The "D" Word

Discipline.

When he takes a handful of bananas and holds them over the edge of the high chair, waiting, and looking at us to see if we are watching.  When he crawls up to the sea of flashing lights on the Internet router, reaches out his finger to push on them, then turns around to see if we're watching.  When he reaches for the giant bowl of mashed potatoes, with his eye on us the whole time.  Yea, it's time to start.

"Xavier, don't touch that, please."

turns away and face-plants into the carpet

"I haven't forgotten.  Don't touch that."

"Xavier?  No, no."

just one finger

neener

It would appear my disciplining needs some work ;)

Goodbye, July!

Tomorrow is August.  Autumn.  August.

It's time to start thinking about picking apples (the Honey Crisps are usually ready at the end of August), hayrides, pumpkins, and HOODIES!!  It makes me so excited I want to do a backflip in to a tall glass of apple cider!

Anyway, the latest and greatest on Professor X... he's discovered his tongue.  And it's adorable.  This morning, we played Patty-Cake and Peek-A-Boo.  Then, I put him in front of the bathroom mirror and he went wild with the big smiles!  I pointed out my facial features and when I got to his tongue, he stuck it out.  Now, when he sees one of us stick out out our tongues, he wants to stick his out, too.  Below is a clip from yesterday at daycare.  Along with the big grins, about 20 seconds in, he gets some tongue action.  Enjoy!

My Go-To Mama Style

I don't keep up on the latest fashion, by any means, but when it comes to finding cute comfy clothes on the cheap, I'm your girl.  Here are some of my go-to mama style favorites!

Skinny Sweatpants // Striped Hoodie // Marled Socks // Denizen Skinny Jeans // Draped top // Tory Birch flats

Most weekdays, I lounge around the house in comfy leggings or (confession) my old maternity pants.  I typically pair them with a soft hoodie, my favorite soft t-shirts from Target, or a comfy zip-up sweater.  Even when going to a friend's house for an evening of socializing, you may very well find my in my comfy clothes.

On occasion, this will not work and I must put effort in my wardrobe planning.  For example, going out to a nice brunch with friends or a Friday night out on the town (by the way, I need more of these in my life!) calls for something cute like a maxi dress or something like skinny jeans and a flowy top, like this one from Target.  This top does a great job of hiding those mama hips!  My pre-pregnancy jeans have fallen by the wayside and I sometimes have dreams of fitting into my large variety of Paige denim and Tory Burch leather boots (only fit the skinny legs).  But, till then, my Denizen skinny jeans and Tory Burch ballet flats will have to do!  I'm also digging Old Navy's RockStar Distressed Skinny Jeans and at $25 (on sale now!), why wouldn't I?!

And then, there are those days you will find me in my robe, marled socks, and top-knot on my head just watching for the clock to strike "Bed-time!"

Friday Favorites

Xavier has a new trick.  We had the Early Year's Roll & Swirl Ball Ramp out for him to play with for a few months now.  For a while, he liked to shake the balls and take the ramp apart.  Recently, he learned that if he puts the ball at the top, it will wind its way to the bottom.  And the best part is he now remembers that's what you do with this toy and doesn't need us to show him to get started.  He'll see the toy from across the room, smile and get excited, zoom-crawl over to it, while laughing the whole time, and then, this...
   

He's so proud :)  I love how he sticks his legs straight out when he's excited.  One of his favorite things to do is experiment putting other toys at the top of the ramp, like a block, keys, and the TV remote.

I haven't done a Friday Favorites in a while, so let's get right to it.

1.  Graham Crackers and Ritz Crackers in the short stack - So they don't get stale as quickly.  I just saw these at the grocery store!  Wow, the things that excite parents of toddlers ;)

2.  Homemade breakfasts - I'm a fan of kicking it up a notch with the pancakes (in the cast iron skillet with lots of butter, the red-velvet kind, and what I want to try soon, with sprinkles).  I also like this waffle tin from Crate & Barrel.  Breakfast is quickly becoming our favorite meal to make at home and we have fun mixing it up.

3.  Good Summer Music Playlists - I love having a good playlist at my fingertips for when I'm taking Xavier on a stroller ride or sitting outside.  On mine found here, I have some Black Keys and One Republic.

4.  Iced Passion Fruit Tea From Starbucks - The Starbucks near my work recently passed out samples of this tea and it is so refreshing!  It's a little to sweet for me, so I get half black tea, and half passion fruit.  I don't take any sweetener since the passion fruit tea has enough.

5.  These wine glass writers are a must have for identifying your glass at a wine party.  And these bottle tags are certainly unique and sure to be a conversation starter.

Today is Christmas in July!  We celebrated by eating Mexican food on the back porch and admiring Xavier's Christmas tree.

I drew on the driveway with sidewalk chalk...

and Xavier ate it.

Happy Weekend!  May it be Merry!

Summer Bucket List - update

We've quickly checked off a few items on our summer bucket list.  Here's a recap of some summer activities thus far.

My attempt at being artsy.  haha!

We tried popsicles with Xavier.  They didn't take very well although, you wouldn't know it from the pictures!  Trust me, we took like 60 shots and got 3 good ones.  He wants badly to hold them and to not be freaked out by the coldness.  Don't these pops look professional?  

Check out the interior layer of red!!  For these popsicles, I poured half OJ, let it freeze for 5 minutes, then filled the rest with Tropicana's Strawberry/Banana juice.  I used the Zoku pop maker.

Here we are at our local Graeter's.  I can't tell if X was more enthralled by the ice cream or by taking Steve's sunglasses off his head.

Water-Wednesdays at daycare.

Xavier and his good buddy, Chase.

Xavier's first art project with Dad!  We took Xavier to the Art Museum kids area, where he played with tops, made art out of colored masking tape, ate paper, and banged wooden blocks together.

It's been an eventful summer and we have some more fun things planned!

Feeding the Babe

Xavier is always surprising us with his abilities.  He spends about an hour or so each day at home with us during the week before we start the bedtime routine, so when the weekend comes, it's fun to watch all the new skills he picked up at daycare that week.  We have been experiencing with different kinds of sippys; some with handles, others without, some with plastic straws built in.  He liked to play with them, turn them upside down, and try to suck the liquid out the bottom!  We've worked with him to teach him to suck out the top and he kind of caught on, but only when we hold the sippy for him.  So we got lazy and figured we'd wait a while to try again.  But, we always leave the sippys in his basket of toys to play with.

About a month ago, I was in the kitchen preparing some breakfast casserole for X's dinner.  Steve put a First Year's Take 'n Toss sippy we got from the baby shower on the table and X immediately grabbed it, put it in his mouth, tilted it up, and started drinking.  Um, wha?  The sippy has no handles, straw, special features.  Apparently, these are the sippys they use at daycare and he's been drinking from them for a while now (thank you daycare for your efforts!).  We didn't even know!  Steve and I are shocked by this kid all the time!!

In case you're interested, some of the sippys we tried were:

Lansinoh mOmma Straw Sippy, Zoli BOT Cup, Nuby Sippy with Handles

Xavier is now at the point of eating what we do.  We have pretty much given up on feeding him baby food because he prefers to feed himself.  We just started feeding him eggs and strawberries, even though technically we were supposed to wait until the first birthday (said somebody).  I know moms with kids of all ages struggle with ideas to keep meals interesting.  Here are some things X has liked so far.  Hopefully it inspires you to come up with a new meal idea or two for your little one!  Xavier eats a full breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with an afternoon snack.  Also, in-between these meals, he takes a 5-6 oz. bottle of formula, 4 times a day.

French toast sticks, blueberries - We cut the french toast into sticks before dipping to make all the sides crispy!
Nutri-grain blueberry muffin, Cheerios or Chex, grapes

Pancake, bananas - Dipped in Nutella to keep it interesting.  We save the pancakes by freezing them (parchment paper in-between each one to prevent sticking together), then popping in the toaster before serving.
Egg & Cheese on an English Muffin, strawberries & kiwi - If you're feeling adventurous, throw some spinach or other veggies in the eggs for added nutrition.

Crockpot Chicken, Roasted Potatoes, and Edamame

Mini Veggie Pizzas, Applesauce - A great meal to sneak in some healthy veggies!

Mac & Cheese, Spinach, blueberries - I make mac & cheese in a mug, a healthier alternative to Easy Mac.  I use 1/3 cup of water, 1/3 cup macaroni noodles (happened to have Rotini on hand) and microwave for 6 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes.  Then I add 1/4 cup of milk, 1/4 cup of finely shredded cheddar cheese, and microwave another 2 minutes.
Quesadilla with veggies & cheese, avocado - I mix it up with turkey or chicken deli meat.

A note on vegetables:  Xavier isn't the biggest fan, especially when also being served fruit, meat or carbs.  So we keep it interesting by adding a splash of soy sauce, lemon juice, or seasoned bread crumbs.  Sometimes we sneak them into his grilled cheeses and quesadillas.

For other "___ in a Mug" recipes, check out here and here.

Some Meal Time Favorites include:

Baeba Utensils - Great utensils because they are easy to hold on to.  Love all the colors too!

Boon Grass Drying Rack - We have been using this since day 1.  I am obsessed with it.  It can also double as a drying rack for your wine glasses;)

Take & Toss Sippy Cups - To our surprise, Xavier likes the no-frills sippies!  As much as I want him to like the cute ones with the straws or handles, he prefers these!

Silicone Bibs - A must have for messy eaters.  It is helpful for catching things like Cheerios and pasta.  It's also super easy to clean.
Noggin Playlist - This playlist is great for keeping him entertained while I'm busy cleaning up the kitchen.  We pop the iPad in the iGuy, turn on the guided access to keep X from switching between apps, and it gives me 15 minutes to get everything cleaned up.

Lastly, I leave you with Xavier drinking out of a mason jar.  Grandma in Lewisburg would be proud.  And so would his ancestors. :)

Summer Nights

Now that 4th of July is over, I feel sort of blue.  The next holiday won't be here till Halloween, and I still have to get through the rest of summer.  Luckily, the summer nights have been nice and cool and we have been spending a lot of QT on the back porch.

Here's a roundup of our summer night favorites:

1.  String Lights - I am so majorly in love with our new string lights.  I have been wanting them in our backyard, somewhere, the past few years, and finally got around to putting them up just in time for our 4th of July party.  These are amazing lights.  They don't get hot, so you can string them through your trees, and they have a nice, soft glow.  I've already rearranged them 3 times and they've only been up a couple weeks.  Ha!

2.  Oil lanterns - I absolutely love the look of my lanterns at night!  We put citronella tiki oil in the lanterns and it works great to keep the bugs away.  They are from Pier 1 several years ago.  These are similar to the ones we have, but they aren't lightable.

3.  Tree Swing - We hung Xavier's toddler swing from one of the trees in our yard.  We bought some climbing rope from Home Depot and attached it.  It's great for during the week because after dinner, the last thing we want to do is get packed up to go the park for a half hour before it's time to start bedtime.  Xavier loves, loves, loves it!

4.  Before summer is over, I'm determined to have a full blown picnic somewhere.  I want picnic blankets, an entire full-course meal, complete with kraft gable boxes for each of us.  Doesn't that make you want to have a picnic too?!  

5.  Sweet treats on the back porch.  Cherry Cordial ice cream is my jam!  Add a splash of Hershey's chocolate syrup for some extra happy Alli!

Summer is almost over!  Start making a list of fun outdoor things to do before it's time to pack up your back porch for the winter!

The sun never sets on a badass.