Little Moments

Okay, so I'll be honest....I have been attempting a blog post almost every day this week but I just didn't know what it was going to be about. So I would log on...sit...watching that little blinking cursor...and nothing. What I normally do is look through my pictures of the week on my camera & phone and come up with what I'm going to write about based on the events of the week. Well, this week was a pretty average week, except for a photo session we did but I won't be talking about that until I have the pictures to show you! So, the only photos I had from the week were just little moments that weren't story worthy....which got me thinking. Life is not about big storybook moments. It's not about big weekend plans. It's not about the latest and greatest things we buy. Life is truly about the little moments that wouldn't stand out to anyone else but you, and if you are lucky enough, the loved ones you are sharing them with. I have come to realize that life with a baby is not about the big accomplishments they make because those don't happen on a daily or even weekly basis. Life with a little one is best when those little moments are cherished. So today's post is me merely sharing with you some of my little moments with Carly throughout the past week.

 The beautiful little moment when Carly fell asleep in the middle of the rug....at 8pm, woohoo!

The little moment when we took a break during shopping to let Carly kick around in the fountain, and she squealed with delight! (even though it's not captured here)

The precious little moment when she fell asleep on me like she did when she was a newborn...and slept on me for 2 hours. Nope, I didn't put her down. I just sat still, stroking her little head, enjoying the sweet moment where she felt I was the most comfortable place to nap (and woohoo a 2 hour nap!)

The little moments where I watch Carly play. I find them so enjoyable and entertaining. Seeing her little imagination begin to unfold is truly amazing and her expressions are just total cuteness!

The little moments captured during this weeks play date with the ABC girls.

 The moment when she has never looked so big in her stroller :(

 The little smiles I get when she likes something new- this week it was mashed potatoes!

 The little bath time moments where I can see in her eyes just how much she is enjoying this.

Those wrinkly little feet after her baths!

And yes....those little moments where I turn around for a minute and she has pulled half her toys out of the bucket because she must think I look bored and am in need of something to do :)

 

I love you Carly, and I cherish all the little enjoyable moments you give me.

Sunshine and Goodtimes

This past week we have spent a lot of time outdoors because the weather has just been so spectacular during the day (still gets chilly at nights). Carly's little bare feet touched grass for the first time (at least, intentionally). I have probably said this before, but it is so amazing to watch her little eyes and expressions react to something so simple, something we always take for granted. We live in such a beautiful world and sometimes it takes the eyes of a baby to bring us back to that reality.

Baby kankles!

This girl can make anything cute...even a lemon!

I'm sure you all noticed in my last post, but I finally did something with my hair!! I went bold and got a blonde highlighted A line bob! I figured that a big change would be the most fun :) The picture on the Mother's Day post and the picture above are actually after my first appointment, and I have since gone back for more blonde highlights and got it cut a little shorter with layers in the back, so it actually looks quite a bit different than seen here. I'm sure by the next post I will have a better picture of it to share! I LOVE it and I am so happy to have hair that I can care for and style quicker...plus it gives mama a reason to get out of the house and relax every 6 weeks! Whoop whoop!

 

We also got to see our ABC girls this week for an indoor play date! I have always been leery about public play places for kids, thinking that it is filled with germs, but the place we went was nice and clean- ran by moms actually so I felt comfortable that their standards were probably just as high as my own. The girls had quite a blast, playing with each other and with bouncy balls (note to self: buy bouncy ball). With the weather warming up, it was nice to hang indoors watching our girls play as we discussed the latest in baby food, makeup favorites, and everything in between.

As cute as Carly was in her little skirt (I got it at the Children's Place Outlet and now I can't find it online), I probably won't be putting her in a skirt the next time we go here because she is now really crawling, like for reals this time! Before she was just doing a partial crawl with little interest, but now she crawls with determination- usually to come after me where ever I walked off too....even to the bathroom....yeeeaaaay. Okay, I really don't have anything to complain about yet, because it really is the cutest phase so far. She is crawling all over the place which eases my job a tad because she can go where she wants now and getting her own toys. From crawling, she can sit up on her own and even further, pull herself up on anything! She has become quite the little monkey over the past week...which accounts for the little bruises she acquires almost daily- such a little daredevil!

Romper: Carter's circa ?? (got from a consignment shop)

Swim Cover up: Carter's Swim Set

Results of all this climbing....

:( poor baby...

From bruised beauty to swimming sweetheart! Are you ready for the cutest set of pictures you have probably seen in a while??? Okay, so after one of Carly's friends got dedicated to the church last Sunday (Mother's Day), there was a BBQ and at the BBQ....was a kiddie pool!!!!!! I can't even tell you how excited us moms were because we just couldn't wait to get our girls suited up for summer!

Right? I know. You are all squealing & "Oh my gosh'ing"....

It gets better! Hold on to your sunhats, I might go overboard!

Carly's swim attire: hot pink suit & seersucker sunhat

 Lots of babbles and squeals!

And check out Avery's eyes in the picture (far right)! So beautiful.

  Even though Carly appears less than excited by the situation, I promise she was just caught at an awkward moment...but I just HAD to include the picture of Claire (middle) because it is just too cute!

So, I'm going to take a moment to point out how awesome the iPhone 5's camera is and I will do my best not to brag. I LOVE the camera, it takes such high quality photos that sometimes you are truly amazed at what it captures. Case and point: the picture below...check out the splashing water! Yes, this was taken (along with more than 50% of the photos above) with the camera on my phone.

Pretty incredible right? To be honest, I am amazed every day with this camera and we are both so happy that we got them. The pictures I capture of Carly are seriously on a whole new level now, but even with how awesome it is, it is still hard to get a picture of a wiggly baby-

no matter what camera you have!

 

A few new flavors this week: green beans, cantaloupe, watermelon, and dried apple!

Not a big hit, but is better when mixed with oatmeal & green apple or avocado!

 Although these were a bit shocking because she first tried them cold, Carly loved the juicy sweetness and responded well to cantaloupe and watermelon (like I knew she would!). I don't plan on giving either of them to her frequently until she is closer to a year, because they can cause rashes, but they are perfect for a fun summery treat! The fact that they are so watery means they are best served in small bite-sized chunks in her case- she will slurp any puree that is too watery and it's just obnoxious. I tried adding some oatmeal to the cantaloupe and it worked well, but maybe next time I plan on serving it as a puree, I will add banana to help thicken it up.

 Watermelon face :)

 Hilarious right? Yeah, she carried the dried apple around in her mouth like that until I took it out. It was tacky....haha! She was sucking on it enough to get tiny pieces off so it was a perfect little treat to keep her occupied while Mommy & Daddy shopped in Crate & Barrel!

 

Okay, so my last few pictures are again trying not to brag about my iPhone 5's camera. My new favorite thing to do with it...take pictures of Carly when she is sleeping!

Why? Because I can with the new flash capabilities! I'm kind of obsessed with these pictures,

they almost make me cry they are so cute.

 Awww.....

 The hair! :)

 It is the hardest thing for me to not scoop her up when I sneak in there....but I settle for a kiss.

Look at her little foot hanging out, so cute.

 

Well I hope you all had a great week and are ready for the weekend!



Dear Mom

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

 



Dear Mom,
My Hero and my most avid blog follower: This Mother's Day feels different than any other Mother's Day. Is it my first Mother's Day as a mother myself, but that's not all that feels different. This is the first Mother's Day were I feel like my appreciation for all that you do and did over the years is truer than true. I had no idea how much you loved me until now, because now I know what it feels like to love a daughter of my own. Now, only being a mom for 8 months certainly doesn't give me the experiences or wisdom that you have today, but it does bring a new meaning to: Thank you for all you have done in my life. Thank you for carrying me inside you for 9 long months (which included the hottest months of the year!). Thank you for going through labor for me. Thank you for surviving my week as a newborn. Thank you for rocking me to sleep at night when all I would do is cry and you just wanted to pull your hair out. Thank you for washing a bottle as fast as you possibly could because you forgot to do it earlier and now I was hungry, while I sat screaming because you weren't going fast enough. Thank you for always making sure I had a safe sleep environment. Thank you for taking me to all of my routine doctor appointments to make sure I was healthy, even if you didn't get a chance to shower that day and were exhausted because I kept you up super late the night before while I was teething. Thank you for loving me unconditionally during the phases of childhood I have yet to experience with Carly (that I'm sure are challenging).

You are truly the greatest Mother in the world and I am so blessed to have you. You  live your life showing me what it means to be a wonderful wife and mother, and for that John & Carly are forever grateful I have you. You have shown me what it means to be a spectacular Mother, raising children with a calm and warm heart (even if you were exhausted...I never knew). You have always had such a kind way of delivering advice to me, which makes me very grateful for it. The fact that you let me be the kind of Mother I am meant to be, while only gently giving your opinion when I ask you for it, has helped me develop my confidence as a Mother. You let me be me because you trust that you have taught me what is right and what is wrong, and that is because you have. You really, truly have. I love sharing my daily pleasures and adventures of being a Mom with you because it always sparks your memory to a little story about when I was growing up. Thank you for those stories. They keep me down to Earth and let me know that I am not the only one- and that is priceless. It is your gentle words, "You are doing a wonderful job sweetie" that get me through the toughest of nights. Carly may not know it yet, but she is grateful that the words of her Grandma are there to bring me peace at midnight.

Carly is so lucky to have you as her Grandma and as she gets older I look forward to sharing stories with her about her amazing Grandma. There are very few women in this world who could even come close to comparing to how great you are, and for that I am so blessed to be your daughter.

Happy Mother's Day to you Mom, I love you!

 

Nom Nom Nom

I have been wanting to do a baby food post for quite some time, so I have been collecting pictures as I've been making Carly's meals for a few weeks now. I won't say that I am some culinary baby food artist or anything close, but I can brag that I always make tasty things for Carly with no fear of trying new things! Most of what I make her is basic foods in a solo form, but recently I have been mixing two or three things together which is so much fun!
Ever since I reached my sixth month on the journey that is pregnancy, my cooking desires dwindled to little no interest. My poor husband. I know he didn't marry me for my cooking, but he sure was spoiled during the first 10 months of our marriage as I was whipping things up in the kitchen all the time, only to be let down to grilled cheese for lunch and frozen pizzas for dinner....several times a week. So ever since I have gotten a new handle on myself and new addition, I have a new found confidence and energy to start cooking again, still not as much as before though (not even close). So with that energy, I decided I was going to go the homemade food route for Carly!

My food prepper of choice is the ever so famous Baby Bullet. I love how simple it is and how quickly it puree's up whatever I put in. I use everything that it comes with, so it has fit my needs perfectly. With certain foods I need to scrape with the spatula several times to get it all pureed nicely because food will get caught under the blade, but other than that I have been very happy with it. Two of Carly's favorites are avocados and bananas which I love because those are so soft I don't have to use the Bullet if I don't feel like getting it all dirty for just one meal- they mash up with a fork perfectly and I can stir in some formula or water if necessary. At this stage, I don't have to add formula to many things because she can chew up little chunks and take food that is thicker in consistency.

(1 banana + 1 steamed pear = 3 servings)

I have learned that not everything comes out pretty when mixed, which in some cases prevents it's consumption by my little angel.

 

To steam food, I use one of my favorite kitchen tools that I got as a gift at my bridal shower, the small micro-cooker from Pampered Chef. Seriously love this thing and use it ALL the time *Side note: If you haven't heard of or purchased from Pampered Chef you NEED to go to their website....now. Right now. Go! I love everything I have from Pampered Chef and it's all such great quality. I also use my flexible cutting mats whenever making Carly's food (or anything for that matter) because they make clean up so easy.

3 organic zucchinis

1/2 bag of baby carrots (16oz bag)

 Pureed in the Baby Bullet Large Batch Bowl

*I pureed each separately for storage and only mixed them together for Carly's immediate meal

Carly's reaction to baby food making....
(check out those two front teeth!!)

 Filling the freezer trays

I use the Beaba Multiportion Freezer Trays. (I searched for extra Baby Bullet freezer trays and you can't buy them separate, such a bummer!)

All ready for the freezer! I use these chalkboard labels all over the kitchen (please don't mind my kindergarten style handwriting....I wrote this with a wiggly baby in the other arm)

 

Some of Carly's favorites are: Avocados, bananas, zucchini, & pears.

She doesn't mind: carrots, yellow squash, & apples.

She does not like: peas!

The only food she has had a negative reaction to: sweet potatoes (gave her the runs and given the way she cried when I wiped her butt, I think the sweet potato poo burned a little)

 

When I do combos, I make each separately then gently mix the two together because otherwise it turns to an awful color and Carly won't even open her mouth.

 Successful Combos:

Avocado + Carrots

Zucchini + Avocado

Apples (green & Fuji) + Bananas

Carrots + Zucchini

Bananas + Pears

Patiently waiting for her lunch

 

Unsuccessful Combos:

Anything with Peas! I've tried several times to sneak it in...doesn't work. What can I say, the girl knows what she likes! Also, she was never a fan of rice cereal...as seen in the photo below.

The 'I don't like it' face

 

In addition to fruits and veggies, I also feed Carly oatmeal in the mornings to help keep her more full.

I have only tried this Earth's Best oatmeal, but so far Carly really likes it. Her favorite is when I mash in 1/4 of a banana! Once peaches are in season, I plan to mix in peaches to change it up!

 

Carly's new flavors to try this month so far: cantaloupe, cauliflower, green beans, and watermelon! We were discussing foods in my mommy group and they also gave me a few ideas of some other foods to try, but I will keep you all posted on the development of this princess's adventures in food!