18 of the Very Best Months

my favorite little man is eighteen months old today. no longer a baby, but in full on toddler mode. this has been the best 18 months (and the hardest, most difficult, blah blah blah) but really the very best. being a mama to my little man is the best. thing. ever.

so much has happened in the past 6 months. lincoln is not only walking but full on running whenever he wants to get somewhere fast, and so often he wants to move fast. he is just as much of a dare devil now as he was 6 months ago and is the most curious little boy. he absolutely loves to help us in the kitchen and i would be ecstatic if i had a mini-chef in the making. he also still loves getting outdoors, playing on the slides and going in the swing. it's been a cold and snowy past few months so we haven't had as much outside time as we usually get though so little man is always full of lots of energy.

over the past few months we've had lots of new transitions and lincoln has handled each and every single one as a champ. kevin went back to school full time and i went back to work. lincoln spends three days a week with my mom (his nana) and two days a week in daycare. the drop off transition was a little rough, but it didn't take more than a day or two until he was perfectly content with the care providers and now he doesn't even blink when we leave.

we've celebrated halloween, thanksgiving and christmas with our little man and each holiday has been so much better than i could have ever imagined. having kiddos for the holidays is absolutely the best!! for halloween, we picked out pumpkins and carved them with the family. we got to celebrate thanksgiving with the family and then spent all of december doing as many festive events as we could including cutting down a christmas tree, visiting the gingerbread competition, sledding, baking cookies, a christmas eve party and of course a visit from santa. and lincoln got to visit with his grandma who lives back east for christmas when she came to visit over the holiday.

he is slowly starting to talk more and more. we've got the standard "mama" and "dada" down pretty well, but he also says "nana," "uh-oh," "O" (for my niece Ocean), "nigh nigh" and "buh bye" as he waves goodbye to you and has recently started saying "more" while also signing it. we're hit and miss with "pop pop" but he understands so much i can't even believe it. he also signs "milk" and "all done."

every evening we tell him to go get ready for night night and he runs to the bathroom to brush his teeth, pick out a story and wait to be lifted into his crib. if he wants to go outside or go somewhere he'll bring you his shoes and run to the front door. he grabs our keys and tries to "unlock" the front door, and he loves taking porter on a walk and insists on holding the leash. at nana and pop pops he wants to play the piano all by himself, and will not let anyone sit on the bench next to him or play the piano keys. he's starting to not just crawl up the stairs but hold onto the railing and walk up all by himself.

and teeth!!! we finally have teeth! not just one or two, but 10 whole teeth have come in. he was definitely a late bloomer when getting those chompers, but they are finally here.

we have our 18 month check up next week and we'll get some final stats on our growing boy.

Little Man's Favorites: 

books: whenever it's nap time or bed time lincoln gets to pick out a story or two to read before bed, he tends to pick out the same couple over and over including: the very hungry caterpillar, brown bear brown bear what do you see?, happy hippo angry duck, and the monkey book.

food: fruit. this kid could eat fruit all day long. strawberries, bananas, grapes, blackberries, raspberries, you name it, he'll eat it. he is also LOVING avocado again as well as hummus.

toy: definitely his kitchen play set he received from nana and pop pop at christmas, but ever since we saw the lego exhibit at the MAC, his lego activity table is coming in a close second!

games: he still loves to play peekaboo, but he especially loves a good game of "chase" where we run around pretending we're going to catch him. his little shrieks of delight make this mama's heart melt!

song: we've started having dance parties at night after dinner and bath time before bed. i can't tell what his favorite song is exactly but he sure likes to get down to any song by meghan trainer as well as "uptown funk" by bruno mars haha!

place to go: little man still absolutely LOVES being outside so any chance we get to go to the park, we know we're in for a good time.

Friday Faves

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happy friday! i saw this and literally LOL'd. although, i would never bench coffee, and who says you can only drink alcohol on the weekend! in my world, both are needed on a regular basis ;0)

plenty of the blogs i love and read regularly usually do a version of friday faves, and i thought it would be fun to start too! so here are a few of my favorites from this week and going into the weekend.

1. my mom sent me this today and i thought it was hysterical! it's a little sad that our political system is so far sideways that someone like donald trump can run as a serious candidate, but i guess you have to laugh while we still can.

2. i brought back my go-to breakfast smoothie this week and it has been hitting the spot!

3. i've been reading the fitnessista for years, but finally took the plunge and tried one of her winter shape up routines...i like it so far and my legs were burning.

4. Rosehip Oil - i ordered this rosehip oil about two weeks ago and have been using it to try and get rid of all the things that come with being a mama (think dark circles, worry lines, wrinkles!) and i can honestly say i think it's working! in the morning i mix a little in with my moisturizer and rub it all over. at night, i just use the rosehip oil and i think my skin is looking better than ever! you can read about the benefits of rosehip oil here. 

5. wine pours as big as my face! i had a rough day yesterday, but after a nice large glass (or two) of some wine, i feel like a new (slightly hungover ;0p) woman today!

6. the freaking weekend! we've got some fun plans this weekend including hanging out with good friends and i can't wait to leave work and get our weekend started!

happy friday all!

Superbowl Sunday Recipes and Ideas

the big game is coming up and i'm planning on getting busy in the kitchen so we have all our favorite superbowl foods ready to feast upon. we don't know who will win, but we do know they'll be good food and that's the most important thing, right?!

a few years ago, while we were still living in portland, some friends of ours had a superbowl party and the guys built a food stadium! i guess that's what you get when you're surrounded by engineers and designers. ;0) i had made a simple suggestion to my husband who took it to his coworkers and they ran with it. i was so excited!

this year will be a lot more mellow. mostly family and a maybe a friend or two. here are a few ideas for your superbowl sunday menu! you can bet that come sunday you'll see hot wings, a nacho bar and mimosa bar on our table along with some other treats!

Superbowl Sunday Menu Ideas

Bloody Mary's and Mimosa Bar (Post to come!)

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Jalapeno Poppers

Baked Hot Wings (Post to come!)

Build Your Own Nachos Bar (Post to come!) 

Husband's Pulled Pork Sandwich's 

Three Bean and Beef Chili

Adult Rootbeer Floats

i'm also eyeing these homemade pretzel bites and garlic knots from two peas and their pod. and if i'm feeling extra festive and creative, i might just whip up these superbowl sunday brownies from way back in the day!

Weekend Recap #3

there isn't enough coffee to save me on this foggy monday morning. how about you? we had a pretty eventful weekend which has left me exhausted today. i am definitely not 25 anymore, even though i pretended to be all weekend ;0)

our weekend festivities started early (on thursday) despite the fact that i still had to work on friday. we had a little mini ladies and babies action and got together with some mamas and toddlers. the toddlers had milk and popsicles, the mamas had wine and we all had tacos.

friday night, husband and i had an official date night and got to see a band we've been dying to see again since our pre-baby portland heydays! hey marseilles kicked off their 2 month tour with a stop in spokane friday night at the bartlett and they did not dissapoint.the concert was great, despite the show having to be stopped midway through because a poor gentleman collapsed. he was ok, the paramedics and fire department arrived quickly and took him to be evaluated. the show continued after a quick comment for prayers and well wishes to be sent the man's way.

saturday morning, we had a rough start, but it wasn't anything that homemade chocolate chip cookies couldn't cure. lincoln and i whipped up a batch all before 8 am and he got to indulge in a little cookie dough licking. after that we were off to our first kindermusik class (which we loved!) and then back home for some much needed naps all around.

saturday evening was ladies night and this mama got to go out for dinner and drinks with some girlfriends. i haven't done that more than maybe once or twice in probably two years, so it it felt AMAZING to have some girl talk, sans babies.

we wrapped up our weekend on sunday with a family brunch date at chaps (yummy!) and then some park time.

all in all a pretty great weekend, but i think i need another day to recover.

hope you all have lots of coffee to get you through today!

Little Man Style - Valentine's Day Edition

valentine's day is less than a month away so this version of little man style is all about love day. i started this last week.  i'm posting items from little man's wardrobe or items i'm hoping to add to his wardrobe now that we've grown out of all of the pre-purchased baby items we received from friends and family.

since valentine's day is less than a month away, i thought it would be fun to do a valentine's day version. here you go!

1. Robo Heart PJ Set  - lincoln's valentine's day gift is this adorable wood magnetic robot that he can take apart and build. i fell in love with these robo heart pajamas from the gap and have already scooped them up for him to wear throughout february! and how cute will it be when he opens his robot wearing his robot pj's on valentines day morning!

2. Red Chambray Shirt  - i mentioned last month how much i love chambray and this red chambray shirt is so cute! it would be the perfect shirt to wear on valentine's day!

3. Dark Denim Flannel Cuff Jeans - apparently i really like flannel cuffed pants for our little guy because i picked out two pairs this month that i'm hoping to add to his wardrobe!

4. Red Converse - lincoln recieved these adorable red converse from his aunt amy and cousin ocean for christmas a little over a month ago. you better believe he'll be wearing these through out the month of february!

5. Heart Breaker Graphic T - i love a good graphic t and this one is no different! our little man is quite the heartbreaker if you ask me ;0)

6. Flannel Lined Khakis - please see #3 to understand my love of a good flannel cuff.

Weekend Recap #2

hope you all are recovering from a long relaxing weekend. we made the most of our long weekend by sticking close to home, running errands and catching up with friends.

our weekend kicked off on saturday with a play date with some of our favorites. the mama's got to drink wine, the babies (i mean toddlers but i'm having a difficult time coming to terms with the fact that my little guy is a full blown toddler) got to drink milk. and while the mama's got to catch up on a gossip, the little ones engaged in their own entertaining version of "peek-a-boo!" 

sunday was all about football. sadly our seahawks lost (albeit an awesome comeback attempt) but we made sure to start and end the day with football. breakfast was festive and on point with blue and green pancakes and fruit to get us in the mood to watch our team play. little man was dressed in his jersey and we were ready to cheer our team on to victory. they apparently didn't get the message. 

so to lift our spirits we had a build-your-own-pizza night and little man got to make his first personal pizza! i see plenty of nights like these in our future :) it was pretty cute watching our little pantless chef go to work on his pizza  and you can be sure that more toppings ended up in his mouth than on the pie ;0) 

we all had monday off (mommy from work and daddy from school) so we started our day with a walk to the park. unfortunately, lincoln didn't realize where we were headed and promptly fell asleep one block away from the park, so we turned back and made our way home. at least we got some exercise in ;0) 

the rest of monday was spent running errands, more rounds of peek-a-boo! and getting ready for the week. little man found his way into daddy's desk and promptly decided to cover himself in little "sign here" stickers. the things that entertain our little guy always crack me up! 

cheers to a short week! 

Little Man Style

for the past 18 months much of our little guy's wardrobe came from generous gifts from friends and family that we received before he was even born. that has been amazing and such a god-send since purchasing clothes for our little guy hasn't really been all that necessary.

all that being said, i'm kind of excited about the opportunity to go out and start picking out pieces to give our little guy a little toddler swagger if you know what i mean ;0) i thought it might be fun to do some monthly posts on little man's style and some pieces that i'm hoping to add to his closet as well as items he may already have! over the past 18 months or so i've primarily shopped at baby gap, old navy, carters and gymboree. we've recieved a few adorable pieces from h&m kids as well. if there are any must shop (reasonably priced!) toddler/kid stores that you know about, please let me know!

so here's the first rendition of little man style. these are all items i'm hoping to add to his wardrobe!:

1. 3-in-1 Utility Jacket - honestly, the last thing little man needs is another jacket (he has 3!) but i love this utility jacket! we probably won't purchase this, but i love love love this jacket! i, of course, have the mommy version of it in my own closet and i wear it often.

2. Denim Western Shirt - a denim shirt is a necessary closet staple regardless your age or sex. i have one, i'm pretty sure my husband has one and so it's definitely a necessity for our little guy! family photo anyone ;0p

3. Slip On Sneakers - another item lincoln definitely does not need in his closet. he has more shoes than i do! but if i could, this slip-ons would definitely be on my list! (hurry up and grow out of your current shoe supply little man!)

4. Stripe Sweater - husband has a grey and white version of this sweater and i love it on him! i can't imagine anything cuter than my boys in matching sweaters!

5. Last Clean Shirt -  love love love this graphic t!

6. 1969 Gap Logo Sweatshirt  - if you can't tell from the above photo, i really love pieces that have that retro-relaxed-vintage feel to them. i love that this sweatshirt has a retro feel but just seems like such a classic piece (i know i know i'm talking about clothes for a toddler!)

7. 1969 Super Soft Slim Fit Jeans - babies in jeans. i die! we've purchased a few pairs of jeans from old navy and gap over the past 18 months and i love the way they fit our little guy. as he grows, i'm sure we'll continue to do the same!

Adult Rootbeer Floats

have you guys tried "not your father's rootbeer" from small town brewery yet? because if you haven't, run to your nearest trader joe's and pick up a 6-pack immediately!

kevin and i treated ourselves to some adult rootbeer floats this past sunday because we decided we were 10 days into the new year, hadn't broken our respective new year's resolutions yet and needed to reward ourselves. ;0)

it does have alcohol in it. 5.9% ABV to be exact so it's definitely for adults only, but it is the perfect treat for a trip down memory lane. we used the trader joes speculoos cookie butter ice cream for the base of our rootbeer floats and topped them off with "not your father's rootbeer." the two combined perfectly and i see this little treat popping up over and over again this summer when we're looking for a quick way to cool down and beat the heat! the only thing that would have made this better is a big dollop of whipped cream, which i will definitely do the next time we make these!

and don't worry, we let the little guy enjoy a miniature size scoop of ice cream so he could join in the fun too!

LEGOS at the Museum of Arts and Culture

we had the best weekend! the museum of arts and culture has the lego sculpture exhibit nature connects up through february 7th and we took lincoln down this past saturday. i'll admit that when we had the idea to go, we thought it would be a fun little family outing, but i never anticipated how excited our little man would get. it was awesome to see him so engaged!

we invited nana and pop pop along on our little adventure so the five of us headed out after lunch. the exhibit as described from the MAC's website:

Nature Connects uses the magical fun of LEGO® to connect visitors to the wonders of the natural world. Twenty-seven giant sculptures created from nearly 500,000 LEGO®bricks by artist Sean Kenney of New York include an 8-foot-tall hummingbird, a 7-foot-tall rose, and a 5-foot-tall butterfly. The exhibit aims to spark creativity and foster a greater sense of play in viewers of all ages.

LEGO Brick Sculpture Contest now on display through February 7, 2016! 

at each new sculpture lincoln would point, and ooh and ahh. he'd get up close to the glass cases, bang on them and try and touch each one. we even caught him trying to crawl under the roped off area to get closer to a few of the sculptures. the very best moment was when he saw the bison exhibit and he screeched with excitement! it was the most adorable thing i've ever seen. in addition to the lego sculptures, there are several smaller sculptures created by local students, grade k-12 and tables set up throughout the museum for kids to sit and build and play with legos. it really was a fun and engaging experience for kids and adults of all ages!

after the exhibit we did a quick walking tour of the campbell house and carriage house which we're also pretty cool to see. i grew up in spokane and have never done the tour, so it was fun to see a little bit of history in my hometown.

we ended our educational saturday with a trip to rocket bakery for some treats. it was such a fun day. if you have a little one and live in the spokane area, i highly recommend taking your little's to the exhibit! it will be up through february 7th!