Keller is 1 month old!

My sweet baby boy is 1 month old! This month has gone by so fast. Keller is such a strong little man and holds his head up like a champ. He loves sitting up in our laps and looking around. We have been getting some cute smiles from him lately, which absolutely melt my heart!

Nana made this blanket for Keller's bed!

Even though it may not seem like it, he is loving sitting next to his owl. A few weeks before Keller was born, I panicked because he didn't have a special stuffed animal from mommy and daddy. I went to 3 stores before I found this precious owl, which matches his room perfectly!

Keller celebrated his one month birthday by a visit to the dr's office for his first cold. Not such a fun milestone, but I suppose those happen fast when you have a big brother who loves to give sweet kisses...and doesn't understand hand washing importance.

At one month old, Keller weighs almost 12 pounds! He is sooo long and is already too long for many of his 0-3 month outfits. He eats every 3 hours during the day and will go 4-6 hours in between feedings at night. He does great sleeping in between feedings at night so far...let's hope that continues!

We love you, Keller!

Lovin' on Keller

We have all enjoyed loving on Keller. He is such a good cuddle buddy and he's so cute, it's hard to keep our hand off of him! Here are a few pictures of us getting some Keller time...

 Thanks, Aunt Kristin, for editing these precious pics!

Merry Christmas!

We enjoyed a low key Christmas this year. We spent Christmas eve hanging out with our baby boys. We read "The Night Before Christmas" together before Hayes went to bed. Of course, Ryan had to tell Hayes all about the man who was going to sneak into our house in the middle of the night. Hayes went to bed saying "No no, Santa. Outside." Nice, Dad. Real nice.

Santa didn't follow the instructions to stay outside, thank goodness. If he did, the boys would have missed out on some fun presents!

Hayes's first words on Christmas morning after "no no, santa. Outside" were "Elmo!!!"

Keller slept through the festivities.

Hayes enjoyed opening presents from Santa, mommy, daddy, and all the grandparents.

The weekend after Christmas, we traveled to Delphos to celebrate with Ryan's family. I was a bad mom...no, I was a busy mom...and didn't take pictures. But we had a great time hanging out with family and meeting our new nephew, Callen, who was born the day before Keller.

Our Christmas was perfect and we are so glad we got to enjoy it with our two sweet boys! We hope yours was wonderful!

Black Eyed Pea Dip

This dip will knock your socks off, guaranteed. I found it here.

{Black Eyed Pea Dip}

1 onion, chopped

2 tbsp butter

1 16oz can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1 14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1 tbsp parmesan cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayo

1 envelope buttermilk ranch mix

1 cup shredded cheese, I used colby jack

Melt butter in a cast iron skillet. Add onion and saute until golden. In a bowl, mix sour cream, mayo, and ranch mix. Add all remaining ingredients and sauteed onions and mix until combined. Pour it all back into the cast iron skillet and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Enjoy!!!

Organize my life!!!

New year...new family member...new organization system needed! I'm not sure if this is a resolution...or post-baby nesting. Regardless, I have had way too much fun organizing a binder to organize my life and home.

I've pinned a few organization printable links throughout the last year and I decided it was time to do something with them. I spent all day organizing my binder in between feedings and naps and I am super happy with my new system! I am going to share my home binder with you as well as links to the printables I used. I designed this based on what our family needs and my personal preferences.

Section 1: Monthly Finance Planner

I like to organize my finances by month on a full calendar. I like being able to see easily when paychecks are coming and bills are due all on one sheet. I used these printables for this section. Because I like pretty pens and because I do have some OCD tendencies sometimes, I color code information I put on my calendars. Bills are in blue, Ryan's paydays are in green, and mine are in pink. Once a bill has been paid, I cross it off. I use the pocket on the divider to keep our non-normal bills in (hospital bills, speech licensure bills, etc.) The rest of our statements get filed.

Section 2: Weekly Planner

In this section, I have a sheet for each week. I found this printable that I love! The sheet is divided into daily sections with extra spaces for food, activities, and a weekly to-do list. I really like this feature to keep up with dr appointments, play dates, etc. I am also using these sheets for weekly to-dos, like scheduling appointments, sending thank yous, etc. I also created an "on-going to do" list for this section. This list is for projects that we want to accomplish eventually, but aren't urgent (paint fireplace, buy new entertainment center, etc.).

Section 3: Cleaning

Don't laugh! But keeping up with your house can be tough with one kid. And then came #2. We stay on top of the obvious, but I feel like we could use reminders for the smaller things. I like the idea of staying on top of all cleaning on a weekly basis so that there is never a "oh my gosh I'm freaking out because we have friends coming over and the house is a mess" situation. Not that our friends would care if our house was super messy...we do have two small children, after all:) I didn't like the printables I found, so I created my own. I have a different list for each day of the week. There are a few chores that are on every day: dishes, toys, kitchen counters. I added 2 extra cleaning tasks for each day so that the cleaning is spread out throughout the week. I also added extra tasks for each weekend of the month to spread out the deep cleaning tasks, such as baseboards, vents, blinds, windows, fridge, etc.

Section 4: Menus

I plan a menu every week for our family to make grocery shopping easier. My plan for this section is to record several weeks of menus so that I can look back for easier menu planning in the future.

Section 5: Coupons

I get so many coupons each week from stores that we actually shop at often...and they always end up in a pile shoved somewhere in the kitchen. Now they are easy to find and out of the way!

Section 6: Special Dates

In this section, I have all family birthdays and anniversaries recorded. I can be pretty awful at remembering dates..so this makes it easier. I also printed the "what we did" monthly sheets from these printables for this section. This will make keeping up with the boys' milestones and fun family memories easier.

Section 7: Fitness

This binder was my workout binder...so I just kept all of my workouts in the back for easy referencing.

So, there you have it! My organization binder! I love it and am super excited about using it. I started this post about 2 weeks ago and have been using my binder lots in the last two weeks. Hope this post helps you if you have a goal of organizing this year too!

Top 10...back again!

1. I decided that my maternity leave included taking a break from blogging. I decided that after I missed several weeks of Top 10s...

2. Now that my "blog maternity leave" has ended, I have several posts in the works...hopefully they will come out this week!

3. One of my posts is about my latest project...my home organization notebook! Yep, I made one. And I loved every second of putting it together. I'm that girl.

4. When Hayes was brand new and tiny and nursing multiple times throughout the night, Netflix was my best friend. My new nursing best friend? My Kindle. I've read 18 new books since Keller was born. And I am so not ashamed of it.

5. I made Black-Eyed Pea dip tonight. It rocked my world. I will share the recipe later. And you will thank me. You're welcome in advance.

6. Seriously ready to lose the last of this baby weight and get this body back in shape. Guess I shouldn't make the Black-Eyed Pea dip anymore...

7. Is it strange that Ryan and I have already had a conversation about boy names if we have a third child and it's a boy? No? We didn't think so either...

8. Tomorrow is Day 1 of Hayes's transition to the 2 year old room. Why are my babies growing so fast?

9. For all friends who have had babies, are currently pregnant, or like a good laugh...go to the
 Pregnant Chicken. She is hilarious. Check out the "Best of" posts...and laugh your face off.

10. I have this friend. She's actually more than a friend. When I was at my lowest point in life, she was the one person who wasn't afraid to call me out and help me find myself again. Some of my most favorite memories and most entertaining stories involve her and adventures we had during our college years. She is my prayer request this week. I pray that she sees what an incredible person she is and that God's plan for her life is revealed sooner rather than later. And I wish I lived closer so we could sneak off to the TAC parking lot and finish off a king cake together;)

The Liebster Award...Part 3!

 

 

Yeah, I know. I'm a little behind on completing this series. Been a little busy having a baby and whatnot. So...here it is...better late than never...The Liebster Award Part 3! I will announce my 11 nominees for this award and give my 11 questions that they must answer.

 

 

 

Because it has been so long...Part 1 and Part 2 of The Liebster Award series...

 

And my 11 nominees are...

 

 {Pampers & Polaroids}

This is a blog written by my sister, the person who makes me laugh so hard I pee my pants. It has been 6 months since she has blogged, really Kristin?, but maybe this will inspire her to write a little something. Kristin is quite the budding photographer and has some pretty cute kiddos to practice on, my nephew, Brady, and my niece, Tenley Kate. And Tenley is named after me, no matter what Kristin says. 

 

{Confessions of a Font Snob}

This blog is written by my sister-in-law, Kristie. As the blog name states, she is a font snob. She also has a deep appreciation for grammar and fashion. She is the mother of my adorable niece/goddaughter, Landen, and my cute nephew, Callen. Fun fact, Callen was born the day before Keller!

 

{The Martin Family Times}

I have known Lindsey since elementary school. She shares adventures with her beautiful family on her blog. She is super crafty and creative and we seem to pin many of the same things on Pinterest. She's pretty much my soulmate friend:)

 

{Bad JuJu Beans and Other Life Stories}

My girl, Michelle, is the author of this blog full of family adventures including the good, the bad, the ugly, and the highly entertaining. We worked together at the Log Cabin in college. Doubt my dancing abilities? Ask Michelle. She will vouch for me;)

 

{Happy Healthy Kate}

Kate is an old friend from high school. We played soccer and "ran hurdles" together. Kate recently started this blog to talk about her pregnancy struggles and her journey to becoming a mommy. Soapbox moment...getting pregnant and staying pregnant isn't as easy as everyone says it is. If you are one of those people who hasn't had problems, good for you. If you are one of the people who has struggled, you aren't alone. I may have 2 healthy boys now, but our road to parenthood wasn't perfect and certainly had heartbreak. I love that Kate is speaking out about this topic and is willing to share such a personal piece of her life. There aren't many things that will break a woman's heart more than pregnancy struggles.

 

{Hoot Knows}

I think I have literally known Brooklyn for forever. She is one of the first friends I remember...good ol' church daycare! I love reading her blog. She shares random life adventures and thoughts...and jokes:)

 

{Keep Your Face to the Sunshine and You Cannot See the Shadow}

Brittany and I took dance together as small children...her mom was the teacher:) This blog is about Brittany's super cute boy, Braylon. Braylon has been diagnosed with Dandy-Walker Syndrome. Brittany's strength and faith are inspirational. I know that God has great things in store for Braylon!

 

{My Awkward Amusement}

Megan is the author of this witty, little blog. I'm glad I am just now doing this post, because I just discovered this blog last week. And I laughed so hard reading her posts. So now, I share good laughs with all of you.

 

{My Small Moments}

Heather is one of my sorority sisters. She is a mommy, teacher, and wife. She has an incredible faith which guides everything she does and I love reading her posts! And her daughter is insanely adorable.

 

{The Jarvis Journals}

Jennifer is another sorority sister and a mommy to two beautiful red-headed babies. I love seeing her family adventures! It's crazy how much we've grown up since college;)

 

{Loving Lee Family}

Hannah is a college friend and another Log Cabin alum. She has a beautiful family and her most recent addition was born 10 days after Keller. Hannah shares her family's adventures and her faith in this blog. And I wish we lived closer so she could inspire me to run!

 

The rules, should you be nominated:

1. If you were nominated, post 11 things about yourselves.

2. Then answer the 11 questions that the person who nominated you created.

3. Create 11 more questions to ask the bloggers you decided to nominate.

4. Choose 11 bloggers to nominate with less than 200 followers.

5. Make sure and let these people know you nominated them! No tag backs, so don't nominate someone who nominated you.

 

11 Questions:

 

1. How do you know me? Share a fun memory, the story of how we met, or a fav post from my blog:)

 

2. Name 3 things you love about yourself.

 

3. We all have that one topic that sends us straight to our soapbox...what's yours?

 

4. What is the best gift you have ever received?

 

5. What is your favorite tv show/movie and why?

 

6. What is your favorite/signature dish? Share the recipe!!

 

7. What were your thoughts when you first met your other half?

 

8. If you had to punch a company/business in the face, who would you punch?

 

9. What is your guilty pleasure music/artist/song? You know, the one you listen to when you are all alone...

 

10. Best party you have ever been to...whether it was impeccable execution of a theme or fun times with fun friends, share a memory.

 

11. If you could have your own tv show, what would it be about?

 

Congrats to the nominees! I can't wait to read your posts!