Sweet September

September is almost over and my little man is already almost 3 months old!  This weekend was all about the family time and time with people we love.  I wish I could bottle up yesterday afternoon and keep the feelings with me.  Our little family went on a walk to the lake access.  The weather was {almost} perfect and the water hasn’t quite hit frigid yet.  Boaz chased after leaves and sticks we threw for him.  He even got a good swim in around the dock.  Asher dipped his feet in the water with hardly any reaction.  I guess my little man is too used to his bath water and didn’t mind the colder water.  We took turns pushing the stroller and soaking up the time together to talk.  God just swooped down and gave us a taste of goodness in the midst of everything else and for that I am grateful.

So in true fashion…here’s what I’ve learned from times like these in September:

{1} To make time for the simple things and stay present and engaged.  Oftentimes, my favorite moments are when I don’t think about my phone or my to do list or other things going on in my head and even though I wish I could have snapped some pictures from those times…I’m still glad to have fully lived them.

{2} Surprises are wonderful.  Surprising someone with a gift or showing up at their work during lunch or writing them an unexpected note or making a special meal or coming home with ice cream.  Yep. I’m a big fan of surprises for both me and for others 🙂

{3} There needs to be more dancing in the kitchen. Enough said.

{4} Boaz makes a good case for wanting to be the baby of the family.  I think he and Asher are going to have a grand time getting into all sorts of trouble when Asher gets older.

{5} So much in life is a privilege…not something “deserved” or a “right.”  There’s much to be said about actually identifying and speaking up about needs/wants and being okay with a no answer.  Oh and I’ve learned I’ve got a lot to learn in this area!

And now for the pictures to add a little fun to this post 🙂

Weekend Finds

Hello Monday! You’ve been pretty good to me so far so I’m thankful!  The weekend also included some fun things.  We got to go out on a date on Friday night and eat delicious food!  I really like going out to eat and spending time alone with the husband.  Eating and traveling are top priorities in our “fun budget” category!  It’ll be so fun when Asher can enjoy these things more too!

Speaking of budgets…we spent a bit of time going over our budget this weekend and working hard to make some of our goals happen.  I’m always trying to tow the line between going extreme and being realistic.  There’s such a balance between living life and being responsible.  If I could chuck responsibility out the window, I’d be jumping on planes and traveling a lot while also eating really well and there’d be a lot of dessert.  Instead, we’re focusing on enjoying life and putting a lot toward my last graduate school loans.  Any budget tips for me?

Saturday was filled with worship practice, prepping for Sunday, and time with family to celebrate a birthday.  Sunday was a bit quieter, which I was so thankful for then.  Plus, we got a movie and snagged a pizza deal from Papa John’s.  I am in love with their garlic dipping sauce.

Other things that I “found” recently include….

• This verse stuck out: He will bring you quietness with His love. Zephaniah 3:17
• She Reads Truth starts their new reading plan called “Open Your Bible.”  I jumped on board this morning!
• WestBow Press is accepting manuscripts for a New Look Writing Contest.
• Cool Running has some fun speed work plans. I’m hoping to improve my 5k time this fall!

Oh and lastly…there’s these two who keep making us smile, laugh, and love life even more.

Friday!

Yikes! This week kind of felt like it was dragging on, but I’m sure glad it’s finally Friday.  I’m ready for a date night, family time, church, and maybe even a few other fun things packed in there.  Oh and guess who is 10 weeks old today!? Asher!  I am like whoa he is already in double digits for weeks.  To celebrate, he oh so kindly has been sleeping 8 hours in a row the last few nights.  I’m a fan of this new stage.  Plus, he is extra smiley too.  Though, let’s be honest…the flip side is that during the day he has been extra hungry and quite a bit clingy.  There’s always something new to learn and an ever expanding lesson in flexibility.  Other than that, this has been a pretty normal week.  Here’s a little list of the things I’ve been loving!

• KIND Bars
  • Since I’ve been nursing (and that boy can eat!), I have been so snacky and have often found myself needing something fast.  I’ve taken to trying out some fun granola bars.  I’ve been loving the Vanilla Blueberry by KIND this week!  I’m on the lookout for healthy, fast snacks so send them my way if you have any!
• BOB Stroller
  • The more I use the BOB stroller, the more I love it.  I’m a little addicted.  Trip to Target, okay I’ll grab the BOB.  Grocery shopping? Why, of course, I’ll use the BOB and then I won’t need a cart.  Time for a walk or running? Yep, the BOB.  I am so very glad and thankful that we budgeted and made getting a nice jogging stroller a priority when it came to baby things.  Asher loves it and he’s a happy guy in it or well probably mostly sleepy or content, but I will take that!  Plus, the shocks make rocking him just enough if he does get fussy and they help curb the uneven ground on the dirt roads by our house.
• Journaling
  • I’ve been intentional about journaling more lately and really trying to set aside time to write.  I love writing.  I have for a long, long time.  I can remember whipping out a 70 or something page book in middle school and being extra proud.  Though, I also know other times where “art scars” have popped up and caused me to hold back from writing.  I’ve got a whole shelf full of journals and they’re one of my favorite things.  I’m working on putting those gremlins death and to keep on picking up the pen or typing out the words.
• Baths
  • Since having Asher, I’ve learned the wonderfulness of a warm bath and time to sit and read or write or just plain think.  The time alone is golden and I am a big fan in this season.  Plus, we have a nice big bath so I will take advantage while I can!  I’m glad I’m finally learning to enjoy this and this week was no exception!
• Instagram and Feedly
  • I’ve really been enjoying reading other people’s stories lately and seeing beautiful things in the pictures they post.  Lately I’ve been inspired, encouraged, challenged, and refreshed by the updates I have been seeing.  I love when these are what I walk away with rather than bitterness, jealousy, envy…those are my red flags to check my heart and see what is going on inside.  All that to say, I’m loving them right now.

Lastly, here are a few of the pictures I’ve loved from this week!

Boaz cracks me up!

Somebody looks SO big!

I love that we are a family who loves to read! 

I made food! Frittata deliciousness. 

What have you been loving!? 

Weekend Recap

We had such an (almost) perfect weekend!  I went to bed last night thinking that I am pretty blessed to be able to be here in this season and am very thankful.  Not to say that there aren’t tough spots…because there definitely are!  But this little face sure helps as do other good people in my life!

Yeahhh…I like him!

I started Saturday off with a great run/walk!  I ran a mile in 9:15 (with Asher & the stroller!!) so that was pretty exciting and then we walked about 2 more miles.  Plus, the weather was that perfect mix of summer and fall.  We were able to get up early enough to enjoy the morning while still having the rest of the day.  Our Saturday afternoon included reading books while Asher napped.  I finally have started the final book in the Wheel of Time series and I am loving remembering all the characters as well as the plot lines.  I am glad to have a fun fiction book to read!  I’m hoping to try out one of JoJo Moyes books next since I keep hearing such good things about them.  My husband has been enjoying some of Brandon Sanderson’s books, which are also fun reads. 

This Sunday was the last one before I jump into the fall schedule with our 1-6th graders.  I am looking forward to getting back to teaching.  I have missed hanging out with the kiddos on Sunday mornings, but I have so loved being in service and hanging out as a family during church (for the most part…I mean the husband drums so we aren’t together the full service, but we take what we can get!).  I’ve gathered some fun curriculums and will be going over them this week in prep for Sunday. Any great curriculums or lessons that you guys love to use?

Later in the afternoon, we got together with some friends for a hike/walk at a nearby park.  I am thankful for friends in a similar life stage who have babies close in age to Asher.  While they can’t really play together, it’s still fun to take out the strollers and get outside.  

Dinner, Asher’s bedtime, ice cream (mmm, Breyer’s natural vanilla bean is our choice lately if we don’t splurge on Ben & Jerry’s) , and good conversations ended our night.

 

Asher is not quite sure what to think of the vibrations from the electric toothbrush during bath time. Ha!

Here goes to tackling another week!  

How was your weekend?

Weekend Love

September is here and I am a little bit in denial!  This summer has gone by in a blur.  Granted, having a baby and adjusting to life with a newborn took up quite a bit of time.  Mostly, though, summer has been wonderful and I’m glad to be entering into fall too!  I can’t complain about shorts and long sleeve weather–it is my favorite.  Now if only this kind of weather would stick around for a bit longer and winter would hold off for a while.  But anyway…here’s the list of things I’ve been loving lately!

Things I’m Loving

• A fairly predictable nap schedule!  Asher has been a champ at sleeping and I am loving getting to know him more and more…I know he will probably just keep changing and I’ll keep learning, but that’s part of the fun!  For now, I’m loving being able to tell when he will need a nap and being able to use his nap times for fun things like writing, reading, playing with Boaz, and those not so fun things like laundry, cleaning, and dishes. 

• Researching more about cloth diapers!  I so would love to be one of those people who tries and ranks every kind of diaper, diaper cover, insert, etc.  We have some money set aside in our budget this month to try a few more kinds so I’m excited to see what else we like!
• My Bible reading plan!  I’ve loved being able to “hunt” for the theme and to dig into the word in a new way.  This fresh perspective keeps me soaking up the parts that hit my heart as well as allowing me to broaden my perspective to see bigger themes that connect the verses chosen.  You can check out the plans here. 
• Running!  I’ve had a ton of fun incorporating more running into our walks.  I went for a run with my brother (and Asher!) and definitely was pushed more than when I’ve been going by myself.  Running with a stroller is no joke, but it’s awesome too.  I’m hoping to keep getting in more miles and increasing my speed too this fall. 

Can you spy Boaz?

• Listening to Brene Brown’s The Power of Vulnerability with Ryan!  I love that we get to spend time together and talk about areas that she addresses.  There’s so much packed in there and a lot to think about!

What have you been loving lately!?

2 Months!

What we’ve learned…this month, we’ve learned how to make our little man smile, that he LOVES a pacifier, some tips and tricks to cloth diapering, to add in a bedtime routine, about how to have him come along to places (he did a great job during the Duathlon races!!), and how we are pretty ridiculous about how cute we think he is.  

What we’re enjoying right now…going on family walks, our bedtime routine, longer sleeping times at night, days where the weather has been just warm enough without being super warm, the kick n play piano, seeing Asher smile, and eating!  I’ve even gotten out on quite a few runs this past month too, which has felt awesome.  I’m excited to keep running this fall!

What our biggest struggles are…finding balance between all the things we want to do!  We’re working on figuring out what we can say yes to and areas we need to cut back.  

Asher’s most exciting milestones are…smiling! Smiling more for us and for other people too!  He’s also sleeping awesome! Lots of cooing and cute little sounds. More head control too!  We are now into size 2 diapers and definitely out of newborn clothes.  Most of our clothes are 0-3 months, but there are some that are 3-6 months.  

What we are looking forward to…our doctors appointment, nice fall weather, and date nights!

Asher’s likes and dislikes…he loves car rides, tummy time and just time on his kick n play piano (but not for too long!), walks, people talking to him, music, kicking, eating, and sometimes he likes bath time.   Dislikes include being hungry, the bright sun, when the stroller stops moving, and being overtired.

What sleep looks like…we are getting up usually between 2-4 and then again at about 6 or 7.  We have a fun little bedtime routine where he gets to take a bath and then get dressed for bed, swaddled, and then eats one more time before going to bed around 9.  He’s sleeping mostly for about 5-7 hours at his longest stretch.  The longest he went was a little over 8 hours.  The hardest part is for me to be able to get back to sleep for a little bit after he wakes up the first time!

What we’re eating…for Asher, still milk and still mostly about every 2 hours throughout the day except for one longer nap in the afternoon.  For the rest of us, we’ve had our share of omelets, sandwiches, pizza, steamed vegetables, quinoa, granola bars, and lots of ice cream!  We ate out at Bistro, Bennigans, Great Hunan, Papa John’s, Papa Murphy’s, Jimmy Johns, and Subway.  I am definitely way more hungry now than when I was pregnant! And thirsty too!

Who we have seen…a lot of people at the baby showers and even more at the Duathlon races!  My brother, Tom, came to visit this last week too!  New places we have been include Bistro, Bennigans, and Discovery school for the races. 

At the last doctor appointment…we learned Asher weighs about 11 pounds.  This was at my 5-6 week appointment.  When Tom was here we did the little scale trick where we hold him and then figure out his weight.  He is probably around 13 pounds right now and seems about 22 inches.  We will find out at the next appointment to see what he really is!