Oh and since I know many of you are likely just emerging from the holiday fog and stopping by the blog this morning for the first time in a while, here are a couple of posts from the past two weeks you may have missed:
- Christmas 2018 (A recap of our family’s Christmas in Florida)
- Top Recipes of 2018
- Top Blog Posts of 2018 (Includes personal posts, topical posts and fitness-related content)
- A Peek into Our Living Room Refresh + Our Fireplace DIY Project
Saturday
Saturday morning our crew was up bright and early! Ryder was up right around 6 a.m. and Chase woke up about an hour later so we had no trouble getting dressed and out the door in time to arrive at Discovery Place in the city when the doors opened at 9 a.m.
As usual, we spent most of our time in the children’s area where Chase ran around and had a blast and Ryder was able to play in the bucket seats at the water table for the first time.
Ryder was also lovin’ his reflection in the floor mirror and it was just too cute!
Apparently he gets as big of a kick out of his crazy hair as we all do these days! Ryder’s newborn mohawk has morphed into some kind of fluffy baby comb-over while the hair on the sides of his head are now wispy and thin so it’s quite the ‘do!
We made it back home to our place around lunchtime and lunch looked like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with carrots and apple slices for everyone… Yep, me and Ryan, too. We don’t shy away from a good pb&j and, honestly, there wasn’t much else to eat because our fridge and pantry were b-a-r-e.
After lunch, Ryan took care of putting Chase down for a nap while I nursed Ryder and set him on a blanket with some toys to play with as I did a little meal planning for the week ahead.
Chase spent a solid hour in his crib and while none of the 60 minutes he spent in his room involved sleeping, a least he seemed to enjoy his “quiet time” with his stuffed animals and books. When he was officially over his crib time, I brought him into Ryder’s room with me and Ryder to do some puzzles while I boxed up some of the clothes Ryder’s already outgrown to put up in the attic.
Once Chase realized Ryan was outside taking down Christmas lights, he thought that sounded like way more fun and peaced out of Ryder’s room to help Dad.
Eventually Ryder and I joined Ryan, Sadie and Chase outside and we all agreed the weather was too perfect not to enjoy a family walk around the neighborhood.
Don’t let Ryan’s shorts and short sleeves fool you — it wasn’t that warm, but apparently you can take the boy out of Florida but you can’t take the Florida out of the boy.
Once we were back home, we put the boys directly from their seats in the stroller into their car seats and headed off to the grocery store for food for the week ahead. I grabbed my grocery list and we left with lots of good stuff, including everything we needed to make burgers on the grill for dinner.
We promised Chase a family movie night earlier in the day, so our Saturday night looked like Funfetti cake on the couch (an impulse buy at the grocery store) along with The Lion King. We fast forwarded through a few parts (let’s be honest nobody wants to see the stampede scene) and also replayed a few parts that Chase loved like the Timon and Pumbaa hula scene. “Are ya achin’… yum, yum, yum… for some bacon… yum, yum, yum.” I seriously love reliving some of my childhood favorites with my kids. Such an underrated perk of mom life!
Sunday
Sunday morning began like most Sundays do around here with breakfast (baked steel cut oatmeal) followed by the early morning service at our church. I had some errands I wanted to run after church so I dropped Ryan off at home with Chase so they could play outside and took a fast-asleep Ryder along with me to do some holiday returns and exchanges.
Ryder and I arrived home to find Chase, Ryan and Sadie running around and Chase testing out his Strider bike.
He’s still trying to get the hang of his bike, but he’s definitely determined to learn how to balance on it!
Eventually we made our way inside and I started what I thought was going to be dinner prep but it ended up being our lunch because it was too good to resist!
I made the Instant Pot Chinese Chicken and Broccoli from Lexi’s Clean Kitchen and it was fantastic!!! I even doubled the amount of broccoli for more veggies (the broccoli cooks down and the recipe is rather saucy) and we loved it over brown rice. Add this one to your must-make list ASAP. You won’t regret it!
The rest of our Sunday included laundry, cleaning up the house and another family walk to round out the evening.
As for today, Chase is back at preschool and Ryder has his 6-month pediatric visit so I’m off to get things moving this morning. I hope you all have a fantastic week!
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Chase’s bike looks great. Already put it on a list for our granddaughter when she’s bigger! Quick question, will he wear a helmet with that?
Yes! He can’t really move well with it yet (never even took his feet off the ground to really “balance” so this was just a trial) but absolutely yes for a helmet!!
Happy New Year! I loooove your fuzzy jumper in the last picture. Where is it from? 🙂
Thank you! It’s a long cardigan from BB Dakota & it was in my most recent Stitch Fix.
The boys are both looking so grown up in this post!! I’m going to do some research for fun indoor activities near us. Your trip to Discovery place always look so fun. Winter can be challenging to keep kids entertained. Cabin fever is real around here in January and a February, haha. Have a great week!!
Such precious boys! The picture of you and your two little guys is my favorite one you’ve ever posted! Sooo cute!
Ryder has such a sweet face and smile!! And Chase looks so handsome and adorable, too. That’s a great picture of Ryan with the boys! So is the one with you and the boys! Sounds like a great weekend 🙂
Crazy baby hair is the best! Our six month old has 2 different hairstyles happening simultaneously: the hair around his forehead does a natural side swoop, but the hair at the top of his head sticks straight up. It always makes us smile.
Isn’t it ridiculous but somehow precious at the same time!? Love crazy baby hair!
I know he’ll probably wear a helmet but I just wanted to add a reminder to have him wear a helmet anytime he’s on a bike! I’m an avid cyclist and head injuries are no joke. Our three year old has a balance bike as well and while she doesn’t yet “glide” and has one foot on the ground at all times, she always has a helmet on. She knows she can’t set foot on her bike or scooter without one. All it takes is one fall and one hit to the head for a major injury to occur. Sorry, this is my pet peeve!
Thanks for the encouragement — we will definitely have him wear a helmet in the future!
I had all of my meals planned out for this coming week, but somehow forgot to plan/shop for Sunday night’s dinner – thanks to your story I made the chicken and broccoli last night and it turned out great!!
Wasn’t it so good!?! A new one for our regular rotation for sure!
I love that you guys watched The Lion King! I try and watch a few old Disney movies whenever I’m around my 7 nieces and nephews. Over Christmas we all laughed like crazy to Robin Hood. Totally forgot how funny that one actually is.
Oh!!! I bet Chase would LOVE Robin Hood!
Love follosing the blog! I would love it if you started sharing your meal plans for the week! I plan the whole week out too and grocery shop for the week. I would love the inspiration and new ideas!
And really love the pic at the water table!
You got it!! I’ll definitely share more of these! I love seeing what other people have planned as well so if you have any great meals you’ve recently loved, let me know!
How do you manage to spend so much time out of the house with Ryder? I have a 4 month old (so it’s so fun for me to read your updates and see what is to come for my girl). But I feel so limited to hour long activities before she gets over tired and falls apart. She has no interest in sleeping on the go anymore and honestly gets so distracted nursing that I feel like I have to be back home for both of those things. Has Ryder just adjusted because of Chase’s schedule? Maybe something about being the second kid? I’d love some tips or tricks if you have any :).
Hi Sally! Right now Ryder is a pretty good on-the-go napper which has made it a LOT easier. This is the total opposite of Chase who would only ever fall asleep in his crib. I’m not sure if it’s because Ryder’s kind of had to learn to be this way or not, but it definitely makes getting out with him easier… However, I know that after 6 months was when I saw more of a schedule develop for Chase and I’m thinking that once that starts to naturally happen with Ryder, we’ll have to be home a lot more for his naps.
Both of the boys are looking so grown these days! 🙁 Time…please slow down! Sounds like a fun week! I love me a good pb&j any day!
What a cozy, adventurous weekend! I love reading these recaps.
I can’t get enough of the pics of Chase and Ryder…. they’re both such handsome little guys!
Have loved your Ninja Foodie breakdown… any thoughts on how it compares to the Instapot? Contemplating something along this line but curious about your option between the two. Love that both are so versatile!
Your cardigan looks so cozy… thanks for sharing the info! XO
I LOVEEEEEE the Ninja so much!!! It definitely does more than an InstantPot — consider it an air fryer, instant pot, oven, slow cooker, rice cooker, etc. in one! If you have any specific questions, please let me know!
All of a sudden your boys look so big!!! Ha I can appreciate the crazy baby hair. My babe has fluffy blonde hair that sticks straight up! I’m thinking I need to hop on the instant pot train. Too many good recipes!
The chicken and broccoli looks delish and burgers sound so good. Does Chase eat the dinners you plan for the week? My son is 2.5 and eats maybe a handful of the meals my husband and I eat. I find myself cooking a separate dinner for him most of the time.
We are absolutely in the same boat! Chase ate burgers with us but opted for raw broccoli, apple slices and a quesadilla over the Chinese Chicken & Broccoli. I try not to stress too much about feeding him separate meals than us on occasion. Have you read The Lean Green Bean’s post about this? She’s a registered dietitian and also doesn’t always feed her kids what she and her husband eat. It helped me feel so much better about this!! –> https://www.theleangreenbean.com/tips-for-feeding-toddlers/
That was an awesome post to read, thank you! I was thinking it would be a great post if you did one on Chase’s favorite dinner combos! It’s always nice to see ideas for the little ones! We seem to get in the same rotation of dinners for my son and variety is always good!
This is semi-related to your comments about the Lion King, but have you checked out a Disney on Ice with Chase yet??!? I just took my 3-year-old over the weekend and it was incredible. I honestly don’t know who had more fun, me or my daughter. 😀 At one point (during the Circle of Life / finale medley) I had tears in my eyes and the mama in front of me turned around and said “I’m glad I’m not the only one crying!” Total nostalgic fun, I highly recommend going if you have the chance!
Love the Strider bikes and the added confidence that kiddos gain from it once they move to a pedal bike. He’s going to totally rip on that thing! One quick suggestion— if Chase is comfortable with it, try lowering the handlebars just a tiny bit. Little ones can feel a little more “in control” that way, but every child is different!
Perfect!! We will try this — thank you!!
Julie, you take such beautiful pictures!! Chase and Ryder are so adorable! It looks like you had a great first weekend of 2019! I always love reading your recaps. Hope you have a great week! Xoxo
First of all, your family is becoming more and more adorable! Second, I know I’ve seen a post about prepping food for the week, but how do you go about meal planning? I’ve found that I’m not very good at it and either over plan and never get around to making all the meals or run out of food early. I could use some tips!
Julie, can I ask where the love knot ring you’re wearing (in the mirror selfie) is from? I’ve been looking for something like that.
It was actually my grandmothers ring. I have seen similar delicate gold rings on Etsy if you’re looking for something similar!