Busy Season

Headed to town for Zoë's 4 month check up this morning! This weekend it's supposed to snow, we're having Levi's birthday party, and I think we're going to try to make some Christmas popcorn! Should be busy, but also lots of fun! Hope you have a great weekend! 

Our Christmas Tree 

Enjoying some melted chocolate 

...from the Christmas candy we made! 

A festive mustached-snowman Orange white chocolate mocha from Misty's!!

Saturday Snapshots, Siblings, & Snow

"Hold her?" 

Sometimes there are moments like this:

My beautiful dreamer 

Looks like it might snow today. We are currently watching Octonauts on the couch and I'm treating it like we're watching Saturday morning cartoons. It's been a week of adjusting to Daddy's work schedule, but I think we're going to make it! Happy Weekend! 

4 Months Old!

Zoë, you are 4 months old! Here's what you've been up to: 

- You are growing out of your 0-3 month clothes! I'm going to start using some of your 3-6 month ones today! You weigh almost 12 lbs.! 

- You took your first long road trip and celebrated your first Thanksgiving at Mimi's house in NE. You slept great in the car and at the various houses. You gave everyone great big smiles! You even laughed out loud a time or two! 

- You experienced your first snow! Look at your darling little bear coat! 

- You notice me across the room and follow me with your eyes. You are very much a momma's girl! 

- You are not a big fan of the wind and we had quite a bit of it during our trip. 

- I put on your first bow for Thanksgiving. Look how cute you looked! 

- You kick your legs a lot. You noticed your hands for the first time recently. 

- Girl talk with cousin Miriam :)

- You are breastfeeding exclusively except for a few bottles here and there. 

- Your abs seem really strong! Most of the time you try to sit up/lean forward instead of trying to roll over. 

Zoë Kayte, your family loves you very much! You are a content and generally happy baby. Your favorite place to sleep is still in the solly wrap with Mommy.  You stick out your tongue quite a lot and make sweet faces which make me smile. You are enjoying bath time and seem to like music as well! We are excited for your first Christmas this month and look forward to making many wonderful memories with you! Love, Mommy 

It's almost Thanksgiving!

And here are some of the things I'm most thankful for...

Good coffee!

Healthy, fresh food!

Dora

Snow. And a warm place to live. 

And of course...

Enjoy your week leading up to Thanksgiving! 

To life...full of so many things to be thankful for! 

A November Snapshot

Zoë's first snow day!

Snow fun in pjs!

Sweet brothers 

It was all gone by afternoon!

So Levi and I went out for some special time. 

Exploring

Found some lights in the closet-- fascinated!

Sweet Daddy-Daughter photo

Wearing one of Mommy's shirts. I like dressing her up in my baby clothes more than I expected!

Clothing Capsules

This summer I started reading about clothing capsules. The first article was written by a lady who had gotten rid of all her clothes and only purchased a small selection of clothes to wear every day. The concept was intriguing, but that model seemed too extreme for me. Then I found a blog called un-fancy. In it she talks about seasonal clothing capsules (January-March, April-June, July-September, October-December). For each season she chooses the following:

15 tops

9 bottoms

9 shoes

2 dresses

2 outerwear 

And then unlimited accessories. Plus she doesn't count pjs or workout clothes. I liked this idea a lot! Simplifying your clothing choices and being creative with your wardrobe. Also realizing that you don't need as many clothes as you might think, if you'll pick good quality, pieces you love! 

In September I decided to get started. After having a baby, I was frustrated going through my clothes trying to find the ones that fit and I felt comfortable in. It was frustrating and a bit hard on my self-confidence so I tried on clothes and picked out the ones I felt good in and put the rest away. And you know what? It felt great! I had options. I could see everything I could wear. And once I picked my outfit for the day, I didn't have to change. 

I am working on losing the baby weight and the weather has changed significantly in the past 2 months. So I decided to choose my capsule monthly for now. It really works for me. I don't feel bored with my options because I get to do a little moving around and editing every time the calendar turns. I can bring out a new shirt or pair of pants I'd been waiting to wear and hadn't been able to yet and it's quite motivating to see if something fits after 30 days that hadn't the previous time I'd tried it on. I am enjoying this clothing capsule model; feeling less stress about picking my clothes each day. I feel like I'm wearing my "favorite clothes" all the time, and well, why shouldn't I be? I'm very excited about the LulaRoe clothing I have begun to get and I know I'm getting 3 new pieces for Christmas because I picked them out! :) And can I just say that I'm having a hard time waiting?! The pieces are just super comfortable and wonderful quality and I want to wear them all the time! I see more purchases in the future, but now that I'm able to filter them through my clothing capsule mindset I choose them according to my favorite color scheme and what will mix and match best with the wardrobe I have. Smart shopping!
Enough of my jabbering for now. But I thought I'd share this idea in case it inspires someone else to try it as well!

To life... full of beautiful, simple clothing!   

Capturing Life

This week Zoë turned 3 months and she took a ton of great pictures. It was hard to pick just one, so thought I'd share a few more because... well she's just adorable! 

They love their little sister so much!

Levi thought he would assist with the head positioning for this photo :) 

We get this face from her a lot, like, "Are you kidding me?"

Went on a date with this awesome kid on Monday night. We got pizza, bought Christmas lights at Target (you can imagine the excitement!) and then shared a banana split from Dairy Queen. I haven't been to one of those in a long time! 

Levi was very upset that I was taking only Zeke. And also that we weren't taking his picture. He can sure turn on the charm when the camera points at him! 

I thought I'd put Zoë in a dress on Wednesday before it turned cold. And it was a good decision. It snowed the past 2 nights!!

The first snow (Wednesday night/Thursday morning) just got the top half of the mountains. It looks like a shadow in this picture, but I thought it was neat since you can tell there's a change in temperature by the line. 

Have a great weekend!