My Little Life In Texas

The Summer Infant Pop N' Jump Activity Center is one of Jackson's favorite thing right now!!  My parents watch Jackson 2 days a week while I'm working from home and they have this.  He loves having all of his toys right there within reach all while being able to start balancing as he bounces and plays!  It's also super portable and comes with a sun shade in case you want to take it outside with you to the beach or park!

The Lamaze Peek-a-Boo Forest book is amazing!  The head of the owl on the front is plush and all of the pages have a crinkle to them.  This particular book has flaps that open and and uncover different animals in their homes!  It's super cute and wipes clean very easily!

The Joovy Spoon Walker is awesome!  We have animals in our house and it puts him on the same level as them which he absolutely LOVES!  I really love the size of the tray attached - it is HUGE!  Plenty of room for all of his favorite toys and it also means they are less likely to end up on the floor which means I won't be playing fetch.

**After we received the walker as a gift, my pediatrician told me that they don't really recommend using them as it advances babies mobility before they're truly ready for it and it can inhibit their balance in preparation for walking.  While I'm sure all of these things are true, I am not too worried as we don't use it a ton just yet because of those reasons.**

The Grapple Toy Tether is my newest favorite thing.  While we love the size of the tray the Joovy Spoon has, this toy has literally been a game changer with other trays (high chair, bumbo, etc.).  It suctions to whatever surface you need it to and you have attach toys to the tethers for easy grabbing and better yet, NO FALLING!!  They stay right there with it and you don't have to continue picking toys up off the floor!  Whoever came up with this thin is a genius in my book!

The MAM Air Orthodontic Pacifier is a new pacifier that we decided to try out.  Our little guy spits up quite often and he developed a little bit of baby acne above his upper lip.  I figured it was because of the pacifiers we were using (trapping the moisture under the pacifier) and decided to give these open air ones a try!  Within a few days of using them, the baby acne disappeared and he likes the shape of them so it's a total win-win in my book!!

6 Months!!!

The Holiday Season has always held a very special place in my heart, as I'm sure it does with you too for a variety of reasons.  But this year is different.  It's our first year in Texas.  We are close to my family [which hasn't been the case since we got married in 2010].  It's the first year my husband and I will really start our family traditions.  I'm hosting Christmas dinner and preparing everything myself [which, if you know me personally, that is a HUGE thing as you don't exactly make Easy Mac and frozen pizza for Christmas dinner... usually].  And finally, it's our first Christmas as a family of three; Jackson's first Christmas!!

Traditions are what make this time of year so special.

When I was little we had a few traditions [I feel like traditions are made because children like things that happen and want them to happen every year from then on...]  It always started after Thanksgiving - it was never allowed to start listening to Christmas music or putting up decorations before Thanksgiving.  We would always put up our tree as a family.  We would unpack the box that had the Santa hats in it first, and everyone wore their respective hats (yes, we each had our own distinctive hat).  Then, my mom and dad would take ornaments out of the box and my sister and I would hang them on the tree.

There were so many ornaments.  Ornaments one of us had handmade.  Ornaments we had each picked out for each year.  Ornaments that reminded us of our family vacations.  Ornaments that we had always had but didn't necessarily know where it came from.  My sister and I each have a 'rag doll' ornament and it became our tradition of throwing her near the top of the tree and letting her stumble through the branches until she found her 'seat' in the tree for that year.  And the random ornament that nobody remembers ever receiving that has a picture of a random happy family (you know like those pictures that come in frames).  We originally had said we would replace it with a picture of our family, but years went by and we never did so we would make up names and stories of the people inn this picture.  After the tree was decorated, we would eat chili and usually watch a Christmas movie or two before heading to bed.




Christmas Eve we were always bursting with excitement.  We would always head to church in the evening and sing Christmas carols surrounded by many friends from over the years.  After the service, we would stop and grab Chinese food on our way home.  When we got home we would eat as quickly as we could our parents would let us.  After that we would get to open ONE gift.  We never got to choose this gift - my mom would always have it marked.  The gift might vary slightly from year to year, but it would always have a new set of pajamas.  We would change into our new pajamas and drink hot cocoa while falling asleep to watching It's A Wonderful Life.

Christmas morning usually started with my sister waking me up extremely early (somewhere between 3 and 5 in the morning) and us sneaking into the living room to see what Santa brought that year.  We looked at everything - everyone's goodies (not just our own).  We made sure to put everything back where it was and we would go back to sleep.  We would be woken a few hours later by the smell of breakfast being cooked by my dad.   We came back into the living room and acted as surprised as we could so that it wasn't obvious we had already seen all the goodies - our parents always knew it was a show.

After breakfast, we would show our parents what Santa brought and then would come unwrapping the gifts.  I would put on my Santa hat and would bring out the gifts from under the tree.  We would organize them in stacks in front of whomever they belonged to and then the unwrapping would begin.  Because it was always a tough decision about who got to open the first gift, we would always go with who had the most - if there was a tie, then the youngest of those would start [I got to start most years seeing as I'm the baby of the family and my sister and I normally had the same amount so as not to start any arguments].

After all the gifts were open, we would try on all the clothes that were received to make sure they fit.  Then we would play with everything else we got.  Every Christmas morning, my sister and I seemed to get along.  We would share our gifts and play with them together.  It may have been the only time all year we would act this way, but it happened every single year without fail.

Even though my husband and I have celebrated 9 Christmases together (6 married), this is the first year we will truly start our own traditions.

This year, we are celebrating our first Christmas as a family of three.  Even though Jackson won't remember it, I want to start a routine that will continue to happen no matter where we are.

This year, we have chosen to host Christmas Day at our home.  My parents, Ryan's mom, and my mom's parents will be coming over to share in the day's festivities.  While I have a loose itinerary planned in my head, I know things will organically unfold.  The thing I'm the most nervous about is Christmas dinner!  I have never held a dinner party, or done any major cooking for company before.  I am a great hostess in my mind, with the table decorations and themed snacks and drinks planned out, but have never had a reason to do any of it before [basically I have a Pinterest board of ideas that I hope to succeed at - we will see if that happens].

Wishing you the happiest of holidays from my family to yours

I don't know about you, but I LOVE Christmas!  However, I truly feel that even though everyone makes it a point to post their "#monthofthanks" all over social media, Thanksgiving really does get forgotten.  Between radio stations playing Christmas music starting November 1, all major retailers selling Christmas stock in mid-October, and Black Thursday Friday having a complete overhaul on Thanksgiving day, it really takes away from the holiday that I hold nearest and dearest to my heart!

The image[s] above shows my whole family together having a blast!  While it's not a 100% accurate representation of everyone currently in my family, it represents the joy and fun we have whenever we all get together.

I have family spread around the country in Texas, Kansas, and Illinois, and the only time of year everyone really makes it a point to get together is Thanksgiving.  Our tradition is to take turns traveling to one of the siblings' houses (my aunts/uncles) and having a revolving host.  This way we take turns on traveling so not one family always seems to travel.  This particular year (shown above) we were also celebrating my grandfather's 80th birthday so we rented a house on the lake near their home outside of Dallas/Fort Worth.

The spirit of this particular holiday is found in the traditions.  Dad cooking breakfast for everyone.  Grandma making the gravy and dressing, while overseeing EVERYTHING else going on in the kitchen.  The biting of the turkey leg by my mom and her two sisters.  The yearly photo shoot of the girl cousins.  Playing an insane amount of Cesspool Rummy (a variation of the version we play can be found here) .  Watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and then the Dallas Cowboys game (always hoping for a win).

And then there's Friday....

A few years ago, we didn't want to do the same old 'turkey sandwich leftovers throughout the weekend,' so we decided to try something different.  We call it Fiesta Friday!  It consists of guac, turkey fajitas, queso, dips, fiesta music, margaritas, and even more card playing!  It's loud, obnoxious, a bit crazy, and totally amazing every single year.  We always invite friends in the area to come and join in the fiesta and carry on late into the evening!

[I think it's safe to say that my favorite part about the Thanksgiving Holiday is Fiesta Friday!]

We don't brave the stores in hopes of a great deal on Black Friday, in fact we rarely leave the house after Wednesday.  It just isn't what we do.  It's not our family's tradition.  I think the most beautiful thing about this holiday is the different traditions every family has.  The subtle differences in the feast we all take part in and the stories that are shared among everyone.

There isn't a single memory of Thanksgiving with my family that I don't enjoy reflecting on [except when I had the flu so we weren't able to travel to be with my extended family].  And although I have a very deep love of Thanksgiving, it always marks the start of the Christmas season.  Once Thanksgiving is over, I blast the Christmas music, decorate my house, light my holiday candles, and bake my favorite Christmas cookies.  Christmastime is near...

The Graco DuetConnect DLX Swing and Bouncer has been a lifesaver to my husband and I on more than one occasion!  Since we received this, we have been able to put Jackson down without him just lying on his back.  I'm not sure if every baby is this way, but Jackson would much rather be able to sit up and watch the world happening around him than be laying down and staring at a blank ceiling.  The swing has a smooth motion and so far it is not very noisy .  Perhaps, however, the best thing about this is the fact that you can remove the seat from the base of the swing and it becomes a bouncer.  It's pretty amazing!

This Chicago Cubs diaper bag was the best thing I could have gotten for my husband.  He is constantly asking if we can take his diaper bag instead of mine whenever we go out for a day trip.  While it doesn't have as much storage in the main compartment as most bucket diaper bags do, it definitely serves the husbands well (and why not be able to represent their favorite Sports team at the same time?!)!  I was able to find this for a steal on Target.com in the spring, but since has come off their website.  It wouldn't hurt to check right before the baseball season starts to see if they restock - if not, you can always purchase straight from the Diaper Dude website (see link under picture).

Pack n Plays (or playards) in general are a good idea to have.  This particular one is the one we decided to get, however they all serve the same basic purpose.  The reason we chose this one is purely because we didn't have a bouncer or a changing table at the time (we received the Swing and Bouncer combo after the baby was born and hadn't completely gotten around to finishing the baby's room by the time he was due for arrival).  The seat pictured on the left is considered a napper - even though they advise against sleeping in it -  and on the right is a changing station.  We used this as the exclusive changing table in our house for a solid two months after the baby was born (I'm packing it up and getting it out of my living room tomorrow before the holiday season starts - gotta make room for decorations) and it really has served us well.  It gives us somewhere to easily set the baby down for a second while we grab a bottle or change of clothes or just to give our arms a break during the day.  I knew the pack n play was a necessity since is serves the purpose of a 'bassinet', as well as a play pen [for when baby gets older].  Each Pack n Play has different features, so really consider how you are going to use it in your house before deciding on one!!

Boon Grass is amazing!  I have seen this popping up in mommy blogs for years and thought it looked a bit weird.  However, I listened to those blogs and received it as a shower gift and the only regret I have is not asking for the Lawn (the only difference between the grass and lawn is the size).  This is the perfect place to dry all bottle and pump parts without them touching a drying rack (those can get pretty gross after a few uses).  And, bonus, they work really well for white wine glasses too!!  The Flower and Twig attachments are also really great for drying nipples and the top rings of the bottles (it took me about 6 weeks before I had to go get the flower and twig because the nipples and bottle rings were taking up too much room on the grass).

The Boppy Pillow has held multiple uses in our household since even before the baby was born.  I was told in the classes we attended prior to having our baby that bringing a breastfeeding pillow would be very beneficial so you can start out getting used to using it to help with feeding.  We brought it with us to the hospital and pretty much the only use it got was my husband using it as a pillow for himself.  The hospital pillows, as I'm sure you know, aren't great and he kept forgetting to grab one when he would go home.  I didn't find the Boppy super useful for me while breastfeeding as it just wasn't quite firm enough to keep the right placement, however it has come to be a blessing for bottle feeding!!  Plus the patterns that are available for the pillow covers are just too cute!!

I find it so crazy how you never realize how quickly time goes until you have a baby and keep track of his milestones!!  How has 2 months already gone?  How are we already coming up on the holiday season??

Jackson's second month of life was a continuation of adventures.  He got to go to his first baseball game - and it was a playoff game!!  We went to the Texas Rangers game on October 7 and he slept through pretty much all of it - we were all shocked to say the least!  I wrapped him up in my Solly Baby Wrap and we had a blast!  It was rainy and a bit cold, but thanks to the wrap, we kept each other warm the whole game!  The Rangers lost, which was pretty sad, but we had fun nonetheless!!

Speaking of baseball, this month was so exciting for our family as the Cubbies won the world series!  We are huge Chicago Cubs fans and our little guy watched every single game with us!  He has never known the Cubs to have a losing record and that alone is special!!

We hit a few milestones this month, and I was most excited about the smiles that we started getting!  This little guy is one of the happiest babies I have ever seen!  He even seems to be a morning person.  Regardless of if he wakes up during the night or not, he always wakes up around 7 am with a smile on his face and just making the sweetest cooing noises.  While I'm not a morning person at all, it definitely makes waking up that much easier!!