4 weeks

I can't believe Charlie has been here for 4 weeks already. Then again, it feels like he has been here forever and I can't even remember what it was like before he was here. Although the not remembering part my just be the lack of sleep. Ha!

It's amazing to me how much he has grown in just 4 short weeks. He weighed 8lbs 8oz at birth and at his two week appointment he weighed in at 9lbs 14oz. Just 1oz shy of his big brothers birth weight. Yikes.

So far Charlie is such a happy and sweet baby. Also, super strong. The boy is already holding his head up like a champ. His favorite things this month have been: EATING, sleeping, being swaddled, cuddling, staring at people, and his big brother.

Charlie smiled for the first time at Logan. Logan thought it was awesome and so did I. Logan walked up to Charlie to say "Hi, Charwie" as he often does and Charlie starts turning his head to try and find where Logan's voice was coming from and when he found his brother he just gave him the biggest smile. My heart = melted. I can hardly wait to until Charlie is old enough to actually play with Logan. It's going to be so fun!

Just for fun here is a comparison picture of Logan at one month.

He was so much longer than Charlie. Logan was 23in at birth and Charlie was only 19in.

Here are some close-ups of their faces for a little better comparison.

Charlie

Logan

Life With Two Boys

Life with these two boys has actually been easier than I thought it was going to be. A big part of that is Logan was colicky and if he was awake he was crying. It felt like that stage with Logan lasted FOREVER. I am so thankful that Charlie doesn't have colic. Colic is the worst.

I am really loving these moments. 

At least once a day Logan will go up to Charlie and say, "Charlie you are sooo cute, I wuv you!". I can't wait to see how their relationship develops as they get older. I just love them so stinkin' much! 

It's crazy to me how much bigger Logan seems to me now that Charlie is here. A few weeks age he was just a baby to me and then BAM he transformed into a kid.  

So far some things that have made my life easier with two kids are:

1. Having a bouncy seat in the bathroom. Logan may love Charlie but I can't trust him alone with the baby. It's nice to just be able to bring Charlie with me and not have to worry about him. 

2. The Moby Wrap. It's awesome. 

3. The Mamaroo swing. Again, it's awesome. 

4. Making sure I put Charlie in the mamaroo for a little bit when he sleeping so that I can get some quality play time with Logan. It makes a HUGE difference in Logan's mood (and mine). 

You may not have cared to know any of those things but I thought I would share anyways. Ha! 

And here is one last picture of Charlie just because he is adorable. 

Finishing Up Fall

So, fall is flying by super fast. 

I never even got all of our decorations put up so no pictures of that. 

I did however manage to redo our chalkboard. 

You may have seen this art on Pinterest. 

It's because I cheated and copied it. 

Here is who makes the original: Lindsay Letters

Everything she does is amazing. 

I am going to be more original for our Christmas art. 

Hopefully. 

Speaking of Christmas

I am planning on decorating right after Halloween. 

We are skipping right over thanksgiving this year. 

With Charlie being due in just 4 weeks (WHAT?!) I don't want to wait too long and then not get to decorate at all. 

Hopefully I will actually finish decorating and get to post some pictures. 

I have a few things that I am planning on crafting up. 

I just got some awesome red polka dot burlap that I plan on making into a tree skirt. 

Also, we only have a few ornaments for our tree. 

They are felt and I love them so I plan on making some more felt ornaments this year. 

They are the perfect ornaments to have with small kids running around. 

Also, before I get to all that crafting I should probably just clean our house...

So, now I am off to get some cleaning done. 

Logan and Charlie's Fall Favorites

1. Grey Hoodie- Target

2. Blue Striped Henley Shirt- Target

3. Grey and Black Cardigan- Old Navy

4. Dress Shirt and Bowtie- Old Navy 

5. Red Plaid Button-up- Old Navy

6. Blue Striped Shirt- H&M 

7. Skinny Jeans- Old Navy

8. Grey Skinny Jeans- Gap

9. Classic Converse- Converse

1. Grey and White Striped Beanie- Gap

2. Tan and Brown Beanie- Gap

3. Denim Shirt- H&M

4. Blue Sweatshirt- H&M

5. Grey Cardigan- Old Navy

6. Red Chinos- H&M

7. Skinny Jeans- H&M

8. Hipster Fox Onesie- Old Navy 

9. Little Brother Onesie- Gap

10. Brown Booties- Zappos

Hey There Fall, You've Been Missed

Fall is my favorite. Of all time. 

So, I have a few posts lined up all revolving around fall. 

1) Favorite fall boys clothing - I will be sharing some things I have bought (or want to buy) the boys for the fall/winter season. Boy clothes can be cute too!

2) Favorite fall recipes - both things I have tried and things I am going to try (eventually). 

3) Our house - I am in the process of decorating for fall! I am not even done yet and our house already feels super cozy. I can't wait until it's complete!

4) Pumpkin patch - We are going to the pumpkin patch and I am super excited. It doesn't get more fall than that! I was trying to find pictures of the past two years at the pumpkin patch but apparently I didn't take any last year...bummer. Anyways, here are a couple of pictures from two years ago. 

 

Gah, he has grown up so much! 

And now for something completely random. 

I created a little fall art. Not really sure how I feel about it. I don't love it but I don't hate it either. The tail kinda weirds me out. I am going to print it out and put it up with some of our other decorations and then see how I feel about it. After all that work though I thought I would at least show somebody, haha.

Also, If you have seen my facebook post about our new chalkboard, you may have noticed that I have the same quote up there. I am changing the chalkboard. Another thing I am not thrilled with. It's so hard to come up with something for such a big space. Kinda intimidating but it's a fun challenge. 

HAPPY FALL 

   

                                                                                       

A Freezer Party Nightmare

Well, I learned a lot from my first experience making freezer meals.
The main lesson being that it's a TON of work.

Also, if you are super pregnant, don't stand up all day and cook (duh). Even with sitting down and chopping all the veggies my back was killing me the next day. So much so that Andrew worked from home the next day to help me with Logan. Killer pain. Luckily after resting I was able to do normal stuff again, like change diapers, yay.

Here is the plan we followed this month: Once A Month Meals: Paleo September 2013

This is also our first time trying a Paleo diet. We aren't huge fans of the baked goods but it could be worse. We probably won't be doing it again (expensive and we are big dairy fans, go cheese!) but I am glad we gave it a shot.

I only got through half of the meals this month and then decided to just freeze the rest of the meat. My main problem with this plan is that it requires a lot of pre-cooking meals (which caused the back issues). When I envisioned doing freezer meals I thought I would just throw a bunch of stuff in a ziplock bag and then throw it in the freezer. Bam, done. Thaw, and then throw in the crock-pot on the day of.    

If I had actually taken the time to go through the recipes before hand and done a little bit more research then I maybe could have avoided my freezer meal/back disaster.

Our kitchen. Wow. It was bad. For somebody who doesn't like doing dishes this was the worst part. Luckily, I have an awesome husband who helped me do dishes all day to get our kitchen clean again. Yep, it took all day.

Next month I am going to try a different plan of attack. All of our dinners will be raw ingredients thrown into a ziplock and then frozen. All ready to go in the crock-pot. For lunch I will cook up some taco meat and grilled chicken (for taco salads, burritos, or whatever sounds good). Divide it into ziplocks and freeze. For breakfasts I am going to keep it simple and stick with cold cereal, bagels, or egg scrambles (not frozen, obviously).

Also, next month I will be making enough for two months that way we have food all ready to go for after Charlie makes his arrival. Gah, I can't believe it's already time to start thinking about stuff like that. Soon there will be two little boys running around this house. Crazy and so exciting!

P.S.

Here is one recipe that we have tried and it is SO good. I may keep this one on our menu through the fall. Italian Crock-Pot Chili (It is spicy and I didn't even use the fire-roasted tomatoes)

Freezer Party

This month I am attempting to do freezer meals. I am calling it a party in hopes that it will make the process at least a little fun. This morning I went shopping for the most food that I have ever bought at one time. The amount of meat that was purchased in one shopping trip is insane. I signed up for "once a month mom" which is a website that does all the meal planning for you. All I had to do was choose our menu for the month and they gave me a grocery list and instructions on how to prepare/freeze everything. They have many different categories of food and lots of food plans for each month so that way all the produce is in season. I am pretty excited about trying it out. I will let you all know how my "party" goes.

Now I am off to get my kitchen totally clean so that I can completely destroy it tomorrow and then clean it up again. Good times.

Only 14 Weeks Left!

I forgot what it's like to be this pregnant.

My back hurts and I'm tired. 

Unlike last time though I know how awesome it is once this little guy makes his arrival.

Despite the sleepless nights and crying, these little people are pretty awesome. 

So, I am trying soak up these last 14 weeks of being a family of three.
Only 14 weeks!

It's going to fly by.

Our lives our going to change. 

It's going to be awesome. 

and exhausting.

With only 14 weeks left I decided I am going to knit some baby booties.
I don't know why I decided this seeing as I don't knit.
Luckily I have recruited a friends help.
I will finish them one way or another.
They may look ridiculous but my baby will wear them.
Assuming that I make them the right size...

Now for some random pictures I took with my brothers lens.

I will soon be forced to return it. 

I have major lens envy.

                              

Birthday Questions (A Little Late)

How old are you? "Two"

What is your favorite color? "Fire truck"

What is your favorite animal? "Baby Penguin/Monkey/Cow"

What is your favorite book? "Read Please"

What is your favorite TV show? "Team Umizoomi"

What is your favorite movie? "Team Umizoomi"

What is your favorite song? "Singing"

What is your favorite food? "Crackers"

What is your favorite drink? "Milk"

What is your favorite breakfast food? "Treat"

What is your favorite snack? "Cheerios"

What is your favorite outfit? "Outfit"

What is your favorite game? "Flying"

What is your favorite toy? "Panda"

Who is your best friend? "Logan"

What is your favorite thing to do? "Eat the animals" 

What is your favorite thing to do outside? "Colors"

What is your favorite holiday? "Bike"

What do you like to take to bed with you at night? "Baby Penguin/Cow/Mommy Penguin"

Where is your favorite place to go? "Car"

What is your favorite restaurant? "Eat"

Where do you want to go on vacation? "Chocolate Milk"

What do you want to be when you grow up? "Chocolate Milk"

What did you do on your birthday? "Birthday Party"

Haha, I love hearing his answers. 

I can't wait to see how they change in...6 months. 

Yeah, I am a little late. 

Pictures can be deceiving

Today was not my favorite day. 

We started out the day by going to Old Sacramento to take some two year pictures of Logan. 

I forgot my memory card. Of course. 

Instead we made a spontaneous trip to the zoo for "fun". 

I don't know why I think these things will be good ideas. 

Logan was tired, cranky, and cried (screamed) all the way to the car after having "fun". 

After a much needed nap at home I was able to get a few cute shots. 

After looking at these pictures I almost forget the disastrous morning we had. Almost. 

Cork Coasters

Now that we are getting more settled into our new house I thought it would be fun to share some things we have been up too. Both house projects and pictures of some of our adventures.

Today is just something quick and easy that I did as a last minute project.

I made some cork coasters with a left over cork tile that use to be up in Logan's room. I am hoping this will help cut back on the amount of cups we use daily. The less dishes I have to do the better!

I made a template on a piece of paper using the cups we use the most. 

I traced the template onto the cork with a sharpie. Then I cut it out using a sharp pair of scissors. My hands were killing me by the end!  

These were my first two attempts. Horrible. 

I like the way these turned out MUCH better. I may add some color to the bottom half but I'm not sure yet. I will just live with them for a few days then see how I feel. 

I REALLY love projects that use things I already have or have found for free.

So I think these are pretty great.