Wow! It has been sooo long since I did a Friday favorites post. Life has been crazy with our newborn Mia, and Ella having some health issues. Ella is still her own person, and I don't think it's my place to share online to strangers. Just know she is absolutely a-okay, but it's been extremely emotional and difficult around here lately, as her mood and behavior has been affected as well. We do hope to have some answers soon!
With everything going on, I have been feeling sort of 'blah' and I think it's because my self-care has not been a priority. One thing I do for myself is work on this blog... it's my favorite thing to do in my down-time. Obviously free time is rare these days, but when I do get a minute to myself I want to work on this space I have created and continue connecting and sharing with all of you. I am setting a goal for myself to work on my blog everyday, and I hope to be around more than once a month! With that being said, here are some of my favorites from this week!
One-
Having a happy and healthy baby is my FAVORITE. Mia is such a happy little baby, and that makes me sooo happy. I always dreamt of having that smiley infant, and here she is. She still doesn't like being set down what-so-ever, so as long as I am holding her, this is how happy she is. My sweet Mia girl, you are our favorite for now and always.
Two-
This cutie is another lifelong favorite... I am still just so obsessed with her after all this time. She has changed so much and is still my sweet and silly little girl. Sadly, Ella has had a hard month with some health issues that have been hard on all of us. We've been to urgent cares, her pediatrician anddddd the ER, BUT she does seem to be getting a bit better. I'm not sure if I will share more details here or not, as it's personal for her and not my place to share. Just know that she will be a-okay and we are working on helping her.
Three-
We had gyros the other night and it was definitely my favorite dinner of the week! If you live near a Trader Joes, you have to try their Gyro meat, tzatziki sauce and garlic spread. Now that we have two kids, we are always looking for quick and easy (but also healthy-ish.) This meal checked all the boxes. I was able to make the rice right in our rice cooker, and prepped the cucumbers and tomatoes while the meat heated up in the pan. I steamed some broccoli, toasted some pita and voila... dinner!
Four-
Bath time is Mia's favorite! We love this infant bathing seat (affiliate link.) We never used something like this with Ella because I thought filling a whole tub to use this seat was a waste of water. However, with siblings it is GREAT. The girls can bathe together and Mia absolutely loves just lounging in her seat.
Five-
Ella has mastered using scissors to cut yarn and it is so exciting to see! She has been working so hard on using her scissors. She still struggles with paper, so we are going to do more activities for this to help her learn.
Six-
We created this little plant watering area in our family room and it's Ella's new favorite spot in the house! She keeps asking me to get her more flowers and plants. Next time I take her to Trader Joes we are going to let her get a couple more. She has an area for her watering can and a spot for rags in case she spills.
Before, her plant was on her toy shelf and she had to take it down to water it and this usually resulted in more of a mess than we needed. We are both really excited about her new plant space!
Seven-
Mia actually LOVES tummy time and is getting so strong already. She rolled from her belly to her back the other day and it was so exciting! Ella was not a fan of tummy time! It's so funny to see how different they are already. She absolutely loves this little mirror (affiliate link) that we set in front of her. It's big motivation for her to lift up her head to look up at her self. She has strong neck muscles already.
See this proud girls face after a good tummy-time workout? Her little faces are so cute to me.
Eight-
I have been really obsessed with Starbuck's new brown sugar oat milk espresso. It's probably my favorite drink right now. I tried it once and was immediately in love, but I am not one to spend 5-6$ per day on a coffee out. Instead, I made my own version and it was honestly pretty good! I made an espresso in our Nespresso machine, and added stevia, cinnamon and oat milk. I chose stevia instead of brown sugar because it makes it a bit healthier. It tastes yummy when hot but I prefer it iced!
Nine-
And last but not least are these two cuties on the swing together. Having kids is funny. With the first baby, you are so paranoid and careful. I would have NEVER stuck Ella in a swing at two months old. But poor Mia is dragged around by her older sister and when Ella asks to have Mia in the swing with her, that's what she gets. Mia is a trooper though and rarely if ever seems bothered. I think they are going to have such a sweet bond as they get older... They already do, but it's going to be on another level when they can actually play together.
That's all I have for favorites this week, and sweet Mia is already looking like she might be awake for the day... it's 6 am :D So that's fun. We will hopefully be back on Monday to share our weekend with you guys, as long as I find time to throw a post together. Have a happy Friday and a great week!
Ashley
xoxo
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