Our St. Patricks Day

Two years ago St. Patrick's day meant day drinking in Detroit with friends. 

One year ago, it was spent being pregnant, and boring (sadly, I don't have a picture of that). But, this year I got to share it with a sweet little baby boy. And it was the luckiest one yet!

Although it was pretty windy outside, it was still a beautiful day. I couldn't wait to take Nolan to the park! So we put on our green and made our way there. 

As we were leaving the house Stevie said "I can't believe you didn't do a photo shoot with Nolan". He knows me so well doesn't he.... 

I was definitely doing one, I was just waiting until we got to the park. :)

I stopped and got a green passion smoothie (delicious) from Panera Bread first. I planned on drinking it while I nursed Nolan in the car before we got out to play. But as soon as he saw it, he grabbed it and started sucking it down. So cute! He usually hates anything cold, but I guess it tasted too good for him to care. 

As soon as i pried that away from him we walked to the park. It's right on the river, and Nolan enjoyed watching the water flow over the dam. I put him in the swing, which I'm still not sure if he loves or not. Here's a picture of him in it last week and then yesterday: 

Same position, same face. He doesn't cry, but doesn't smile either. He's just sorta... chill.

So, here's our little photo shoot:

And one of mama and baby.

By the way, is his little jacket not the cutest?! I got it from Old Navy. 

Since I'm still breastfeeding, I prefer not to drink alcohol at all. So instead of green beer, I made some shamrock floats! 

 

They would make the perfect treat for kids. Along with these mint Oreo cupcakes, which were the BOMB. 

You can find the recipe here. 

Ill definitely be making them again. 

Every holiday I like to do some sort of craft with Nolan. I know that he can't enjoy them yet, but I like having something to save for him from all of his firsts. Although hand print crafts are pretty difficult with a baby, I think they are the cutest. Nolan liked squeezing the paint between his fingers. And I liked cleaning up the huge mess after wards. Kidding..

It's supposed to be a four leaf clover. :)

Holidays are just so much better when you have kids. Because really, you just get to be a kid again yourself!

Also, I now know that when my baby won't eat his breakfast...

Just make him a smoothie instead ;)

12 Recent "Mom"ents

I sat down to write a post about our week, only to then decide that we had a really boring one. Nolan didn't have any new firsts. There were no celebrations. Actually, I rarely even got dressed this week. But then I thought to myself that even without any excitement, every week is one to remember. It's another week that I got to be Nolan's mommy. Another week that I made it through as a new mom. Another week filled with little moments that I will miss so dearly years from now. Moments that I will want to share with Nolan, some that will make me laugh, and probably some that I would rather forget. I seen them to referred to as "mom"ents somewhere. And these are just some of them that I'm admitting to this week:

1. When I got up to leave a restaurant and saw the huge mess of puffs Nolan left underneath the highchair, I then proceeded to crawl around on the ground to pick them all up. 

2. When we were standing in line at a VERY quiet bank and Nolan let out a super loud fart. I'm quite certain that everyone thought it was me.  

3. When the Ikea employee had to stand there and wait as I removed and rearranged all of the baby gear in my trunk before he could load up the stuff I had just bought into it. 

4. When I lied and said I didn't have a babysitter and couldn't go out, but really I just didn't want to leave my baby, or put on real pants..

5. When I answered the door for the pizza delivery guy with baby spit up unknowingly all down my shirt. I just told myself that he probably didn't notice it, he totally did though...

6. When I licked my baby's hand to make sure that I got all of the wasabi taste off of it after he stuck it into my plate of sushi. I looked around to see if anyone was watching me, and yes, yes they were. 

7. When I gave my baby a dog toy to keep him occupied while I grocery shopped because the pet aisle was closer than the toy aisle. 

8. When I held up the line at target because Nolan was making the cutest faces and I had to get a few pictures of him. It was worth it. 

9. When we were taking a friend to the airport and Nolan snuck a cheez-it out of her carry on bag sitting by his carseat.  I let him keep it long enough for me to get a couple pictures..

10. When I went to the mall specifically to buy myself a couple of new shirts but left there with three shirts, two pairs of jeans, and a pair of shoes... for Nolan. Nothing for me. 

11. When I snorted like a pig so many times that I got a headache, because it was making Nolan crack up laughing. 

12. When I literally chased down a family member who was holding Nolan and trying to let him eat frosting. Not gonna happen. 

And here's the picture of my little cheez-it bandit.

Will someone please tell me that every mom has moments like these too..

Our Valentines Day + 5 Reasons Why it Was Better With a Baby

Valentines Day meant another first holiday for baby Nolan! I never realized how much more fun each holiday would be with a baby involved. I know that he doesn't even understand what's going on, but I enjoy celebrating with him anyways. I can't wait to show him the pictures when he's older. And, I hope he is able to see how much I love and adore him. 

I've had some pretty horrible Valentines in the past, and I'm so thankful that I now have a little guy of my own to forever be my valentine. I came up with 5 reasons why a baby is a better Valentine: 

1. They'll take as many cheesy pictures with you as you want. They won't even yell at you when your going on selfie number 32.

2. Sitting at home making heart shaped crafts is way better than going on a date to a restaurant the same night everyone is going on a date to a restaurant. 

3. You get to go shopping for valentines gifts at the baby store instead of a men's store, enough said.

4. You can complain all you want about all the annoying couples on Facebook and they will just listen and smile at you. 

5. At the end of the night they don't expect anything more than a goodnight kiss. 

Here's a look at our Valentines day together, and Nolan's presents. 

Hearts Teether // Mouse Book // Sock Monkey // Heart Blanket // I Love You More Book // Pajamas

Next up is St Patrick's Day, can't wait! :)

New Job Title: Stay at Home Mom

I never imagined myself as a stay at home mom. While pregnant, my plan was to go back to work full time after maternity leave. Who was I kidding? As soon as I laid eyes on Nolan I knew I was never going to want to leave him. I tried it though. Just part time. And, It. Was. Torture. 

Everyone kept telling me that it would get easier. It did NOT get easier. It most definitely got harder. Most days I would fight back tears on the drive in. And then worry the whole day about my precious baby. On breaks I would pump my breast milk in my car while I went through 20 questions on the phone with whoever was watching him: When did baby wake up? How much did he eat? Why is he crying? No, seriously.. how long has he been crying?

Being a breastfed baby, Nolan did not take well to a bottle. Even though it was breast milk inside of it, he just wanted me. He also would barely sleep the whole day. So I would come home to a starving, sleep deprived baby, and a stressed out dad or grandparent. It was just not working. 

So hello stay at home mom life. I am beyond grateful that we were able to make it work. And I'm adjusting to my new normal. It's a 24/7 job with no breaks, but its totally the best one I've ever had. 

  

Here's some photos from our past week:

 

For some extra cash, I'm looking into opening an Etsy shop. I think I'll just stick with tutus at first. I love making them and they are pretty easy. Gotta start somewhere! 

Here's a doll outfit I made for my sister.

Time to buy some tulle. 

Stay tuned ;)