The 3 B's

Delilah has been a bit of a handful the past week and we were worried about an ear infection. So, I went ahead and made a doctor appointment for her to rule that out. We grabbed some burritos and a taco from Chipotle, one of our favorite weekend spots and also got some baby proofing gear. (She has officially figured out how to open the cabinets.) All the while she fell asleep in the truck. When she woke up we were at the doctor's office and needless ay she woke up on the wrong side of the car seat. After some poking and looking around the doctor said her ears looked great, which was a relief, but she did say that she was definitely getting some top teeth so that could be why she has been tugging on her ears and explains her not so great moods and sleeping patterns. Hey, we can work with that!

Usually, when we are running errands I don't have to nurse her, since riding in the car will usually lull her to sleep and looking around keeps her pretty occupied. But after feeling a little scared from the doctors, I could tell that she wanted to nurse. We got home and I took her to her room and our rocking chair. After about 15 minutes we were done, Delilah sat up and started pointing at every decoration and toy in her room. When I brought her back in the living room, Byron started playing with her and said, "Whoa she is in a much better mood, I guess she needed one of the 3 B's." I looked at him like 'what in the hell are you talking about' and he was like, "You know, it was either boob, bottom, or bed." Yep. You are right, it was one of the 3 B's!

It is the weekend!! Yay!

Please excuse the blurriness of the pictures, my subject doesn't really stay still ;)

Favorite Things: Monkey Mat

Summer is here! And that means a ton of time outside! 

I was out shopping, at you guessed it, The Natural Baby Company, and saw this cloth-like, blanket-ish, mat that can fold into a tiny pouch, so you can take it everywhere! The beach, park, an impromptu picnic. I had to have it! The corners are weighted down so a little breeze won't pick it up and the material is perfect for when spills happen, you just wipe it up! I was looking for something like this for the beach or the lake, and am really glad I stumble upon this Monkey Mat.

We gave it a whirl at Pflugerville Lake. It is hardly a lake but a source of water close by and great for little ones because of a beach area they made. I would go there all the time pregnant to sit like a beached whale relax my feet and swim around a bit. Delilah was in awe at the water and was trying to eat the sand/pebbles, but other than that loved it! I am going to get her some swim diapers and we will be ready to go! I also am looking at this bathing suit. I love this company and their bloomers, Delilah has a few and we loooove them!

The Monkey Mat fits perfect in my center console in the Jeep and will stay there all season! It is perfect for on the go, it dries fast, and is big enough to fit the entire family! Clean up is a breeze too! I was actually able throw it in the washer to clean up the remnants of Cheeto fingers and watermelon stickiness! It has quickly turned into one of our favorite things!

Update: I will say that after a couple of trips to the lake, the Monkey Mat had a hard time staying down with the wind. This lake is always unusually windy, so we still use it for less windier places ;)

Please note, I am not paid to review any of these items, and that everything I say is my own opinion.

Learning How to Swim: Day 1

Delilah had her first swim lessons today, well more like her first time in the big giant bath tub! I probably should have introduced her to a pool first, she was a little freaked out, but after about 45 minutes, she started warming up to the water!

Her instructor was going to try to get Delilah to be able to roll to her back, but ended up getting Delilah to feel comfortable with her and the water. Baby steps! I am a firm believer in babies learning to swim and be able to float for safety. I grew up in the water, living by the coast, and always loved to swim. Years of swim team and being lucky enough to have a pool, made me into the lover of water that I am today, and I want nothing less for Delilah. My goal is to get her more aquatinted with the water and hopefully by the end of the summer will be able to see her float around! 

Getting ready to go!

Meeting her instructor!

Finally getting comfortable! She loved those rings, she is cutting a few teeth right now, so those were a hit!

Me and my bebe :) 

Towards the end of the hour, I was able to get her to jump to me from the first step in the pool. She was finally having some fun! I forgot her sun hat, so she borrowed this baseball cap, love my little bald headed baby!

On a side note, I was putting on my bathing suit, which sadly I haven't been in since our honeymoon almost 2 years ago! Things were fitting a little tighter differently, so guess who is in the market for a new bathing suit top? 

Happy Summer!

Happy Father's Day!

This weekend consisted of painting, yard work, and spending time together as a family. We were exhausted come Sunday, with refreshed energy for the Game of Thrones finale, whew!

I have made a promise to myself to start doing the things that I want to do. Sounds simple, but it has been hard! Especially with a baby, it seems as though as soon as you have a baby your wants and desires go on the back burner. One of the items on my list was make our front yard pretty. I did not realize what a pain it would be, but we were able to get a fraction of our goals done.

I am so proud of what we accomplished!

I am sure we would have gotten further, however having the little bebe meant unplanned breaks and tag teaming like nobody's business. ;)

Midway through yard work, our lawn mower broke... so there was a mohawk in our yard. My poor husband, on Father's Day, had to finished the crazy jungle we call a yard. Our sweet neighbor let us borrow his mower. We did go out to eat to a local sushi restaurant, Byron's favorite, pick up an Under Armor shirt, also his favorite, and got all of the baby kisses and slobber he could ever want! All in all it was a great weekend, tiring, but great. I have been so lucky with the fathers in my life, my own dad set the bar really high on what kind of father I wanted for Delilah, and Byron has been nothing short of amazing. I am so proud of the father that he has become.

I know the quality of this picture is pretty terrible, but I love the way they are looking at each other. Delilah was so excited to open this box up and Byron was trying to get it set up as fast as possible, so there was a brief stare down and I am so glad I happened to catch it. The way these two interact cracks me up and will without fail put a smile on my face.

It looks as though I have moved all of my pictures, otherwise I would have probably posted about 83 pictures of them. 

 Delilah has her first swim lessons today, we are I am excited and nervous! Have a great week!

Food for your Itty Bitty - Leftover Edition

I had a bunch of food leftover from the weekend and no idea what I was going to feed Delilah for lunch. Here is what I came up with, and she did not seem to mind!

Half of a 'chick chick' pouch (happybaby is our baby food brand of choice, Delilah loves everything they make), leftover mashed potatoes, left over rice, and a couple of slices of avocado.

Heat up the 'chick chick' and potatoes in a bowl, separately heat up the rice. Mash together the 'chick chick', potatoes, and avocado. I also added a pinch of salt and a dash of lemon pepper.

Grab a bit and roll into a ball in your hand.

Drop the ball into the heated and fluffed rice.

It's camouflaged!

bowl

There are the leftover balls!

Add some ripe cantaloupe to the mix and you've got a lunch party!

*** You can use this "recipe" with any leftovers you have. All you need is something to stick all the ingredients together, mashed potatoes for example. I was out of eggs, otherwise I could have mixed egg into the potato mixture and fried up the balls. 

Favorite Things: 3 Sprouts Hamper

Technically it's a clothes hamper, but I use it as Delilah's toy hamper! 3 Sprouts makes it and I love it. After a day of running around like a mad woman, taking every toy with her around the house, scooting her xylophone across the living room, it is nice to have something to throw put away all of her toys. I try not to let baby stuff invade every room in the house, I said "try". I feel like this helps corral some of her toys and I love the little print. 

I love 3 Sprouts and all of their organizing products. We have the stroller organizer and love it. I knew I wanted something for the living room for her toys and as I was shopping around I found this hamper. The deer is what caught my attention, I looked and looked and the deer was only available on the hamper, not one of their storage boxes. I loved it so much I was going to make it work. And make it work we did! Every night, my husband dutifully picks up all of the toys the baby tornado flung across the house and places them into the deer. It is sturdy enough to hold and stand upright, but soft enough for Delilah to use as a small mountain to climb on top of. The top unfolds and produces handles, I did not think I would use, but we do. So, you can take and conveniently place anywhere you would like. I am really looking forward to when Delilah walks and can take her deer with her wherever she goes.

The little hole at the top is also perfect for when the hamper is in place, but you find that lonely lost toy in the corner of no man's land, and you just toss it in there. Or have an impromptu "who can make it into the basket" game. A little competition is always welcome at our house. 

Needless to say, although we do not use the hamper for it's intended use, it has found it's way into our daily routine and is something we would be sad to not have. It is a great product, it takes a beating for sure, and the deer is so stinkin cute, I don't mind having it sit in the living room.

It also holds a ton! 

3 Sprouts Hamper is one of our Favorite Things!

 Please note, I am not paid to review any of these items, and that everything I say is my own opinion.

Food for your Itty Bitty: Baked Apple

Delilah was napping and I was wondering what she was going to have for snack. I just finished reading this book, which I really enjoyed. I will be making the yogurt cake very soon! Of course when she got to the part about eating and food I was completely interested. The author stated that for snack her daughter would sometimes have a baked apple. They also had chocolate sandwiches, but that is for another time. 

I decided to try it out since Delilah loves applesauce. She woke up before it was done cooking, so dessert it is!

Peel the apple and core, but not all the way through. I just made sure I got out all of the seeds.

I cut up 1 tablespoon of butter and packed 1/2 in the core.

Fill it up with brown sugar.

Pack on the rest of the butter and sprinkle it with cinnamon.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or so.

It smells really good. Really. Good.

Baked Apple

1 apple

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon brown sugar

sprinkle of cinnamon

Preheat oven 350.

Core the apple and make sure to get the seeds out, but do not go all the way through. Pile in 1/2 tablespoon butter and brown sugar. Ad the rest of the butter and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake for 30 or until tender. 

**Next time I make this I will not peel the apple. The outside was a little dry. No worries, it was still delicious! 

This is her face after I put a piece of baked apple in her mouth!