Monthday Pictures

Now that Luke has reached the six month mark, I thought it was perfect timing to share his monthly photos. I have been taking his photo against a blanket backdrop every month on the 28th (or rug, see November!). The chalkboard is a picture frame with the glass painted over with chalkboard paint. I usually take these photos first thing in the morning since he wakes up so super happy. I sing a lot to keep his attention, and we're usually done within just a couple of minutes. Some months are more themed but I love seeing how much he's grown already!

(October)

(November)

(December)

(January)

(February)

(March)

Many of you have probably already seen these photos on Facebook & Instagram (tawnweya, if you want to follow me there!) but since this blog is also a journal of our life, here you go again! And just for fun, a list of Luke Stats:

Weight (as of 2/28): 18 lbs, 3 oz
Height (as of 2/28): 28" We have another appointment Friday so we'll see how his 'off the charts' height saga continues!
Diapers: Size 4
Sleep: When we started doing more food/cereal his sleeping through the night stopped. Trying to alter our eating throughout the day routine to fix that! He gets a bit of cereal in each bottle too. But he is usually ready for bed between 6 and 7 pm and then up for the day between 6 and 7 am. He'll wake up hungry once between 1 and 4 am. He definitely squirms and slightly wakes up other times throughout the night, but puts himself back to sleep without much noise. When its a hunger call, his cry is loud & keeps escalating til I get there and then slams that bottle down like nobodies business and its back to sleep right away. His best nap is in the morning about one hour after waking up and will last for an average of two hours. Then its shorter naps every few hours, usually about three rounds of this til bedtime.
Teeth: A definite bump on the center of his lower gums. We've had teething pain that lasts only a day here and there. They're taking their time and I get to enjoy a gummy smile for a little while longer!
Movement: Inchworm Master, also a fair amount of planking. Spins around like the hands on a clock and belly slides backward. Gets his knees up without his hands and vice a versa. But he's very happy and proud of himself--and we are too!
Sitting: Hasn't gotten into position on his own, but will sit pretty reliably once set up. He also does a controlled, slow fall (or maybe its a roll?) to get to his tummy when he wants.
Eating: Pureed Apples, Banana, Pear, Prunes, Carrots, Sqaush, Peas, Potato (all mixed with cereal, he's not into heavy flavors yet and likes vegetables more than fruit!)
Vocals: Been singing, squealing, laughing, gurgling, yelling, snorting, tongue clicking, lip smacking for a while now. Found his voice and likes it!
Clothes: 9 months across the board. Getting ready to pull out the 9-12 month stash too. He also really likes just being in his diaper only. Even just taking off his socks is instant joy!
Favorite activities: Chewing on everything, bath time, tummy time, jumpy seat, and just being outside. I've also been doing some sensory exposure: toes & hands in grass or a bowl of uncooked/dry rice and kidney beans. The latter has been hit & miss, some days he loves running his hands through it and other days he gets freaked out. So we're just following his cues on exposure time. He's also Cody's biggest fan when he plays the guitar. Its been helpful for both calming him down at bedtime and also in pushing through a grumpy hour.
Favorite Books: He never complains about being read to, but any book with rhythm is a winner. Cody's grandmother gave us a copy of poetry called 'When we Were Very Young' by A.A. Milne, and its perfect! I also read the book of Psalms to him.
Favorite Toys: He's pretty satisfied to chew on a burp rag honestly. But he also loves gel teething toys, seeing his reflection, crunchy-crinkle books, musical toys and recently discovered stuffed animals (AKA a stuffed burp rag!).

And that's our life in a nutshell! 

Chalkboard Kitchen Door

It's taken a much longer time than I anticipated to roll up our sleeves and dig into adding our own touches to our home. During the home shopping/buying process I picked out color schemes and pinned furniture and layout options to no end. But now here we are nearly two years into home ownership and the bare bones of our home are largely the same as the day we moved in. I don't mean to downplay what we have done: exterior painting, bathroom painting/hardware, and the complete overhaul of Luke's room. Only noticing our trend, our method. Certainly, the financial cost of renovating is a large factor. But I am realizing that even with an unlimited budget, we're just slow movers in our home decisions. As much as my personality is to 'go-go-go', I also have too many ideas and likes and options and daydreams to really make a decision. Meanwhile, Cody is a fully creative man on his own and has lots of ideas too! We could stay up all night talking about landscaping options for the yards and still have confused direction. There are many promises to just sleep on our ideas and wait to see which ones simmer their way to the top as our front runners. There are many days when I get frustrated with our slow approach. I want the dream house now, please! But that's life. And I remind myself that its taken my parents nearly twenty years to remodel their home, and I'm just barely approaching two. 

And further in my mind wanderings, I wonder how much of my personal style is really my style and how much is dictated by whats available on the clearance rack. Realistically, everyone has a budget and even millionaires can't buy the sun and the stars. But I do wonder. At the same time, there is a constant battle within me between Southwestern Hippie and All-American Preppy, style speaking. So I doubt having a larger budget would really get me too far anyhow. I do believe that taking our time has allowed our house to show us what it needs. And I don't just mean upgrading our shower drain for proper drainage! But to see how we live in it, and how that's changed so much already with little Lukester. 

All of this to say, I finally chalkboard painted. I've admired all the glorious blogs and Pinterest boards full of chalkboard wall and door accents. I finally found the spot that felt perfect for me. It took me a while, a long while. But I've done it. And I love it. And I thought long enough about it, mentally listing all the pros and cons (overkill, I know), to be sure I won't regret it!

It took four coats to get full coverage on our white door. Now I'm just waiting and watching for 24 hours for the curing! Really excited for all the fun things we can write on it: menus, holiday messages, prayer/praise requests, etc. And you can count on Cody for coming up with some off-the wall ideas for it too. So far I think I have convinced him otherwise on journaling his many semi-permanent splinters. We may not have the biggest renovation budget but at least we have our humor, right?!

Ins & Outs

I really can't believe March is gone and done! Even harder to believe is my baby turned six months old! INSANE. It's been a really busy and all around great month. We've been starting up lots of projects around the house, and trying to finish other long standing ones too. 

First, we painted the house! We've got some touch ups to do around the backside, but the fronts done! We also scored a free garage door! We'll need to install a motor for it but for now, its much easier to roll up than the old wooden crazy spring loaded door we had before. Win-win. When we upgraded the front door, we also lost our mailbox. Thankfully, I have a stash of things I know will come in handy at some point. And so, a freshly painted home and a mailbox I love. Still itching to paint the front door too!

Cody raced a hare scrambles at Hollister Hills OHV Park. My dad raced as well. Cody's sister and boyfriend also came out to watch, really fun day. Although I can't wait til we can bring Luke along! Emily stepped in excitedly to babysit for us. She even made chocolate chip banana bread for us to enjoy when we got home. Talk about a sweet deal! 

Luke was spoiled once again with the cutest gear for his first Saint Patrick's Day too. Gigi (Great-Grandma) surprised us with a onesie boasting our last name and a shamrock. Brooke gave us the shamrock bib at the baby shower last summer. Perfect combo!

Cody's grandmother just flew in last week to visit with us too! Well, mainly Luke if we're being honest...! Since she was just in time for Luke's six 'monthday' and the ripening of our avocados we smooshed the two events together for an open house over the weekend. It rained pretty hard most of the day so only a handful of brave souls did the avocado picking. We figure around 15 bags were picked, and there's still more to be done when the sunny days return!

Luke with both of Cody's Grandmas!

I went for a little bit of cheesy fun factor for Luke's half birthday. Cody's sister, Sarah, lovingly frosted the cake to my imagination! Thankfully, a few family members echoed the fun and brought gifts & modified "1/2" birthday cards so I wasn't a lonely cheesehead. After the party, we zipped over to Paradise Park for a couple of nights (same place we got married!) and continued the family fun! 

And these are some more pictures of Luke (because I, for one, can never have enough). I took these earlier in the month and IAMSOINLOVE.

I'm pretty sure he's wised up to the camera now too. I feel like common sense would say its too early, but I'm telling you, he knows. In between it all, I'm still working on my quilt! Stitched remnants and broke down a fitted sheet for the backing and then hand tied the sandwich together. I just need to get mentally prepared for the binding now!

Avocado Cilantro Hummus

Its almost avocado season for us again! We were given this great recipe book for what to do with our over flowing abundance of avocados and I made this recipe with frozen avocado from last year. Truthfully, we have become avocado snobs, so anytime I use frozen avocado it has to be enhanced pretty heavily for our now snobbish taste. I feel like this happens anytime you have the real deal, like how home made pasta trumps all? 

Gather:

1 Avocado, chopped

1-15oz can garbanzo beans, drained

4 tsp.Tahini

1/2 cup Olive oil

1/3 bunch of Cilantro

1 Jalapeno, seeded

Juice of 1/2 Lemon

Tapatio, to taste

Salt, to taste

Puree ingredients in food processor. I used a blender since my food processor is baby food sized, I may need to change that. My blender struggled a bit and I ended up adding more oil and tahini to help my blender out. And so my hummus wasn't a true smooth and creamy hummus. It was more of a thick dip. But I still loved and totally recommend it!

Work Wear

I am still easing back into my pre-pregnancy wardrobe, and becoming more ok with not all of it fitting again. I'm pretty sure I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight but my hips man, they don't lie. I definitely had a baby. I don't know how much I weigh, because I don't own a scale--seeing those numbers is a mind game I just don't need to play. I know I'm better off putting my energy to a balanced diet and regular exercise. 

I started taking a quick snap of what I wear to work every morning mostly so I can remember what I wore to work the day before. Amazing the things that get blocked from your memory when life gets full. I didn't plan on blasting these to the internet so please excuse my "no smiling, need one more cup of coffee" face! 

If you think I have style, THANKS :) Here's how I just tricked you into that thinking that was true:

-Start with a neutral, basic top & pants or skirt

-Add something (or two)

My "add something" tends to revolve around chunky sweaters (office buildings are always cold!) and neckwear (scarf or bling). I've amassed a pretty decent collection of sweaters, jackets, scarves, ballet flats and bling. And a lot of it was thrifted, clearanced or clothes swapped. I've learned that a cheap t-shirt looks so much better in a neutral, and to announce my love for turquoise through a necklace instead. Often times I pick my featured accessory first and then I choose what to wear behind it. Think of that piece as art, how would it be featured in a gallery? Choose the background (the rest of your clothes) to enhance it not distract from it. 

And everyday is one day closer to the next clothes swap! 12 more days...!

Making a Quilt (Part 1)

I've finally taken the plunge and started my first quilt! I've been a long time collector/hoarder of fabrics. Most of my stash is cloth napkins and sheets from thrift shops. I knew one day I would get a sewing machine and make good use of them! My parents surprised me with one for Christmas, so no more excuses now!! For this quilt I started off with a set of 12 gingham napkins. I wanted a simple design (aka big, straight lines) and to keep the whole project black and white. So far, I've made my rows (following a loose square in a square design) and attached them to each other. I only get around to working on it about once a week so its a slow process of learning as I go! 

I think its turning out to be too long for a twin size, but not wide enough for full size either. I'll be figuring that out as I decide the size of the border. Instead of coming up with a set plan with measurements, I've just been holding fabric out 'to there' and deciding on the size as I go along! I'm a 'look at the picture, figure it out' type so if you're looking for a tutorial, head to Pinterest. Next up, is the border, backing & quilt sandwiching/binding. I thought I would feel less nervous as I went along, but now that I'm trying to make it look like a somewhat legit finished product I am totally nail biting!

Update: Quilt is complete! Read Part 2 here!

Overnight Breakfast Souffle

A couple of weeks ago, Cody and I hosted brunch for his brothers birthday. Cody's grandma suggested this recipe since its insanely easy to make and most of the work is the night before the gathering. Which means I had time to curl my hair and put on eyeliner day of the party! 

Gather:

5 slices of buttered bread

5 Eggs

1/2 tsp Dry mustard 

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups Milk

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 lb ground breakfast sausage or bacon

(or 1 can of mushroom soup if you'd like to go meatless)

9x13 baking dish

Cube your bread (I used sourdough) and spread evenly in the greased baking dish. Whisk eggs, mustard, salt and milk together. Pour evenly over the bread and sprinkle the cheese on top. Cover tightly and let it sit overnight in your fridge.

In the morning brown the sausage (or bacon) on your stovetop, I used ground chorizo, it smelled & tasted amazing! Especially fitting since I used shredded mexican style cheese instead of cheddar cheese. Sprinkle the ground sausage or chopped bacon on top. If you're going with the meatless option, pour the mushroom soup over the pan just before baking. Bake at 350' for 40 minutes and enjoy! One recipe should feed 10-12, but since our 10-12 includes 8 men over six feet tall and two hundred pounds each, I made 2 batches.