Adalyn Month Fifteen

You have actually been 15 months old for over a week, but it has been a very busy week for me.  I was out of town celebrating my friend Mary's last few weeks as a single woman at Gervasi Vineyards.

Stats:  I sort of delayed this post as I knew we'd have official stats after your doctor appointment on Friday.  You weight 23lbs 6oz (50-75%) and you're 30.5" tall (50%). I didn't get the actual size of your head but the nurse said "you're off the charts".  Still wearing some 12 month clothes and are slowly approaching 18 months.  Your feet are still a size 3 and you're still wearing size 4 diapers.

Sleep Schedule:  You are sleeping about 10 hours each night going down around 8:30 and sleeping until about 6:30 though lately you've been getting up earlier and earlier and won't put yourself back to sleep.  Even when I bring you into bed with us to cuddle, you'd rather climb on us than snuggle in for a few more minutes.  Your typical night time routine begins at 8 with PJ's and a bottle, then we take you to your room where we read a couple stories and put you in your crib with a book.  You put yourself to sleep in a matter of minutes.  Tonight, however is not one of those typical nights.  As I write this, you're standing in your crib screaming your head off.  I've already rocked you once and you just don't want to go to sleep without me there.  I'm assuming it's due to your teething (you're working on a molar the doctor says).

Foods:  Same as previous months except now we see you venturing more towards spicier foods.  This makes your mama especially happy as I love Mexican food.  We've decreased your milk intake to about 16 ounces a day as you've had some constipation issues lately.

Firsts:  You had your first Easter egg hunt which you loved so much.  You would spot an egg and make your funny squeal noises and take off after the egg.

Favorite Toys:  Books are still a front runner for you.  You like pots and pans.  You like to throw trash in the garbage can.  You also enjoy your drum stick.   You carry it around and tap on just about everything with it.

This month will be another exciting month to watch you grow as I know at least 2 more teeth are on their way in.  You also will be in your first wedding wearing an incredible adorable dress.  The weather is getting nicer which presents us with more opportunities to play.

-stephanie

Whatcha Wearing?

I apologize for no post yesterday.  Life happened and I just wasn't fully prepared so no post is better than a lame, poorly put together one right?  Well I haven't done this in a while and I happened to be wearing something today that I really liked so I had the hubs stop a shot as I was walking out the door for work and this is what I'm wearing.

Black Trouser pants c/o MJR Sales

Navy Blue Print top c/o Old Navy

Mustard Cardigan c/o MJR Sales (similar)

Rampage black pumps (steal!)

Citizen watch

Please forgive the spots on my pants, apparently I'm being followed by several spirits.

Let's not forget little Miss Adalyn.  She wanted her turn to vogue.

Shirt - Carters

Leggings - Carters

Shoes - Stride Rite

The shirt and leggings are clearly more fall/winter wear but it's been dreary here and she's not quite ready to show off her chunky legs.  I imagine this same outfit will be back this fall as Carters is currently in their spring/summer collection.

-stephanie

What's In the Bag?

The diaper bag that is.  I can't believe I've gone nearly a year since the blog has been live without giving you a peek into what has become my purse.  I fell in love with the Petunia Pickle Bottom bags while I was pregnant with Addie.  I love the versatility and the designs are so hip and fresh so I knew I had to have one.  What I couldn't afford was the price tag.  Luckily, I sign up for the newsletters and announcements and found out they do a biannual sale on a lot of their products.  I got this one nearly 2 years ago for about $85.  If I'd do it again, I would get the newer design with the glazed fabric because you can easily wipe down the bag and you don't have to worry about snags like I do with mine.

At any given point you can find the following in my diaper bag

Diapers & wipes
Change of clothes
Burp cloth (just in case something crazy happens)
Toys
Puffs
Band aids
Bib & Spoon
Book
Crayons

Not pictured
Blistex
Reusable bag (in the event of a poopslosion)
Hand cream

What's in your bag?  Come tell us about it at Toddle Along Tuesday.

-stephanie

Wine Tasting Bachelorette Party

My BFF Mary is not a partier, in fact, she's a homebody.  She hates the bar scene so it's really no surprise she found her future husband at work.  When we were thinking of what to do for the bachelorette party, she quickly decided she wanted to do something a bit different than the typical bar craziness.  She wanted a wine tasting weekend.  After weeks of counting down to a fun girls weekend, Saturday finally rolled around and our fun began.

We all drove up to Canton to meet at the beautiful Gervasi Vineyard where we were found this fabulous entrance.

Our villa, the Sorrento, included a common area and 4 bedrooms with a patio to enjoy in the warmer months.

Gervasi Vineyards has this cute store and wine tasting room on the grounds.  I loved these platters.

 

 Being the responsible crew, we rented a shuttle to take us around the wineries in the area for our tastings.

Our first winery, Maize Valley was probably one of my favorites.  The atmosphere was much more our style.

 

Our second stop was to Winery at Wolf Creek, definitely voted best view.  This is where I would want to hang out over the summer.

Lastly, Perennial Vineyards, by far coolest setting.  We hung out in the Straw Grotto for the last hour of our tasting fun.

And then, the fun began.  We'll leave all that at the Villa Sorrento!

-stephanie

Help Us Out!

Can you spare a couple clicks today?  In order for us to continuing hosting great giveaways, it's imperative that we fight to be in the top 25 on Top Baby Blogs.  Help us out by click the imagine below and the cute owl on the left!

Thanks!
-stephanie

Tasty Thursday: Oreo Truffles

I mentioned last week we had planned and attended my best friends bridal shower.  one of my baking responsibilities was to bring a chocolate related dessert.  Easy enough especially since one of the brides favorite desserts is Oreo truffles.  The wedding colors are gray and yellow so I added a drizzle of yellow icing to the tops for looks.

Ingredients

1 package Oreos

1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened

18oz chocolate

How to Make

Start by tossing the Oreos into a food processor and process down until you are left with crumbs.  With your hands, mix together the softened cream cheese and Oreo crumbs until fully incorporated.  Roll into balls about 1 inch in size and place on a baking sheet.  Place into refrigerator for 10 minutes to cool.  Heat chocolate in a mug or dish easy to dip into.  Carefully dip balls into chocolate by using a toothpick.  Place on wax paper and place back into refrigerator for about 10 minutes to set.  

Makes approximately 3-4 dozen Oreo truffles in 1 inch size.

YUM!  We also had chocolate covered strawberries to enjoy!

These are rather easy to make, just a bit time consuming.  You can do these a day or two ahead of a party to save on time.  Enjoy!

-stephanie

First Painted Toes

I painted Addie's toes this weekend with a polish specific for little kids, non toxic and all that goodness!

-stephanie

A Day in the Life with a Toddler

A day in the life of Addie.  Each day is usually the same. We like to stick to a schedule but we occasionally shake it up a bit and add a new activity or trip.

6:45am - Addie begins waking up.  It usually takes her about 10 minutes to fully wake and I can usually find her standing in her crib whining to get picked up and cuddled so she can finish waking up.  Sometimes we find her like this, though she's fully clothed.  The picture below was after a nap.  We change her diaper and get her into some clothes and then head out to the living room where she plays and I cook breakfast.

7:15am - Breakfast is served!  We typically give her eggs, toast, and some type of fruit followed by water in the sippy.  She makes a terrible mess and enjoys every minute of it.  She's an incredibly slow eater as she loves to play with her food.  It takes any where from 15-30 minutes for her to finish a meal.

7:45-10:45am - Addie plays in the living room with all her toys.  She scatters blocks, books, baby dolls and anything else she can find around the entire living room.  She's pretty content to play by herself but often times wants us to play with her.

11:00am - Addie starts to get fussy and ready for her nap. A bottle is prepared for her and she snuggles with me to drink it.  Yes I said a bottle, she hasn't figured the sippy thing out quite yet.  We're working on it.  She continues to play for a little while and then we read.

12:30-2:30pm - Nap time.

2:30pm - Addie wakes up and is ready to play.  She usually has a small lunch or a snack.  And we begin playing again.  On Saturday's or Sunday's we may go to the park to play on the slides and swings.

5:00pm - I'm preparing dinner while Addie plays with Rick and Chloe.  Sometimes she comes into the kitchen and stands between my legs to "help" out.  

6:00pm - We watch a little tv.  Addie does a little dancing.

7:00pm - We read books until Addie gets cranky.  If it's bath night, she enjoys 15 minutes of water fun before we get into jammies.

8:00pm - Addie brushes her teeth and gets her last bottle before bed.  She's awake but tired and goes down with a sound machine, the Fisher Price seahorse, and a book.  Within 15 minutes she's asleep.

It's a busy day with a toddler.  The house is usually unorganized and needs a spring cleaning that may turn into a summer cleaning but she's happy and that's what's most important.

-stephanie

Creating Pinwheels

I've been really crafty suddenly and I love it.  I was doing a lot of crafts around the end of the year and then I got into this funk.  So when we started planning my friends bridal shower I knew it was the perfect time to get back into things.  Last week I showed you how to create a wedding wreath and this week I'm showing you another project my friend Katie and I constructed for Mary's shower.

Supplies

Double sided scrapbook paper cut into 6 inch squares (found out Archiver's precut)

Scissors

Dowel Rods

Glue gun

Start by choosing the pieces of paper you want to use.

Cut into each corner of the paper leaving about 1 inch to the center.

Begin by folding over a corner to the center and glue down with glue gun.  You'll want to hold down for approximately 10 seconds.  Repeat on each side.

Here is what you're left with once each side has been glued.

Now run a dab of glue down your dowel rod and place to the back of the pinwheel and hold securely for 10 seconds.

Voila!  Done.  You now have a pretty pinwheel.

What do you think?  It's an easy craft with quite an impact at the shower.  Pictures of said shower to come later this week!

-stephanie