My First Baby You'll Always Be

You will always be my first baby. 

The one who made me a Mama.

You will always be the one who taught me how to give more of myself than I thought possible.
The one who pushed me to learn new things.
The one who first heard my heart from the inside and then completely stole it on the outside.
You are the one who renewed my sense of wonder in the every day moments.
Who showed me the miracle of growing a life.
Before you, I had never been happy changing a diaper or sucking boogers out of someone's nose.
Before you, I had never been so enamored with another human's toes.
Before you, I didn't know how it felt to be someone's everything.
You were the first one to call me Mama.
The first one to make me understand God's love for me, his child, in such a profound way.
And while there is another baby coming into my life very soon that will take up part of my heart,
You will always be my first baby.

My "baby" is 22 months old

Matching shirts from Shop Jumping Jack

Today Aiden is a mere 2 months away from being a TWO year old. With baby #2 on the way, I find myself staring at him even more frequently, soaking up every cuddle, every toothy grin, every giggle. I keep telling myself to stop referring to him as my baby and start calling him my big boy.

*cue hormonal pregnancy tears.

He is growing and changing so quickly and I just love all his little quirks. He still loves being outside and has become such a good helper. He always picks up the cat's food bowls when they finish eating and hands them to me, closes drawers and the fridge when they are "left open," picks up trash on the ground to throw away, etc. He is the biggest sweetheart ever and gives us kisses on demand. I never want that to end! My new favorite thing he does is call Drew, "Drew, Da-da." He picked up on me calling Drew by his name a few months ago and so he tacked that on to Da-da all on his own. It's hilarious. Last night after Drew kissed him goodnight, Aiden said, "Goodnight, Drew Da-da." Seriously. It's adorable.

Here are some of Aiden's favorites at 22 months...

Favorite Foods: Watermelon, Yogurt, Chipotle rice bowl and quesadillas, Bananas, Oatmeal, English muffin pizzas, Grilled cheese and Donuts. This kid loves donuts and lives for Saturday mornings when Daddy comes in the front door with a white box. He still won't just straight up eat vegetables unless they are in a pouch, mixed with somethin or pureed (the only exceptions to this are potatoes and black beans), but really who can blame him?

Favorite Hobbies: Bubble baths, Pushing toy cars all over the arms of our leather chair, walking his Thomas Train or Firetruck around the neighborhood and greeting our neighbors, being read to, throwing rocks in the creek by our house, chasing around the kitties and pulling Sawyer's tail.

Favorite Toys: Mr. Fox, Thomas the Train Push Toy, Little Tikes Water table, Any truck, train, plane or cars character.

Favorite Movie/T.V. Shows: Pixar's Cars, Thomas the Train, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Sid the Science Kid, Peg + Cat Sesame Street (Elmo's World).

Favorite Books: Roadwork, Little Blue Truck, Goodnight Gorilla, Indesctructible books (Baby Faces, Beach Baby, Baby Peekaboo), Panda Bear, Panda Bear What Do You See, Thank You God, "The Mama book" (a recordable book I made for him when I had to go out of town a few months ago).

Sleeping Habits: Sleeps from 7-7 and has been pretty consistent with this schedule for about a year now. Praise Jesus.

Most frequently said words and phrases: "Watch Cars", Mama, Dada (or lately: Drew-Dada), Kitty, Donut, Bubble bath, Go hide (he loves  playing hide and seek with us!), "More Yum Yum" (granola bar), Big truck, Lawn Mower, Go Outside, Brush teeth, "Ready, set, Go!"

New things this month:

• He is starting to sing! When I say, Old MacDonald had a farm, on cue he says E-I-E-I-O! It's the cutest thing ever. 
• He now knows all the characters from the movie Cars and all the names of the trains from Thomas. (Should I be proud or embarrassed? We obviously have watched these shows a time or two. Haha. I choose proud.)
• Two months ago we transitioned away from his pacifier so, no more Wubbanubs! I didn't have to use any special tricks, just slowly took it away and he eventually stopped asking for it! 
• He is finally loving the church nursery. Finally. 
• He is starting to add possessives to words..."Mama's shoes, Aiden's shoes, Dada's shoes, etc." 

He is just the happiest, sweetest, smartest kid ever (says every Mom ever.) But really...it's true.

Big Brother Status

Baby Renner #2 is coming January 31st (ish), 2017!
We can hardly contain our joy and are so very thankful for this new blessing.

A day in the life {with an 18 month old}

Life with a toddler is full. Full of messes, full of outfit changes, full of stories, full of laughter and full of crazy. I love capturing what a day in our life looks like at different stages so here we are at a year and a half. And here's what a day in our life looks like...

6:30ish AM: Aiden is up. I go and get him from his crib, change his diaper and bring him out to the couch with his sippy cup of milk and his stuffed fox who we lovingly call, Mr. Fox. We usually cuddle on the couch and read books together for at least 20 minutes. I love this slow transition into our day. Sometimes the cats join in for cuddle time too. Aiden's favorite books right now are: Little Blue Truck, Trains, Goodnight, Construction Sight. Any clue what his interests are? Haha.

After we cuddle, Aiden plays in the family room while I fix breakfast. This kid loves chocolate chip waffles so that is his main breakfast entree on repeat almost every single day. I try to mix it up with oatmeal and yogurt or bananas and toast, but waffles are his favorite. My parents got Aiden this Thomas the Train ride on and he is obsessed. We take walks with him every day and sometimes he even joins us at the breakfast table.

After breakfast we get dressed and play outside because this child is a huge fan of the outdoors. Since I knew we would be getting in the water table later, we put on our wet clothes, but we had to walk up and down all our neighbor's driveways with Thomas and Mr. Fox first. 

I scored this water table at a Mother of Twins sale for 12 bucks. We have gotten more than our money's worth from it. 

After we play, it's time to cross some things off the to-do list so we put on some real clothes and head to a local market we like to shop at called Pipkins. They have tons of fresh produce and Aiden likes to run around in their garden area after we shop. Aiden likes to point out all the produce and "help me" put it in the bag. "More Nana!" "More Apple!"

12:00ish Then it's back home to eat lunch. Aiden's favorite lunch lately is an English Muffin Pizza, Veggie Straws and some type of Applesauce I make. Sometimes I mix in Sweet Potatoes, other times it's carrots, but he loves any homemade concoction I make and it's so easy.

This EzPz mat is a life saver for Toddler meal time! I wrote about it in this post.

After lunch, it's nap time. Aiden has never been a long napper so I'm lucky if he naps a solid hour, but I'll take what I can get. While Aiden naps I throw in a load of laundry, clean some dishes or meal prep. Or some days when I'm just plain tired, I sit on the couch and catch up on an episode of Nashville. After Aiden wakes up, he requests more "B" aka milk and we might turn on an episode of Thomas per Aiden's request. "Choo Choo on."

If I decide to actually cook a meal, this would be when I do some meal prep. On tonight's menu, an easy crock pot meal: Italian Meatball & Gnocchi Soup. So good!

Drew gets home around 4:30 and Aiden is in heaven. They usually run around outside if it's nice out so I can finish up dinner or we might take a family walk around the neighborhood. From our front door, Aiden usually heads straight to our neighbor's garage and "borrows" her kid's toys. Good thing we have nice neighbors. Then it's time to eat, play a little more and then around 6:30, Aiden is exhausted so the three of us head to his room to get ready for bed.

7:00 Drew and I read Aiden his favorite bedtime books, then I rock Aiden for a few minutes and lay him down in his crib. I usually just stand above him and watch him sleep for a minute or two. I always thank God for giving me my precious little boy. He brings our family so much joy! Every single day with him is a gift.

See my other "Day in the life" posts below...

A day in the life with a 15 month old
A day in the life with a 10 month old

A day in the life with a 6 month old

What does a day in your life look like?

5 healthy recipes for picky toddlers

Feeding a Toddler is a daily exercise in patience, flexibility (both physically and mentally...as you are often dodging food being thrown or spilled) and creativity. There are weeks when Aiden could eat the same thing for lunch every day, but then there are days where yesterday's favorite is the most disgusting food in the universe. 

I really try to feed Aiden healthy things, but as I'm sure most Moms of toddlers have experienced, feeding a Toddler is no joke. I have my go-to foods for when Aiden just won't eat anything else, but these are a few tried and true "recipes" that are more healthy and are still some of Aiden's favorites...

1. Cucumber + Cream Cheese + Turkey Tortilla Wrap

• Cucumber
• Cream Cheese
• Deli Turkey
• Tortilla (corn or flour, I used corn this time because we had some leftover from Taco night)

Peel and thinly slice a cucumber (I also steamed it to make it even softer for my little one, but for older toddlers it'd be fine chopped up into small pieces.) Take a tortilla, spread cream cheese on it,  lay a piece of turkey on top and the cucumber pieces. Cut up and serve.

2. Chipotle style burrito bowl

• Rice
• Black Beans
• Plain Greek Yogurt
• Shredded Cheese
• Assorted veggies (frozen corn, avocado, diced tomato...)

Combine cooked rice with black beans, top with cheese and non-fat plain greek yogurt. If you can get your toddler to eat vegetables (congratulations!) Add some corn, avocado or even a little diced tomato. For a simple addition to this meal, serve with a cheese quesadilla.

3. Honey, Almond Butter and Banana "Sushi" Roll-up

• Almond butter
• Honey
• Banana
• Flour Tortilla

Warm the flour tortilla in the microwave on a paper towel for 10 seconds to soften. Spread with almond butter (about 2 Tbsp.) and honey. Lay out a banana on the tortilla and roll tortilla up around the banana tightly. Cut like sushi and serve. Yum.

4. Sweet Potato Tacos

Aiden loves these almost as much as my husband and I do. Click here for the recipe! This one is for the whole family!

5. Butternut Squash Sandwich 

• Butternut squash (peeled, cubed and steamed)
• Cream Cheese
• Deli Turkey or Ham

This recipe is an easy way to conceal veggies and it's really good! Peel and cube the squash then steam it. Puree it with cream cheese. Spread on your choice of  bread or tortilla and add your child's favorite deli meat and any other toppings you want. Cut up and serve.

What are your go-to healthy foods for the Toddler in your life?

An Aiden Update {17 Month Pictures}

Aiden is now 17 months old and counting. He is growing and changing so quickly and this age is too fun not to document so here are some things I want to remember about Aiden at this age...

My favorite things he says...
+ He calls milk "B".
+ WubbaNub is "Buh." When he can't find it, he has a little song he sings "Buh, where are you?"
+ He whispers "Love you" and my heart melts.
+ He always requests "More cookie"even with his mouth is still full of one.
+ Besides "Mama" his favorite saying is "Out".
+ When we go to the grocery store or see a big group of people he says, "Hi People!" (He is such an extrovert.)
+ If something impresses him he says, "Wow"
+ He knows the difference between train, tractor, truck and car and asks for them all by name.
+ He knows his directional words and if he wants you to join him somewhere, he will say "Up" and then push you toward his desired destination (usually the front door to go outside!)
+ He knows all his animal sounds including obscure ones like fish, turkey and woodpecker

I tried to count all the words that he knows yesterday and it's always growing. I got up to 50 words then got distracted. He has recently started stringing multiple words together. I love seeing how his mind is working right now! It's crazy!

My favorite things he does...
+ Gives kisses on demand
+ When he gets two of something (two cookies, two stuffed animals, two trucks, etc.) he proudly holds them both up in his hands above his head and gets the biggest smile on his face.
+ Sings the "Mama, Dada, Bubba, Yaya" song.
+ Holds my hair when he is tired or needs comfort (He just loves having me close, boy loves his Mama)
+ After I sing a song he will clap, say "Yay" and request "More song". I feel like a very accomplished and talented singer with all that praise. Haha.

Aiden's current favorites...
+ Thomas the train everything (We just signed up for A Day Out with Thomas and I can't wait to see Aiden's face light up when he actually sees and gets to ride on Thomas.)
+ Books! He is constantly bringing us books and telling us "Book, book, book!" He definitely has opinions about his books too. I will bring over a stack of books and he'll look at a book and say "yah" or "no."
+ Watching the Garbage truck collect our garbage
+ Anything and everything outside. Swinging, riding in the wagon, going on hikes...he could live outside. His current favorite thing is pushing toys up and down our neighbors driveways and letting them go at the top followed by him saying, "Weeeeee!"

Stats: (From his 15 month appointment)
+ Weight: 21 pounds
+ Height: 29 inches (Aw still my little peanut in the 10th percentile for height)

I can't believe I'll have a one and a half year old in just a few weeks. 

He is the light of my life and I am so happy he is mine.

A day in the life {with a 15 month old}

Life with my little guy is just so much fun. I want to able to look back and remember what a day in the life with him looked like at different stages because he is growing and changing so quickly. Here's what a  day in the life with a 15 month old looks like in my house...

7AM Aiden is up. He stands up and starts babbling in his crib. I bring him into bed and we snuggle until one of us decides it's time to get up. Usually it's Aiden. On Saturdays Drew usually makes us pancakes while Aiden and I read books and play in the family room.

8:30 After breakfast it's play time. Aiden loves being read to and he definitely has his favorite books that he wants us to read over and over and over. His current favorites are: Blue Hat, Green Hat, Here We Go, Peek a Who? and any Thomas book. I love that he can choose books on his own now. He picks them out, walks them over, sits in my lap and says "book, book, book!"

He is also very in to every kind of vehicle. Right now the hot ticket items are Hot Wheels cars. You'd think he would be too small to play with these and that he would just stick them in his mouth, but he actually plays with them and interacts with them correctly. We counted the other night and he has a total of 47 Hot Wheels. My husband had to buy him his own car suitcase. We are in big trouble.

10:30 We are slowly transitioning from two naps to one, but right now he still occasionally takes his morning nap around 10:30. I know he's tired when he goes into the kitchen, stands in front of the fridge and requests his "B." We have no idea where that name comes from, but "B" is milk. I think it is just the cutest thing ever. He drinks his "B" in my lap while we watch an episode of Thomas the Train or Praise Baby. When he starts grabbing my hair that means he is ready for a nap. 
11:30 He usually naps about an hour so when he wakes up, it's time to get ready for the day and eat lunch. On weekends we try to get out of the house for lunch and errands. Today we went to Tom & Chee. So good.

Then we hit up IKEA to look for some new furniture for our basement renovation. Aiden loves the car and enjoys singing songs in his car seat that include a combination of the words "Mama, Dada, Bubba and YaYa" (YaYa is what he calls my Mom and he lovingly refers to himself as Bubba.)

Aiden loves to "help" and would rather push the cart than sit in it. We wandered around IKEA for about a half hour in the above position.

4:00 If he takes a second nap, it is around 3:30 or 4 and it is a short one, but he almost always wakes up happy. My new favorite thing he does, is gives kisses on demand. I ask for a kiss, and this is what I get...

4:30 Playtime. I try to change things up to keep Aiden (and myself) entertained. We play upstairs in the morning and then hit up our newly renovated basement in the afternoon/evening. He has a makeshift train table down there and his Thomas Power Wheel. Aiden usually requests to go see his "Choo Choo" after lunch. What a life he lives.

6:00 Family dinner. We try to eat around 6 since Aiden goes to bed at 7. This recipe is my new favorite and Aiden loves it too! You can see some of Aiden's other favorites here.

6:45 Bedtime routine begins. This may be my favorite part of the day. We brush his teeth, get his jammies on and then read books together.

Yes we are still wearing our Christmas jammies in February! 

We have an entire basket devoted just to bedtime books and Aiden definitely has his favorites that we have to read. I love this time of the night because we all three squeeze into one chair and read together for 15-20 minutes. We always end with Goodnight Moon then turn off the lights and I rock him to sleep. I cherish these moments.

7:20 It's ME time! Well actually that starts after I clean up from dinner, do 3 loads of laundry, prep food for the next day, etc. Haha. But it's amazing what you can accomplish baby free for a few hours.

So there you have it, a day in the life with a 15 month old.

See my other "Day in the life" posts below...

A day in the life with a 10 month old

A day in the life with a 6 month old

Have you ever done a post like this?

What does a day in your life look like?

Mama Moment

Motherhood is a beautiful journey.

The storyteller in me wants to capture every moment with my son on camera, but sometimes it's good to put your phone down and just allow moments to happen. Everyday Aiden does something or says something and I think to myself, I don't ever want to forget this moment. 

So this is my attempt to freeze a few moments in time on my journey as Aiden's Mama.

Mama Moment:
Aiden has the best little laugh. He laughs with his whole entire body and he wants you to laugh right along with him. We start these "laughing fits" where he will start laughing at a goofy  noise I make and then his contagious little laugh will get me laughing and then that will egg him on. This continues until we are  both belly laughing and trying to find something else to do to keep the laughter going. He absolutely loves to laugh and he gets that from me. And that makes me so happy.

So I started singing the Mary Poppins song "I love to laugh" to him and now he laughs on cue with me during the song. Watching that movie growing up, I always wished that laughing could cause me to float up on the ceiling too. It just looked like so much fun. Well, laughing with my son is the closest I've ever felt to actually floating up on the ceiling and having a laughing party. Best feeling ever.

Do you have any recent Mama Moments that you wish you could bottle up and never forget? 

Please share below!

That time my baby rode a horse

Christmas day we went out to my Aunt & Uncle's farm for lunch and Aiden got a surprise. He got to ride a horse and it was the cutest thing I have ever seen, which is why the next bazillion pictures are all of my baby on a horse...Giddy up.

Aren't his boots just the cutest little things?

And as if riding a horse wasn't enough fun for one day, then Aiden got his own "hay ride." This kid is living the dream I tell ya. And I just love that he is wearing his Christmas suspenders in these pictures.

An abundance of cats, a real horsey ride and his own hayride? Well, I think Aiden now wants to live on the farm! I love that he will grow up being able to visit a family farm just like his mama did!