Little world changers. v.|2

  Would you look at that cutie with the collections from our winter Play date with a Purpose?! He's the best. (see a similar photo from our summer play date here!)

  We've decided to make these play dates a semi-annual thing and they are the best. I invite all the moms/kids I know to come over and play (and snack! while collecting donations for a local non-profit (a domestic violence shelter in the summer, SafeFamilies in the winter). It hopefully gives the parents a chance to start teaching their kids about loving others and supporting our local community and reminds us all that we can be all be world changers.

  It was a smaller turnout this time, and I was tempted to feel insecure about that. Then I remembered that no matter the size, any donation would be helpful to the families served by SafeFamilies! The kids played their hearts out, ate a million snacks, and it always good for me to spend time with moms in the same stage of parenthood as myself. By the end of the morning, our dining room table had a big pile of things to be packed up and brought to the SafeFamilies office!

If you ever need an instant pick-me-up, visit a local non-profit and have some gifts in hand when you do. I say that because on Monday the boys and I dropped off donations from our second Play Date With a Purpose to our local Safe Families. It was the absolute highlight of our Christmas season this year! They were surprised at the amount we brought and SO excited to have special gifts for their moms (I put an ask out to any/everyone who might want to 'adopt a mom' and donate a Noonday bracelet to the moms served by the organization). Through some generous donations, they've been able to set up a Christmas room for parents to 'shop' gifts for their kids, but there isn't anything special for the parents themselves. Most of the moms receive cleaning supplies, gas cards, etc- but the coordinator was saying it would just be fun to bless them with the bracelets as a real gift in addition!

So here's my semi-annual plug to do something. Don't wait until you have more time or bigger network or a great idea or for someone to invite you. I guarantee that you can make a real difference in your community today. With exactly what you already have! Whether its inviting some friends and their kids over for a playdate with a purpose, baking a lasagna on Christmas for your local fire station, sending a starbucks e-gift card to your favorite local non-profit (a mid-week coffee treat on you!), call a local adoption agency and ask if there is a family in need of funds (then host a Noonday trunk show with your friends and Noonday will donate from your show!), WHATEVER. It takes so little to make a difference for our neighbors. And if we're being honest, we benefit too. If feels great to be a part of something bigger than ourselves!

Back to school for toddlers.

  As a stay at home mom of two toddlers, it probably seems silly that I'm writing a back to school post. Neither of my kids are really in school! Caleb will be going to two half-days of preschool this Fall, and Tyler will be doing one half day at the Bible study I attend. Besides those combined 6 hours, both kids are home with me. And here is where I have to admit that being creative and naturally having structure to our days doesn't come naturally to me. Even still, I know its really important and we all have better days when we know what to expect!

  I tried a few things last Fall that I ended up loving. I'm not talking about a homeschool-like atmosphere. That isn't my strong suit and not something that fits for our family. I'm just talking about simply taking some time to pool ideas, organize them and create a gameplan for the next few months. It helped us a ton last fall and I'm excited to do it again this year- especially now that I have two toddlers who can join in!

 Over the last few weeks, I've come up with a few simple goals, a general routine to follow, and lots of resources to fill in and pull from. I'll list my favorite resources below! And honestly, you could just do a google/pinterest search and find A MILLION ideas of things to do with your kids. (my favorite things to search are "diy sensory bins" "toddler crafts" "toddler activities") The problems is that you have to actually do them! (No? Am I the only one who doesn't follow through??) To fool proof this for myself, I'm working on making bins and getting little kits together so that I can wake up and voila! I just need to look at my planner and see what activities we can do that I've already prepared. (I've even thought of making themed bins and trading with friends! Anyone in?) In fact, I'm heading out today to buy some bins and get started. My goal is to have three bins made each month- that is a realistic number for me!

  If you have little ones at home and want a bit more structure or just fun in your days, here are my back to school tips for you! Anyone who has an hour or two over the long holiday weekend can do them.

Set goals. What do you hope to teach your kiddos or what memories do you want to make? Do you simply want to establish a routine and start talking about Jesus and the ABC's everyday? Be specific!

Create a schedule. I am 100% about being flexible, but writing down a general guideline for how our days go helps me a ton! It shows where learning time would fit best and helps build intentionality. Decide simple things such as talking about the weekly Bible verse at every meal, doing ABC flash cards during lunch every day or making the mornings for independent play and craft time. Remember, it doesn't have to be fussy!

Find resources. Talk to friends (the best resource!), google, or head to the library. Don't make this a bigger deal than it should be! Just find a few fun things to try- an art cart, some sensory bins, a DIY alphabet book, etc.

Do it! Maybe that's stating the obvious, but put all of those Pinterest boards to use. You could even make a date of it and invite some mama friends over! Or just start a text chain asking if any mama friends want to swap/share resources. Then pick a day, and start implementing little routines!

Here are some of my favorite resources (lots that I actually use!):

ABC Jesus Love Me: This is great because its free to download and comes in lots of age groups! We bought the hard version last year (lesson plans and worksheets) and I LOVE it! It's just a great guide and resource to have on hand. It includes short lessons, focus for each week, activity ideas and books to read, etc. I want to be more consistent with it this year! My favorite part is the Verse of the Week. We tried this last year, but I wasn't the most consistent with it. I'm doing it again and I really think Caleb will love it this time around!

Fruit of The Spirit Curriculum: I really like this! I'm thinking of buying it (only $14!) and has really good reviews for being a great (toddler-friendly) way to talk about the Gospel more at home. You can even download one free lesson plan to check it out. I did and it's so simple that it seems silly to not try it out!

DIY home art center: I'm doing a version of this in our basement right now! It's been in the process for months and I'm finally on the home stretch. It will have baskets/bins with games/puzzles/specific activities/art supplies- all loosely sorted and easy to pull from!

Printable Routine Cards: I haven't tried these, but I am positive my kiddos could benefit from them

Printable ABC book: I just printed this and can't wait to try it with C. He thrives with tangible, building lessons so I think it'll be great for him.

Busy Toddler: My all time favorite instagram account to follow for toddler ideas! She's really creative and ALL of her idea's are simple. Great for inspiration!

Teach Preschool: This is basically my dream preschool! She has indoor and outdoor classrooms, is an expert in all things preschool (literally!), and just does the coolest things with her students. Its actually down the road from us and Caleb was on the waitlist- but I simply couldn't justify the cost for our family (and we have a preschool across the road from us!). I still love to follow her account and get lots of fun ideas! If you are local to the northside of Indy and have toddlers, this is an amazing preschool for your kiddos!

My pinterest round up. I'm (slowly) growing my list of activities and ideas to help my kiddos grow and for us to try. Share your favs with me!

Best loved. (kid stuff)

With a 3 and 1.5 year old, I'm by no means an expert at kid gear. But we've found a handful of things lately that we just really love, so I thought I'd share them. Plus, I got lots of questions when I posted my new diaper bag on instagram last weekend- so I'm linking that below :)

Diaper backpack (in Grey-2 option). I've been wanting a backpack for several months and a few weeks ago I finally found one I love/could afford. After lots (too much, probably!) of research and reading reviews on Amazon, I bought this baby AND. I. LOVE. IT. Justin's been laughing at me since it arrived because I talk about it a lot. I ordered the 'Grey-2' option, which is different than the others because while it is a backpack, the main compartment has a smaller zipper flap that doesn't zip from side to side (which would make stuff fall out!). It stands on its own no matter how full it is, has a fun pocket just for wipes, and also has an accessible pocket on the back for convenience. Bonus: Justin doesn't feel silly carrying it around, and it was inexpensive! Only $36.99. I found a small stitching defect a few days into using it and (even though it doesn't impact the function or anything) I contacted the Amazon seller and they're sending me a brand new one! If you're in the market for a good diaper backpack that doesn't break the bank, I totally recommend this one. (It's made by a brand I've never heard of, but I read TONS of reviews and it is highly rated and compares well to others in higher price points.)

Aldi snacks. Ok, so these aren't kid specific and you can find snacks anywhere. But I find that most products are the same quality at Aldi as bigger grocery chains, but for a fraction of the price. I'm loving the applesauce/fruit blend pouches and freeze dried fruits righter now. My kids are snackers and we try to have healthier options- especially when we're on the go. I like that these are organic, inexpensive, and tasty! My boys LOVE freeze dried apples and since they're so inexpensive, we usually go through a bag or two each day. Add to that the cinnamon apple straws and veggie chips, and our pantry is stocked for the week!

Beach/bath towels. I have mentioned these a dozen times before, but I honestly love them. Just added a couple more to my cart to stock up on for the boys! We use them at the pool, but also daily for baths at home. They hold up incredibly well, are thick, and the boys love the cozy hood!

Divided plates. I fully embrace kid-friendly, colorful dishes and these are hands down my favorite. They seem to hold up better than our other Ikea and Target kid plates. They're made from recycled milk jugs and you can find them at Wal-mart. Bonus- they're microwaveable! I like that they are small enough to fit on our highchair trays and big enough to have three separate compartments. The same company makes flatware and cups, too!

Laurie Bernker Band. Ok, let me preface by saying these music videos are cheesy. Aren't all kid songs? But my boys love love love them, especially the Dinosaur and Goldfish songs. We dance to them daily!

Caleb-isms. v.|1

(found this blog post in my drafts from this past summer. It's so fun, I had to publish it- after adding some updated Caleb-isms to the list!)

  I'm kicking myself for only just now doing this, but I created a note on my phone that I update with the hilarious things Caleb says. It. Is. The. Best. I've only being doing it for a few weeks, but I love all the things I've already recorded. If you have a toddler, you need to do this! I like the idea of writing things down in a cute baby book or whatever, but having them on my phone is so much more practical. Then, if I want to transfer them over into a real memory book one day, I still can. In the meantime, I'm not missing them when they happen. Yay for iPhones!  (Actually, I use the 'notes' on my phone for organizing lots of things!)

  This stage is lots of fun (I say that about every stage, right?). I love being able to have full conversations with Caleb and being surprised by the hilarious things he picks up on and repeats back to us! Here are some of my favorites from the last week-

one night after being put to bed and drinking some water, he called me back into his room. Mommy! There's water in there? (pointing to his belly) Jesus in there? He's swimming! Jesus is swimming in my belly! (we can't quite get him to understand the difference between his heart and stomach)

while riding in the car and Tyler has been screaming 'MAMA' for no real reason. Ty-wer! Don't cry! Mommy's right there. She's right there. Don't cry! Mom, tell Ty-wer to stop crying.

waking up the morning after we had a fire and roasted marshmallows the night before. Oh no! Sun, you go down! Time for a fire and roast marshmallows! Go away sun!

driving to church on an overcast morning. We don't have much time! The storm is coming! Daddy, drive so much faster!

after taking a potty break and not needing to poop. My booty doesn't work today. We try again tomorrow, right mommy?

-------
3/28/18

Talking about his "Happy Birthday Jesus" party at school around Christmas time. Will he be there mommy? Jesus is coming to my school! He will come out of my heart and we'll all pop out and say SURPRISE to him!
and later, after the party. He didn't come, mommy. Jesus stayed in my heart.

On our way to preschool one morning. Where is life taking us, mom?

Driving home from running errands late one afternoon and already feeling anxious about having to wear his eye patch to bed that night. Is it almost nighttime mommy? Can you put the sun back up high in the sky so we don't ever have to go night-night?

While sitting in our kitchen eating lunch after preschool. Ahhh. Home sweet home.

Talking about some of his friends at school. Owen and Navy are my friends. Navy is my friend because she's beautiful.

Waking up to snow on the ground on March 24th. It's Christmas again, mommy! Santa's here!

Repeating age-inappropriate lines he learned from the movie Ferdinand. Sucks to be you, Tyler.

Driving past one doctor's office on our way to an eye appointment. Mom, do you think Dr. Belcher and Dr. Moorthy are friends? Doctor friends?

When hungry but only wants junk food. My belly is so hungry. I want something tasty!

Little world changers.

   We had our Play Day For a Purpose today! 10 moms and 15 kids came over to hang out in our backyard this morning- and they came with armloads of donations for our local domestic violence shelter. It was so cool to see the pile of donations growing as people arrived!

  Honestly? I didn't expect more than my sister and one or two friends to show up. Isn't it funny how we doubt even the things we are certain God has put on our hearts? What if no one came or Caleb didn't care or I didn't end up with anything to drop off at the shelter (they were expecting me to have at least a boxful!)? All silly, but honest things. One of my favorites, Jessica, always talks about doing things scared. Not waiting until we have all of our ducks in a row or 100% confidence things will go the very way we hope. Instead, walking forward even when you're a bit scared and nervous and just doing it.

  So we did it- a bit unsure of how it would turn out. People came! They overwhelmed us with donations! The kids had fun and I had just enough food for everyone (Chick fil a party tray for the win!).

  Its funny how ridiculously simple the whole thing was. Pray for an opportunity to serve the local community, invite people over, set out some toys/food/chair, and collect donations. And you know? If only two people had come, we still would have made a difference! I am understanding more and more about starting where I am and using what I already have. My house and backyard aren't anything crazy, but they are enough to host a few people. I don't have a big budget, but I can swing some brownies, fruit, and a chicken nugget party tray. I don't have a million friends and wouldn't say I'm super well connected or influential in my community. None of that matters. In hindsight, its neat to look back and see how God perfectly connected my desire to include my kids in serving others with the tools he's already given me.

  And look at this donation pile!!! Caleb is beyond himself with excitement about dropping it all off at the shelter tomorrow (and hoping he gets to meet their resident service dog!). I'm not even sure if he'll remember today or tomorrow when we drop it off. I hope he does! Either way, I want it to just be the beginning. I have plans to do this somewhat regularly- maybe a few times each year? What if gathering together with friends and family to celebrate and help people in our community just became an ordinary part of our kids' lives?

  So here's my friendly encouragement for you today- have something on your heart you want to do? Do it! Pray, use what you have, and don't wait until you're not nervous about it anymore. Start where you are and even the smallest things can have an impact!

Summer Bucket List. (2017)

  I made a bucket list last summer and we worked through nearly all of it. It was lots of fun to have an intention and a list to help guide our summer days. So I did it again! This list is more of a 'here are lots of ideas to try' and less of a 'we have to do these'. No pressure, hopefully lots of fun. 

  Can I be honest? Ages 1.5 and 3 are exhausting. The boys are ridiculously fun right now, and I mean that. I love the stages they are in! It just so happens that their super fun stages take tons of energy and teaching and redirecting and disciplining. Basically, the best things in life take work. I feel like I'm not the first to coin that phrase? 😉 I hope our summer bucket list will help me be intentional with our time and set us all of for success! I'm planning to look at it each weekend and choose 2-3 things to put on my paper calendar for the upcoming week. If we cross them all off by the end of August, awesome! If not, that's ok too. 

  My favorites on the list are: get sno-cones (I'm obsessed with sno-cones), go on dates (I would love one-on-ones with the boys and Justin!), mail postcards, beach trip, and visit a fire station. 

  What's on your summer bucket list?!

$20 sandbox.

 I posted a picture of my kiddos playing in our little sandbox last week and immediately had a dozen messages with questions about it. I am absolutely not the first person to think of this, but it's too good of a life hack to not share!

  While we lived in the limbo of moving/not moving/moving last summer, I felt ANTSY. The backyard at our old house wasn't awesome for a toddler and I didn't feel great about letting Caleb play in it. I also didn't want to spend money on a solution or find ways for it work for us because I knew/hoped we'd be moving soon. Enter the budget sandbox!

  I actually stumbled on the idea of a DIY water table and set out to make one. While shopping for a plastic container to serve as the table, I decided to buy two so that I could fill one with water and other with sand- then swap them out whenever we wanted. I built a frame to hold the boxes- but it was super jank and it didn't make the move with us.

Look at those chunky legs and that baby face!!

  This truly is one of the boys' favorite outdoor toys, only tied with the playset the previous homeowners left behind. I usually keep it in the garage most often and pull it out to the driveway in the evenings while we kill time waiting for Justin to get home from work. Tyler is old enough this year to play and he loves it too! I moved it to the backyard last week and its been fun to see how long it truly does hold their attention.

  Funny enough, my parents actually gifted Caleb this real full-scale sandbox for his birthday last year, but we never got around to putting it together with the late summer move. I finally did this weekend and the boys LOVE it. (if you're in the market for a nice sandbox, I recommend this one! Affordable as bigger grandparent gift, crazy easy to put together and just the right size) We've already logged a few hours in it and filled two diapers with sand (tyler). Even with the new, big sandbox- we'll keep our little one around! Like I said, its perfect for storing in the garage and pulling out when we're waiting for Justin, doing yardwork, etc.

  Anyways, you don't care about any of that. Want to make your own budget sandbox? If you have $20 and time to run to Walmart, this 'project' is for you. (you can't see, but I'm using air quotes and laughing as I type that because this is the least project-y project you could ever do. Ready?

  First, buy a storage container. Next, buy some play sand. Finally, pour the sand into said container. You're done! 😂 But seriously, if you want the exact details of ours (its big enough for two kiddos to easily play but still small enough to store and move around easily):

-I used this exact container. It's $9.59 at Target but I'm almost positive I bought it for cheaper at Wal-mart. The size is great and having a lid is key! We actually left it outside most of winter and the sand stayed dry and the container is still in perfect shape.

- I believe I bought 3-4 bags of play sand from Wal-mart. They're $2.78/bag which is incredibly affordable. A note about sand: Justin found SUPER cheap ($1.99/bag) sand at Menards and we used that to fill our bigger, permanent outdoor sandbox. Even still, I would recommend the slightly more expensive play sand I linked above because it's nicer. A bit more clean, no big rocks, and better for a box you want to keep and use indoors/driveways/on patios. The cheaper sand is just that, cheaper. Its perfect for a sandbox that will be rained on and survive the winter, but probably not for a nicer box that will have a lid and doesn't literally sit on the ground with grass and bugs.

- The boys have somehow accumulated a ton of sand toys over time (mostly as little gifts from grandparents!) but I also randomly found a fun sand/water funnel/wheel at Nordstrom Rack last summer. Super random, I know. (here's the exact one) The dollar store, Target's dollar spot, and amazon are other great places for inexpensive sand toys. Last year Caleb loved simply hiding rocks, pinecones, and sticks in the sandbox and then digging for them, so don't overthink the toys! (I like this little set from Amazon a lot)

Toddler Valentine's.

 

 2.5 seems to be the perfect age for all the cheesy crafts- they can follow simple instructions and have fun creating things and the novelty of making a mess is still real. It's also the age of 3 minute attention spans. 

  With all of that in mind, I really wanted to make some Valentine's crafts with Caleb this year without putting too much effort into it. My kid likes the idea of crafts more than actually doing them- I weekly pick him up from school and church with blank papers in his backpack while watching other kids carrying papers COVERED in crayon and paint. So spending money on supplies or taking tons of time to plan out crafts seemed silly. I walked to our basement storage room to find all my pink/red paints and construction paper, printed off some heart outlines, and did a five minute google search to see what I could make with all of that. When Tyler went down for his nap this morning, I already had all of our supplies set up and let Caleb create for a few minutes at a time between playing, snacking, and his new favorite game of 'race' where we literally just run laps around our house :) 

  So, if you're in the market for some easy and doable Valentine's crafts with your toddler- here are my favorite (tried and true) four! I'm no art teacher and these are crazy basic, but I promise they'll come out super cute even if you have a kid who doesn't have a big attention span when it comes to crafts.

You'll need: 

construction/scrap/wrapping paper

glue

white cardstock

white crayon

paint (I used acrylic)

paintbrushes, q-tips, or pencils

heart templates (I'm an awful drawer so I downloaded these for free)

Dotted Valentine's// This was my favorite! And Caleb surprisingly loved it and actually did it! I taped down 4 hearts from the printable above onto one 8.5x11 cardstock using washi tape and gave him red, pink, and dark pink paints to dip q-tips into. He went to town dotting his paper all over! After doing one, he was done. We came back to it a little later and he did another. After they dried and I had pulled the taped hearts off (washi tape comes off easily), I cut each sheet into fours to create little Valentine cards we can attach to his bags of cookies he'll drop off for friends next week!

Scrap paper heart// Well, we didn't actually do this one yet (which is why you don't see it in the picture). We don't have any liquid glue (lots of glue sticks though!) and Target was all out. Justin's picking some up for us today so we work on these tomorrow! You just make a large heart outline in glue on paper and have your toddler put pieces of colored paper onto it (that either you or they have torn/cut into little pieces). I found some cute red&white wrapping paper scraps to use to add some fun patterns. I imagine it'll be super easy, take all of 5 minutes, and I'm hoping to frame it. 

Painted heart// Similar to the dotted hearts, I taped one heart from the printable above in the middle of an 8.5x11 white cardstock. He was sick of q-tips by this point so we switched to different sized paint brushes and I let him paint all over the page. After the paint dried, I simply cut the page down to 5x7 and now it's perfect for matting and taking out each year as a little Valentine's art!

Watercolor hearts// Ok, 100% he was over crafts by this point and just wanted to watch me 'find the baby hearts.' Starting with white cardstock, I drew small hearts with a white crayon. We don't have any watercolor paints, so I simply mixed water with a small drop of acrylic paint to create some (I used red paint to make this pinkish color). Then Caleb and I (aka mostly me) painted over the entire paper to 'find the hearts'. We're going to try this again tomorrow to see if he likes it more!

...and as a bonus from all the painting with heart templates, we also have a handful of cute heart cutouts that are painted! Unintentional (because I didn't even think how cute they would turn out) and fun for writing notes on to stick in Justin's suitcase while he goes snowboarding this weekend. 

  I'm positive I missed some other fun and easy toddler crafts- have any other ideas for me? (Not the toilet paper roll squished into a heart one- Caleb refused to do that one at school this week!)

Christmas traditions with littles.

 I remember last year thinking "Caleb is one! We have to start good traditions this year- its now or never!' and feeling a bit of pressure about deciding or finding the best things to do to make Christmas magical and fun and something he remembers forever.

  Yeah. I got over that really quickly! I still want to be intentional about what we fill our days with leading up to Christmas and I love the idea of traditions, but I have a lot more grace for myself and less pressure to do any of it perfectly. And after listening to this fun podcast a few weeks ago, I am feeling even more freedom to do only what works for us and what we love this holiday season!

  Maybe you're the same as me- you find yourself just wanting to have a happy Christmas this year. You want to find things that are fun and life-giving and take away the extra stuff that you feel pressured to do, but just leaves you feeling crazed or exhausted or guilty because you never actually got to them.

  Well, this post is for you! I hope you read this and see a list of ideas to celebrate Christmas with your family and grace to do all or none of it. We are all so different! I know Christmas cards can stress the heck out of some people (getting the perfect photo, designing the card, getting it sent on time- all because you think its something you have to do). For me, Christmas cards are fun and one of my favorite new family traditions! But you know what I don't do? Decorate my house much. Right now, in this stage of life for so many reasons, that stresses me out. We will for sure have our tree and some little things set out. But it honestly causes me stress to think about making our house beautiful for the holidays. So I won't do it! Know yourself and your capacity, and stick to things that bring you joy this Christmas.

  If you're on the hunt for some fun and easy Christmas traditions to adopt, here are some of my favorites! And I want to hear from you- what do you do (or not do!) with your family at Christmas?

Star From Afar// Hands down my most favorite Christmas tradition we do with our kids. If you know me in real life, I'm sure I sound like a broken record when I talk about this. If you want a simple way to teach your kids (even toddlers!) about Christmas and include the magic and whimsy that a lot of traditions have- this is perfect. It is basically a cute wooden nativity, complete with a large star that sets on top of the stable. Leading up to Christmas day, you hide the star around your home for you child to find and move the Three Wisemen to- leading them closer and closer to Jesus in the manager on Christmas morning. It comes with the sweetest book perfect for kids and you can honestly adapt it any way to work for you. Last year, we simply played with and talked about the nativity. The colorful and classic wooden pieces are perfect for little hands! This year, Caleb understands a bit more but is still probably not ready for a full Advent-long activity. So we will probably just hide the star everyday for two weeks (instead of closer to 4!). I'll put little pieces of candy or acts of kindness or other treats with the star for him to find each morning and I think he'll love it! Bonus! Natalie, the creator of Star From Afar, is so generous. (Ie my dog ate a wiseman last year and she helped me replace him!!) From now until Monday, if you order a Star From Afar kit and use the code KATIE10 you'll receive 10% off your purchase! It's already super affordable, so this is a steal. And it makes a perfect gift!!

Polar Express// I had never heard of this fun activity until last year (have I been living under a rock??), but we are going with my family in December and I think Caleb will love it. I don't know if it will become a yearly tradition, but it is for sure a great one time activity! We are doing this one in Indy (if you're local, reservations fill up fast!), but I'm sure a google search of 'polar express' in your city will show you fun options where you live!

Help someone in need// Yes yes yes. We should be thinking of others all year round, but I love how universal it is to help others during Christmas. And the options are endless! Operation Christmas child is a great (and affordable) way to involve your kids in shopping for others, donating canned goods or filling grocery bags to help give a Thanksgiving or Christmas meal to local charities, or 'adopting' a family to shop for are all great places to start! Don't love any of those? Call your local Women's shelter or elementary school or church and ask them how you can tangibly bless a family this Christmas. I guarantee they'll have ideas for you! And get your kids involved! 

Christmas books// Ok, I love this and can take zero credit for it. Two years ago, my mom spent some time scouring local Dollar Spots and thrift stores collecting second-hand or inexpensive kids' Christmas books. She bundled them together in different bags and gifted them to each grandkid. SO CUTE. She gave each kid 12- one to reach each day leading up to Christmas! Such a great gift idea and perfect for kids of all ages. (Need a place to start? This is my all-time favorite kids Christmas book! It explains the holiday so well in kid language.)

Movie night// There are so many fun and classic Christmas movies! How fun would it be to have a yearly family movie night after you decorate your tree to sit down with hot chocolate and popcorn to watch Home Alone or Elf or one of the adorable claymation movies?!

Christmas cookies// I haven't done this with my kids yet (hello 1 and 2 year old!), but growing up my mom always made a huge batch of sugar cookies and let us go to town decorating them. Really simple, inexpensive, and fun! Bonus? Decorated cookies or other baked goods make great neighbor gifts and I bet your little ones will love marching next door to drop them off!

Jesse Tree// This is such a cute way to celebrate advent with your kids and help them dig into the Bible at a really kid-appropriate level. Also, the fun craft ideas are endless!

Elf on the Shelf// You've surely heard of this tradition where you hide the Elf around the house for kids to find each morning. Typically he's done something naughty (like unrolled the toilet paper), but I love the idea of making him a 'kindness elf'. You could even save yourself some $$ and make your own adorable Kindness Elves! 

Advent Calendar// This is one of the 'possibilities are endless' traditions. Which makes it great for any family and you can change it as your kids get older. The whole point behind Advent is to prepare our hearts for Christmas, the celebration of Jesus' birth. You can talk about verses around the dinner table or buy one of the chocolate candy calendars or a cute display that has drawers filled with little presents. Or make one with your kids! You can focus on Bible stories, acts of kindness, or even center it around something your kids love, like this LEGO one! Here are three easy and adorable DIY advent calendars I love: one, two, three. 

Tyler. {seven months}

This feels like a parenting win because I actually took these photos and wrote this update on Tyler's 7 month birthday! Super proud of myself- especially because I've been a month or more late pretty much his entire life so far. I'm not so excited about the fact that my computer somehow lost 2/3 of the photos I took this month and I don't want to waste hours trying to recover them. (time for a new laptop, Justin!)

  And this might be my favorite update, because for the first time since he was 2 months old- Tyler is gaining weight! We had a weight check last week (we just piggybacked on Caleb's 2 year appointment) and it was awesome. Tyler is still super tiny and in the 0% weightwise, but he gained nearly a pound in 2.5 weeks. Which is double what he had gained in the last two months combined! After talking with his pediatrician and a lactation consultant, we found a way to help him gain. We initially tried nursing every 2 hours during the day, but we all hated that (he wasn't able to get any naps in!). Then I talked to the lactation consultant and, after she did some research, she suggested that Tyler is still too small to be sleeping 10-12 hours at night and that by letting my body go so long between feedings, my already low-in-fat milk was being impacted by lower prolactin levels. Evidently the longer you go between feedings, the less prolactin you make, which isn't good for babies that still need richer milk. Who knew?? So, the change that made a difference was starting to wake Tyler up every 2-3 hours at night to add in extra feedings. And it was SUPER successful. Related: I'm super exhausted. 

  Tyler has also changed his mind about food this month. He still is indifferent about purees, but loves to hold and nom on bananas, avocados, pears, and anything mushy he can just gum. We're not sure if it has more to with his interest in food or, honestly, his teething. Because the kid is definitely teething. He drools a TON and will chew on anything. His favorite is anyone's hand/arm/shoulder that he can find.

  And because he quite literally can't stay still, we ditched his swaddle for good this month. He started rolling in bed and we were all really sad about getting rid of it. He spends a good 10-20 minutes at each nap/bedtime just rolling all over his bed and getting himself stuck in the weirdest ways. He has a little animal blanket that he uses for comfort now, and honestly that was a bit unintentional. His room (along with the rest of our house!) is pretty packed up- so when he wouldn't settle down one night because he missed his swaddle, I just grabbed the closest lovey I could find for him (he seems to have like 6 from random gifts/hand me downs!). It's pretty cute how he reaches for it every time I lay him down to get in his sleep sack!

  If I had to guess, I'd say Tyler will be crawling in the next month or two. He is SO busy and truly doesn't sit still unless he's sleeping or strapped into his carseat. Diaper changes and getting dressed are pretty hilarious because he kicks a mile a minute. He rolls all around the house and gets wherever he wants to go easily. And since so much of our stuff is already packed for the move, he has hardly any toys out. Not that he minds, since he is in love with all of Caleb's toys. His current favorites are Caleb's toy wrench and Monkey. Caleb is super into Tyler right now, so he shares Monkey a lot with him. Which is a big deal!

  Other than rolling all over, we can tell Tyler is just becoming all around more sturdy. He can sit for longer, though he'd rather be laying and rolling. He loves his exersaucer and can stand supported by the table or couch or activity table. He also loves going to the pool with us and playing with Caleb. He lets Caleb spin him in his exersaucer and laughs so big whenever Caleb shares his toys with him. The two of them are really fun right now!

  Even still, 7 months? That seems so crazy. Maybe its his tiny size (he's wearing a 3 month onesie in these photos), the fact that he eats as often as a newborn, or just that time is flying. Either way, I don't think I can wrap my head around the fact that he's now closer to 1 than being a newborn!

New this month// moved into size 2 diapers, fitting into some 6 month clothes but still wearing mostly 3mo, eating table foods, sitting up, rolling all over and starting to rock on knees, eating every 3 hours during the day and night, first night away from mom! (forgot to document that last month), first time swimming, loves Caleb's toys, sleeps with lovey blanket

Tyler. {five months}

 I've decided to not even let myself feel guilty about missing Tyler's four month update and being late with his five month (but I took the photos on time!!). Life goes on, right? :)

  I have so many things I want to document about Tyler at five months. Most notably, he is our little peanut. At his appointment last month, he was just a hair above 11lbs and less than 1% on the growth scales. (To put that in perspective, Caleb was really tiny as a baby too, but was bigger at 2 months than Tyler was a 4 months!) I went into that four month appointment knowing Tyler was tiny and worrying about what the doctor would say BUT she was so happy with his growth. He's on his own little curve and is probably just going to be a smaller guy (unlike his brother and dad!). She gave us the green light to start solids and gently reminded me that since Tyler is the size of a 1-2 month old, I need to give him (and myself!) some grace and lower my expectations for sleeping and schedules.

  Despite his really, really tiny size (still in size 1 diapers and 0-3 month clothes)- Tyler is developing like crazy. He started rolling back to belly and laughing right at 3 months (!!!). He loves toys now and can bring them to his mouth and pass them from one hand to another easily. We started solids around 4.5 months (oatmel + breastmilk) and he was indifferent. I think its a combination of the soupy-ness of the oatmeal and still being a bit wobbly since he is so tiny (not quite sturdy enough for his bumbo).  This month we're moving on to real foods and hoping he gains a bit of weight!

  On a real note, at this age Tyler gives me a run for my money some days. His older brother was such a breeze. Caleb was already on a 4 hour schedule at this age, taking 2 two hour naps each day and nursing every four hours. Ha! Tyler needs to nurse every 2-3 hours still (the dr said that is really normal for a kiddo his size) and just doesn't sleep as soundly as I'd like (I realize how silly that sounds!). I feed him around 7pm and then again around 5:30am (sometimes he can stretch it out until 7am). But he wakes up a handful of times at night and can't get himself back to sleep without his pacifier. I'd love to break him of those quick paci drops, as we call them, but he just isn't able to do it yet. And naps. Oh naps. He was an amazing napper from the beginning, until we had to ditch the swaddle at 3 months when he learned to roll to his belly. Since then, we're lucky if we get a 45 minute crib nap at all each day. Sometimes he treats me to an hour long one, but I don't hold my breath. He always takes his morning nap on the go, since we're out and about every day. So that's good! But still. NAP IN YOUR BED, CHILD. Some days I'm super motivated to figure it out and break his code and have him be an amazing napper. I've literally tried everything (thanks in advance for any advice you have!). But most days I just try remember that this phase really is short. He will nap. He will stop needing his pacifier at night. He will gain weight. He will grow at just the rate he's supposed to! 

  It's just funny because I was really relaxed with Caleb. Partly because he was just an easy baby and that let me be relaxed. But also because I just didn't have another kiddos to think of. With Tyler, I find myself second guessing things and feeling like he just hates me some day or that I can't figure him out. Having an almost 2 year old helps a ton with that. Caleb is fine. Better than fine! So all of this little things about babyhood that could easily consume my thoughts or worry they heck out of me will work out just fine. 

   Ok. Enough with the little quirks. At this age, Tyler is SO fun. He found his toes this month while we were on vacation and loves to chew on them! His smile is still so big and takes up his entire face. He laughs really easily and is just really happy when he's happy. It's fun to see him discovering new things and starting to play with his toys and interact with us more and more these days! He has found his love for Sophie and chews on his crinkly elephant toy for as long as we'll let him. He also LOVES the toys on his activity mat (when I remember to get it out and set him on it).

  Caleb still loves Tyler a ton and tries to help out more and more. He doesn't love that Tyler plays with some of his toys and conveniently has a newfound love for all the baby toys he hasn't touched in months. But he gets so excited to help me wake Tyler up for the day or from his naps and loves to hold him or lay down next to him. 

New this month (and last! since I missed a month):: started laughing, rolls to belly, first road trip and vacation (Destin, FL with Rush cousins), loves Sophie, 10 hours between night feedings, started solids, first time at the beach, still wearing 0-3 month clothes and size 1 diapers

Tyler. {2 months}

I know. I KNOW. Tyler is almost 3 months so this is a little late. But, you know. Second child problems. Or more accurately, what happens when mom is sick most of the month. Better late than never! {And I'm trying really hard to write this as I would have 4 weeks ago...so much has changed!}

At two months, Tyler is still such a sweetheart! We've settled into a routine of eat, wake, sleep and its great. He is great at taking naps on the go and I can't complain about crib naps. And night sleep! Oh night sleep. I always say if we have night sleep, we can never complain. Tyler is going anywhere from 6-9 hours at night between feedings and its wonderful.
  This month was mostly about just settling in. The holiday craziness passed and we were able to figured out what our routine is. And we love it! Most days we get out of the house in the morning and Tyler naps on the go. We're home by lunch and Tyler gets some solo play time while Caleb naps and usually their afternoon naps overlap a bit, which is a win for everyone!
  I also started pumping (finally!) and Tyler had his first bottles. I was able to go on a day date with my sister and spent a full 8-9 hours out of the house, sans baby. It was so strange and wonderful! I so love being home with my boys, but it always surprises me just how great it feels to get out and be on my own for a bit.
  And he's growing! But so slowly. Our little guy is a real peanut, hence his newest nickname. I have a sneaking suspicion that the nurse wrote his length down wrong, but we're going with it and will see when he goes back in April. He's becoming too long for some newborn sleepers, so we're going to go ahead and just pack them all away and move into 0-3 and 3 month. We're also on the last of our newborn diapers, so its onto size 1!
  And Caleb? Still loves his brother! He started 'holding' him this month and gets the proudest look on his face when we let him.