4 Months

Happy 4 Months Krissy!  I've been taking a picture of her (well actually lots of pictures) every 20th day of the month.  Here are months 1-4 :)

1 month old

2 months old

3 months old

4 months old

This month:

• We've started cereal, which she hasn't decided if she likes yet.  
• She still has no desire to roll over, but she is loves "talking" and watching Hayden and Allie! 
• She doesn't mind tummy time, but it usually doesn't last long because she falls asleep.
• Her favorite toy are her hands.  She's just noticed she has toes so I'm sure they will make their way to her mouth soon!  
• She eats 6oz of Gentlease every 3 hours, eats a little cereal around dinner time, and sleeps a solid 12 hours at night.  
• She has been my best sleeper, but my most fussy baby (which is my fault).  I think it's probably because there are two other little people competing for mommy's attention and I can't stop what I'm doing every time she makes a peep.  
• She loves when I read to her and talk to her.  
• I think she looks like a girly version of Hayden. 

January Date Night

Kevin and I decided to make it a priority to have a date night once a month.  He plans the odd month dates (January, March, May... etc) and I plan the even month dates (February, April, June... etc) and we can choose not to tell each other what has been planned.  We were both really looking forward to this date last night!  We hadn't had one since before Krissy was born!

I knew he was taking me shooting, but I didn't know what all he had planned.  He bought me pink ear and eye protection which was my first surprise.  We did our shooting at Strictly Shooting and had a fun time!  (I wasn't a bad shot if I do say so myself).  Then he told me he was taking me to dinner at my favorite place.  I guessed China Bistro and I was right :)  I mealed on some General Tsos chicken!  He told me he had one more thing planned and it was something neither one of us had ever done.  I racked my brain and had no clue what he planned.  He told me he was taking me to an Icemen game.  I still don't understand the game what so ever (like why the guys hit each other a dozen times, but the 13th time ends up in a fight? and why the crowd cheers for fighting when it's frowned upon in just about every other sport? or why the officials stop the game so much?), BUT the atmosphere was high energy and fun!  I think the kids would really love going to a game so we may try to plan that before the season is over (as long as we can distract them during the the "Hey you suck - we're gonna knock the puck out of you" chant...).

Kevin favorite part of the date was between stop 1 and 2.  I was getting out of the car for dinner and something dropped in my boot when I was walking into China Bistro.  I stopped in the parking lot, shook my boot, and out came an empty bullet shell.  He planned a great date night so I have some high expectations to fill for February! 

January's Mid Month Update

Outside my window . . . it's chilly but sunny

I am thinking . . . I'm soooo glad Krissy is past her big growth spurt!  She was waking up 1, sometimes 2 times a night, eating a few ounces of forumla, and we were both exhausted!  My perfect sleeper has returned and I'm thoroughly enjoying my solid nights sleep once again :)

I am thankful for . . . my husband helping out with finances.  He's doing the budget and balancing the checkbook, and it takes a small weight off my shoulders, but also helps keep us both in check with our spending.

In the kitchen . . . chaos is on my counter.  I really do try to keep it cleaned off, but how do people do it?  It's the place we eat, the place things land when they come in from outside, it's where I put the mail, make lists, dry bottles, store baked goodies, etc.  I'm a firm believer that you can NEVER have too much cabinet space! A pantry would be amazing too... if we ever move I have a long "must have" list!

I am wearing . . .my normal/everyday wardrobe... jeans, long sleeve tshirt, and uggs

I am creating . . . a valentines garland, and starting the girls Easter outfits

I am going . . . crazy in anticipation for my sister's next ultrasound!  I can't wait to hear 100% what they baby is! 

I am wondering . . . what kind of tax refund we'll get this year.  A big check would be fantastic.

I am reading . . . Sacred Parenting - our new book for DOK this semester.

I am hoping . . . to get some pictures hung soon!  (I think I've said this before, but I have everything I need to get them hung, just waiting on the urge to get it done!)

I am looking forward to . . . my date night with Kevin later this week.

I am hearing . . . Hayden and Allie playing (aka destroying their room) while the baby naps. 

Around the house . . . things feel bare.  I love having Christmas decor out~! 

One of my favorite things . . . is that Hayden and Allie are at a great age to help out!  We have been playing this new game "mommy says" and they get so into it!  "Mommy says put your socks in the dirty clothes", "Mommy says pick the pillows up off the floor", etc - and when they game is over (everything is picked up) they both get a piece of candy.  We usually play once a day while I'm feeding the baby.

A few plans for the rest of the week . . .DOK starts tomorrow, date night this week (as I said earlier), then the normal grind of cooking, cleaning, hopefully blogging, and sewing :)

Monumental

 

I first heard about this documentary when Kirk Cameraon was on Bill O'Reilly several weeks ago.  I was interested enough to remember I wanted to see the movie.  I forgot about watching it until a friend recommended I see it.  I looked into renting it and realized it's not a movie Redbox carries (yet?).  I ended up buying it from Family Christian Bookstore.  After we put the kids to bed one evening, we turned it on and really enjoyed it!  I was going to try to tell you in my own words what the movie was about, but had a hard time describing it briefly, so just take 2 minutes and watch the trailer below!  If anyone would like to borrow it, you're more than welcome! 

 

Krissy's 3 Month Pics

 I had my very talented cousin, Lacey, take Krissy's 3 month pictures.  Her in-studio pics are unbeatable.  Here's a sample of my favorite pics from Krissy's 3 month photo shoot a couple weeks ago!

I'm a sucker for hand pictures... this time I was prepared and had Hayden's nails trimmed and cleaned, and the girls all had pink nails :)

One of the little outfits we got Krissy for Christmas.  Hayden and Allie both had this pose at the 3 month photo shoots.

Love love love the tutu!

Probably my favorite........

Baked French Toast Casserole

I made this twice in the month of December!  Once was the day after my birthday when we were at Christmas Lake, the second was on Christmas morning.  The cinnamon streusel topping made it super delicious!  You make it the night before and it bakes for an hour the next morning.  I put it in the over before we started opening gifts on Christmas morning, and it was finished as the kids were still playing with their toys. 

Baked French Toast Casserole
The recipe is from The Pioneer Woman
(click the link above and it will take you to the recipe on her website and all her awesome pics)

Ingredients

• 1 loaf Crusty Sourdough Or French Bread
• 8 whole Eggs
• 2 cups Whole Milk
• 1/2 cup Whipping (heavy) Cream
• 3/4 cups Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
• Topping
• 1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1 stick Cold Butter, Cut Into Pieces

Preparation Instructions

Grease 9 x 13-inch baking pan with butter. Tear bread into chunks (or cut into cubes) and evenly distribute in the pan.
Mix together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla. Pour evenly over bread. Cover tightly and store in the fridge several hours or overnight.
In a separate bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add nutmeg if desired. Add butter pieces and but into the dry mixture until mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in a Ziploc in the fridge.
When you're ready to bake the casserole, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove casserole from oven and sprinkle crumb mixture over the top. (If you're using fruit, sprinkle on before the crumb mixture.) Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture. Bake 1 hour or more for a firmer, less liquid texture.
Scoop out individual portions. Top with butter and drizzle with maple syrup.

I used Walmart's french bread both times I made it, but I'm anxious to try it with sourdough bread next time!  I also didn't put butter or syrup on it because I didn't think it needed it!  If you haven't tried this before, plan on making it this month!

Gifts from December

Between my birthday and Christmas, I received lots of great gifts the month of December!  I asked for lots of practical things like my own little tool set to keep in the kitchen, a coat rack, velcro command strips for hanging pictures, but I also got some fun things too! 

Amy gave me three little Willow Tree people for my birthday.  I had a figure that was a mom with two kids, but I hadn't gotten anything new since Krissy was born.  The sweet little set below sits on my window sill in the kitchen.  I absolutely love it!

I had mentioned to my mom before Christmas I'd like a fabic cutting mat and rotary cutter.  I have the hardest time cutting a straight line and that's kind of important when you're sewing.  I was happily surprised to open those two gifts on Christmas!  

Here's some fabric I just cut...

The fabric on the left is the one I cut with the rotary cutter - the one on the right was cut with fabric scissors - what a difference!  Totally worth the investment if you sew :)

Kevin also bought me a gun.  He's taking me on a "date" next week and we are going shooting.  I'm looking forward to learning how to use it!

I got lots of wonderful giftcards, new fiesta, cash - all of which I'm excited about! 

Braids

I love braided hair.  I wish I was talented enough to braid my own, but I'm not.  Allie's hair is just now getting long enough to braid.  I LOVE it!  I love doing her hair.  I love the way it looks when it's done.  I figured it the braids look best when her hari is wet... I just need to figure out how to get her to sit still, and not move her head.... any suggestions? 

A few months ago I spoke too soon, shouting to the world saying, "Allie is potty trained!" - and she was for about two weeks - but she decided she wasn't ready and kept having tons of accidents.  With all the changes of having a new baby, we just put the potty training on hold, and decided to wait till I knew she was ready.  After Christmas proved to be the best time!  We've had lots of time at home and SHE told me she was ready to potty train.  I bought her some new undies to get her excited about it, and she's done fabulous!  No accidents to report!  I still have her wear a pull up to bed, and she hates it.  Hoping the night time wetting stops soon and I don't ever have to buy another diaper/pull up for her!  Way to go Allie!  

Doing her "pose" from behind :)

Resolutions

What were some of your resolutions?  Here are my two...

1. Lose the rest of the weight I gained while pregnant.

I've always ended up joining Weight Watchers to lose my last 15lbs.  I need the accountability.  Right now I have more like 25lbs to lose.  I keep getting random emails from Weight Watchers saying "join for free!" so I think that's a sign telling me I need to get started!

     2.  Learn how to drive Kevin's stick shift jeep.

I was on the verge of learning when I had a bad experience last year.  I was stopped at a red light and when the light turned green I tried to go and couldn't, then I panicked, panicked more, and I just wasn't pushing the clutch in far enough.  The guy behind me honked and was super rude and I've been traumatized ever since.  I think it would be a nice option to take the jeep when I need to run an errand so I could leave Kevin with the "family vehicle" if he needed to go anywhere.

I wouldn't call this a resoultion, but I saw a picture on Pinterest that said "You life happens in an Instagram" and it was a challenge to take a picture every day for a year.. so far I've kept up with it, and you can follow me on Instagram, or look to the right side of my blog and see my latest Instagram pics. :)

Christmas/Snow Pics

Some of my favorite pictures from the last week....

The night before Christmas

Allie loving her baby doll and Hayden loving his Jake stuff on Christmas morning

Maybe next year Krissy will be more interested in Christmas?

Getting hit by a snowball

Sipping homemade hot chocolate