Miss Isla was half a year old on July 21 and I’m just now getting around to posting a little update! I was hoping to get into a more regular posting schedule, but Little Miss is keeping us busy and on our toes (more on that in a second!) I’m hoping to have one night a week to devote to blogging once I get into a more regular schedule when the school year starts, but we’ll see! As most of you know, I’ll be at home with Isla this school year, but am still planning on subbing and working at my retail job a couple days a week. I’m also trying to be open to any other opportunities God has for me during this season of life, while still keeping Isla’s growth and development my primary responsibility. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be at home with our daughter, but know it will be an adjustment for me to be at home and out of the classroom full-time.

Anyway, back to Little Miss and all she is up to! I think the biggest thing I’ve noticed this month is how mobile and curious she is about the world around her! This was the first month we could NOT get a picture of her on her back for her monthly “photoshoot,” so we quickly snapped a tummy pic and went with it since that captures her current stage the best anyway! She has really mastered army crawling and is soooo close to crawling around on her knees. She is quickly discovering that the world is a bigger place than she once thought! She loves to crawl from room to room and look out the sliding glass door in the kitchen. Isla is also so curious about how everything works! She is into EVERYTHING and we can’t take our eyes off of her for a second! We are realizing we needed to baby-proof, like, yesterday, so we’re quickly trying to get a gate ordered, outlets covered and anything breakable or semi-dangerous moved up high. I’m exhausted just talking about how busy she is – can you see how I haven’t had much time to blog lately?? The cutest little “trick” she’s started doing is her “model pose.” If she’s crawling around and hears something behind her she’s interested in listening to, she turns her body to the side and places her arm on her hip – it’s basically the cutest thing ever!

It’s funny how babies’ personalities become evident this early on! We are working really hard on sitting up and I know Isla has the muscles to do it, but every time we “practice,” she’d just rather be moving and exploring. She’s also a pretty serious baby. She’ll smile and laugh from time to time, but it takes a lot of embarrassing silliness on our part to get a laugh out of her! I can already see her being an introspective and inquisitive little girl, who has to figure out how everything works!

Isla spent her first Fourth of July in Okoboji, which is an annual tradition with my side of the family. She had the best time but Mom and Dad were pretty exhausted by the end of the trip! Traveling with an infant is a big change from all of our previous “kidless” vacations even with amazingly helpful relatives, but we wouldn’t change it for the world! Isla was a little sleepier and fussier than usual while we were gone, and sure enough, her first tooth popped through on our last day of vacation! It was quickly followed by her second tooth a few days later. They may be the cutest teeth I’ve ever seen, but we’re already missing her toothless grin!

As you can tell, this little girl brings us so much joy and we thoroughly love watching her grow and develop. These past six months have flown by. It’s hard to believe she’ll be a year  before we know it! Thanks so much for stopping by today and reading about our little love! See you back here soon!

XOXO, Jenna

I hope everyone had an awesome fourth! We spent ours at Lake Okoboji with my side of the family, like we do every year. It was so much fun to bring our little one along this year! She is the first grand baby for my side of the family, as well as the first great niece/nephew/cousin, so she was definitely the center of attention on our trip! Poor babe didn’t know what to do without her fan club around 24/7 once we got home. 🙂

I’ll be sharing a little more about our trip in Thursday’s post, but today I wanted to do a little post about our favorite Okoboji Eats. After almost 30 trips to Okoboji (I’ve only skipped two years ever), we have a definite list of favorite restaurants and food stands that we have to hit up every year, although we’re always discovering new spots as well.

Favorite Breakfast: O’Farrell Sisters, Spudnutz Donuts

No trip to Okoboji is complete without a stop at O’Farrell Sisters for a big traditional breakfast. Serving traditional favorites like pancakes, eggs and French toast as well as brunch items like pulled pork on a buttermilk biscuit, you really can’t go wrong with whatever you choose to order. The restaurant is has been around since 1949 and is open daily from 7-2.

We discovered Sputnutz last year after driving by and noticing an exceptionally long line outside, so we just had to discover what made this place so popular! Known for their potato base, these donuts are sooo delicious and the shop is full of character, located in an old gas station.

Favorite Lunch: Okoboji Store

Our former favorite lunch spot, “The Wharf,” was transformed into “The Okoboji Store” within the last couple years. My favorite thing about The Wharf was the fact that you could eat lunch on the deck overlooking the lake, which is still true at The Okoboji Store, there’s just a different, updated menu! The burgers are salads are absolutely delicious, my favorite menu item being the “Beets Me” salad.

Pretending to take a picture of my cousin and aunt in order to prove to you that Dougie McBuckets (gray shirt) likes The Okoboji Store, too. That’s Doug McDermott’s nickname for those of you who didn’t know, or whose husbands had to tell them, ahem ahem.

Favorite Dinner: Minerva’s

My final bout of pregnancy nausea hit just as the entire extended family was sitting down to dinner at Minerva’s last year, but I was still able to give it a go this year! 🙂 This is definitely a nicer dinner place (t-shirts and swim cover-ups probably aren’t appropriate attire), but not extremely pricy. The restaurant overlooks a beautiful golf course, which provides a great spot for post-dinner photos. The menu is diverse – ranging from burgers and flatbreads, to pasta and steak – and always delicious!

Favorite Ice Cream: Nutty Bar Stand @ Arnold’s Park

No trip to Okoboji is complete without a stop here – and yes, it’s really called “The Nutty Bar Stand.” My family always visits after our annual putt-putt tournament down the road at Pirate’s Cove, since the losers of the round always have to buy the winners their nutty bars. Famous for their nutty bars (duh), the shop also serves a variety of other ice cream treats and has been around for 70 years!

Favorite Coffee: Prairie Chick

I’m not usually up early enough on vacation to scout out the best coffee shops, so I trusted the research my aunt and cousin did and took their word for it! Prairie Chick served up a mean iced caramel latte (with soy milk), and my fresh blueberry/strawberry muffin was soooo good! I also gave Arnold’s Perk a try and loved my caramel frappe!

For those of you who have been to Okoboji before, am I missing any favorites? I’m always up for trying new places! Planning a trip in the future? Let me know what you think if you give any of these spots a try!

XOXO, Jenna

I’m all about easy these days, especially when it comes to dinner. (Who am I kidding, I’ve always looked for the easiest recipes when cooking!) I found this recipe for Sweet & Sour meatballs on Pinterest via Eating on a Dime. It instantly became a post-baby favorite because of how simple it was to prepare and it’s delicious, too! Super easy to put an extra batch in a freezer bag for later, too.

For the meatballs you’ll need:

1 cup brown sugar

3 TBSP corn starch

1/4 cup vinegar

3 TBSP soy sauce

1 package frozen meatballs (I used FarmRich brand from Hy-Vee; they’re Gluten Free!)

Place all ingredients into a crockpot (thawed or frozen) and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Once the meatballs were done cooking, I warmed up two instant quinoa & brown rice packets from Costco (90 seconds and done!) and some frozen stir fry veggies to serve with them.

Give it a try and let me know what you think! I have a feeling this meal might become a new favorite in your house. 🙂

XOXO, Jenna

Happy Fourth from Lake Okoboji!

Isla’s bow & bib: Very Jane

Ruffle bodysuit: Baby Gap

Logan’s tee: JCrew Factory

My white jeans: Gap

Peplum tank: Gap

I’ve been coming here every summer since I was a newborn, so I could hardly wait to bring my daughter here to make memories of her own! We travel with my mom’s side of the family, who have been vacationing in Okoboji since my mom was in first grade, and stay at the same place every year. The “resort” is in a great location and we have so many awesome memories here, but it could definitely use some updates. It hasn’t changed much since 1987 when I first started coming. 🙂 Our favorite things to do are swim in the outdoor pool, hang out by the lake (it’s usually too cold to go in), go on boat rides, shop, play games, and go out to eat all together, just to name a few. Tomorrow night we’ll all watch the annual firework show down by the lake. My favorite tradition though is our annual mini-golf tournament. We pair up in teams and the winners have to buy the losers old-fashioned nutty bars at Arnold’s Park. The competition is always fierce!  I’ll be sure to let you know who wins … as long as it’s me 😉

How will you be celebrating the fourth? What are your favorite traditions?

See you back here on Thursday for an easy-peasy dinner recipe!

XOXO, Jenna

Can time please just slow down?? As I was rocking my baby to sleep for the third time last night, I got a little emotional thinking about how fast she’s growing up! I just want to freeze time and keep her this little forever with her perfectly chubby rolls and adorably innocent smile, but yet I still get so excited thinking about the next stages – sitting up, talking, walking …

Rewarding Moments this Month: Isla is ON. THE. MOVE. She rolls and rolls and rolls and rolls, all day, every day (and night) – on the floor, during diaper changes, while she’s sleeping (more on that in a bit). She desperately wants to crawl but just can’t quite get her arms and legs to coordinate motions. She does manage to army crawl across the room toward an object if it interests her enough. We are going to need to baby proof the house soon!

Isla is really starting to take an interest in her puppies and smiles at them while they play. Sometime I think she believes she’s a dog, too. I’ve caught her panting and trying to lick the dogs after they kiss her.

She is just so fun to interact with! Little Miss lights up when her daddy comes home from work and seems to really “listen” to us when we talk to her. Her smiles and giggles are the best sights/sounds in the world!

Challenges: SLEEP. We are really struggling. I’m realizing that we’ve established some bad habits like rocking and feeding to sleep and now Isla is lacking self-soothing techniques. It hasn’t really been an issue before because she slept in her swaddle and then her Merlin’s sleep suit, which both constricted her movement at night. Now that she’s rolling and sleeps in a sleep sack, she wants to roll in her sleep, too. She wakes herself up every time she rolls to her stomach at night, which is every 45 minutes after bedtime (8:00) until she’s so exhausted she sleeps the rest of the night from about 12-7 A.M. Naps are a huge struggle, too, for this very same reason. She hasn’t napped for longer than 45 minutes in quite awhile and it usually takes that same amount of time just to get her down for a nap in the first place. We’re working on establishing more of a nap and bedtime routine and allowing her some time to self-soothe, even if it means fussing for a few minutes.

In case you missed Friday’s post, read more about Isla’s first airplane ride here. I think I’d categorize it under the “challenges.” 🙂

Despite the challenges, we LOVE LOVE LOVE our little girl and thank God for the opportunity to be her parents. We wouldn’t trade this parenting gig for the world!

Please leave me any and all sleeping tips you have. Or if you want to come hang out at midnight (and 2, and 4 and 6), I’d welcome that as well. 🙂

XOXO, Jenna

For those of you who haven’t heard yet – I will not be returning to my teaching position next year in order to have more time at home with Isla. I know many of you have been following along since my “Fashionista Teacher” blog days, so you know how much of a change this will be for me! It was definitely a difficult and bittersweet decision, as I loooove being a teacher, but I’m looking forward to this new adventure!

Just wanted to share with you all today what went into my decision and a bit of my heart…

I had always planned on continuing to work after having kids, but with only a few weeks of maternity leave left, reality set in and I began thinking about other options for next fall. When discussing my options with Logan and praying about what God had in store for our future, it became clear that either decision could work for our family (working full-time vs. staying home), there were pros and cons to both and there wasn’t really a distinct path we were being led toward. I knew I would just have to make a decision (the contract renewal deadline was quickly approaching and would pass before I headed back from maternity leave) and trust that the Lord would provide in either circumstance.

The scariest part of my decision was the unknown. Teaching is all I’ve known and loved for the past eight years (more like 28 if you count the school I had in my basement and the “work” I’d force my parents and grandparents to do when we went out to dinner together!) and it’s what I’ve always felt called to do, so not knowing what’s in store for me is terrifying and exciting at the same time. The Lord is just asking me to trust Him right now with what’s to come for our little family! I have the feeling my teaching degree will still be put to good use, whether it be teaching Isla new things or another opportunity I don’t even know about yet!

I’m not a homebody by nature and go a little stir crazy when I’m home all day, so I know getting out and having some adult interaction will be important for me. I plan to substitute teach and work a few hours a week at Loft, along with getting involved in some mom groups and planning plenty of activities Isla and I can go out and do together, like zoo trips and story time at the library.

I just wanted to share this verse with you before wrapping up today’s post.  “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.” – Colossians 3:23. It was one that kept replaying in my head during this whole decision making process and it served as a great encouragement for me. Whether you’re a working mama, a stay-at-home mom, or fall into a different category,  whatever it is you do, work at it with all your heart for God’s glory – that is what’s most pleasing to Him!

 XOXO, Jenna

Isla Meline was 4 months old two weeks ago, and I’m finding that moments to myself (like blogging) are hard to come by these days! Little Miss is growing and changing every day. This was a BIG month for milestones, the biggest being rolling over, lifting her head up while on her tummy and finally giggling – at the four month mark on the dot!

Weight gain has tapered off – she’s only gained about a pound in the last month, but her legs have gotten a lot longer and stronger! All of her 0-3 month pants look like capris, while her 3-6 month pants are just perfect! We’re loving her little rompers and jumpsuits for this warmer weather, like the Gap romper she has on in the picture. She weighed 14 pounds, 8 ounces (63rd percentile) at her appointment last week and was 26 inches long (95th percentile). The nurse did Isla’s measurements and left the room, and then came back into the room to re-measure her because she thought she’d measured her length incorrectly after seeing how much she’d grown since her last appointment. She was right the first time – Isla is just getting longer and longer! Her head circumference was only in the 13th percentile though – Logan & I aren’t sure if we should be worried that it’s so much smaller than the rest of her body – HA!

We’re quickly learning that the days of leaving Little Miss on the bed or on a blanket for a few minutes while getting ready or picking up around the house are over. We come back and she has rolled herself across the room toward a sharp corner or to the edge of the bed. I know crawling is still quite a ways off, but Isla is showing determination to move! She rolls to her stomach (which last month she hated), lifts her head and tries to scoot herself toward an item of interest. Last month, she hadn’t even rolled over yet or lifted her head for more than a second while on her tummy – it’s amazing the difference a month can make!

Isla loves to look at our faces and mimic the sounds we make. She likes to make silly noises with her mouth and recognizes Mom & Dad. We thought we may have heard some little giggles at various times last month, but couldn’t be sure, and now we’re sure we heard some laughter on Saturday! Logan was kissing her face, making silly noises and blowing air on her skin and she started giggling! He did the same thing again and we got more giggles! It was the cutest sound I’ve ever heard! 🙂

Her fear of missing out (FOMO) is continuing. She is still a great sleeper at night, but doesn’t want to miss out on any of the activity during the day, even when she’s obviously VERY tired. Having a nap time routine helps, but Miss Isla only falls asleep after a lot of wailing, feeding and fussing. When she’s awake, Isla has to be looking around, aware of what’s going on around her at all times. She’s a social butterfly! 🙂

Her entertainment has changed this month, too. While she LOVED her playmats for the last three months, she prefers just rolling around on a blanket in the middle of the floor with a few toys spread around to grab and chew on. She also likes hanging out in her SkipHop Activity Center and playing with all the fun toys on the activity tray.

Our goal for this summer is to move Isla to her room. She is still in the Pack n’ Play in our room and it’s working out great, but she is starting to become more and more aware of any noises around her, so it’s getting pretty difficult to put her to bed before we’re ready to go to bed ourselves. (Spoiler alert: I started writing this a few weeks ago, and she is now in her own crib!! Hallelujah! No more tiptoeing around at night!)

If you couldn’t tell already, we love our baby girl SO MUCH and can’t wait to continue watching her reach new milestones – but time can slow down just a little! I pray every day for her to grow big and strong, but it’s happening a little faster than my mommy heart can handle!

See you back here (too) soon for a 5 month update!

XOXO, Jenna