Photo shoot with the littles

PMy moms birthday (and mine, same day!) is coming up! So we decided to do a little photo shoot with the littles for a canvas picture birthday gift for our mom. 

Kristian was not impressed at first. 

He wanted to PLAY at the park not pose for pictures! The nerve! Haha. It was sooo hard getting him to participate. He rather play in the sand and throw pebbles haha! 

We did manage to get some good shots though. 

The kids were adorable!!!! 

Once we went back inside and had a snack it was a little more calmer getting them all together.

21 months old huh 21?

Baby K is 21 months old! I had to count the months over and over and even asked my friend how old her son was because they are a month apart. 21 months old!!! Where are these days going! 

Little man is still in size 18 months and size 4 diapers. Shoe size will be moving up to 5.5 or 6 soon. He's 21 months 21 pounds ha! 

He is learning 1-2 new words a day! He surprises me when I hear them! I always ask who taught him that! ha! Everything he does is so amazing to me haha. He is over 50 words and he is trying real sentences. On the weekend his hat fell and he repeated. Hat,fall, head. Ha! 

He loves to match things. He will find similar looking toys and bring them together. Or if he's reading a book and sees something like a sheep, he will get his sheep toy to read along with him. He started doing this as early as 13 months that I can remember. He would bring the cat flash card over to show Zoe ha! He has a strong personality already! He's smooth and demanding. Loves to cuddle and is sweet but also very demanding. It makes us laugh but also scares us a little because as parents we need to know the balance of allowing him to get away with too much. 

He is still a great eater but gets tough sometimes because he will demand certain things he wants and has zero patience. When he wants ice cream he will repeat it a thousand times and won't give up until he gets it! 

He's always raiding the snack drawer! 

Avocados, sweet peppers, Oreos and ice cream are currently on the fave list.  

At 21 months what do you love to do? RUN the minute you learned to run you ran and still doing just that. 

I found a new big park and it's perfect for you! 

Weekend date night and family fun

Saturday  night my husband and I went out for a steak dinner! We went to a restaurant that has been around for over 50 years. The ambiance was romantic and old fashion as the restaurant is set up inside an old city house. We had a delicious dinner. Escargots, garlic bread and pickled veggies, steak and a baked potato and a nice bottle of wine. 

 

I took a Pinterest inspired fashion tip by adding a lace slip to my dress to add some length and it worked perfectly. 

The Sunday morning we went to Marineland with my brother and his family.

We had so much fun! And the kids loved it! 

Kris was shocked at the dolphins ha! 

We went on some rides and had a great time at the park. 

We even got to see a 10 hour old beluga whale! 

On our way home we stopped by the falls for a short walk. Kristian was so excited and loved seeing the falls.

Jogging stroller success

My little toddler has his days where there is no way he will sit in the stroller longer than 5 minutes. 

I was considering selling my jogging stroller since it was hardly being used for months now! 

But this week alone I got in 3 jogs! Jogging/power walking to parks a little further away. We stop at the park and play which is perfect because I don't feel guilty about making it only about me. We play in the park then jog back home. Perfect! 

I'm not sure how long this will last but I will try and make a routine of it! 

This mama has 20lbs to drop! 

A beautiful emotional day

I've said it before... I stopped really expressing my thoughts on my blog. I keep it light and simple for the most part.  I try not to get too 'deep' anymore. Maybe I don't know what to really say sometimes or maybe a little fear of being judged. Or maybe it's just hard to be so open with personal issues. 

Anyway, today I'm emotional and I'm just going to write from the heart. My father passed away from liver disease and my aunt has been struggling with it now for years.  Yesterday we heard good news about a donor for her.(the second time this year) The family prayed and she was at the hospital with her family prepping this big surgery. I spoke to her and my cousin briefly but I felt the emotions through the phone. The hope, the fear the uncertainty of it all. I went to bed praying for my aunt. I woke up and called my mom right away. The surgery didn't happen. I don't know the details, but I do know my family is heart broken. 

I trust in God. And I trust that everything happens for a reason. 

(Google photo credit) 

I'm praying for the strength of my family. 

Today baby k is still stuffy and we were going to stay home but I thought a little drive would be good. So we went down to the city to visit my dad in the cemetery. Baby k is so young but I feel he understands why we go there. He knows that's 'Nonno' he says it, he plays and blows kisses. I want him to know that my dad meant a lot to me and even though he was far from perfect he was my dad and always always loved us. I have much more good memories with him than bad... and thats what matters. And I know that he is always here for me, even though he isn't here. He was never a candidate for a donor. He never made the list. He passed away at 46. 

So today we just spent sometime asking him to watch over us and pray with us. 

Told you I'm having an emotional day ;)

We ended our morning going to our favorite car wash haha 

and picking up lunch in our old neighborhood.  

It was a beautiful morning. 

Packing snacks for my toddler

When it's time to head out I gather a bunch of snacks and baby k's water sippy cup and head out. 

What does my toddler love to snack on? 

Other than the usual cheesy puffs, goldfish and cheese strings. I like to make little baggies or containers of his favorite fruits and veggies. I have them packed in the fridge ready to grab. Things like sweet pepper sticks, blueberries, cucumber. and throw in a banana or 2 sometimes too. 

Easy and convenient! 

What does your toddler like to snack on? 

Project Paint RED

I've been getting inspired these days to do a little painting. I love DIY projects but I really haven't done much in years! When I lived at home oh soo many years ago haha I painted my own room a couple of times and even made myself a desk ha! 

When we bought our first home 8 years ago it was a fixer upper and I was right in the middle of all the work! Sanding, taking down walls, painting. And helped paint our current home too! Ok the husband did most of it but I helped! 

So painting some furniture... I can do! Well let's see. I picked out some pieces I have around to get started. I have soo many ideas! 

Picking a color was tough. At first I was going to go with grey, it's safe. But then I thought, I need a little RED in my life ha! 

So my ideas are: 

Getting some RED going on in our home by painting a black vase red! 

Painting a black chair red to use as a flower pot in the front yard. Pinterest inspired. 

Painting a wood stand red and adding chalk board paint to the top. Fun! 

And I want to paint half of baby k's little table with chalkboard paint too! 

Eee! First step I'll need to buy the tools and prep! 

If this all goes well.... Well, I have soo many more things in the house I want to paint and change up haha! 

Hot week!

This week was super hot and humid! 

Finding things to do with a toddler without spending too much time outside at once was hard.

We went to a new playland with a friend. The kids loved it! Watching them climb up stairs and climb over things being brave was so cute to watch. 

I made homemade juice Popsicles which kept us cool too! 

We also went to the splashpad for some fun too. It was fun until a little boy about 6 years old came and starting kicking water in Kristian's face until he cried. ;( horrible. It broke my heart! Kris was so upset. I picked up Kris and tried to calm him down, but he was afraid to go back in. Boo! 

Next week will be cooler and not as hot and humid as this week whew! We love summer and want to enjoy the outdoors! 

While the husband was away...

Last week we received sad news that my husbands 94 year old grandfather passed away in Honduras. We had a nice family dinner last weekend to celebrate his life.  At the dinner my husband, 2 of his brothers and his dad decided to go back to Honduras to visit family during this tough time. So they booked a flight for Wednesday and he's been away for 5 days! 

5 days just me and baby k. 

The first day was good, I spent it with my sister shopping and playing. Then Thursday morning I woke up really dizzy. Dizzy and nauseous (not preggo) I couldn't even lift baby k out of the crib. I panicked a little, ok a lot. I never felt that before. I called my sister and mom and they rushed over. After speaking to telehealth they told me to get to the ER. So we did. My sister watched the kids (ha! She had her hands full, my cousin went over to help and my sister was able to put her little to nap and then put baby k to nap haha super mom!) 

After getting checked out, they said all seemed fine. But the nauseous feeling still lasted a couple days! I'll be seeing my family doctor tomorrow.

So glad for my family to help in a second when needed ;)

The rest of the days consisted of more shopping (sorry DH ha!) and lots of playing outdoors with Kristian. 

Yesterday was my brothers BBQ birthday party. It was nice, but with a toddler you can imagine I was pooped at the end of the night! 

Today is a beautiful day. Water fun and ice cream all day!