Spring

These recent warm, sunny days have been so good for our souls. We were stuck inside far too long this Winter & were beginning to go stir crazy!

Each morning we walk into Theo's room we find him like this. Waiting patiently in the dark for us to open up his curtains and each time we do he gets the biggest grin on his face. It really is the sweetest.

 Now that Theo is older he is starting to notice everything around him more & more. He LOVES being outside. We've been starting most of our days (unless its raining) with a walk around the 'hood. He sings the entire time & seems genuinely happy to begin his days like this.

We have been spending so many days at different playgrounds. He loves to swing & is slowly warming up to the slide. One thing that keeps his attention though is watching all the other little kids. He is going to be so happy when he can fully get around on his own. He always smiles at everyone, especially now that he has those top four teeth! Those toes... I could gobble them up.

Joey did this all on his own. We were shocked to say the least. He's still warming up to Theo slowly, but surely. 

Theo has been a pretty good napper for a while now, but recently he had only been taking short, little cat naps. I honestly believe it's because he wasn't being stimulated enough being cooped up in this little apartment. Now that we have been having daily adventures outside, he sleeps like a champ again! I never want to forget how rosy his cheeks get when he sleeps and how he's usually missing one sock.

His very first Easter! It was seriously such a great day (other than the fact his Daddy had to go into work later in the day). We kicked it off with cinnamon rolls & good coffee. Then Theo & Joey got to dig into their baskets. The bunny left Theo a book, teethers & some yogurt melts. Joey also scored with some bones. We spent the rest of the day outside in the 80 degree weather, hiking & blowing bubbles! It was perfect weather.

Looking forward to more pretty weather, flowers & our garden! :)

Things I'm Loving Right Now

Recently, Tropicana released a probiotic juice. I'm not a huge fan of yogurt, but I always deal with eating it because of all the probiotics that some yogurts contain. Naturally, I had to try this juice out & it was really, really good!

This mask. I have been using it every few days & I've seen such a difference in my skin already.

I have tried a few dry shampoos & I never understood how they worked or why people would even waste their money on them. Then I became a mom & realized I'm not able to wash my hair every day. So, I tried a couple more & I finally found one that works perfectly for me! 

I try to run regularly, but sometimes things get in the way of that happening (I hate running on the treadmill). I found these videos that are so simple to incorporate into the days I'm unable to go for a run.

Bookclub. I'm loving this so much. I always stick to one type of book & this is forcing me to get out of my comfort zone!

These. I have always loved their workout clothes.

Happy midweek! :)

Sweet Spot

We are so antsy for Spring to show itself over here! We still have large clumps of dirty snow & patches of brown grass to look at for a few more weeks. But even though the dreariness is still in full swing, we are in such a sweet spot as a family.

Theo has been sleeping through the night for quite a while now (months actually), and he has gradually been waking up later & later each morning. His naps are very regular (he currently takes only one a day), lasting a couple hours. He has even gotten to the point where he is able to soothe himself. Give the boy his blanket(s) & pacifier and he is all set! I wish I could take the credit for this amazing voodoo magic, but I simply can't. He did this all on his own. Clearly the child is living up to the type A tendencies of his zodiac sign & the tendencies of his parents for that matter.

We have loved every stage of life with him so far, but this has been one of our favorites. He is sooo aware of everything around him & its the cutest watching him take notice. We LOVE giving him new foods to try. For the most part he seems to enjoy whatever we give him, only occasionally spitting things out. He recently learned to "kiss". Gracing us with all his open mouth, drooling glory almost daily. He roars like a dinosaur at any given moment to grab out attention. By far the best thing, though is his fake laugh. He will throw his head back, closing his eyes after we've done something that is somewhat funny, almost out of pity for us. It cracks us up each time he does it.

So although we have lots of sunshine in our family already, we are more than ready for the warm weather to stick around! We have so many ideas for the Spring & Summer to look forward to.

Family Vacation

 

Do you ever feel as though you need to take a vacation to recover from your vacation? That is exactly how we currently feel! We returned a few days ago from our first family trip (along with my parents & sisters) to Florida & although it was so worth it, it was a loooong trip.

In order to save some money we decided to make the journey to Florida by driving. I'd be kidding if I said Nate & I weren't a little nervous about Theo being in his carseat for so long, but the kid handle it like a boss! We left on a Thursday evening & arrived Friday evening with only one minor meltdown. 

Our first full day in Florida was spent on the beach no less. It was 80 & sunny and clearly better than the bitter cold we had all left behind! Theo was slightly skeptical of the water & sand, but still seemed to really enjoy himself. We weren't sure how he would handle being contained to his pack'n'play while at the beach, but he would play so contently & sing to himself all day. He napped so well too (I'm sure the sound of waves crashing in the background didn't hurt)! I think I should also note, he didn't consume any sand. I don't know whether to be thrilled or slightly disappointed. 

The next day we traveled a little bit further to visit Siesta Keys. It was a little cooler this day, but the beach was absolutely beautiful! The sand was the whitest I've ever seen & felt like flour between your toes. It was so picturesque with the turquoise water & fishing pier in the background. We had lunch at this neat restaurant overlooking the water & stuffed our faces with fresh seafood. 

We took a couple days off from the beach, indulging ourselves with shopping & a baseball game. We saw the Red Sox & Tampa Bay play a spring training game (It was a first for the three of us). Theo, again, was an angel baby. He slept through the first 6 innings & then never made a sound the rest of the game, except to flirt with the little old ladies behind us. I must make you all aware Theo's Grandpa is the huge White Sox fan, hence the reason he is decked out in their gear (WE are Washington Nationals fans).

The rest of the vacation was spent at the ocean. Although it was too cold to get in the water, we all had the best time searching for shells & shark teeth (I have an irrational amount of shells now residing in our home). It really was amazing to see the amount of shells & teeth that just wash up along the shores for miles and miles. Since the days were a little on the cooler side, we were able to spot quite a few alligators along the roadways sunning themselves. It was pretty wild & I made sure everyone was aware with my excited shrieks. 

By the time our last day arrived, it had become apparent Theo was in love with the ocean & had become obsessed with palm trees. Vacations always go by so quickly, but they're so worth it. We were able to indulge in copious amounts of good food, lots of laughs with family & experience a few "firsts" with Theo. Now it's back to reality and counting down the days until we can see those turquoise waters again.

Happy almost weekend! :)

A Case of the Mondays

I know it's Tuesday, but we had such a fun Monday that my "case of the Mondays" has set in today.

Theo's name did not make the list, but we've been told his name is "sooo hipster." There are a handful of names included that I really love though! 

Oscar nominations! I don't know about you, but we always try to watch all of the films up for best picture. We have managed to watch "La La Land" & absolutely adored it. The soundtrack has been on repeat & I would watch it a million more times.

This pub looks so neat! You can have a drink & do good!

This is long, but well worth the read. 

On the menu this week. Today would have been perfect with the snow falling outside.

"Let's Make America Kind Again..."

Happy Tuesday! :)

6 months of Theo

It's been a while since I've written a post & I thought what better way to get back at it than to do an update on Theo!

It's been another month with our sweet guy. He is 6 months old already & we can't quite believe it. Time really is just passing us by far too quickly. He is such a mover & a shaker. He shakes on his own like it's nobody's business, but his actual mobility is all up to us. He is becoming more interactive each day & we are loving the stage he is at right now. He smiles with such ease at things that genuinely make him happy & squeals in delight whenever he's excited. He loves to be held, but also loves his own space. We're positive bath time is his favorite time since he is able to be naked! He greets us with the sweetest, twinkle eyed smile each morning & is always excited to get the day started!

Age: 6 months

Stats: 20 lbs (we will know for sure at his checkup in a couple days). 

Wearing 6-12 month clothes. 

Has 2 teeth with a couple more on the way.

Favorite foods: Butternut squash, bananas, apples, yogurt & surprisingly, prunes. We also gave him his first taste of peanut butter & he loved it!

Favorite Things: He LOVES to eat. Enjoys his jumper with his monkey friends. Love, love, loves to sit up & have us stand him up. I swear he will be a much happier little guy once he can move on his own (although he is the happiest kid I've ever met). He loves anything that has a simple face (Curious George) & truly enjoys watching football with his Daddy. He also thinks it's hilarious when we chew our food.

Least Favorite Things: Green beans, getting dressed & anything that even remotely confines him.

Milestones: Giggles soooo much! Rolls over both ways & sits up unassisted, but still has moments of wobbliness. He has attempted to crawl by smashing his head into the ground & lifting his hiney into the air. He also finally takes a bottle (so when we want to go on dates we have no worries)!

Happy, happy, happy 1/2 birthday Theo Thomas! We can't wait to continue watching you grow!

Happenings

I haven't been very good at consistently writing out things we've been up to lately. A tiny little human clearly takes priority, but I would like to occasionally document things for my own memories sake. I figured I would post every so often things we're making, reading, doing etc.

Reading: Children's books & tons of them. Our favorites right now are The Cat at Night, Pout Pout Fish, The Wonderful Things You Will Be, The Mitten & Goodnight Goon (even though this is a Halloween book we love reading it). Books on our reading list (whenever we find the time...) Two by Two & The Girls for me. North Water & The Underground Railroad for Nate.

Making: Once a week, I try to make a meal we've never tried. The last one was a Moroccan pulled pork over rice & this week I'm making skillet chicken with pasta. Both recipes are from here.

Eating: All the sweet seasonal treats! Peppermint stick ice cream, ginger bread cookies & these Pfeffernusse cookies from Trader Joe's. They're addicting.

Drinking: A ton of coffee. We love Trader Joe's coffee. It is the one thing we splurge on. Their Guatemalan coffee is by far our favorite. We've also been trying all the seasonal beer. We really enjoyed Flying Bison's 'Blizzard Bock' & Harpoon Brewery 'Winter Warmer.'

Listening: Holiday music. You only get to listen for so many days out of the year! But other than that we've been listening to a lot of the new Kings of Leon & The SteelDrivers.

Watching: We basically binged Stranger Things. We really loved it. Most recently we watched West World and thoroughly enjoyed that as well.  Now that we are finished with both of those we are cramming in all the Christmas movies & holiday baking shows!

Doing: At the beginning of November we took Theo to his first Penn State game! He was a champ. He cried a few times very briefly, but you didn't even know it with all the cheering going on! We recently saw The Trans Siberian Orchestra for the first time! It was my wedding anniversary gift from Nate. We really, really enjoyed it! Totally put us in the holiday spirit. We took Theo & Joe to see Santa Claus. Each of them were really great! The Santa's were a whole other story...

Wanting: Hats. Give me all the hats. I manage to fit a shower in each day, but actually getting to do my hair is a rarity. Thankfully the cold temperatures make my hat wearing adventures seem normal.



Happy Wednesday! :)