make my cooking better, my kids smarter, my closet more put together, and my crafting cuter.  I’ve been striving to find the balance of using Pinterest.  On way one I feel like a slug and feeling bad for myself while looking at all these “perfect” things you can find on that site.  And on the other hand, I DO find tons of great ideas.

So I’m introducing my new Monday blog feature, Pinned it, Did it!  I want a way to be accountable for actually doing some of the things I pin each week instead of just wasting time pinning them.  On Mondays I’ll try and post one thing that I did that week from Pinterest.  It might be a recipe I’ve tried, a new crafty project that I completed,  a cleaning tip I tried, a cute quote that made me laugh, or something fun I did with Owen.  Today, I’ll start with 2 things to get rolling.  The first is a tip I found about selecting watermelons.  My first 2 melons I bought this season were just ok, so I thought these tips were good ones to implement.

Picture I pinned: Source: Watermelon Picking Tips from Fifteen Spatulas
Review of the tip: I totally forgot to take a picture of the watermelon I bought, but it was delicious!  So I give this tip a huge thumbs up.  There were tons of great tips on buying and cutting a watermelon.  Don’t forget to read down in the comments section, because there were more tips down there!
The second pin I actually did this week was a fabulous bread recipe!
Picture I pinned:

Source: Crusty Bread from Simply So Good
My pictures:

add water and that's it!

I did everything in my kitchen aid

after rising for 18 hours

and after baking!

Review: This was fabulous!  A great, basic bread that looks beautiful and tastes great.  And no bread maker needed.  Although you have to think a bit ahead because it needs to sit for 12-18 hours before baking, I will definitely make it again.  Can’t wait to experiment with adding in some yummy mixings!

So that’s in for Pinned It, Did It!  If you do anything from Pinterest, I’d love for you to take a picture and send it to me.  I’ll feature it.  I love finding pins that actually make my life better in some way when we actually do them. :)

2 months!

Ellison Jakeh is 2 months old.  Ok, and a week, but I kept forgetting to post this.  The weeks are flying, yet at the same time it feels like she’s been here forever!
Measuring
She growing good, that’s for sure.  I’ve packed away all the newborn and 0-3 clothes and her 3-6 months clothing fits great.  She’s also in size 2 diapers already.  At the doctor, she’s weighing in at 12 lbs, 6 oz (87th percentile)  and is 23.1 inches tall (80th percentile).  I thought these sounded huge, but looking back at Owen’s stats, she’s smaller in both ways than he was.   She got 2 shots, Pc and Hib at her well-baby appointment.  Dr. Melvin was fully on board with our delayed/refusal schedule. It just means I have to take her in every month instead of every other, which is harder with 2 kids, but worth it to me. Schedule
We’re definitely not on any definite time schedule yet, but she’s falling into a predictable routine that is somewhat helpful for planning our days.  She’s usually up for good at 7, eats, and is back down by 9.  And by down I mean in her swing.  That’s where she does almost all her naps.  I swore I would put her in her crib from day one.  Hahaha, eating my words.  Up by 10:30, eats, plays, down again around 12/12:30 just in time for me to Owen down.  She usually sleep for a good 3 hour chunk with maybe a quick wake to eat.  Love this as I can finally get something done take a nap.  Then we’re up again around 3.  Short cap nap around 5 or 6 and then it’s screaming for the rest of the night until bedtime around 10.  I will say that towards the end of this month, this has been getting better.  Looking forward to more wake time during the day which means earlier bedtime and me time again!  Sleeping:
Well, as you can see above in our schedule, she’s right on “track” with what her sleep should be looking like with about 4 naps a day.  Again, thank goodness for the swing.  I’ve been pretty lazy about swaddling her, so she’s turned into a side or stomach sleeper.  This would have scared me to death with Owen, but hey, if she’s sleeping good and I have my video monitor, I’m not as worried.  At night, she’s still snuggling in bed with me and has been giving me a 5 hour chunk at the beginning of the night!  And usually only nursing twice.  You go girl.    Feeding
What, you mean she’s not supposed to be eating solids in her highchair yet?  Just kidding.  She’s a great nurser.  And she should be great at it, since she does it ALL THE TIME.  She’s still refusing anything that resembles a pacifier unless it’s my boob.   And since she’s really fussy in the evenings, she’s nurses pretty much all evening until she’s out for bedtime.  While I do love nursing, I look forward to having some me-time back eventually.
Pooping
Where did all the poop go?  Owen’s pooped slowed down around this time too.  It’s nice to be able to look back at blogs about him to know that it's ok!   I was so worried about his little system.  With her, I’m just enjoying the every other day blow out and try to help her out by doing bicycle and tummy time legs to get the gas out. Little milestones
She's moving her head to follow sounds and people and she'll follow me with her eyes and head around the room.  She's reaching out to grab things with both hands and is enjoying her activity mat more.  She also is getting interested in watching toys that you hold up for her.  She’s smiling!   Lots!  So adorable.  I hope she keeps it up as it’s fun to get a different reaction than just a stare or frown.  Just staring to hear some cooing and other sweet noises from her! More about Ellie
I’m still not sure what color her eyes are going to be.  They definitely look more blue than Owen’s ever did but still need a bit more time for us to say for sure.  She ALWAYS has bubbles and drool coming out of her mouth.  And she’s much more of a puker.  Owen never did this, so it’s strange always having to keep a burp rag handy.  We also call her squeaks, because this girl is LOUD!  Her nose always sounds like it’s stuffed up, even after the booger sucker has helped.  And there’s no being discrete about nursing, because she slurps and snorts while eating. :)

Me:
I had my post partum check up with Ellen  It was great to see her again.  I took her a birth announcement and a little Starbucks giftcard since she has to stay up all night when she’s on call. :)   I got a prescription for the mini pill which is what I did after Owen.  Still haven’t decided when and if I’m going to start it.  We are losing our insurance next month (a long story for another post) so I really can’t get pregnant.  Although with the amount this girl is nursing, I think it’s be pretty hard to do that right now!
Here's a few more pictures of my darling girl: I love you so much sweet girl.  It feels like you’ve always been a part of this family and I can’t wait to do more life with you!

We’re Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

How about you, you, you? You can come too, too, too.  We’re going to the zoo, zoo, zoo.
Today, we went on a little road trip to Bloomington’s Miller Park Zoo.  It’s a perfect size zoo for a quick morning trip.  There aren’t a ton a big animals, but for Owen’s first zoo trip, it was great.  Ellie slept the whole morning which worked out fabulously. There’s a great playground and splash park there too.  And the best part was that my brothers were in town for a wedding, so we all got to meet up for lunch at Avanti’s before Casey flew out (why didn’t we get a picture of all of us, oh well.)  Combined with the great weather, it was a pretty perfect day!

We got there just in time for the sea lion feeding.  Of course, I didn’t get any video of the cool stuff, just her talking (and William echoing back).

watching the sea lion

she put on a pretty good little show

a sun bear

sitting on a "tiger"

monkeys in the rainforest exhibit

this bird loved Owen and got very close and then followed him

cuddling with Grandpa at lunch

playing the piano

William shot this video last night. My little pianist in the making. What do you think, Anne A? Is he ready for lessons with you yet? :)

Maggie is 1!

Last Sunday afternoon, we headed over to Danville to help Maggie celebrate her first birthday.  We hoped Owen wouldn’t be confused as we had made a big deal that that day was also his birthday. :)  Summer asked me to help with a few of the decorations, which was so fun to do!  Her theme was butterflies, with a great mix of colors.  Some of these pictures were stolen from Summer (via Jessica). :)

labels for the drinks, crafts, and favors

front door sign

there was a happy birthday part too that was blown behind the curtain

I made her shirt and headband

better view of her headband

Owen enjoyed their swing

the birthday girl and her momma

Owen loved the bubbles

of course, Ellie needed a bow to match the them

And as seen in this video, Owen doesn't like getting a ton of help these days!
Happy birthday Maggie! We love you!

Owen is 2!

My sweet little boy turned 2 last Sunday!  I really am finding it hard to believe I have a 2 year old.  Where in the world did that time go?  Owen James is the delight of my life and I can’t wait to brag on him a little in this post and overload you with some videos of what he can do now.  I definitely had a little mommy guilt for not doing a huge party for him this year.  I told William we should just do a little cake and ice cream party.  But then William politely reminded me that I don’t do just cake and ice cream.  Meaning, I don’t do any party small.  And he’s right.  So we just decided to get balloons, presents, and cake and celebrate with us.  We’ll go big next year.  Yes, I already have something planned in my head. :)  But then Ellie will be one next year too.  Drat.  Well, you all just better be ready to come over for 2 birthday parties pretty close to each other.  He had his 2 year old well-check last Monday.  He screamed bloody murder for the nurse while she weighed and measured him, then danced laughed and sang with me while we waited, and then screamed bloody murder again for Dr. Melvin.  But big plug for our new doctor, really love him and the ways he tried to calm Owen down.  He is now 2ft, 1o inches and weighs in at 27 lbs, 7 oz.   Dr. Melvin said that Owen was just a little under the average for weight and a little over the average for height.    Food: in general, he’s a pretty easy eater.  He’ll try most things although he’s getting pickier in his toddler stage.  He would live solely on string cheese and yogurt if I’d let him.  Oh, and his favorite boxed snack, Annie’s Snack Mix.  He’s a great breakfast eater and loves William’s smoothies with yogurt and fruit and usually loves oatmeal. Sleep: It gives me great pleasure to write that after 2 very long years, Owen is finally starting to sleep through most nights.  Every couple days, he gets up at 2 or 3 and William usually goes in and sleeps with him.  He goes to sleep by 8 (I’d love this to be earlier, but alas) and is up for the day by 6 or 6:30.  His afternoon nap is usually only about an hour unless I help him get back to sleep, but that’s getting harder to do with Ellie. He’s getting pickier about which books and songs we sing before bedtime, but still loves to read his Bible, which melts my heart.  We have 4 that we rotate through, but his favorite by far is the The Rhyme Bible Storybook for Toddlers.  He loves to sing This Little Light of Mine, especially the verses about hiding it and not letting Satan blow it out. The terrific 2’s: There are some awesome aspects about this age.  He is learning so much and he cracks me up everyday!  He is obsessed with cars and trucks and all things that go.  Cars litter our house on every surface, in the kitchen, bathroom, and living room and you have to watch where you step.  He still adores reading and loves the storytime we go to every Tuesday at the library.  He loves to sing, dance, stomp, and hop and we often through a dance party in the middle of the living room.  He would play outside all day long if I’d let him.  He sits in his crazy coupe car and pretends to drive.  He also loves to play “cook” in his kitchen and make me different things to eat and really enjoys helping me pour ingredients into the mixer while baking.  His favorite song is currently The Wheels on the Bus and as witnessed in the video below, he likes to dictate what and who is on the bus. :) Owen is learning things like crazy.  I couldn’t even attempt to write down all the words he’s saying.  He’ll repeat anything you say and tells us long stories which of course we pretend to understand.  He knows all his colors and is getting pretty good at counting to 10.  He’s finally starting to show some interest in letters and knows O for Owen, M for mom, D for dad, and C for cow.  Here he is counting and singing Up, Up, Up which is our current favorite library book/CD:

The terrible 2’s: But along with toddlerhood, came some not so fun things.  He is getting really good at throwing tantrums.  Mostly around bath and bedtime.  We literally have to hold him down to brush his teeth and get a diaper on him.  He also hates being told no, especially when is comes to having fruit snacks before 9am. :)  Another hatred is getting his nails or toenails clipped.  And coming in from outside.  And going to bed.  And getting his face washed after meals.  I sure hope these are all normal toddler things because sometimes I wonder what happened to my sweet boy.  Being a big brother:    I won’t write much because this is all about him, not Ellie.  But he loves her.  And he loves to smother her with kisses and hugs.  Yes, he’s been a little more needy and says “hold you” all the time, but in general, he’s been a great big brother! His birthday morning french toast: And a few pictures from his birthday before church.  He got to move up to the big boy classroom.  You can see by the pictures how it went.  I never got paged, but when I went to pick him up, he was asleep in Miss Pam’s arms. :) This has been the most amazing ride these last 2 years.  He has changed my life in so many ways and I cannot wait to see the boy he grows into!  Happy 2nd birthday Owen!!