Lincoln James: 9 Months

9 months!!! 9 months old! how has 9 months gone by already?! my little man is turning into such a "toddler" week! that word scares me. he weighs 19.6 lbs and we'll get his official height at his 9 month well baby check-up next week.

this has been a HUGE month for lincoln. he went on his first plane ride, rode on a train (amtrak) and a NYC subway! he is becoming quite the little travel baby ;0) he also reached some big time development milestones this month. he's pulling himself up on EVERYTHING (this little kiddo wants to walk like no other) and the day before his 9 month birthday he officially started crawling. (I think it might be time to get on that baby proofing project...whatdya think??! ;0p)

but let me back up and start from the beginning of the month. this month we celebrated easter (lincoln's first easter) and he met the easter bunny! easter bunnies kind of creep me out and i totally thought we would get the screaming child photo, but he surprised me and was super excited to be on that big bunnies lap. more easter photos here and here.

one week after easter, we headed off to visit daddy in New York! i was pretty scared to see how he would do on the plane, but lincoln was a rockstar! we only had about 20 minutes of crying/screaming on the second flight on our way to New York, but all other plane rides went so smoothly. the key was definitely having plenty of things to entertain the little guy, snacks and bottles ready for take off and landing.

we spent two weeks in Saratoga where my husband has been working on a one year contract. i had never been to upstate NY and the town was adorable! the house he's been living at is right on the water, so we also go to see some amazing sunsets.

we spent one long weekend in New York City and once again Lincoln did awesome while we were traveling! he was great on the train ride down and by the end of the trip was a subway pro ;0) while we were in NYC, little man got to meet his Great Grandma Gloria and all of his great uncles on Kevin's side and a handful of cousins.  Kevin's grandma lives in Brooklyn, so we spent all of Saturday hanging out with his family. It was so special to see the little guy meet his family and see where Kevin spent some of his childhood.

on Sunday in the city, we met my girlfriends from college for brunch! it was the first time in almost 5 years seeing them since we had our last little reunion in San Francisco, and i was super excited for them to meet both Kevin and Lincoln. it's pretty crazy that almost 10 years has gone by since we graduated college. (as i type that i feel incredibly old).

monday we headed back up to Saratoga so Kevin could go back to work, and hung out the rest of the week, until Saturday where we headed up to Lake George. it was the off season so lots of things were closed, but the water was beautiful the sun was shining and the outlets were open so we made sure to do a little shopping ;0) mommy and daddy also got to do a little wine tasting and we hit up the adirondack brewery for some lunch and beer!

after getting to spend two awesome weeks with husband/daddy, little man and i had to head back home. and the moment we got home he started to crawl! sorry husband, you literally missed it by a day! in the past week, he has turned into the squirmiest little man, never sitting still and always on the move. he's pulling himself up on everything and i now officially have to watch him like a hawk. we'll definitely be baby proofing, purchasing a baby gate and a few other items when husband comes home early next week.

all in all april was a great month! the time is literally flying by now and lincoln is growing so fast. i'm pretty sure i'll blink and he'll start walking.

here are a few quick stats:

height: we'll get his official height at the doctor's next week!


weight: 19.6 lbs (up about .6 lbs from last month)


hates: i don't know if he hates it, but changing his diaper is literally the most difficult thing in the world now. as soon as i get that diaper off he's flipping every which way!

loves: pulling himself up on everything, "walking" around his crib, and now crawling!

words: "mama"

eats: little man pretty much eats everything now (within reason of course, we're not over here feeding him chocolate ice cream or anything ;0p)

sleeps: i think all the traveling this month really effected lincoln's sleeping. we've had some restless nights and definitely have been experiencing major jet lag. his naps have also been torture (at least for me because he screams every time i try and put him down). i'm hoping we get back to how it's been here soon!

Hike It Baby Round Two

hi! guess what today is?! husband comes home again! woop woop! we're just a little excited if you couldn't tell ;0)

breakfast was quick and easy this morning....two over easy eggs on a slice of wheat bread with half a cup of grapefruit served on the side.

right after breakfast, lincoln and i got ready to head down on our second outing with hike it baby! this time we met downtown at atticus coffee shop and walked around riverfront park. it was a nice loop that took us about an hour and a half to complete and there was a huge group of moms, dads, kids, toddlers and little ones out and about. i guess that's what happens on spring break ;0)

after our walk, we came back and made lunch. i ended up having the same thing i had for dinner last night...a turkey burger with a side salad (i told you it's clean out the fridge/freezer/pantry week).

this afternoon i went in to my dad's office again to help out for a few hours and then came back home to play with the little guy before our night time routine. when i got home i snacked on some sahale almonds.

dinner tonight was delicious! i made a chicken salad with grilled chicken, red onion, peas, chickpeas, gorgonzola, sliced almonds served atop mixed greens and with a side of blue cheese dressing (my favorite!)

now it's off to bed! husband gets in around midnight, so we'll be fast asleep when he gets here but we can't wait for his arrival!

Back to Work I go

hi! how was your day? fabulous i hope!

today was a semi-lazy day, but i did go to work for a while! (more about that in a minute). 

first, i have to tell you all that i think i found the secret to getting the little guy to sleep in till 7:45 (which he's done two whole days in a row!). when he wakes up at 5 am, i make a slightly larger bottle, and bring him into bed with me. feed him, and he usually falls asleep but the time he finishes half of it. around 6: 15-6:30 he starts to stir, and i take the remainder of the bottle and offer it to him, he finishes off the bottle and falls back asleep until 7:45!!!!!! i don't know if i'm on to something or not, but he's done it the past two days, and i'll take the extra sleep, no questions asked! 

i didn't blog yesterday, but i'll tell you i made the best ever french onion soup for the rents and i last night, and it was just as good as the first time i made it. this is the perfect soup to make on a cold day when you have a bit of time on your hands. while it is a set it and forget it kind of a meal, it does take almost 4 hours to cook, so it's perfect for a lazy weekend meal. 

and now for today's recap and eats! 

breakfast was one of my apple "cookies!" i sliced up an apple, topped it with justin's chocolate almond butter (amazingly good) and then sprinkled a little granola on top and enjoyed it for breakfast. 

for lunch, i poached two eggs and ate them atop a slice of whole wheat bread. nothing too exciting ;0) we're leaving for new york on sunday, and i'm trying to clean out our fridge/pantry before we leave so nothing has to be thrown away so meals are a little boring these days. 

after lunch and playtime with the little man, my mom came to relieve me for a bit while i went to my dad's office to help him out for a bit. i stopped by dutch bros and picked up my favorite (americano with a little chocolate and half and half). while i'm planning on staying home while husband is working out of town, i'm lucky enough to be able to go in a few hours here and there to my dad's office and help him out and earn a little extra moolah. 

after work, i came home and snacked on some boom chicka pop popcorn and hummus and crackers before feeding the little man his dinner and then playing with him for the evening. little man is teething like woah, and has been pretty fussy all day, so by the time it was his bedtime, i was more than ready to put him down! 

dinner was simple and easy (and i forgot to snap a photo). i made a turkey burger and had a side salad, which i enjoyed with a glass of chardonnay (thanks mom and dad for leaving behind your wine/champagne!). 

that was our day...i'm off to watch some tv and read my book...husband comes home TOMORROW!!!! 

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! I hope your day was wonderful and filled with family and friends.

After Lincoln opened up his basket from the Easter bunny (he was more interested in the grass than anything else) we headed to meet the fam for mass and Easter Brunch.

After brunch, with full bellies we headed home to FaceTime with daddy for a bit before taking a nice long nap (well the little guy napped anyways).

Here are photos from our day!

Have a good evening!

Play Date Fun!

hi! happy saturday! hope it was full of relaxation and fun ;0)

our morning started out later than usual....lincoln slept until 6:40 am this morning! AMAZING. around 7, we got out of bed and i got breakfast ready for both of us. lincoln got berry oatmeal and i had 1 over easy egg on a slice of quinoa bread with a side of strawberries. i didn't photograph any food today, so this is going to be a text heavy post.

my mid morning snack was a string cheese, and then we ended up skipping lincoln's swim lessons this morning. he was a little fussy this morning (i think he's teething) and i was feeling really down and depressed about having to get into a swimsuit. why can't you just wish yourself skinny, right?

my mom came over late morning so i could get a decent shower and do hair/makeup ect. before our afternoon playdate! i usually shower in the evenings after the little guy goes to sleep, but whenever we have actual plans to go somewhere, i feel better when i can shower in the morning. (hey, it's the little things, right?).

anyways, after my mom left, i made lunch, i had chicken noodle soup "pasta" again. I told you guys it made  a ton!

around 2:30 we headed out for our playdate with Mary and Morgan and their little one's (Lincoln (another Lincoln!) and Zeke). it's so fun having friends with little ones the same age and it really makes this whole mom thing a million times better when you have friends going through the same experiences (bad, good, high, low) as you.

i've mentioned it before, but our playdates are great. the mom's get to chat, drink wine and snack while the little ones play (or roll around ;0P). as they get older it only gets better and better because they actually interact with one another!!

after our playdate we came home and the little guy fell asleep (in the car of course!) so i put him down and made myself a quick turkey burger for dinner with a side of broccoli and carrots and picked up because i had some out of town friends stopping by!!!

katie and albert are in town planning their commitment ceremony and I'm so glad they stopped by to catch up! i can't wait for their big day this summer!

Japanese Gardens and a Walk with Friends

happy friday! i'm so excited for the weekend, we've got lots of fun ahead of us.

today, little man blessed me with sleeping in until 6:40!!! (well technically he woke up at 5:15 but after his bottle, he fell back asleep until 6:40 which hasn't happened in FOREVER, so I was really appreciative). after we woke up i made him breakfast and waited to make mine.

i indulged in nachos last night from fiesta mexicana and my stomach was still full and still upset this morning, so i didn't actually make breakfast until closer to 9. when i was finally ready for breakfast, i made myself half of an egg salad sandwich and some strawberries.

after lincoln woke up from his morning nap, we walked over to our local coffee shop to meet up with my friend morgan and her little one zeke! i'm sure i mentioned it before, but lincoln and zeke are only 6 days apart and morgan and i have known each other since kindergarten (or maybe even earlier) so it's been fun to have a close friend with a little one the same age as lincoln to go through this whole "new mom" stuff with (and that was the longest sentence ever!). we grabbed coffee and headed out on our walk. by the time lincoln and i got back home, we ended up walking for a little over 2 hours! (much needed and much appreciated after those nachos last night ;0p).

our walk took us through the Japanese Gardens at Manito Park! this early spring has been wonderful. not only because of the warm weather, but we get to enjoy all the beautiful trees blooming early too!

after our walk, we came back home and i put lincoln down for his afternoon nap, while i made myself lunch. i had some leftover chips and dip from last night's nachos so i made a mini plate of nachos for lunch and may or may not have had another easter cookie. while not the healthiest lunch in the whole world, my lunch was much more "portion controlled" compared to yesterday's cookie and nacho fest. i got to enjoy my food without making myself ill. win!

around 3 i got hungry so i made another egg salad sandwich to tied me over until dinner time. one of the most difficult things is finding time to make myself food or sit down to eat with the little guy. he is not the most independent little one and does not like to be out of my site (or even out of my arms for very long) so i usually wait to make dinner till after he goes to bed. this means i'm not eating dinner till 8, sometimes 9 at night. so making a sandwich as a mid afternoon snack is one of the few ways to tide me over from noon until 9 pm!

dinner tonight was leftover chicken noodle "soup" pasta. not too exciting, but it made a lot so this will probably be making an appearance over and over again for the next few days.

we've got lots of fun planned this weekend! swim lessons, a playdate, a visit from some out-of-town friends, easter mass and finally easter brunch! i'm sure glad we were able to walk every day this week, because it might be tough to squeeze in this weekend.

have a good night folks!

Dog Park Days

totally random, but do you want to know what the hardest part of writing each post for me is? the beginning! how many times can you say "hi" "hello" "how's it going" "what's up" before it gets old? writing the actual post is easy for me, but those introductions man, they get me every time.

now that that's over....hi! how's your day going?

ours was pretty laid back, but we did take a trip to the dog park!!! this is kind of a big deal, because it's my first time i've taken porter to the dog park, with little man, by myself. the idea of having to trek both the baby and the dog and be responsible for both of them was a little daunting. and then thinking about trying to get porter back on the leash and back in the car after playing at the park was even more daunting! he's pretty good at listening to husband, but i feel like not so much with me.

please ignore my make up free face....eek!!!

all that being said, the dog park was a success! we were there for about an hour and porter got some much needed exercise. (he doesn't get a whole lot when husband's not here...ok if i'm being honest, he doesn't get any if husband's not here). he was also really good and came back right away when it was time to go! i'll definitely be taking him there more often!

 bags under my eyes for days....(note to self: next time wear makeup! hahaha)

the only downside to the dog park is i have to carry little man in the ergo and push him in the stroller. i actually love the ergo and love baby wearing, but not that the little guy is approaching 20 lbs, it's harder for me to carry him on my front. i need to figure out how to get him strapped onto my back, by myself. i know it won't be a problem if i'm with someone, but getting him out of the car and on my back i'm not too sure about. husband's going to try and help me figure it out when he's back NEXT WEEK!!! if any of you seasoned mama's out there have tips on how to get a little guy on your back, i'm all ears!

as far as eats go...let's just not talk about that today...mmm k?! i think because we're headed to NY in a week, i feel like any attempts at really dieting are going to be thrown off in a week, so i feel like, what's the point? i know this is a crappy outlook, and i should focus on just eating healthy and changing my lifestyle, but i'm finding myself falling back into the crash dieting mindset. that's part of why i stopped blogging my eats this past week, until yesterday, and i just really need to fix my thinking. crash dieting = bad. healthy, balanced eating = good. i think i need to repeat this to myself over and over and over and really get it drilled into my head, that way i'm just focusing on being healthy and not the awful number on the scale. anybody out there ever had to lose a pretty significant amount of weight and done so without a crash diet? i've had success with atkins, but it's always started to climb back on when i start to incorporate carbs (healthy or otherwise) back into my diet.

the one positive thing i've got going for me is that lincoln and i have been able to walk every single day this week and we have plans to meet up with a friend and her little one tomorrow for coffee and another walk through the park! we also just registered for blooms day, so i'm looking forward to that. although, i'm secretly hoping lincoln wants to push me up doomsday hill (hahaha!).

have a good night ya'll! i'm off to watch bad television ;0)

Last Minute Easter Fun!

i'm baaaack! last night was a late night so i didn't end up posting anything, but here's a recap of yesterday and some easter fun we had last night!

our day started off with a healthy breakfast! bananas and multi-grain cereal for little man, and two over easy eggs on one slice of quinoa bread and a side of strawberries. honestly probably one of my favorite breakfasts. i love how over easy eggs taste a little buttery and a little salty and it's kind of the best combination ever. strawberries are my absolutely favorite fruit (pineapple comes in a close second) so the eggs plus strawberries. winner winner!

next up we met up with Hike It Baby for a Manito Park stroll. it was our first time joining the Hike It Baby group and I really enjoyed it. We walked around the park for about 2 hours and chatted with all the lovely ladies. I'll definitely continue to meet up for walks/hikes with this group. it was wonderful.

for lunch i had some leftover chicken "soup." i made a quick chicken noodle soup the other night with carrots, celery, onions, grilled chicken and pasta and a combination of low sodium vegetable broth and low sodium chicken broth, but i didn't realize the pasta i used would soak up so much of the broth....so it turned into more of a chicken noodle pasta. i'm not complaining, it has all the flavor of a yummy comforting chicken noodle soup, but it just doesn't have the broth. little man also enjoyed the soup with me as well! he also had a side of pureed butternut squash. i think he's ready to move onto big people food (cut up into tiny bites of course) so once we're out of my stock of baby food i have in the freezer, i'm graduating him to big kid food (meaning, i'll just share with him whatever i'm having). this will be great for me too, because i really want him to eat only healthy, organic good for him food, so it will force me to really focus on eating those foods as well. (no cookies for breakfast!)

after lunch, we played around for a bit before heading out to the grocery store and to pick up a couple of pizzas from papa murphy's. i invited the fam over for some last minute easter cookie decorating and egg decorating. i'll admit, i'm a sucker for holidays and love to entertain, so anything like this is right up my alley!

i set the table by placing easter grass on top of our dinner plates, and i picked up chocolate bunnies for everyone and placed them in the center. i also picked up some cute easter cookie cutters, m&m's and sprinkles to decorate. my sister, amy, has awesome color mixing skills and she created a ton of different pastel buttercream frosting colors.

i made the sugar cookies from scratch using this recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction. The cookies tasted great and held their shapes perfectly! although my favorite sugar cookies will always be my mama's, these are great when you want to create fun holiday shapes!

dinner was papa murphy's pizza and their mediterranean salad. it went un-pictured (i think i just made up that word) but i had some of the thin crust chicken garlic pizza and a small slice of plain cheese and a small slice of pepperoni as well as some salad. i also ate one delicious frosted easter cookie! i made sure to send the extra m&m's home with my dad (they're one of his favorites) and half of the easter cookies home with my sister and niece. i then froze the rest so i won't be tempted to eat too many all at once (although, i may have had two for breakfast this morning).

lincoln and i don't have much on our plates today, so i'm guess a walk is in our future as long as the weather holds out. it's threatening to rain!