Seven Days of Whole 30

We are one-week in to the Whole 30 kick and I must say, I love it! It's great to know what you are putting in your body is 100% whole and REAL food. Not processed. No GMO's or refined sugars.

Now, let me start by saying - the hubs is doing Whole 30 - not me. But, I am certainly reaping the benefits. I mean, who's going to cook two separate meals three times a day... plus feeding a toddler and infant. Not happening at the Lyons' Den.  However, I'm pretty sure both Annalee and Ford are more "Whole 30"  than I am in terms of their meals.

Side note - we made a freezer full of infant meals for Ford last week and little man is eating well -  zucchini, squash, blueberries, sweet potatoes, apples, pears, peas and green beans. I followed Urban Mom Tale's post on 1 Month of Easy & Healthy Baby Foods for a month and it was so easy.

So, back to the Whole 30 diet. The hubs has been wanting to try it for some time, and it just hasn't been easy to take the plunge - a vacation, or trip, or celebration always deterred us. We soon realized that there is always going to be something to deter us, so last Tuesday he just decided now was the time. It's sorta been fun researching menus and meals, snacks and "hacks."

I decided not to take the full plunge this time... but I am eating all the same meals, just adding in grains and dairy as needed.  I know there are many bloggers out there that have done the Whole 30 diet while breastfeeding, but I just can't. I've had mastitis way too many times to count, cracked nipples, bleeding, sharp pains that we thought was thrush - but wasn't - thank goodness. I just don't want to change my diet too drastically to affect my milk supply. I dieted once when Annalee was 9 months old and was rushed to the doc with crazy low blood sugar, so since then I just decided it wasn't worth it. I could wait. I have always been borderline low blood sugar, so I have to be careful as it is with breastfeeding and making sure I am getting the right amount of sugar I need to maintain my own strength.

All that to say - send me your favorite Whole 30 recipes. We have made a few really delicious meals that I'm going to share, but I want to hear from you all!

Carolina Charm just posted a great Whole 30 Breakfast Bowls recipe that I can't wait to try.

On a sorta-related note, Ford man got his first tooth!

How alike are my babies?

Annalee at 6 months

 I think it's neat to look back at our last six months and take note of how different these Lex Lyons Cubs are... and how alike they are. So many things are the same... and lots are SO different. So here it goes.... 

Things that are the SAME

Both babies took to nursing pretty well in the hospital.
We came home after two nights.
Both babies slept in our room in the same basinet.
Both babies started eating food at 6 months.... and both got homemade baby food too start. {we'll see how long this lasts for baby #2}

Ford at 6 months

Both babies had hair, and didn't loose it... but we still don't have much.
Neither of my babies liked the swing - the mommaroo was a HUGE waste of money. ha!
Both babies love the carseat and going on walks... as long as we are moving.
Both hate a wet diaper.

Things that are DIFFERENT

Annalee was a c-section baby. Ford came on his own. {and in his own time}
Annalee was in her own room and own bed around 11-12 weeks. Ford stayed in our room closer to 5 months. {Maybe it was the move, or my laziness to go into his room to feed him, or the fact that his sister had his crib}
Annalee took a paci at 3 weeks, and Froggie is still hiding in her bed. Ford, will not take a paci.
Annalee liked the swaddle, Ford likes a sleep sack.
Annalee was a back sleeper all the way, Ford loves his belly.
Annalee never took 4 oz. of milk, we just moved Ford to 5.5 oz. {big boy!}

Look how alike they look?  Amazing right? 

Annalee Estelle | 33 months

I figure it was time for an update on the Original Lex Lyons Cub. 

This little lady of ours is certainly one of a kind. She's smart, and sassy, and funny and makes our hearts melt into a million pieces when she wants... and turns around and knows just what buttons to push to keep us on our toes. 

I'm reminded daily that the 2's are hard. The 3's are harder. It's a constant strain on my patience, throw in my lack of sleep from a newborn and I can certainly at test to the daily challenges this age brings with it. 

Meltdowns just because. 

Not listening. Just because

Throwing toys. Dumping toys. Jumping off furniture. All. Day. Every. Day.

All that said. She's really the sweetest little lady, helpful and thoughtful and soaking up everything there is to hear and learn.  

She loves her little brother, something fierce, and can not wait to see him every day after school.

She loves to snuggle, to hug, to kiss, and to still be held. 

She is sleeping like a champ in her big girl bed, but is an early riser. 

We have been toying around with potty training for a few months now.... maybe 6 months actually, but they say when it clicks, it just clicks... and it finally did. 

Within the past week or two she has really come a long way. She asks to pee in the potty, even if we are out and she has a diaper on. She hasn't had any accidents as of yet, but we are supper on her very 30 min asking if she has to pee. M&M's also may have something to do with it! 

Her favorite toys at the moment... cooking in her kitchen, tea parties, baby dolls, blocks, playing doctor and giving check-ups, her tool kit to fix anything and everything, books, stickers, painting, play dough, washing dishes, building forts, and anything outside. She loves being outdoors, in the snow, rain or sunshine. We take lots of walks, have tea parties, check the mail, run in the yard, play ball and hide n seek.

Favorite foods.... cucumbers, avocados, carrots and dip, peppers, grilled chicken, pork, hot dogs, apple sauce, cheese sticks, yogurt, crackers, raisons, pretzels and noodles. 

Favorite treats... popsicles, ice cream, gummies, chips, and juice. 

Favorite songs... Frosty the Snowman, Jingle Bells and Shake It Off, by T-swift.

We brush our teeth and say our prayers every night before bed. It's precious to hear her list off mom and dad, and me and baby Ford, and Mimi & Garfield, and Gia and GranDe and my cousins, and all my friends... melts my heart. 

Favorite books... Bearenstain Bears Trick or Treat, Clifford's Valentine, Richard Scary's Big Word Book. 

Paw Patrol and Doc McStuffins are crowd favorites. Bubble Guppies too! 

Wearing 3T and some 4T clothes (mostly one piece outfits, jammies, etc) 

Wears size 9/10 in shoes.

Knows her ABC's pretty well - mostly the song. Can recognize some letters. Knows her shapes and colors and can count to almost 20. 

You still love a good routine. Dinner is around 5:30/6, bath around 7 and bedtime is around 8. 

My last update was at 23 months. At least I started that blog with... "this will probably be my last monthly update for you." 

I did pretty good for her first two years of life though:

One // Two // Three // Four // Five // Six // Seven // Eight // Nine // Ten // Eleven // Twelve

A typical day with a 13 mo old  //  14 & 15 months  //  16 & 17 months // 19 months // 20 months

We love you baby girl!

Paper Valentine's

Wishing you all a very Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Ash Wednesday as well. I can't ever remember the two falling on the same day... makes for a busy week I suppose. 

I was laughing with other bloggers this morning at all the non-Pinterest worthy Valentine's this year. I was right there with them. For some reason, I had zero desire to get all crafty this year. Instead I went to Dollar Tree, picked out some Paw Patrol paper valentines, paired them with heart glasses, bubbles and necklaces and called it a day. We did paint a couple handprints on Gia and Grande's Valentine's cards, but that's about as crafty as I got this year. 

If y'all know me, you know I love a good reason to get crafty. But I'm also super nostalgic for my childhood holidays. My mom is a teacher and every holiday - including those like Groundhog day or President's Day - always included a special breakfast and books to go along with them. 

I loved it. Every week there was something to be celebrated! 

When it came to Valentine's Day, I loved picking out my paper valentines "in a box", scribbling my name on the back and writing special notes to my friends. They never included candy, or treats, or snacks... just good old fashioned paper cards that had to fit through the slit in my perfectly decorated shoe box at school. 

After school we'd spend a hour opening our cards, laying them all out and reading all our friends notes. It was the best. So simple. 

Maybe I'm secretly trying to bring things back to the good ole' days. Or maybe I'm just lazy. Either way, I feel quite content with my non-pinterest worthy valentine's this year... and my 2.5 year old was very pleased indeed!

Enjoying her special treats from Ms Jenny last weekend. 

Happy 1st Valentine's My littlest Love!

We're taking it easy tonight - I was up all night with some sort of stomach bug, so I'm home today, taking it slow and catching up on blogs. 

Cheers to a great lenten season this year. My mom arrives tomorrow and will be with us almost all 40 days of lent this year. I can't wait! 

Catching Up - Welcome 2018

My first New Year's Day

I'm not really sure where January went. This year is flying by, and although I love blogging... it's taken a back seat to well, everything these days.

Things are just busy. 

Work is good. Busy, but good. I love my staff! Thank goodness for them. 

We rang in the New Year in Lex.... with two parties with the kiddos early, and lobsters and champagne at midnight at Home. Our new Home. Ya'll, sometimes I can't even believe this is our new house. Less than a year ago, we were walking through this house with BIG IDEAS, and never did we actually believe that it would happen. It's almost a dream come true, really. 

They say that if it's meant to be, it will be, and for some reason - the first time I saw this house, I just knew it had to be ours. Now it is. And I'm not quite sure I believe it. 

I'll do an update on our first Lex Lyons Cub soon... she's grown and changed so much, I just want to slow down time. (or at least record it, since I haven't found a good way to freeze her) We moved into her big girl bed (for good this time) and she has taken to potty training like a champ these past two weeks. 

I finally did a 6 month update on our little man! He's such a good baby... and we like him a whole lot more now that he's learned to SLEEP. :)  Y'all, going on no sleep is not ok. It's crazy how much of a toll it take on your body. Throw in a few trips and this month has just been exhausting. 

Jesse has two work trips in January. So the kiddos and I got creative with freezing cold temps. Lots of fort building, cookie baking, painting and laps ran around inside. 

We had a couple big snows, and Dad was home to take Miss Annalee sledding both times. 

We visited Jesse's mom for a long weekend. Ford's first trip to Franklin! 

We also had a fun sleepover with the Hollomon's in Crozet - not much sleep - but lots of laughs! 

Annalee had her first stomach bug, which made for a long week of tag-teaming off work and a deep clean of the house. Not a terrible thing, right?

Ford had a great 6 month check-up and joined us at the dinner table this month!

We both got our flu shots and have basically steered clear of any and all public kids places this month - anyone else?

We've purchased a few things for the house... new pillows for the living room, silhouettes of the kiddos - yet to be framed for the wall. A server for the dining room, just waiting to be filled. A pillow for Ford's room and a new lamp for Annalee. It's coming along slowly... 

My goal over the next month is to work on "before and after's" of the house transformation. I can't wait to share with you guys - it's truly amazing. Back to what I was saying earlier, I can not believe we have owned this home for 10 months now. 

Writing down all we've done in a month certainly makes it seem and feel like so much more - which makes my heart so full. 

Sometimes it's hard to see it all, when you're just living for nap time, which is us, on any given weekend. 

I'm home with my little older one this afternoon - and I think an afternoon of ME time to blog, was just what the heart needed this Valentine week. 

Wishing you all a very Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow! 

We are staying in, making spaghetti and meatballs and watching Lady in the Tramp, with our little lady. 

Samford Walker | 6 months

Six Month Highlights:

• 17lbs, 12 ozs., 25 inches long, 16 1/2 in head circumference 
• Dark eyes... a little deep blue in the middle and brown around the outside. 
• You are starting to get a little more hair on top of your head
• Wearing 6-9 month clothing and 9 month pajamas \\ Pampers Size 3 diapers 
• Nicknames: Little Man, Baby Ford, Brother Bear
• Firsts: Rolled over on Dec 8 - during the KA Tie exchange at our house, Celebrated your first Christmas and New Year's this month. First Cold was 3 days before Christmas, you came home with a nasty cough and runny nose. The doc didn't seem concerned... but RSV was going around and we watched you closely. You probably had a mild case, but you shook it pretty quick. 
• Tricks: big smiles, laughs, talking/babbling, holding toys, sitting up with assistance now, rolling all over the place... and somehow moving from where we leave you.
• Food: Mostly Momma's milk and started food just last week (a week before your 6 mom birthday), so far I think you are going to be a good eater. We can't get the food to your mouth fast enough! You love oatmeal, bananas, sweet potatoes, carrots, butternut squash, and just apples. You didn't like the purred green beans and the actual applesauce is a little sweet. 
• You made your first trip to Franklin, NC this month to visit Gia
• We are working on sleep - you are not the best sleeper these days. But it's getting better. We put you down around 7pm, feed you once around 10pm... then sometimes it's midnight, 3 and 6. Other nights it's 1:45, 4 and 5:30. Like I said, we're working on it. UPDATE - You finally slept through the night on Feb 7... 6:30 p.m.-5:30 a.m., with just a dream feed! 
• You are a good napper, however, giving us 2 strong naps during the day. 
• We moved you to your own room around 5 months, and into your crib just shy of 6 months. The pack n play had to go... and thankfully your sister wanted to give up her crib for you.
• You are doing really well at your sitters and we are very happy!
• You love playing on your playmate/gym and your lion bouncer is your favorite. We got out the frog seat for you to sit upright in, and it's not really your favorite - unless you are getting fed, and then you're happy. We recently moved you to the booster seat at the bar and you like it better - free arms to grab food. 
• You don't really like the paci. We tried to give it to you at night around the 4-5 month range and you weren't really having it, so we just did without. 
• We did purchase breathable bumpers for you - since you love to roll around and snuggle up to them at night. 
• No more laying on the bed for you, mom caught you just before you hit the ground after rolling off the side.

Six Month Favorites {Items We Couldn't Live Without}:

Sleep Sacks \\ Lion Bouncer \\ Play mat \\ Burp clothes \\ Sophie \\ Ergo 360

Baby Bath Tub \\  Silicone bibs \\ High-chair seat

Welcome Baby | One Month | Two Months | Birth Announcement | Three Months