Simon: Four Month Update

Big boy Simon turned 4 months old on the 21st! I was waiting until today to post his update, because he had his 4 month checkup today with his doctor. He was such a big boy and was all smiles, until he got his shots. Even then, he only fussed for a minute and then was okay. Poor babe.

Stats:

Weight-15 lb, 2 oz (40th percentile for weight)

Height- 26in (75th percentile for height)

Head Circ- 42.4 cm (60th percentile for head circ.)

The doctor also said Simon has eczema, he has a rash on his tummy and some patches on his ankles. She prescribed some medication for that, so hopefully it will get better soon!

Brother/Sister:

These two! I can already tell they're going to be quite the duo, and get into lots of trouble together. Yay for me. Hah. Adeline has been wanting to hold Simon more and more. She gives him kisses and says, "night night" before bed, which is so sweet!

Feeding:

Simon is still nursing. Yay! There was a week between when Simon was 3 and 4 months old that I about gave up. He just did not want to nurse. I tried to nurse each feeding session, and usually ended up pumping and having to give him a pumped bottle. Thankfully, it only lasted a week and we are back on schedule and doing great. For a week or two after that he was feeding every 4 hours, now he is back to every three hours. Still going to bed between 930-10. Then we will feed usually once during the night, sometimes twice.

Naps/Sleeping:

So I didn't end up writing down any sleep times, like I wanted to from last month. Who was I kidding, it lasted about a week day. Anyway, he seems to be taking 2 really good naps one in the morning and one in the afternoon and one shorter one in the evening. He has been sleeping better at night. He goes to bed between 930-10, then wakes up around 3 (feeds) then goes back to sleep until 6-7 (feeds) then goes back to sleep for another hour or two. 

Milestones:

-Simon rolled over (back to tummy). He has only done it a handful of times, but always fun to see!

-He tried rice cereal (mixed with breastmilk) for the first time. He ate it, but was a little unsure at first.

-Definitely on his way to sitting up! He definitely prefers being in the upright position now, rather than lying down flat on his back. He is constantly picking his head up and leaning forward, trying to sit up. 

-Getting to be a big boy, he has out grown all of his 0-3 and 3 month clothing and is wearing 3-6 month, 6 month, and even some 9 month clothing. 

Thanks for stopping by. Feel free to check out Simon's other monthly updates (1 month) (2 months) (3 months)

Have a great day :)

Kenzie: Fall Decorations & Pumpkin Patch Fun!

Hello there! I've been slowly putting up some fall decorations, and I thought I'd share them with you. I didn't go crazy this year, I just put a few things out to get me in the spirit. I will just share it with you through pictures.

Dollar Store Autumn Garland

That's about it this year! Well, other than the 2 other candy bowls not pictured ;) Also, to get us in the spirit, we hit up the pumpkin patch this last weekend and had a blast! We took Benjamin, but it technically wasn't his first time there. We actually went last year while I was pregnant, but we didn't know yet! We think it will be a fun fall tradition for us.

I hope you all are able to get out and do something celebrating the beginning of fall! I know everyone says fall is their favorite time of the year, but it's definitely true for me :) Have a great week, everyone!

Easy Game Day Appetizers

We LOVE to watch the Seahawks + We don't have cable = CRISIS.

How does that work, you may ask? Well, we often go to my in-laws to watch the game, and today's game was no different. We were asked to bring an appetizer and here is what I came up with. 

 These little bites of deliciousness were pretty easy to make, and I just whipped them together about 45 minutes before we had to go.
Appetizer One--Spinach and Artichoke Bites
Ingredients:
10 oz chopped frozen spinach
1 can artichoke hearts
2/3 cup sour cream
8 oz cream cheese
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 sheets of fillo dough
Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F
Mix the chopped spinach, drained artichoke hearts and the sour cream together until fully combined.
Stir in the cream cheese, mayo, Parmesan cheese and garlic.
Fold 12 fillo sheets into rectangles and gently place into muffin tins while carefully shaping excess dough.
Scoop about 1 - 1 1/2 Tbsp of the mixture into the formed fillo cups
Bake for about 20-30 minutes. Serve warm.

Appetizer Two--Lasagna Bites
Okay, for this one you can get creative! I had made a Lasagna the previous night for dinner. We had A LOT of leftovers, so Daniel and I thought, why not make them into little bite sized appetizers? SCORE! These were so delicious, and I actually liked them better than the Spinach and Artichoke ones. 
Ingredients:
LEFTOVERS!
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375
Using a few fillo sheet rectangles // place gently into muffin tins (like above)
Scop about 1-1 1/2 Tbsp of the leftovers (lasagna, in my case) into the formed fillo cups
Bake for about 10-15 minutes. (since your leftovers have already been cooked you're basically just cooking the fillo cups and re-heating your leftovers. They turn out delicious!

What's your favorite go-to game day appetizer to share with friends? Leave a comment down below! Thanks for stopping by. [[GO SEAHAWKS!!!]]

Home Exterior Mood Board

Happy Friday, everyone! I'm so excited because our house is being painted! Yay! Before, it was a fleshy pink color with dark brown trim. Not exactly our style. It has gotten me in the mood to think about the whole exterior of the house. I don't want to spend a fortune fixing it up right now, but I'm sure I will make a few changes once the painting is finished. Plus, it's a great time to add accessories because a lot of lawn and patio things are on sale now!

Here's the little mood board I created. It's definitely for more of the bigger picture, but it gives me a good starting point. Figured I would share it with you all!

1. The trim color. Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore.

2. The body of the house color. Gray Owl by Benjamin Moore.

3. The door color. Balsam by Benjamin Moore.

4. House number from Etsy.

5. Outdoor porch light from Home Depot.

6. Outdoor pillows from Target.

7. Black rocker from Home Depot.

8. Key doormat from Target.

9. White picket fence from Home Depot.

I'm sure we will post pictures of the house once the painting is all complete. It will awesome to see the before and after transformation!

I hope you all had a great week & have an even better weekend! It's starting to feel like fall around here and I'm ready to start hitting up the pumpkin patches :)

WWEW: Chicken Egg Roll filling in Fillo Cups

Good Morning! Today I am sharing with you a tasty recipe that Daniel and I made earlier this week, and it turned out great!

Okay, so originally we wanted to make chicken egg rolls (which we did make), but I had gotten fillo wraps, which I had never even heard of before, but I thought it would work. It did! Well, mostly. Fillo dough is incredibly thin and pretty hard to work with, but making these cups were pretty simple and they tasted great, too! Won ton wraps would work just as well. Here is what I did....

Ingredients:
-7 half boneless chicken breasts

-1/3 onion (chopped/minced) OR onion powder

-1 can chicken broth

-2 teaspoons of minced garlic OR garlic powder

- 5 cans of water (chicken broth can)

-1 package of Asian chopped salad (10.5oz) including dressing

-4 sticks of celery (chopped/minced)

-1/3 cup of soy/teriyaki sauce

-1 package fillo dough (thawed)

Directions: (*preheat oven to 400*)

Put all ingredients (except fillo dough) into your slow cooker and cook on low 7-8 hours. After 6-7 hours take chicken out and shred/cut. When done cooking use a large spoon with holes to empty out all the chicken mixture. 

To make the fillo cups spray cupcake pan with non-stick spray. Cut your fillo (aobut 5 sheets) into circles. I used a extra large mug to trace and cut the fillo. Put a couple spoonfuls of chicken mixture in the center of the circle and fold up and place them in the cupcake pan. 

Put cupcake pan in pre-heated oven for 10-12 minutes. And that's it! I used the extra liquid from the chicken mixture to make rice while the chicken egg roll cups were baking, and it turned out yummy!

Thanks for stopping by and for checking out this recipe! Feel free to check out our other recipes HERE! Have a lovely Wednesday :)

DIY Makeup Storage and Organization

I hope you're all having a great weekend so far! Today I wanted to share a project I have been working on for a while now, and I finally feel like it's complete. Here is my makeup area, which is located in mine and Daniel's room. My makeup table is from IKEA, you can find it HERE! Here are a few pictures and DIY storage solutions to keep your makeup area clean and organized.

The arrow picture is from Hobby Lobby - it was only $5.99 after 50% off the original price.

My favorite part of my new makeup area is the hanging buckets! I think it is so cute as well as functional. It frees up space on your table giving you more room for other makeup items, or more open space. I used a cheap curtain rod from joann's ($4.99) and curtain rod clips ($8.99 for 10 clips) to hang these cute chalkboard label buckets. I found the buckets at Target in the dollar section, but actually scored them for .24 cents a piece!

I got a set of these white buckets with gray hearts at Ikea, a while ago.

I used a chalkboard/barista white marker from Joann's to label all of my storage bins/buckets. Below is a breakdown of each bin/section on my makeup table.
Hanging Buckets (Target dollar section)
1. Face (foundation, BB cream, everyday bronzer)
2. Eye Shadows (the eye shadows I use daily)
3. Brows & Lashes (eyebrow pencil, eyeliner, mascara, eyelash curler)
4. Lips and Ipsy Samples (daily lip items and smaller ipsy makeup samples)
Large black divided container (Craft Warehouse)
-Eye shadow palettes and Lotions
Black boxes with blue hearts (Target dollar section)
-Extras (mostly single and duo eye shadows)
White bucket with gray heart
Makeup brushes
Smaller Black divided container (Craft Warehouse)
-Lotions, Blush/bronzer, favorite nail polishes

Hopefully this gave you a few ideas and some inspiration to organize your own makeup area! Feel free to let us know what you think in the comments section below, we love hearing from you. I hope you enjoy the rest of your wekkend :)

Benjamin's 2 Month Update

Hey all! I can't believe it has been 2 months since we welcomed our baby boy into this world. Time has flown by, and we are just so in love with being parents to our sweet Ben. We had his 2 month check-up today and he is now 13 pounds 8 ounces and 24 inches long! Big boy. He was in the 75th percentile for weight, 85th for height, and 99th (!!!) for head.

He has been smiling up a storm for several weeks, and talks to himself and us constantly. I just love all the little baby cooing! He is such a happy baby. Thankfully, we seem to have passed the "crying for no apparent reason" stage and now we can calm him fairly quickly whenever he gets upset. He took his first "road trip" last weekend, and he did awesome! We drove for about 3 hours to help my sister and niece move, and I couldn't have asked for a better behaved 2 month old. He always seems to surprise me when we are out and about. I'm so scared we will have a meltdown, but he's so content the whole time.

He loves being on his activity gym/play mat. He could lay there for an hour completely happy. He also enjoys laying in his crib watching his mobile. We've gotten good use out of our baby swing and Boppy Baby Lounger, too. He loves going on walks through the orchard, either in his carrier, moby, or just being held. Daddy likes taking him around and showing him the apples and the horses. Or we will walk to visit Grandma & Grandpa!

He has been a great sleeper ever since we brought him home from the hospital. He has always given me at least a 4 hour stretch at night, and now will sleep for 6-7 hours during the night before he wakes up to eat, and then falls right back asleep. I'm am so thankful he has done so well. Our nighttime routine consists of an hour or so of "chill out" time at home, a bath (every other day),  lotions, jammies, feeding, lullabies, and a loose swaddle in a muslin blanket. He's still sleeping in his Sleep & Play in our bedroom.

Breastfeeding has been going really well. We've transitioned from eating every 2 hours to every 3, and boy what a difference that hour makes! So far we haven't needed to supplement at all, and I hope that trend continues. I never thought breastfeeding would be such an amazing experience, but it truly is. I'm beyond grateful that I'm able to stay home to feed our little man throughout the day.

The only thing we have struggled with is Ben's sensitive skin. We had to stop using all Aveeno products, as they made his whole body break out. He has also developed baby eczema. He has patches on his cheeks, arms, and back of legs. I switched to California Baby wash & lotion and that has really seemed to help. Also, the doctor recommended hydrocortisone and either Cere Ve or Eucerin Creme. I picked up the hydrocortisone and Eucerin today, hopefully that will clear everything up.

It has been such a blessing to be parents. Especially to such a sweet and happy baby. We love you, Benjamin!

Have a great evening & thanks so much for reading!

Goodwill & Target Clearance Haul

Happy weekend, everyone! Today I was able to get out of the house and do a little Goodwill hunting and make a target run. My little shopper (Simon) and I went to Goodwill first. I was on the hunt for some fall clothes for the kids and was hoping to find books for Adeline. Here is what I found there.

Left to Right 

(Top Row)

1. Peter Rabbit Munch! by Beatrix Potter 

2. My Colors (English/Spanish) by Rebecca Emberley

3. Counting Kisses by Karen Katz

(Bottom Row)

4. Pink Wiggly Pig, What do you Wish For? by Marianne Richmond

5. Adventures of Curioius George by Margret and H.A.Rey's

6. Tickle Time by Sandra Boynton

Adeline LOVES books and books these days can be pretty expensive. You may have to search a little harder but you can find cute, good quality books at goodwill for a great price. These were all $1.29 a piece. SCORE!

I was also able to find a few fall clothing items for Addie.

This cute sweater dress, will look so cute with some tights and boots for fall and winter! You can find a similar one HERE! This dress was $1.99

I also found a few staple items, which were these Old Navy skinny jeans with adjustable waist ($4.00) and a basic pair of black leggings pictured above for ($.99). The jeans will be great for fall and winter because you will easily be able to slip on boots over them. You can find similar jeans HERE!

As I was leaving Goodwill, Daniel called, and asked me to pick up some blue masking tape so he could paint our doors. I found this as a great excuse to stop at Target, and I am so glad I did! Currently (not sure for how long) the Target "One Spot" is on clearance for 70% off! Now this is on all items that have a triangle on them (by the barcode), which is most items. Making the dollar items $.30 and the $3.00 items $.90! They really have some cute stuff! Also, little tip--If you have the cartwheel app on your phone you can add the deal for 20% off "one stop" items. Making your dollar items only $.24!! It was pretty crazy in the section, and a lot of things were already gone, but here is what I found:

--4 Water Bottles (2 girls, 2 boys) Chevron Polka Dots, and Sharks

--4 Silver Pales with chalkboard labels

--2 White pales with blue half ovals

--2 Large file folders

--1 Medium file folder

All for $.24 cents each! I think I am going to use the silver pales to organize my makeup table and the while ones in Simon's room. Adeline LOVES drinking out of water bottles plus they're cute! And I'm hoping the file folders will help me get more organized.

A few other clearance items found at Target:

Aden + Anais Crib Sheet similar found HERE! I got this one on sale for $.9.98

Storage bins for Adeline's coloring supplies. You can get %15 off all circo storage containers with your cartwheel app.

I was pretty excited with all of my finds today so I thought I would share them with you! I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend and enjoy the rest of it!