Five on Friday - fall wish list

It's a lazy, rainy Friday here and I'm obsessing over fall ((like literally drooling just thinking about my first pumpkin spiced latte of the season)), so I'm dedicating this Five on Friday to my fall wish list!

I started buying fall clothes for Jacob a few weeks ago ((24mo and 2T- can you believe it?!)), which triggered me to spruce-up my fall closet. Here's some of the yummy fall fashions that I've already snagged.

ONE.
Riding boots- the softer the leather, the better. I want to look like I belong on the back of a horse, riding around the English countryside with Kate Middleton and His Magesty Prince George of Cambridge ((best name ever? quite possibly.)). These are a soft dark brown leather, with great buckles and...drum roll please...adjustable calf buckles. Finally! I happen to have "athletic calves", which usually make tall boots impossible to wear. These are the answer to my #biggirlproblems. Thank you, Steve Madden!

TWO.
Gap leggings- yes, they're maternity. Buy a size down and thank me later. These are the softest, thickest, bestest leggings I've ever worn. I originally found them when I was pregnant, and wore them around the house 24/7. But now I just can't get rid of them, and quite honestly- I don't want to. They're perfect!

THREE.
Oversized tanks and tees- especially with aforementioned leggings. They cover up your butt, are comfy and cozy, and look fab with a gorg scarf and pumpkin spiced latte. Nuff said.

FOUR.

Gap sexy boyfriend jeans- I particularly love these with a great pair of leopard print flats. These are my go-to jeans. They are SO comfortable, but still sexy and they pair great with flats, boots, heels and flip flops! The versatility is essential for crazy Texas weather.

FIVE.

Link and Tassel bracelets- one in every color! Yes, please! These are so adorable and can jazz-up any outfit. And dare I say they're a bit festive?!

 

What are YOU eyeing for fall?? I'm dying to refresh my wardrobe, so I'd love to hear from you!

  





Advocare 24 day challenge: preview

Alright, folks- we're almost a week away from August 1, which means we're 1 week away from the start of my 24-day Advocare challenge! I'm excited and scared all at the same time.

If you don't know what this is, it's a "comprehensive supplementation and nutrition program" that helps jumpstart your personal health goals. There's lots of pills, shakes, drinks and a meal plan. The first 10 days are a cleanse and the last 14 days are meant to build-up your nutrition and get your body healthy.

My goals for this 24-day challenge are to drop the last 10 pounds of baby weight, tone and get my energy back. I'm so excited to share this journey with you, and will try to post daily with meal tips and updates.

If you want more information about this challenge, you can go here.

Happy 5th Anniversary!

I just realized I wrote this entire post on our actual anniversary, but must not have published it. So, I'm scheduling it for our anniversary even though I'm actually publishing it on 7/23.

Happiest FIFTH anniversary to the most amazing man I know. You have made me the happiest woman alive and I seriously could not ask for more. I say it all the time- but I really could not survive this crazy life without you!

You are a wonderful husband and a terrific father. I love spending every day with you. You are my best friend and soulmate.

Thank you for all that you do. Cheer to another 54615641 years!

Wonder Weeks

I haven't posted about Wonder Weeks before. Probably because it's only on my mind when Jacob is going through one, which means I'm literally keeping him from meltdown status every minute of the day and consuming large quantities of wine once he's asleep. Therefore, I have no time to blog about it.

He's going through one now, his 2nd to last one to be exact, and I realized I hadn't ever mentioned it on my blog! Wowza! Thus, I am posting about it. Because honestly, this has played a HUGE role in Jacob's moods for the entire first year of his life and it continues to. Obviously. Because today he only napped for an hour and 15 minutes, hardly ate and was a total cranky mess all day.

Anywayss.... I've already finished my first glass of wine, so I'll try not to ramble...

Wonder Weeks are pre-determined weeks of a baby's life when they are most likely to go through major mental development. Dr Frans Plooij has spent nearly 40 years researching this and has put it all in his book- The Wonder Weeks.

I read about this during Jacob's first Wonder Week, when I literally thought my baby turned into satan. Turns out he was just learning something new, and his whole world was changing around him and he was totally freaked out. I immediately downloaded the Wonder Week app (go do this now), and have been following this very closely ever since.

It's based on a child's gestational age (or due date), not delivery date, and every child starts them at slightly different times. I know that Jacob always starts his a few days before he's "supposed to" per the app.

Every child is affected differently as well. Jacob is suuuuuper sensitive to every "leap", but I have friends whose kids aren't phased by it.

I really love the iPhone app because it has a really nifty chart that shows you all the weeks in the first 15 months, and when they will be fussy, happy and normal.

They also list all the Wonder Weeks and what new skills they are learning, what symptoms/signs to expect and how to help them through the WW easier.

I literally put these on our household calendar because we ALL need to be aware of it. But truthfully, we've gone through so many now, that I can tell the day he starts a new WW. He's a completely different baby.  He doesn't sleep, eat and isn't content with anything except being held. It's so overwhelming for a stay at home mom and I find it easier when you're mentally prepared and can anticipate it.

I'm praying the next few weeks go by quickly and we all survive. I also hope this has helped someone out there, because I know the first website I read about this certainly helped me!

Good luck, mamas!

My 29th birthday

Sooo...I turned 29 yesterday. Wahhh!! I only have 365 days in my 20s!! What the hell am I gonna do?! I tell you what- savor it.

 Josh took the day off from work, which pretty much made my day. He didn't have to do anything else and I would've been happy just to have him home. But, being the amazing husband that is he, he did so much more. It was seriously the perfect day!

On Tuesday night, he surprised me with two dozen roses- one from him and one from Jacob. Each with a special little note from each of them. So cute! And he told me that he took the day off and will be home all day! Score!

Sooo...on my actual birthday, we started the day with some delicious pancakes made with love from my awesome husband. He did a good job, wish I would've taken a picture!

He surprised me with an updated chalkboard, too. Haha! He gets an E for effort, for sure.

My sister took me to Seasons 52 for lunch. If you haven't been there, you should seriously go. All the entrees are under 475 calories, the main menu changes seasonally, and there's a weekly menu that changes weekly (duh) too! And they have a superb wine list. It was seriously so delicious!

Jacob went down for his afternoon nap shortly after I got home, and so did mama. We both slept for 2 hours- YAY!! When we woke up, we went to Target for me to pick out my birthday present. Josh had told me that he wanted to get me an iHome (which I've been wanting forever), but he didn't know which one I wanted, so I got to pick it out. I ended up getting this Bose dock for the sound quality. I love it and can see a LOT of dance parties in our future.

After Target, we went to my favorite restaurant, Mi Cocina. I had two mambo taxis (uh oh) and we all really enjoyed ourselves! Jacob loves that place. After we were done with dinner, we let Jacob run around outside by the fountain. He loves chasing the ducks. Hehe.

Mr Mean Mug. I swear he was happy!

When we got home, we took the dogs on a quick walk, and then did bath/bed and Jacob went down for the night. Then we just chilled and I went to bed early. I'm 29 after all, gotta get my beauty sleep!

 

Overall it was the perfect day, and great little break in the week! My parents are coming up this weekend to celebrate, and we get to go on a date night! Double score! I can't wait!

 

Onto the next year of my life...hopefully its a good one! :)

Jacob's 1st birthday party

I can't believe its already been a month since Jacob's birthday party!!!! Gah! I finally got all the awesome pictures back from our photographer, so I thought I'd share them with you. I was really happy with how everything turned out, and I think all our guests enjoyed themselves too!

I made this adorable ship wheel wreath during nap time one day. I love the way it turned out, and its now hanging in Jacob's bedroom! I bought the ship wheel at Hobby Lobby for like $10 on sale, and used paint pens and stencils to write his name and birth date. Then I free-handed the anchor in the middle. I really hope I can come up with something sweet like this for all my kid's first birthdays (wishful thinking).

 

 

One of my sweet friends, Pege at Coastie Life and Never Forgotten Designs, made all my printables and I'm seriously in love with them. Her husband is in the US Coast Guard and she happens to specialize in USCG announcements and nautical-themed parties are totally up her alley!



 

 

I made the bunting behind the cakes with some washy tape and baker's twine- suuuuuper easy and cheap! I used popsicle sticks to attach it to, and stuck them in sand in mason jars. A small touch to an already lovely cake table.

 

 

I ended up buying both cakes at Market Street. I had planned on making them, but I just couldn't figure out the buttercream icing and we all know I couldn't make a navy anchor. I got both cakes for under $30! Score!

 



We served burgers, hotdogs, potato salad and various chips/dips for lunch. I loved this table- so festive and delicious!

 

 

I can't even tell you how many tears I shed making this sweet banner. It's absolutely incredible to see the transformation our sweet baby made over the course of a year. I can't bear to part with this sucker. For all I know, it'll end up on the walls of our bedroom. I love it that much.

 

As party favors, Jacob gave these cool buckets with shovels, goldfish and bubbles! A fun way to incorporate the nautical/ocean theme.



 

Here's Jacob's pile of presents. This kid is blessed beyond measure with the sweetest friends and best family! I hope he felt the love that day, because it was certainly all around.

 

Now, onto the actual party....

 

We started the party with some mingle time and food.

 

 

Thankfully the weather was gorgeous that afternoon, so a lot of people hung out in the backyard. We set up the water table and chairs outside for some fun in the sun for the kiddos.

 

 

 

 

The grill master hard at work...

Two of my sweet friends and their daughters (aka Jacob's girlfriends). I loved how the dressed up in theme for the party. So festive!

Jacob with our neighbor, Mrs. Cheryl. She is hands-down the best neighbor and adopted grandma (Mimi) and kid could ask for! Love her!

We opened presents next, and let me tell you- this little boy had so much fun!! It was such a difference from Christmas. He got so excited with each present and wanted to stop and play with everything. I loved watching him!

 

Last we did cake. I cleaned up blue/green poop in Jacob's diaper for a week. So disgusting, but so worth it! Haha!

 

  

Clean up afterwards. Everyone pretty much cleared out while we were washing him up. He wanted to play in the bath foreverrrrr. Per usual.

 

And last, but certainly not least, a picture of our sweet little family. I am forever grateful for these guys. They make my world go 'round. My cup runneth over. Thank you, God!

Jacob - 13 months

This month has been incredible. My baby turned into a toddler overnight and what a complete joy he is! Oh my goodness- every single day he gets more fun and learns new things. It's so incredible. A true miracle!

Since I don't have monthly stickers that go through the second year (he wouldn't keep the stickers on anyways), I'll just attempt a quick photo sesh each month in the same chair.

 

Age: 13 months
Height: 31.5" -- just a guess, we don't go back to the pedi until 15mo.
Weight: 24.5lbs -- I weighed him on our scale at home, but its kinda janky.
Milestones: Gosh, I don't really even know what major milestones to expect after walking. He is like a sponge- watching and imitating everything. He's practically running now, sometimes he stumbles (especially if he's sleepy) but most of the time he's pretty dang quick! He loves to screw the caps on every bottle in this house. It's so cute! He loves going outside and exploring the backyard. He's started taking the hose attachment thingy and "watering" the plants- too cute for words!
Sleep: He's consistently sleeping through the night now- generally he goes 8-7 (lately until 8am!) and takes two naps for a total of 3 hours. When I stopped breastfeeding, I obviously had to stop nursing him to sleep, so now we just hold him and sing him a song, turn out his lights, turn on his sound machine and put him down. And he falls to sleep completely on his own. What a relief for us!
Eating: He's not breastfeeding anymore, and thankfully he's replaced the breastmilk with cow's milk. He drinks about 15oz of 2% milk each day. We generally offer it at every meal and after he wakes up in the morning and from each nap. I love watching him slurp it up, I think he really likes it! He's eating 3 solid meals each day, and 1 snack time when he wakes up from his afternoon nap. Meals are pretty much the same, although I've been trying to incorporate more of our meals into his.
Clothes size: 18 months - 2T
Diaper size: Size 5 Cruisers
Best Moment: We've had such a fun month! He went to the splash pad for the first time, and that was fun to watch. He was skeptical of all the water at first, but I think he started to like it. And I'm looking forward to taking him back.
Worst Moment: He's been teething a lot lately, so he gets kinda cranky and clingy. But I don't mind the snuggles!
Favorite toy: I'm slowly opening all of his birthday presents, so he gets obsessed with whatever toy I open...for like a day...and then he's over it. Haha. Currently, he's loving this farm animal mashup.
Teeth: He has the top 4 and bottom 2. I think he's cutting his 1 year molars right now, because he's been a cranky mess!
Looking forward to: Nothing in particular. Summer in general is just so much fun with him! Especially because he loves spending time outside and in the water. Love this little boy!

crazy kid climbing all over the place