Another weekend post!

My sister in law came over with my nieces and nephew for a bit Friday. It was nice to see Ella play with her cousins! Friday night Chad and I had a mini date, which was nice. We got to go to dinner without Ella, aka the Hulk, being mad because we couldnt feed her fast enough. She's a little eater that's for sure!

  

Saturday we went to see one of Chad's friends bull ride, that was crazy! We had a lot of fun but boy is that a dangerous sport! 

Today we are just hanging out. Chad switched shifts this week but luckily his schedule is only Sunday-Wednesday this week! So while daddy is at work Ella and I are snuggled up on the couch watching Yo Gabba Gabba. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! 

Weekend Fun

We spent the weekend just hanging out and taking it easy. Friday night we went to dinner with my mom and step dad at this FABULOUS Italian restaurant. It is hands down the best Italian restaurant I've ever been to. Everything is made from scratch and their tiramisu is heavenly. Ella got her share of homemade bread, there was no stopping her. She even shared with me! 

 And of course we had to take a family photo!

Saturday we went to bon fire and got a baby sitter, what?! We didn't stay out too late but we had a good time. Sunday we played all morning until we headed to our brother in laws 30th birthday party. We grilled out and the kids played and had a good time. Of course the Mac & Cheese bandit (Ella) struck again and she turned angry when I told her no more. 

It was a wonderful weekend of staying at home and relaxing. Chad is leaving for Kentucky Friday night and it will be Ella, Darcie, and I all to ourselves! 

 

Lazy Saturday

Today has been such a lazy Saturday for us. Chad plays flag football Saturday mornings so that leaves Ella and I home by ourselves. Typically we spend the morning doing something my mom aka Mimi. This morning after Ella's morning nap we headed to our favorite store, Target! Of course we hit the Starbucks line but I also had to exchange some diapers. Oh, the life of a mom! 

Chad and I are cuddled up on the couch while Ella is taking a nap watching our favorite show, Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives. Triple D if you're a hardcore fan! ;) I hope everyone has a beautiful day! 

Homemade Baby Food

I knew even before I was pregnant I wanted to make my own baby food. I knew it would be easy, but not as easy as it actually is. I am very blessed to be able to be at stay at home, so saving money has always been important. Chad and I try to eat as healthy as possible - it is hard when we have a Dairy Queen 4 miles from us - but I knew I wanted to feed Ella as healthy as possible. We try to stick to the "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean Fifteen" as much as possible. It is so crazy that baby food is anywhere from $0.50-$1.00 depending on what you get and sometimes you don't know what are even in them. Now I am not saying you are wrong because you feed your child baby food from the shelf, you do what works for YOU! For us, me being at home, its just easy to make her food! We are going on vacation in April and I will be buying her baby food from the shelf then. When I make her food I like to use Organic fruits and vegetable, especially for Ella. She is almost 6 months old, so we haven't been eating solids for very long. We use frozen organic fruits and vegetables unless something is in season, then we will use fresh! I thought I would share something easy!

Today I made her avocados and bananas, she loves them both! 

I really like these silicone trays because once its froze its so easy to pop them out!

 I LOVE her Baby Bullet! I haven't had any problems with it and it works really well.

 I just used a spoon around the edges of the avocado to get it out. I get ripe ones on purpose when I know I will be using them within the next couple of days.

I just put it in the blender and added a little bit of water since they are so thick. 

I don't add formula or cereal to her food.

 All ready and into the container it goes. I think these containers are just too cute, they are so happy to be filled with yummy food!

 It's banana time!

 I cut up her bananas and added water like I did with the avocado since they are so thick.

 Fresh avocado and pear (already had that froze)

 She loved it so much she took the bowl and spoon from me!

5 Month Favorites

I am so glad we received some of the gifts we did for my baby shower, they have really have came in handy! Ella is starting to do so much and it is so fun to watch her learn and explore. I thought I would share some of her 5 month favorites! When she started teething I brought out Sophie and she has loved it ever since! The monkey security blanket she got as a gift and has used it ever since she was born. It is so cute because she loves to rub it against her face when she is sleepy. The burpy bib my mom got her and I love it. We use it for burping but also uses it as a bib. It is so soft, I recommend it to anyone! She already enjoys our reading time before bed and she love the Taggies book, she loves to looking at herself. She has been grabbing and holding things so much and she loves the ball. She started eating solids and the Baby Bullet has came in handy. So far her favorites are green beans, bananas, and avocado! 

Sophie The Giraffe - Aden+Anais Burpy Bib - Monkey Taggie Security Blanket - Taggies Book

O'Ball Rattle  - Baby Bullet

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone is having a great day! Since Chad is on second shift this week we went to lunch instead of dinner. We have been eating low carb, so of course Italian was the best idea for lunch of course! I forgot how awful I feel when I stuff myself with carbs, but it was so worth it! It was one of the first times Ella has sat in a high chair too. She wants to sit up and see everything all the time, she's so nosey! We had a great time and it was so nice to go out to lunch since we hadn't been in a while. Cupid stopped by and got Ella some cute gifts too! I hope everyone has a wonderful day! XOXO

Ella's Sleep Schedule

Since Ella was born her sleep schedule was so crazy. I could never time when she would be up or when she would be tired. Of course as a newborn, I had no intention of trying to put her on a sleep schedule. I actually thought before I had her that there would be no point of having her on a schedule since I was able to stay home. That quickly changed when I was getting NO sleep at night. I decided when she was a month old that I didn't want to co sleep with her anymore. To some that may seem harsh, but I snore loud and Chad talks, sometimes yells, in his sleep. The first night she was in her room, she slept great! I was like oh yeah, this is going to be great, nope I was wrong again! The past couple months have been a game changer for us. No  matter what happens to her schdule during the day, she always wants to be asleep by 8:00. After some time I kind of just started this schedule and it works great for us! Happy sleeping!