Gorge Fest

I know everyone is sick of Thanksgiving posts out there in blogland, so just feel free to skip mine today. We waited 2 days after the actual holiday this year to enjoy a meal with my brother in town, so we're a bit later than normal.

On the actual Thanksgiving day, we watched the parade, moved around the basement stuff (we're getting it finished this month!) and did some shopping. Then we had our friends over for a mini 'Friendsgiving' with desserts and drinks. The kids played and the adults enjoyed pumpkin martini's and sweets. Perfectly cozy.

2 days later it was on. My brother came into town and the gorgefest started. I was pregnant last year and that means I wasn't watching my calories and had already been eating more than normal. The Thanksgiving feast was good, but this year it was MUCH better. When you're counting every calorie, having an entire day dedicated to eating is THE BEST. I made wayyyyy too much food for the 4 of us and we had tons of leftovers. We missed being with our parents and other siblings, but at least having my brother in town made it a little bit more family-ish.

We ordered a roasted turkey through our church this year and I made my first batch of deviled eggs. I have no clue why, but either my mom or Derek's mom always ends up making them for meals and I never have! We gave Drew an entire turkey leg to gnaw on...

I think it's quite funny how I didn't attempt to do my own turkey but still end up setting the smoke alarms off. Stupid juice dropping onto the bottom of the oven causing smoke. It was all delicious and a perfect meal though!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving also!

Ady // 4 Month Update

So this month you started daycare and it was SUPER hard on me. I thought because I had been through it with another child that it would be easier, but it most certainly was not. A lot of tears were shed and I miss your face so much during the day. Each day has gotten better, however, and it makes me appreciate evenings and weekends that much more. Also, you've giggled a few times this month and are always smiling. Love you baby girl!

Stats:
Weight: 16lbs 12oz (88%)
Height: 25in (78%)

Sleep: Still so thankful you love your sleep like mommy. One or two days a week you'll wake up around 4 or 5a for a nursing, but generally you are asleep by 8 or 8:30 and I have to wake you up for school around 7:15. Two nights ago you even slept near 13 hours without waking! Naps at daycare aren't really scheduled but you take generally 2-3 snoozes a day. 

Eat: Still 100% breastmilk again but tons more bottles now that you're at daycare. You hardly spit up at all anymore and weekends are my favorite because I get to nurse you all day long. (I hate the pump!)

Diapers: We're still about 90% cloth and 10% disposables. Right now you're wearing FuzziBunz size small. 

Clothes: You can still fit in a few 6 month outfits, but really you're fitting better in 9 months depending on the brand, mostly due to cloth diapers taking up more room!

Talk: You still love to talk and the girls at your daycare mention how you're always having conversations with them. I absolutely melt at the sound of your voice.

Other: You still use a pacifier, but only for naps and at nighttime. I would consider you an easy-going baby just like your brother and am so thankful for that. This month you found your thumb, but not for sucking, just for chewing thank god. I sucked my thumb until I was 9 so we're trying to pull it out of your mouth when we see it. I'm pretty sure you are already teething considering Drew had 2 teeth already by this age! 

Freshly Picked NEW Giveaway Winner!

Unfortunately the first winner never reached out to me to claim their prize so another one has been chosen! 

Congrats to:

HEIDI

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Just like before, you have 48 hours to contact me via email at ourjourneyblog08@gmail.com to claim your prize!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Crocker Park Tree Lighting

I'm a sucker for traditions this time of year. Period. From specific foods, to certain decorations to outings, there are just things that make my favorite Holiday even better. One of those in Cleveland is going to see the lighting of the Crocker Park Christmas Tree and Santa's arrival. We've been for the last 4 years in a row and the songs and fireworks make it spectacular. This year the weather wasn't too cold, thankfully, or Ady and I would have watched the show from inside a store while the boys braved it outside.

New this year was Santa being shot out of a canon into a red net. Santa must be super athletic to be that old and able to do that!

Obligatory family picture in front of the lit tree. Unfortunately it's absolutely terrible as I picked the one person who didn't know how to use a camera and we had to use the flash. Ugh. Oh well...it's the memory that counts, right?

You can see previous years here:

2011         2012           2013 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Freshly Picked Giveaway Winner

CONGRATS TO:

BRIE L.

(You have 48 hours to email me at ourjourneyblog08@gmail.com to accept your prize before another winner is chosen!) 

And thanks to all who participated in this awesome giveaway!

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That Time That God Didn't Listen

First things first, have you entered my Freshly Picked Giveaway for a free pair of moccs in the color of your choice?!

These shoes are genuine leather, last forever and are SUPER adorable on little baby/toddler feet!

As we near Thanksgiving, we have so much to be thankful for, but I wanted to take a minute and say how thankful I am that God didn't listen to my prayers. 

Huh? you ask. 

Let me explain. 

Over the past couple of years, whenever we discussed having another child, I would only see our family with 2 boys and I wanted that. Derek and I even went as far as trying old wives tales of how to conceive a boy. When we found out we were pregnant, I remember telling everyone that I didn't care if it was a boy or a girl, just a healthy baby. But my good friends knew that I kinda would have loved another boy. You see, I was terrified of girls. Partly because of the drama they bring and partly because my mother and I butted heads for years and still push each others buttons to this day. I also felt like I knew how to parent a boy and was meant to be a 'boy mom'. Oh and the color pink is not my thing.

But then we found out we were having a girl and I shed a few tears about how God didn't listen to me. {Don't judge}. Obviously I was beyond happy and thankful for a healthy baby growing in my tummy, but inside I was terrified. It sounds so selfish and trivial and stupid, but hey, I'm being honest. As months went by, however, I began to fall in love with the girly outfits and frilly accessories.

Then in late July, this face came out and greeted us with instant love. 

She was beyond beautiful and has been nothing short of an easy, go-with-the-flow baby. Our bond was immediate and much stronger than I could have imagined for something I was so terrified of. I can't imagine life without this little girl and the thought of dance recitals and ponytails makes me smile. She is my ladybug and I feel unbelievable guilt for wishing for another boy.

I know someday Adalyn might read this and I'm ok with that. I want her to know that sometimes things don't work out how we wished and they end up being for the better. God knows best. Period. I want her to know I'm SO thankful for her and I'm especially thankful that God didn't listen to my requests.  

Freshly Picked Moccasins GIVEAWAY!

EEEEEK!!!! It's here! My most favorite giveaway to date and I am beyond excited. If you have a baby or toddler, boy or girl, you don't want to miss this one!

Ady is quite excited as well...

I've been eyeing these moccasins for a couple of years now and once I found out I was having a girl I knew I'd have to have some. When Freshly Picked emailed me about sponsoring a blog post I about fell out of my chair with excitement. Ady has been wearing the color 'blush' for a few weeks now and I absolutely adore them. They stay on, fit very well and I love how they look. You can see all their colors online here and I already know which colors we'll be asking for at Christmas!

Here's some tidbits of information for you: Back in 2009, Susan Peterson, the founder, scraped up enough dough to make a few pairs. Fast forward to now and after being on Shark Tank and gaining so much notice, the FP brand is officially the hottest footwear around! Prices generally range from $45-$60 but the fit is amazing and they hold up super well. But beyond moccasins, they also have keepalls and carryalls, both in leather and in coordinating colors. Who doesn't love supporting small businesses and especially those started out of blood, sweat and tears?!

So now the fun part for YOU! Susan and her team at Freshly Picked have decided to giveaway a pair of these amazing moccasins in the size and color of your choice to a reader of Our Journey! Simply enter below for your chance to own a pair of their moccs! Winner will be announced on Tuesday, November 25th.

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Terms and Conditions: Winner will be determined at random using Rafflecopter and will have 48 hours from the time of the announcement to contact Sarah and redeem their prize. The giveaway begins Tuesday, November 18th at 1:00am EST and and ends Monday, November 24th at 11:00pm EST. Winner must reside in the US and can not have won any other giveaway including a pair of Freshly Picked moccasins within the last 60 days. Subject to all federal, state and local laws/regulations. Neither Our Journey, Giveaway Sponsor, nor any giveaway affiliates will have any liability whatsoever for any injuries, losses or damages of any kind caused by any giveaway prize or resulting from acceptance, possession, use and/or misuse of any prize or participation in these promotions. All opinions are 100% that of Our Journey. 

*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, brought to you by Freshly Picked. I was not financially compensated, but did receive an item for review. All opinions, however, are 100% mine! 

Goodbye Mimi!

I'm not ready to go back to the real world. WAHHHH!! After 3.5 weeks of having Mimi here, we're back to just a family of 4 starting tonight. It's been awesome having Ady here at home while I work and all the meals Mimi prepared were, of course, delish. And on top of that, she cleaned the house, changed diapers, folded our laundry, read to Drew at night, babysat when I had photography sessions and so much more!

Thanks again for all the help and company over the past few weeks... it's going to be greatly missed!!! 

XOXO

Fun at the Firehouse

One of our first friends in our new neighborhood (is it still 'new' a year after moving in?!) is a firefighter and I figured someday Drew would enjoy a firehouse tour. Well this past weekend we made plans to visit him at work and Drew soaked it up, even sporting his fireman jacket!

... however, the first few minutes were as I expected and the picture below perfectly captures that time. He was super inquisitive, but from a distance. Our firefighter friend told us this happens a ton as they are overwhelmed with just how massive the trucks are. I could tell he wanted so badly to get up close but we didn't push him and let him warm up for a bit.

But then, he dove right in. We held axes and hoses and played with hats and jackets. Even Mimi got in on the fun!

Drew even got a personal ride up the ladder, followed by an overly excited 33 year old climbing up as well.

After some more front seat driving with his girlfriend Layla, it was off to Chick-Fil-A for a lunch date.

Thanks again Captain Mark for the personal firehouse tour... Drew will be talking about it for weeks!

Five on Friday

Haven't joined this party in a few weeks so here we go!

1. GET READY. I have an AWESOME giveaway coming within the next couple of weeks that I've been dying to get going. It's been in the works for months, but I had to wait until Ady could fit into hers to get some good pictures. Let's just say it's a hot, hot, hot brand for babies and toddlers that you won't want to miss.

Want a clue? Their logo is a feather

2. Next month is December and that means 4 things.
              A) My favorite Holiday ever
              B) DISNEY WORLD! Derek's parents are taking the entire family down there and I can't. freaking. wait.
              C) We get to see our Florida besties and go out with them for New Years Eve! So pumped for free babysitters (the in-laws) that evening as well as the next morning. #lushes
              D) My mom's banana bread. It's THE best and I make like 15 loaves a year for friends/neighbors/teachers!

3. Derek's mom leaves in one week meaning Ady starts in the nursery right after that. So NOT looking forward to the next 2 years of sickness with a daycare baby and will miss having this face at home with me while I work.

4. Dates, dates and more dates. Derek and I have enjoyed a good amount of kidless time together while Lesa has been in town. We've already seen Gone Girl (AMAZEBALLS) and are heading to Interstellar on Tuesday when we both are off work! We went out for drinks with friends last weekend and tonight we're heading to dinner and drinks with more friends. But really.... I'd say the kidless Target and grocery shopping trips have been the best.

5. This one. I just can't anymore. She's stinky and annoying and pees and pukes all over. She makes my blood boil when she barks and wakes napping kids or eats pacifiers.  Anyone want a free 12 year old dog? She's great with kids but will drink the water out of your toilets and then pee it all over the house.

Wordless Wednesday

I lied. There are some words. And it involves bragging on this one. She had slept the previous EIGHT nights for 10.5-12 hours each night straight! Helllooooo awesomeness. A couple nights it was a struggle to get her down, but she'd be asleep by 9-9:30 and not getting up until 8a-9a!

.... but then I jinxed myself by starting this post and last night she was up at 3am again AND wouldn't go back to sleep until 5. Oh the joys of having NO clue how the night will go.

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

Halloween Fun

Halloween isn't even one of my top favorite Holiday's, but Drew ended up being in his costume a total of 4 times and we had several outfits for Ady! Last night was trick or treating in our neighborhood and Drew scored loads of candy for us to eat.

But backing up a bit, on Wednesday night we carved our pumpkin along with the rest of America. Ady even helped to scrape out the goop.

Then, we had our Halloween fashion show! 

That left sleeper with the pumpkins all over it was the very first thing Derek and I purchased for Ady the week after we found out that we were pregnant. Little did we know that we would have a 9 pounder and should have gotten the 6 month size instead of 3 month! 

Hope you had a great Halloween as well!

Mimi's Musings

As I mentioned before, Mimi is in town for almost a month to enjoy spending time with these two...

It's funny how when others find out that my mother-in-law is staying for that long, the normal reaction is a huge gasp. Apparently not too many people get along with their MIL's which is quite the opposite as us. I feel very lucky to have a great MIL that I love very much! (.... even if she does let Drew get away with whatever he wants)

It's been nice having Ady here at home while I work so that A) I don't have to start pumping yet and B) I get to hear her 'talking' throughout the day and see her smiles whenever I want. We've also enjoyed having Mimi around for the neighborhood Fall Fest and Crocker Park Trick or Treating.

A visit from grandparents isn't complete without some tracing and drawing lessons....

And Drew, of course, LOVED baking cupcakes with Mimi!

Next up; Grandpa comes into town tomorrow just in time for Halloween!

Ady // 3 Month Update

The smiles and giggles are what made this month my favorite yet! I love your happy face and watching you stare at your brother melts my heart. It's not as fun working as it is staring at your face all day but at least I get to hear you cooing at Mimi in your room throughout the week for a couple more weeks!

Stats: ...all estimates as we don't go back to the doc until 4 months
Weight: 14lbs 7oz (80%)
Height: 24in (60%) 

Sleep: You still get an A+ little girl. You still go to sleep around 8:30-9p and wake one time and then normally sleep until 8-9a. We even had one day where you slept TEN hours straight this month! When you wake up, you nurse and then we rock you back to sleep anywhere from 30-60 minutes. Naps still aren't scheduled yet but you're still snoozing a bit in the morning, then a good afternoon nap and sometimes another evening quick snooze. You still have a bad startle and we have to pat/rock you back to sleep quite often. You've been in your crib all month though!

Eat: Still 100% breastmilk again with about 95% nursing and 5% bottles of expressed milk. You are still a nursing champ. We had a couple weeks with spit up issues but we have learned to not burp you right away and you haven't had as many issues lately.

Diapers: We're about 90% cloth and 10% disposables. I love your bum in a little pink diaper and we can thank them for no diaper rashes!

Clothes: You're mostly wearing 6 month outfits and sometimes 6-9 only because the cloth diapers are a bit bigger than disposables. 

Talk: You 'talk' ALL the time and Mimi even got your first laugh last week. Since then Daddy also got a small giggle but you have yet to giggle for mommy. Drew loves making you smile and you are just a content, happy baby the majority of the time! 

Other: You've batted at your carrier and playmat toys a few times and are definitely putting toys to your mouth. You still don't mind tummy time, it's just that we have to make sure we don't do it after you ate or you'll lose your meal all over! 

My Last Meal

See... told you this blog would be neglected. There's just.no.time.

Back to the reason for this post. Don't ask me why, but sometimes Derek and I play the 'what would our last meal be if we were on death row' game. Weird? Yes. Ever going to happen? No. But it's fun, so there's that.

Anyway, to break up the posts containing thoughts and pictures only about my kids, I thought it would be fun to post everything that would go into my last meal. We are watching calories right now so it's fun to dream of our faves. I'm sure I forgot to think of something but feel free to play along if you want to!

Appetizers:

Guacamole from Boudro's in San Antonio

Crab dip from Mariscos in Lawrence, KS

Cherry Donut from Westside Market in Cleveland

Sides:

Cheesy Biscuits from Red Lobster

Banana Bread from my mom

Main Course:

1 slice of Chicken Mac N Cheese pizza from Angelo's in Cleveland

Burnt Ends from Oklahoma Joes in Kansas City

Chicken Tetrazzini from Derek's mom

Drinks:

Amaretto Sour from Velvet Tango Room in Cleveland

Cappuccino from Aixois in Kansas City

Sangria from Columbia Restaurant in Sarasota

Desserts:

Chocolate Ganache cupcake from Georgetown Cupcakes in DC

Cherry Milkshake from Fritz's in Kansas City

Chocolate Bag from McCormick and Schmick's

So there you have it. My 9,300 calorie 'last meal'. I'm pretty much drooling as I type this and am craving it ALL now. #fatty

What would be in your last meal?

Goodbye Maternity Leave!

I feel like it was just yesterday that I was going back to work with Drew. I knew that someday I'd enjoy another 3 months away from the deadlines and conference calls and trainings, but it's surreal that my second maternity leave has already come and gone. Just like with Drew I have soaked up every second of it, and enjoyed each week.

Throughout our time together, I took Ady on endless walks and jogs as well as wandered the aisles of Target often. I watched tons of TV during all the nursing sessions and held her while she napped probably 841 times. During longer naps, I spent hours upon hours studying my new editing software all while keeping this blog, our 2014 family picture album and her baby book up to speed. We sat outside together as much as we could to enjoy nature and had quite a few playdates with friends.

What I did most, however, was stare. Sleeping or awake, it didn't really matter. In the first few weeks she would sleep so much that I was able to snooze often with her in my arms. Around halfway through maternity leave we started jogging a bit on our daily walks. I absolutely adore how her eyes would lock onto mine and not look at anything else the entire way. She's been smiling since around 5 weeks, but these last few weeks the smiles and coo's have been out of control. They are so frequent and you better believe I'd sit for an hour and 'talk to her'. The staring competitions was the best part. Who wouldn't be happy staring at this face all day?


Tomorrow is my first day back to work and although I'm ready for the routine of it, I will miss the do-what-we-want casualness of these past 12 weeks. It was so nice just going where we wanted, when we wanted and not having a schedule. Luckily, my mother-in-law is coming in for a few weeks in a few days and I'm excited for that. I work from home and extending the time with Ady around is a blessing. (Oh, and not having to start pumping all the time yet... SCORE!)

So goodbye maternity leave. Tomorrow will be hard, but I'll just consider you and Drew my "rewards" at the end of a workday. And to me, your faces are the best prizes!

Apple/Pumpkin Picking

When it's exceptional weather on a weekend in October, what else do you do besides go pick apples and pumpkins at an orchard? Seems like half the world had that thought as well based on social media these past few days. Our friends invited us to a new place and it was filled with tons of fun for the kids. The best part for me? Kettle corn of course. And kudos to Ady for sleeping in the Beco all 3 hours we were there!

My friend is due in just over a month so we had to take a fun belly pic!

Hope you're enjoying your fall!

GO ROYALS!!

In honor of Fro-back-Friday and the Royals playing tonight, I had to post pictures of my Royals fans. First the husband! Derek has been a die-hard fan since I've known him and never wavered. He's loved the Royals through all of their endless crappy years and has tried to watch all games possible every season. I absolutely hate that we haven't been there for any of these games as this is what he's been waiting decades for. Literally, decades.

For all you non Royals fans, the last time they won the World Series was 1985. And guess who was there? Yep, the hubs. Check out his ticket below.... $40! Bet you they will be between $500-$1,000 now! He was so proud of that jacket that his parents bought him and then passed out from all the fun.

One more picture of my older Royals fan.

And here we are, starting the tradition with another generation. Drew loves his KC team and is a Royals fan just like his daddy!

 GO ROYALS!!!

October

Way back when I started really enjoying taking pictures and studied the art of it, I would have never imagined that I would have an October like this! Right now, I'm sitting at a total of 20 sessions (a few are mini sessions) with inquiries still coming in. I realize this is the month to capture families with the fall colors in the background, but WHEW. I'm going to be one worn out momma by the time November is here.

So, my blogger friends and readers, I'm warning you now that this blog will be somewhat neglected over the next few weeks! With 10 week old, a toddler, a full time job starting back up next week, hundreds of pictures to edit, a house to maintain and a husband to keep happy, there's just no time left to sit down and blog let alone read your blogs! I'll try and post here and there, but come November, I'll be back in full force!

For now, I'll leave you with this sweet face and you can blame her for taking up my blogging time. :)