Holy Ship!!!! JAX IS ONE!!!!!

HOLY SHIP JAX IS ONE!!!!

"How on earth did this happen so quick?”

I am pretty sure that this is  the universal question all moms ask when their baby turns one...

The past year was SO amazing. I GOT TO BE MOMMY!!!! We celebrated our firsts...I witnessed some of God’s biggest miracles in my tiny child and each time he did something new I melted a little bit inside. Being a mom is so great. 

Planning a party is exhausting  FUN:) 

I plan on doing a party planning post with some tips and budget friendly ideas on my next blog post but I wanted to share some of what I did for his first party. 

Jax is a July baby.. which of course in Texas makes everything difficult. It is BLAZING hot and there isn’t much to do except swim :) so swim we did. The theme I chose was “ Holy Ship” Nautical theme. The sky was the limit!!! I Had SO SO SO  much fun planning, organizing, and shopping for his party. Now to be fair I did start planning his party when he was 9 months old. That gave me THREE months for budgeting ( AKA SHOPPING IN CHUNKS SO YOUR HUSBAND DOESNT KILL YOU), planning, and organizing. 

The party went off without a hitch and we all had a blast!!! 

My sweet and happy angel the morning of the party!!

Amazing florals by Stone Oak Florist 

our friend Kathy did an outstanding job and they were exactly what I wanted!

The food table before the food appeared. 

I ordered the fish net from amazon you can shop the fish net here

it is reusable and it was a really great material. I plan on using it again for a shower or what not.

Our cake!!!! San Antonio Friends Triple L Sweets and Treats does a fabulous job!!!!

She does all of our cakes and for a very reasonable price. Cake prices are CRAZY! 

She did my entire cake and smash cake for 80 dollars!! 

I did sunglasses and adult favors in these two bins. The adult favors were an *extra* from what I had left over from my party budget but they made all the difference. You can shop them HERE

One of my favorite parts of the party was the “ Thirst Aid Station” We had juice boxes for the kids, an adult “ Ocean Water” and other beverages all put together. 

Straws and napkins were both a home goods and target find!!!! Great prices on both!!! Best inexpensive places for themed napkins are: Homegoods and Tuesday Morning

Our Ocean Water!!!!

1 Part Coconut Rum

1 Part blue Cacao 

1 Part Diet 7-up

I themed his party around his high chair banner!! I was IN LOVE with it!! One of my best girlfriend’s mom makes the most amazing embroidered items!! The sky is the limit with her. I am trying to find her shop name so I can link it. Check back later!!

Jax’s Grandpa built him a busy board...it is literally the most used gift we received. We use it each and every morning!!

Bold Block letters

Shop HERE

These would be great in initials to reuse for a game room or nursery. I wish I would have done his initials instead but I plan on using this theme again.. somehow :)

We had a pool party and I knew that not everyone would want to get in the “ big pool” so I ordered this kid friendly pool and set it up alongside a water table and baby pool ( all underneath a large canopy!!) for the babies and moms who didn’t feel like getting in the water. It was a GREAT idea and big hit. We also use this pool like it’s going out of style. You can find it

HERE

Shaded area for the babies

I chose to do a party from 2-5 that way I didn’t have to be responsible for a HUGE meal.. instead I did heavy hors’ dourves and that worked out great. We had cheese, fruit, veggies and dip, mini pork sliders, cookies, potato salad, and coleslaw

My big birthday boy with his big BRUISE. I knew it would happen.. it was pretty much inevitable! I was trying so hard to keep him from falling the whole week.. but of course it happened. 

Us with the best gift of all!!!

Time Capsule Station

I think it is neat to incorporate a small touch to a party.. like a time capsule, or a message in a bottle... whatever the theme is its fun to do something special for baby so that when they get older they have these wonderful memories to read and look back on. We chose to do the time capsule.. I found this exact print off of Etsy you can shop all of the different themes

HERE

I found that nautical box for 1.99 at HL and then the cards were left over from a summer party my mom had so they made PERFECT time capsule cards. 

My grandparents came down for the occasion!!

Gift table and Goody table

Water Table FUN!

Jaxie enjoying his smash cake

This wreath was also made by my good friend’s mama. She is SUPER talented and can make just about anything!!! 

These runners I also found on amazon ( worked great for the tables) for 4.00. I plan on reusing them for 4th of July, Summertime table settings and more. 

It was a great party!!! It took a LOT of planning and organizing and to be honest I did it ALL BY MYSELF. So it took even more organization on my part. Next post will be all about organizing and planning for a party!!!!!!

Mommy Thoughts - Year 1

In lieu of Sugar’s first birthday I thought I would write down some of what I felt during my FIRST year as a new mom. 

This first year was exhilarating. 

I wish I could say it was difficult and in ways..maybe it was? What is difficult for me may not be difficult for another mama and so when people often ask me “ Is it hard? Is it something you never expected?” My answer is no. 

Yes, motherhood is exhausting and when you have a newborn who is nursing on demand and your husband doesn’t have an extra pair of boobs lying around you get pissed. Or when your beginning walker is starting to get into EVERYTHING and you cannot find a moment to sit down you can find yourself irritated and tired.

 Yes moments are difficult but motherhood, to me, is not. 

To me motherhood is a gift.

I feel so joyous when I think about his first year...the sweet moments of nursing, first holidays, our first trip to the Ranch and Beach, first smile, first giggle, first TOOTH, and first steps. It brings me so much happiness to know that God gifted me this wonderful baby to care for. I look forward to teaching J about Jesus and all of his wonderful works. He is already learning to clasp his chubby fat hands in prayer..although it turns into a clapping fest most of the time. 

If he only knew how many times his mommy and daddy clasped their hands in prayer for him. Now that we have him, it is our turn to clasp our hands with him and THANK our God for the many blessings he has poured out over our family and for the ones to come. 

I love watching those chubby fat hands..

He can hug my neck and give me a BIG open mouth kiss  ( which I adore every SINGLE TIME)

I remember stumbling through the newborn stage and wondering “ Where the HELL did my boobs go? Shit where did I GO!” I felt like this tiny creature was literally taking over every single part of me ( which he was :)) and it felt foreign. The moment he would fall asleep on my chest, or curl his tiny fingers around mine left me a puddle of mush. 

*I remember one time about two weeks in to the whole parenting gig. I was fast asleep and Jax started wailing.. like REALLY wailing and I jolted awake only to find my ENTIRE shirt wet. Of course that irritated me and I yelled at Brandon for spilling his drink on me. 

Well he didn’t spill his drink on me.. the girls had leaked due to Jax’s newborn crying.*

oops.

Those were the days :) 

Now he bangs his chubby fists against his high chair and puts them together meaning “ more” 

and when he is done he no longer falls asleep on my chest but pushes all of the remaining food that I made him on the floor :) 

Yes.

Thank God for the Dog.

We not only survived the first year together but we loved big and laughed hard. We played at bath time, worked out at stroller strides, snuggled, nursed, learned to clap, wave bye bye, blow a kiss, scream for “MAMA”, weaned from nursing, and pet   wrangle the dog. We have had so much fun this first year and I know even MORE is in store for us in the many years to come.

I cannot wait to celebrate my Jax Holden this week and I thank God daily for providing me with my biggest blessing!!!!!!

Beach 2017

Happy Thursday!!!

We returned yesterday from three wonderful days down at the beach. We just wanted a quick getaway for our family of three and three days was the perfect amount of time for a nice little recharge. I wasn’t sure how Jax would do since this was technically our first vacation together but he did great!! I will say, I think three days was max what he could handle and I was happy to be back in our own little space but we did NOT want to leave the beach!!!!

We spent Monday driving in, unloading, and then racing to the beach where Jaxie just about ate his weight in sand, chased after the waves, and squealed every time a seagull landed close to us. It was so wonderful to watch how much my baby loves the water.  Jax is so much like his dad in about a million different ways but watching him splash and smile during our time on the beach just shows how much he really is like his mama who is also a true beach baby at heart.

We ate our weight in fresh snapper, wolfed down loads of clams bathed in a white wine sauce, and drank probably a little to much wine after the baby went down ;) it was exactly what we needed at this moment in our lives and I am so glad we did it!! We plan to go back in September once my parents have their new home settled in Port A and recreate all of the fun we had all over again!!!!

Here are some pictures from our fun time at the beach!

Day 1 we were pumped to be there!!! On our golf cart and headed to the sandy shore!

Baby boy fell asleep on the golf cart ride and I soaked it in

My toes were in the sand, I had a sleeping baby on my chest, and a cold beer in my hand. It was a pretty great moment.

Dinner at Shells ( I highly recommend!!) This place was SO neat.. a little hidden gem almost. It was SO tiny ( think cracker box style) so I was unsure at first...then we glanced at the menu and saw some AMAZING seafood...um fresh mussels in a white wine and butter sauce, fresh caught snapper cooked in a brown butter sauce. I was like okay yes we are staying. It is italian seafood so some amazing pasta was served up as well!!! Great place.

Tired boy

This was after dinner and after baby hit the hay. It was so refreshing to open a bottle of cab, sit on the deck and talk with my husband. It has been a WHILE since we have been able to do that and I felt that it was important and SO nice to be able to have that opportunity!

my beautiful boy

On to dinner at Lisabellas!! Night 2!

Smirking at his daddy

Daddy treated us to ice cream after dinner and we shared a plain vanilla cone. Jax loved it!!!!

Glorious.

On our last morning in the middle of our first cup of coffee we decided to jump in the cart and take a beach ride. It was BEAUTIFUL! The beach is so peaceful in the mornings..the smell of sunscreen and BBQ was absent as well as the squeals and shouts of excited children. It was just so peaceful and we enjoyed it!

 I am so thankful for these two every single day of my life.
Thankful.

Healthy Fruit Muffins for Baby!!!

Happy Sunday friends!!!! We are SO excited to be sneaking off to the beach with our little boy!! With that little boy in tow though I KNOW I need  to pack smart, have organized food, and LOTS of snacks on hand. I also know that I am going to be one tired ( and hopefully TAN :)) mama after getting back so throughout this week I have prepped meals that can be easily frozen so I won’t have to worry about cooking meals upon our return! 

I love muffins because, like a meatball, you can pack an abundance of fruits, veggies, or proteins ( think chia seeds!) that are super healthy for baby. My sweet boy LOVES to independently feed himself so muffins are an easy food that can be grabbed, torn, and stuck right in his pretty little mouth! 

Here ya go!!

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat organic flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt ( just a pinch y’all)

1/2 cup of applesauce
1T vanilla

1/2 cup flaxseeds

a pinch of chia seeds ( a little goes a long way!)

1/4 cup canola

3/4 cup agave nectar

1/4 cup baby yogurt 

1/4 cup organic whole milk

3/4 cups fruit of choice 

Procedure:

1. preheat oven to 350

2. in a medium bowl, combine flour, 1 t baking powder, and salt

3. in a larger bowl combine applesauce with 1/2 t baking P

4. to ^^ that mix, add flax, chia, oil, agave, vanilla, yogurt, and milk..stir well

5.  Add fruit of choice

6. Spoon batter into lightly greased muffin pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean!

Zucchinni Meatballs for Baby

So today’s post is all about MEATBALLS :) 

I love a good meatball.. they are so versatile and you can just about throw anything in there to make them tasty!!!! You can intermix the meats: Ground Beef, Chicken, Turkey AND the veggies: Think Zuchinni, Squash, Carrots, Onion, Spinach, Bell Pepper..The list goes on. I also love meatballs because they freeze well and whether you are meal prepping for a new baby or for a friend who is going to have a baby, or even just trying to meal prep in advance so that you are not totally overloaded..these are a great staple!!!! 

For these specific meatballs I chose the following

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb grass fed organic beef ( could use turkey or chicken as well)

1 cup bread crumbs

1 large egg

1 zucchinni shredded

1/2 yellow onion chopped and diced

s&p to taste

Procedure:

Throw your shredded zucchini and chopped onion in a medium high skillet with a dash of EVOO. Cook until soft. 

Meanwhile in a bowl add your beef, breadcrumbs, spices, and one egg and mix well. Once the veggies are soft add them to the meat mixture and mix with your hands until everything is combined. 

Next,  make medium sized balls ( think golf ball) and place on a non stick baking sheet or cast iron skillet. Bake for 60 minutes in a 350 degree oven. 

** For toddlers offer a “ dip” sometimes the fact that they get to dip these meatballs in ketchup makes eating all the more exciting. 

** freezes well**

Crockpot Hawaiian Chicken for Baby

Happy Thursday!!!!! 

We have had a slow easy week and are getting ready for our first family trip to the beach!!!! 

In preparation I have been making a few large meals this week that are freezer friendly so that when I come back I don’t have to worry about what to make the baby!!! This is one of our favorite meals that freezes EASILY!

Crockpot Hawaiian Chicken

Shopping List:

2 boneless skinless organic chicken breasts

Tessemae’s All Natural BBQ sauce

2 cups of chunked fresh pineapple

1/2 yellow onion

S&P ( optional)

Sweet potato and or cooked brown rice

** TESSEMAE’S BBQ SAUCE is an all natural BBQ sauce it has NO sugar so it is a healthy option for baby. It is sold at all the major grocery stores.

Method:

Place your chicken in the crockpot and pour BBQ sauce over them, add the chopped onion,  pineapple, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper ( if you wish) then close the lid and let cook on slow for 6-8 hours. Shred with a fork when finished cooking.

The flavor from the caramelized onions and natural sugars from the pineapple spill out over the chicken making it a super flavorful dish!!!!!

While your chicken is cooking, you can either bake a sweet potato and/or cook some brown rice and serve this over one of the two!!!

We loved both! Whole grain brown rice was great over this!

Summer Popsicle Combos for Baby

Happy Friday Friends!!

I talked about THIS particular popsicle mold on my favorite things a while back. I have been using the heck out of it especially since Jax is cutting so many teeth!! We also love to get out in our backyard in the baby pool with a yummy popsicle as well...it has been so hot!!!

Here are some of our favorite combos we have been making lately!!!

1. Watermelon & Kiwi: 1 cup chopped watermelon + 1 entire kiwi blended can make up to four molds

2. Avocado/Banana with Chia seed: mix 1/2 banana with 1/2 avocado and a sprinkle of chia seeds and mix together in blender.

3. Applesauce Pops: Create my applesauce recipe found HERE and pour into molds

4. Pineapple and Breastmilk/Whole milk: Blend pineapple chunks with added Breastmilk for extra vitamins and calories and or whole milk. 

5. Papaya and Pineapple: 1/4 a papaya chopped with 1/4 chopped pineapple blended.

These are a few of our favorites right now!!!! 

A few Mommy and Jaxie pictures of us doing what we do best in the summer...THE POOL!