happy spring!

By the looks & feel of the weather outside, you would never guess today was the first day of SPRING, but it is.  Today is the coldest first day of Spring since 1965.  Awesome.

Since it's all of FIVE {freakin'} degrees out, today, on the first day of Spring, I'll be dreaming of warmer, beachier {it's kind of a word...google it:)}, sunnier places...

Happy Spring!

15 month update

"wanna smell my feet"

I cannot believe that my sweet baby is fifteen {freakin’} months old.  I know I sound like a broken record, but how is it possible that she’s that old already?!  I’ve been having a bit of a hard time with all of this…as in I may have shed some tears the other day just thinking about how fast Dafney is growing up.  

"say WHAT, Mom?"

It all started the other day when Dafney’s daycare teacher informed me that she’d be moving from the infant room to the {GULP} toddler room NEXT MONTH.  It took everything I had to hold back my tears when she told me this.  I know, it’s not the end of the world, but I love, love, LOVE Dafney’s teacher & the infant room.  Neither Dafney nor I do well with change & this is going to be a tough one…for all of us!  She’s at the age where she is starting to understand & realize when things are changing – and she doesn’t respond well.  Though I love seeing her grow & learn new things on a daily basis, I definitely miss those long gone infant days.  My baby is growing up.  The faster I accept this, the better off I’ll be, right?

Does this hat go with my outfit?

We brought her in Wednesday for her 15 month Dr. appointment.  It went well & I really liked the Dr. we had…so much that I think we’ll be using him going forward.  He sat with us for 15-20 minutes talking about Dafney’s eating habits, weight & overall development.  He seemed like he truly cared & wasn’t rushing out the door faster than he entered.  Bottom line, we have a healthy girl.  She is developing normally and her check-up went well.  However, there is some concern with her weight gain.  As in she’s not really gaining much.  Our pediatrician likes to see children gain an average of 4 pounds a year at her age.  She’s on par to gain only 2.  We explained that she’s not a big eater at home.  She’d much rather drink than eat.  

My bottle IS my BFF!

But, our mistake is that we've been giving her a bottle {don’t judge} & she would suck down 21 ounces from the time we got home from daycare to the time she went to bed (about a 4 hour span).  A child at her age should have about 16-20 ounces for a full day’s worth of liquids.  Oops.  So, he recommended that we stop using the bottle & offer her the sippy cup (which she hates).  This way, she probably won’t fill up on milk & will want to eat more solid type foods.  The past couple nights have been a bit rough without her bottle, but we’re trying to stay strong & only offer her the sippy or real food, no matter how many tears WE she sheds.  Hopefully in the end, this will help her weight gain.

I ♥ my daddy!

Here are Dafney's 15 month stats:

Weight – 17.6 pounds (0%)

Height – 29.5 inches (18%)

Dafney’s Likes: walking, playing in her crib, playing with light switches, baths, pushing her “car”, “reading”, perusing the library, pushing the cart at the grocery store, helping with laundry, playing with the remote, dancing & watching cartoons on Saturday mornings!

Oh my gosh...I LOVE pushing the cart!

FINALLY...I get to watch what I want to watch!

 Dafney’s Dislikes: sippy cups, sitting in her highchair, having her diaper changed {this is 50/50} & being held by others

I'm outta here!

Dafney’s new “tricks”: she is walking like a champ – she can now stand up on her own, saying “baby”, “puppy” & “wow” (she will point when she sees a dog or baby & will say the appropriate word…adorable!!)

Taking walks are my favorite!

Other fun Dafney facts: she is wearing mostly 9 month clothes, but does wear some 12 month shirts, she’s absolutely giddy when we take walks, she is very stubborn – she wants what she wants when she wants it!

...so now what, guys?

look...NO HANDS :)

foodie penpal reveal: February

Happy last day of February AND foodie penpal reveal day!

As always, a HUGE thanks to Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean for putting together another fabulous month of foodie penpals!  

This month, I received my package from Kelsey over at Kelsey Runs.  You should definitely check her out...and while you're there, congratulate her on her new job!  She sent me a FABULOUS box of goodies this month!

Have'A Corn Chip - Um...holy delicious!  Hubby & I love corn chips & we made some Fajita's last night & these chips went perfectly along side.  They have a hint of soy sauce & lime...so good!  I even gave Dafney one & she said "MMM" & asked for more!  We may have eaten the whole bag...don't judge :)  

Chocolate Cherry Carnival Trail Mix - seriously, this treat was just staring me in the eye...so I did what any dignified person would do ripped that bag open & ate it by the handful had a nice healthy portion & it was delicious!  I love cherry & chocolate combination...delish!

Popcorners White Cheddar "chips" - these are the "new shape of popcorn"!  I haven't dug into these yet, but the hubby & I have a ton of TV shows to catch up on & I have a feeling this bag will be joining us on the couch!

Justin's Hazelnut Butter - I haven't tried the Justin's brand yet, but I'm sure I will be in love!  

Trader Joe's Cookie Butter - This is one of my FAVE'S!  They taste delicious on the Trefoils Girl Scout Cookies - again, don't judge :)

Justin's Organic Peanut Butter Cups - I went to pack these in my lunch this morning & the hubby gave me the guilt trip & asked if I was going to share.  So, this will be our after-dinner dessert tonight.  Ah, the things we do for our loved ones!

Odwalla Snack Bar: Blueberry Swirl - This is an item that I'm not familiar with, but I'm very excited to try it!  I love quick, easy snacks!  

Thank-you so much Kelsey, for sending such a fabulous package!

If you're interested to see what I sent, check out Kathy over at Vegan What???

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jealous and want to join??  Here's how:

What is the program all about?

- On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email.  It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal & get their mailing address & any other information you might need such as allergy or dietary restrictions.

- You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail.  On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!

- The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats.  The spending limit is $15.  The box must also include something written.  This can be anything from a note explaining what's in the box, to a fun recipe...use your imagination; the possibilities are endless!

- You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size & how fragile they are.  *Don't forget about flat rate boxes!*

-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers.  If you're a reader & you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received.  If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for the month.

- Foodie Penpals is open to US & Canadian residents.  Please note, Canadian residents will be paired with other Canadian residents ONLY.  We've determined things might get too slow & backed up if we're trying to send foods through customs across the border from the US to Canada & vice versa. 

If you are interested in participating for MARCH, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form & to read the terms & conditions.

You must submit your information by March 4th as pairings will be emailed on March 5th.

weekly challenge #1

**This was supposed to go live on Friday, but I accidentally scheduled it for March {call it wishful thinking}.  And, after doing some thinking about what day I should start each challenge, I've decided to change the day to Sunday.  My reasoning is because I usually do my grocery shopping on Sunday's & this way, I could prepare better for the new weekly challenge!  So, plan to see the next weekly challenge next SUNDAY {February 10th}!**

Happy February 1^st – where does the time go?!  Not only is it the 1^st of the month, it’s FRIDAY!  I can hardly contain my excitement…I love Friday’s!  Since it’s Friday, it’s time for me to kick off my very FIRST weekly challenge {jumping up and down & waving hands in the air}!  Since it’s the first challenge, I’m going to ease into it…{read: I wasn’t organized & needed something easy to start with}. 

Week 1 challenge

Water, water, water!  Yes, it sounds simple, but it’s definitely a challenge; at least it is for me.  The tricky question: how much water does a person need to consume in a day?  There are so many different answers to this not-so-simple question.  The way that I’ve always estimated my water intake needs is by taking my weight {which I will not be divulging on this blog} & dividing it by 2 and that’s the magical number of ounces needed for the day.  I’ve also heard 10 glasses (=1 cup/glass) of water / day. 

How do you calculate YOUR water intake?

So, here’s my challenge to you: drink ten {10} 8 ounce glasses of water each day…for the next week!  Water is such an important part to our diets & I think {for me at least} we tend to lack the proper amount of water we intake each day.  Truthfully, I love, love, LOVE me a nice glass of ice cold water – but, sometimes it’s just easier for me to grab one of those not-so-healthy-sugary beverages.  And, I don’t plan on giving my daughter any of those not-so-healthy beverages {at least not for a long, long time} – so I figure, I should lead by example.  Habits aren’t always necessarily bad & this is one of them.  I want to get into the habit of reaching for a glass of water – good for your skin, good for your figure &  just plain refreshing!

So, get yourself a nice, cold {or warm; whatever you prefer} glass of water…or 10 {um, then plan on hitting up the little girl/boys room way more frequently}!!

Challenge yourself & good luck :) 

January Foodie Penpals: reveal day!

Happy January 31st, friends!  You know what that means...it's foodie penpal reveal day!  Foodie penpals is a program that was started by Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean!  If you haven't yet, check her out!!

This month, I was sent a package from Chris & Amy over at A Couple in the Kitchen!  Their blog is full {& I do mean FULL} of delicious looking recipes!  When you have a minute, stop over & check them out!

On to the goods!!  They sent me a fabulous package!

Bread...um, probably one of my biggest weaknesses.  Seriously, it's one of my favorite things to eat.  Unfortunately, I've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to make the bread yet.  But, this weekend, I'm making a big pot of Chili & will be making this bread to go along side my Chili!  I have a feeling I'll be consuming more bread than Chili :)

To go with the bread, they sent 4 freakin' amazing oils from O'Live a Little.  I checked their website out and pretty much want to try everything!  

The oils included:

Cinnamon Balsamic Vinegar

Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar

Tunisian Organic EVOO

Rosemary Infused Olive Oil

I tried the Vinegar's yet, but if they're half as good as the EVOO & Rosemary Infused Olive Oil, then I'll be a happy lady!  I wll say, that the vinegar's smell amazing!  I'm looking forward to trying them!

Thanks again to Chris & Amy for their awesome package!  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jealous and want to join??  Here's how:

What is the program all about?

- On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email.  It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal & get their mailing address & any other information you might need such as allergy or dietary restrictions.

- You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail.  On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!

- The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats.  The spending limit is $15.  The box must also include something written.  This can be anything from a note explaining what's in the box, to a fun recipe...use your imagination; the possibilities are endless!

- You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size & how fragile they are.  *Don't forget about flat rate boxes!*

-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers.  If you're a reader & you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received.  If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for the month.

- Foodie Penpals is open to US & Canadian residents.  Please note, Canadian residents will be paired with other Canadian residents ONLY.  We've determined things might get too slow & backed up if we're trying to send foods through customs across the border from the US to Canada & vice versa. 

If you are interested in participating for FEBRUARY, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form & to read the terms & conditions.

You must submit your information by February 4th as pairings will be emailed on February 5th.

weekly foodie & exercise challenges!!

Hi All,

Can you believe we're almost one month into the new year?  Seriously, time flies!  In honor of the new year, I wanted to feature something new on the blog.  Nothing fancy or crazy & really more for me, but if you'd like to join in {who doesn't love a friendly little challenge?} even better!  

I'm really excited because I'm going to start to feature a weekly foodie or exercise challenge each & every Friday!  It's my hope that these weekly challenges will help me eat healthier, exercise more & feel better about what I'm eating & what I'm feeding my family.  Now that I have a little one that's able to eat, well, pretty much anything she wants, I feel it's really important for me to make better food choices.  Don't get me wrong, I certainly don't eat crappy food all the time {or even that often, really}, but I know there areas where I can improve.  And, I figured, healthy eating & exercise kind of go "hand-in-hand" so I will be including exercise challenges into the mix, too!  

Here are the details:

Each Friday I will blog about a new weekly challenge.  Then once or twice throughout the week, I'll document how I'm doing.  I'll include pictures, recipes, challenges I face(d) & everything else in between!  I think it will be a great way to eat healthier, move more & it will hopefully force allow me to blog more often!  Of course, I'll still post about my super, adorable, sweet baby girl & our everyday happenings, but I feel that this will be a good way to keep me in check with how I'm doing with my own personal food & exercise goals. 

Here's a taste of some of the challenges you can expect to see in the coming weeks:

• Water, water, WATER! 
• Just say NO: sweets & treats! 
• Goodbye processed foods! 
• Stair Challenge! 
• Get out & walk! 

Okay, I think you get my drift :)  

What kinds of challenges would YOU like to see?  

Look forward to the first challenge coming up THIS Friday!! 

Happy Monday!

Weekly Snapshots