Wednesday, February 27, 2019

The Séamus Weekly - week 31

Oh sweet Séamus these weeks just keep getting better and better.  Y'all that have been reading for a while and know me know that I LIVE for mobile babies...walkers are my favorite but I'll take what I can get.  Life is so so good when the babes hit this more interactive, mobile, discovery phase.  I know lots of people think I'm crazy but seriously it is just theeee best!!  Little Man is also 7 months old and  I just adore him so much!




Eats: now that he's got a taste for the solids that is what he wants!!  He is quite adventurous and I'm thinking that we might have to do this whole baby led weaning thing...which I honestly have know idea what that even means.  What I do know is that he prefers nibbles over pureés.  He's tried lots of new foods this week and I even introduced fruits so...there you go!  He loves french fries, peas, beans, refried beans, pizza crust, banana, puffs, rice, and yogurt melts.  Honestly we've introduced a plethora of new foods, I don't think that I'll be able to keep track much longer.  All that said, he is still a major booby boy.  He is still waking at night for nursing sessions and he has a tooth that is almost there, so I am sure that is why he is wanting extra comfort.


 

 

 Sleep: even with his nighttime sleep interrupted, he sure is getting some zzz's in.  I am working on getting him to settle down at naptime on his own (so that will hopefully translate to nighttime) and peeked in on the monitor one day.  I had to do a double take because just 5 minutes before he was sitting in his crib and then...folded in half.  I couldn't help myself, I just had to go into his room and see if my suspicions were correct and yes they were.  Please look closely and note his toes in the first photo 😍😂.





 Goes: oh my word we went to so many places! Out to eat a bunch of times, to the pool a couple times, to visit Ellie at school, to gymnastics, and the library too.  As usual my little oily babe was ready to go wherever, whenever and aside from some frustrations getting back into the car seat again he was quite the pleasure to do a bunch of running around. 











Does: he sits in the shopping carts now...so I am sure to spray them down with Thieves and will start bringing my Thieves wipes with me too.  He is sitting, rolling, and crawling. Blowing bubbles and raspberries, loving the pool and baths, and will not stay still on the changing pad.  He squeals and shrieks (thanks to Finnley I'm sure) and just has the best little disposition.  He smiles and coos and giggles and plays all by himself.  Sometimes I'll be watching him as he is just sitting there and then he'll get a huge smile on his face and reach out for a toy and I just have to wonder...what goes on in a babies mind for them to just get so excited over something they've been staring at for 10 minutes??


 


Mama: Oh my heart I love this little boy! He is for sure keeping me on my toes and getting into so many things.  I am feeling more and more confident in motherhood and am just loving where we are.  I've also been super busy this last week of February with my business making sure to reach out to my people and support everyone on my team.  I am so grateful for the relationships formed and community gained through doing this business and connecting with like minded women is so so good for my soul.  I am loving the self development that comes along with this business and I just cannot express how grateful I am that I get to do this and share it with all of you!! I cannot imagine what life would be like without the emotional support of our oils and know that they are a huge part of why we are all doing so well in this season.



 Sisters:  not to sound like a broken record but they are both completely obsessed, Finnley continues to push the boundaries of what is considered "gentle" and Ellie has been carrying around little man more than I care to share.  Both of them love being big sisters so much that I am doing my best to not only nurture their bond and relationship with each other but also together with Séamus and individually with him as well.  Ellie got to be Student of the Week this last week and it was so fun helping her create her poster.  She also had Grandparent's Day and Papa drove over to spend a lovely lunch and recess with her too.  Finnley is still doing great at Preschool and is just blossoming when we're out and about and I am just so grateful for our Magic Unicorn Oil roller, without it Finnley would still be in her shell and not enjoying all of the goodness this life has for us.




Previous Weeks:


Finnley at 31 weeks
Ellie at 31 weeks

♥ Ashley







Wednesday, February 20, 2019

The Séamus Weekly - week 30

How has it already been another week?  Sweet Séamus is 30 weeks old and we hit a MAJOR milestone this week!!! Little man can crawl!! Hooray!! I wish I could shout from the rooftops because this is so so good! Mobile babies are my favorite, they keep you on your toes, they tend to be little bit happier because they can get to the things that grab their attention, and they tire themselves out quicker...plus is there anything cute than a crawling little babe? (yes there is...a walking babe 😉)



Eats: little man is getting to try lots of different foods!! It's so much fun, he is figuring it out and actually enjoying trying new things!!  Don't get me wrong, we're just eating solids for fun and still nursing round the clock!  So far some favorites have been: potatoes, carrots, green beans, peas, and bread (croissants, biscuits, sandwich bread...he does not discriminate 😂), he is also becoming more of a fan of the puffs and will go through so many french fries...though I'm not sure how much of them he is actually eating since I find so many on the floor when we're done 🙈.

Sleeps: we were going on a really good stretch for a few days.  Sleeping through the night (my boobs hurt so much in the morning) and they he would also just sleep on the floor.  It was amazing!! then we went over the mountains for the weekend and we're back at square one.  He did start crawling when we came home, so I'm thinking that maybe just maybe I can blame the new found freedom and mobility for his sleep regression...


Goes: we took Finnley to gymnastics, went to a local bookstore to sell a bunch of books and movies (thank you Marie Kondo), we went over the mountains to my in-laws, and out to the library for some play time and crawling practice.  





Does: CRAWLING!!! Oh my heart!! I know he's going to be getting into things a bit more than the girls (he does have my genetics after all 😂) so I might have to start moving some of my decor around and out of the way...I'm all prepared for it, but I've been successful with two babies so far so maybe I'll be able to avoid having to do it with him too...jury is still out.  He is also putting all of the things in his mouth.  Which now that he is mobile means I'm going to have to pull out the Thieves a lot more often - good thing so many products are infused with this powerhouse of an oil blend: thieves spray, thieves household cleaner, thieves hand purifier, thieves dish soap, thieves hand soap, thieves essential oil, thieves toothpaste, thieves laundry detergent...we are well equipped with boosting our immune systems over here.



Holiday: Little man also got to celebrate his very first LOVE day!!  Which was actually quite special since he and I got to have the morning for just the two of us since both of the girls were at school.  We got home from school pickups and had a nice dinner together as a family and continued with some quality family time.


Mama: Thomas and I celebrated 14 years of being together on the 19th.  We went on our first date (to a friends house party and Red Robin) and have pretty much spent the majority of our days together.  It is just wild to think back at what babies we were...I was fast approaching my 21st birthday and he was this funny guy that was best friends with one of my "ex's" and here we are.  So we've been reminiscing about how life got us to each other and now where we are.  The completeness I feel when I look at our family is something I have yearned for.  It's so much better than I could have imagined and I am so glad that everything worked out the way that it did because this season is where I am supposed to be at the age that I am.  Every detail has been planned out so perfectly and I wouldn't change it for anything (well maybe a few key fashion choices...).


Sisters: Finnley is thriving at Pre-school.  Granted she has only been 2 days, she is loving it and doing quite well with the classroom norms.  She adores her baby brother and still continues to burst his personal bubble multiple times a day.  When we ride in Thomas's car, she gets to sit next to him (which requires extra supervision) and I caught them doing this...holding hands and it brought me back to when Ellie and Finnley used to sit next to each other, just the sweetest.  Finnley loves to squeeze Séamus's head, bring him all the toys, and shriek near his face.  She also loves to build houses with her Magnatiles and legos, coloring with crayons, eating paper (yup 😳), and sleeps all night in her bed.
Ellie loves to play with her friends at school but is getting frustrated with herself that she can't read yet.  She told me she has 3 BFF's at school but doesn't know the name of one of them 😂.  She is intrigued with ghosts and zombies but says she doesn't talk about them at school because she just wants to keep that type of stuff at home.  She is excelling at coloring, wants to be a Genie when she grows up and is Student of the Week.  She loves her brother something fierce and now that we occasionally let her pick him up that is all she wants to do...and carry him around too!! It makes my heart skip a beat but it also makes my heart swell because I have a 5 year old that can carry my baby! I mean I only ever dreamed of that!
These three are the best.  I am so grateful for them, my life is so enriched by them.





Previous Weeks


Finnley at 30 weeks
Ellie at 30 weeks

♥ Ashley

Friday, February 15, 2019

Friday Favorites - the middle of February (minimalism, snow, and Valentines)

I have to admit that my heart sank just a little bit when I wrote the title of this post...how are we already halfway through February?  Life and time is passing by so quickly.  This past week has been pretty much a blur with all the snow we've had...so lets get onto some favorites!

ONE

While some people might go stir crazy, this little homebody right here loved that we were snowed in for 5 days!  I loved that we got to be lazy, watch tv, and didn't have to be rushed to get ready and go out somewhere.  I also really loved having Thomas around to be my reinforcement, especially since Séamus was under the weather.  Watching the girls enjoy the snow was seriously the best...although I only made it outside for a few minutes.  Looks like I might need to invest in some snow pants for future snow.









TWO

Y'all I have been on a Minimalist kick since I was pregnant with Séamus and I'm not stopping any time soon.  I have gone down the rabbit hole of Podcasts and I just have to share these two with you.  I'll admit I am super late to the podcast game but I am loving it so very much. Both of these podcasts I've gone and started from the beginning and am bingeing them.  They are both so good and full of some great tips, insights, and ideas that I just cannot get enough of them...I'll be so sad when I'm all caught up!!





 
THREE

We had temperatures in the single digits!! Practically unheard of in the greater Seattle area, so we made sure to build a few fires in our fireplace.  The girls were ob-sessed with it and ran to get marshmallows each time.  Ellie loves toasted marshmallows while Finnley just thinks its fun but won't eat them.  Séamus was quite mesmerized by the fires as well and now that we know how to build them in our fireplace (who knew there were proper ways to build and place a fire in the fireplace??) They were so much more successful than they've ever been.  Last year I had a Chimney Sweep come and he gave me a tutorial on how to build a fire in our fireplace so that we don't smoke up our house...like we had been for the past 8 years 😳.  So now that we know better our fires flamed higher and longer and our house was smoke free...well as much as a fire can be 😉.




 FOUR

My sweet little Valentines!! Oh how I have dreamed for children and making holiday's special.  I'll admit...that didn't happen this year for Valentines Day, I didn't even do any decorating in the house for it!!! I can't believe it.  Not a chalkboard design or a heart in sight! We even forgot about Valentines for the girls classes 😱, thankfully Thomas came up with something late Wednesday night and got to cutting out hearts for Ellie to sign, I followed suit and cut out hearts for Finnley to color for her class.  Regardless, the girls had a spectacular time at school celebrating with their friends and I managed to actually get a photo of all three of them when we got home from school pick up!  Before I forget!! Finnley woke up crying at 4am so I brought her into bed with us and about 5 minutes later Ellie started calling out for us.  So I went and got her and brought her into bed as well.  The four of us enjoyed sleeping in our roomy bed until Séamus decided to crash the party at 4:45am!! So somehow all five of us managed to fit in our bed and sleep until 6:30!! If that was ever going to happen...Valentines Day morning is the day!! Even though we didn't do much for Valentines it was still a sweet time to give some extra lovin's to the babes. 





we love LOVE!!

FIVE

Since we were snowed in, I've been living in some of my favorites that I wanted to share with you.  These house slippers are my favorite, I have two pairs (not very minimalist of me...).  I am in love with these joggers, I have them in green and black. I wore them for most of my pregnancy, they were perfect for postpartum recovery and now they are the easiest things to throw on.  My favorite thing about them...pockets!! I totally underestimated the goodness that is a Nursing Tank. Now that I know, I am on the lookout for some nice ones that don't break the bank.  These ones look great, as do these, and this one is super cute!

SIX

Speaking of Minimalism...that is like my life's mantra right now, I went ahead and Marie Kondo'd my clothes.  Apparently your clothing is the best and easiest place to start.  I put all of my clothes on my bed, thanked (and hugged) each of the pieces I decided to let go, folded up my little tents and put them in my drawers and then hung up the rest.  Even though I reduced by 60% I still feel like I have a lot of clothes in my closet.  I did keep a few things that I don't currently wear #breastfeeding but hope to wear again when my boobs are no longer being used multiple times a day.  It's quite refreshing to look into our closet now and not be so overwhelmed...I just have to bag up all the clothes and actually donate them instead of leaving the gigantic pile on my bedroom floor....








This weekend I'm hoping we can get the girls to the pool!  What do you have planned this weekend?

♥ Ashley


In Case You Missed It:

Séamus turned 29 weeks this week
Valentines Day 2019