6 Month Pictures

Now that Sydney is nearly 10 months old, I thought it was as good of a time as any to share some of her six month pictures. Enjoy!

Halloween 2014

As a child, and even as a teenager, Halloween was never even close to my favorite holiday. In fact, dare I say I dreaded it/almost hated it? I know, I know -- who hates Halloween?? Eek, this girl (did).

Okay, big disclaimer here: I love my parents, I do; we have an amazing relationship, and they are the best parents I ever could have asked for. My mom is the most hilarious, kind-hearted, generous, thoughtful and helpful person I know. She has insane amounts of energy for ANY age, let alone hers, and she's constantly giving her time, energy and/or gifts to others just to make their lives a little easier and better. And my dad? Ugh. Anyone who knows me knows I am 110% a daddy's girl. I hate the bratty connotation that comes along with that phrase, but I can't help it -- I think my dad is THE BEST. He genuinely has a heart of gold, and like my mom, he's incredibly kind-hearted, generous and thoughtful. He's that guy that's always willing to give you the shirt off his back and will help anyone in need -- from a slow turtle crossing a busy street to a homeless man in need of some food to his 10-year-old daughter who just crashed into a swamp while bike riding. My parents are amazing people, and every single day I feel blessed to be their daughter and to call them Mom and Dad.

. . . BUT if there is one thing they're lacking--and they totally admit this, so it's okay I'm posting it to the world--it's creativity. And because of their lack of creativity, my parents were never the parents who asked their children what they wanted to be for Halloween. In fact, my parents--bless their hearts--were barely the parents who even offered to take my brother and me costume shopping. It's not because they didn't want to and/or didn't care; it was always because they just kind of forgot about the whole costume part of Halloween (I know, right?). Because of that, I never really got into dressing up and never really loved the holiday. Fast forward to college--and keep in mind I went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, home of the biggest college Halloween party in the nation--and I still didn't really care about Halloween. My college costumes were like walking Pinterest fails. Literally.

Perhaps my best costume to date.

In recent years, however, I've come to LOVE Halloween. I love the decorations, I love the festivities, I love the costumes...I love it all. So much in fact that I couldn't even wait until October 1st to start decorating our house this year (sorry, Jordan).

My mom came out for another quick visit to help take care of Sydney while I worked on some projects around the house and also to see Sydney's first Halloween, and it was wonderful to have her here. Now that Sydney is at home with me during the day, I find it sometimes even more challenging to get certain projects finished, so it was really helpful to have her play with Syd all day.

My mom must have worn her out pretty well because she took a loooong nap in the afternoon, and I found myself with time on my hands -- enough time to make a CAKE. Well, "cake."

Okay, fine, not a cake at all. I made these teeny-tiny Nutella things (you can't tell, but the cake above is like a 2" x 2" cube -- so cute!). I didn't really have a recipe; I saw a version from The Pioneer Woman and later on Jessica Garvin's blog Little Baby Garvin, but I threw these together using the things I had on hand: instant cake mix, Nutella, frosting and Halloween sprinkles from the cupcakes I was planning on making before Sydney decided to roll around in flour like a little piggy in mud. I made the cake following the directions on the box (that's about as good as it gets, people) and then cut it into squares. Next I spread Nutella on one of the squares and topped with another cake square. More Nutella and then another cake square, and then I popped the cakes into the 'fridge for a little while to harden up. I frosted the cube-cakes and then sprinkled the tops and voilà! I'm your girl, MasterChef.

When we took Syd out of daycare, I was so sad to realize we were going to miss their Halloween parade -- but Syd's teachers were so awesome they welcomed us back for the day solely so she could participate! It was adorable and so nice of them. We arrived to see none of the infants participated in the parade, but we still had a lot of fun watching the other kids and spending time with the other parents.

Our little monster's first Halloween . . .

We went trick-or-treating with two other families, both of whom have kids around four years old, but we still had fun walking around with them. Sydney went up to a couple of houses (with her tiny "boo" candy bucket!), but for majority of the time she was in her stroller and bundled up with blankets. She looked SO DANG FUNNY in her monster costume! She was so warm and soft and squishy! And such a good trooper -- she never cried or fussed once.

Hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Halloween. I love seeing all the kiddos in their costumes on Instagram and Facebook and may have already have started planning Sydney's costume for next year!

Xo

Nine Months!

Only a year ago I remember thinking how time was crawling by and that I had been pregnant for at least a year already (reality: 7 months) . . . and now we have a walking ("walking"), talking (babbling), bright, beautiful and hilarious little nine-month-old, and time is just zipping by.

We brought Sydney to another pumpkin patch, and we nearly fell over laughing watching her eyes grow big when she saw all the pumpkins. She loved it! She actually just loves being outside in general, but she had so much fun climbing all over the pumpkins and walking around them. I didn't realize when we got pregnant, but this is such a fun age for the best time of the year.

So many pumpkins, so little time.

Sydney turned nine months old last week and had her nine month wellness checkup. I was anxious to see what her stats were because I felt all we had been doing since her last checkup at six months was feed her (at the request of her pediatrician). Baby girl must have a high metabolism, though, because she's still kind of a peanut -- height is 27.25" (36%), weight is 16 lbs, 5 oz (22%) and head circumference is 42.4 cm (14% -- which I feel just can't be right). Although she still has a heart murmur (the cardiologist said she might not grow out of it until she's two), Sydney seemed to be in perfect health, and she took her shots and a toe prick like a boss.

Those chubby thighs. I DIE!

At nine months, Sydney is...

• Smiling, waving, clapping, talking and babbling up a storm -- she says hi and mama pretty regularly, which makes my heart melt every. single. time.
• Crawling everywhere and pulling herself up to stand on anything she can even when it's not the most stable (hello, bumps and bruises).
• Standing on her own for a few seconds at a time and loves walking with assistance (I think it'll still be a while before she actually takes her first steps).
• Quickly picking up sign language and can sign "more" and "please."
• Still in size 2 diapers but is now officially in 6 and 6-12 month clothes. Big girl!
• Slowly but surely becoming a daddy's girl. Jordan can make her smile and giggle like no one else, and their growing bond with each other is the absolute sweetest thing.
• A total pancake monster. She LOVES pancakes. She also loves grapes, cheese, apples, crackers, bananas, mac & cheese, sweet potatoes, chicken...girl is a tiny human garbage disposal.
• Loving story time but starts to get bored 3/4 of the way through a book and wants to 'read' it herself.
• Extremely observant. She's very curious about everything and diligently watches people. Stares actually...it's a little awkward at times.
• Hilarious. She is constantly cracking me and Jordan up, especially with her latest gig -- showing people she's "soooooo big!"
• A total lovebug. Sydney loves being held and cuddled and seems to be really sociable so far.

Pink + Gold Headband (sold out, similar) // Sweatshirt Dress // Jeggings // Pink Moccasin Boots

Sydney is SOOOOO big! 

Happy nine months, sweetheart. We love you more than you'll ever know, and we're having so much fun experiencing holidays through your sweet green-hazel eyes! If you think you're having fun now, just wait until Christmas. :-)

Hope everyone is having a great week!

xo

Pregnancy Favorites

With so many of my girlfriends and acquaintances who are pregnant or are going to be pregnant soon, I thought it was only appropriate I list my top ten favorite items I used during my pregnancy. Same disclaimer as always: I'm by all means not an expert on this stuff, but I thought it might be helpful to other mamas-to-be to share what I couldn't live without during my pregnancy with Sydney. So, without further ado...

1. Spoiled Mama Tummy Butter and Bump Gloss - Like most women, I worried about getting stretch marks . . . but I worried about it when I was -- oh maybe six weeks pregnant? (We found out I was pregnant super early. C'mon -- I had 34 weeks ahead!) I know stretch marks are usually hereditary, but being that I don't know my [biological] mother's history, I felt it couldn't hurt to take precautions. I immediately began researching the best stretch mark lotion and found The Spoiled Mama to be a pregnant woman's favorite. I started with only the lotion, using maybe once every other day, and then gradually increased to once a day and then twice a day, applying after using the gloss. At the end of my pregnancy, I was bathing in 'generously applying' the gloss and lotion at least twice a day, but it was worth it because I never got stretch marks (and I feel like I stretched A LOT).

2. A Pea in the Pod Maternity Ponte Leggings - I would advise any pregnant woman to invest in a good pair of leggings because you. will. use. them. Most women usually cringe at the thought of maternity clothes. I mean, I get it -- most maternity wear is still so ugly. But pants that have ELASTIC WAISTBANDS that look like regular pants?! If you know me well (or at all), you know what side I'm clearly on. Still, I struggled to find cute maternity clothes because everything I tried on looked frumpy, dowdy or tacky. I found this pair of leggings from A Pea in the Pod and was pleasantly surprised by the fit, and dare I say even flattering?? In a sea of weird-fitting/ill-fitting/not-fitting clothes, these were an immediate purchase.

3. Leachco Snoogle Pregnancy Pillow - A girlfriend told me to buy a pregnancy pillow sooner rather than later, so after careful research (are you noticing a trend here? I research a LOT, ha) I purchased the Leachco Snoogle . . . when I was five weeks along. Pretty sure she didn't mean that early, but what can I say? I was just so excited to welcome a huge body-sized pillow into our bed. I'm so glad I started early, though, because I had a hard time getting used to the pillow at first (I usually sleep flat on my back). By the time I was huge and uncomfortable, I was able to snuggle into the pillow and never had any troubles falling asleep. Since Sydney's birth we've moved the pillow to a closet in one of our guest rooms, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't kind of miss it. ;-)

4. Organic Ginger Root Capsules - I mentioned earlier we found out I was pregnant really early; we found out when I was about four weeks along, so between then and eight weeks I felt GREAT. Awesome. Pregnancy was a breeze, and I couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about. Then week eight came and I was suddenly hit with a Mack truck carrying 24/7 nausea, ZzzQuil-induced tiredness and all around yarfness. It was like the worst hangover combined with a serious aversion to the majority of foods that would normally make me feel better but without all the fun from the night before. Nothing made me feel better -- until Jordan's dad's wife gave me one of her all-natural ginger pills that she takes for motion sickness. I can't say I was ready to climb a 14er (like my sweet husband suggested we do one sunny Saturday in my early days of pregnancy -- are you f-ing kidding me?), but I did feel significantly less vomit-y.

5. Bump Sparkle Water - I don't know how I stumbled across this water initially, but I'm so glad I did because I loved it. I didn't realize how much I loved beverages--alcoholic and non-alcoholic the same--until I became pregnant and suddenly my choices went from the world is my oyster to the world is only water. I've begun to realize I usually always have at least two different beverages with every meal, usually three. (I'm really thirsty evidently.) Bump Water had me at hello for its 100% RDA of folic acid (essential for healthy fetal development), Vitamin A, D, B6 and B12, Niacin, Biotin, Zing and Magnesium. I loved the Cranberry Ginger Sparkle Lite because I a) was drinking anything that had 'ginger' in the name (see above); b) loved the bubbly; and c) wasn't very sugary or sweet. The bottles are of course BPA-free and the water is all natural. A total win-win!

6. SmartWool Ultralight Compression Socks - Although I traveled quite a bit during my pregnancy, thankfully I never really swelled up until the very-very end (I'm talking like a couple days before I gave birth) -- THANK GOODNESS. The horror stories I heard terrified me, and I irrationally feared puffy feet. I accredit the blessing of non-swollen feet to my dedication of drinking a zillion ounces of water a day and to these awesome compression socks. While traveling for work, I used to have multiple flights to catch in addition to long hours on my feet, so I bought a couple of pairs to try and alleviate any swelling that may occur -- and they worked so well! One time we even had to make the 14+ hour drive back to Minnesota and my feet stayed their original size. Thank you, SmartWool!!

7. Vaseline Cocoa Butter Lotion - I don't really know why I switched lotions when I became pregnant; maybe I thought using cocoa butter lotion everywhere on my body would send good vibes to my belly to keep it from stretching? Regardless of the reason, I ended up really loving this particular lotion despite testing out other cocoa butters. My skin felt more soft and more moisturized than it had in long while (CO winters are brutally dry), and now that the seasons are changing and the weather is getting cooler, I've started using it again. (No, not pregnant, Mom.)

8. A Pea in the Pod Maternity Sweater - I would also advise to any pregnant woman to not only invest in a good pair of leggings but also a good go-to top. When I first started at my previous job, I remember complimenting a pregnant co-worker on how great she looked and how she was all bump -- to which she would always say, "Thanks, but I'm huge and disgusting," or something along those lines. I couldn't figure it out because she really did look great, but then I got pregnant and immediately understood. Generally speaking, being pregnant is hard. I know everyone hears that, and I know people (men) say they understand, but the fact is I'm not sure anyone is prepared for what their body is about to undergo unless it's happened to them before. For me, I just never felt completely comfortable in my own skin while pregnant. I was like my co-worker; I felt huge and disgusting despite what (incredibly sweet) people told me. I wish I could have understood the magnitude of the miracle that was happening inside me (as cliché as that sounds, it's TRUE) because I would have said thank you and meant it. But all that said, having a reliable go-to outfit that makes you feel good is clutch while pregnant. I like this particular sweater because the soft white color is so pretty, especially for fall and winter, and the zipper detail on the sleeves adds an interesting touch. Plus, the sweater doesn't scream, "I'M KNOCKED UP," but subtly hugs your adorable (and yes, it really is adorable) belly.

9. Village Naturals Therapy Mineral Bath Soak -- Aches & Pains - Therapy mineral bath soak. Aches and pains. Need I say more? As a pregnant woman, you're probably experiencing way more aches and pains than you even knew your body could feel -- my hands even hurt sometimes. I'm a huge bath enthusiast but pregnancy took my love to an even higher level, and I'm pretty sure I was taking about 4-5 baths per week. These particular bath salts were amazing! Plus, the eucalyptus and spearmint fragrances were heavenly.

10. Uggs Tall Boots - Oh, Uggs. Poor, innocent, discriminated against Uggs. People either strongly hate these boots or strongly love them. Like a typical sorority girl (guilty as charged), I fall in the latter category, as my love for Uggs grew deep when I was a child and tried on my dad's pair (yes, Uggs make man boots, and yes, my dad was a trendsetter). Regardless of where your love/hate stands on the Uggs spectrum, I promise you, pregnant women of the world, your feet will thank you when you slip on a pair of these boots. They're like walking on clouds, people. Big, fluffy, puffy clouds that hug your sore swollen feet with love.

I had a pretty rough pregnancy, and I can't say I loved being pregnant -- BUT it had the best silver lining I could ever imagine. Sydney is absolutely the light of our lives, and I would go through unlimited amount of pregnancies again just to have her. Congratulations, mamas!! You're going through one hell of a wild ride, but the best is yet to come!

Apple Cider Sangria

My love for all things fall lives on . . . with apple cider sangria. 

I contemplated baking Halloween cupcakes, but it's been a rough week (teething) and when Sydney made full body contact with the flour today, I said F cupcakes. I'm always on the hunt for new seasonal drink recipes, and I've seen a few going around on Pinterest and thought I'd give it a whirl.

I love sangria but I'm tough to please because I don't really like sweet drinks (oxymoron, I know). Still I started with all the ingredients listed in the recipe because what do I know -- maybe this lady is a sangria wizard:

• 1 bottle (standard size) of pinot grigio
• 2 1/2 cups fresh apple cider (or, in my case, generic grocery store-label cider)
• 1 cup club soda
• 1/2 cup ginger brandy
• 3 honeycrisp apples, chopped
• 3 pears, chopped

I began chopping and soon began to think this was far more fruit than I wanted in my sangria (JUST GIVE ME THE BOOZE), so I only chopped up two apples and two pears -- and even that was a little aggressive for my taste.

My underage assistant just wants the booze as well.

I combined all the ingredients and stirred, stirred, stirred as the recipe dictates, but it was a bit too sweet for my liking when I tasted it -- so I added a 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, a little more club soda and a little more brandy, and it was DELICIOUS. But warm. Like lukewarm, gross-warm. So I sadly put my sangria into the 'fridge to chill and pouted made dinner and got Sydney ready for bed.

But now? Now I am typing this and drinking my deliciously chilled, not-too-sweet apple cider sangria and am obsessed.

Clearly not a food photographer (or any photographer for that matter) and the sangria looks like apples soaking in less than ideal bodily fluids, but I promise you it's AWESOME. 

Cheers and you're welcome.