{Pomegranates}

{mmm...yummy.}

I just love pomegranates. Yum-O. I enjoyed one of these babies last night as a mid-night snack. Well...a 10:00 p.m. snack. lol. I love FALL. Autumn brings us such wonderful fruits and goodies. *smiles* Well I am happy to say that I am a member of a family of 4 now. My husband and sons R.A. and E.J. Life is good. I absolutely love my family. I am proud to be a stay-at-home mommy too. *smiles big* This year we are finally starting some new Holiday 'traditions'.

• 
  
  Put up and decorate our Christmas tree on Thanksgiving night.


• 
  
  Play Christmas music every day from Thanksgiving night through Christmas day.


• 
  
  String popcorn on the tree Christmas Eve.


• 
  
  Bake all sorts of homemade sweeties Christmas Eve.

Aah. The holidays. I just love them - don't you?

{1 month}

{1 month}

Wow. How time flies, huh? It seems just like yesterday I was sitting in the labor and delivery room waiting for our sweet baby E to arrive. *tear* He is doing great! He sleeps at night very well, aside from 2 feedings. One around 2:30 a.m. and another around 6 a.m. Life is good. *wink* Breastfeeding didn't go as planned. It was going soooo well, then all of a sudden he started getting super fussy...and gassy. *frowns* So, his pediatrician put him on Similac Isomil Soy. He is doing much better now, thank the good Lord. *smiles* Perfect timing too - because my milk production has been low. Very low. Dislike. Overall, he is a healthy, happy, baby boy. That makes me one happy momma.

R.A. is doing well. He is adjusting alot better now. He is even helping out. I guess he just had to get past the one month mark. Ha ha. He loves to give E 'pats' on the head, and soft kisses. *smiles* He helps me get diapers and things when needed as well. He still wants all of the attention, but is managing and coping alot better with the attention time we give him. Overall, he is doing fabulous with new baby brother. Life is good. *smiles big*

{urbanfarmgirl has an awesome giveaway sweeps right now - check it out for a chance to win a $50 pottery barn gift card!!}

{mommy must-haves}

{mommie's must-haves}

[idea from: shannanigans]

.boppy pillow.

I use this to breastfeed, bottle feed, and just to have my little E.J. lounge.

.Dr. Brown's bottles.

I absolutely love these! They don't make bubbles - and it really helps reduce colic and gas. I actually stir my formula in the water with a spoon, then let it sit with the lid and cap on for just a minute to let it all settle (to reduce air/bubbles). (if I do see bubbles, I open up lid, then replace it...and let it sit for a minute then feed E.J.)

.Boppy Bouncer.

I love this! Couldn't do without it. (well I probably could, but wouldn't want to.) It has vibrations and music. E.J. loves sitting in it during the day. :)

.Lansinoh Nursing Pads.

I will only buy the lansinoh brand. I have tried a few others, and they just soak through too quickly, or they stick to my nipples. Let me tell you - that is NO picnic. Uggh.

.Avent bottle sterilizer.

I also have Avent bottles, so I use this sterilizer for those bottles. All I do is rinse them out after a feeding (using my bottle brush of course), then pop them in the sterilizer with 7 oz. of water in the bottom, pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes and VOILA. Sterilzed bottles. ;)

.Avent Bottle/Food Warmer.

I love this product! Plug it in. Turn knob to #3. Have water no higher than milk in bottle, and in about 2 minutes I have a warm bottle of milk! :) One happy momma.

.Avent Pacifiers.

These are great - and they are 'simply cute'. :) I also think they are the best because they come with plastic cover caps. ;) I have many other 'must-haves', but for some reason I am unable to load the pictures on my page properly and it takes me forever to get them aligned properly. But the items include:

Vera Bradley 'purple punch' diaper bag.

Carter's sleepers.

Carter's two piece clothing sets.

Cloth diapers (I use these tucked inside my maternity bra while I am bf-ing. It eleminates leakage onto my clothes.)

Desitin.

Gerber cloth burp cloths. (just like the cloth diapers - love them.)

Huggies Little Snugglers size NB.

Purell Hand Sanitizer.

What are some of your 'must-haves' for your kiddos?

{saturday fun & cinnamon swirl bread}

{cinnamon swirl bread}

Today is perhaps one of my favorite days. Ever. Aahh. Saturdays are simply the best.

• 
  
  Husband is home all weekend.


• 
  
  He helps take care of my 3 year old while I am on newborn duty. ;)


• 
  
  We pick up the 5 for $20 from Blockbuster.


• 
  
  Eat pizza.


• 
  
  Cuddle on the couch all day.


• 
  
  Sort through the many loads of laundry.


• 
  
  Never look at the clock.

Tomorrow I will make my cinnamon swirl loaf.

{on to another subject}

- baby food diet -

Alot of you have probably heard of the 'baby food diet' that Jennifer Aniston supposedly went on to 'cleanse' her body of all the junk and nasties. Well, I even read in a baby magazine that I recently received in the mail, that a Daddy (one of the editors in the magazine) decided to try it out for a week. Here is the gist:

• 
  
  Eat 14 jars of Gerber baby food each day for 7 days.


• 
  
  Eat a regular size dinner - drink your normal 6-8 glasses (8 oz.) of fluids/day.

At the end of 48 hours this guy lost 5 lbs. After the last day, day seven, he had lost a total of 6-8 lbs.

I am personally trying this out for 3 days just to see if I feel better. Cleansed, so to speak. We will see what happens. Good thing is, the baby food tastes great! I love the fruits and oatmeals they now provide. ;) I would never dream of doing this as a 'lifestyle', however, as a monthly cleanse...I think it is a wise thing to do...and it gets your digestive system working properly if not already. (works pretty much like eating Activia once a day.)

Here we go!

trick or treat

{Me and my little giraffe}

- - Well Halloween was fun this year. Probably because we were able to spend it with my best friend and her two adorable little girls. (who just lost her husband in September) Hubs and I took our oldest over to their subdivision to trick or treat. They had a blast! I confess...so did I. ;) Our little munchkin is growing up so fast. He got soooo much candy. He'll be hopped up for a while. lol. How was everyone's Halloween? What did your kid (s) dress up like? - -

{E - too cute to SPOOK}

A friend of mine got this onesie and bib for my baby shower. I absolutely love it! He enjoyed his time at mamaw's while daddy and I took big brother trick or treating. It was just too cold to take this lil guy out and about. I adore these shoes from Old Navy too...I love owls!

Tomorrow is the big day...E will be 1 month old! I can't believe it!

{3 weeks}

{E J S}

{3 weeks old}

okay - so I admit. I haven't officially uploaded any 'new' pictures of my sweet little E. However, this pic was taken a few days ago - so it is close enough. ha ha. Today consisted of mommy taking big brother to our mommies group at church. He was able to Trick or Treat throughout the church offices. He absolutely loved it! He desperately needed some play time. He is still adjusting to life with a new little brother in the house. lol. He made a pumpkin craft (well - mommy made it...he 'supervised' [aka: played with play-doh while mommy did everything.] ). We ate some Chick-fil-a for lunch and then worked some puzzles and played with toys while little brother slept pretty much ALL day. (mommy will pay for that one tonight. uggh.) I worked on my devilled eggs for my Fall Party tomorrow night. Tomorrow will consist of making the Anti-pasti pull apart pizza, iced pumpkin muffins, cheddar cheese ball, and putting together my apple cider and caramel apples. Hoot hoot! I am excited! Even though a couple of my friends aren't going to be able to be there...I am sure we will all have a good time. I wish I could invite ALL of my friends...every last one. But...a 2 bedroom apartment won't allow me to do that. LOL.

currently: watching my sweet baby sleep in his bouncer...

{nighty night blogging world}

{precious gems}

E.J.

Well here we are and it is almost Wednesday. Again. Tomorrow my sweet little bundle of joy will be 2 weeks old. I can't believe it! This week has been alot better. The more I get into a routine the better it is for everyone. lol. Daddy is helping with big brother as much as he possibly can - which includes spending an hour with him in the evenings to just play around and 'wrestle' (what can I say, they are boys after all), give him a bath, and put him to bed. So that is very nice. That gives mommy time to nurse E and get him to bed so that I can get a shower. Oh what sweet bliss. A shower. Mmmm. Lately I am just relaxing around the house, doing up whatever chores I possibly can with a 3 year old and a newborn. lol. I love this life that God has blessed me with - I wouldn't change it for anything.

R.A.

Big brother is still adjusting. He doesn't try to beat up his little brother or anything, but he definitely doesn't help him sleep. ha. He runs rampant around the living room all day and wakes him up atleast once a day. *sigh* He craves attention sooo much. I give him as much as is humanly possible, and daddy definitely gives him lots of love and attention. However - to a 3 year old 23 hours of attention in a 24 hour period of time just isn't enough. He is going to want that last hour too! No sharing for this little munchkin. ha ha. He also loves taking things away from little brother...already. Poor E can't even defend himself yet. lol. But overall, I can't complain too much. He is taking it alot better than some kids would. My only thing is that he still can't be quiet. But, I guess I can't complain too much about that either. He is a kid afterall, and you are only a kid once. I love him so much and I know he will be a great big brother.

This week:

• 
  
  Relax.


• 
  
  Take atleast one nap a day. {even if it is just for 30 minutes}


• 
  
  Bake some Halloween/Fall cookies.


• 
  
  Break in my new pair of 'post-pregnancy' jeans. =)


• 
  
  Attend a Chick-fil-a benefit lunch for a friend.


• 
  
  Clean out and organize the toy cabinet. {too many toys for my 3 year old}


• 
  
  Start Christmas shopping online.


• 
  
  Prepare for my Fall Party I am having next week.

P.S. Does anyone have any good ideas for treat bags, or anything 'crafty' to use in my Fall Party? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! =)