Before writing Isla’s 16 month update I went back and read the 14 month updates and OH MY GOODNESS has she changed so much in two months!! Isla has been officially WALKING for over a month and we are having so much fun watching her toddle around and explore her world. She’s CONSTANTLY on a mission to discover something new.

The second biggest change this month has been in her communication skills. Isla has become a master at the sign language words I was unsure she’d ever learn (all done, more, please and thank you), is expressing herself more through language, and seems to really understand a lot of what we’re saying and directions we give to her. New favorite words include “keys,” “baby” (a child of any age), “shows,” “Me” (Grammy), “Meme” (my aunt Merri),  and “bubbles.” Even if she can’t verbalize a word yet, she can point to pictures in books, everyday items, and people in a group when we say their name. She has also begun to “sing” or dance along to more songs – current favorites are ABC’s, If You’re Happy and You Know It, and Row, Row, Row Your Boat. We are constantly amazed at how much she’s learning!

Isla continues to be a very outgoing child. Most of the time, she’ll jump right into a new situation like when we go to a friend’s house or drop her off in the church nursery. She likes to say “hi” and wave to people when we’re out and enjoys watching older kids play, although she’d rather be a part of the action. She doesn’t have much fear and is pretty tough when she takes a tumble!

Isla’s current favorite toys are her “babies” and stuffed animals. She enjoys pushing them in her stroller, setting them up at her table and tucking them in bed (she says, “shhh!”). She just got a baby high chair that she enjoys setting them up in, too, and feeding her babies with food from her kitchen. Isla also loves to be outside, playing with her water table, splashing in a baby pool, blowing bubbles or exploring the backyard.

Pasta is Isla’s current favorite food, but will really eat anything. She sits on the floor in the kitchen when she wants a snack, since that’s what she’s been taught to do at church. She continues to be a great eater and always surprises us with the amount of food she will eat at certain meals!

I’ve started to see more of Isla’s toddler tendencies come out this month. If she has her mind set on something like going outside or continuing to play when it’s time to clean up, she’s not afraid to let us know she’s unhappy when she doesn’t get to do what she wants. 🙂 Despite these dramatic moments (which actually make us laugh most of the time), I am absolutely loving this age! Now, about that time freezing machine I seem to mention EVERY month…

Thanks for reading!! I’d love to hear any toddler tips you have for anything and everything! I need all the advice with this strong-willed girl! 🙂

XOXO, Jenna

 

 

I had planned to stop doing these monthly updates after Isla turned a year, but oh my goodness she just keeps learning and changing more quickly! This is a FUN age, but I’m also seeing more glimpses of the strong-willed toddler she may become. 🙂

 

Isla is 22 pounds and wears 12-18 month clothing. She just keeps getting more and more hair, too!

The biggest change in Isla these past two months is her vocabulary. She can now say: shoes (“shus” can mean shoes or socks), up, uh oh, here (he), this, Nana, Papa, E (her name for her auntie), He / Re (her names for Henry), See (Lucy), fish, banana (nana), bye-bye (ba ba)

If you read my one year update, you’ll remember that Isla loves animals and has “mastered” most of her animal sounds (or at least has her own sounds for each animal), but she’s added snake and fish to the list. Her fish sound is the cutest ever – she purses her lips together and makes a popping sound whenever she sees a fish (“fsh”).

Isla’s favorite things: She still loves her babies and pushes them around in her baby stroller. She makes a “waahhh” sound and “feeds” them a bottle while making a smacking sound. We need to work on gentleness when caring for babies though. She “rocks’ them but it’s a good thing their heads are securely attached. Isla also loves opening & shutting doors, lids, etc. doing things herself and living up to her “boss lady” nickname by asking to be picked “up” and pointing to wherever she wants to go or see.

Isla is still a great eater and enjoys mealtimes very much. She folds her hands when we say, “time to pray!” Her current favorites are pasta and lasagna and she is very vocal about liking something, saying “mmm” and “yum yum yum” loudly throughout her entire meal.

We love this little lady of ours and feel so blessed to get to see the world through her eyes. We can’t wait for continued fun and growth ahead!

XOXO, Jenna

Good morning, friends! I wanted to share some of Isla’s one year pictures (only a month late!) and give you a little update on our little girl. And I’m finishing this post up, Isla is now 13 months old and growing and changing even more than she was a month ago, but I want to share Isla’s one year stats with you so that I have them documented in my little online scrapbook. I’ll try to post another update soon!

     

Isla can: wave, give hugs and kisses, crawl REALLY fast, clap, throw her arms up when we say “so big!”

Isla can say: “mama,” “dada,” “hi,” “Isla” and “cheese.” Her favorite word right now is “hi” and she says it in the sweetest little voice to anyone and everyone – the dogs, strangers at the grocery store, stuffed animals, her kitchen, her crib, you get the idea – with an adorable little wave to accompany it. Isla loooves all animals and has also been working hard on her animal sounds. She can moo, bark, meow, and roar like a tiger really well, and also has her own set of sounds for ducks, monkeys, pigs and sheep. Logan and I can identify them, but I’m guessing the average stranger could not 🙂

Isla’s Favorite Things: her babies and stuffed animals, puppies, all animals, blueberries, bananas, eating (she’s a bottomless pit but still only 25th percentile for weight!), emptying cabinets, sip cups (she steals them from other children, too), music, lights

Favorite Songs: Old McDonald (loves to sing along by saying E-I-E-I and making the animal sounds) & The Wheels on the Bus (her favorite verse is when the wipers go SWISH SWISH SWISH

Favorite Books: Brown Bear Brown Bear, Woof Woof!, That’s Not My Puppy (Usborne Books), Dada (by Jimmy Fallon), If I Were a Donkey/Bunny/Monkey. She really loves ALL books, these are just a few of her favorites at this very moment.

Measurements: Isla is 19 1/2 pounds, 30 1/2 inches tall and has 8 teeth.

We love this big one year old of ours and can’t wait for another fun year ahead! Thanks for reading!

XOXO, Jenna

Whew, it’s been awhile since my last post! I know I say this all the time, but I’m working on carving out more time for blogging on a weekly basis because I do really enjoy using this space to share tidbits of our family life as well as everything else that inspires me – fashion, home decor, travel, etc. If there’s anything you want to hear more about, please let me know! I love hearing from you guys and the feedback really pushes me to write more frequently and lets me know what you want to read about!

We celebrated our big one year old last weekend and I wanted to share a few pictures from her special day! We decided on a winter ONEderland theme because it’s January in Nebraska, duh. 🙂 The snow held off until after her party, but an actual winter wonderland is exactly how I would describe what happened the following day here in Omaha. Don’t blame us for the blizzard – haha!

Decorations: Isla has been obsessed with all of my little reindeer around the house I put out for Christmas, so I knew I wanted to incorporate some reindeer / woodlands into her birthday theme. Choosing a seasonal theme meant we were able to reuse other Christmas decorations and keep the tree up a little longer than usual! We also picked up a few little extras during the after Christmas sales. Most of the trees on her dessert table came from Pottery Barn Kids, which I scored for 60% off and can use for Christmas decorations next year. My mom covered the red burlap at the base of the light-up trees with white tissue and pink ribbon to match Isla’s favorite colors.  I got her highchair tutu, and bib from Amazon, hat from MudPie and her outfit from Etsy. I made her poster board using foam board and Sharpie paint markers from Michaels. We decorated the entry table with more trees and had guests sign a hardcover book, “Walking in a Winter Wonderland,” for Isla to look back on and read the birthday wishes from her first birthday party.

Desserts: The cakes came from Cake Creations in Omaha and they tasted just as good as they looked! Side story – Isla had her first birthday photos taken a few weeks ago and being the procrastinator I am, I didn’t even think about ordering a smash cake for her photos until the day before. I called Logan freaking out (because I knew she’d be scarred for life if she didn’t have a smash cake at her photoshoot, haha!) and he found the phone number for Cake Creations on Google. I called in a panic and asked if they could make something for the next day and they were SO great! They made a beautiful hot pink jumbo cupcake with a gold “one” and it was more perfect than I ever expected and it tasted soooo good, too! I knew I wanted to use them for her birthday party cake, too, and they didn’t disappoint! My mom ordered the flowers for the cake topper from a little shop in my hometown (Blossoms Floral) and she made her famous sugar cookies to serve to the guests, too. Isla loved her cake and went to town on it as soon as I set it in front of her! I didn’t know how she’d handle being the center of attention, but she really hammed it up and loved being the star of the day! My mom has been teaching her to raise her hands up when we ask, “How big is Isla?” and she mastered it just in time for her party.

Food: For the food, we kept things simple and served homemade soups (which fit in perfectly with our winter ONEderland theme) and picked up rolls, a veggie tray, chips and dip from Costco. I also set up a hot chocolate bar for Isla’s guests to enjoy and “warm up” from the cold.

Overall, it was a wonderful day celebrating the first year of Isla’s life and our first year as parents. We are so thankful for all of the friends and family who have supported us this year and made Isla’s year so special. Thank you!

XOXO, Jenna

Logan and I attended a funeral out of town yesterday for an amazing man of God. The stories that were shared and the amount of lives he impacted while here on this Earth were simply incredible. I left feeling stirred, stirred to have an impact on a greater level. We arrived back in Omaha around dinnertime, and Logan gave Isla a bath while I picked up Chipotle. I was lost in thought during my drive there, wondering how God might use me through everyday interactions. I parked and headed into the restaurant and immediately noticed the long line. I was tempted to take advantage of my alone time (which is hard to come by these days!) and pull out my iPhone to scroll through Facebook or respond to text messages while I waited, but instead decided to keep my phone in my purse and just see what happened. “You’ve gotta start somewhere,” I thought. “Might as well be right now!” The guy in front of me was also technology-free and glanced back at me, looking like he might want to say something. “Has it been cold in Nebraska for awhile?” he asked. I responded and asked where he was from. He was a military guy from North Dakota, who had recently left the service and moved his family here. I wished him a happy Veteran’s Day and we talked about our families while waiting in line. It was a simple everyday kind of interaction, but one I would have missed out on had I decided to check-out from the world for a few minutes. We both got our food and he asked my name. He shook my hand and I was able to thank him for his service to our country.

Like I said, not some earth-shattering interaction probably worthy of sharing on the Internet, but I know I walked away encouraged. I think God was trying to tell me that if I just engage a little more with the people around me, you never know who you might meet or what could happen. I plan to put away my phone more often in those same kinds of moments, and I encourage everyone to do the same. There are enough terrible things happening in the world, that sometimes all someone may need is a little kindness or a genuine conversation with a stranger to remind them of the good.

Happy Veterans’ Day to all of our military friends and family! Your service is very much appreciated. I know we have a few readers who have served our country or have family members who have served, so please know that we honor you today and words can’t even express our appreciation for the sacrifice you’ve made for our freedom. I’ll end today’s post with a picture of my grandfather (holding a bomb), who served in WWII.

XOXO, Jenna

I know I probably say this every time, but this month has been my FAVORITE. I’m serious about wanting to freeze time and keep Isla this little forever. Maybe it’s because she has reached SO many milestones this month, or because she just seems to be getting cuter by the day. I’m settling into my new role at home and loving my time with her more than ever, so that could be it, too!

First and foremost, Isla is FINALLY sitting up! I knew she had all the muscles to do it, but no desire to until a few weeks before she was eight months old. I never realized how CUTE babies are once they can sit and play and observe. Not that she wasn’t cute before, but I could just watch her sit all day…. if only she would stay in one spot for more than 5 seconds.  Which brings me to the next milestone…

Isla is CRAWLING! Not this army crawling business she has been doing for the last few months, but four-point crawling all over the place like such a big girl! It took her awhile to coordinate her arms and legs to be in motion together at just the right time, but she is doing it consistently now and is always on a mission to go somewhere!

You’d think sitting up and crawling would be plenty of “growing up” for my mama heart to handle this month, but Isla has also decided to start pulling herself up on things to stand (the ottoman, fireplace, kitchen chairs, etc.). Lots of bumps and bruises have come with this one as she’s learning to master the art of standing, but thank goodness diapers provide some cushioning when she falls on her rear! Please tell me this does not mean walking is imminent – I need you to just slow down for a minute, baby girl, so my heart can catch up!

Isla learned a cute new “trick” this month that we just can’t get enough of – she waves “bye bye!” We’ve probably totally confused her by making her practice every 5 minutes, but it’s just too cute to wait for times we’re actually leaving somewhere. I think she’s trying really hard to say “hi,” which would be her first word. I can almost promise you I heard it while she was eating breakfast one morning, but I’ll wait to count it until someone else hears it and can verify. 🙂

Speaking of food, Isla has tried so many new fruits and veggies this month and is such a good little eater! She has tried carrots, green beans, prunes, bananas, oatmeal, apples and peas. The only one she’s not really a fan of is peas, and she has recently started disliking oatmeal, too, even though she used to eat it just fine. Sweet potatoes and pears are up next!

Thanks for stopping by today and letting me brag about how cute our baby is for a little bit! I promise to listen if you want to leave a comment and share about your little ones or yourself for a second, too! Hope you all have a wonderful week ahead!

XOXO, Jenna

As most of you know, I have been working on adjusting to this Stay at Home Mom life. As a former elementary teacher/over-committer, I’m used to non-stop busyness. I worried that being home with Isla would be hard for me because of the significant change of pace from what I was used to, but I’ve found that my time is just filled in other ways and I still feel BUSY! Maybe not quite as busy as before, but I’ve found that between substitute teaching, working at LOFT, church activities, playdates, and everything else that pops up, our calendar is pretty full. So, what does a typical day or week look like for us? I get asked this a lot, and the answer is: Hmmm, Good question! There really is no “typical” day, but I’ll try my best to share our new normal with you today!

Monday

My mom watches Isla once a week so I can sub, and I’ve found that Mondays or Thursdays tend to work best in both of our schedules. I’ve subbed on Thursdays the last few weeks, so Mondays tend to be spent playing catch-up from the weekend. Having Mondays open the last few weeks has been great because I know I can enjoy my Sunday and save some of the not-so-fun stuff for Monday. Isla enjoys tagging along on grocery store trips in between naps and I try to get laundry done and folded while she’s napping or playing. Even with more time at home, I find myself using the crockpot a lot lately for meals. It’s nice to not have to worry about prepping a meal in the early evening since Isla’s schedule can be so unpredictable!

Tuesday

My aunt, who is a recently retired elementary teacher, watches Isla on Tuesday afternoons while I work at Loft or sub. If I don’t work at Loft on Tuesday afternoon and sub instead, I work one weeknight while Logan is home with Isla.  Isla and I usually spend Tuesday morning being a little lazy at home, since I know the rest of the day is usually pretty busy!

Wednesday

I’m usually with Isla the whole day on Wednesdays. We might make a Target or Costco run in between naps if needed, and we have a prayer group we go to in the afternoon if Isla is up from her nap. Can you see how Isla’s naps totally dictate our schedule? I’ve learned the hard way that missing a nap makes for a ROUGH day for both of us. On Wednesday nights, either Logan or I have bible study, so the other stays home with Isla. We used to meet as one big “life group”, but with so many little kids in the group now, separating into men and women and meeting every other week has worked well for this stage of life so that one of us can be home to care for the baby.

Thursday

It seems like Thursdays have been the day I take most full-day sub jobs. I love being around the kids and doing what I love, but I’m not in the routine of working full-time anymore, so I’m pretty exhausted by the end of the day! I have so much respect for you mamas who work full-time. Prepping bottles and baby food, packing a lunch, making coffee, etc. and getting out the door on time (or 5 minutes late in my case) is not an easy task, and that doesn’t even include having lesson plans and everything else prepared for the school day. Needless to say, Thursdays tend to be a crockpot night for dinner. 🙂

Friday

Even though I’m not working full-time outside the home, Fridays are STILL my favorite day! It’s just nice knowing the weekend is ahead, Logan will be home with us (and we can tag-team being Isla’s caretakers), and most of the chores for the week are done. Isla and I usually do something fun on Fridays, like stroll at the mall or meet up with friends. I’m in a MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) group at a church in town that meets every other Friday morning, and we love it so far! Isla gets to play in the nursery with her friends while I get to hang out with mine! Breakfast, a HOT cup of coffee and connecting with other moms in the same stage of life is such a refreshing treat! I also plan to participate in a playgroup on the off-Fridays with some moms I met in the class we went to at the hospital when Isla was a newborn. It will be fun for her to play with other babies who are close in age and for me to see how much they’ve all grown!

So this is our new normal. There are still things I’d like to fit into our week, like working out, volunteering, and devoting more time to blogging, but for now, it works!

XOXO, Jenna

Is it just me or does 7 months seem so old already?! I just know these next five months will fly by and before we know it, Isla will be a big one year old!

Isla has seen a lot of changes this last month, and so has mommy! Reality really set in as school started and for the first time in twenty-five years, I wasn’t experiencing a “first day of school” or new school year along with everyone else. I am SO grateful for the opportunity to be at home with Isla, but I never really pictured myself not teaching full-time and the decision to not go back was somewhat last minute, so I know it will take some time to adjust to this new reality! I have my first substitute teaching jobs lined up, and between that and my Loft job, will be working anywhere from 15-25 hours a week. I’m looking forward to this change, but the unknown is always a little scary!

Miss Isla is continuing to develop a personality and work toward new milestones. I mentioned last month that she is on the move and into everything, and she just continues to grow more mobile and find more to discover as time goes on. We can’t take our eyes off of her for a second! She is still a pretty awesome army crawler, and is SO close to four-point crawling. She gets on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth like she’s ready to crawl, but then retreats back to her belly. I guess I don’t blame her since it seems to be working pretty well for her!

She has really developed an interest in climbing OVER things this month. There could be wide open space with a pillow in the middle of the room, and Isla would find the pillow to crawl over to get to her destination. She has started pulling herself up to her knees, too. We try to practice sitting up, but Isla still has zero interest. She usually lunges forward and starts moving toward something interesting as soon as I sit her down to practice, and arches her back and grunts to get out of her Bumbo when I set her in there. She is NOT an observer by nature; she’d much rather investigate everything for herself. I think she may be walking before she ever sits up on her own!

Isla is a pretty serious little girl. She will smile at Mom and Dad (ironically she’s the happiest first thing in the morning, when Mom is grumpiest), but it takes some effort to get her to crack a smile for others. It also takes some work to get her to giggle and laugh; she has to be in just the right mood! Logan and I decided we must not be very funny people, so we’ve been making an effort to become more humorous. Our current tricks and silly songs aren’t working out very well for us, so please send any new ideas our way! 🙂

We introduced her first solids this month! Rice cereal and carrots are the only foods Isla has tried so far, but she’s a big fan of both. We’d love your suggestions for what to try next! Her third tooth appeared a few weeks ago, next to the two she already had on the bottom. We’re patiently waiting her fourth tooth, which we think should be here any day now! All of the teething signs are there – fussiness, clingy, an intense amount of drool and trying to eat everything in sight.

I would love to tell you that Little Miss witnessed the monumental solar eclipse earlier this month, but she slept right through it. 🙂 Guess we’ll just have to prepare for 2024, right?

XOXO, Jenna

 

Today’s post is sponsored by JORD watches. All opinions are our own.

Good morning, friends! I hope you’ve had a fabulous start to the week! The three of us were able to take a little road trip last weekend, which was such a treat! While we love every second we get to spend with Isla Meline, we don’t get away as much as we used to and miss those times in our old life where we could just pick up and go (after dropping the dogs off with family, of course).  One of our favorite quick getaways is Kansas City.  Over time, we’ve developed our own little routine of things to keep us busy for 2-3 days while we are down there. From Omaha, it is less than a three hour drive, so definitely do-able without taking any vacation days!

You may notice a pretty fabulous watch on Logan’s wrist in some of the photos from our trip. JORD watches contacted us awhile back to see if we’d be interested in collaborating. I had seen some of my fellow blogger babes showcasing these watches in the past, and knew how gorgeous they were! After looking through their watch selection and learning more about the company, I knew Logan would love one of their men’s watches. You guys, this watch is so classy and well-made. If your husband, boyfriend, dad, son, friend’s cousin’s uncle (you get the idea) is looking for a statement piece that will easily transition from work to weekend attire, you HAVE to check out these unique watches. They make such great gifts, too! Logan has worn his almost every day since it has arrived. And don’t worry ladies, there are plenty of women’s styles to choose from as well! I’m loving the styles with the brightly colored faces since you all know I love to add a pop of color to every outfit I wear!

Read through to the end of today’s post for a special contest with JORD watches!

Now, let’s get to sharing some our favorite Kansas City stops:

Legends Outlet Mall

Legends is a great outdoor shopping center with a variety of shops, including plenty of our favorite outlet stores. Since we were on a tight schedule, I only made it to a few stores this time, my favorite being JCrew Factory. There are a ton of restaurants surrounding the mall (we ate at Zaxby’s), and it’s super close to Nebraska Furniture Mart, Great Wolf Lodge and CommunityAmerica Ballpark. Isla loved watching the pretty fountain in the center of the mall.

McGonigle’s Market

I think we first heard about this place from some of the locals and it has become a must on our list of stops in KC! Logan stops here just for the Italian Sausage.  It’s a small, local grocer with a pretty expansive meat counter that leaves you wondering if this is what grocery shopping used to be like.  You just bake the sausage in the oven and serve with your choice of cheese (see The Better Cheddar below) and crackers. They always seem to be having some type of BBQ cookout when we stop by, but we haven’t ever sat down to eat (at least not yet).

The Plaza

If you only have time for one stop in Kansas City, Country Club Plaza has to be it! (Logan may beg to differ though…) The restaurants and retail are among the best in town and the Spanish architecture is so beautiful! My favorite stores to shop on the Plaza are Gap (it’s two stories!), West Elm, Kate Spade, Kendra Scott and JCrew. There are so many awesome restaurants, but more about our favorite in a bit.

The Better Cheddar

This is a cheese connoisseur’s dream. I couldn’t even begin to guess how many different varieties of cheese they have, and the best thing of all is that you can go through and taste test to see what you like! They have other snacks, oils and drinks, but there is a reason this place puts the cheese in their name! Our personal favorite is the Wisconsin Applewood Smoked Gouda. This cheese is great by itself (or with Italian Sausage from McGonigle’s), and we haven’t found a cracker it doesn’t taste good with.  We aren’t usually big on fancy cheeses, but this one is worth the price (or at least worth the free taste test).

McCormick & Schmick’s

While Logan has tried just about every fish on the menu (Halibut, Swordfish, Shark, Marlin, etc.), I usually go with anything stuffed.  And, of course, we always finish off the meal with a Chocolate Bag for dessert (chocolate, fruits, cream).  This place is a little on the expensive side, but it’s great for a fancier date night. We also love Brio (for lunch) and have heard great things about Seasons 52. What are your favorite restaurants on the Plaza? We’re always up for trying something new!

Isla had a great first visit to KC (actually second, but she didn’t get to see much at four weeks old), and we will definitely be going back in the future! What did we miss? Anything we need to be sure and check out next time?

Did you loooove Logan’s JORD watch as much as I do? Well, I have GREAT NEWS! JORD is offering one reader a $100 E Gift Code toward the watch of their choice! Even better, EVERYONE who enters will automatically receive a $25 E Gift Code to use on any JORD watch. Click HERE to enter!

(The contest ends August 27th at 11:59 P.M. Gift codes will expire September 30th, 2017.)

Hope you all have an amazing Wednesday!

XOXO, Jenna