Ephraim at 8 months

This sweet boy is already 2/3 of a year-old!  He has gotten so busy lately with crawling, standing, and playing, but he still has many moments a day when he just wants to be held and have his squishy cheeks kissed by Mommy :)

8 Month Stats

Weight: 19 lbs, 11 ounces

Length: Around 27 inches

Eating: We still have short nursing sessions every 3 hours during the day. The foods he had for the first time this month were raspberries, strawberries, chicken, peaches, pears, oatmeal, ham, and pineapple. His little legs kick the highchair when he gets a bite that he really enjoys :) He crawls to me when I’m eating a banana because he wants to share! There are no teeth in his mouth yet, but he is always chomping down like his gums hurt. He is just getting over thrush—so I think his appetite was down a little bit last week because of that.

Related to the thrush, he had a bright red diaper rash/yeast infection that is now clearing up. It piggy-backed onto a cold that he had last week, so his immune system was down. Unfortunately, it seems like we have yet another cold bug affecting the four of us. I can’t wait for us all to be healthy again!

Bedtime: He falls asleep around 9, but is in and out of sleep until midnight.

Awake: He wakes up about once a night, although some nights are definitely better than others :) He likes to sleep in until 9 or 9:30 to make up for his later bedtimes.

Naps: He typically has a morning nap, an afternoon nap, and an early evening nap. I get him to sleep in my arms while I pace the floors, and then set him down in his crib for the rest of the nap. He rarely naps for longer than a half hour/forty-five minutes.

Diapers: Size 3

Clothes: 9 months

Latest Tricks: This past month, he has learned how to do so much, it’s unbelievable! He can now crawl, and he crawls fast! He sits up now when he plays with toys. Sometimes he will just fall backwards or sideways and bump his head, but he’s getting more stable. AND he likes to pull up and stand! He stands up in his crib to call out for me, he stands up against the coffee table, the ottoman, the laundry basket, the baby gate, or whatever he can find. When he wants me, he crawls to me and pulls up on my legs. Last night, when I was sitting cross-legged, he surprised me by crawling up into my lap.

He says “ma ma” and “ba ba” and he squeals!

Favorites: Ephraim’s developed a love for Ivy, and he crawls to her and grabs her face. (She doesn’t exactly like this.) He puts anything and everything into his mouth, which is so different this time around because of all Nolan’s toys, books, and cars lying around that aren’t baby proof :)

 

He is just the best! I can’t wait to see what he learns in the next month :)

september favorite things

For the past year, I’ve gradually been replacing my body lotions and products to ones that are paraben-free and more natural or organic. I feel really at peace about buying these new products, even though they tend to be a bit more expensive than the brands I was buying before. I’ve lost both my dad and my sister to cancer, and I want to take my health a little more seriously—both with what I put in my body, and what I put on it. I want to buy the best products for my kids as well.

A couple of these are a touch over the $10 limit, but just shrug that off :)

I love everything from the hot pink bottle to the strong smell of grapefruit. It leaves my face feeling clean and refreshed, and I like that it exfoliates as well. $8.19 at Target.

Now, I can’t tell you that Palmer’s Cocoa Butter prevented me from getting stretch marks completely (I’d like to think it helped though), but it is nice and thick, and it smells delicious! Since my pregnancy was last winter, it really kept my skin hydrated in the cold months. $5.49

I typically buy the “Oatmeal and Shea Butter” St. Ives lotion, but I went with this “Skin Renewing” version this time. I think the smell is more like cucumber melon, and I’m hoping that it will give me younger looking skin as it says :) $4.79

It is really difficult to find a deodorant that’s not an anti-perspirant (with aluminum) as well. I was excited to find this Tom’s of Maine in “refreshing lemongrass” at CVS. $5.99

I just bought Tom's of Maine toothpaste as well. I have had really sensitive teeth post-partum, so I may still have to fluctuate between a fluoride toothpaste and this one. $3.84

Also, I love eos lip balms. I keep one close at all times :) They’re always around $3 at drugstores.

When you have a baby, you can’t have enough different creams and gels for their skin and diaper area. Ephraim is just getting over a terrible rash in the creases of his legs, and it was turning into a yeast infection. We’ve been using Lamisil and Hydrocortisone to knock it out, as per the doctor’s recommendation. But from here on out, I want to make sure to use more of this Baby Bee ointment on him to protect his skin from getting so bad again. $8.35 at Target.

 
We use this for Ephraim’s baths. I think it’s great stuff, and it helped me fight his cradle cap when he was three months-old. Tea Tree & Lavender is $11.59 at Target. French Lavender is $10.79.

 
I use this day cream every morning. I like that it has Royal Jelly in it—what the queen bee eats to ensure her growth, long life, and fertility :) It’s one of the world’s most nutrient-rich substances. This is my splurge though, it’s $15.29 at Target.

 
And lastly, this was the sunscreen we used all summer. I loved it—definitely a winner. The non-spray version is $7.99 at Target.

Linking up with Andrea and Erika!  I can’t wait to read everyone else’s faves!

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Have a great day!

friday favorites

  
F R I D A Y   F A V O R I T E S

It’s Friday again—TGIF!! And I’ve got a random list of favorites to discuss :)

FAVORITE ONE: Being a boy mom.

On Saturdays, we get to do things like go to Lowe’s and hammer together little wooden toys with tiny nails. This particular Saturday, we got to visit the Walmart parking lot to “Touch the Trucks”. I’m proud that I’ve actually learned the names of these trucks and can identify them as we drive around town—bulldozer, excavator, cement mixer, crane, dump, tow. Nolan got to climb into some of these, plus a fire truck, semi, and John Deere! It was a red letter day :)

And then we ran into Walmart and bought some donuts. So predictable… :)

FAVORITE TWO: Fall is here.

I am really not that happy to see fall, but it sure is beautiful! I will miss the summer sun, my sleeveless shirts, and the long bright nights. But there are things I won’t miss—like bug bites, which I currently have too many of.

 
And fall means we get to go on walks with hoodies. I do like this! :)

Speaking of fall, the camo is a little excessive in this area. Oh, hunting season. Piece of trivia: The kids here don’t have school on the first day of deer season. It is a holiday!

FAVORITE THREE: Hot chocolate, again. And popcorn.

I know I’ve mentioned my daily love of hot chocolate before. But my Walmart stopped carrying my brand of choice (Land O Lakes)! I have since found it on Walmart.com, and I order in bulk. Mmm!

I am basically always homesick for Chicago, so when I see things that claim to be “Chicago Style”, I impulsively buy. This caramel and cheese popcorn really does remind me of Garrett’s. Now if only I could find some Chicago pizza out here! (Or even better—find a recipe close enough :)
 

FAVORITE FOUR: New Toms Desert Wedges

I talked about these on Wednesday, but I’ll say again, these are my new favorite shoes!

We went to a wedding on Saturday, and I wore them for the first time. They instantly made my outfit fun!

 

It was a beautiful day! (Congrats Brandon & Julia!)

 

And FAVORITE FIVE: Eugene Cho’s new book “Overrated”.

I wrote about it yesterday, and am giving away a free copy. If you want to get motivated about doing the Lord’s work, it’s an inspiring read. Check out the giveaway here..

Hope you’ve enjoyed your week! Have a wonderful weekend!

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Linking up for Friday Favorites with Andrea, Erika, & Narci.

what i wore wednesday

 
When I started writing “What I Wore” posts last November, I was doing it as a way to keep myself accountable in getting dressed and ready for the day, even though I stay at home. With having an adventuring three-year-old and a baby, I find that taking a shower and getting dressed nicely is a huge deal. Huge. I may not be going to work, or going on fancy dates. (It’s more like Walmart, or MOPS, or church.) But I feel so much more confident and I feel like myself.

For the future, I’ve been thinking about one or two different twists on WIWW posts. I’ve been thinking about posting a few different, more average, outfits from the week. I’ve also been contemplating doing a capsule wardrobe where I only have a certain amount of pieces in my closet, and I show you how I mix and match them to the max. I would love to hear your thoughts on either of these :)

Tank | Mossimo at Target
Cardigan | Mossimo at Target
Jeans | American Eagle Skinny Jean
Shoes | Toms Desert Wedges in Brown Herringbone

My mom bought me my first pair of Toms for my birthday a few weeks ago! I opted for the wedges, and they are SO so fun. I absolutely love them.

Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!

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Linking up with Lindsey, Alison, and Shanna.

hot ham & cheese party sandwiches

 
Ham & cheese is my favorite kind of sandwich, so when I was deciding what to serve at Nolan’s donut party, it was an easy choice. I remembered that my mom has a quick and easy way of making them for crowds. She has a theory that potlucks at church are always heavy on the sides, so she likes to bring these sandwiches as a main dish. I assembled 48 of them a couple of hours before Nolan’s party, and I was done in no time. I put them in the fridge and then baked them around the time the party started. We had plenty left over, so I stuck them in the freezer. On work mornings, Steve tosses a couple in his bag for lunch. He says they’re still delicious!

Ingredients to make 16 SANDWICHES:
16 hamburger buns
1 pound ham, sliced as thinly as the deli will slice
16 slices cheese (Swiss or Provolone)
mustard
butter or spread
aluminum foil

Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees.



Using a decent-sized workspace, open up all the hamburger buns and line them up in rows. On all of the tops of the buns, spread a pat of butter. On all of the bottoms of the buns, spread a bit of mustard.

Put a slice or two of ham on each bottom bun, and a slice of cheese on each top bun.

 

Close all of the sandwiches and wrap them in foil.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Maybe leave a little sign next to them so that people know what they’re unwrapping :)

BON APPETIT!

Linking up with Andrea for Recipe Club!

life lately & new design

Hello again!

My blog break was nice, but I’m glad to be back writing an update on our lives :) I took some time to redo my blog design—what do you think?

The first half of the week was nice and low-key. On Thursday, I started coming down with something, and on Friday, I was stuck on the couch with a fever and a headache. I’m still not really sure what bug we’ve all had now, but I was so grateful to bounce back on Saturday so that we could attend a beautiful, lodge-in-the-woods wedding for two of Steve’s PhD classmates. The weather was a perfect 75, and there was a yummy vegan dinner and some yard games. We made the hour and a half trip back home, detouring past Steve’s new workplace (which I hadn’t seen yet). I fed the baby while Steve and Nolan dribbled a basketball with a couple of college students who were outside on the court. Nolan couldn’t keep from laughing because he was so overjoyed to be on a basketball court for the first time :)

Last night, we had pizza at my in-laws’ house and hung out with them for a while. I snapped these pictures on the back porch, and couldn’t get a photo of both boys looking at the same time!


Stealing a moment with Hammie before Nolan noticed…

  
I picked my five pumpkins yesterday, and this one is my very favorite. When I let my Halloween pumpkins compost last year, I thought I would be lucky to have some tiny little pumpkins grow. I was not expecting one this huge and heavy to come out of our first garden! Unfortunately, the others are smaller and have some holes and probably little worms in them. At least they can stay outside and decorate the porch for the fall :)

Our 3-year-old wake up call has been a little early lately. On Saturday, he woke up at 6:30 shouting “I want a cookie! I want a cookie!” We’re hoping for some more sleep in the next few days :)

How was your weekend?