weekend wrap up | summer is on!!

It's been way too long since I've done one of these weekend updates, but after the weekend we just had, I couldn't resist.  It was uhh-mazing.

 

Summer is here!

We were hit with some pretty hot and humid weather on Friday and Saturday which made me feel right at home.  Felt just like my Illinois days.

 

Friday

I get off early on Fridays during the summer which I normally take advantage of by grocery shopping sans boys.  (life is sooo much easier when you're not shopping with kids!!) But this Friday I had the chance to grab my swimsuit for the first time of the year and head out to the lake with the boys and Dawn who watches them for me. The boys love Dawn!

 

I learned two things:

1) Conner still LOVES the water.

2) Linden does NOT love the water. yet.

 

 

Since we got home with time to spare before supper, Conner and I whipped up some cookies for the week.

 

 

And of course with weather this great, we couldn't help ourselves and headed out for some good suppertime eats on the patio at Maddys.

 

 

Saturday

We woke up to some serious humidity outside, but that didn't stop us from getting out.

 

Aunt Lori stopped by head over to the local Barn Market that takes place twice a year, but not before surprising Conner with a pretty sweet vintage circus train. (Three days later and he's still got that thing attached to his hip.)

 

Now, if you love getting junk drunk, then the Barn Market is the place to be.  And seeing how much the crowd has grown and the fact that they charge for parking now tells me that everyone is getting on the bandwagon of handcrafted goods and antique finds.

 

 

The boys (all three!) went down for naps while I headed out solo to catch up on grocery shopping, and then on to Aunt Shan's for a little visit with the cousins.

 

 

Sunday

Headed out to church and followed the rest of the day up with a good Sunday snooze, cleaning and one crazy good dinner.

 



10 on 10 | JUNE 2016

10 Photos | 10th of June

 

My little black beauty

Sometimes you just need a little coffee to go with your whipped cream ;)

 

out early from work + lake invite = perfect afternoon

My water bug three summers straight

Fresh air got him like zzzzz.....

Cookies.

more please.

Typical scene when we eat out.  Boy just can't sit still.

As if this day couldn't get any better.

 

I just can't take it. My heart is going to burst.



linden | half year

S I X | half year!

I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record here, but honestly, how is this sweet boy already a half year old? I love him. Like, I want a lot more babies just like him. Just surround me in Linden-boys all day long (with a splash of Conner to keep things chaotic and fun).

Now that we're six months in with this little boy in our life, I can't imagine our family any other way. God knew we needed him in our crew.

 

LAST MONTH: 

 

THIS MONTH:

 

EAT

I was not planning on starting any solid foods until Linden turned 6 months old, but his interest in food was just too much. So, with that, we gave him a little chunk of banana back on Mother's Day to see how he'd do.  Let me tell ya, that boy wasted no time eating (and getting messy in the process).  Since then we've been having him eat dinner with us.  If there are foods that make up part of our dinner that are also age appropriate for him, I just give him what we're eating.  If our dinners are a little "advanced" for a new eater, I give him whatever veggies or fruits we have on hand. 

I'm pretty sure he already has favorite foods and those are bell peppers and cucumbers. That boy will eat those up!



 

SLEEP

Ever since the four month sleep regression, we don't sleep through the night, and, well, I'm tired. And when this boy wakes up in the middle of the night, it is not all sunshine and smiles. It's full blown screams of anger.  We usually go through 3-4 outfits in a night which I'm sure is a huge reason for the restless sleep.  We haven't quite found a good diaper that can hold up to a tummy sleeper.  So far, Luvs has been the best option but even then, we rarely wake up dry.

I am really looking forward to and dreading sleep training all at the same time.  I am so desperate for normal sleep but I know in order to get to that point it's going to be hard.  I already envision lots of crying (by both Linden and me) and lots of sleep deprivation. I guess we'll have to take some steps back to move forward and pray that we all get sound sleep in the end.





PLAY

This boy is a mover and a shaker. I can put him on his floor blanket with his toys and turn around 30 seconds later to find him five feet from where I put him without ever rolling over.  He just slides his way on his belly across the floor.  He loves to move around and he loves every single toy you put in front of him.

Linden is also starting to really interact in a playful way.  I think Conner is his favorite person by far to play with.  When those two boys get together, it's all laughter and squeals of high-pitched joy.  It makes this mama heart swell to see those two playing together.

His biggest milestone this past month has been his ability to sit unassisted.  It has opened up a whole new world for playing with his toys and watching his crazy big brother.

 

  

 PHOTO DUMP:

 

life lately

 

This is the reason for my 2+ week hiatus from any form of human contact outside of our house.  We've been residing our house, and it's been a huge undertaking.  You've heard "It takes a village to raise a child", but I'm now convinced it takes an army to push through complex residing job.

 

 I promise to update soon! After all, there is a little 6 month old that is cuter than cute that I still need to tell you about.  He's been up to a lot lately so stay tuned for his 6 month update!

toddler life | thirty one

THIRTY ONE MONTHS

 

Another month down, another inch taller.  This past month we took Conner to his 2 1/2 year doctor appointment and this time went a lot smoother than some of the previous ones.  There was no wrestling to look at his ears, or measure his height or weight. Just an semi-easy going little boy.

His doctor was pretty impressed by his ability to think through tasks, and commented that he is extremely smart.  She also mentioned that kids who are smart also challenge you on a daily basis which is exactly what Conner does! But it was still nice hearing someone else recognizing how smart my little love is.

  

Toddler Talks

Major speech explosion this month. For real.  His sentences are legit now.  I'm mean, most of the time he's just telling me about how the dog is eating chicken poop (that happens), that he pooped, that mommy pooped (when I'm clearly standing in the kitchen), and that the baby is awake.  But most of our conversations are about poop.  I guess that's life with a boy.

He is really fine tuning his details in regards to colors, numbers, objects, etc.  It's just amazing how much he has to say these days.

 

 

Toddler Play

Chickens. Chickens. Chickens. Trucks. Trains. Minions.

Those are what we are into these days.  This child has way too many toys (said every parent about their own child).  But really, he has too many, and all he wants to do is go outside and play with his chickens.  Joe and I love that about him.  We have a few chickens that are extremely family friendly, and Conner will pet them and protect them like they are his own pets.

This little boy is also playing with his little brother more and more.  Those two are becoming a riot these days.  Conner loves to get right up in Linden's face, and the two will start laughing.  Love these two!
 

Toddler Eats

I'm finding at this age, it's getting difficult to always push healthy choices his way.  He gets more and more exposed to snack foods that we don't keep around the house, so he constantly asks for those and has a bit of a tantrum when I offer other items like fruit.

On the flip side, there are days that he willingly eats what I cook for supper.  At his age it's hit and miss if he eats dinner with us or eats later in the night.  He typically is a late night eater.

 

Toddler Sleep
Our new nighttime routine nowadays is to read every book on the face of planet, cover him up with 3 blankets, and kiss and hug him before he falls asleep.  And don't even think about missing any step in the process.  But after that, he falls asleep right away and will rarely wake up on his own before 6:30am.

PHOTO DUMP: