maryland

Last Thursday, Steve had a paper to present at a conference in Baltimore. I jumped at the chance to join him on his trip out-of-town, so the four of us went on an adventure :)

We got to stay at this fancy Hyatt right in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.


This was the view from our room! Nolan had a blast watching the cars and people down on the street, the cruise boats coming in and out, and even a couple helicopters that flew over us.


But it wasn’t long before Nolan had “tornadoed” through the hotel room and was bored. Thank goodness for hotel cable!
 
I wouldn’t mind a bathroom like this at home.


After Steve’s presentation on Thursday afternoon, we went over to the mall across the street and found a Pizzeria Uno. I MISS my hometown Chicago pizza like nobody’s business, and was thrilled to find some deep dish on the east coast.


Our table had a great view of the harbor—it must be so beautiful in the summer months!
 
We got Nolan a make-your-own-pizza :)
 
After we ate, we split a “Cookie Dough Drizzle” from “Marble Slab Creamery” and went back to the hotel.


Friday was a rainy morning, so we didn’t get to do any walking around like I had originally thought. We did drive past Edgar Allan Poe’s gravesite, since Steve is an English student and all. It is right here on a non-creepy, busy corner downtown, next to an old brick church. (It’s the tall white headstone in the center of the photo.) We stopped for lunch at Chick-fil-a, which was delicious as always.
 
We were thinking about going to the national aquarium right by our hotel, but it would have cost us $70. We also thought about the children’s museum ($45), but we weren’t sure how long a two-year-old and two-month-old were going to last around lunchtime/nap time. So I did a little online research on Baltimore, and we ended up at the Swedish Children’s Museum . . .

aka IKEA. :)


Nolan had just as much fun as he would have at a museum, trust me. He ran around IKEA like he owned the place, played with toys in the model bedrooms, climbed in sample closets, organized colored straws on a dining room table display—endless fun.
 
We picked up some frozen yogurt cones on the way out.
 So instead of giving our money to the aquarium or museum, we got to buy a few home goods to take with us as Baltimore souvenirs :)

And this little guy did so well on our trip! As long as we stopped every so often to make sure he was well-fed, he was happy and sleepy :)

Now that we know that Baltimore is a fairly easy drive, I hope to go back again when it’s warmer. I’d also love to visit DC and Annapolis, since it’s been years.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend :)

Ephraim at 2 months

 
I can’t get enough of my sweet Ephraim. He is mama’s little buddy all day long. I don’t know if he is an easier baby than Nolan, or if I know what I’m doing more the second time around, (probably both!), but things are going swimmingly. :)

2 Month Stats

Weight: I’m assuming 10 or 10.5 pounds, but I’ll have to update after his doctor appointment on Wednesday. He’s getting tiny rolls in his arms and legs!

Length: around 22 inches

Eating: Nursing exclusively—every 3 hours during the day. He usually wakes up once in the night, around 4 or 5 to eat.

Bedtime: Around 11:30 pm.

Awake: It varies, depending on when he ate during the night. He has slept all the way through the night until 6 or 7 a few times—yay!

Naps: He sleeps in between each feeding (mostly in my arms). He has been so easy to travel with—to restaurants,stores, my MOPS group—he mostly sleeps through it all!

Diapers: Size 1

Clothes: 3 months in onesies and sleepers (still some newborn pants)

Favorites: Paci,
Giraffe stuffed animal that plays white noise,
Snugli carrier

Latest Tricks: He makes great eye contact. When he is happy, he gives us smiles and coos. He has rolled over from his tummy to his back a few times, and he’s holding his head up a little better.

 

Cadbury mini egg “blondies”

This is the perfect Easter treat.
It's no secret that I love Cadbury mini eggs.
They're top-notch milk chocolate.
And when they’re melted inside a brown-sugary cookie bar. . . amazing!

Look how thick these blondies are!

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1.5 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 (10 ounce) bag Cadbury mini eggs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt together.

Warm butter over medium heat until nearly all melted. Cream it together with sugar and brown sugar. Add in vanilla, egg, and egg yolk.

Slowly add the flour mixture to make the cookie dough. Lastly, mix in the mini egg candies.

Spread the batter evenly into a greased 9x9 or 8x8 baking dish.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

Let the blondies cool for 30 minutes before cutting into them.


Yum!

what i wore wednesday

I am crazy about this cardigan.
I am incredibly happy to have stumbled upon it at Target last week.
It is lightweight for an “Aztec sweater”—made of a stretchy (spongy) soft material.
And I am in love with the addition of turquoise (my favorite color) to the typical black and white tribal print.
I could probably wear it every day.


Cardigan: Target
Jeans: American Eagle
Tee: Hanes
Shoes: Kohl’s

Linking up with Lindsey for WIWW, Alison, and Shanna.

Find me on Instagram: I’m @floralandfudge

"Christ is risen" free printable

I'm working on a few simple Easter decorations for our house, and I needed a print for my holiday frame. I didn't see anything I liked on Pinterest (that was free or meaningful), so I designed this one. The words are lyrics from my favorite contemporary Easter song, "Christ is Risen," by Matt Maher. I fell in love with it when Steve sang it a few years ago at church. Feel free to take it and print it for yourself! :)

Just right-click and save this image to your computer.

(I printed it at Staples on an 8x10 piece of cardstock.)

 

the boys

 
Ephraim will be eight weeks-old tomorrow, (and two months-old on Friday), and he has me so wrapped around his little finger. He has started to coo and make happy sounds, and they are the sweetest noises. Also, his smiles are more frequent and intentional. Yesterday morning, my mom was holding him at church, and he was gazing all around to take in the sights. Then his little eyes landed on his mama, and he gave me a darling wide-open-mouthed smile!

When church was over, I was chatting with friends, and I heard another little someone pick up the microphone at the front of the sanctuary and start singing his ABCs. He skips a few letters, and a couple are mispronounced (i.e. W is “uppadew”), but the boy just loves his letters! We’ve taught him to memorize the letters of his name, and yesterday he recited them to me “N-O-L-A-N”!

Life is not without its challenges, but we’re forging ahead (somewhat sleep-deprived) into another full week.  :)

our week > instagram

The day has finally come when I can say: Follow me on Instagram!
I am @floralandfudge.
How fun is Instagram!? I am loving it.

 
This little one…almost always on my arm.


Our first family excursion to Walmart last Friday. We kept Ephraim home (mostly) for six weeks to stay away from germs and freezing cold weather.

 
Meghan came over to see the baby. And she came with s’mores milkshakes :)


Lover of all sweets, just like Mommy & Daddy.

 
Ephraim’s first time to church on Sunday.

 
Once we got there, Steve was up front leading worship, and my mom helped me get Nolan settled in the pew. After two songs, he was restless, so she asked him if he’d like to go downstairs to play with toys in the nursery. He obliged, but instead of heading towards the stairs, he bolted to the front of the sanctuary. My mom chased after him, picked him up, and he started yelling “See Daddy! See Daddy!” The congregation found the scene quite humorous. ;)
 
 
Lunch at Subway after church.

   
We rented “Frozen” from the Redbox when it came out on Tuesday. Loved it! It definitely lived up to the hype.



Nolan was pretty thrilled to stop at McDonald’s. He has gotten so picky with food lately, that it feels like a victory to see him eat chicken nuggets and fries!


Steve normally is gone all day on Thursdays, but since he’s on break, yesterday we drove a little over an hour to our nearest Target! I believe we spent two hours there, and it was wonderful. I could have spent two more.

 
We had to stop at Olive Garden while we were there, too. It never disappoints!

 
Dual-wielding.


Nolan keeps going to bed late and waking up early, so he was having some meltdowns at the store and restaurant. Ephraim proved to be the easier child on this trip.

Hope you enjoyed this peek into our week.
Wishing you a lovely weekend!!