Summer Daily Schedule

It is highly possible that no one else in the world will be interested in this post, but I know for a fact I will look back one day and want to remember this or reference it with future little ones! So, for your reading pleasure (or not) here is a look at Nora and I's daily schedule. Nora is 19 weeks old.

5:30am Wake-Up/Bottle
Yes, you read that right. This is 15 minutes earlier than I get up during the school year but Nora has a very consistent internal clock and this is when she is up and ready to go every.single.morning. She is usually incredibly smiley when we go to get her but then she starts to fuss because she is hungry. She takes a 5oz bottle and usually CHUGS the whole thing!

6:00 Playtime!
Without a doubt morning time is Nora's happiest of the day! Normally she plays in her jumper while The Hubs and I get breakfast/coffee. She just jumps and squeals and smiles and watches the dogs wrestle on the floor.

7:30-8:30 Bye-Bye Daddy/Nap #1
The Hubs leaves for work and Nora is getting very sleepy! After Collin leaves I put Nora down for her first nap. This nap lasts anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour. She just started sleeping on her belly and that has extended her naps a little!

8:30/9:00 Wake-Up, Bottle, Play

Nora gets up, gets her diaper changed and is usually happy for about a half hour before she is ready to eat. She takes another 5oz bottle like a champ and then we usually play together on the floor. She has just recently started to get really interested in toys so that brings a whole new level of fun to playtime! Her favorite game is when we run a blanket over her face... crazy child! 

11:30-1:30 Nap

Somewhere close to 11:30 Nora takes her long afternoon nap. She just started going through a nap transition and this nap became more regular and longer, sometimes even 3 hours. This is the time I SHOULD take a nap too, but usually I try to get things done or just relax on the couch. This particular day I was working on a few things for my TPT store. Basically I try to do whatever I want to do that I might not be able to do with a baby strapped to my hip! 

1:30 Wake-Up

Nora is up and usually ready to eat right away after this long nap. She gets another 5oz bottle and usually takes a long time to eat this one because she is still a little drowsy. Then we play or I put her in the swing while I do things around the house and she watches my every move! Some days she is not happy to be put down so I strap her in the baby pack and wear her around while I get a few things done. I like to get the house cleaned up a little before The Hubs comes home and sometimes I guess Nora just wants to help! 

4:00 Dinnertime! 

Occasionally Nora will take another short nap, about 30-40 minutes, during this time but not always. At 4:00 we sit down at the table and it's time for some solid foods! We just started solids and so far she is a pro! She has had rice cereal, bananas, squash, and avocado. So far she loves everything! She eats one container of whatever food (usually veggies) and then has a 4oz bottle. She loves to eat solids and it is so fun to watch her explore new things! 

4:30 Clean-Up/Play

So my child is not a clean eater at all, but she is just now doing this spoon-fed thing so I don't blame her. After she finishes eating I put her in her bouncer or jumper to play on her own while I clean up the big mess! Wipe down the highchair, wipe down the floor, clean bottle etc. Then after cleaning up I immediately take her to change her diaper. That solid food goes right through her if you know what I mean! At about 5:15 daddy comes home and he plays with Nora while I get supper ready! We LOVE when daddy comes home! Sometimes Nora will take a short nap at around 5:30, but this is becoming rare. 

6:00 Family Activity

Some nights after dinner we will do something fun like go on a walk or take Nora in her little pool. Many nights we just hang out in the living room and marvel at how precious our baby girl is! This is usually the time she starts to get a little fussy so going out and doing something can help or hurt the situation depending on the night. 

6:30 Bath/Bedtime Routine

We give Nora a bath every other night, so if it is bath night we start that at 6:30. If not, we just play a little while longer. After bath time, it's jammies on and she gets her last bottle of the day, another 5oz. Then, I take her in her room and we rock and I sing her two songs, say a prayer for her and lay her in bed. We recently began sleep training and she is now a rockstar at putting herself to sleep and with NO pacifier! 

7:00 Asleep

Nora is usually asleep by 7 on a good night but sometimes it doesn't happen until 7:30. Then The Hubs and I get some time alone! We usually watch a show or get things done around the house, nothing special, just good to have time for just the two of us! 

Disclaimer: I realized after adding this picture that it may imply something different than intended :o While we do like to have time like that together, in this picture we are just reading in bed :) #marriage

Dear Baby

Dear Baby,

Your dad and I don't yet know what your name will be. Sure, we have picked what we think are the perfect names for if you are a little lady or a gentleman. But we won't know for a while which name we will use. You dad is sure you will be his "daddy's little girl", while I think you will be a bouncing baby boy. No matter what you are, there are some things I want you to know.

You are already so incredibly loved, beyond what you can imagine. We know basically nothing about you yet, and we like it that way! And even though we don't know what parts you will have or what name we will call you for sure, we know that you are a part of both of us and a precious miracle from God. I am fully aware that you will keep me up for many nights creating pure exhaustion in both your daddy and I. You will cause me to get wrinkles from worry at my young age of twenty-five and you will test my patience daily. Will I be so emotional and frustrated once you arrive that I can't help but sob? Absolutely! But when I feel you kick and wiggle around inside of me, I really could care less about all of that. We prayed for you for a long time and we have so many dreams and plans for how we will spend our lives with you by our side! I want to make you some promises while you are still in my womb, it's always good to get these things in writing ;)

First, your daddy and I promise that we will raise you in a house that is full of God's love. You may not know much about God right now, but he is your dad and I's number one priority! Not only will we teach you Bible stories, songs and take you to church but we will try to model God's love in our home daily. In everything we do. Are we great at following Jesus all the time? No. We stumble and fall and will continue to do so, but in our daily walk with God we want you to see those moments, because you will have them too someday. We will strive to teach you about grace. What a beautiful gift we are given daily from our Heavenly Father, a gift that none of us deserve. Sweet baby, we promise we will make this the utmost importance in our home, no matter what roof we live under.

Precious little one, because we have the love of Jesus in our hearts our home will be so full of love! I promise that you will not go a day without hearing "I love you" from both your daddy and I. We don't want you to ever forget just how special you are to us. You are quite literally a gift from God and we will never stop telling him "Thank you" for your presence in our lives!

I promise that you will also always hear your daddy and I say how much we love each other. What does this have to do with you? Everything! You were created out of love and we want you to be raised in that same love your whole life. Someday we hope you grow up and will find a special someone to love, marry and start a family with. We want to give you the best example of a family that we can. In the beginning you might be jealous of daddy and my kisses and hugs for each other, then you will grow to be repulsed by them. But that won't make us stop, because someday you will appreciate the example we were setting in those little moments.

You won't understand this one right now and will later probably hate us for it for a time, but oh how important it is. Sweet child, I promise that we will discipline you! We will not make empty threats when you misbehave (and misbehave you will!), when we tell you to "stop or else" we will mean it! We will do this not because we want you to be unhappy and be denied your every heart's little desire. We will do it because we want you to learn respect, self-control and to not be entitled. We are preparing you to grow up and live in this harsh world. In all honesty, the rules and expectations we have will be because we love you so fiercely, and truly want to help you grow into the best little human you possibly can!

I also promise that we will not be perfect parents. We will make so many mistakes, especially with you since you're our first. Mistakes help us learn and we want you to learn that lesson too. And even though we will make mistakes, we will never stop trying to be the best we can be for you each and every day.

Oh little one, there are so many more promises I could make to you and as you grow and change through each new season, some of these promises will become more important. Just know sweet bebe, that God placed you in our care for a reason. He has big plans for our little family and you are the beginning of that! We love you so much peanut! Keep growing big and strong, we can't wait to meet you!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Sweet Christmas

On one of my many snow days last week The Hubs and I decorated sugar cookies, one of our Christmas traditions. It's a really fun way to celebrate the season together and it doesn't taste too bad either! 

Here is the sugar cookie recipe I use and the frosting too. 


Sugar Cookies

3 cups flour
1 TSP baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 TSP vanilla extract 

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla to mixture. In separate bowl, mix together flour and baking powder. After first mixture is creamed, slowly add dry ingredients. After all ingredients are mixed knead dough until smooth. Roll into ball, wrap with plastic wrap and chill for 20-30 minutes. 

After chilling, roll and cut out desired shapes. Place on baking sheet with parchment paper and bake for 7 minutes. Take out of oven and let cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes. 

Chill overnight before frosting. 

Frosting
No measurements, I just eyeball it and taste test!

powdered sugar
heavy cream (or milk)
vanilla
almond extract
butter (softened)

Christmas Family Pictures

Had a fun little afternoon taking family pictures. One of us enjoyed it more than the other... bet you can't guess who!