Oh Hi!

Hi everyone! I have quite a few friends transitioning from 1 to 2 kids this year. A couple of them have asked me for some tips and I think I just have stared at them blankly thinking Girl, I’m barely surviving 😂. However reflecting on this past year, I do think I have some things that worked/I would go back and tell myself. Of course, these tips may not help everyone, may seem obvious and all babies/family dynamics/etc. are different- but who knows, maybe it will be helpful to someone!

– Something I recommend that worked well: Giving your oldest a gift from the baby! Quinn was all about Daniel Tiger at the time, so in the hospital when she met Tripp we gave her books and a Daniel Tiger story reader from Tripp. She loved that (and still does). Also when Quinn met Tripp in the hospital DJ was holding him, not me- so I had my arms free to scoop up Quinn. This was a tip I was given before I had Tripp, and I’m very glad we did that!

– In the early days, when baby is super sleepy, make sure to focus on time with your oldest. I prioritized quality time with Quinn (assuming Tripp was fed, changed and content) and it was huge in helping her with the transition! Tripp did eventually start voicing his preference for me, but the first few weeks he was so content cuddling with anyone and just slept most of the day anyway. I still got so many wonderful newborn snuggles with him naturally, but I made sure to prioritize time daily with Quinn. Getting quality time with Quinn has been way harder as Tripp’s gotten older with his separation anxiety (and recently mobility), so I’m grateful I soaked up that time with her to start things on a good note.

– Avoid the temptation to rely on snacks & screen to appease your oldest. I really wish I could have told myself this one! Of course, I’m not saying we’d have done none, but I think we used these as a crutch and distraction for Quinn at times. We had some habits and routines to clean up when the dust settled so to speak, and I just wish we had set a better precedent from the get go. And sticking to a routine with the food/snacks is sure to avoid a lot of battles and meltdowns.

– Involve your toddler/preschooler as much as possible. They LOVE to help! We had Quinn’s helper tower next to our changing table and she helped me pick out a diaper for many of those early changes.

– Make sure your baby takes a bottle. You’re probably thinking “duh!”. But I did not make much of an effort with this and it has made it tough to go anywhere this first year for long periods. Since I knew I’d be staying home I didn’t really bother, but there were situations where that came back to bite me. For example, one time we had to leave a wedding early because Tripp refused a bottle.

– Don’t compare your second postpartum journey to your first. I fell into this trap big time. I had an easier postpartum time overall after my first, but the circumstances were so different, and I am now a mom of two! What a blessing, but I was doing a disservice expecting things to look similarly to the first time. My body didn’t “bounce back”, we get out less, the house is much more of a mess, who even knows what my hormones are doing- and it’s OK!! Giving yourself grace and time is very important.

– Accept the help. The first time after Quinn I felt pretty comfortable managing things without a lot of help outside of DJ. After Tripp I understood the need for a village much more. It’s so important to accept the help where you can.

– Take it truly one day at a time. Those early months can feel like Groundhog Day often, but it helps to find something specific for you to look forward to for yourself each day- for me it was a walk or an afternoon mug of Nespresso. Understand that everything is a stage. The hard ones, the amazing ones. One day at a time.

-Doing all the things (getting both kids ready, leaving the house, making meals, finding routines) is a muscle that needs exercised. It WILL get easier the more you do it. You will find your system. It just takes time & it will need adjustments as the kids grow and needs change.

-Don’t underestimate what a midday dance party to toddler bops can do for everyone’s mood! …Along with just being silly. Silliness has been such a great way to connect with Quinn even if we don’t have a lot of actual time one on one. There’s always a way to make a moment silly, you just have to find it/create it.

-Get outside as much as possible

-Have a toy bin rotation system. This helped sooo much in those early days! I’d just bring out a bin of toys Quinn hadn’t seen in a while & it did a decent job occupying her.

– Two things can be true at once. This may be my number one piece of advice. I can’t tell you how many tears I cried over the guilt I felt for struggling in the first year of this transition. We had our healthy miracle baby I had prayed so much for, and yet I was still struggling big time. I felt weak and undeserving of the tears- “what is wrong with me?!” I thought. But those trenches are tough. The sleep deprivation is tough. The managing your own nervous system, your toddler’s and a colicky baby’s nervous system is tough. It’s ok to be the most grateful, full of love, overjoyed you’ve ever been while also being exhausted, feeling isolated and admitting you need help. It took me a long time to realize how absolutely ok it is for all of this to exist at once.

Despite how hard some moments of this time of life can be, there’s never a question that the joy of the newest addition outweighs the difficult moments in a truly inexpressible way. Your heart will grow in a way you didn’t even know was possible! Seeing your little ones bond is a taste of heaven! The sweet moments are even sweeter, the fun moments are even more fun! You have so much to look forward to that you may not even realize now.

Well thank you for letting me babble. Not sure that this was even all that helpful, but maybe it will resonate with someone out there!

Mackenzie

Hello & Happy New Year! Welcome to our official Christmas recap. This year was so much fun. Just magic. Behind that magic though was the biggest pile of laundry to fold that I’ve ever had. Something had to give with the festivities, shopping, advent calendars, wrapping gifts, etc. and laundry certainly gave! 😅

Tuesday December 23rd was a big get everything done and finished up day! I couldn’t believe I actually had everything done in time. It was a lot of late nights- 1 AM and extra coffee, but I felt good going into this week!

We got a hilarious photo from preschool too- Quinn is adamant she doesn’t like movies, only “shows”, so when they put on a Christmas movie she turned around and sat the other direction. So there’s a sea of kids engrossed in this movie and then there’s Quinn just turned around looking at the wall 😂.

My friend Amy gave us some extra clothes they had. Here was one of the outfits!

That evening DJ took the reins on the Christmas plans since clearly it is not my forte. He chose to go to Glow with Stow, a display near City Hall.

This was a success!!

There were a lot of beautiful lights and Quinn and Tripp were all about it!

The morning of December 24th was wonderful! We blasted Christmas music, did some coloring and then got ready for the day.

That evening we went to Poppy and Sissy’s for our Christmas with them. It was so much fun. Quinn was being a ham and got us all laughing. At one point she was playing a toy trumpet and had us all spinning in circles. It looked like we were under some sort of spell 😂.

I failed at getting food photos but we had a delicious charcuterie board and dinner of ham, mac n cheese, green beans and roasted carrots. It was fantastic! It was a really wonderful evening.

Amy and Chris went to Japan this November and brought back some awesome finds! They even gifted us each one of these….. IYKYK! (Squid Game).

That evening we got ready for Santa! Quinn wanted to share her special mug with Santa 🥹. We also put out the cookies she made and carrots for the reindeer.

The kids went to bed lateee that night, and as a result we didn’t get finished up getting everything ready until close to 1 AM. But that was just par for the course for a few weeks there! It’s all so fun & exciting though.

Quinn’s “big” gift this year was this vanity. I found the vanity tools from Montessori mama.

Moose was our moral support.

Santa was here!

Quinn woke up hungry since she slept in so late so we peaked under the tree but she wanted to eat first. I made Immaculate brand cinnamon rolls, applegate sausage, a quiche (super easy recipe I only did green onion on one side), and a parfait spread with purely Elizabeth chocolate sea salt granola, yogurt and berries.

Time to get to it!

^ side note: this picture initially freaked me out because I couldn’t figure out who was in the bottom right corner. Then I realized it was the tail of the rocking horse haha!

Throughout December Quinn made little magnatile gifts and put her toy characters in them. She said they were for Jesus’s birthday and that we could open on Christmas 🥹❤️. It was the first thing she wanted to give us that morning before she even opened her own gifts. I love her giving heart and sweet spirit.

She wanted two things from Santa – a Muffin stuffy and Muffin and Socks characters for her Bluey dollhouse. He delivered!

Tripp was just happy to be there lol.

Mr. Moose just lounged on the couch through the whole thing.

How cool is this ribbon from Quinn’s preschool?

The rest of the day was spent in our PJs enjoying all the new gifts. Also, we pulled up an album from DJ’s phone of videos of me with the kids/videos of the kids I’d never seen before. I told him it was all I wanted for Christmas and he had saved them through the year. It was SO so special and we decided it would be an annual thing.

I am pretty thrilled to start my bread making journey!!!

We went on a walk but it was pretty chilly & Tripp refused to keep his gloves on. I went home and started on dinner while the rest of the gang finished up walking. I made the sheet pan feta, vegan sausage and root veggie tray I mentioned a few posts back!

Since Tripp is doing so well with dairy I used regular feta this time!

Quinn’s latest obsession is Barney so we let her watch a little after getting ready for bed. Moose cuddled up too 🥰.

Something I was pretty excited about to give Quinn is this artwork book. We took her art from this year and the art hanging on the wall and put it in this book. I did have to get new three rings since these ones broke, but once it was all put together it looked great! I love that she can color the front too if she wants.

Now we have a clean slate on her art wall for the new year! I think this is going to be a fun tradition to do every year- take the art down put it in a book and make room for the art to come!

This Christmas I was so filled with gratitude, reflection and pure joy. We had so much wonderful family time, Tripp is with us this year and Quinn was more excited and into the holiday than ever- so those are the biggies. But there was something else I realized. Christmas in the past or holidays in general used to be so triggering for me when I was in the thick of disordered eating/exercise. I was SO in my head about getting my workout in, what food would be offered/when, how I would look in pictures. I realized at the end of this season how none of that was even a thought on my mind…How I ate the cinnamon rolls without getting up at 5 AM to do a 10 mile run. How I was fully present with my kids not worrying or caring about how I might look in pictures. I am so grateful. Motherhood has changed me so much & it’s healed me in so many ways. I think it took this Christmas for me to truly see just how much growth I’ve had. It’s not perfect nor always easy- I still struggle at times, but on a major scale I look back at this holiday season with so much gratitude and praising God that I am no longer mentally beholden to something that I was controlled by for a long time.

December 26th Tripp was down for the count. He was pretty clingy on Christmas, but then wanted to sleep all day Friday. My poor boy.

He spiked a temp and then started getting a runny nose. DJ got it on Sunday which took him to the ER for chest tightness & difficulty breathing. Turns out it was influenza A. Quinn nor I caught it, and DJ and Tripp are getting better each day.

That evening we had meatballs over sourdough pasta with salad.

The morning of December 27th I made french toast for everyone. Just felt like one of those mornings!

We did take most Christmas decorations down that day since we were at home. But we threw a birthday party to Jesus too. I had wanted to do this and Christmas really snuck up on me- so I’m glad we could do it this day!

We laughed a bit how my cake turned out. I jokingly told Renee I was coming for her cakes 😂.

It tasted fine. Not great. Not bad. Fine. It did the trick lol.

We also made an ornament I’d been wanting to do with Tripp for his first Christmas. I realized all the cute little crafts daycare did with Quinn her first Christmas Tripp wouldn’t have since he’s not in daycare. I said to DJ, “I have to make sure to do the cute crafts! I’m the teacher now!” Quinn overheard me and said, “Mommy, you’re not a teacher!”. lol.

We also were a couple days behind but finished up our advent calendar!

Anyway, how was your Christmas? Hopefully you had fewer fails than I did 🤣. I’ll get it together for 2026, yeah?! 😅

I hope you have a wonderful New Year, friends!

Mackenzie 🎄❤️

Hey all! One more day but I think one more post until I’m all caught up. Can we do it?!

December 14th was a pretty chill day at home. We decided to stay home from Church since the roads looked awful. We took it easy & spent lots of time with Grammy. Quinn made this cute little guy out of construction paper.

December 15th was an errand day! I had to get out of the house. It was bitter cold which definitely made things a little trickier. Usually when I am unloading both kids I put Tripp in the baby wearing carrier and then get Quinn out. But with how cold it was I had to directly bring in the car seat. When we got in the store I transferred him to the carrier and just put the car seat in the main part of the stroller. Phew!

We stopped by Starbucks of course, for my au lait and Quinn’s milk. These are the moments I already ache about not having in the future when she starts school full time. I love my little errand buddies.

We have a good friend who is pregnant, and she said she was craving all things cheese and dairy. We gathered items to make her a little cheesy gift basket 😄.

It’s wild to think Quinn will probably be shorter than Tripp at some point. She’s such a good big sis!

I decided I wanted to make a big jump pit in the kids’ playroom for the day. I’ve had this idea for a while and it was fun to finally execute!

Quinn also handed out some pink sunglasses to everyone!

We had a blast jumping over and over again.

When we were at Target Quinn had asked for this mug for her milk. This girl rarely asks for anything when we’re out, and if she does I usually just say add it to the Christmas or birthday list. But I had to oblige this time- look at how cute this is.

We got a cookie decorating kit too. Usually I’d want to make the dough, avoid all the artificial dyes with cleaner versions, yadayadayada. This year I had nothing left in the tank to do all that so I said let’s get the darn kit- we’ll all be ok! As much as I try to live a non toxic lifestyle I feel like I’ve really gotten better about the mindset of doing the best we can and then being ok too with a little exposure to not the cleanest ingredients here and there.

Anyway, Quinn wanted to make them exactly like the pictures on the box which is a little like playing with fire with a three year old- they best be exactly how she envisioned! 😆 Thankfully she was happy with them, and it was a fun activity to do the two of us ❤️.

I tried to make some broccoli & cheese fritters that day. Neither kid was super interested though. Oh! But Tripp was doing very well with the dairy introduction! It’s been a few weeks now with no issues. Praying he’s in the clear!

For dinner, I made a veggie packed chili. I really liked this recipe! I ate it for days for lunch on repeat. It was great for the kids too- I just kept it low sodium so Tripp could have some too.

December 17th I took the kids to Rock the Spectrum. We always have a great time there!

That afternoon the temp bumped right over 40 degrees so I was determined to get out for a walk. We definitely trudged through a bit of snow in certain parts of the sidewalk, but it was wonderful to get some fresh air!

I didn’t get a great picture of them, but I made enchiladas (here was the filling for them). We love the Siete red enchilada sauce.

Hanging out in the playroom all together before bed ❤️.

Tripp loves playing in water (especially sinks with handles he can control), so we busted out the Lovevery sink on December 18th. He had a blast playing with this!

While he played with his sink, Quinn and I made a monster out of a big box we had.

I had leftover googly eyes from a craft we didn’t end up making, some felt and then used shoelaces for the “hair”.

We used some ball pit balls and played a game where Quinn tried to get the balls in the monster’s mouth. It was a hit!

Marie and Jorge got Quinn a Barbie head where she can do its hair- one of Quinn’s favorite play pretend games is hair stylist! She had a lot of fun doing this.

December 19th we had cookie making at our cousins! This is our annual tradition to make our family’s Peppernut cookie.

Quinn really enjoyed participating in the cookie making this year!!

I cannot get enough. I eat these for breakfast dessert with my coffee sometimes (meaning daily).. Mmm mmm. It was wonderful to be with our cousins. We had some delicious pizza and the kids had a ball per usual running around together.

December 20th was Emelyn’s “Two sweet” birthday party!! Renee always does amazing with these.

She made the cake, cookies, donuts and cake pops! And this is just a hobby… she’s actually a pharmacist. Isn’t she so talented?!?

They had a fun piñata moment too.

That afternoon I decided to try serving Quinn some food in a muffin tin. She’s been a touch pickier than usual lately & I thought maybe this would help as I’d seen this idea somewhere. But it didn’t really make a difference. She just used the empty cups to stir the other foods together and told me she made a recipe lol.

That evening we went to The Farm for our big Christmas get together with Gigi and Gordie’s (Grandpa’s) side of the family. Our family was in from Chicago so all the cousins were having a blast being together so much that day.

I was in heaven being able to actually eat everything without worry! And this was a Christmas meal for the books. We had a beef tenderloin that had the most wonderful seasoning and all the delicious sides you could want.

How cute is this cranberry sauce dish?!

The pies though, don’t get me started on the pies. We all know how I feel about Gigi’s pumpkin pie- I wait all year for it! But she also made a peanut butter pie that was just outstanding too. I wish I had tried the pecan while I was at it, but I was just too full lol.

Keepy uppy!

We exchanged gifts, enjoyed our desserts and then headed home feeling very grateful for these precious memories.

Quinn and Tripp immediately tore into everything once we unloaded the car. This deejay Fischer Price table from Gigi & Grandpa was a hit with both of them. I discovered that toys for Tripp actually double as toys for Quinn in many cases haha.

We did this chemistry kit from KiwiCo that Quinn got too. It was adorable because she could make homemade cards from her creations!

December 21st we went to Church then a birthday party for our neighbors! They have a 2.5 year old and a 1 year old!

In the evening I wanted to take the kids to see Christmas lights, but unfortunately I had another fail. I saw that a place maybe 20 mins away had lights that synced up with the radio. I think it said 10,000 bulbs or something so I was expecting a huge display. We left around 530 and we tried so hard to keep Quinn awake but she fell asleep. This is a worst case scenario, as that means she would be up to at least 1030/11, which she was 🙃. Tripp was also extra fussy in the car so he got quite a bit of Ms Rachel, which isn’t the worst thing but I do try to limit the screen. Anyway, as we pulled up I was hoping I’d be able to find parking assuming it would be a zoo. Nope, we were the only ones there (again).

Most of the lights were off and this is all that remained. I’m sure when they are all lit up it’s pretty awesome, but we did not go on the right night 🫠. Quinn slept through the whole thing anyway haha.

December 22nd we continued to have fun playing with the gifts, decorating ornaments and then headed to the library to meet up with Maggie at the Maggie library!!! Of course Quinn asked the question she always does, “her a nurse now?!”. Not yet girl, a couple years to go, but one semester closer!

I did a bad job taking pictures but the library had an adorable craft with beads to make candy canes. Maggie and Quinn happily did that together. It was so nice to catch up!

The morning of December 23rd we witnessed a particularly gorgeous sunset. I ran in to get Quinn so she could see it.

This feels like a good place to wrap!

Christmas recap comin atchya next!

Moving right along!! I’m hoping to get caught up by New Year’s Day- can we do it?! If you see a bunch of grammatical/spelling errors or sentences that just don’t make sense- no you didn’t! 😜

The morning of November 28th Quinn read a bunch of books with Grammy. Then we all got ready to go visit my Grandma Violet!

It was so good to see her! She’s turning 100 in March so we are planning her party- cannot wait! It was another resident’s birthday that day and Tripp was having a ball hitting one of the balloons. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard him giggle so much. I wish I had recorded it!

After visiting our Grandma, we stopped by to spend time with my brother’s family. Kate and Quinn made ornaments together ☺️.

November 29th was a chill day.

Maggie also came by to visit! Quinn was, of course, elated to see her.

It ended up being an unintentional PJ day too. My mom set up Candyland and played that with Quinn several times. She’s at the perfect age for it & it’s a very nostalgic game for me!

That evening we threw a surprise party for Kevin! He recently bought his own dental practice. Halston helped get him out of the house and also went to pick up Swenson’s (one of his favorites near here).

We got to work getting up the decorations!

I found these little succulent teeth shaped holders on Amazon that I thought were adorable! I was thinking Kevin may even want to use them for his office. I didn’t have actual succulents to put in them so we improvised with a few toothbrushes and cotton balls.

He was definitely surprised! It was so fun.

Fast food and champagne for the win!

My mom and Pete also surprised us with matching pajamas for the kids. It was so cute and you can imagine how excited Quinn was!

Moose was one happy camper with his Aunt and Uncle.

November 30th Quinn built a crib out of magnatiles for herself, haha! I love her creativity.

And we finally completed November! Time to jump into December 🙂

December 1st we did our first Advent calendar item!

It was a candle representing Jesus as the light and hope of the world. I did not follow the instructions very well, but it turned out well enough lol!

More crafts!

That evening we had homemade turkey burgers, sweet potato fries and green beans.

December 3rd we had a play date at a friend’s house. This is kind of a cool story. So back when I was in the thick of postpartum I’d hired a woman named Amy for a few days to help to be a free hand (this was before Maggie was able to start). Well, she had happened to also have a baby and showed up I think 13 days postpartum? I couldn’t believe it, she is actually superwoman. Anyway, she was an instant friend and she has a daughter that’s only about 7 months younger than Quinn too. Her son is 3 months younger than Tripp. They came by for a playdate once and then on the 3rd we went to their house. I forget that we met through Care.com sometimes since she’s just one of those people that I feel like I’ve known for years. Very grateful for new mom friends I’ve met this year.

Anyway, while there we had The Farmer’s Rail. It was my first time having it and it was great!!! I had a berry salad with chicken & it was the perfect lunch.

Tripp definitely wanted more finger foods starting around this time so I made a zucchini fritter for him.

That evening Quinn covered Moose in our cleaning towels. He is such a trooper. When he stood up we said he reminded us of a donkey from Jesus’s time. Hah!

December 4th we played a lot of the morning with a Lovevery kit and then did a Young, Wilde and Friedman one too.

That afternoon I made a cauliflower fried rice with tofu and pineapple. This was so good & easy! I believe the recipe was from the Feeding Littles cookbook.

December 5th I got my Spotify wrapped- The Jesus People podcast was my top. I love this podcast and highly recommend it- it’s stories of the ways Jesus has worked in people’s lives. It has really deepened my faith & has transformed the way I approach prayer too.

December 6th I reinforced some baby proofing in our kitchen. Some of our cabinets had lost their locks, and Tripp was determined to open every single one haha.

My mom and Pete also got a new puppy that I had to share!! Her name is Stella- I cannot with those paws 🥹. Moose and Captain have a new Aunt! Haha!

That day Quinn and I wanted to play in the snow but I realized she’d outgrown her boots from last year! We had to makeshift some boots with ziplock bags and rubber bands over her shoes. It worked well enough haha!

That evening I had a major Christmas fail. I googled Christmas events going on near us that evening and it came up that downtown was having a tree lighting at City Hall. There were promises of reindeer, Santa, crafts and food trucks! I thought “oh this is perfect!”.

We dashed dinner from Farmer’s Rail since I was low on groceries (and I told DJ he had to try it) and then we booked it over. We were barely going to make it! When parking we noticed there weren’t that many cars which seemed odd, but we figured there was just a closer parking garage that was full. When walking there we passed a Santa in a storefront waving hello, and barely stopped to say hi as we didn’t want to miss the tree lighting and there was another Santa there anyway!

Well. We got there. City hall sure was pretty, but there was not a soul in sight! We were so confused. After quickly going to the direct website we learned the events had happened a week prior! 🫠

The Google Ai (Gemini?) may have failed me but this was not bound to break our spirits! Quinn handled the disappointment like a champ.

As we were walking back to the car, there was a sweater crawl going on and someone was dressed as the Grinch. She was sooo excited to see the Grinch I don’t think she cared one bit about the rest falling through! We stopped by the ice skating rink to see people skate for a minute then it was getting bitter cold so we headed out.

We went to Target to kill a bit more time. Quinn picked out her gift to Tripp for Christmas (an adorable little dino crinkle teether).

The next day was not a fail! We met up with our family for a lovely Christmas brunch at Gigi and Grandpa’s country club.

These brunches are such a treat. And we were trialing Tripp on dairy so I didn’t have to be quite as cautious about the food which was so nice! Everything was very tasty, but I think the waffles were a stand out!

There was an adorable area to write letters to Santa. Quinn requested a muffin stuffy and Socks and Muffiin characters to add to her dollhouse sized collection. (Socks is the name of a character, not actual socks lol!).

Then we met Santa again! He was in a much better mood than when we met him at the mall ;). Quinn was actually pretty thrilled this time around too!

Tripp is slowly but surely getting better with his separation anxiety! He had a great time standing with Gigi by the window touching the cold glass.

December 7th we spent some time on the magnetic chalkboard.

I also finally got around to taking Tripp’s 9 month photo!

We had vegan burgers and Lima beans that night. Quinn asked if I could make her cheese in the shape of a heart!

December 9th this little dude spun off all the toilet paper. It’s a rite of passage, so I let him do it. Look at that mischievous grin!

We also have an elf on the shelf named Chippy along with a Shepherd on the Search looking for Jesus. My Aunt Terry found/sent the Shepherd, and I think it’s the coolest thing- it came with a regular book and a sticker book too! Anyway, the two got up to all kinds of antics together.

That evening I made a sundried chicken over pasta.

December 10th we met with Amy and her kids at the library! The kids were loving the Paw Patrol books.

We then went to the grocery store. Quinn picked out these beautiful flowers this time 🥰.

Up to this point, Tripp’s naps have all been in the carrier. Since they were so frequent and generally short I figured there was no use in getting frustrated over trying to transfer him for a 20/30 minute nap. But now that he’s dropped to two, they are a bit longer and it’s pretty easy to transfer him too. This has opened a little time for me and Quinn to have together during the day. It’s so needed! It doesn’t always go exactly as planned but, for example, that day we did a Young Wilde and Friedman kit together and I was able to be fully present and engaged. We had so much fun!

That day Quinn also decided she wanted to make a donation bag. She went through our house putting things in that were mostly Tripp’s 🤣. And a lot of clothes that certainly still fit. I let her do her thing knowing I’d sneakily put everything back later. Well DJ thought it was actual trash since it was in a diaper trash bag and stuck it in the laundry room to be taken out. Thankfully I spotted it before all that very much still needed clothing and currently played with toys ended up in a landfill!

Quinn drew this beautiful night scene on her drawing board that day. I love seeing her creativity and artistic side blossom!

That week I noticed when Tripp’s hair parted a certain way it reminded me of Dwight Schrute. I decided I just had to dress him like Dwight, especially before we get his haircut! (The to-do list I had that was a mile long was certainly not prioritized in this moment).

Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica!

The evening of December 12th I made pot roast with white rice.

That week I wrapped a lot of presents in the evening after the kids went down. I was watching the show All Her Fault on Peacock. It was a well done show that I was thinking about when I wasn’t watching it. It was hard to watch as it has to do with a missing child- but the twists and turns, etc. are shocking. I also think it depicts the trying aspects of balancing career/motherhood well too. A great thriller if you need a recommendation!

My mom flew in on December 13th! She came in town to watch Tripp while we went to a wedding. I jokingly threw it out to her that she’s welcome to come back to help and she didn’t even blink and booked a flight. ❤️ Our original plan was Gigi was going to be with Quinn at our house and my mom was going to be at a family’s friend close to the venue in case Tripp became inconsolable/refused to eat or drink. However, there was a massive snowstorm that night so everyone ended up staying put at our house. Tripp actually did well! He ate quite a bit, refused the bottle but hey, eating a bunch was a win! They put the breastmilk in his oatmeal so he still got it that way. My mom did end up getting him down for the night by putting on the carrier and walking on the treadmill the way I often do with him. It went even better than I expected!

Onto the wedding!!! This was for my dear friend Rachel. She loves Christmas & it was the most gorgeous winter/Christmas wedding ever.

We got there a bit early. While I pumped DJ ran across the street to a coffee shop called Speakeasy. You guys this is some of the best coffee I’ve had – it was unreal good. If you’re in the North Canton area you MUST stop here!

The venue was so beautiful.

Look at this fun cake!!

It was a lovely night, celebrating Rachel and Anthony, catching up with some people I haven’t seen in over a decade and spending that one on one time with DJ ❤️. I am so grateful to my mom and Gigi for holding down the fort so well too!

More Christmas posts to come soon! 🙂

P.S. this post contains Amazon affiliate links, which means I might earn a small commission if you make a purchase. Please know I’ll only ever share products I truly stand by and use! 🫶🏻

Hey friends!! I hope you had a lovely Christmas! Here we are in November Part Three!

My mom and Pete arrived on November 23rd. We all wanted Indian, so we tried a new place, The Spice Delight, and oh it was delightful!!

Every time my mom visits she brings Quinn a little soap duck. This one was a nurse ☺️.

My mom and Pete also have been world travelers this year. They’ve been to Greece twice and Turkey. They brought us back some Turkish delight & I was a big fan!!! I’ve never had anything quite like it- it’s almost light like marshmallow, but also gummy and dense? Sort of hard to describe!

They also brought some money for Quinn that she could use as play money.

Pete and my mom read a few books to Quinn before bed.

November 24th we met up with a friend from high school and her kids at the library. After, we went to Yada Yada Coffee. My mom and I both got tasty matchas & a “milky” for Quinn of course!

That evening my mom made some delicious eggplant meatballs with pasta and garlic bread. I need this recipe- these were so good!

That evening Tripp said “more” for the first time!

That day I received a shipment of Ahimsa stainless steel dishes, bowls and cups for the kids. We needed some new stuff & Quinn has loved these!!!

November 25th we had Tripp’s 9 month appt then my mom and I stopped into Ardmore for some coffee. They also have some incredible chocolate croissants.

Quinn received a KiwiCo kit and this one was digging for fossils. She had fun doing this with Grampy!

November 26th we stopped by Gigi’s to wish her a happy birthday! It was nice to see some family briefly that we wouldn’t see the day of Thanksgiving either.

We lost our power that night right after we finished making dinner (good timing!). Thankfully I had some battery operated candles ready and there was still a tiny bit of natural light coming through.

I entered into the Pioneer era, cradling my battery operated candle running around saying “it’s ok family! We will make it through winter if we stay together! This candle will bring us warmth!”. No one found my performance amusing except for Quinn 😆. We did get our power back fairly quickly!

I think this was the evening that we watched a couple dances from the Dancing with the Stars finale! Tripp was into it!!

And that brings us to Thanksgiving!!

Chat again soon 🙂

Merry Christmas Eve!

Wow I cannot believe how much has happened in just a couple months. I feel months behind on here just because there is so much to share. We’ll get there eventually hah!

Early to mid November Tripp’s mobility skyrocketed. It’s so much fun, stinking adorable and exciting, but also so tiring! He constantly needs spotted and pulled away from things (even though we are baby proofed, they always find a way! 😅). I am absolutely bushed by the end of the day.

I think what makes it extra tough is I feel like it’s made my quality of time with Quinn extra slim because I’m so focused on keeping Tripp from hurting himself. I used to be able to set him down and play with them both, but now I’m just trailing him while she plays independently. She plays independently so well, but I miss her even though I’m with her all day! We still try to find time in the evenings after Tripp goes down and we try to do our dates, but with the holiday season things have been all over the place. We’ll find a new groove soon I’m sure!

November 10th was the first snow of the season!! I was so thrilled saying, “Tripp it’s your first snow!”. But then it dawned on me he was born in February so it was not, in fact, his first snow haha.

Lately, I’ve tried to take pictures of just every day moments more intentionally.

Looking back at videos and pictures from when Quinn was little I realize how much I love just the ordinary things that I may not have thought to even capture at that time, like a snapshot of a corner of the playroom or a video of a random conversation- just to hear her sweet voice.

This picture reminds me- Quinn has been loving this Lovevery calendar! It’s a great way for her to know what’s happening each day and learn the days of the week too.

That day it felt right to pull out more Christmas decorations considering the snow on the ground.

We were low on groceries, but I made a nostalgic meal my mom used to make us of sausage stuffed acorn squash. I used beyond meat Italian sausage and added a little dairy free yogurt too.

Alas, the snow started melting fairly quickly. But little did we know we’d have our fair share in the month to come!

November 12th Quinn helped me make a delicious risotto that Chat GPT provided based on the ingredients we had at the time. It was made with Arborio rice, coconut milk, tomato sauce, bone broth, and corn.

It was a big hit!

A fellow blogger and friend, Linda, suggested this ACE bakery sourdough and it was so delicious!!! Quinn actually woke up asking for it the day after she tried it haha.

Another day, another scavenger hunt! Sometimes ChatGPT goes rogue with its creations but it works well enough.

I added peas and shrimp to the risotto when it was ready to go! A big hit!

November 13th this Princess, Tripp and I headed to the library .

That evening DJ and Quinn built quite the magnatile castle! They create something like this almost daily. Magnatiles are easily some of the best toys. Easy clean up, endless play time. We’re all big fans.

Baby in explorer mode!

I have to barricade off Quinn’s magnatiles creations so they don’t get destroyed by a babyzilla!

Where did Tripp go?

The afternoon of November 14th it was nice enough in the afternoon to go on a walk. I was laughing that one house turned their skeleton into a Pilgrim.

We also thought this pumpkin made into a golf ball was pretty cool!

November 15th was a GREAT day! Since Tripp was born, DJ and Quinn have been going to a park a little further away with “the silly slides”. This is Quinn’s favorite park, but I’ve never been with her due to the distance. Well we felt that Tripp was probably at a point where he could tolerate the drive, so I was finally going to see the Silly Slides park!

The actual name is Preston’s Hope, and it is adorable!! They have a play town with all kinds of different buildings representing a city staple (fire station, hair salon, school, etc.).

Quinn took a lot of pride in showing me around! And I did get to see her do the silly slides over and over and over again!

After, we went to Pinecrest area to walk around and grab coffee. Pinecrest has a fantastic shopping row that was absolutely bustling when we were there. I’d love to go back there for a full day. We stopped into Heartwood and got delicious coffees and a milk for Quinn. We also all split a vegan double chocolate cookie!

We swung into hobby lobby after to get some Christmas crafts and supplies to make Quinn a library bag.

Then we worked on some crafts when we got home!

We also made Quinn’s library bag! We just used the iron on decals & a plain bag. It was so easy & she loves it! She picked out all the decals herself and I thought it turned out adorably.

November 16th we attempted at making homemade ornaments for the grandparents for Christmas. Quinn wanted to make the gingerbread man brown but we didn’t have brown paint- I majorly failed at my attempt to create brown too. Not even sure how we got to that gray lol. We joked the grandparents are getting coal from Quinn this year.

November 18th I went to a mom’s get together for the women from our Church. We put together crafts for each day of Advent to do with our kids. It came with an instructional book. Each day has a verse, a discussion and a craft. It’s been such a joy doing one each day with Quinn! While I was there (Tripp came with me), DJ took Quinn to frozen yogurt and then to the lights at Western Reserve. They had a couple trees gorgeously lit up!

November 19th we met up with Gigi for a fun day. First we went to Hobby Lobby for a couple more Christmas crafts and then continued onto Barnes and Noble. We grabbed coffee/some snacks then headed to the upstairs Children’s area.

It actually happened to be story time too! We met some other sweet families there, and it was so much fun!! I definitely want to do this again soon.

That afternoon we blasted the music and danced around. I’ve found whenever I don’t know what to do/am feeling overwhelmed or just need to get the energy up music and dancing will always do the trick! Quinn and Tripp are slowly but surely starting to play together and it is the sweetest!

November 20th we were out of the house most of the day running errands. I let Tripp munch on a baguette at Panera. He loved it and would get angry whenever I dared pulled it away for even a second. Hah! Quinn didn’t finish her Mac n cheese so we took it to go. I figured she would want it an hour later or so.

We went to Asterik coffee shop in downtown Cuyahoga Falls. Always delicious!!

On our way to the library, Quinn asked for the mac n cheese. I realized I didn’t have any utensils for her to use. She said “it’s ok mama I have some!” And she pulled out a kids spoon from her car seat. No idea how long it was there, but it looked clean enough 🤣.

When we got home, Quinn had mail from Maggie! She sent her this adorable Bluey coloring picture 💙.

November 21st I finally got our basement bedroom livable!! I still have some decorative work, and I need to find a dresser for it- but I’m pretty pleased how it came together!

That day I got my hair done for before the holidays.

Sleepy moose with stockings.

November 22nd Quinn and I went first thing to First Watch. It was soo much fun.

Quinn drew this duck, which I thought was so good!

My girl with a pancake as big as she is, haha!

I realized as we were doing Christmas set up I didn’t have a stocking for Tripp yet as it’s his first Christmas! I ordered one exactly from where I did last time but his is a smidge bigger than everyone’s. I might try to shrink it in the wash, but for now, oh well!

That afternoon we went to the mall to see Santa! We also did a Build-a-Bear.

Quinn brought along her Chase she made last year! This year she made a cat.

Santa went.. as expected. Neither kid was about it haha!

We stopped by Ardmore Coffee after.

Then we were home!

Phew this is getting long! I hope you all have a blessed and restful Christmas ❤️🎄.

Mackenzie

Hey hey! Hope you are staying warm out there (if it’s as cold where you are!) and having a wonderful holiday season.

November 1st we ventured to HomeGoods and Target. Target is Quinn’s favorite store because they have Bullseye the dog!

Don’t look at the weeds- we’ll just pretend those don’t exist- but my mom planted these flowers in my garden when she was here in the Spring and they bloomed so beautifully!

That afternoon DJ did a scavenger hunt with Quinn. I hid “treasure” in a toy treasure box in our backyard and then DJ drew the map to help her find it. She loved this!

That day was beautiful, so we made sure to go for a family walk.

That evening I made chicken patties out of the force of nature ancestral blend. This is our favorite ground chicken- the flavor is tremendous, and it’s packed with nutrients.

Now what is ancestral blend? It’s made of ground chicken, skin, liver, heart and gizzard… but it just tastes like chicken, literally. For the longest time I’d been buying the ancestral blend beef too, and DJ had no clue what it was made of. Now that he knows, he’ll ask “are we eating the chicken brain tonight?” 🙄 lol. It is really good and super nutritious though! I served that dinner with murasaki sweet potato and broccoli. (P.S. If you come over for dinner I won’t subject you to the ancestral blend, do not worry- lol!).

November 2nd we went on a walk and said goodbye to Quinn’s favorite Halloween decorations before they were taken down (read: Gargantuan mummy monster). We got a Kiwi Co crate too so we worked on that in the afternoon. The theme of this crate was gardens. We made a planter with different veggies (made of different colored beads) and then completed a flower project that demonstrated how capillary action works in plants.

November 3rd we busted out the Thanksgiving sensory bin activities to replace the Halloween ones. She spent a while doing this color sorter activity.

After that she pretended to make different muffins. We put them in a muffin container and whenever I asked to try one I was hit with a “they’re not ready yet” 🤷🏼‍♀️.

She also loves to play pretend daycare and will take all the chairs in our kitchen, arrange them into her car formation, buckle in each doll/stuffy and drive them to school!

Daycare snack time! I let her have some Little Spoon containers to play pretend with. I see containers differently than I used to- a yogurt container is now a fun craft or a “building” rather than just a tub to be recycled!

That afternoon we went to Rock the Spectrum. We always have a great time there especially if Quinn finds a friend her age, which she did this time!

Tripp was even enjoying it too!

They have a great little baby area. What I especially love about rock the spectrum is it’s not very big which makes it easy to keep eyes on the kids at all times. I can be playing with Tripp in the baby area and still see Quinn easily.

Time for grocery shopping!

That evening I made a sheet pan meal. I was inspired by previous recipes and then just doctored it up as I saw fit.

We couldn’t stop talking about how much we enjoyed this. I tried to remember how I made it and jotted down some notes, here they are:

Fall sheet pan : 

• vegan beyond Italian sausage 
• Brussels 
• Mushrooms 
• Onion 
• Vegan feta (follow your heart)
• Butternut squash
• 2 tbsp maple syrup 
• 1.5 TBSP olive oil 
• 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar 
• Salt and pepper 
• Toss veggies in marinade, then put in oven 
• Roast 385 for 20, turn up heat to 425 then check frequently 
• Sauté sausage on stovetop until crispy and then combine with sheet pan when done

At some point in the evening, Quinn decided to practice her name on her playroom wall 😆.

I really don’t mind her exercising some creative liberty on the walls in her playroom. I think it’s because my Mom let us have pretty free rein on our bedroom walls growing up. We painted them, put up murals, they were messy with melted crayons, etc. I figure we can always just paint it someday but then I probably won’t want to 🩷.

November 5th we did library story time & craft!

That afternoon we went to Gigis with Moose too. Oh my goodness Moose was living his BEST life running freely around their yard. He has space in ours, but not that much space- and he was loving it! Quinn was getting such a kick out of it running after him giggling. Tripp didn’t mind hanging around outside either!

We had a lovely afternoon at Gigis and then headed home.

For dinner we had meatballs with vegan feta, couscous, roasted carrots, cucumbers and hummus.

November 6th we went with a neighbor and her kids to the library for baby music and play time! This was a big hit with all the kids.

Quinn has become quite fond of the library’s Curious George.

That evening I needed some fresh air. I had chat GPT create a scavenger hunt for us – and Quinn was all about it!

That evening was- you knowwwww it- Chili!!’

November 8th we went for a family walk then set up the Christmas tree. Quinn was such a big help this year and was so into it! I think I’m near as giddy this year for Christmas as I was as a kid- seeing the joy of Christmas through their eyes is just the best 🥹.

That evening we had non-aesthetically plated tacos with peas and potatoes. Some days you make a pretty meal and others you are throwing food on a plate as fast as you can before everyone melts down 😅.

Oh also – DJ and I had a funny discussion. I often say “I just need to plate the food” before dinner. He thinks it’s a funny way to say put food on the plate- but to me it just sounds right/natural. I’m wondering if it’s because I worked at a catering company for weddings- it was all about food being “plated”. Does anyone else use that use of the word at home?

I’d say this is a good place to wrap! Chat more soon 🙂

Mackenzie

P.S. this post contains Amazon affiliate links, which means I might earn a small commission if you make a purchase. Please know I’ll only ever share products I truly stand by and use! 🫶🏻