Good morning! I hope you guys are all doing well today and I hope my American friends enjoyed some time away from work and the go, go, go of everyday life over the holiday weekend.
Having my parents in town for Chase’s first Thanksgiving has been great! Though my dad is leaving first thing this morning, my mom will be staying through next weekend for some extra grandma/grandson quality time and I am so grateful for her constant help and support when she’s in town.
Having her here allows me to catch my breath a bit during the week when I often feel a bit overwhelmed and stretched to get any work done while home alone with my favorite active little dude.
My mom and I shopped for Thanksgiving staples on Wednesday so our Thanksgiving was solely spent around the house and mostly in the kitchen! The weather was beautiful enough to allow us to spend a few hours hanging out in our backyard, sipping on wine while we waited for the turkey to roast in the oven.
(Pic from my Instagram!)
Dinner was fantastic and I loaded my plate with all of the usual suspects: Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas, glazed carrots, stuffing, pineapple soufflé and cranberry sauce.
Of course I had to go back for seconds of stuffing!
We rounded out the night with two pies: Pumpkin pie and a pumpkin custard pie from Whit’s Frozen Custard. Both were fantastic but pushed me over the edge into OOMPH I’M SO FULL territory, which I’m pretty sure is mandatory on Thanksgiving, so it’s all gravy. (<— Pun intended, naturally.)
The rest of the weekend included more family fun! Our friend Eric (you may remember him from our Ocala days) stayed with us this weekend and arrived after Thanksgiving. While Eric, my dad and Ryan drove to South Carolina to shoot sporting clays, my mom, Chase and I ventured out to Target on Black Friday.
Chase was clearly less than thrilled to be out with the ladies on Black Friday. Check out his face!
We were on a mission to find a bouncy seat or jumper of some sort for Chase since he’s becoming quite the active and wiggly little man. We ended up combining several coupons to get an awesome deal on a Baby Einstein Jumper. Target was surprisingly chill on Black Friday and we didn’t have to wait in line at all to buy his new toy which was sweet!
We’ve been using the jumper all weekend and it is already a huge hit!
He seems to enjoy all of the different toys on the jumper and having his feet on the ground is a treat since Chase LOVES pushing off anything with his feet right now.
As far as activity is concerned, this extended holiday weekend included a combination of rest days, a Burn Boot Camp workout, an at home workout and lots of walks outside with family!
Thanksgiving leftovers made up most of our meals, but we had some pretty tasty brunches as well, thank to wild boar sausage my parents brought with them and a French toast casserole I made one morning.
Since most French toast casseroles require overnight soaking, I just wanted to share this one with you guys in case you ever need to throw something together in a pinch and don’t have time to wait overnight!
I simply drizzled maple syrup on the bottom of a 9 x 13 dish, topped it with a bunch of slices of torn whole wheat bread and poured a mixture of 5 eggs (beaten), 2 cups of milk, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 3 tablespoons tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon of salt over the bread. I then sprinkled brown sugar on the top and baked it at 350 for 30 minutes until it was nice and puffy! (I think it would also taste great with chopped pecans and fresh berries added into the mix.)
Another random highlight from the weekend included our Christmas card photos! You’re probably envisioning something fancy schmancy, but our holiday cards almost always involve either a self-timer, some random photo we liked from earlier in the year or a quick make-shift photo shoot the day I remember we need to put holiday cards together. This year is was all about a day-of iPhone photo shoot on the floor.
I’ll be sure to share the finished product with you guys when we get them in the mail!
And before I sign off for the day, I must highlight one more thing. Chase turned four months old on Sunday!!! I truly cannot believe it. I love that little man so darn much, even if he is totally kicking my butt lately. I’ll get more into some of the challenges we’re facing with our favorite little guy lately in his four month recap post, but all I can say at the moment is all I want for Christmas is a good night’s sleep.
I hope you guys have a great Monday. Thank you so much for checking in today!
***
P.S. Just in case you missed the good deals on Black Friday, Cyber Monday is in full swing today! Here are some more great sales:
Anthropologie: 25% off sale + Free shipping
ASOS: 30% off everything with code BLESSED (You guys turned me onto their adorable maternity clothes and I love their slouchy, oversize sweaters)
Banana Republic, Gap and Old Navy: 40% off everything with code BESTCYBER (This includes GapFit and BabyGap!)
Forever21: 21% off + Free shipping with code RSTYLE21 (If you have a holiday party to go to, their ugly holiday sweaters are kind of amazing)
Macy’s: 20% off + Free shipping on orders $25+ with code CYBER
Nike: 25% off clearance with code GETOUTTHERE (AWESOME deal on some of their clearance Flyknit sneakers! These are on my Christmas list!)
Reebok: 50% off everything with code CYBER (This is the updated version of my favorite yoga hoodie. So comfy!)
Birchbox: 30% off orders $35+ with code ACEDIT (TONS of awesome beauty deals!)
Nordstrom: Up to 50% off + Free shipping
Bloomingdale’s: 25% off select regular and sale items + Free shipping
TOMS: 10% off sale + Free shipping with code GIVE10 (Sale includes my favorite slip-on sneakers!)
Victoria’s Secret: Free tote with $65 purchase with code CYBER65 (Their pajamas are the cutest!)
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He really is the smiliest baby!!! So darn cute!!! That casserole sounds amazing btw!!! I’m hitting up Asos for a denim dress today!
Sounds like a wonderful Thanksgiving. Chase makes the most adorable faces, i love it!
Sounds like you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving together! Chase is such a handsome little guy – wow 4 months already? Everyone says it with kids…but times really does fly! I can’t believe my daughter is almost 18 months, it makes me a little sad to think about how quickly it really does go. Also, this Chicagoan is digging the Bulls shirt Ryan!
Have a great start to your week Julie! 🙂
Christina
Looks like a great thanksgiving weekend! Happy 4 months to Chase!!
You are one brave momma for facing the threat of Black Friday with a little one! Usually, though, if you go after the big morning rush, you’re cool. My son was OBSESSED with the jumper and it bought me SO much time and sanity – seriously, he lived it in for like, 6 months hhaaha
Hi Julie! So glad you had a nice Thanksgiving with your parents! I’ve been at home in Florida with mine and am heading up to Orlando for a night before flying back to SF tomorrow. It’s been SO nice to be home, but boy these trips go by quickly. I did NOT do any Black Friday shopping, but I did do a lot of eating and walking much like you. 🙂 Enjoy the week with Momma!
You weekend looks lovely, Julie. From one mom to another I am sending you good sleep vibes. Sleep deprivation is no joke!!! My little nugget didn’t sleep through the night until she was 10 months old. It was rough to say the least. Take it one day at a time and don’t be too hard on yourself. You are doing a fantastic job!
I LOVE Chase’s face in the second jumper picture, he’s so stinkin’ cute! Our little guy LOVED his jumper, so much so that I had to finally put it away as he is now a year old and clearly out grew it yet insisted on going in it still. It was funny because his legs reached the ground yet he still made the jumpy motions.
And seeing your Thanksgiving photos makes me crave another round! I went back for a second helping of stuffing as well!
i’m almost done with my chanukah shopping but i do need a few more things so i’ll be sure to check out these cyber monday deals!
Glad you’ve had lots of time with your family, and a little more to come with mom! I can tell your mom is thoroughly enjoying that grandson! So sweet and I loved all your great pics-thanks for sharing.
Hang in with the sleep thing! YES, it is VERY hard to be sleep deprived. I found it super difficult to deal with. I finally tried to “sleep train” each of my boys at about 3-4 months, and put them on a very regular nap/bedtime schedule. (Followed most of the principles in the book Babywise, a little modified.) It took persistence but eventually paid off. At 6 months they started to sleep through the whole night and I felt much more human!
He is so cute and sweet, and that precious little face will pull you through! Have a wonderful week!
What a great weekend! So glad you had fun with your family!
Hosting a new linkup today– link up your top post of the month or a monthly roundup post :-))
Aw I love his smirks! so cute! Glad you had a relaxing weekend!
Chase’s baby sweatshirt with ears… omg! Too cute.
We have the same jumper/exersaucer for my daughter Reese who loves it! She has been using it since she was 3/4 months old and still loves it at 6.5 months old. We randomly placed the whole thing in front of a mirror and seeing herself bounce was hilarious. She loved it. I also work from home and having a balance of entertaining your kid and letting them learn to play by themselves is tough sometimes.
Baha, that smile is just the sweetest!! We had a little on sitting next to us on our flight home from Florida with gummy smiles galore. Quiet, but smiles and naps the whole flight. I have no idea how they did it!
Also, that white board looks like perfection. Would love to see what kind of info you keep track of on there if you’re looking for a post topic one day. 😉
The white board is actually the one that’s posted at Burn Boot Camp. 🙂 It’s not mine personally, but I love the way they share the plan for the weekly workouts ahead of time!
Looks like you had an amazing weekend with family and food. Those faces Chase made at Target are priceless!
If you think Chase enjoys that jumper now, just wait a few months! We got the same one for our twins when they were about Chase’s age and they enjoyed it then, but they go NUTS in it now at 8 months. It’s hilarious!
Sleep was really, really tough for us around the 4 month mark, too. It has gotten much better, so I hope it does for you, as well.
oh man, chase is THE cutest! happy 4 months, little babe!
and i went back for seconds on the stuffing, too. i couldn’t help it! also that french toast casserole? making that for our christmas guests this year for sure. thanks for sharing 🙂
I am sure those holiday cards will be hugely successful with such a photogenic little guy to feature. Sounds like an awesome weekend 🙂
Sounds like a great Thanksgiving! So awesome that your mom will be able to stick around a little longer to help out. Love that Chase ventured out for Black Friday too, haha!
Your hair always looks so perfect!! How do you get it wavy like that?
Yes, please tell us! I need help!
Seriously can’t BELIEVE how big he is getting! It feels like he was JUST BORN! I’ve loved following along with Chase because my first little boy is due in February. Just can’t get over how quickly the time is flying! 🙂
Also – love the gray tee you wore on your walk! Where is that from??
It’s from Zulily 🙂
How’s the sizing on that shirt? Need it!
I think it runs a tiny bit small! If I could order it again, I’d size up!
What size did you get?
Chase is so sweet! And that french toast looks delicious. I’ve never made baked french toast before, but I may have to try this!
Wow!! Chase is so adorable in all of these photos!! EEEk! Your weekend sounded so fun!!
PS: if anybody gets a chance please check out my blog (Julie, you actually were one of the factors that inspired me to write it). It’s all about health, nutrition, and fitness: https://sweetpotatoesrunner.wordpress.com
The casserole looks so good! Thanks for sharing!
Chase has the most precious smile. I love that your mom is so willing to come help you out. What a beautiful blessing.
I’m loving that Momin’ Ain’t Easy shirt! Where did you get it?
Zulily!
I love that shirt!! I hope when I have a kid (in many many years) I can get one just like it. haha.
Sounds like a wonderful family filled weekend. Mine was the same and stayed low-key with no Black Friday shopping for us.
oh my goodness, his hoodie! where is that from?? I need to get one for my little 6 mo old! LOVE
My sister bought it for him from Target! The brand is Cherokee!
I just showed this pic of Chase in the hoodie to my sister and she had the biggest smile on her face and said “well i’m glad you’ll like the Christmas gift I already got him (my son)”! hahaha gotta LOVE sisters!!
Haha!!
Looks like a fantastic weekend. What a blessing to have your mom around for another whole week. And dang, Chase is adorable. I mean, that giggly pic with the gray hoodie with ears – so cute. All cute, all great pics.
Looks like you guys had a great time! We had family in from LA and Denver which almost never happens at the same time! So we spent some quality family time together this weekend. Chase’s facial expressions are great!
His smile is so adorable!
I’m pretty sure I need to make that French Toast thing for dinner. Looks sooooo yummy!
Oh those sleepless nights! The funny thing with me is that I couldn’t wait to get a full nights sleep and once I did I kept on getting up a few times in the night to check in.
Chase is seriously the cutest! I’m glad you and your family had a nice Thanksgiving!
Chase is so adorable! I saw your post recently about cleaning out your clothes/ closets. I’m in the process of doing the same and I think it would be helpful for your to share how you organize your clothes! 🙂
I love the background in your Christmas photo shoot! Can’t wait to see how they turn out!
Aw! Looks like you guys had a great holiday! That’s so nice that your mom is able to stay a bit longer to help out.
I love Chase’s I-don’t-wanna-Black-Friday look! Unfortunately, I have to side with him on this… Black Friday + Target = YIKES! You must have a very nice (quiet) Target there because there is no way I would go anywhere near our Targets on Black Friday. 😉
Chase is the absolute cutest! Glad you had such a great “Baby’s First Thanksgiving”.
Glad you had a great Thanksgiving. Just think, next year Chase will be able to enjoy the turkey and stuffing, too! Well, hopefully–my 13 month old was all about the mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, not so much the turkey and stuffing. Oh well. 🙂
I have a 7 month old and I just told my mom I wanted a good night sleep too. Even though my baby is sleeping well, babies are unpredictable!!
Last night, he slept all night. But he was soaked ;( boy problems! You will find out soon enough. Especially if he starts sleeping on his tummy
I have been wearing shorts for week now .. in CANADA!!!!!! It looks colder there in NC than here … not that I am complaining as it makes the driving smooth as, well, peanut butter.