Nine Months of Axel

How does time go by so fast?  Nine months of snuggles, tons of giggles and smiles, and still no hair.  He is *this* close to crawling but kind of has this inchworm thing going on.  He loves music, his sister and is a definite ladies man.  I can't handle it.  They should make baby tupperware, so they last longer.  

Peppermint Protein Shake

Well its that time of year to start all over on fitness goals.  Unfortunately for me I really am starting all over from where I began last January.  Its hard to admit that I gave up somewhere along the way last year... but if having a baby in your life isn't a good excuse then I don't know what is.  I got bone tired.  And when that happens then all resolve goes out the window.   And honestly in October I said forget it.  I'm tired of trying so hard. ALL THE TIME.   I still worked out but in case you haven't figured it out by now, the biggest thing that will help you reach your goals is your diet.  waaaaaah.   

But when there are things like peppermint protein shakes it helps the getting back on track be a little bit sweeter.   This is a simple shake recipe, but I'm warning you.  The spinach does NOTHING for the color.  It makes it look not very pretty.   But whats a shake without spinach?  I promise it does not' affect the flavor.  Even babies like it.  

CHOCOLATE PROTEIN SHAKE

8 oz unsweetened almond milk

1 scoop chocolate protein powder {I use Sunwarrior brand}

3 ice cubes

1 large frozen banana

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/8-1/4 tsp of pure peppermint extract
a couple handfuls of spinach

#reindeerhairdontcare

Trust me, your 6 year old will la la looove you!.  With pipe cleaner antlers and a circle of felt left over from our movie night last week, Ivy was probably the most excited she has ever been to get her hair done.   She didn't even bat an eye when I stuck the nose on with a glue dot.  

{adapted from Simple as That}

Gingerbread Houses

Ivy counts down the days for lots of things and gingerbread houses is one of them.  We have bought kits in the past but this year we decided to make our own from scratch.  Lets just say there are pros to buying the kit.  BUT it was fun and we all pitched in to make it our very own.  Darin cut out templates for us and we all had to hold it in place while the frosting firmed up enough to stay.

This little guy kept trying to get us to give him candy.   Sorry buddy, just because you have teeth does not mean you can eat candy canes.  That smile won't change my mind either. ;)

The very hardest part for me is letting Ivy decorate it.  But after 6 years I am getting the hang of it.  Its not a magazine worthy gingerbread house by any means but really I couldn't have made one perfectly either.   Sometimes I feel like I give up on doing things because its not going to be done just right.  That it isn't how I pictured it would go or some silly thing like that.  I'm learning from my family that creating memories with them is doing it perfectly.  That a six year old's version of a gingerbread house, is awesome.  Or that the majority of the ornaments on the tree hanging from the bottom branches is just how it should be.  Because we did it together, and that is the best way to do things.  

Seven Months of Axel

Seven months and seven teeth.  Like most boys he loves to be outside and he adores his big sis.  And yes he is still happy all of the time.  Its kind of contagious.