King of the Mountain

In all the craziness of the beginning of this summer season....having Alden ended up blessing us more than we'd thought. Through our Aflac coverage, we found out about a portion of our policy that all children born while on the mother's coverage are also included for the first 30 days.

An unknown financial blessing came our way :)

And like most parents....you love your children despite the days where they mutate into little monsters.

In the backyard, we have a ghetto swing set up. It is a long chain stretched tight between two large trees with 2 regular and one baby swing. It works pretty well and was the least expensive route to go. We had always drooled and envied those with the wooden set ups with the tower to climb and/or monkey bars. But they've never been in our budget. So when we had some unexpected funds become available...we thought this would be the only time we could do something like this.

We searched online and instore...did our research...compared and weighed the pros and cons.

Hey, look....Walmart has one on rollback!

.....but when it came to hitting the complete purchase button....we got cold feet.

Never had we spent this much money on a toy for the kids. Shoot....not even that much on a stroller!

These things have been known to be a beast to assemble. An all day job at that, and that is assuming you know what you're doing. By the time it would arrive, and be constructed...I couldn't help but wonder if they'd have a month to play on it before the weather turned sour. Kinda like giving a kid a bike for Christmas in the North East.

We don't own our place and is unknown as to how long we'll stay here. So we skipped the idea, since it was really the tower we wanted so the kids would stop climbing us or the furniture. Ain't nobody got time for that! But what else was there to climb on?

Low and behold....Amazon!

Step 2 had a mountain and it came with free freight shipping. Hooray!

It is over 6 ft tall and has been our solution. It ended up being cheaper on the budget too! It is rated for up to age 8 and should last a long time with the kids. And in the event we have to move, this should be more manageable to take with us. If not, we should be able to get a few bucks back out of it :)























Nolan can already climb to the top and drop inside to the middle platform.

Overall, it is a big hit with the neighborhood. Now if only I had room to bring it inside for winter play!

Snip Snip!

Since Nolan was about 12 months, I've done the home haircuts for him. Nothing too fancy, but I've gotten better with my skills. But with all the craziness of the birth, recovery and adjustment...I hadn't had the time or patience, and it was becoming very clear that something needed to be done when during church, I swept away his sweaty blonde locks. It had grown a good length, and I guess I wanted to be spoiled and have someone else do it and also pay attention as to how they handled his noggin.

In staying with tradition with Eliza, I dragged my camera along to document his first pro cut. I used my own need of a trim to justify it even more. My buns hadn't seen a salon chair since early Fall!

Overall...he did GREAT for my stylist and stayed put for the most part. All the extra practice at home sure helped make this time around go smoothly.

One Month

Firsts:

Holiday

Rolling from tummy to back

Day trip

Fireworks

Bonfire Pit

Visits from Grandparents

Alden is a pretty chill baby boy. We can usually comfort him pretty quickly with a binky, a boob or just to be held. Thus far, he tolerates his older siblings with all the hugs and kisses given. Things like the vacuum do not bother him, and he's becoming more alert and will focus and look around his surroundings.

The sleep department isn't bad either. He still wakes about 1-2 times in the night, but no clue as to when as I don't bother to even check the time. All I know is he will eat and fall asleep right after while I also snooze in the bed.

It doesn't feel like it has been that long ago I was anxiously waiting to go into surgery to meet him.....and at the same time, feels like he's been in our family forever :)

*Disclaimer*

I know by the time this is posted, it will have been longer than a month, but with 3 chitlins to watch, any time this momma has to herself is a true gift! So forgive the lateness of these posts. 

Mid Month Confessions

Its that time of the month...and no its not my period 

(Yay! May it hold off for another year with breastfeeding)

Click here for another less than stellar mom

1> I put on Mrs. Doubtfire for us adults since the kids were going to bed soon. Um yeah....kids didn't go to bed until almost the end....certainly not g rated for a few words. Lets hope they weren't deciding to listen then.

2> We've had a few CIO moments with our 1 month old. Not planned but I guess that is what you get with kid number 3.

3> I have all these educational and sensory things for Eliza to do...but I've been too tired and lazy to actually do them with her since quiet time is suppose to give me a break.

4> I've seriously had moments as of late of wishing away my 2 year old. Who ever said girls are harder than boys must not have raised both!

5> I've called the hubby to purchase donuts for me at 9:30 pm. Nursing cravings are real, right?

Belated Mothers Craft

In all the craziness of being pregnant and not seeing family until after Alden was born....it gave me a chance and an excuse to put together a gift for both grandparents with mostly supplies I already had on hand.

I took an idea from Pintrest and did a variation on one of them after the iconic Love stamp. My mother needed a gift that she could easily pack in her suitcase to fly home with.

My MIL, got one which will go nicely in their new home they'll be moving into this late July. Both were very happy to receive this as a gift, and includes all the grandchildren. I'm happy for the most part of how it turned out, but its not easy to get nice looking hand and footprints from babies and kids when you only have one shot at getting it somewhat visually pleasing.

Yankee Doodle Dandy

We decided to drive away from the local rain and head for the clear skies in the Finger Lake Region for July 4th for an adventure. Since there isn't anything to do where we live, I had thought visiting Watkins Glen State Park at the most southern end of Lake Seneca while my mother was out visiting would be a nice distraction.

There was a small but very neat playground by the picnic area, containing play structures that we don't have at any of the near by local parks. With all the time spent in the car and then being dragged along to boring outlet mall shops, this was a welcomed break for the kids. They really challenged the kids with the untraditional ways to climb, even bringing out a little fear in little miss daredevil. Nolan was quick to catch up to Eliza, proving he could do it just the same!

Watkins Glen's beauty is found in the wet paved trails, above and below the gorge with waterfalls. If you are not in the best of shape, you will still find trails that make it easy to walk without feeling like you weren't able to see enough of the falls.

It is recommended though, if planning on visiting with infants or young toddlers, to baby wear them, as the trails do have portions of stairs sprinkled in the trails. At least enough of them to detour you from wanting even a jogging stroller. This is when having an infant who is still very little, made my poor man's ergo carrier very enjoyable despite the stairs and distances walked. If you plan to stay for the day in the warmer months, your entrance includes access to a very large public pool with 3 diving boards and a good sized wading pool.

We stopped for dinner on the lake's waterfront and watched the boats come in and out and cruising along. Despite one cloud cell dumping some rain while we ate under the covered deck, the temperature was comfortable for the most part and didn't require any jackets.

On our way home, we drove up the other side of the lack and came into a small town's fireworks show. We pulled into a church parking lot and had the best up close viewing for the show.....and gave the local mosquitos a feast in the process! This was the first time the kids had seen fireworks, as we've always been visiting family and doing a BBQ at the house. Eliza loved all the colors, but Nolan was undecided for half the show if he liked them or not. Lots of running in and out of the van were had until finding a safe place with daddy.

Despite coming home very late and a few more bug bites than we'd like....it was a great way to spend the holiday with family and enjoying God's beauty!

A Newborn Shoot: Alden

I love when the weather is nice enough (or season cooperates) to do a newborn session outside with natural light. I had recently acquired a large bassinet type basket and a cradle prop I had given some TLC to and never used it with Nolan.

With babies being fickle in posing and moods, I split it up in two different sessions, while also utilizing different lighting of the day. 

So here are some of my personal favorites of each session