Welcome to the Good Life!

new house updates!

Things are moving along really quickly at our new house and I am getting SO excited!  Our move-in date right now is June 6th.  There have been a few dates tossed around, but this is the date our builder told us to take off of work for moving, so I am hoping this is really it. :)  That leave us with about 6 weeks until move-in date....hurray!

There are a million things I am looking forward to in the new house, one of which is a real laundry room.  Right now our stackable washer + dryer are in a nook between the kitchen and the bathroom right when you walk in the back door.  Not my favorite.  In our new house, I will have TWO laundry rooms!  The normal layout called for a big laundry room on the first floor, but I also added a smaller laundry room upstairs where our kids' rooms will be located.  Our master is on the first floor and I knew I did not want to be running up and down the stairs with dirty laundry.  I think we'll use both laundry rooms quite a bit--especially as we add to our family. :)

I have a few pictures to show our pretty new spaces.  First, I wanted to let you know that this is not the final wall color, although it is close.  They have just used tinted primer for the walls--note that it does not go all the way up to the ceiling. ;)  Also, it is SO hard to take pictures in a house with no lights + in the evening.  However, I am just so excited to share some new pictures!

Here is a picture of the downstairs laundry room--I love this window!

This is our kitchen, of course.  The island in the middle has a bookshelf on the end, which is a fun treat for me.  To the left will be a desk area + 2 pantries + fridge.  Hurray for more storage + counter space!

I love this view from the edge of the kitchen through the living room.  One of the things I was looking for most in our new house is an open layout and this is definitely a big plus of our new house!  I am still brainstorming exactly how I want our furniture to be set up in the living room.  We haven't bought anything yet, and the clock is definitely ticking if I want it by the time we move into the new house!
One last picture that might not mean much to anyone else, but makes me SO very happy is our staircase that is just about complete!  I love the entrance to our home--it'll be two stories and very open.  I am so excited about decorating this area for Christmas, I just about can't stand it.  I even added outlets for Christmas decorations which was one of the best suggestions I received during our building process.  I am still deciding between a stain on the bannister to match the flooring or painting them white.  I am leaning towards a stain simply because it's easier to paint a stained piece of wood than it is to go from a white piece of wood to stained.  Rob calls these Becky problems and he is absolutely right.  ;)

Easter 2014

This weekend we headed to Kentucky to spend Easter with my side of the family.   I was so excited to see everyone--it always seems like it has been too long!

I was off on Friday and Rob only worked half a day, so we were able to time our trip perfectly with Henry's afternoon nap.  Win for everyone!  Henry woke up a a fwe minutes before we got to my mom's which put him in a great mood to see everyone.

My mom has a swingset with a baby swing in it--this was Henry's first time swinging!  This was moments after he got out of the carseat and he was so happy to be in it.  He got a little scared a few moments later, but I definitely see more swinging in our future!

Friday night we grilled out and had a bunch of our family over for dinner.  One of my uncles had been working out of town and surprised everyone by coming into town for the weekend.  We were all SO glad to see him and it was just the perfect way to start the weekend!  We ate lots of yummy food included grilled pork chops, teriyaki chicken, grilled pineapple, sweet corn, all kinds of yummy things. :)

Saturday morning, my mom, sister, Henry, and I attempted a photo shoot at Central Park in my hometown.  The setting was so pretty and I am hoping we got some good pictures! I will be sure to post those soon.

After I put Henry down for his afternoon nap, my sister and I headed out to get pedicures.  This was very much needed--as the last pedicure I had was probably in October??!  We went to a new place that really pampered you, which was amazing.  Our husbands had gone to the driving range while we were getting pedicures, but we met them at my cousin's baseball game.  We ended up leaving a little before the game was over to get ready for my brother-in-law's birthday party. 

I am SO thankful for my brother-in-law, Greg.  He is an awesome addition to our family and just fits right in with the rest of us.  I think he is fun to hang out with and I really look forward to double dates with them!  Rachel had an ice cream cake for Greg, plus a homemade chocoalte + peanutbutter cake with an oreo crust.  It looked AMAZING!  She also made me some gluten-free brownies.  She is the best.

After dinner, we went out to eat for Greg's birthday at one of our favorite restaurants in town.  I had never been there until the Christmas I was pregnant with Henry, but it has quickly become a favorite and there are very few double dates we go on where we go there! 
After dinner, Greg had to get to bed pretty early for work the next morning, but I stayed at Rachel's a little while to help get food ready for Easter lunch.  I cut up lots of fruit for a delicious fruit salad, before Rob and I headed back to my mom's.  My mom and Henry had a great time playing together and he had gone to sleep in his pack-n-play jsut perfectly! I am continually thankful for a great sleeping baby. :)

Sunday morning, Henry woke up a little earlier than normal so we got to spend some extra time together before church.  He had a great breakfast of oatmeal and fruit before Rob woke up and we gave him his Easter basket.  Henry was SO thrilled to see his goodies--especially this Catch Me Kitty that he had played with at a friend's house.  This is a really fun toy--it runs around the room and your baby can chase it by crawling or walking.  Henry thinks it is hilarious.

Henry looked quite handsome for church, if I do say so myself!  I bought his outfit ages ago from Carter's because I was so worried they would run out of his size.  I am so happy it fit and he didn't bother the bowtie.  Doesn't he look so handsome?

Henry has very fair skin and I know that hats will be a big part of his summer wardrobe.  I am so happy he loved his hat and really didn't seem to notice it after awhile.  He is definitely cheesing for the camera here. :)

Henry peed through his Easter outfit on the way home from church (thank goodness it wasn't on the way to church!!) so we had to do a quick outfit change for the lunch and afternoon fun.  Rob's mom got him a cute Easter bunny cotton outfit that was perfect for playing in and the trip home.  This is the best picture I have of us from the day--and we definitely tried!

 

For lunch my family made an amazing meal of prime rib, baked potatoes, sweet potato casserole, seven layer salad, fruit salad, deviled eggs, and lots of desserts!  We were definitely stuffed to the brim.

Soon after lunch, Rob and I had to pack up and head home.  It is so hard for me to leave visiting my family--it just makes me so homesick!  Rob and I took turns napping on the way home and stopped by our new house to check on the progress.  We also made a stop into his parents house to say hello and I ended up going to the grocery store while Rob and Henry hung out and had dinner.  A solo grocery trip is amazing, let me tell you! 

I hope you and your families also had a wonderful Easter :)

goals update!

Idid a check-in a few months ago for my 2014 Goals, but I wanted to look at them again in an attempt to keep myself accountable.

Here are my resolutions for 2014.  I have some normal goals and things I am striving for each day that I am not including on here--like be present with my time, document Henry's growth, be a good wife, etc.  What I have listed below are my NEW goals for the year! :)

1.  I would like to do one action a month for my church.  This could be speaking, volunteering, etc.  I have something lined up for the first two months, but I need to work on the rest of the year! I am doing better here than I thought I would!  I have kept up with this goal and am getting ready to teach a pre-baptismal class for 3 people this month.  I am so excited for them!

2.  I would like to read 24 books again this year.  If I could do this with a baby, I will do this with a toddler. :)  I have read 11 books thus far.  I am ahead of schedule and VERY happy about this!

3.  I would like to go on at least two vacations this year--even if they are just weekends away.   I know how refreshed and rejuvenated I feel after them and I want to make that more of a priority in 2014.  We have gone two one night trips this year without H, but no real vacations yet.  This is becoming more and more of a priority as summer is rapidly

4.  I not only want to move into our house, but I also want to have our current home ready to put on the market to sell.  There are several bigger projects like painting the deck and front porch, and replacing some storm doors, but we have tried our best to fix up the house as we have been living in it.  I would LOVE to sell this house before the end of 2014!! No update here--I think most of our updates will happen once we've moved out and don't have to worry about making a mess.  I wish we could complete it all now, though!

5.  I want to exercise at least 4 times a week again.  This does not include stroller walks or time spent playing with Henry.  This is actual time spent on the treadmill.  I weigh less than I did when I got pregnant with Henry, but my body is not the same.  I would love to weigh about 25 pounds less.  I am really struggling here.  However, I know I need something to jumpstart my life and healthy living plan so I am doing the Advocare 24 Day Challenge.  I am VERY much looking forward to seeing how the challenge goes!  Losing 10 pounds would be a great motivation for me to get into a healthier lifestyle!

6.  Decorate our new house.  I don't really think a house is ever "complete", but I want to have the main living areas of our house ready for visitors and company.  I can't wait to host game nights, game watching parties, our families, and holidays at our house!  I have picked up a few things as we'v been out shopping for our new house including a new bed (!!!), some lamps, mirrors, etc.  Our little house is feeling even smaller with all of this!  We have our new stove, fridge, and dishwasher, but I am still looking for furniture for our living room.  This room will be where we live much of the time and I want it to be perfect!

7.  I have a few professional goals for work, that I will not detail here.  However, I hope 2014 is as good of a year as 2013 has been to me professionally!  Things are definitely going well in this regard!  I am happy in my job and hopefully getting some good news about some training opportunities this month!

8.  Declutter our home in preparation for moving.  I feel like the amount of "stuff" we have is overwhelming and needs to be donated, organized, or thrown away before we move.  If I go room by room, it won't be too terrible! I have made some serious progress in this regard, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.  Now that it is starting to get warmer outside, we are going to have to tackle the garage.  This is really daunting and I am not looking forward to it, although I know it needs to be done!  Another big priority room for us is our upstairs attic storage and my own closet. 

Overall, I am pleased with my progress.  I know that I could definitely be doing more to get towards them--especially with decluttering and losing some weight.  These are going to be my big focus for the next few months, for sure! :)

midweek randoms

• I am struggling to find an Easter dress this year.  I don't want to be matchy-matchy with H, but I would like for us to coordinate a little bit.  I am hoping to find something on my lunch break today--fingers crossed.
• My best friend is having a baby late this summer and my other best friend and I are throwing her a gender reveal party.  I ordered some straws, cupcake holders, and a banner yesterday off of Etsy.  I can't wait to find out the gender--I am so torn myself on whether the baby is a boy or girl!
• Rob, Henry, and I are headed to Kentucky this weekend to celebrate with my family and I cannot wait.  Even though we were in town just a few weeks ago, it wasn't for nearly long enough.  We are going to be celebrating my brother-in-laws birthday, plus Easter.  Should be a great weekend!
• I am going to be starting the Advocare 24 day challenge next week.  I am a little nervous, but mainly really excited to be starting it.  I have tried to read other people's accounts of their experience, but I know it is just something I will have to experience for myself.  I am ready to jump start some fitness goals I have and am hoping this will be just the right thing!
• I have had the toughest time figuring out lighting for our kitchen.  Rob calls this a "Becky problem" and he is exactly right.  In the big scheme of things, this is totally not a big deal, but it is important to me.  Here's what I've picked out--after much debate and thought!  These lights will go over our island and the breakfast area. 

weekend recap

This weekend we had SUCH beautiful weather!  It may be snowing today, but it was really gorgeous this past weekend.  I am hopeful we will get back to warmer weather again someday! :)

On Friday I left work a little early to do some shopping for H before meeting up with my family and a friend from out of town.  Henry is growing rapidly and his 12 month clothes are just not cutting it anymore.  It is SO hard for me to believe that he really belongs in 18 month clothes, but my boy is growing! I was able to get a few staples for his closet including some shorts, jeans, and a few tops at great sale prices from Gap and Children's Place.  My best find was a pair of Gap jeans for only $12 for him!

We had dinner at Northstar Cafe which is a really fun, delicious, healthy restaurant in Columbus.  I love their Thai Salad and had the best time catching up with my friend from out of town.  A funny story about H--he wasn't really eating and wasn't really into his bottle.  Rob had mentioned that he thought his pants were too tight.  When we noticed H needed a diaper change, I thought maybe we should change his pants into something that would fit a little looser for him.  I brought out a new pair of jeans for after his diaper change and H was honestly immediately in a better mood.  He started chomping down on his food and seemed to really love his life.  I could not stop laughing at him--he is a growing boy and definitely needed the bigger pants!

Saturday morning I had an all-day leadership class at church.  I was able to spend the day with some of my friends and family, which made the day much more enjoyable! I also was SO blessed by my Secret Sister who sent me a fun basket gift.  It was delivered by someone else to me and I have to say they did a great job picking out things I would like!  Inside the Easter basket there were Reese's pieces, Cadbury chocolate eggs, and some M and Ms.  Delicious! :)

I also got to spend a little bit of time with H in the morning including making his breakfast and playing just a little bit.  I left him with Rob and know that they had a great time playing together!

Saturday evening, Henry's BFF Millie and her mom came over for us to hang out.  It was kind of a spontaneous, last minute get together but sometimes those are the most fun!  Henry and Millie had a great time playing together and Paige and I got to catch up.  Rob grilled out steak and we put together a meal from our cabinets and fridges.  We ended up with a great dinner and had such a wonderful time together!  When we move into our house, we will be about 15 minutes away from two of our best sets of couple friends.  They live in opposite directions, but we are cutting our drive time to see them in half! :)

Sunday morning Henry slept in a little from his big night out with Mille, which was so sweet!  I really enjoyed getting to sleep in a little bit (it's sad that 8 AM is sleeping in these days!) and take my time getting ready.  Around 9 AM I woke Henry up so we could get ready for church with his family.  Because we are headed to Kentucky this weekend, we celebrated Easter with Rob's family this past weekend. Henry looked so cute in his Easter ensemble and I am so happy he gets to wear it more than just once! 

Rob's mom cooked a great meal and the guys grilled out steaks outside--so delicious!  We spent most of the day hanging out at their house and playing with Henry before going over to check out the progress on our new house.

Our kitchen cabinets have just been installed and they are finishing up the trim work now!  After this, they will tape everything off and do the final coat of paint.  It is so difficult to know exactly how the colors will look in your house, but so far I am just loving everything.  I am a little bit stressed about furniture for the living room, but that is a whole different post for a different day. :)

I hope that you all had a great weekend too! :)

happy friday!

I think this idea is SO true!  The more you focus on the good things in your life and the blessings that you have surrounding you, the easier it is to see even MORE blessings surrounding you. :)

I, for one, am VERY happy it's Friday!  I am going to do a little bit of shopping after work before Rob and Henry join up with me to have dinner with a friend at the mall.  I am very excited about this and hope to have a few goodies for Henry purchased by the time we meet for dinner.  H has totally grown at warp speed and my shopping has not kept up. ;)

Tomorrow I have a leadership class at church.  I am a little bit bummed because tomorrow is supposed to be SO pretty outside, but I know there will be a lot of people coming in from out of town that I am excited to see.  I am looking forward to hearing what Rob and Henry get into, as well.

Sunday we are celebrating an early Easter with Rob's family, since we will be in Kentucky for Easter with my family.  I am so thankful we have family to choose between for holidays!  We try to rotate each year with a different side of the family.  It works out well--but it would be awesome if we could all be together every year. :)

I am also hoping to squeeze in a pedicure (maybe wishful thinking?) as well as lots of sleep and time with my sweet family.  I hope you all have a great weekend!

my reflections on pumping at work

When I first had Henry, and then especially when I went back to work, I had so many questions about pumping.  I knew I was committed to continuing to breastfeed for as long as possible, but I just didn’t know how that would work for us.  I have heard SO many horror stories about pumping and how some women aren’t able to get anything from their pump or it’s painful.  I remember the first time I sat down to pump, Henry was a few weeks old and we wanted to go out on a date for our anniversary.  My mom was going to watch Henry and I wanted him to have a bottle.

                There were so many pieces and parts that I couldn’t figure it out. I made Rob help me put the pieces together.  Much to my surprise, it wasn’t nearly as terrible as I had heard!  I was able to get a few ounces out and over the course of a few days, I had enough for a good bottle for Henry.  After this, I started pumping every day while Henry was napping.  I would get about 3 ounces starting out—and eventually I could get up to 5 ounces.  I would freeze all of this milk diligently.  I fed Henry directly for all of his feedings, so this was just a stockpile I was building.  There were occasional times when we would be at church or out to eat that I would take a bottle, but for the most part I tried to save all of that milk.

                When I went back to work, I was stressed  about making enough for Henry.  Luckily, Henry really took a bottle.  Henry ended up loving his bottles and would bang on them for more milk sometimes.  I took a Fenugreek supplement for a few weeks and really tried to keep my water intake up as much as possible.  My first week at work, I pumped three times a day.  I would feed Henry before I left for work, and then right when I got home.  I started to feel like I was never getting any work done and that I was just living in the Mother’s Room at work.  I saw a hands-free pumping bra on TV and immediately bought one on Amazon.  This was SUCH a game changer for me!  I could read or play on my cellphone while I was pumping at work which made the time go by so much more quickly.

                After a few months of this schedule, I knew I needed to change things up because I was barely getting enough milk and stressing myself out constantly.  I didn’t want to dig into my freezer stash, but if we did anything on the weekends, I was so stressed about getting enough milk for Henry.  I remember living for the weekends when I wouldn’t have to pump and I could just feed Henry directly.  An unexpected date night could throw my week into big spiral of stressing out about enough milk for Henry.

                I decided to add a pump session at home and discontinue one of my work pump sessions.  I started pumping first thing in the morning while I was getting ready.  It took me about 30 minutes to fix my hair and put on makeup, so I would pump for 30 minutes.  I also made the decision to pump on the weekends like this as well.  First thing in the morning (if I wasn’t getting ready), I would pump for 30 minutes.  I eventually built up the demand and the tolerance to the pump that I would get at least 10 oz each morning pump session.  When I combined this with my two pump sessions at work, I would be producing around 20 oz a day, with Henry only needing 18 of it.  I was THRILLED to be adding to my freezer stash and also providing Henry with all of the milk that he needed.

                Now that Henry and I are on the tail end of our breastfeeding relationship, I wanted to share this part of our story so that I can remember the success we had, but to also encourage others out there who are working moms or who need to pump.  I am no longer pumping, but we are still working our way through my freezer stash.  When I first stopped pumping and went through my stash, I was just moved to tears remembering all of the stress and hard work that went into each of the little bags I have so carefully marked and stored. 

                I am probably the only person out there who will say this, but I actually miss pumping at work.  I grew to love the time during the day that I would get to be away from my desk and not think about work.  I started taking my ipad to work for those sessions.  I would either read, watch a show on Netflix, or play on the internet.  I seriously made it through so many TV shows this way!! 

                At one of my last pumping sessions at work, I took a picture of my setup!  It seems like a lot, but because I was so used to this being a part of my life, I could set everything up and break everything down so quickly.  I also used a Medela Hands-Free Freestyle Pump and loved the portability of the machine!  I seriously have taken my pump everywhere—all of our trips with Henry, nights away, everywhere.

                I hope that this post will serve as an encouragement to mommas out there who are pumping and trying to make enough for their babies.  Pumping can seem like a daunting task—especially when you are counting every single ounce that you are making.  Know that I think you are doing a wonderful job providing for your baby, regardless of how much you are making!

dear henry (13 months)

Dear Henry,

Happy 13 months my baby boy!  I thought that your development would slow a little around 12 months and that things would move slower...boy was I ever wrong!  In particular, your language skills have absolutely exploded this month!  You are constantly jabbering to us, yourself, your toys, really anyone that will listen to you.  Several times at church you have tried to speak OVER the minister--cue my immense embarrassment, but to the delight of everyone else in the congregation.  You are hilarious and I love seeing your personality shine through!

We realized this month that you can say Tobbie and Ollie (our cat and dog's names).  You call all cats "Oyee" and all dogs "Obbie", but you definitely know what you're saying.  You have also mastered "Hi" and say it ALL THE TIME.  To everyone.  Whether you know them or not.  You can bring a smile to just about anyone's face with that greeting!  You also say mama, dada, nana, nono, uppie (for getting up out of your crib or carseat), baba, and lots of chatting about other things.  One of my favorite things about you is that you whisper, speak normally, and yell.  You might do all 3 in one minute.  You definitely have a personality and I love it so much, Henry!

We have been working very diligently this month with you on pulling up and standing.  You are starting to understand the idea of walking, but I think we still have a little bit yet on that.  You can get around so quickly by crawling and scooting on your back that it will be tough to teach you to walk, I think. :)

You love your toys, stuffed animals, and blanket.  After a long day running errands or being at the sitters, you are SO excited to see your stuffed animals again and reunite.  I love that about you--I think you have a big heart for people/things you love.  That is a great quality, Henry and I hope you never lose it.
While you can say our pets names, you are obsessed particularly with our little kitten, Beatrice.  You LOVE petting her and rubbing her tail.  You are a little bit rough with her still, but she doesn't seem to mind too much.  You think she is so soft and when you touch her, it makes your eyes light up with happiness!

We continue to take you on road trips, out to eat, and shopping without any problem.  You are still a breastfed baby, but we have started introducing whole milk into your bottles.  Within the next month, I expect for you to be weaned completely. I have loved sharing this experience with you, Henry and it has created an unbreakable bond between the two of us.  You are the most special part of my life and I am continually thankful for you.

You are also sleeping through the night still (and have for months and months!!) and take a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon.  Occasionally you will take a cat nap in the morning, but for the most part you like to get your energy out by playing like a crazy boy.

Your appetite is pretty big and you LOVE trying new things which is so fun for us!  You like spicy, sweet, seafood, salty, sour, anything.  You love eating pickles, fruit, yogurt, oatmeal, meat, scrambled eggs, waffles, pasta, shrimp, flounder....just about everything we sit in front of you, you will eat!  Randomly the only thing you don't like is mashed potatoes. 

Your favorite two toys this month are books and balls.  You LOVE reading and being read to.  I think you definitely get this from me, and it thrills me to no end.  You laugh and laugh when we read books together and your smile melts my heart!  You have a few balls that you love playing with the most.  You will throw them, crawl after them, laugh and repeat.  For hours it seems like! 

Henry, I say this every day to you, but I want you to know how much I love being your mom.  I am so incredibly thankful for you and I count you as the biggest blessing of my life!

Love you,

Your mom

dear henry (12 months)

Dear Henry,

 

It is so hard for me to believe that you are a year old!  I still feel like you are my sweet baby that we were just looking forward to bringing home from the hospital, and maybe that is the way I will always feel about you!  You are developing quite the sweet personality and it is such a huge joy of mine to watch you grow and develop.

I loved you from the moment I knew you existed, but it is amazing to me how much my heart has grown this year!  I keep thinking that I could never love you more, but that is just not the case my sweet Henry.  Everyone comments on your sweet nature and that is something I hope you will always have.  You are an extremely easy-going baby and so fun to be around.  You have started smiling with a little rotten smirk in your eyes, so I know that you will still be a little bit of an ornery boy.

There were so many fun things that happened this month.  One of my favorite moments is that you started crawling! You have been scooting around and crawling backwards, but this month you legitimately started crawling.  You are SO proud of yourself, and we are too of course!

This month you have been teething like crazy.  You have 8 teeth currently (the last two are coming in on the bottom, but they have definitely poked through the skin).  You have handled teething pretty well, which really impresses me!  You very, very rarely wake up at night anymore.  Every once in awhile you will wake up around 4 or 5, but I don’t mind a bit.  I love those extra moments with you when I get to nurse you back to sleep.  They are such sweet, sacred moments and I really do treasure them.

You did have a mini-breakdown one day when you were teething.  Nothing would pacify you, which is extremely unusual.  I think you were overtired and just hurting so I set you up in your little Henry chair with your lovey and turned on Baby Einstein.  That did the trick!  You are the cutest.

Another skill that you mastered this month is pulling yourself up on your knees.  You are trying SO hard to pull yourself all the way up, and I know it won’t be long before you are successful.  I’m not ready for a walking baby, but I know that is just part of you growing up!

You are still a breastfed baby which makes me very happy!  I can’t believe that we’ve made it to a year together, but it makes me very happy.  I know how much you love your bottles and being nursed to sleep at night, so we will see how much longer we keep going.  You love feeding yourself when you’re sitting in your high chair.  Some of your favorite things this month include PB&J, bananas, Teddy Grahams, macaroni and cheese, and Greek yogurt.  You are an eating machine!

One of my favorites faces is the one you are making in this picture.  That is totally your concentration face and it cracks me up to no end.  You play so hard!

You received a few birthday gifts and cards ahead of your big day and you have had so much fun playing with them.  Not surprisingly at all, you are obsessed with the cards and seem to like those more than the gifts themselves!  You are such an easy baby to please and I am constantly so thankful for you.

 

Your last night before turning a year old, I nursed you to sleep and snuggled with you for just a little bit longer.  I couldn’t help but tear up thinking about how richly you have blessed our life, Henry.  I have LOVED being your mom and I am so happy watching you grow up.  Playing with you on the floor, teaching you patty cake, and snuggling together in the evening have quickly replaced some of the other things I used to do for fun.  Being your mom is infinitely more rewarding than I could have ever imagined and I am thankful every day for you.

 

Love you forever,

Your mom

weekend recap

I LOVE when weekends are full of friends and family.  I know I say this a lot, but a good weekend just feeds my soul and makes my heart happy!

Friday afternoon I left work a little early and came home to take a nap.  This past week really did a number on me and I was just dragging!  Henry must've felt the same because he also took a 4 hour nap!

Friday evening was a pretty laid back affair with Rob grilling out and then going to the movies, while H and I stayed home to get even more sleep.  I did catch up on some of my DVR which is always a win in my book. :)

Saturday morning we woke up and got ready to head to our closest Ikea--which is about 2 hours away.  Rob had never been before and I haven't been in ages.  We made a quick stop at Jungle Jim's--a really cool grocery store--on the way and then made a stop for Chipotle for lunch.  We've gone a few times with Henry, but he hasn't been much of a fan.  However, this all changed on Saturday.  I had a burrito bowl and Henry seriously ate half of it!  He loved the black beans, the guacamole, everything.  Rob and I were dying laughing at him eating because he kept going--long after we were both finished!

I'm glad Henry had a full belly because we ended up spending quite a bit of time in Ikea and Henry held up like a champ (with one meltdown, but luckily we had a bottle!!).  When we made it to some of the kid's toys, Henry did get to play for awhile with a kitchen set.  I definitely see this in his future, as he was such a big fan of it!

We made quite a few purchases for our new home including a new wingback chair, a mirror for the foyer, and a few lamps.  My Explorer was COMPLETELY filled--thus the little club house we made for Henry for the trip home.  He didn't mind at all and actually seemed to love the cozy quarters.  He slept the entire way home and woke up in the best mood!

Sunday morning, I woke up early for a church meeting before church so Henry and Rob stayed home to sleep in a little.  (Obviously sleep is very important in our house!!)  After church, I picked the boys up and we went to visit one of my friends that was in town from Chicago.  Becky is so much fun and I am so glad we got to see her yesterday.  She read Henry a book and I just thought it was a sweet moment.  Henry was really into their time together. 

A little bit later my friend Paige was reading to Henry and I had to get a picture of it too.  A few minutes after this picture was taken, her daughter Millie (who is 2 weeks older than Henry!) climbed up to get in on the reading fun too.  Such a cute moment!  I love seeing my friends love on Henry. It definitely fills my heart with happiness!

After we played for awhile, we all loaded up into cars so Rob and I could show off our new house.  I LOVE going to see it and check out the progress.  I will do an update this week on that--but it is coming along quite nicely!  Afterwards we went out to dinner together (and Henry proceeded to stuff his face yet again!).  While we got home kind of late, it was the best day.

How was your weekend?  Happy Monday!