Weekend Recap

Hope everyone had a good weekend! Ours was pretty mellow. We actually didn't do too much besides our usual grocery store and target runs! We did get to see some friends for a BBQ on Saturday. That was fun!

Kinley turned 4 months on the 27th. I am going to wait to do a 4 month post until we go to the doctor on Friday. I can't believe she is already 4 months old. Time really does fly. She's changing every day.

I'm so excited we got the ninja kitchen system this weekend! I really want to make her baby food so I'm super excited about this! Does anyone have any good baby food recipes to share? I'd love to hear! Or any other recipes! 

Matt is officially on leave and will be home with Kinley and I in the evenings! We are very excited!! 

Hope everyone has a great Monday!! Here's some pics to make you smile. I'm just in love with this headband by little hip squeaks. 

It's Friday!!

Yeah it's Friday and we are suppose to have great weather for the weekend! I'm super excited! It's been rainy and cold! With yesterday being the first day of spring it was nice to see the sun! We finally got out for a walk to soak it up.

I'm loving her new shades we got! Let's just hope she doesn't figure out how to pull them off :). 

Another week has flown by! My birthday is Monday and I'm always so excited for it and just not feeling that this year. Though we will be celebrating all weekend! That's how we do birthdays in the Brooks' house! 

I finally started my T25 I got in the mail a week ago! I'm really liking it so far and hope to see results!! I just gotta keep at it! The race last weekend kicked me into gear! I'm already thinking about my next race! I really love doing them! But geez they get expensive!

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend! I finally got Kinley to laugh! She's been so close but finally! And I even caught it on video! You can check it out on Instagram! 

Anyone have any race suggestions? 

Any plans for the weekend? 

HAPPY FRIDAY :)

Happy St Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! It's been crazy busy around here! The weekends fly by and I don't know where they go! I'm pretty sure we are teething and it's been a rough couple days! And on top of that she woke up with a diaper rash! Poor girl! Hope everyone has a great day!

Love her so much!! Even when we are up from 1-330 and mama has to work the next day! 

First Race Back

Well I survived my first race post baby! I honestly haven't had time to even train for it with going back to work and everything else going on. I've always loved the shamrock races! 2 years ago I did my first half marathon and loved it! I signed up for the shamrock 8k thinking it would be a good way to get back into running after having Kinley. It was tough and slow but I finished! Hoping I can keep up with running and do another half sooner than later!

And what's better motivation to run than burning 955 calories! I was shocked! My heart rate was pretty high a lot of the time lol! It was definitely tough getting back into running but felt great hitting the pavement again. I'm not sure of my official time because I kept my watch on until my heart rate came down. I was just happy I finished it in not too much pain. My hips are definitely sore and I'm sure will be tomorrow but I feel pretty good otherwise! Great way to start a Saturday!

What races have you run that are fun? 

Weekend Fun

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Again ours was pretty mellow, just the way I like it :) Friday I hung out with a friend from an old job. It was great to catch up and have adult conversations! She brought over this amazing recipe of Greek pitas. We used naan bread and let me tell you they were so amazing Matt and I made them again on Saturday night LOL.

Sorry for the half eaten picture. I was so hungry and halfway through thought I would snap a pic. 

It was an early night because I had to get Kinley to bed. I am really trying to be more consistent with following a schedule for her sake, well for the both of us! I use to give her a bath and then bring her back downstairs. I think restimulating her might not have been the best idea before bed. So I recently decided to give her a bath, lotion and pjs, read a book or two depending on her mood, swaddle and then her bedtime feed. I was nursing her before bed but if Matt is home or able to come home we are going to do a bottle in hopes her tummy will be more full and she will sleep longer. Sometimes she is so tired when bedtime rolls around I don't think she nurses the best which results in her not having a full tummy and waking up more than mommy likes :). 

Saturday Kinley got up and didn't seem like she was ready to get up so I stayed upstairs with her and fed her. I then played with her on our bed and swaddled her back up and put her down for a nap. She is one tough cookie to get down. But she took a 2 1/2 hour nap! It was amazing and she was so happy when she woke up. Out we went to run some errands and enjoy the beautiful day. Our first stop Best Buy. We have been contemplating a new computer and been doing a lot of research. We really wanted a MAC and after doing our research and deciding it was a good investment we purchased a MAC. So yes I am typing this blog post from our new MAC. I couldn't be happier. Happy early birthday to me :) Then it was grocery shopping time. I am probably one of the weirdos that actually enjoys grocery shopping. I really like coming up with new healthy recipes. Kinley really has been loving the Baby Bjorn lately. She loves to look out and watch everyone. Who doesn't love some people watching! She is my child! When deciding on a baby carrier we purchased the Ergo but received the Bjorn from some friends that were not using it anymore. I don't like her to be in the Bjorn long but every once in a while I don't mind :) All that shopping wore her out!

She is so cute I can't get enough!! 

Sunday already! Why does the weekend go so fast? Kinley decided after her 4:30am feeding she wanted to stay up. After many times of putting the bink back in her mouth I think she finally went back to sleep around 530am. Then she was up at 8. I was so tired and not sure why she has been doing pretty well the past few nights. Maybe the extra sleep is throwing me for a loop. She didn't stay up too long this morning, but she nursed and we played on her play mat for a little bit before going back down for a nap. She took another 2 1/2 hour nap! I am not saying anything yet but I am super excited she is napping better the past few days. We then made our weekend trip to Target and I was craving Chipolte so we grabbed some lunch. Have you guys heard they might be getting rid of their guacamole? Aww that would be sad it is so tasty! I didn't want to be out too long because I was hoping Kinley would take a good afternoon nap if we didn't miss the window. Well it was tough and after fighting her for an hour I decided to feed her and try again after her tummy was full. Just what she needed. She took another 2 hour nap! This is very exciting to me!! I actually made dinner, homemade lasagna, and went for a run!! It was a slow run but I did it. I am doing the Shamrock 8K this weekend with some friends which will be really interesting! 

YUMMM cheese overload!

And of course a blog post wouldn't be complete with some pictures of my love bug! Hope everyone had a great weekend! 

What did everyone do this weekend?? I am so ready for spring weather to get out and about more! Happy Monday everyone! :)

Sorry this is posting late today. I set up the scheduled timer and I must be doing something wrong! So I hope everyone had a good day!

3 Month Must Haves

 Below are some of our 3 month favorites and what has worked for us.  This post contains affiliated links.

1. My Baby by Homedics SoundSpa: Kinley loves white noise and this machine is great. It's actually a projector as well but we haven't used that part yet. It has ocean sounds to heartbeat sounds. The reasonable price is what sold me and we love it!

2. Munchkin Bottle Warmer: When we first introduced the bottle, around 6 weeks, we started with the good old fashioned boiling water on the stove top. That got old very quick when Kinley was screaming because she was hungry. I really like the munchkin bottle warmer because it is fast and fits the Tommee Tipee bottles we use. It took a few times to figure out how long to heat the ounces but it works out great and it is fast.

3. Wubbanub: We got the wubbanub when Kinley was only a few weeks old. I honestly wasn't a fan at first but now that she's a little older I like it better. It's easy to set on her swaddle when I lay her in the rock n play. Plus it's super cute and she loves holding on the the legs. Sometimes I think she likes eating the legs more than the bink.

4. Coffee: Such a must have for this mama! Donut shop is one of our favorites we use for our Kuerig. There are many options. I have really started to love coffee the past year or so. I don't drink more than 2 cups in a day and always before 1pm.

5. UP Breast Milk Storage Bags: there are so many options for storage bags. I had gotten a few boxes as gifts and they are great! I haven't had any problems with them leaking. Remember to lay your bags flat when freezing to save space. I wish someone would've told me that :)

6. Bibs: We received so many bibs for shower gifts. At first I was like we are never going to use all these bibs! Well little did I know! When you have a teething infant that drools on everything bibs come in handy! I prefer the ones with the plastic on the back because they don't soak through the drool as fast, though the cuter ones are nice too :)

7. Bumbo: Kinley LOVES to sit up. I am pretty sure she is going to sit up on her own before she rolls over. Not a big fan of tummy time. The bumbo is a nice option to have when she is getting sick of laying on her back on the play mat.

7. Play Mat: We received this play mat as a gift. We had gotten a few hand me downs so we weren't going to buy one. After receiving this one the hand me downs went to nanny's house. Kinley really likes the music and the lights on this mat. It is very colorful and has lots of spots to attach toys!

These are just a few of the must haves for a 3 month old. I am not being paid for any of this. All opinions are my own and what has worked for us.

What would a post be without a few pictures of my love bug.

What are some of your must haves? I would love to hear from what to have on hand for the months to come! Please share!


Happy HUMP day :)

3 months

How is my baby already 3 months old. The time is flying and she is becoming more and more fun. She is starting to interact more and really listen when we talk to her. I have to say these first 3 months have been very challenging! Let's talk about how she is doing.

She has changed so much over the past three months! 

Sleep: She's not the best sleeper. It's been a tab bit frustrating at times. She does pretty good throughout the night. Usually goes to bed late, between 10-1030, then sleeps til 3-4, gets up to eat and goes back down. It's been a little bit of a struggle to get her to go right back down the past week or so. I feel I'm constantly putting her bink back in her mouth. After we do that for awhile she finally goes back to sleep until about 7ish. Eats again and I go to work. 

Sleeping during the day is a different story. I feel I'm spending all day putting her to sleep, or my husband now that I'm back at work, and she never sleeps more than 40 minutes. Talk about not being able to get anything done! This last weekend she had two days of 3 hour naps. I was so excited! Unfortunately today we are back to fighting sleep all day long! If anyone has any suggestions on how to make this better I'm all ears! It's difficult and gets frustrating. I love her to death but I'm human and everyone needs some quite time. I really hope it starts to get better as she gets older. We still swaddle her for sleep. She does so much better being swaddled. I'm a little nervous for the day we stop swaddling.

Eating: She still is exclusively getting breast milk. She nurses in the morning before I go to work, gets about 3 3oz bottles while I'm gone (give or take what she's wanting) nurses when I get home, then maybe 2 more times before bed and once in the middle if the night. I love nursing her and that time. Sometimes she just looks up at me with the biggest blue eyes. It melts my heart. 

I am pumping two times during the day at work. I'm going to be honest it's not easy. I'm very busy and it's difficult to stop for 30 minutes and be in the right mind frame to pump and make it worth it. It's working so far and I'm bringing home enough milk for her during the day but it's tough!! I thought people were crazy when they told me to look at pictires of her but it helps! She makes me smile! I also have a good stash in the freezer if need be. I was a pumping machine before I went back to work. 

Play: She had really started to play this month. When I talk to her she coos and smiles. It's the cutest thing ever. She has laughed maybe three times and so close to doing it consistently. Soon soon!! She loves her activity mat and enjoys talking to the butterflies above her. She doesn't last very long in one spot so we rotate from the activity mat to the bumbo to the bouncy seat! She loves to sit up in the bumbo. I have a tray for it but haven't attached it yet. She really enjoys the lamaze toys as they are bright in colors!! We recently gave her Sophie since she's loving chewing on her fists.

Gosh I just love this little monkey more than anything. She's brought so much joy to our lives over the past 3 months! Looking forward to many more to come! 

I Survived!!

I survived my first week back at work!! And I had to work Monday thru Saturday. Let's just say it was a LONG week and i missed my baby so very much! Thank goodness daddy sent lots of pictures. 

She sure loves that fist. I love her more than anything!

I think the anticipation about going back to work was worse than actually going back. To be honest it's been nice to get out of the house and enjoy some adult interaction. Don't get me wrong I love spending time with my baby girl but adult conversation is nice once in a while. 

It's been an adjustment this week but I think we are all adjusting well. Kinley is back to sleeping longer stretches and only getting up once at night. I got 5 hours in a row the other night and felt like a new person the next day. Amazing what a little sleep does :) I saw this pin the other day and it totally reminded me of how I feel. Love it!!

Kinley turned 3 months this week. Wow time flies! She doesn't have a checkup this month so I will do a post about her and what I think are must haves for 3 months later this weekend or early next week.

There will be many more pictures on the 3 month update. :)


Hope everyone has a great weekend! I'm off to find some dinner and enjoy some much needed family time.