Baby Sullivan | Week Forty Three

We have been back from vacation for more than a week now and most of our days are spent fairly similar from the one before and the one before that. I wake each morning in the routine of nursing Sullivan, walking downstairs to the coffee pot, and sitting in my chair in the living room, waiting and searching through the quite moments before the rest of the house awakens. 

Marin usually stirs anywhere between 6am and 630am. I try to keep her in her room as long as possible, constantly urging her to play with her ponies or turn on her little light and read a few more books before I have to leave my wonderful chair and start the day. I usually don't hold out for long. After she wakes, she helps me wake up Daddy and go get Sullivan out of his crib. Most of the time after I nurse him early in the morning, he falls back asleep, if only for a little while. 

Then we all have breakfast at the table in the kitchen. This is usually one of the only meals during our chaotic weeks where we are all sitting down at the table and eating at the same time, even if it's only for fifteen minutes  Dinner usually consists of me feeding the kiddos before Ryan gets home from work and then Ryan and I eat dinner after the kids are in bed. Someday, in a perfect world, I long to have family dinners on a weekly basis. I want to gather together and hear how everyones day was and actually all eat the same exact thing. Right now I feel like a short order chef that makes two to three different meal options on any given night. I also want more times spent with friends over meals. We had some friends over for pizza last weekend and it was so refreshing. The kiddos also enjoyed playing together. 

Depending on the day and if I am working, I either hop up stairs to finish getting ready or hop in the shower. Then we get the kiddos dressed, teeth brushed, hair combed. The next thing that occurs on the non-working days is that I do a quick clean of the house and then we begin our day. Cleaning is followed by Sullivan's morning nap....then lunch....then quiet time/naptime...then getting ready for dinner....eating dinner...tubby time....bedtime routine...

Lather...Rinse...And Repeat. 

Don't get me wrong, I rather enjoy the predictability of our days for the most part. In between meal times and nap times, we are working on trying to help Sullivan crawl. We spend a lot of time on the floor with toys scattered all over the place. Marin loves to color, do puzzles, watch some TV. Both kids would be outside all day if it was an option. I know I need to get them out much more than I do and I want to make that my goal on the days when I am home with them. Marin loves to ride her scooter and is learning how to pedal her bike a lot better now that she can confidently reach and push the pedals. Sullivan is perfectly content on a blanket out in the lawn surrounded by things he can throw around and chew on. They both enjoy stroller rides in the double stroller. 

Another consistent thing I usually enjoy for the most part is bath time. We only bathe the kiddos every few days unless they've really made a mess of themselves. Sometimes that happens and I am all for the need to wash dirty kiddos. That just means that they were living life to the fullest. Last week we had a first time parenting moment...Sullivan pooped in the tub. Luckily he was still in his little bath tub inside of the bathtub where Marin was. Had he pooped in her water...that would have been an entirely other situation. But, there's a first time for everything! I don't believe Marin ever did that. It was comical to say the least. 

Here's Marin at Week Forty Three. 

Baby Sullivan | Week Fourteen

Our baby is 3 months old now and I can't hardly believe it. He's growing like a weed. I've already had to go through his clothes and put away everything he can no longer fit in. I don't plan on keeping it all this time around because I believe our family is feeling pretty complete at two kids. It will be weird to not keep around the swing or bouncer once he outgrows it. All of his little clothes too will no longer just sit in a box but I'll donate them so some other little guy can use them. I am excited to get the insane amount of all things baby out of my house someday soon. He needs to slow down a bit though. He's 3 months old and weighs 16 pounds!!!! He's wearing mostly 3-6 month clothing and we almost have him in size 3 diapers already. 

His new favorite thing is a little elephant that we received as a gift. He likes the gnaw on its little nose and have it close to him. He didn't really have a little stuffed animal yet that he liked, not like Marin and Bernie the Bunny. That bunny still goes almost everywhere with us. He now is in a pink sparkly dress with pink sparkly shoes. Marin would wear a similar outfit everyday if I let her. 

Marin took a bit of a tumble last night while I was cooking dinner. She was going downstairs to grab her little water bottle for bedtime. Daddy has just read her a few books and she came down the steps. As soon as she hit our wood floor, she slipped in her socks and I heard a BOOM! That noise was followed by a pause and then a wail. Poor kiddo fell and slammed her mouth into the floor. Her gums were bleeding and punctured her lip a bit. Mouth wounds always have lots of blood. She has a bit of a puffy lip right now, poor kid. But, we are keeping an eye on the teeth and I'm sure she will survive. 

Sully is also using his voice a lot lately. I captured this video of him the other night with Daddy. 

Marin is still going strong with "Quiet Time" instead of our daily afternoon naps. She does a pretty good job of entertaining herself in her room for a while. It helps keep us sane and gives her some time to learn and explore. She has put herself to bed a few times in the past week or so. I'm glad she recognizes when she's tired. 

Week Fourteen. 

Here's Marin at 14 weeks. 

Baby Marin | Week Forty Seven (11 Months)

Tomorrow Marin will be 11 months. We are barreling quickly towards having a one year old. I don't have a ton to say today other than the fact that she is growing like crazy and is keeping me on my toes. Marin loves to get into EVERYTHING. I can't blink without her crawling across the room and going straight for something electronic. 

She has decided that she no longer likes bananas and turned up her nose this afternoon at sweet potatoes. We are still trying all sorts of new foods, which is an adventure in itself. 

(Marin's hat is from Ember Kid.) 

Nap times have been hit and miss this week. She has been taking great morning naps but the afternoon naps have been a bit of a struggle. She's moving around in her crib as I write this. I have had to move the baby monitor way out of her reach. 

Baby Marin. Week Forty Seven. 

Super Simple Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Now that I have a small child, being able to take an afternoon and cook is pretty much a thing of the past. I am always looking for ways to still eat healthy and well but also save time. I would much rather be hanging out with my kid instead of standing over a stove top all day. I do love the therapeutic mind-space cooking puts you in, but my life is taken over by smashed bananas and baby bottles. When it's nap time, I cook. 

I have been making a batch of these sweet potatoes about once a week. I put eggs on top of them for breakfast. I place them in salads. I eat them just by themselves. I add a little bit of cheese and greek yogurt for a loaded baked potato. 

Also, if it's your sort of thing, these are paleo. I go back and forth with eating paleo and I hope to commit to the Whole30 after the holidays. Cheese, man. I miss my cheese! 

I added some mushrooms to this batch as well because I needed to eat them up before they went bad in the black hole that is our fridge. 

Ingredients: 

3 or 4 large sweet potatoes

I added mushrooms this round 

Coconut Oil

Ghee (I use this one) 

Sea Salt

Red Pepper Flakes

Freshly Ground Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Scrub sweet potatoes and peel

Cut into bite size pieces

Warm a few spoonfuls of coconut oil and Ghee

Mix coconut oil and Ghee into a bowl with the sweet potatoes

Sprinkle see salt, pepper flakes, and ground pepper generously

Spread out sweet potatoes on a cookie sheet

Bake for 45-50 minutes

About half way through, toss potatoes

Let cool, enjoy!