Catching Up

::: Every year, my moms side of the family spends a day baking a bunch of apple pies and then we freeze them for all of the holidays. Ironically, none of us are that big of pie fans, but it's become a tradition over the last ten or so years - so there's no stopping now. And it's a really fun day for all of the family to be together before the holidays begin

 

 

 

 

::: Have you listened to the Cat and Nat - podcast? I think it's new, there are only 5 episodes out, but I love it. It's all about how they became self made millionaires.  I binged listened to all 5 yesterday while I washed all of our interior windows. This weekend we are going to tackle all of the outside ..... which should really be a thrill.

::: Did I ever post any finished basement pictures? We ended up doing two coats of Revere Peweter - and it really brightened up the space. Ideally, I'd like to put down some large carpet remenants just to warm the space, but for now - we're pausing. In the new year, Joel and his dad are going to drywall the rest of the exposed walls and are going to build a little wet bar downstairs too. 

 

::: Can you believe Christmas is kind of around the corner? Which also means Drew is going to turn ONE!? How is that possible? She's about to walk, she's saying a lot of little words (at random times) - mama, dada, baba, and hi....and overall and most importantly she is just a delight of a human being. She has the happiest, sweetest energy, and we couldn't imagine a day without her. 

::: Because I'm crazy, I've decided to host a little birthday brunch for our baby girl, as well as host a formal Christmas Eve dinner for +30 people!  Ha! You may not be hearing much from me in the coming weeks.

::: Along with having a super jam packed calendar - of really fun stuff I do want to recount here - I'm trying to get our family year book made, Drew's birthday book created, and finish a 2019 family calendar for everyone. I've been spending a lot of my free time on Shutterfly and it's freaking time consuming. I may back-burner the year book and baby book for January and just take it off my list. In fact. I think I've just decided that's the plan.

::: I have always been a hater of the Pumpkin Spice Latte trend....but this year....I'm kind of loving them. They're the perfect sweet, spicy, coffee-y deliciousness. Thankfully they're expensive as all get out or I'd be getting them way more frequently ;) 

::: It's taking everything in me not to decorate for Christmas this weekend! I know it's early, but I love it, so I'd rather enjoy it for a longer period of time. We are rocking Christmas music, and I took all of the Halloween stuff down, so I think next Saturday will be the day we deck the halls! 

::: This is a LONG shot, but does anyone know how to convert an image saved as a NEF to a JPEG file without having photoshop or lightroom? 

::: I made the easiest dinner this week - Crock Pot Buffalo cups. I served them with a broccoli slaw and a creamy blue cheese dressing. 

The next day, we were out of butter lettuce cups, so I served it as a salad over arugula and loved it. Couldn't be easier either - chicken breast in the crockpot with water until it shreds, then mix in Frank's Buffalo sauce. That's it.

::: Leo is on a major art project kick. He loves practicing with scissors, painting, coloring, and taping. It's been fun for both of us - and really nice when I can get him into something while I'm cooking dinner or having a glass of wine. He did dot markers with my mom this week - and this little art project really impressed me! 

 

::: Do you ever get wine from Trader Joe's? We have always had great success with TJ's private label. They used to sell their brut champagne for $9.99 and I swear to you it tasted better than most $25/30 bottles. They recently upped the price to $14.99. BUT - another great $10 buck wine is this one. I had it at a girlfriends last week and can't wait to go stock up.

 

 

Sweet Halloween Treats (your toddler can help with)

Pumpkin Pie Dip 

Leo loves any chance he can to sit at the counter with me and really "help" me cook. This dip is the perfect toddler-approved dessert because there is no baking, it's basically one dish, and all they do the entire time is pour and stir. Easy as pie ;)


 

Chocolate Peanut butter Spider Pretzels

Candy Corn Jello Cups 

Similar to the pumpkin pie dip, Leo enjoyed putting his apron on and helping be my stir assistant for the jello. Once all of the jello sets (this is typically a day or two process), I had Leo place the candy corn on top of the whipped cream and voila!

We brought these in for his class Harvest party and they were a huge hit - these will for sure be an annual tradition! 

And now that Halloween is officially over and we can begin the Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations - I'm excited for our next batch of holiday desserts and crafts! Leo is really into it this year which makes it that much more fun!  

 

 

 

Leo - THREE years old

 

::: 1 month recap ::: 2 month recap ::: 3 month recap ::: 4 month recap ::: 5 month recap :::

 ::: 6 month recap ::: 7 month recap ::: 8 month recap ::: 9 month recap ::: 10 month recap

::: 11 month recap ::: 12 month recap  ::: 13 month recap ::: 14 month recap

::: 15 month recap :::16 months :::17 months

   18 months   ::: 19 months  ::: 20 months

  ::: 21  months ::: 22 months  :::23 months ::

::: 2 years old ::: 2.5 years old :::

Weight: 29lbs (20%) and 36” (17th%). 

Nicknames: LeeLee and Leo John

Clothes: 2T in jeans, 3T in shirts, 7 shoe, 5 diapers

Sleep:  You're a great sleeper and you're still taking naps. School has really helped in wiping you out, so we normally get 3-4 naps out of you in a week. You are still in your crib and I'm not moving you for a while. You've climbed out a handful of times in your life, but for the most part, love your crib so I don't see an enormous need to change it up yet. 

The only new thing we saw in sleep this summer was some night terrors/bad dreams. The onset came when we started/tried to potty train you. You would wake up in the middle of the night screaming bloody murder. It was heartbreaking, but you were normally easy to console back to sleep. Once we stopped potty training, they went away, and then came back out right before school started again - but haven't been a common problem. We now sleep with a night light and socks and both seem to help. 

Schedule: This is our school schedule

6:45am- Dad wakes you up and gets your clothes on

7:00am Breakfast

8-10:30am- School

10:30-12pmish- Errands, Park, Walks, Baths

12:15pm - Lunch

1:00-3pm nap

3:30pm up/play/snack

6:00pm dinner with a cup of milk

7:00pm Bed

Health: You are a healthy boy and we are beyond thankful for that.

Feeding:  You are a bit picky but overall a good eater. You still don't love meat, but I sneak it in here and there and you get lots of protein from other places so I'm not too worried. You love breakfast bars, cheese sticks, pirates booty, oatmeal, raisins, quesadillas and guacamole, bagels, french fries and ice cream.

Likes: You love school, magnatiles, arts and crafts, running, playdates, parks, being outside, and going to Barnes and Noble and the Crystal Lake Brewery.

Right now, you love Anna and Elsa from Frozen, love listening to the Disney channel on Pandora, you love playing with your "maui guys" which are little Moana figures, you love playing in the bath, having swimming lessons, and having snacks. 

You are so excitable, love life, and generally just see the beauty of the smallest things.

Not Liking: You are cautious with new experiences and sometimes show me a little anticipation anxiety. You don't like anyone doing things for you and are REALLY starting to show your 3-year old independent side.

Milestones: Well, you're like the smartest kid I know ;)  Your verbal skills are incredible and your memory legitimately freaks me out at how good it is.

You know all of your colors, can count to about 10 with a few mistakes, can spell your name, are learning to write your name, and pretty much know all of your shapes. What else is a milestone at 3? You sing tons of songs, play by yourself, have an incredible imagination, enjoy putting things together, lining things up, and creating different things.

This summer you learned how to swim with Miss BJ and we saw massive improvments from the beginning of the summer to the end. 

One milestone we did not master was potty training. We tried. And we tried hard. But it just didn't work. It was very, very emotional for you (and then, me), and it was WAY harder than it should have been, so we took it as a sign that you just weren't emotionally ready (you are physically), and so we are tabling it until you are.

Places You’ve Gone: We just returned from Colorado this past month and I would say the trip was made so much sweeter because we got to see and travel through your eyes. EVERYTHING blew your mind, the mountains, the "vacation house", the birds, the gondolas, the sun, the food, the airport, the plane, everything! 

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Leo, we love doing life with you. 

You make us laugh, smile, run, jump, play, sing, and dance, and you make us live our lives SO much better, sweeter, and more joyfilled. You are an incredible teacher, and I can't wait to learn more from you this next year. 

 We love every little thing about you,

Mom and Dad

 

Keeping Toddlers Busy

I'm hoping that I can share a few things that have saved our lives - and hoping that you can provide a few that may have saved yours. I remember reading quite a few blogs about "busy boxes" for baby when baby #2 is nursing, and these items are our version. 

Leo is very used to getting out of the house, having daily activities, and at the very least getting to the gym or getting into the stroller. Also, not because I'm against it but we're not big TV watchers yet**. I don't like to have the TV on during the day, and Leo doesn't know much different, so we just don't do a lot of TV or iPad time. I know the day will come but since we don't use either currently, they aren't a big help to us.

When we had baby Drew, the temperatures dropped below any normal level so any even little outside time we thought we were going to bank on, was out the window We haven't left the house much, and when we have, Leo's grandparents have taken him to Barnes and Noble just to get out for a bit. 

We are all going stir crazy, and really, more than anything on this list, we have held it together with the enormous amount of help we have received (thank you grandparents!) but even an hour or two of a bored toddler can feel like 63 hours moving at a very slow pace, so we've built an arsenal of what's been helpful and whats filled our time, and I thought I'd share. 

 

almost all of these can be found on Amazon, but I've had luck at TJ.Maxx/Home Goods and Target too!

And I really think I'm going to buy stock in Melissa and Doug. 

Water Wow Books: These are amazing. I have a few everywhere. They're great for restaurants too because they're small and you only need a touch of water. I love them and so does Leo. 

Reuseable stickers: These have been a huge hit for us, and Leo will spend a ton of time playing with them. I store all of the stickers in a zip lock bag that he can open and close himself which helps keep stickers from ending up everywhere. 

Jumbo Coloring Books: For whatever reason, the big books seem to hold Leo's attention for a lot longer. We got this jumbo book above as a gift and he loves it, and just today I was at Target and bought another cheap Cars one for a rainy day. 

Jumbo crayons: On that note, the jumbo crayons are way better for us. They don't brake nearly as easy, so Leo can keep a tight grip on them without a million crayon pieces ending up on the floor. 

The Mini Melissa and Doug puzzles: Leo is a big fan of puzzles, loves the ones that make noise too, but we got this set of 4 mini puzzles for Christmas and it has quickly become his favorite. I think he likes the fact that they're are a lot of small pieces for him to manipulate - and I like the fact that the puzzles have a cute little home, so this one is one of the few toys that stay out in our living room.

Matching Games: Both sets of Grandma's gifted Leo these for Christmsa this year and they've been a huge hit. Leo is currently liking the Dinosaur matching game a little bit better than the shapes and colors, but both are well suited for a 2 year old and I just found a letters one at TJs that I grabbed for when he is a little older. 

Baby Stella: I would also suggest getting a stroller for Baby Stella as well, but Leo has really taken to Baby Stella. He likes to take her for walks, has fun with all of the accessories that magnet to her mouth, and if he is sort of nagging me while I'm nursing, I like to encourage him to find baby Stella and check her diaper, or what have you, so that he feels like he can take care of a baby at the same time I am. 

MagnaTiles: Leo is a touch young for these, but I thought I would include them on the list anyhow because they make for a great gift and it's something I know will help us in the months ahead. I actually cleared out a drawer in one of the side tables in our living room to house these guys, so it's been a fun activity to do at night when Joel comes home. They're pricey but they're indestructible.

Play-doh: We have used this for when I'm pumping and need Leo somewhat contained. I just plop him in his high chair and this can easily buy me 15 minutes. 

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I'd love to hear a few of your indoor lifesavers. My neighbor was telling me about indoor sand that her daughter got for Christmas that isn't messy and has been a really fun indoor activity, so I might look for that in the next coming weeks too.

We are getting tons of use of our unfinished basement right now as well. Leo is happy as a clam to chase his balls down there, ride his new Y-bike, play in his fire truck car, and just run around. 

I've sort of been playing with the idea of finding him a small trampoline, or an indoor slide that he can use down there too - so if you have favorite basement activities, send them my way too!