Caleb's 6 Month Update

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Caleb is another month older! He's officially half a year old now - that's crazy talk! 

He's really turning into quite the character and we love him dearly. In fact, I love him more than the day he was born - the love just keeps growing and growing (as does the photo taking). Yet again, I have a bazillion photos to share. 

6 Month Photoshoot

I try to do a monthly "photoshoot" to capture him with the blocks, Max the Raccoon, and the stickers.

What He Did This Month

You might recall I started to write down things Caleb learned in the past month. Below shows what he did during his fifth month - from 5/2/16 to 6/2/16 - hence why I have the 5 month photo with it. It's pretty amazing how much he's learned in six months of life! It's the most and wonderful thing to wake up each day and see something new that he can do.

Cuteness Overload

Caleb has the most contagious smile. His smiles and giggles bring such joy. I think he's just the cutest! 

Mad Skillz

Like I said, it's amazing the rate at which they learn and grow. Caleb is picking up some mad skills. He's sitting in his Bumbo now (still working on sitting up on his own). Also, he can blow some mad bubbles. One of his favorites is grabbing his feet. Oh, and those fingers - so great to suck on. He has much more manual dexterity, so he's grabbing at everything. 

Snuggle Monster

He loves to snuggle just like his mama. If you put a blanket near by, he will grab it and just cuddle into it. It's pretty funny, but he rolls around in his crib until he's tight in the corner. Then he sticks butt up in the air. This is how he slept most night. But my all-time favorite, is when he falls asleep in my arms.

Curious Caleb goes on Vacation

We went on our first trip and Caleb was a champ. Read all about it here. He had a lot of firsts on the trip; it was great!

First Foods

Ahh, solids. Just when I think I got the breastfeeding thing down it's time to start solids. He was showing signs of being interested inf food - staring at my key lime dessert and grabbing the pork sandwich. So we tried some sweet potato and banana. The sweet potato we might try again since it might have been too soon. The banana, though, he liked. Solids here we come! 

Active & Activities

He is always on the go - can't. stop. moving. This scares me for when he's able to walk. His favorite activities are the Jump-a-roo and ExerSaucer. He also started going face-forward in the carrier, and LOVES it. He enjoys seeing everything (and grabbing it...poor plants). 

Visitors and Cola

We found some Caleb's Kola. Apparently he's started up a soda company; such an entrepreneur. I kid. But it was fun.

He also got to meet my Aunt Ann & Uncle Mike. I think his smiles won them over. 

There you have it. Another month gone by, and a bigger and more curious Caleb. 

 

 

New Mama: What to Wear?!

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When I go through some sort of big change in my life, for instance, having a baby. I tend to get some anxiety. Usually, the anxiety comes out in a crazy, small detail of my life. Then, I obsess about that detail and try to get it under control. I guess my mind thinks if I can get this detail under control, then I can get everything else under control and all will be normal again.

One detail my crazy mind decided to focus on once was clothing. With the changes in your life after giving birth, followed by breastfeeding, I just didn't know what to wear. Moms, are you with me? I was so wrapped up in maternity clothes that I didn't even think about wardrobe changes after the baby. I guess I figured I would go back wearing all my same clothes. 

While I'm lucky I fit back in all my pre-baby clothes - thanks to yoga, eating right, and feeding a baby - they all don't necessarily "work" anymore. Many of them are work style clothes and don't accommodate the million feedings you have to do each day...not to mention, not completely comfy. 

Now that I'm five in a half months in, I can share with some confidence some clothes that work great for breastfeeding mamas. 

Nursing Tank Tops

I bought and tried on a zillion (ok, like four) different nursing tank tops before I found the ones I liked best. My favorite is the Bravado! Designs Essential Nursing Bra Tank. It works perfect under sweaters or button-ups or can even be worn on it's own for a hot day. I have it in black and blush. 

The other one I have is the Undercover Mama Nursing Tank. What's nice about this one is you can use your own, real bra and then this just attaches to it. The only downside is you can't really wear it on it's own because the straps are your bra. However, it works great under clothes. I have it in off-white and use it a lot.  

Maternity Bands

Did you have one of these during your pregnancy? I'm talking about those bands that make it so you can wear your regular jeans unzipped, so you can hold off buying maternity jeans. I had the Ingrid & Isabel Bella Band. Well guess what...I found that they work well for after pregnancy, too. How it works: Let's say you're wearing a normal bra and t-shirt. If you go to nurse, you'll likely pull your t-shirt up for baby access. However, then you have your bare skin showing. The belly band will cover that right up! So don't give it away or store it...use it!

Button Shirts

This one is probably pretty obvious, but you can button down/up your shirt easily. I wear a tank top underneath so you can even just wear it like a jacket in warmer weather. My favorites are flannel and plaid type shirts like this Thread & Supply plaid top or this Allison Joy Verna Double plaid top. I've noticed a trend lately with sleeveless or short-sleeve plaid, too. Wouldn't this top be nice in the summer?

Wrap Shirts

One of my PEPS friends clued me in on these types of tops. I have the long sleeved version of this top from The Limited in two colors. I wear the Undercover Mama tank under this one since sometimes the wrap is loose. I think this top is also pretty cute and would be great for a working mom. 

Loose Fitting Shirts

Who doesn't like a nice, loose fitting shirt? I am a petite gal, and I thought loose shirts might overwhelm me. Not so, if you find the right one! I love looser tops; they are so comfy. They can be t-shirts or blouses. I'm pretty sure this top would look great on almost anyone! My mother-in-law (she's cool & not to mention a former model) and I both have this top! I also love wearing this sweater shirt - although it might be too warm now that it's summer.

Wrap Cardigan

I got the tip about these from my church mom's group and they were totally right. These wrap cardigans are perfect. They button to the side and are so cute and stylish. You can wear them with jeans and booties and BOOM you're ready for going out. I specifically have the Bobeau brand Fleece Cardigan and I love it so much I bought two colors - gray and blue. Also, these are usually available at Nordstrom (and on sale often). They come in different material as well. Click here to check out some lightweight ones on sale right now. 

Mom Shirts

I'm not talking about mom shirts like we think of mom jeans. I mean shirts that make you feel good to be a mom. I love my #MomLife shirt and my Mama Bear shirts. They're fun and cute - embrace your mom-hood! 

Bras

Did you know you're going to want to sleep in a bra? I didn't know this prior to being pregnant. Oh the things you just had NO IDEA about before getting pregnant. My favorite for nighttime is this Cake bra. Then, my favorite for daytime is the Bravado Designs Seamless Nursing Bra. It's comfortable, smooth, and stretchy. 

Bottoms

I talk more about tops because bottoms are pretty straight-forward. You can wear jeans, capris, shorts, and skirts and match with a top. I would warn against dresses, though. It can be tricky to do any sort of nursing in a dress, unless you fully undress and "ain't nobody got time for that."

So, what are you wearing? Do tell! 

Curious Caleb goes on Vacation

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Last weekend Caleb had a few firsts. It was his first...

  • Flight
  • Time in California
  • Night away from his own crib
  • Earthquake
  • Stay at a hotel
  • Going to the beach (California style)
  • At a Wedding

With all these firsts in just four days, it's a good thing Caleb is a curious little fellow. He's our little traveler and did such a great job. I was super nervous about the flight, but he did great. We had a 9am flight down to Orange County (SNA). He feed, slept, and then hung out with me in the carrier in the back of the plane with the flight attendants. 

For our return flight, we tried a night flight. He did just what we had hoped: slept the whole flight. Although I felt bad because we had to move him around a bit once landed and home, but he was a trooper. The only problem was then Josh and I didn't get to sleep until about 1am, so we were pretty pooped. 

Sadly, Alaska didn't have any wing stickers, but Caleb definitely earned his wings!

Our trip started at my parents house. We decided to head to Moonlight Beach and take a walk. Caleb had his first California beach experience.  He kept looking all around and I think he was amazed at the vast ocean. His eyes were like the color of the water - I love his eyes so sparkly and blue. 

We also went to lunch and enjoyed the gardens at Stone Brewery. It was so relaxing to sit outside while Caleb napped. It was beautiful outside and I enjoyed some time with my mom while my sister, her boyfriend, and Josh went on a brewery tour. 

By the way, look at Caleb reaching for my sandwich! The pork thief...he wishes, but maybe someday soon he can have some delicious pork. 

Did I mention there was an earthquake? Yup, our first night in Cali and there was an earthquake - a 5.2 quake. My mind immediately went to Caleb and get to safety. It's funny how a baby changes you...my mind went straight to his safety! Luckily, it was not a big one so it was over by the time I was up and going for Caleb. Caleb slept right through it!   

One of the big events of the weekend was our friend Heather Richardson's wedding. It was a beautiful reception at the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe. We brought Caleb along so he attended his first wedding. Pat, the mother of the bride, announced him as the youngest guest at the end of her toast. He got a round of applause! 

His little outfit was the cutest! We got it from Etsy and it fit him perfectly. Isn't he just the little gentlemen? So dapper in his bowtie! 

Mom and dad got dressed up, too. 

After a few days with the O'Neill family, we headed up to the OC to spend time with the Brown family. Caleb got to spend his first night in a hotel. The hotel had a crib, so we were all set. Caleb loved rolling around on the big bed - it was adorable. 

While in Orange County, we had the chance to see some Brown family friends. We enjoyed lunch with Sy and Mary Ellen at the Sherman Library and Gardens. So beautiful there! 

Caleb was impressed with all the flowers and plants. Look at the picture with his eyes so wide open in wonder. He also liked to reach out and grab the plants. 

We saw Carolyn and Rich for dinner as well. It's so great to see good family friends!

We also got to spend some time just chilling with both families, too. 

It was a wonderful trip and so awesome to see Caleb get to do some more "firsts" in his life. We're so lucky to have a pretty easy-going, happy baby. Hopefully we get to take many more trips together. 

And cheers to many more "first's for the little guy!

Caleb's 5 Month Update - Favorites

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I warned you in my other post that I was planning on posting more photos for Caleb's 5 month birthday, so don't act all surprised here. I'm just one proud mama that feels the need to share copious amounts of photos of my little guy. 

Family Time

Nothing beats seeing his face light up and see him waves his arms out when you enter the room. It warms my heart to see him get all excited when dad walks in the door from work. This month Grandma Nada & Grandpa Don visited, which as so wonderful.

A Few Favorites

I just can't get over his smile. He's such a happy little guy (most of the time, that is). I still love to look at him when he sleeps; it's so peaceful and sweet.  

Favorite Toys

Here are some of Caleb's favorite toys. Not pictured: My hair and dad's beard, which are maybe his favorite "toys" - eh hem. 

Friends

We love hanging with other mamas & babies. Sometimes we hang at each others homes, sometimes its a walk, and sometimes we go on adventures like to the Museum of Flight (pictured below).

And Just Because

Can you guess who gave him the red polo and tan pants outfit? Yup, Grandpa John. 

He just keeps growing and growing. Craziness. 

Caleb's 5 Month Update

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I'm going to sound like a broken record here...but really, it's already five months. This has been the fastest five months of my entire life. All of a sudden it's June and summer. It's crazy talk. Nonetheless, time has gone by and Caleb is already five months old. Ahhhhh! 

I know I'm slightly biased, but I think he's the cutest little guy. I took some photos today to capture the five month birthday and I think I took over 100 photos. But what's a mama to do? There are so many props to mark his month birthday - there are some with the blocks, the stickers (two kinds), Max the Raccoon, and then he was just being so darn cute (you know, drooling, laughing, wiggling, and begin just plain adorable). 

So I don't to bombard you with photos (who am I kidding, I already have bombarded you). I'm going to save my favorite photos from the past month for my next post. This time you just see today's photoshoot. Sorry I didn't narrow it down. I have a hard time deciding because each one I'm like "awww, he's being so {cute/goofy/etc}."

Hang on...don't stop with just these, though. Keep reading because I have some look backs at the past months in this post as well!

A Quick Look at the Past Months

Here's the 4 Month Update post.

Here's the 3 Month Update post. 

Here's the 2 Month Update post.

Here's the 1 Month Update post. 

xx

Daily Dinner: Lazy Girl Chicken Pot Pie

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As I looked up photos for my last Daily Dinner post, Spinach and Goat Cheese Pasta, I realized I had a whole bunch of photos lined up for Daily Dinner posts. Oh Boy! So I thought I'd share another fun meal with you. 

I am not a huge fan of the meal's name with the words, "lazy girl." I'm am *not* a lazy person. I'm the opposite of lazy. I tend to make myself busy, but that's my problem. That aside, I appreciate the idea behind the name: that it's quick and easy. I happen to really enjoy this meal. I serve it up with some tasty salted rosemary bread (I get the loaf from Trader Joe's, it's my favorite bread there). Josh, on the other hand, thinks this is good but when it's labeled as a "pot pie" he gets confused because he expects a crust on top. He doesn't buy the whole "just serve it with bread" concept because then it's not a pot pie to him. If I were to rename the meal, he'd probably have expectations aligned more properly and be more onboard with it all. So, might I recommend renaming this to, "creamy chicken and veggies." 

Summer is around the corner, but in my opinion it could work as a spring/summer dish. It doesn't require turning on the oven and heating the house. Also, for my non-dairy friends, I haven't tried it, but I bet it could work with almond or coconut milk. Oh, and if you want to get even more quick, try buying the mirepoix from Trader Joe's (and celery would be a good addition here)!

Here's how the dish comes together in a few photos:

Lazy Girl Chicken Pot Pie

(or Creamy Chicken and Veggies)

Recipe Adapted from Dessert for Two

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 tablespoons butter, divided use
  • 1 Ib raw chicken tenders, diced
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 4 carrots, diced
  • 1/2 cup frozen peas
  • 1/2 cup frozen corn
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
  • 4 tablespoons flour
  • 4 tablespoons half and half
  • 2 cups milk (I used 2%)
  • salt, to taste
  • pepper, to taste
  • Crusty Bread, Sliced and Toasted

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a small skillet, add 2 tablespoons of the butter. Turn the heat to medium and let melt while you chop the chicken.
  2. Add the chicken to the skillet, along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook the chicken until all sides are brown. (Note: Don't worry if it's not cooked all the way through, it'll cook more later.) Remove the chicken from the pan, and return the pan to the heat.
  3. Add the remaining butter to the pan, along with the onions and carrots. Saute for 5 minutes over low heat until the vegetables have softened. (Note: The onions shouldn't brown.)
  4. Add the peas and corn and increase the heat to medium. Crush the thyme leaves in your hand (this releases the oils) and add them to the skillet. Stir to combine.
  5. Sprinkle over the flour and stir to combine. Let cook for about a minute.
  6. Add the half & half and milk to the pan, along with a few pinches of salt and pepper.
  7. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat until thickened. It should take 1-2 minutes to thicken.
  8. Meanwhile, toast the bread. Slice it on the diagonal to be fancy.
  9. Serve in a bowl with the toast on top. Enjoy!

I hope you like this dish as much as I do. It's great for weekday meals! 

Max the Raccoon & Caleb

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I'd like you to meet Max the Raccoon. I think Max is much like Pumpkin the Raccoon - cute, curious, and good tempered - so he's allowed in the house and around Caleb. In fact, he's been Caleb's friend since day 1. I know their friendship will continue over the years (or at least I hope so, Max is a such a cute stuffed animal).

Max was born at Hazel Village. I found out about Hazel Village through a blogger I follow (but for the life of me can't remember which one). I also noticed these cuties on our favorite photographer's site, Kristen Honeycutt. I knew when I had a baby, I would want one as well. 

Max took on a big assignment...to be the buddy to compare Caleb's growth. Max has taken this assignment seriously and has posed in photos for 16 weeks. After 16 weeks, he's agreed to do it for each month's birthday. He's a good sport.

To give you an idea, Max is just about 15 inches long. Caleb was born at 17.5 inches. 

Max also visited Caleb when he was born at the hospital - and helped snuggle the few days we were in the Special Care unit.

And he's just been around for snuggles...and nap time. What a pal! 

And here's Caleb growing next to Max.

It's darling to see how Caleb went from just lying there next to Max to hugging him at the end. It'll be fun to see him grow more! Yikes, it's going so fast. 

Daily Dinners: Spinach & Goat Cheese Pasta

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Surprise! I'm not doing a post about Caleb. I thought I'd go way back in time and bring back a Daily Dinner. Remember those? Yea, it's been awhile, and I'm sorry. I just ate this dish on Thursday and remembered I had photos already for a post. It was funny because I took the photos January 2015 (and nope, that's not a typo on the year). So it's taken me over a year to get to this post. The good news is, I think you'll like it. It's quick and easy - so quick and easy, in fact, that a mom with a 4 month old baby can manage it (part of it was with him in the Ergo carrier because he didn't want to nap). So here we go...

Technically, the name of this dish is Caramelized Shallot, Spinach and Goat Cheese Garlic Butter Pasta. However, that's a mouthful and too long for a blog title.

If you put either caramelized or brown butter in something, I'm immediately drawn to it. This recipe has both. Don't let the butter scare you if you're trying to keep things light - in my opinion, it's not a lot of butter and it just adds a deliciousness to the dish. Also, this has my favorite cheese in it: goat cheese! And the topping on the cake...it comes together in 30 minutes. Boom! Dinner is served.

It requires a few different pots to happen, but other than that the clean-up isn't too bad. First put the pot on for the pasta, then get the caramelized onions going, and the last one to start is the browned butter. Then you stir it all together and you have a delicious, quick, healthy meal.

Caramelized Shallot, Spinach & Goat Cheese Butter Pasta

Recipe adapted from How Sweet It Is

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1/2 pound pasta (about 1/2 a box of pasta)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 shallots, sliced
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons brown sugar
  • 12 ounces fresh spinach
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 3.5 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
  • 2 sausage links or a few pieces of bacon, chopped into bite sized pieces (optional)*
  • Parmesan cheese for topping
  • A pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Bring water to a boil for pasta and prepare according to directions. (Keep in Mind: You'll want to save about 1/2 cup of the pasta water before you dump it!).
  2. While the water is coming to a boil, heat a large skillet over low heat and add olive oil. Add the shallots and salt, stirring to coat. Cover and cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the brown sugar and cook for 3-5 minutes more. Be sure that the pasta is cooking by this time.
  3. Add the spinach to the skillet with the shallots and toss. Stir continuously until the spinach is wilted, about 3-5 minutes. 
  4. Heat a small saucepan over medium heat and add the butter. Whisk frequently until the butter begins to brown. The minute you see brown bits appear in the bottom of the skillet, remove it from heat and whisk for another 15 seconds. Add the garlic powder to the brown butter and give it a good stir.  
  5. Strain the pasta from the water when it's done cooking, and dump the pasta back into it's pot. When straining, keep about 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Add the spinach and shallot mixture to the pasta along with the garlic brown butter.
  6. In the pot that you used for the spinach and shallots, cook up some sausage or bacon (or whatever meat you'd like). Once cooked, dump it into the pasta pot as well. You can skip this step if you want to keep it vegetarian. 
  7. Crumble the goat cheese into the pasta and stir. Add the pasta water to loosen it up until you reach your desired consistancy. Sprinkle with the crushed red pepper if you want some kick and some parmesan cheese. Serve it up! 

* For the sausage I like Trader Joe’s Garlic Herb Chicken Sausage or Al Fresco Roasted Garlic sausage (from Safeway)

Joining the Mom Club

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I feel pretty darn privileged to join the mom's club this year with Caleb's arrival. I had no idea what being a mom would feel like, but it's the best. thing. ever. My heart bursts with the love I have for Caleb. I can't imagine my life without him now. In fact, I can hardly remember not having him. If I am driving around without him (Josh watching him as I run an errand, for instance), I keep looking back in the mirror to check on him. I also have picked up this rocking motion, which I'll do even if I'm not holding him. And you know what, if he splits up or poops on me, I am actually okay with it (ok, so the latter only if I know he's hurting from tummy aches). I just can't believe how the love keeps growing every day.

Even though I feel like the greatest gift is just to be Caleb's mom, I still got treated royally for Mother's Day. (Am I getting mushy enough for you?). My in-laws were in town, so I got to celebrate with my mother-in-law, too. It was a wonderful day! 

It started with a banana muffin and french press coffee (yea, yea...I made the muffins). Then we went to church, which was a big thing on it's own actually. It was the day we did Caleb's Baby Dedication. I'll do a separate post on this later once I have more photos (my father-in-law took them and is going to share them with me soon). So for now I only have this photo with Caleb eating my arm.

After church, we enjoyed brunch at Tilikum Place Cafe. I had the best dutch baby pancakes - savory ones with broccoli, bacon, and Beecher's cheese. Yum! Josh was a good Dad and took Caleb out at the beginning when Caleb was crying/fussy. He got Caleb to fall asleep and brought him back inside...and Caleb slept the rest of the meal. Yay! 

While at brunch, we opened gifts. I got a gift certificate for a massage from Josh (oh yea baby! my shoulders/neck are KILLING me from lifting Caleb and the car seat). I got this very cool multi-use nursing cover from my in-laws plus some macarons. Caleb got me a cute t-shirt with a mama elephant with a baby elephant. I just loved all the cards, too.

We made a pit-stop at home and then went shopping at U-Village. I was gifted some cute things from my favorite store, Evereve. Here's us at the mall.

We ended the day with take-out from Tigerly Ox since this mama didn't want to cook. Not to mention, I love Bun. Oh, and I got my super favorite pumpkin cookies for dessert. SO GOOD. This was from a friend who was visiting Eugene and brought them back from Palace Bakery for us...isn't that the nicest! 

I couldn't ask for a better day. I felt so special! And Happy Mother's Day to all my mother friends out there. xoxo

Caleb's 4 Month Update

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Here I go again with my time complex. I just can't get over how fast time is going by. Someone told me that by having a child I just speed up time by at least 2x. I believe it. 

Anyway, are you ready for photo palooza? I must say Caleb is a pretty patient guy with all the photos I take. Although, he is now very interested in my iPhone cover and stops whatever cute thing he is doing to stare or grab at it. Sigh. Sometimes I grab my regular camera now since he doesn't recognize it as much. 

Let's get to it...

Gosh, I have so many ways to show how old he is - blocks, stickers, his friend Max the Raccoon (more on Max soon).

Now that we're at four months old, I think I'm going to stop with thing the weekly photo thing. When I was out and about the other day, another mama told me her baby was 32 weeks the other day. As a mama myself, I keep track of the weeks, but when you get so high up its hard to really know what that number really means. I end up trying to do math in my head - "well, if I divide that by four, I'll roughly get somewhere near how many months that baby is" - but who wants to do that. So, I think I'll just do months from here on out...

Over the past four months, here's what we picked up on Caleb's personality / life...

He is a Curious Guy

He gets this little mischievous look that is the cutest. Lately he loves to poke is head out from the Ergo carrier to look at the world. He's interested in leaves, lights, faces...it's all new and he's totally curious about it.  

He's very Playful

It's amazing how much more alert he is now. He loves playtime. We have a activity matt and he just rolls around on it and grabs at the toys. He is also starting to teeth a bit so anything and everything goes into his mouth. Oh, and he's ticklish! I love to be the Kiss Monster and I kiss his belly and sides and he just laughs so much...I love it! 

Our little Snuggler

He loves snuggling. This he gets from his mama. We're snugglers. Wrap us up in a blanket and we're happy.

Enjoys the Outdoors

Now he's more curious and alert, the outdoors are fun! Here's something you non-baby friends should know: when you have a baby, you'll suddenly go on many, many more walks. I would like to thank Seattle for the sunny weather and less rainy spring this year. 

Cute as a Button

When Caleb was born, I saying he was a little button. The nickname has stuck: button. We think he's just cute as a button (yes, buttons are cute).

Already Making Friends

With PEPS and some other mama friends I've made, Caleb has some good baby friends. Oh, and Asha is a friend too. She likes to give him kisses in the face and his feet. 

There you have it. Four months. A quarter of a year. Ah, crazy! I love this guy so much!

Insta-Caleb

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I know I've said it before, but I really can't help myself. I take photos of Caleb everyday. My photo stream on my devices (phone/laptop) is exploding. But I ask you this: how can you not take photos of this little guy? 

I want to capture everything - his smiles, his feet, his laughs, even his cries. I know in a few years I'm going to want to look back at these magical moments. Heck, I'm already looking back at his newborn photos. I'm sappy like that. I now cry at Hallmark commercials...okay, it hasn't gotten that far...yet. 

Rather than letting the photos sit on my computer to be seen only by me, I have been sharing many of them on Instagram. Correction: I have been sharing a LOT of them on Instagram. I want to be sensitive to my Instagram followers and not post too many, but it's really all I take photos of these days. #sorrynotsorry. But before you stop following me, hear me out. I have a purpose for all this baby posting (besides the memories I just mentioned). I want to make a book at the end of the year. Yup, you can do that. I am probably going to use either Blurb or Artifact Uprising. They both have tools to make Instagram books. I think this will be pretty cool to have to remember our first year with Caleb. 

So please bear with me and all the Caleb photos, or if this sounds exciting to you to see then start following me on Instagram. Below is just a snapshot of my Instagram photo stream. Yup, 6 out of 9 photos are Caleb. ;) I hope you find the photos cute at least! 

What I'm Watching

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One thing in our life that has changed with having a baby is that it takes 2-3 days for us to watch a movie. That's right, no more watching a movie all in one sitting - either we get interrupted or we get tired. This is our new normal. However, this makes TV shows perfect for us since they generally are shorter and we can usually get through a whole episode at once! #smallvictories. Here's what we've (or just me) have been watching lately. 

Gilmore Girls

I love love love this show. I started it when Caleb was a few weeks old. It become my nursing TV show. You just fall in love with the characters and the small town, Stars Hallow. It's so warm and fuzzy. Also, did you know Melissa McCarty is in it? I didn't realize it until I started the first episode. Ha! I have only a few episodes left before it's all over...tear. Luckily, I hear there is a revival of the show coming later this year. Hurray!

Fresh off the Boat

This is one Josh and I watch together (nope, he doesn't watch Gilmore Girls. I know, huge surprise). There are quite a few 90s references that make us chuckle - and other good humor in the show as well. It's light and fun, so it's easy to watch and doesn't take much brain power (you need these kinds of shows). 

Parenthood

Apparently I like any show with Lauren Graham in it (just kidding, I just looked on IMBD and some of it looks pretty bad, but she scores high points for this and Gilmore Girls). This show is heart warming, and the family and events are so relatable - sometime too real life, really. Josh even watches this one - score! I saw this trivia on the IMDB description: "In almost every episode, someone makes pancakes or waffles." Now that I think about it, it's true...love it.

Here's some other shows...

Check out some of my past TV watching posts: Couch TV, On our TV, and Jolly Good British TV.

Now tell me, what are you watching these days? Any recommendations? Do tell! 

8 Perfect Days: Babymoon - St. Augustine

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I've told you about Charleston and Savannah, so let me wrap up our babymoon adventure with our final stop: St. Augustine.

We took the A1A Highway down from Savannah, which was longer but more scenic. It was a beautiful drive. We saw the landscape slowly change to a more beachy feel.

We thought St. Augustine had a distinct feel than that of Savannah & Charleston. For instance, it was definitely a more tropical climate. Also, as far as the history goes, Charleston and Savannah had the history integrated into the town, but St. Augustine was more preserved and really honed in on the "we're the oldest city" tourism thing. We still enjoyed it, but if you twisted my arm and forced me to list the cities in order of how much we liked them, I would have to say: Savannah, Charleston, and then St. Augustine. We're glad we went and did enjoy our time there. Let me share...

What we Did

  • Castillo de San Marcos - Being history buffs, we both enjoyed touring the fort and learning it's story. Apparently, it's the oldest fort in the US (also of note: St. Augustine touts itself as the oldest US city as well). I found all the various occupants of the fort/town interesting - first it was the Spanish, then the British came along. Then Spanish returned and then ultimately the Americans settled. Visiting this helped us learn about the city's past and I would recommend a stop when in town.
  • St. George Street - This is the main street in town with stores, restaurants, and some historic sites. It's a nice stroll, but it has some hokey shops so we didn't really buy anything along the way. 
  • Aviles Street - This is the artsy street in town with galleries and shops. It also says it's the oldest street in the US. We walked along this street in the morning, and I enjoyed the quaintness of it. 
  • St Augustine Distillery - Yes, I know, this is a odd (almost cruel, in my opinion) place for a pregnant lady to go but we enjoyed our visit. We got a nice tour - learning about how they make their spirits and also how it went from an ice manufacturing plant to a distillery. At the end of the tour, they did a tasting of some of their spirits (I smelled them). Funny enough, this was our favorite activity in St. Augustine. 

Where we Ate

  • Catch 27 - We really enjoyed our dinner here - it was chill and fresh. I would highly suggest going here if you visit. I had the rustic flounder and Josh had their fish tacos. We finished it off with a yummy key lime pie.
  • Kookaburra Coffee - OMG, I loved this coffee. I had never heard of an Aussie coffeeshop, but that's what it is and they got me hooked on the pumpkin & honey badger lattes (yes, we went more than once). I might return to St. Augustine just for their lattes.
  • The Floridita - Oh sad, Yelp is saying this place has closed. We really enjoyed it, so that's a big bummer. We had a pleasant lunch on the patio before we left (and ended our trip, tear). Check my instagram photo! 
  • The Bunnery - We had breakfast here and honestly it was alright - nothing to write home about. We got the green chili burrito & egg sandwich, which I where I think we went wrong. I think the thing to get here is the baked goods. Next time, I would totally get something like a biscuit or some pancakes. 
  • The Hyppo - These were perfect on a hot, tropical day. They had some unusual and delicious flavored popsicles. Of course, I got the pumpkin pie flavor (it was October...it makes sense). 

Where we Stayed

This was the only stop on our trip where we didn't use AirBnB. We just couldn't find a good and affordable place on it. Instead we stayed at a traditional hotel - crazy talk, I know. The Casa Monica Hotel was very pretty and fit St. Augustine perfectly. It was very grand feeling and nicely located in the center of town - we could walk everywhere! It was a nice place to say and put our feet up at the end of the day.

And that was our final stop on our babymoon. This was such a memorable trip for us. We often reflect back on it now. And although babymoons sound trendy and silly, I would totally recommend couples take a trip (even if it's a short, nearby trip) before their first kiddo. It was so necessary to have this quality time with Josh before Caleb arrived - and I suggest this even more now that Caleb is here. 

Sigh, good times, good memories...

8 Perfect Days: Babymoon - Savannah

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I am majorly behind. I don't know if I told you this, but I was planning on taking the week before my due date off from work. I had grand plans for getting some posts written up and doing some other this-and-that's around the house. Well, surprise, Caleb came early and I didn't get to any of it. But now I realize I have a backlog of things to share - some are pretty old now, but I figured it would still be worth sharing. 

For starters, I never finished sharing our babymoon trip. I wrote an overview of the trip and shared the Charleston part of the trip. However, we also went to Savannah and St. Augustine. Would you like to hear back those places, too? Okay, good! Because I have been thinking about this trip a lot lately. I just finished up the lotion I bought and have been wearing a t-shirt from the trip, which keeps reminding me of our adventures. So many good memories. Let me tell you about Savannah!

Savannah was charming. Compared to Charleston we felt it was more approachable and we loved how it was old meets new. We enjoyed all the squares throughout the town as well. We even meet the major of Savannah, Edna Jackson, as we roamed the city. This was our favorite stop of the trip. I would highly recommend visiting!

What we Did

  • Carolina Cider Company - We made a pit stop here on our way from Charleston to Savannah. We're so glad we stopped! They had yummy cider and local goodies. Worth a stop for sure.
  • Beaufort - This was another stop as we traveled to Savannah. It was a quintessential Southern Lowcountry town with cute shops and a nice waterfront. We found these piers not from from town that went out to the water, which were pretty cool (see top row in photo collage). We didn't stay long, but we enjoy a stroll around town and lunch at Lowcountry Produce Market & Cafe. I got a t-shirt at a cute shop, Scout Market, that says Deep South which is great to lounge in right now.
  • Forsyth Park - If you've read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil this park might sound familiar. It's a lovely park in Savannah with moss draped trees, a fountain, and beautiful houses/mansions (see middle row of photo collage). We walked through this several times and really enjoyed it. There was also a wedding one evening that we really wanted to crash!
  • River Street - This is just as it sounds, a street along the river. It had some hokey shops, but it was fun to see the water. Not worth a ton of time, but we enjoyed a quick jaunt through in the morning before everything else was open.
  • City Market and Design District - This is the part of town with cute stores and artsy things. I could have done some serious shopping damage at Terra Cotta, but managed to limit myself to one top. There was an Anthro type store called Paris Market and Savannah Bee Company (buzz yum!).
  • Free Savannah Tours - Josh and I really enjoy tours as it helps you learn the history of the city and see things you may not have found on your own. Daniel took us around town and gave a great introduction to Savannah. We started at Johnson Square and went to a a bunch of places - Oglethorpe Square, Gordon Square, Owens Thomas House, Colonial Cemetery, Lafayette Square, Cathedral of St John the Baptist, Andrew Low House (Juliet Gordon Low) - and then ended at the Chippewa Square which is the bench scene of Forrest Gump.
  • Bonaventure Cemetery - This is a bit outside of the downtown area, but worth a trip. I know it's weird to visit a cemetery, but it was so cool. It's exactly what you think of when you think of a old, mysterious Gothic cemetery in the South. I took a ton of photos - old gravestones with moss draping. 
  • Tybee Island - This is where folks must go to hit up an afternoon at the beach. Too bad for us because we didn't have bathing suits. We were hoping for a bit more of a cute town, but it was more like corny shops with junky souvenirs. We did enjoy a walk on the beach, fun seafood lunch, and seeing some beach houses though.

Where we Ate

  • The Grey - Although it's a tough call, this was probably our favorite meal of the trip. The restaurant ambiance and decor was super neat - it was an old Greyhound Bus Station. We sat next to a lovely couple and chatted for a bit. We got some delicious food including Spicy Roasted Eggplant, Seafood Boudin, Roasted Chicken, Smashed New Potatoes, and ended with an Apple & Pear Fruit Crisp.
  • Foxy Loxy Cafe - This was near our AirBnB and we enjoyed a breakfast and afternoon snack here. They had horchata lattes and kolaches. I bought a t-shirt here and have been wearing it as a PJ top and brings back good memories.
  • Flying Monk Noodle Bar - We were roaming around town, hungry on our first night in Savannah. I did some Yelping and found this awesome place. These noodles were sooooo good. I had the Na Na Noodles and Josh enjoyed the Five Spiced Pork and Rice. It was a nice change of pace from all the Southern food, too.
  • Byrd Cookies - These little gems are worth a stop. They are crunch little cookies and we bough several bags to take home. I can't decide which were my favorite, pumpkin spice or key lime. Hmmm.
  • Leopold’s Ice Cream - We had a nice afternoon pick-me-up here and shared a scoop together (flavors: pumpkin spice & honey almond). It's a classic ice cream parlor with tons of flavors. You could tell it was popular with the non-stop line out the door, but it was worth it.
  • Blue Door - This was another place near our AirBnB and we shared nutella & strawberry waffles and had brown sugar lattes. Good, but if I had know about Back in the Day Bakery I may have skipped this place and gone there twice instead. And yes, it had a blue door.
  • Back in the Day Bakery - This was such a cute bakery. In fact, my notes from the trip say, "cute, cute cute!" And delicious! Great baked goodies like banana muffins and biscuits. The coffee was great as well. 
  • Collins Quarter - We enjoyed a nice afternoon coffee to get a rest from all our walking. The food looked good, but we just enjoyed some tasty beverages.
  • Local 11 Ten - This is where we celebrated Josh's birthday. I tried to get reservations for The Grey for his birthday, but they were closed that day. This place was good for sure, but compared to all the other great food on the trip it wasn't our very favorite. We enjoyed the tasso-rubbed pork loin with creamed carolina rice & bussels sprouts, beef bourguignon, mac n cheese, and then topped it all off with an after dinner drink on roof top porch (Josh did at least, remember I was preggo - sadly no cocktails for this lady, such a shame).
  • Cotton and Rye - And this is where we should have gone for Josh's birthday dinner. We were kicking ourselves afterwards. We decided to get dessert somewhere other then Local 11 Ten for Josh's birthday treat and landed here randomly (thanks Yelp). It had only been opened three months, but we loved the atmosphere and food. We sat outside on the patio and devoured the banana white chocolate bread pudding. Good memories.

Where we Stayed

We stayed in a historic Suite AirBnB, which was quite nice. It had a comfy bed, a spacious bathroom, and a kitchenette. It was pretty walkable to the downtown - although, it wasn't crazy crazy close, but if a pregnant lady can do it then so can you. ;) Check out the video tour...

Savannah Historic Suite Tour

Caleb's 3 Month Update

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Snap...that's how quickly these first three months have gone - just a snap of the fingers. It's been such an awesome three months and it's incredible how much Caleb has grown and developed.

The growth is unreal. It's been so cool to see him grow and grow. 

You know I love taking photos, so I tried to narrow some down a bit. Here's a look at the last three months...

Spending time with mama and papa.

Caleb is developing so much!

We see him sticking out his tongue (he'll mimic you if you stick your tongue at him, too), Lifts his feet into the area, sucking his fist, getting some good head lift and control, trying really hard to roll over form back to tummy (we got the tummy to back roll down, though!), and grabbing everything.

Hanging with Friends.

We've been going on lots of fun walks with other mama and baby friends. Luckily the Seattle weather has been pretty good lately, too! We also joined PEPS (a new parent's support group) and Caleb has met a bunch of there baby friends.

Being Goofy!

Look at Caleb do the superman core exercise pose! He also likes to chill next to mama as she's on her computer in the morning.

Smiles and Giggles!

Yup, he laughs out loud now. He also coos and gurgles in conversation. But nothing melts my heart as much as his smile. 

And now we move towards 4 months - ahhhhh!

P.S. I post a lot of photos on Instagram. If you want to see him more, follow me - I'm hjoneill. 

Spring Visitors

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Now that Caleb is here, I think my parents will be visiting more often - yay! My mom got a Seattle raincoat so she's all set. If it comes between rain vs. Caleb, Caleb wins. Those San Diegans, I tell you (ha, I say that like I wasn't born & raised there - shh don't tell anyone). 

It's amazing how much he's grown since my parent's first visited Caleb. Back then he was 3 weeks. This time around he was 10 weeks. The difference is crazy! He pretty much doubled in size and was totally more aware and alert. So for this visit, we got to get out and about much more. 

This time Aunt Lindsay came along as well, so we had the whole O'Neill family together. Here's all of us...

I love spring especially when the cherry blossoms are in bloom. We enjoyed the cherry blossoms at University of Washington. Apparently, it's a thing here to go to the UW quad and see the trees. I was my first time going since moving to Seattle, and it didn't disappoint. They grow all over Seattle, but when there are a bunch of them together it so pretty. I think the O'Neill clan enjoyed the flowers, too.

Of course, we took some photos of ourselves with the cherry blossoms. We didn't want to take Caleb out of his car seat/stroller as it was pretty chilly outside. My sister kindly held a flower up to the seat, though, so we got a photo of him with the flowers.

We also went down to Georgetown and took a Taste & Tour at Fran's Chocolates. They first took us in the back where we got to see all the chocolate in the making. They were hard at work with Easter chocolates. We even got to see Fran herself in action (see the lady in the black jacket below, that's Fran). My favorite was watching the lady make the chocolate eggs. She hand designed each egg, which is amazing. Check out my video of her pouring the chocolate and making the design. Then they did a little tasting of 5-6 different chocolates. Needless to say, we weren't too hungry for lunch afterwards. 

Of course there was a rainy day and we had to go indoors. We headed over to Mohai to learn about the history of Seattle. There was also a hip hop special exhibit. 

There was some good eats, too. We enjoyed some tasty meals at Little Water Cantina, Giddy up, and Cascina Spinasse (one of my favs!).

Good fun, good food, good family. Life is good! 

Every Morning is Easter Morning

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Every morning is Easter morning from now on... (hear it here)

This song is forever ingrained in my memory from my childhood church. I totally remember driving around with my parents and they would belt this song out. It wasn't Easter without it. Naturally, I find myself singing it today. It's the only Easter song that I can think of actually, which is funny because there are tons of Christmas songs. Isn't Easter just-as important (nay, more important!) of a holiday than Christmas? If you know any good Easter songs, let me know! 

Anyway, it was a good Easter here in Seattle. It was special for us since it was our first Easter with Caleb. He was handsome in his little Easter outfit. I can't wait until he can go on Easter egg hunts - his mom loved Easter egg hunts as a child.

We started with church this morning. We got into our Sunday best...

And then we enjoyed some tasty food. I made a mini Easter feast for us. We had Whole Foods glazed ham, scalloped potatoes, brown butter roasted asparagus, deviled eggs, cardamon rolls (from Byen Bakeri), and carrot cake oatmeal cookies for dessert. And because I'm crazy, and had more shredded carrots from the cookies, I made carrot-spiced oatmeal muffins for tomorrow morning.  Boom...Easter feasting. 

In other words, this Easter we dressed up, went to church, sang, cooked, and ate. Pretty good Easter if you ask me!

A Onesie - Then and Now

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I took some photos of Caleb today - ok, I admit, that's everyday. But today I got to put him in short sleeves since it's so sunny and (somewhat) warm today. I picked the "Heart in Seattle" onesie. Remember it? Yup, the very one we used to announce the pregnancy. 

It's so crazy to think back to the onesie before we knew Caleb. Oh sure, I knew a baby was on the way, and it was real (to a certain extent), but now it's very, very real...he's wearing it!

I was talking to another mama this morning, and we were saying how weird it is to think back to being pregnant and the little baby in front of us was the little being kicking and making all the fussy. Now, they are here in front of us. Blows my mind!

Well, that's all I wanted to share. Just so neat to see him finally wearing the onesie we bought last year. 

Capturing Caleb in Photos

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I wanted to share some of the photos we had of Caleb as a newborn. We had Kristen Honeycutt come over and take some beautiful shots of our little man and our family when he was just two weeks old. You may recall Kristen did our wedding photos and my maternity photos. Basically, she's now our family photographer - haha. She really does a great job!

Before I share, I want to spout out some thoughts on photos. I really think they are made for sharing, hence one of the reasons for my blog. I hate that so many photos sit there on your computer and/or phone and never get shared; it's just such a shame. Although, one problem with photo sharing is you don't want to share too many photos or you'll start to bore the person. Are you with me? I could look at photos of me or relate to me all day, but if you're an outsider it can get get sorta blah looking at other people's photos for too long. It's a fine line. 

One thing I hope to do is to make a book at the end of the year to capture our little man's growth and development. Then put it out on the coffee table for visitors to just flip through. I always like that when I go to someone's house and see a photo book. I might also do this with Instagram, so I'm sorry (but not all that sorry) about all the baby photos I've been posting there lately. 

Anyway, I'll stop blabbing and start sharing. Hopefully you enjoy these photos as much as I do!

Gosh this little guy melts my heart!

Caleb at 2 Months

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It's hard to put words to our life now that we have a baby. It's surreal, really. Josh and I look at each other sometimes and say, "we have a baby!" It really blows my mind; all in the most wonderful way possible, though. 

Caleb just turned two months last Saturday. Can you believe it?! It feels like time has been both crazy fast and super slow. It's hard to think that Caleb only just joined us eight weeks ago.

Now that Caleb is here, our (especially my) everyday has done a 180. Folks aren't kidding when they say everything changes. 

Here's a bit of what I do each day:

Tummy Time - I try to get Caleb on his tummy for a little bit each day. It's supposed to help them gain neck & shoulder strength. His favorite part is looking in the mirror. It's too cute! He's able to lift his head up and turn from side to side. Pretty soon he'll stop being a boggle head and have total head control! Oh, and as you can see, Asha always wants to join in the fun, too.

Grocery Store - This isn't everyday, but once a week we head out for groceries. I've tried putting the car seat in the cart, but then that leaves no room for the food. Then I tired the stroller with a basket, but the basket get's too heavy. Next time I'll try the Ergo carrier. Livin' and learnin'. 

Naps - Caleb is a good sleeper (so far & knock on wood). I need to be a better napper (as in actually take a nap). Caleb is the cutest when he naps - his arms usually like to flail out into different positions (often up by his head). He looks so angelic & peaceful when he sleeps.

Walks - We tried to get outside each day, so long as it's not pouring rain. Usually we can find a break in the weather. Caleb, Asha, and I all go strolling together for fresh air.

Cook - Sometime between feedings and naps, I have been finding a way to prepare dinner. I even baked a few times and experimented with some new foods like ricotta cheese and english muffins. Boom, the baker is still in the kitchen. 

Mama Time - I have some friends that have kids/babies, so I try to meet up with friends during the week as well. We might get coffee or go for a walk. It's nice to get sometime with other mamas. And coffee is a MUST.

Watch TV - I have been binge watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix while Caleb nurses. I hadn't seen it before, and just love the show. It's perfect for those 2am nursing times with Caleb. I'm also watching Harry Potter movies, Ina Garter, and various other shows. Caleb doesn't seem so sure about the one I was watching in the photo below (it was Alton Brown).

Laundry - This is less exciting, but it's something I do way more often now. Babies produce a lot of dry clothes! Sorry, no picture - didn't think you'd want to see dirty clothes. 

Faces - I can just sit there and look at Caleb. I could do it for hours if I didn't have anything else to do. He makes the funniest expressions, but his smile it what melts my heart. The past week we really have seen a personality start to show. We love to sit down and make faces at each other...it's the best.

There you have it...life with Caleb at 2 months. Time just keeps moving along - it's crazy!