New years Resolutions

Chad and I actually sat down a few weeks ago and wrote out some New Years resolutions. Whether we keep these or not I like to reflect on the new year and set goals for myself and our family in the new year to come.

In 2018 I hope:

To read at least 2 books: when I talked to Chad about this he was like 2 books in January. Um NO 2 books for the year. Guys I'm so not a reader and normally am lucky if I read 1 book so this is a goal.

Be more organized: I am always envious of other peoples organization skills I mean have you seen Khloe Kardashians house and closets?

Workout at least 3X a week: My energy level has been suffering lately and I lot of it is said for the amount of working out and the quality of food we eat.

Learn to eat healthier: I feel like we do a pretty good job of eating pretty well but when we are bad we are really bad!

More date nights: This one is hard because I know I need to spend more alone time with my husband but I hate being away from my babies

Family nights: I want to dedicate Friday nights to family nights

Less phone time/more worship time: I'm normally pretty good about this but since nursing my phone is more glued to me than normal. And I need to learn to disconnect.

2017 was a year full of emotions. We were surprised by the thought of a new addition and suffered great pain and hurt when a family member passed far too soon. We watched some of our closest friends and some family suffer great sorrow and loss as well but then find truly amazing joy. We experienced our own blessing and another miracle but soon after we faced worry and uncertainty. 2017 brought us closer together not only as a family but closer to our friends. 2017 was a challenging year and we learned so much. We can't wait for 2018 and for the everything it has in store for us.

Registry must haves - Sleep time

Sleep time

Halo Sleep sacks: You will want the swaddle kind until they can roll from back to stomach (we always kept them in the swaddle style a little longer). You will want about 2 of each size the newborn size is from birth to 3 months and the small is 3 to 6 months. The other style is the wearable blanket. We stopped using these all together around 10 months and went to a regular blanket however I would get 2 of the small and medium size in this style. These sleep sacks are my favorite because of the zipper, just in case you have to change their diaper in the middle of the night you don't have to completely unswaddle to change a diaper. We have also tried other brands and neither of my babies have liked them like this brand. 

Sheets: I have never spent a ton of money on sheets but you will need about 2-3 pairs of sheets to have for backups. 

Mattress protector: I have 2 mattress protectors. I would recommend getting at least 1 if not 2.

Mattress: This is the mattress we purchased. I can't say that I recommend any one mattress. Crib mattress' aren't comfortable as it is because they have to be firm and not soft. I say just pick one that isn't too expensive.

Co-sleeper / Bassinet: We don’t co sleep but I know a lot of people like this one, I really considered co-sleeper with Audrey but we have a queen size bed and I just don't see where she would have fit. We used a pack n play with Grady and let me tell you that I was in so much pain getting up and down after delivery that I knew I didn't want to do that again. We decided to get the Halo bassinet it was kind of a splurge but I LOVE it. I never had to get up out of bed and I could see her sleeping and put my hand on her when I was just laying in bed. We did purchase a pad and an extra sheet for the bassinet as well. 

Rock n Play: This is another item that I LOVE. It is so easy to move from room to room and Audrey slept in this for a few months. It's not recommended but she was sick there for a little bit and the incline really helped. 

Motion Monitor: This is something I can’t live without, we have this one and it's nothing fancy it just clips onto their diaper and detects if they are breathing or not if it goes off you an alarm will sound. It has gone off before and trust me I have freaked out but I would rather it give me a false alarm than no alarm and something happen. They also have this one which is super popular. Both of them have review of it giving false alarms but like I said I would rather get an alarm than no alarm at all. We didn't do the Owlet monitor simply because of the price and because we had already had the snuza with Grady and we knew it worked. 

Video monitor: We have a wifi monitor that we use for Grady. I was at work one day and we got on the subject of baby monitor and I mentioned which one I had and they freaked me out by saying that people can hack into your wifi and talk to your baby. Also when your wifi goes out so does your monitor. So we just recently got the Levana Aria monitor and so far I'm in love with it. The screen is huge and has everything I want in a monitor. Temperture, 2 way talk, pan and tilt, etc. 

Audio monitor – We also have an audio monitor because I always worry that the video monitor is going to go out and I won't be able to hear them cry. 

Sound machine – I ordered a sound machine for Grady that I really liked when I was purchasing stuff for Audrey I was going to purchase the same one but found that it was discounted so I ordered a different one and hated it. I read somewhere to use a box fan so we resorted to that and she loves it. 

Black out curtains – this is a huge one. No one told me about this until Grady was like 7 months old. No wonder he could never sleep it was always so bright in his room. 

Swaddle blankets – you need quite a few of these, I would say about 7. My favorite shops to buy swaddle blankets is Little unicorn and Clementine Kids. I would recommend purchasing a nice swaddle for newborn pictures, hospital pictures, etc. and then just have basic swaddles for the rest.

Zip up sleepers for night time – Trust me no one wants to be snapping at 2am!

Click the links for my other registry must haves

Bath time must haves

Diapering must haves

Audrey - 4 months

Audrey is absolutely perfect. She is the most content little baby who reassures myself that I can handle 4 little ones. She is starting to show her personality and it is the best. She loves her mommy and smiles every time she hears my voice. She has started to get really fussy when you cover her up and she can’t see what’s going on. She sure does love to sit back and take it all in.

Sleep:

We hit our first sleep regression and boy was it a rough one. Luckily it only lasted about a week but I was sure hoping we would skip them entirely. She is still in our room and sometimes will nap in her room when we aren’t being lazy about it. I keep thinking that I might be ready to move her and then get upset about it and chicken out. She is still being swaddled as well which we plan on trying on the “magic suit” here in a few weeks to transition her out of the swaddle. We never tried this with Grady but I’ve heard that people really like them so we shall see how it goes. She is a complete home body already and does not sleep well while we are out and a about. We try to avoid going places late at night, if we go somewhere past 5 and she takes a nap we are bound to wake up several times throughout the night so we try to avoid going places here recently which make it rough especially with the holidays.

Eat:

Audrey is still 100% breastmilk. I pretty much feed on demand when we are together and then at daycare she is up to 5oz at a time every 3 hours. I’ve been able to build a stock up which is so nice but I completely overestimated how much 4oz and 5oz bags I would need. We still have quite a few 4oz bags to use up but oh well. She is starting to really get interested in what you are eating when we have dinner and I cannot wait to introduce solids. I am taking off sometime in January for a little staycation and I plan on stocking up on some homemade baby food then! She does get pretty gassy so we still have to give her gripe water every night.

Development:

Audrey laughed for the first time this month and it was probably the cutest thing. She can also grab things especially your hair. She is really trying to sit up but hasn’t done so yet. She is so patient with her bubba and loves to watch everything he does. He will take her binky right out of her mouth and she won’t even cry about it but when she does cry he will shhh her. She found her hands and toes and absolutely loves them. She loves to chew on her hands/fingers and loves to hold on to her toes.

She is so laid back and I could not love her anymore!

Registry must haves - Diapering

Diapering

Diaper cream : Resinol is our favorite, you can find it in the pharmacy. You don’t need a prescription for it but you’ll have to ask them for it. We also use Butt Paste, you only need 1 tube we still have the same tube we purchased before Grady was born. We have also used aquaphor is works wonders on rashes like skin irritations. Grady had a heat rash last winter and we thought he had eczema we put some aquaphor on it and it was cleared up in just a few days. 

Diapers – Variety of sizes, remember you can return diapers to the store they were purchased at for a different size. It's hard to get a "stock" of diapers because babies grow at different rates. For example Grady was in newborn diapers for not even a month when Audrey was in newborn diapers for about 2 months. I would suggest getting a big box of newborn and at least a box of every size. We love Pampers and if my mother in law isn't buying us diapers from the hospital we are purchasing them on Amazon for pretty cheap.

Wipes - A lot of times people forget about wipes and just buy diapers but you need a lot of wipes! Our favorite is Pampers.

Baby powder - Chad told me to put this one here, I've never use it. 

Changing pad – If you are going to put the changing pad on top of the dresser you just need a cheap changing pad. Honestly we barely use the changing pad and just change Audrey on the floor or on the bed. 

Changing pad sheets - If you are going to do the changing pad you will need 2 sheets. 

Doggie bags - My favorite for when we are out and about and have a poopy, especially when we are at someones house. No ones wants to leave a poopy diaper in someone else's trash can. 

Diaper genie - If you are breastfeeding you really don't need one of these until they start solids but you are for sure going to want one then. Breastmilk poop smells sweet but as soon as solids are introduce the stink is on. I can't find the exact one we have but you don't need a super nice one of these just one to hold the odor. 

Extra bags - For your diaper genie.

If you missed the Bath time must haves, click here

It's PAWTY time

Kids birthday parties are my jam! I literally think about them all year long. This year for Grady’s birthday we had a puppy party and boy did he LOVE it. I must admit though this was not my first pick. With Audrey only going to be a few months old I wanted something low key so I was set on a pancakes and PJ party. I discussed it with Chad and of course he wouldn’t have cared either way but he just wasn’t that into the idea. As we hit the 6 months to party time (I plan early) I started to lose interest in the theme as well and went back to the drawing board and boy am I glad I did so. Grady is obsessed with puppies and after remembering reading about a puppy party on a blog I began my quest. I knew I wanted it to be low key and not very many decorations. We settled on balloons doing the majority of the decorations for us and of course had food for our guests. As the day arrived we couldn’t have asked for a nicer day. We borrowed the bounce house from my coworker and we had guests inside/outside.

Chad and I discussed the menu a few weeks ahead of time and I mentioned that I would be getting chicken nuggets catered again through chick-fil-a. Well Chad wanted to do something a little cheaper so he purchased frozen nuggets at the store and boy were they GROSS. Sorry honey but I’ll be getting those catered instead from now on. I called a local donut shop the week of the party and told them I wanted puppy donuts and to my surprise they were actually able to make them on short notice. We also had pigs in the blanket, quiches, a fruit tray, pinwheels, and sausage tarlets. The sausage tarlets were such a hit that I didn’t even get one! Everything was so easy and came together great.

Of course we ordered a cake from our favorite bakery, Ann’s in Tulsa. And they sure did not disappoint. The cookies are also from my next door neighbor. I love it when I can send ideas to people and they create exactly what I envisioned.

Cookies

For party favors we did an “adopt a puppy” My parents kept all our beanie babies from when I was a kid just in case we were to make millions off of them. So, I went through my box and also ordered some online so everyone was able to take home a puppy.

We had an absolute blast celebrating his birthday. We had the balloons up in the house for over a week just to remember how special this day was.

Registry must haves - Bath time

One of my friends asked me to put a list together of registry items. I decided I would go ahead and make blog posts about it to share with everyone my must haves for baby items! The items I'm going to share are my tried and trued items. I am not sponsored by anyone and these items are ones I have used or currently use.

I know how overwhelming registering can be for your first baby. Trust me I used to go to the baby aisle at Target and get anxiety and just leave feeling stressed and defeated. With my pregnancies and babies I feel as though I have tried everything and if I knew back then what I know now I would have saved a ton of money.

The key to registering is to register at the places with the best completion discounts and to register for a variety of items in different price points. A lot of places will have welcome bags for you when you register so remember to ask for those, they are filled with samples.

Bath time

Body wash – Noodle and Boo is my absolute favorite. The smell is amazing and it doesn't strip your baby's skin of its natural moister. You’ll only need to register for a few bottles. One bottle will last you a long time. It's a little on the pricey side but sometimes they will be on Zulily for a discounted price. I don't think I'm too picky (some people may disagree) with current things but soaps I am. I do not like to use soaps with a lot of chemicals. We have also tried the Honest brand but I tend to always go back to Noodle and Boo

Lotion – Again Noodle and Boo is the way to go. It smells absolutely amazing

Noodle and Boo cleansing wipes -  In the beginning stages of life you don't need to give you baby a bath everyday so for the days where you don't these cleansing wipes are awesome. I have also used them on myself and for my toddler when we get home late and don't have time for a bath.

Wash cloths - I prefer using a loofa just something about seeing the suds however when your baby is young you'll need some wash cloths. Depending on how often you do laundry (we normally only do laundry once or twice a week) you need about 5-7 wash cloths. 

Loofa – Like I mention above we like using a Loofa more than wash cloths. I've even converted Chad over to using a loofa instead of a wash cloth. 

Hooded towels – Babies LOVE to poop right after their bath and right unto their towel so depending on how often you plan on doing laundry, its safe to have about 5-7 towels. 

Angel care bath tub – We have tried 3 different bath tubs and this one is by far my favorite

Nail clippers - When they are newborns I normally will just bite their fingernails because its a lot easier but eventually you will need a pair of nail clippers which any kind will work. 

Brush/Comb - Any soft bristle brush will work for a brush 

Toys - You really don't need any toys until they are about 6 months old and sitting up but these little bath books are too cute and change color with water. Plus every baby needs a rubber duck. You can probably do without too many bathtoys and just compile items from around the house. Grady used to love playing with a wisk in the bathtub now he just fills the tub with his cars and trucks.

Kneeler - You will thank me. I have not used one before and my knees kill me afterwards.

Non-slip bath mat - So no one told me about this and it is a must when your baby turns about 6 months and is sitting up. The bath is very slippery and it might make perfect sense to some people to have one but it did not register with me. 

As you can see in the picture below we don't use any fancy rinser. We actually had one and it got mold in the handle so we just use a good ole cup. Also watch out for mold in your bath toys as well. 

Grady's Birthday

I was able to take the day off for Grady’s birthday (I hope I will always be able to do this but there are some blackout dates to where I can’t take off work). Grady’s birthday was on a Friday this year so Chad and I stayed up late on Thursday to put together his birthday present and to blow up an obscene amount of balloons. We decided to get him a play grill for his birthday. I have been dying to get him a play kitchen but Chad says it’s too girly, first off there is nothing wrong with boys learning to be a little more domesticated (can I get an AMAN?) but I finally got my girl and she will be getting one for her 1^st birthday. Any who I settled on the play grill for him since it was more Chad approved and let me tell you this thing is the cutest little thing. And why is it so much more fun to play pretend cook food than actually cooking food?

I let Grady sleep in as long as he wanted and when I went to go get him out of his crib he was asking for daddy, hum. So I persisted to tell him that we were going to get donuts (nonuts as he calls them) and he sprung right on up. I surprised him with his birthday present and then rushed out of the house to go get some donuts before we lost the motivation to actually get out of the house. We tried a new place out and holy moly were these donuts legit. As we were walking into the store Grady run to the glass counter yelling “No nuts, No nuts” mind you there was a line of people.

After coming back home we made a fun little painting. He’s starting to get more into crafts and art which I love and I can’t wait to get some of his paintings framed and hung on the wall. Mommy poured herself some coffee and then Grady decided he needed some coffee as well so we had some disposable coffee cups which I put milk into. Just a millennial raising a baby! 

We played and played and played all morning long and then during nap time my parents came over to deliver his birthday present a little early. They got him the up and up roller coaster. Chad came home early as well so Grady had another big surprise when he finally woke up. We played outside on his new roller coaster for the longest time and I quickly realized that the roller coaster was more of a present for me than for him.

Grady’s favorite meal is goulash so I whipped up a batch for the birthday boy during lunch and we ended the day with a yummy dinner and a cupcake!

Grady's 2

I know I have said this before but seriously where did this year go? I feel like it should be October and we should be celebrating Halloween not December and almost Christmas. The 2^nd year marks my baby boy turning into a toddler and starting to tell people he’s 2 instead of “however” months old, cue the tears!

This year has undeniably been a year of change for our sweet boy. To say he has made me proud would be an understatement. He has embraced big brotherhood with a charm and the way he loves his sister is priceless. He is the most caring little boy and will be the first one to ask if you are ok if he thinks you got hurt. He is also the funniest little kid I have ever met, sometimes I forget he’s only 2 years old.

Food:

Lately he is obsessed with Ketchup. This kids love for Ketchup is about as strong as his love for his Daddy. We experienced our first round of the stomach bug at the beginning of November and ever since then he has been somewhat of a picky eater unless it has ketchup on it then he’ll eat just about anything.

Development:

We are working on manners and Grady has quickly learned that if he says please he will more than likely get his way. I mean how can you turn down a child if they have manners? So basically, we have been having fruit snacks and suckers for breakfast.

He also knows where his time out spot is and anytime I raise my voice a little bit or get him in trouble he’ll go and put himself in timeout.

Play:

He LOVEs trucks and every night for bath time we must fill the bathtub up with trucks “More trucks” he will say and then his cute little naked butt will run into the living room to grab more trucks.

Bedtime:

We are still working on getting back to a consistent bedtime after me going back to work. While I was on maternity leave we would let him stay up until a little later, but now we are trying to get him to go to bed around 8:30. I embarrassed to say this but we still use a sippy cup that is basically a bottle for his evening milk but he loves it and I don’t see anything wrong with him having milk. He is also obsessed with Moana and will cry for Moana until you turn it on, good thing it’s a cute movie and I don’t mind watching it repeatedly.