FUN BIN || a week away for mom + dad

early in the wee hours tomorrow morning, brandon and I, (along with his brother and his wife- - tyler & angela!), are escaping this true fall/winter weather of RAIN (and SNOW!!) that has recently arrived in washington. we're making our way over to MAUI and CANNOT WAIT!!

oh we are so ready for this getaway. to relax + refresh.

as excited as I am. my mama heart does break over leaving my babies behind. brandon and I need this for just the two of us, but good gracious am i gonna miss harper and tanner! the last time we were away this long was when I was towards the end of pregnancy with tanner and we went to kauai for a babymoon :)  (with tyler & angela again haha!)

...that was about a year and a half ago. I remember it being SO hard to leave harper behind, yet once we got to hawaii I almost felt guilty for not missing her more each day.

this will be our first time ever being away from tanner. and I don't know that I should even put an ounce of makeup on the morning we're leaving cause I'm likely to cry it all off.

my babies. my heart.

I came up with the idea to create a 'FUN BIN' for when we're gone this week!
a small little surprise for each tanner and harper that they get to open from mommy + daddy when then wake each morning. maybe with this they (mainly harper with her age) ;) will still feel that we're close and can feel a touch of our love.

I did a fairly quick run through the store to grab some small, inexpensive items to fill their bags.
..and let me tell ya it wasn't hard to do... haha!
HELLO TARGET DOLLAR SECTION.
on the outside of each paper bag I wrote a little note that nana & grandma she-she can read to them before opening their surprises.

♡  ♡  ♡  ♡  ♡  ♡  ♡  ♡  ♡  ♡  ♡  ♡

...along with this timing of 'being away'... I don't know that there's ever an actual good time, but harper has been going through some tough separation anxiety over the last few weeks. she is very attached to brandon and I as of late and sometimes, but not all the time, her emotions and sadness get so big when one of us leaves. she won't go anywhere without either brandon or I with her. even suddenly no longer wants to go into her dance class.. which up until now she has loved sooo much and has so much fun with her best friend and sweetest teacher!

so hard for me to see her when she gets so worked up because I know her feelings are so real. I do feel like this last week has been really good in that regard, with a turn for the better. it's always a rollercoaster ride though. ...but it's the ride we're on and motherhood brings one heck of a ride. we love this girl with all our might and are showering her with love, consistent discipline, and prayer.
my prayers lately have been so filled with her and for her to feel peace and comfort. and especially so as we're away for the week. these kids are going to be in the best of hands between my mom and brandon's mom. we are all praying it will be a smooth, uneventful week for all.

any mamas out there who have dealt with separation anxiety at this age (3), I would LOVE to hear from you and hear some things that maybe helped you and your family through. cause i know i can't be alone here!

it's a bittersweet thing to leave your babies behind.
I'm already thinking about the moment we return home to them. so excited for those sweet hugs and kisses.

I'm also SOOO much so looking forward to that beautiful hawaiian beach and the fresh salty air. a whole week's worth of time with my husband. though no doubt him and tyler will be hitting up the golf course too.. and angela and I will be at the spa!

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

Halloween Party!

we held a first ever halloween party at our house on friday for the kids!

harper has reached the age where activities like this bring her so much excitement and fun. tanner was along for the ride and had fun too, but harper understood alllll that was going on and the anticipation working up to the party was so big for her.

I tell ya, holidays just keep getting BETTER the more kids we have and as they reach new ages and stages. 

I've never been one to celebrate christmas until thanksgiving passes, but because of these kiddos and how fun it all is, we might jump ship a little sooner this year ;)

...but first... HALLOWEEN!

this party was so fun to put together. and it really was pretty quick + simple too.

we started the party with pumpkin painting for the 'older' kids. I say older loosely because it's referring to the five 3-year-olds :) who really aren't that old at all!

then a little pin the nose on the pumpkin!

for food:: I made a couple snacks/treats, we had pizza delivered, and a few friends brought a goody along with them too!

...and then some little goody bags to send home with our friends!

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

we're so looking forward to some good trick or treating tomorrow night and ready to throw those costumes back on! if it were up to these kids of ours, they'd be in their costumes every day + night.

happy halloween, friends!!

can't wait to see everyone's costumes and enjoy the excitement of this holiday!

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

Harper Monaé | three year old talk

one of my favorite things about the age we're in with Harper right now... the things that come out of her mouth!

I swear nearly every day she says something new that gets us laughing. and when I think of it, I try to quickly jot it down in the notes section of my phone. because for the life of me I cannot remember if I try to think later that day what it was she had said.

harper: nana works at the hospital.

me: where do I work?

harper: at target??

--umm... proud or embarrassed here...??!!--

harper: what in the heck!? that's what nana says

harper holding a play kitchen cup... "here I got a beer for you!" 😂😳

while eating lunch at the kitchen table, out of nowhere looks and says to me...

"do you know I love you so much"
oh my precious girl ♡

not wanting to go get panties from her bedroom... 
me: "do you just want to be naked??"

harper: "yeah. foreverrr!!"

talking about animals that have paws...

me "harper do you have paws?"

harper: "no, princesses don't have paws"

I was telling her we couldn't go play outside cause the smoke from the forest fires will hurt our lungs... so later when I went outside quick to water, she says to me...
"mommy, we have to go inside cause the smoke hurts our bums!!"

harper: "I have milk in my boobies, for my baby"

walking to the mail box. harper chit chatting like the norm, suddenly I hear her say, stopped dead in her tracks with her hands out...
 "are you paying attention to me!?" 
#guilty

laying in her bed at night about to go to sleep... I walked in and she says to me:
"I wish I were you. you're a mommy and take care of your babies and I'm a mommy and take care of my baby."
♡♡♡
I soaked that one up & will never let that memory fade away.

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

bedtime routine

first off. WHY in heavens names do children get alll their highest energy right before bed!??

brandon and I tackle all this together (he's the BEST). an awesome hubby and daddy who's so hands on.
with harper and tanner being in different stages, there are some parts of our bedtime routine where they're separated and some parts that overlap together.

times are 'ish' of course because babies and toddlers certainly don't follow the time on the clock ;)
we do baths every other night. so if it's bath night we try to get that tackled and done right after cleaning up from dinner. (we shoot for dinner around 5:30). depending on what our day is like we sometimes will try to swing putting harper in the shower with one of us, or I will try doing baths during the 'after nap-before dinner' time. just to get them out of the way!

it all begins to go down at... 

6:45pm -- wind down time. chocolate milk (carnation instant breakfast) + a show

*tanner plays/hangs out/reads with brandon or I during this

7:15pm -- upstairs for books. we let harper choose three books and as long as tanner is tolerating it, we try to do this all together (sometimes he's over it and we just need to continue on with getting him ready for bed and put down earlier)

then we go our separate ways. one of us takes harper and the other takes tanner.

7:30/7:45pm -- tanner: lavender essential oil in the diffuser. chamomile foot massage. zipadee zip. lullaby music on. nurse. paci. down to bed. 

7:30/7:45pm -- harper. potty. wash hands + face. brush teeth. then all the attempts to procrastinate with being hungry, thirsty, blah blah blah ;). as we get through that it's lullaby music on (both kiddos have monitors in their rooms that play music and we've been using it since harper was about 8 months old. she still likes it and asks for it, so we still use it). sing songs, hug + kiss goodnight, and we're out the door.  some nights it's as simple as that & then some nights she'll put up more resistance. want us to stay in longer, or gets out of bed a handful of times once we've left, or just try any procrastination she thinks might help her from having to go to bed ;) we try our best to be consistent and keep our "no" meaning "no".

we shoot for bed by 8pm. tanner is generally down by then no problem. but two and half year old harper... ;) sometimes we hit that. sometimes we don't get there until 9pm. big, deep breaths on those nights. and sometimes we're in between there ;)

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

harper's first trip to the dentist

Harper had her first trip to the dentist this morning and like anything with a two and a half year old, ya never know just how it'll go. the day before her appointment we really talked it up to her and got her all excited to go to the dentist. and I'm so thankful there's a bubble guppies episode on this!! when we walked in the office in the morning she was holding her hands together underneath her chin, with a huge smile, saying in the sweetest voice "I'm so excited". how cute it was!

it was such a big thing being in a whole new unfamiliar environment, with new people, and what could be intimidating equipment.

the office staff and dr. petrie were amazing!

brandon had his cleaning appointment before harper's so we brought her in a little early to see dad in the chair and she loved this. I was so happy that none of this scared her! like so so so happy! cause it all could've gone real bad and we could've walked out of the office before we got anywhere near this step.

once it was harper's turn she wanted me to get my teeth checked first (which I didn't have an appointment) :) so she sat on my lap in the chair. a bit of shyness and uncertainty was coming out. but with taking it slow and keeping it fun, the hygienist and dr. petrie were able to do a basic look, check, brush, and fluoride.

wish I had a picture of this, but brandon was full hands containing tanner at the same time :)

despite her little bits of hesitation (which I kinda expected), it was a great experience for us all.

on our drive home she kept saying how "the dentist was so fun!".

that's exactly what we were hoping to accomplish during the visit and I'm so proud of my baby girl!!

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

BIG Girl Bed

harper has been in what we've called her 'big girl bed' being her crib converted into the toddler bed.

well with a child in the 97th percentile... and the stuffed animals.... and her baby doll... and bunny... and blanket... who all sleep with her. it's time for the real big girl bed.

her crib also converts to a full sized bed so we're starting to look at mattresses and bedding! oh the bedding. there is such cute, cute little girl bedding out there!
ruffles. bows. swiss dot.
love it all!!

just so many options. pottery barn has been my go to when it comes to bedding and they aren't disappointing for big girl beds either.
it makes me want to do a whole re-do of her room.
which... brandon's biggest question with all this is... "am I gonna have to repaint her room?" ;)
maybe. just maybe :)

here's what I'm loving as I browse :) ahhh!!

blush quilt // ruffled sham // grey duvet cover // light grey duvet cover // bow pillow //
washed dot sheets // swiss dot sheets // swiss dot sham // heart sheets

Harper really loves PINK these days so I want to make sure to do what she likes, while also keeping a bit neutral so we can change it up and reuse for years to come.

xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

Harper Monaé || two and a half

it has been so darn long since I've done any sort of update on Harper. and I've been wanting to for so, so long! like even way before Tanner was born.
when I went and looked back, it's actually been a year! the last time I did one of these for her, she was just 18 months old (HERE). man has SOOO much changed since then! no way I can encompass it all and explain our harper girl's last year of life. but a snapshot of where she's at now will certainly do! these littles grow and change so stinking fast!
time, you're such a thief. but also so amazing, because I just love how our bond has grown over these past two and a half years.
my littlest BFF. and I pray she always will be.

I have a section in my notes in my phone, and when I think about it, I jot down some of the hilarious things this crazy girls says/does.
it's the closest I can get to bottling up her cute little self.
--- as we're about to walk out of the house to go to the store.. (most likely target) ....  Harper: "I have lots of monies, do you?"
--- referring to hiccups as "pick ups"
--- when saying "cake pops" it comes out as "cake ..." well, replace those "p's" in pop with "c's" ;) trying so hard to fix this mixup!!
--- tanner was newborn and had a clogged tear duct. he'd have dry little crusties on his eye and harper says.. "crumb in eye!"
--- driving through construction.. "ooo big mess. gotta clean it up!" ... yes harper.. we alll would agree with you on that one.
--- music comes out "mugis" ... kinda gross cause all I can think of is mucus. but whateve.
--- at dinner one night... Me: "honey please don't touch my food" ... Harper: "I'm sorry sweetie". ok if you're gonna respond like that- touch my food all you want. heart melting.
--- Me: "should we turn the fire place on?" ... Harper: "ooo! that'd be snuggy and warm!"
--- anything that is mini/baby size/or just baby related... "aww so cuuuttee!" ... while holding it up close to your cheek. again. heart meltinggg.

Harper Monaé  --  my favorite things about you:
--- the conversations we have while you sit on the potty. so stinking talkative. just chatting my ear off. about anything and everything. so so cute! I've taken a number of videos of this :)
--- how you are in this stage of loving to help mom with everything. especially cooking.
--- oh how you love to "cheers" everything. if anything matches or is the same, we cheers. cups. shoes. lipgloss. toys. straws. nail polish. tv remote/toy remote.
--- your vocabulary is unreal. for quite some time it has just been exploding with each and every week! I love the conversations we get to have now :)
--- your love for kindermusik. one of the best decisions we made was enrolling you in this class. my mama heart bursts seeing you excel and love every minute of it.
--- you sing all the live long day! allll day long. it is literally music to my ears hearing your sweet little voice fill our house.
--- if it were up to you. your outfit choice would be a princess dress. every.day. I know I'm gonna miss the day you grow out of this!

this girl. she has more sass than I can sometimes handle. she's most certainly a two year old. her sweet heart and spirit melt me all at the same time. she has such a giving heart and is always caring about others. smart as a whip. it blows my mind all that she knows and watching her learn is something that will never get old. a personality that far exceeds anything I ever could've imagined. 

this girl is growing and changing as the weeks fly by. every day she is learning something new while also teaching me all along the way. 

precious girl, you are so near and dear to me. to think we've had you for two and a half years and all the joy that has come with it. I could just burst thinking about all the lessons and memories we'll have in the many years ahead of us.

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

life. back to it.

it's been a  l o n g  time since I've added anything to the blog.

life has been.. well.. as you would expect with the busy of christmas, family staying with us and visiting for 10 days following the holiday, my phone breaking, all of us getting sick, and I forget what else... but all that jazz. 

I'm finally feeling like I'm starting to get my head above water again and getting our house and lives back in order. and it feels.so.good.

a few things I've learned as of late:

1. keep your two year old on their routine. don't go 10+ days without it. it is SO much work to get back. sleep will suffer.

2. don't trust that 'phone problems' won't happen to you. back it up. always.

3. when life gets busy, we eat dinosaur chicken nuggets from costco. like four times in a week. and yes, I can still somehow call myself a dietitian...
4. I kinda get FOMO when I don't have access to social media. that's likely not a healthy problem to have.
5. we ALL function better in our household with routine and structure. after being off for more than a few days I feel like I've got 12 children in my house, not two.

it's a nice relaxing sunday over here. both babes are napping! until I post this, then I'm sure one (or both) will certainly wake :)

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

sleep. sleep. SLEEP.

Brandon and I have been quite blessed in the sleep department with our kiddos. 

there's always that anticipation that once you become parents you won't get ANY sleep. and though it has definitely been reduced (and there are of course always sleepless times) overall, we haven't been too sleep deprived. 

*i'm literally knocking on our wood desk right now*

and then.. harper got sick.

and then.. tanner got sick.

and then.. thanksgiving weekend rolled around.

and we are doing everything in our power to get our sleep back!

tanner has just been all thrown off. with a whole bunch of variables in the mix. bronchiolitis. moving out of the pack 'n play and into his crib in his nursery. and then of course the fact alone that he's a four month baby ;)

harper's days run so much better when we have our structure and routine. that was lost for about 3 weeks. and then comes thanksgiving weekend where she went days without a nap + bedtime was much past it's usual. 

.............

fast forwarding to now. tanner we've pretty much checked him off our list and sleep's improving for him. the toddler, miss harper, on the other hand. for about a week's time there's been nap protesting, bedtime protesting, and early morning rising. a few days of skipping nap and she was quick to realize that fun things go down while she sleeps ;) 

...but hearing that sweet little voice come into our bedroom at 5:30am really takes away its sweetness.

the last few days the 2-3 hour naps are making their way back (hallelujah!!!!), bedtime hasn't been quite as much struggle, and we're on night three of using the ok to wake clock. so far that brilliant thing is slowly helping the bags under our eyes.

so a post about sleep... but it's always a hot topic...

and I'll forever remind myself and say, "it's just a phase" :)

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

potty training | what worked for us

I'm no potty training expert, but can only share what has worked for us :)

and that doesn't mean we are in the clear with absolutely zero accidents. I haven't read all the various 'methods' for potty training that are out there (because honestly it seems like too much conflicting info!) but I'm pretty sure occasional accidents are still quite normal. 

...way back when Harper was just 18 months old I thought "she's totally ready to start potty training and can do this". so I bought the potty seat that goes on the real toilet, was no way going to do a candy reward, and we began. well we got nowhere! who are these mothers who talk about potty training their kids so young!? I don't like it. it puts too much pressure on the rest of us.

we tried again a few months later and I had a bought Harper her own 'little' potty. no such luck. she just did not want to go. and it was too much of a fight to be worth it.

so with all that over the past months she's seen her "potty" in the bathrooms and become quite familiar with what it was and what it was for. she would at times pretend to "go" and sit down on her little potty (clothes + diaper all on). THEN she got to the point of taking her diaper off during the day and while in her crib. (she had been telling me about going pee pee or poo poo for quite some time). but looking back I don't think that really is the one true sign that "they are ready".

so with the diapers coming off, I decided we were gonna give it another shot and I was going to be strong this time. no more diapers and we were going to push through! (but in the back of my mind I didn't really know if this would be it). 

that weekend we went to target (of course!) ;) I let her pick out two packages of panties (again. we had done this months ago as well), a candy (yeah- I said I would never do this), and some stickers. I explained that she was going to get all of these when she started going in the potty.

.
.
.

--from the morning of day one (which I dreaded getting her out of bed that first morning because then it meant it was go time!) it was straight to panties and I told her the diapers were simply all gone. 

--I forced fluids by giving her diluted juice. 

--asked her every so often if she needed to go, but also reminded her to tell me when she needed to. 

--I really tried to keep the entire experience positive. no shaming her. 

--a candy and a sticker if she went. the reward and me cheering her on after was so motivating to her and she quickly caught on! that made her 'want' to go.

of course there were accidents (mainly the first half of the first day), but also lots of success with all the practice she was getting in from all the fluid running through her!

sleeping time we've been putting pull-ups on (I'm not that brave yet!) and I tell her they're nap time/bedtime panties. we don't use the word 'diaper' anymore!

.
.
.

I've hesitated to write this because I don't know if we've reallyyyy nailed it quite yet.

accidents occasionally happen, naps are hit or miss, and night time is another story.
 BUT yesterday we had zero accidents, she was dry after nap (which I gave her a 'special treat for that!), and hardly wet at all this morning!

it's where we are and I'm so proud of the progress! 

.
.
.

being older, and being truly ready makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE! it came so much easier for her and made it easier on us as well! she took to it so quickly that it almost seemed natural. I absolutely believe that the timing is everything. she was ready. and I only knew that by her willingness.

we're going to palm desert today which means flights and traveling through the airport (with a potty not always just 10 steps away!). praying all will go well with all the time we are going to be AWAY from home this next week and that the accidents will be minimal! :) you can do this Harper!!

so proud of her and how well she's done.

Xoxo

-Brittney

Get baby/toddler on a schedule- or not?

a schedule. "get your baby/toddler on a schedule." we've all heard it.

as mothers we strive for what is best for our children. but as a first time mom, there are so many things I have learned and to be honest, often there is too much advice out there. what about those God given mother instincts that we all have? let's listen to those a little more!

Harper never really got on a true schedule until about 8 months old.

I tried sooner (5-6 months or so), but it became more of a fight in trying to schedule her and I found that our days ran more smoothly when I just followed her cues. and that's how we did it for the first 8-9 months. having only one child to care for, it was great. for both of us. 

our schedule/routine started to form naturally when she was about 8-9 months old. I promise- it wasn't anything I did intentionally. it just happened. by paying attention to her needs, at that point she just naturally fell into a routine. and we have been on a routine ever since.

being on our routine has been so great for the both of us. when we can really stick to our 'regular', the days go better and her and I are both happier from morning to night. we just need it.

BUT this week I have realized that for how wonderful our routine/schedule really is (I mean really, I love it!), there are still those days/times where I need to remember to listen to what she is trying to tell me- like I did those first 8 months!

not every day is 'normal'. not every day is without 'other' challenges.

some days are just different.

that's when following the 'rules' is over, and following my mothering instincts trumps all else.

Monday.

we didn't have anything planned for the day (and it was rainy out) so it was a day of being home and working/playing around the house. Harper has been going though a growth spurt and teething (off and on). those darn two year molars have been slowlllly working their way in here and there over the last couple of months. come on already!

we started our morning like any other and Harper woke like normal on Monday at 7:30am. the morning had its ups and downs. moments of happy, giggling, running the house. and then moments of dragging her blanket around, whinning/crying, asking for her paci (which she only gets for sleeping times- nap and bed). 

throughout the morning I continued telling her, "no paci. not until nap time" (which is at 1pm). we were hours from nap time! 

around 10am I thought, maybe she really is tired and is asking me to put her down...

but in my head... 'that will throw off the day's schedule!' and 'she just had a good night's sleep, no way she can really be tired.'

the crying and paci asking escalated.
it finally clicked for me! so at 10:15am I put her down for a nap. when I looked at the monitor 5 minutes later, she was completely passed out! and from there took a 2.5 hour nap. I'd say she was tired and what she needed was a nap ;)
there isn't anything in the world like a sleeping child! so precious!

sounds so simple, but in the moment it was such a challenge because I couldn't let go of our 'normal' schedule.
I am thankful for this experience and to be reminded of the importance to listen to my child and follow her needs. and today she needed me to NOT follow our typical daily routine and instead just stop and listen to her.

we both ended up having a happier rest of our day.

routines are so, so great! but having that balance, remembering to listen to my little Harper, and giving myself permission to follow her needs, can lead to even better moments :)

and she woke up as her happy self!

Xoxo

-Brittney