for the love of july

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

new blog name! {for the love of july}

it's about time.
it's actually past time!
like seven months past time!!

our family hasn't truly been "TWO Bows and ONE Beau" for over half a year now.
since mid July when our sweet baby tanner joined our family.
...well sweet baby tanner has made life busier than ever and here we are :) just now updating the blog name when before we know it we'll have to be changing it again due to another baby!
(certainly no pregnancy announcement here!) ;)

so here we have it... we are now...

for the love of july

the blog URL is still (and always will be)... justushjelseths.blogspot.com
that won't change (ever!)
but when our family + life grows and changes, it calls for a new chapter.

---to quickly + simply say where this new blog name comes from---
July 23, 2011 --- our wedding anniversary
July 13, 2014 --- harper girl's birthday
July 13, 2016 --- tanner boy's birthday

*side little fun fact: tanner and harper's times of birth were also only 30 minutes apart!
harper: 2:49pm
tanner: 3:19pm

so no question, right!? there's a whole lotta love for us in the month of july. especially on july 13th, because YES our two sweet babes share a birthday making it double the sweet on july 13!!

it's a sweet, meaningful name for us and I hope you enjoy too!

xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

Thursday, February 23, 2017

OUR TABLE || blueberry muffins

I posted these on my insta stories last week and had so many ask about the recipe!

so here ya have it! they really are as good as they look!

I found this recipe on pinterest a couple of years back and have still hung on to it to keep making time and time again. so when my neighbor dropped off a pallet of fresh blueberries, what else was I to do!? we somehow still have some so I may be making another batch here in the next few days :) I probably ought to give some away though so we don't eat all of them! cause too many muffins consumed could most certainly contribute to too much muffin top that I'd rather be without ;)

So here ya have it! the best blueberry muffins you'll ever make!

Recipe {HERE}

my tips:

-- go with the streusel topping!! amazing.

-- from what the recipe says, it takes extra flour + sugar to get the topping crumbly

-- I find that I have to cook them a minute or two longer than the recipe says

I have made them with blueberries and with raspberries. both turned it great, but I'd have to say that blueberry turned out the best.
so stick with blueberry! ;)

ENJOY!!

xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Tanner Ross || 7 months

seven months.

boy you've got to slow.DOWN.
how in heaven's name are we now closer to you being one than we are to the day you were born. he's getting heavier and heavier for brandon to be holding like this too!

age: 7 months

stats:

7 months: 22.8 lbs -- (from the scale at home)

birth: 8lbs 2ox -- 21 inches

2 days: 7lbs 11oz

12 days: 9lbs 1oz

1 month: 12lbs 4oz -- 23 1/2 inches

2 months: 15lbs -- 24 inches

3 months: 17.4 lbs -- (from the scale at home)

4 months: 18lbs 13oz -- 27 inches

5 months: 20.4 lbs -- (from the scale at home)

6 months: 21lbs 2oz -- 28 inches

clothes: 12 month

diapers: 3

Tanner name sign // Quincyjeanart

banner // hooray everyday

this last month has literally been life changing. Tanner no longer hates the car!! him not hating the car every time he gets strapped in and ready to go has lifted an enormous weight for me. I feel like i've gained some freedom back and we can go places pleasantly! :) I didn't realize just how much him hating the car affected me and what we did or didn't do. literally the day he turned six months old, it's like a light switched and he decided riding in the car was actually an ok thing to do :)

this last month has also brought some struggle on my part as I try to find balance as a wife and mother of two and to still fit in time for myself and most importantly for Jesus. it's a constant work in progress, but prioritizing my life is bringing clarity in the days.

E A T
still breastfeeding and all is going well.
we're now doing solids twice a day. oatmeal with breastmilk in the morning and a veggie and rice cereal with breastmilk at dinner. he doesn't take to a new food right away. we've found it takes a few times of offering it until he's ready to accept it. his favorite to eat is either oatmeal or rice cereal. most favored veggies have been carrots and butternut squash.
so far tanner has had yellow squash, carrots, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes. here in the next few weeks we'll be adding in kale, peas, spinach, zucchini, and yams.
excited for him to experience all these new flavors and textures! the facial expressions are priceless!
even though he often doesn't love a new food right away, we just wait a couple days and then offer it again. and just keep on doing this. it can take SO many times for a new food to be accepted. it's so important to not rule any foods out because you think baby doesn't like them. just keep trying and offering!

S L E E P
when he's tired and ready to sleep he's so clear on it by rubbing his little eyes with the back of his fist. we're not really following the wake-eat-play-sleep quite as much these days. I've been finding that he takes longer, more solid naps if I nurse him before going down. and that's what works best for us. I also do not hate those extra snuggles, because they'll be gone before I know it and won't be back. ever! I love playing lullaby music while rocking him down and he's been making the sweet little noises as we rock. I could sit there all the live long day. if I didn't have any other responsibilities outside that nursery door. truth be told- it can be so tough when I'm trying to put Tanner down and in walks harper, all ready to play!
baby boy loves to sleep on his tummy. we always lay him down on his back first, but about 50% of his sleeping is spent on his tummy. all by him putting himself there. takes after his mama ;)

P L A Y
language is developing and new sounds are being made. I love it! he's been making little spitting noises with his lips and it's so fun to see him get happy about these new sounds he's making. of course we're all working on trying to get that first "mama" or "dada" or "harper" ;) out of him, but we don't seem to be anywhere close on that. especially "harper"!
it just keeps getting cuter and cuter as these two play, interact, and laugh with each other.
up until just recent we've lined up a couple pillows behind him while sitting. not because his sitting wasn't solid, but 1. if he got tired of sitting he would just let himself go backwards to lay down and 2. harper was enjoying playing doctor with tanner as her patient and to lay him down for his check up, she'd push him right on back. hey- what are little brothers for?? ;)