Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Wordless Wednesday | My Sweet Babies

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Whispers of Fall

Today I decided that I was in the mood to put a little touch of fall in my house. I went to the pumpkin patch and grabbed a couple of little white pumpkins to sprinkle throughout my kitchen and I love the simplicity of it (you can see a pic of it on my Instagram @kara2lou). I also cut a bunch of hydrangeas off of my bushes to bring inside and enjoy. My hydrangeas must be late bloomers because they always do so great in September/October. I remember last October we had our first frost on Halloween. We took the prettiest photos of Campbell in his costume in front of the hydrangeas because they were full of blooms and just looked gorgeous. The next morning I went outside to take down my Halloween decorations and my bushes were 100% dead. They went from luscious green leaves with huge pink, white and blue blooms bursting out everywhere to sad brown sticks. I gasped loudly when I saw them and it made me so sick that I didn't cut the dozens of blooms off to bring inside and enjoy. I guess I 1.) didn't realize we were having a frost and 2.) for some reason didn't know that a frost would kill your flowers instantly. I thought about it that whole entire day because it made me so sad. I'm prepared this year! I won't let that happen again. It scarred me for life I swear!!! The point of that super long story is that I'm going to start cutting more of my hydrangeas and bringing them inside to enjoy because I know they don't have much longer. I love flowers if you didn't know.
This sweet little peanut and I had a fun, chill day. We laid around in our pj's for a long time then ran a couple of quick errands, came home to have lunch, then relaxed the rest of the day. I love my little sidekick and I'm so happy to have an errand running buddy and constant companion. I must have been super bored before he came along!!

Monday, September 28, 2015

Dye!

Hey all! How was your weekend? Mine was uneventful which is just fine by me. I hung out with my little family and we didn't do much at all.
Scott got off from work pretty early on Friday so it was nice that we all got to spend some extra time together over the weekend. We ate dinner out on Friday night then we decided to take a stroll around Crystal Bridges after since it was so lovely outside.
After our little outing at Crystal Bridges, we thought it would be a good idea to take Campbell to TCBY for the very first time. He got sugar free strawberry yogurt with blueberries on top and boy oh boy did he think it was delicious. This is him savoring every bite.
On Saturday morning my little peanut woke up with a terrible little cold. Thankfully we were able to get him some antibiotics right away to help zap it as quickly as possible. We decided to just stay in all day long since our little guy wasn't feeling very well. Campbell is feeling great now but unfortunately I am not. He's been sick a handful of times now and it never fails--I always catch it. I tossed and turned all night and even though it's just now 7:00, I'm about to hop in bed. I'm hoping some over the counter medicine and a good nights rest will help me feel better in the morning.
I posted a similar photo to this on Instagram last night but I thought I'd share it here too. My sweet little boy was just precious last night as I was tucking him in bed. I always enjoy our bedtime routine because Campbell is just extra sweet and cuddly. Last night I laid him in bed, covered him with his blanket then he looked at me, waved and said "dye" (bye) and I just thought it was the sweetest! He's never done that before. He seemed like such a big boy and my heart exploded into a million pieces. I don't usually let him have water in his crib but when he doesn't feel good I do just in case his throat itches and he gets thirsty. Not that it's a big deal for him to have water or anything, I just don't want it to spill and make his bed wet. In case you were wondering (not that you probably were) why he had a drink in his hand at bedtime.
Anywho, I can hardly hold my eyes open. Scott is taking care of putting Campbell to bed for me tonight so I'm going to go give my sweet boy some love then crawl in bed myself. Until tomorrow....

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Campbell | 18 Months

My little man is 18 months old today!! I wanted to do a little 18 month post for my records :)
Weight: I stuck him on my scale at home this week and it said 24.4 pounds. We have his 18 month check up on Thursday so I'm curious to see what their scale says.

Sleep: Campbell is such a great sleeper. He always has been (well, once we started Babywise at 10 weeks) and I am so thankful for it. I credit the majority of it to Babywise but I also think he's just a great sleeper. He goes to bed between 7:30-8:00 and wakes up between 7:30-8:00. I actually think he wakes up around 7:00 but just lays there content for a long time. I think he needs that time to himself to "wake up" before letting me know he's ready to get his day started. He takes one nap and I usually put him down for his nap between 1:00-2:00 although he'd gladly lay down earlier or later. It just depends on our day and what all we have going on. He sleeps, on average, about 2 hours.
Eat: My little piglet still loves food. It's pretty easy to feed him. Campbell is more particular about food than he used to be but for the most part, he'll eat almost anything. He's starting to get a lot better at using a fork and spoon. He loves all fruit but raspberries in particular are a favorite these days.

Clothes: Campbell is still making due in all of his 6-12 month summer clothes! A lot of the smaller 6-12 month clothes have been folded and put away but the bigger ones are still getting used. We're starting to get pretty limited on our wardrobe but thankfully those cooler temps are just a few short weeks away. He's all set and ready to go in his 12-18 month clothes as soon as fall is ready to arrive. He wears size 3 Freshly Picked moccs and size 12-18 month Kickee Pants. Although next week I'm putting those Kickee Pants up and getting out his new 18-24 month ones. Something about putting those Kickee Pants away always makes me sad.

Diapers: Pampers Cruisers Size 4 and Pampers Baby Dry at night, also Size 4. I think I may have bought my last size 4 box of diapers. I had decided it was time to go up a size but on the box it said something like 27-35 pounds for size 5 and it threw me. So I grabbed the 4's instead. Does anyone else always feel unsure of when it's time to move up a size in diapers because I sure do.

All About Campbell: I can't believe my little man is 18 months old!! Time is really flying. We're really starting to get an idea of what type of personality Campbell has. We hear all the time how "sweet" Campbell is. He really, really is!! Just a sweet little kiddo. His teachers at MDO say Campbell always walks in the room and greets everyone in there by waving and saying "hi!" Not surprising at all!!! He loves to wave and say hi. And it's really drawn out too---hiiiii! He still says bye with a D (dye!) signs "more" which means more, food, eat and hungry for him. Campbell stands in front of the oven to watch food cook. Haha! He's really good at telling you how the cow goes and kinda good at telling you how the sheep goes. He loves to call the hogs. Campbell says "there it is!" all the time. He's started tapping his foot when music plays. He loves all TV on Disney Jr although Mickey is still his hands down favorite. I believe I've turned my child into a neat freak. He always puts his toys up in the same place he found them (without me asking) and if something isn't in the "correct" spot he'll pick it up and put it where it's supposed to be. Campbell still loves to read. We read a lot of books before bedtime. He's really into those giant legos these days. He still enjoys stacking and nesting blocks although not nearly like he used to. He has a car that his Pops and Gamma got him for Christmas and he loves to get in it, shut the door, then wave and say "dye!" to me. Speaking of cars, Campbell is really starting to get into his cars now. He enjoys pushing them across the floor. Up until just about 2 weeks ago, I was able to leave the camera/monitor resting on the ledge of Campbell's crib. Can you believe that? He never messed with it! He suddenly started pulling it down during nap time so I had to stick it up high on his book shelves. Campbell has 8 (almost 10) teeth and he's such a trooper about letting me scrub and scrub and scrub those teeth every night. I'm terrified of him getting a cavity! Campbell still adores his sisters although we're having to teach him to be more gentle with them. He's much more rough than he used to be and he gets in trouble for it--a lot. He doesn't know any better but he has to learn!!
Campbell just melts me. I love this little man so much that it makes my heart feel like it's exploding sometimes. I have so much fun with my little sidekick and adore being his Mommy. He cracks me up and makes me smile. I want to squeeze him all the time and shower him with too many kisses. I can't even imagine life without my peanut. He has my heart.

Friday, September 25, 2015

Water Table

It may technically be fall but it doesn't feel anything like it here in Northwest Arkansas. I'm usually SO ready for fall but for some reason I'm not that anxious for it this year. Maybe I'll change my tune once October arrives next week. I absolutely love fall but I have loved, loved summer so I'm sad to see this warm weather come to an end. I've learned that life with a baby/toddler is easier in warmer weather because of all of the fun outdoor activities that can keep them entertained. I don't know what we're going to do with ourselves in the winter!! We are outside a lot. One of the greatest summertime activities that Campbell has enjoyed this summer is his water table.
Campbell plays with it almost nightly and it's been so great! The girls get to play around in the backyard and Scott and I sit on the patio and listen to music. Everyone is entertained!
The timing works out perfect since Campbell takes a bath every night. Once he eats his dinner, we fill up his water table and let him splash and play away until it's time for him to get ready for bed. It literally keeps him entertained for almost 2 hours. It's so great!
We sure are going to miss our nightly water table fun once the weather cools off and we're no longer able to use it. I hope he enjoys it just as much next summer as he has this summer!!

Thursday, September 24, 2015

What's New

I thought I'd catch you all up on life lately now that I'm done blogging about all things Aspen :)
I missed my baby boy (and my girls too!!!) SO much while I was away. I think he missed me too. I wanted to wake him up when I got home from Aspen (about 10 pm) but my parents wouldn't let me. Haha. We packed up on Monday and headed home. Campbell made sure he had all of his lovies with him for the ride. His Pops and Gamma took extra great care of him while he stayed at their house and they took him to the park every single day. Apparently he likes the fast slides.
Gracie wanted to come home with us so all is good in the world of these three. They love when they're all together!!
A couple of weeks ago I thought it would be a good idea to put a "snack basket" on the floor of the pantry so Campbell could get a snack whenever he was hungry. I forgot to factor in that he's always hungry. This is what I see all. day. long. I was hoping to get an idea of what snacks he prefers most but I'm not sure he discriminates much when it comes to snacks. He does actually seem to really love these dried apple crisps and they have Mickey on the package so that's bonus points. He gets really mad at me when I say no and put the snack back in the basket. Nobody loves food more than Campbell. I'm certain of it.
Something that's new this week is that Campbell is able to climb onto our bed now. I was so surprised when I walked into my room and saw Campbell just chillin on my bed watching his show.
Campbell had MDO today. He hasn't been since his first day last Monday because we were out of town. I was excited for him to get back and he seems excited too. I think he really loves it! They send me little notes home with him and I love reading them. Campbell was the first to lay down and the last to wake up from his nap today. He napped for 2 hours again and it must be rare because his teachers always comment on it when I pick him up. I told them he loves to sleep just like his Mommy!

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Wordless Wednesday | Aspen Edition

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Aspen Getaway {Part 2}

The highlight of our trip was most definitely getting to see the Maroon Bells but we certainly did enjoy spending the majority of our time exploring the town of Aspen. We mostly just walked the streets and popped in all of the stores that Aspen has to offer--which is a lot for a ski town (or at least I think it is)! We ate some delicious meals and leisurely strolled through the town. It wasn't much but it was nice to just walk around without an agenda. You would think that we would have slept in but I guess I'm officially an adult because I'm not capable of sleeping in anymore. I woke up at my usual time every day but it was nice to just lay in bed and watch TV.
It was so nice to get an early dose of fall weather while we were in Aspen. At times I was flat out freezing but most of the time it was just that perfect, fall weather. It definitely made me anxious for Arkansas to start bringing in the cooler temps!
The wedding we were attending was on Saturday night so we wrapped up our vacation with a fun celebration! The wedding was so beautiful--I love how the bride styled everything. The music was fun and we danced all night. My feet were killing me but I still had a blast!
We woke up the next morning, hopped in the car and headed back to Denver. It was a long day of traveling. Between the 3.5 hour car ride to Denver, 2 hours in the airport, and a 5.5 hour flight (including a layover) we ended up having about a 12 hour day of travel by the time we got home. However, Southwest knows how to treat their customers right and I got to watch the Emmy's live on the flight so really, it wasn't even all that bad. I love Southwest.
Overall we had such a great trip! It was nice for Scott and I to getaway for a little bit and enjoy each others company. I would love an opportunity to visit Aspen again. Scott and I love Crested Butte, CO so much so if we go skiing again I'm almost certain that's where we would choose to go. However, Aspen was so fun and the perfect weekend getaway trip for any season of the year. I would love to take Campbell and the girls (dogs were everywhere!!!!) if we were ever to go again. They would love it!

Monday, September 21, 2015

Aspen Getaway

Hello there! Long time no blog. Sorry for the MIA. I've been out west the last few days but I'm finally back home and it feels so good to be here. There's no place like home! If you follow me on Instagram (@kara2lou) you already know that I've been in Aspen. Scott and I went for a long weekend and we had a really great time. The purpose of the trip was for one of Scott's friends wedding. We decided to make a little mini vacation out of it. We flew into Denver and drove a few hours to Aspen and it was the most beautiful drive along Independence Pass. Independence Pass is closed during the winter because it's narrow and curvy and sometimes a little scary! But the scenery is unbeatable and the drive was seriously one of my favorite parts about our vacation. We stayed at the St. Regis (ooh la la....the husband went for a splurge!) and it was super nice and fancy. I highly recommend if you want to feel like royalty for a few days.
One of the things Scott wanted to make sure we did while we were in Aspen was visit the Maroon Bells. They're the most photographed mountains in North America and he really wanted to see and take photos of them. Once we knew the sunlight would be perfect for some great shots, we headed up the mountain to check it out.
Hello gorgeous! It's take your breath away beautiful. I just stood and stared in amazement at the beauty before my eyes. The trees in Aspen have already turned yellow and red and orange--stunning! I am so thankful that we went to Aspen in the fall because we probably never would have chosen to do that on our own. We love to ski so we've only been to Colorado in the winter. I've always heard it's beautiful in the summer and the fall and I'm here to testify that fall in Colorado is gorgeous!!!! If you get an opportunity, you must see it for yourself!
We brought our tripod so we could get some pictures in front of the Maroon Bells. I love how they turned out! The backdrop is just too pretty!
And since I'm my husbands photography muse, a few shots of yours truly. The fall foliage is just too perfect and the reflection of the mountains and trees onto the lake is so dreamy!!
We walked around the area and did a tiny bit of hiking. I wasn't thinking and wore my booties (with a semi-high heel) to a mountain so the exploring was minimal to say the least. Plus it was freezing and neither of us had a jacket. Colorado rookies to say the least.
Once we were finished with the Maroon Bells, we headed back into town, ate a delicious dinner, then turned in for the night. I'll share more about our Aspen getaway tomorrow! Until then.....

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Wordless Wednesday | First Day of School

Monday, September 14, 2015

Campbell's First Day of MDO 2015

Campbell had his first day of MDO today! The day ended up being so wonderfully perfect!! When I arrived at the church, Campbell seemed like he was really excited to be there. I dropped him off at his classroom and he gave me a quick look of panic but instantly got over it. Whew! He started making his way around the room checking out all of the fun new toys that he just had to get his hands on.
I left and did what I always do--go to Walmart. I stocked up on groceries, went home to unload them, then got back out to run around town. I didn't have just a ton of errands to take care of today so I ended up doing a little shopping and had lunch with Scott at Flying Burrito. Before I knew it, it was time to pick up my little man. I missed him so much! I was excited to see him and hear how his day went.
When I picked him up the ladies said Campbell did so, so great! They said he explored the room and every toy in it. He ate all of his lunch and--get this--slept for an hour and a half on his nap mat!! What?! I wondered how in the world that was going to work out but apparently it worked out perfectly. They said Campbell napped the longest of anyone (loves to nap just like his mommy!) and they kept waiting on him to wake up from all of the noise but he didn't so finally they just turned the lights on and went about business as usual while Campbell just laid there. Ha!!! That really cracks me up. Although I wish they had taken a picture of it because I really want to see that with my own eyes.
I'm so glad my little man had such a great day at "school." Two little kiddos from our neighborhood are in Campbell's class and I'm so glad they are! His teachers are so sweet and I can tell Campbell feels very comfortable and happy there. First day of school = success!

Friday, September 11, 2015

But Really.


I laughed so hard when I saw this. Because for real tho.
Enjoy your weekend everyone! Go Hogs!!

Thursday, September 10, 2015

MDO, Baths & Casseroles

We've had a busy and fun day today! This morning our MDO held an open house for us to go and meet Campbell's new teachers. I was very anxious to meet them and see what his classroom would be like. Right when we walked in the door I knew I was going to be so happy with everything this year. The toys for him to play with are so great and the teachers (insert heart eye emoji)!!! I love, love, love Campbell's teachers this year. One lady has been there for decades and I have found that I absolutely adore the sweet ladies who have been doing MDO for that long. They clearly have a heart for it and they know what they're doing better than I do! We stayed for 30 minutes and they wrote down all kinds of info/details about Campbell that I could think to give them. He's made up his own sign language for "more" and "food/hungry/eat" and they wanted to know all about that so they would be able to communicate with him easily. They gave me a letter detailing everything they would be doing during the day and I've hung it on my refrigerator so I can always know what Campbell is doing and when. I just feel so great about it all and that is such a wonderful blessing! I'm very excited for this "school" year.
Right when we were finished with our open house we headed straight to the Amazeum for a fun play date! We go to the Amazeum all the time and it never gets old. This time Campbell was especially having so much fun with the diner area.
I'm trying my hardest to find Madison and Ivy a Halloween costume (you know they can't be left out!!) and I am really struggling this year. Also, Ivy has decided she doesn't know how to get on the bed anymore. I have no idea why. She wakes me up about 4 times a night asking for help to get up. I'm tired of my sleep getting disturbed so I bought her some of those pet stairs yesterday and she used them all night long. It's a little odd since those are for older dogs and Ivy is only 3 but whatever. I can tell she's embarrassed about it. When I was practicing with her yesterday afternoon, she had a look of shame on her face. Bless her heart! I hope this helps solve whatever the problem is. I know she can get up on the bed but I'm wondering if it hurts her to do it. I may have to take her in just to check and make sure everything with her little joints are okay.
Campbell has always loved his bath but it is super fun these days now that I've started putting these fun lights in his tub. I've had these "ice cubes" that light up in all different colors since I was in college. You can put them in a drink or punch bowl for an extra little fun. I thought Campbell would enjoy having them in his bath and boy does he. From cocktails to toddler baths. Ahh how times have changed!
Campbell is slowly but surly starting to get more picky on me. He used to eat anything I gave him and he doesn't anymore. It's so frustrating! He loves all fruit, yogurt and bread/pasta/rice. Oh and quesadillas but who doesn't? Campbell will still eat anything if I hide it in a casserole or quiche so apparently we're going to have to start eating that way a lot more than I'd prefer to. Tonight I made a chicken, rice and green bean casserole and he ate two big bowls of it. If I laid out all of those items separately on his tray, he would have only eaten the rice. Go figure.