Nursery No. 2: Sneak Peak!

We are 90% done with baby boy number two's nursery and I thought it would be fun to share a couple of quick photos. There are a few additional odds and ends I want to pick up to finish it off, but all of the big stuff is done and in.

We were able to re-use a lot of the items from Lincoln's nursery, just re-purposed in a slightly different way here. So all of the bedding, crib mat, changing mat covers, mobile, rocking chair, etc. are from Lincoln's nursery. The lamp was a hand me down from my mom (just needed a new lamp shade) and the crib was a gift from my parents as well! The bear poster was actually randomly given to me at work, so we just framed it and the hexagon shelves were built by Kevin and painted by myself. Each of the little ceramic animals and the succulent plan were purchased by my mom (thanks mom!).

We ended up needing to buy the end table and a new dresser since Lincoln still uses his, and the throw and pillow on the chair were relatively inexpensive finds at Target and on Etsy, but other than that, everything was either re-purposed or built by my handy husband and painted by me!

So, without further ado...below are a few quick pictures of our newest addition's digs.

One Special Day

The countdown is on until baby boy number two decides to show up and we wanted to make sure we spent some quality time with Lincoln before he embarks on the new and important role of big brother. Because of this, we planned a day where we got to do all of the things Lincoln likes to do! In addition, we threw in a few little surprises along the way.

Our day started out with a special breakfast of cinnamon rolls, hot cocoa, eggs and bacon. In hindsight, so much sugar on a day packed full of so many events might not have been the best idea, but Lincoln loved every bit of cream cheese frosting on that cinnamon roll so it was worth it!

After breakfast we all got ready for the day and for our first stop, Mobius! Lincoln, like most little ones, absolutely loves the children's museum and science center so we knew that this was a must stop location for our day. It was an easy one too, since we already have the year long membership. We spent a good hour and half playing and enjoying ourselves, before heading upstairs in the mall so he could pick out a brand new toy!

We did our best to try and persuade him to get anything besides another construction truck, but he was adamant on an excavator, so with yet another construction truck toy in tow, we headed to our next big stop!

We had told Lincoln we were going to take him to a movie, but what we didn't realize was that he associates all movies in the theater with the one in the mall because that's where Nana took him. After some tears and some serious convincing that we were indeed going to take him to a movie, we headed up to the Garland Theater to see Ferdinand! The movie was cute and Lincoln made it through the whole thing with some coaxing.

After the movie was over we headed home for a much needed nap (for both Lincoln and mama). Our naps came just in time because after a morning full of activities, Lincoln was about to lose it. Sleep solves all things though (at least in my opinion) and after our nap, we all woke up to play for a bit at the house before heading out to our last stop!

We made reservations for dinner at ShoGun, a hibachi style restaurant, that we thought Lincoln would love. We were right! While the fire scared him just a bit, it was honestly the longest I've seen him successfully sit at the table for dinner. The chef kept his attention the entire time and I think he enjoyed the show right along with the food!

After dinner, we headed home to spend the evening, relaxing and playing and getting ready for bed. Lincoln may or may not remember this day, but it sure was fun treating him to a few of his favorite things and some extra special surprises before he's no longer the only little man in our lives.

Baby No. 2 || Meal Prep Addition

Right before Lincoln was born, I went to town making all kinds of freezer meals. It truly was a lifesaver those first few months, especially with Kevin out of town so much. Once Lincoln was a bit older, I also started incorporating Blue Apron Meals a lot as well. Anything to make cooking dinner easier.

With the upcoming arrival of baby no. 2, I'm determined to stock our freezer with freezer meals again! We're coming up on Week 37 so baby can come anytime at this point. We kicked off our first weekend of meal prep (among other baby to do's) this past weekend and I thought it would be fun to share all of the recipes I plan on making in the upcoming days and weeks. It looks a little aggressive but my plan this time around has been to make a double batch of whatever meal we're having for dinner that night, and freeze the extra into two smaller casserole pans. So far it's working!

So, without further ado, below is my list of freezer meals (including breakfast, lunch and dinner options). I've linked recipes where I've found them. Otherwise, these are just meals I've come up with on my own, but I'm sure there are plenty of versions available on the internet!

Breakfast

Blueberry Muffins

Breakfast Burritos (Eggs, Sausage, Cheese and Peppers)

Buttermilk Waffles 

Lunch

Chicken Burritos

Pepperoni Calzones

Canadian Bacon + Green Pepper Calzones

Dinner

Quattro Formaggio with Broccoli (I threw broccoli into mine)

Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole

Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti

Kibbeh

Costco Lasagna

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Baked Penne with Chicken and Sundried Tomatoes 

Veggie Enchiladas 

Snacks/Desserts

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Lactation Cookies 

Weekend Recap || February 2018

Hello! Hope everyone's week is off to a great start. I haven't done a weekend recap in a while, but thought it would be fun to throw one in the mix. This weekend was a good mix of fun events and equal amounts downtime. So without further ado...

Friday evening started off with some heart shaped cookie making and decorating as we kickoff love month! I had a rough week related to pregnancy (turns out I was having contractions 3 minutes apart for 3 days!) so I haven't been able to do much besides hobble around and lay down in bed. I was feeling really bad about not being able to play/hang out with Lincoln, so after we found out the cause of my pain on Wednesday and the hospital was able to stop my contractions (so I don't go into labor too early) and I was almost instantly pain free, I quickly decided to spend some time with my favorite 3.5 year old and bake Valentine's Day cookies! Lincoln is a frosting eating machine so he spent a whole lot more time eating than decorating, but we still had a good time.

Saturday, I had my baby sprinkle, which I wrote more about here! It was nice to spend some time, kiddo free, catching up with girlfriends and celebrating baby boy #2's impending arrival. At the shower, one of my girlfriends surprised me by flying in from Seattle, so after the shower was over, she came over for some much needed catchup time before having to catch a flight out.

While I spent Saturday morning with friends, Kevin and Lincoln headed out to celebrate Ice Cream for Breakfast Day! We live a few blocks from our favorite neighborhood ice cream parlor and they were celebrating this unofficial holiday in style! Waffle topped Sundaes, Donut Ice Cream Sandwiches, Cafe Affogato's, Chocolate covered bacon toppings and more! Needless to say, sick and all, Lincoln was more than willing to participate in ice cream for breakfast day.

Saturday evening was pretty low key. Lincoln had a 102 degree temperature this weekend and is fighting a cough among other things, so we're pretty sure he may have a mild version of the flu. We tried to keep it low key and he headed to be early on Saturday night.

Sunday, Kevin and Lincoln let me sleep in before Kevin headed off to run a few errands and Lincoln and I got some quality play time in. We alternated between playing firetrucks and dinosaurs as well as watching Cars 3 (his new official favorite movie) since he's still not feeling 100%. Sunday afternoon, before nap time, we got a quick park date in. When I say quick, I mean 15 minutes haha. I know my little guys isn't feeling well when after only 15 minutes at the park he was asking to go back home and go "night night" in mommy and dadd's bed.

Sunday afternoon was Superbowl fun! My parents came over for the game and we had enough food to feed an entire football team, ha! It was fun to watch the Eagles beat the Patriots, even if we did end up losing a bet with my dad.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

A Baby Sprinkle for Baby #2!

This past weekend my sister and a close friend of mine threw a little baby sprinkle for Baby Boy Alexander No. 2. It was so sweet and fun to celebrate the soon to be arrival of our newest addition.

The sprinkle was small and intimate and held at my girlfriend's house. Just a few close friends, with good food and good conversation.

They had a little wild animal theme, so everything from the diaper cake to the cupcake toppers was decorated and so cute. A few photos from the afternoon are below!