Books Read in April 2015

1. Still the One by Jill Shalvis (NOTE: This is part of the Animal Magnetism series. The order of which can be found here.)
2. Love After All by Jaci Burton (NOTE: This is part of the Hope series. The order of which can be found here.)
3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
4. Hard Knocks by Lori Foster (NOTE: This is part of the Ultimate series. The order of which can be found here.)

In preparation to the sequel of To Kill a Mockingbird, I did a reread. I really enjoyed it this time around. I'm curious to see what the sequel will hold this summer. The others were romances to help come down from The Nightingale and balanced out To Kill a Mockingbird.

Week 52

Week 51

Week 50

So big!

Baby is standing!  He's done it before, but he really started standing quite a bit yesterday and loves to show off.  He's still taken a step here and there, but I would not call it walking by any stretch.  His increased exercise has increased his appetite.  It seems he's always hungry yet never tired.  This one is not a napper like his sister, but he is good-natured at least.  He gets a short morning nap and a longer afternoon nap.  He only sleeps in his crib though so if we're out, he stays up.  I haven't tested being out all day to see if he'd ever given in and sleep in the stroller.  He will nap in the car though.  

Movies Watched in March 2015

1. Kingsman: The Secret Service
2. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
3. Home

Mediocre month.  I really liked Kingsman despite the fact that I'm a baby about violence in film.  I binge-watched Kimmy Schmidt.  I didn't love it as much as a lot of critics, but I found it funny in parts.  Little Miss really wanted to see Home so we went with Sister and Nephew.  It was cute, but it didn't make any list of favorites for me.

Books Read in March 2015

1. Fever by Maya Banks (NOTE: This is part of the Breathless series. The order of which can be found here.)
2. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
3. Scandal and the Duchess by Jennifer Ashley (NOTE: This is part of the Mackenzies/McBride series. The order of which can be found here.)
4. Rules for a Proper Governess by Jennifer Ashley (NOTE: This is part of the Mackenzies/McBride series. The order of which can be found here.)
5. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (NOTE: This is part of the Narnia series. The order of which is a bit debated. Do you read in order which it was written or published. If you want to explore either, the orders can be found here.)

The Nightingale really ruined me for other books.  I almost wanted to reread it, but it made me too sad.  So, I read some romances that I had collected but not read and now have been reading some Classics.  Currently, I'm reading To Kill a Mockingbird for example.  I do highly recommend The Nightingale if you're looking for a WWII novel set in France.  Good stuff even if it is a bit heartbreaking at times.

Week 49

Week 48

Food, Glorious Food

Baby loves to eat.  He was slow to take to it, but he loves it.  He hates feeding himself.  He just looks at me and then looks at the food like, "OK, go to it!"  I've been trying to get him to feed himself more.  He will eat his snacks - Puffs, Cheerios, the occasional piece of meat.  I get that fruit is slippery and some of the softer foods are harder to grasp, but he doesn't even try.

Last weekend, I put him down for awhile to give it a go.  He ate some, but he stuffed his face and then choked.  I let him figure out what to do, and he did get better.  I slipped him some food once in awhile, too, to make sure he was eating instead of just smooshing it all into the tray.

He mostly swept it all to the floor.  He seemed upset by this.  At least, it was accidental.  Little Miss used to drop her food to the floor.  I'm sure he'll learn that trick eventually.  In the meantime, it's time to break out the tarp again.  Good thing I kept it from Little Miss though I keep joking that I'm going to put it beneath Husband's chair.

Eventually, I gave in, fed him some food, and then just took him out to have his bottle.  This is the very excited face he got when he saw I was cleaning up and the exercise in torture was over.  I have a suspicion, he knew he'd hold out longer than I.

At the end of the evening, he had a challenging diaper, but then there was a bonus one that didn't leak but it just was a scene out of a movie.  He kept rolling and kicking, and he just had the mess everywhere - on his feet, on his hands.  I was positive that he was going to eat it.  I cleaned him off, but I just felt like he was never going to be clean again so I just ran a bath and plunked him in it.  It was quite the end of the day!  Good thing he's so darned cute.

Hockey

Little Miss has been enjoying Learn to Hockey Skate.  We don't feel like they're doing too much with her, but we'll see.  I don't get to be as much of a spectator as I have been in the past as Baby doesn't like to sit and watch or hang out.  He likes to be on the move.  I usually walk him around.  Last weekend, he ate an entire fruit cup.  His favorite was, surprisingly, the pineapple.  

 We have another month to go so we'll see how much Little Miss progresses.  She enjoys it at least.  At this point, that's the most important part.  

March 2015 Weekend Update

This month, Little Miss started Learn to Hockey Skate.  She has taken a year off of skating so we were a little worried.  Husband took her to Free Skate during a snow day - and it was a good thing.  She still needs to gain her confidence back, but she's on par with half the class.  The other half is really ridiculously good.  The first weekend of the month, we also had dinner with the In-Laws for their birthday.

 The babies are ridiculously cute - as are all the older cousins.  Baby doesn't sleep when he is outside of his bed or car so he stayed awake the entire evening entertaining everyone.  He gets slightly fussy, but it's not too bad.  He did some pretty good sleeping when we got home.

 The next morning, Little Miss and I went and met Brother-in-Law and Nephew at the trampoline park.  Little Miss jumped like crazy and had a great time with her older cousin.

The second weekend in March, I went to some of the hockey lesson before leaving to meet a friend at the mall where we had lunch before a movie.  It was a really fun afternoon.  After, we walked around the mall where I snagged a pair of cheap pants for Baby at Baby Gap.  He has a handful of clothes but mostly tops and not a lot in this odd 9 month size.  We did practically nothing on that following Sunday, but the weather was horrible so it was a good day to stay inside.

The third weekend in March, we did hockey and then I went to a pot luck with friends (see earlier post in the month).  I went to bed early that night.  On Sunday, the kids and I went to hang with my mother and had a brief cameo by Sister and Future-Brother-in-Law.  We had lunch and hung out and then went to Old Navy for a bathing suit for Little Miss.  We made a brief stop at the mall so Mom could buy me these jeans.  She was obsessed with these size 0 jeggings for less than $3.  She figured I was the only one who could wear them so I must have them.  

The last weekend of March, we went to hockey.  Then, Little Miss and I met up with Sister and Nephew for a movie.  After, Little Miss went to a sleepover with the Inlaws and the other nephew.  Poor girl got sick in the middle of the night, but she recovered by Sunday evening.  Meanwhile, Husband and I used up some anniversary gift cards and got some take out.  I hit up Trader Joe's for some treats (not really treats, but I don't make the visit often so I like to stock up on things I can't find anywhere else when I go).  Also, I was introduced to cookie butter.  O.M.G.  On Sunday, Husband went to hang out with a friend while I held down the fort at home.  I mostly kept the baby fed while Little Miss slept off her bug and I binge watched Season 2 of Hannibal.  Baby also was a firework of bodily functions so that was exciting.