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

friday favorites

it's been a week of really busy, and yet really slow moments. and that's just the rollercoaster of our life. we're getting a quick glimpse of good spring weather and it has my spirits high, high, high. I need the sun and I'm so hungry for it lately!!! our hawaii trip is less than a month away now, but it cannot come quick enough!!
as long as the sun sticks around this afternoon, we're planning to hit up the zoo! it's been so long since we've been and I'm so excited to see Harper's new excitement as she's now even a little older than when she was there last :)

HAPPY FRIDAY!!
here are a few favorite things as of late :)

.ONE.
cherry blossom trees. the little puffs of pink these trees bring to our street. we love them. harper is always talking about the 'pink trees' and when we were out walking she looked up at them and said "ohhh they're so beautiful!" and I agree!

.TWO.

smashbox photo finish primer. samples always get me. I had gotten this as a sample a while back and though I never wore primer before, I thought I'd give it a try to see what it's about. and obviously I was sold. and obviously it's time I paint my nails ;)

.THREE.
this dinner. one of the best dinners we've had lately. and I plan to repeat it again next week :) harper devoured her entire plate and asked for seconds.

.FOUR.
Nuby. we love their products and love their brand! for both baby + toddler. (don't miss out on entering the giveaway on my insta ((@brittneyhjelseth)) which doesn't end until tonight!!)
harper is in love with this cup and for weeks has been referring to it as her 'favorite cup'. she's all about favorites lately. already a girl who knows what she likes :) she brings a water bottle along everywhere we go and if this one is clean, it's the one she'll chose. it's cute, doesn't leak, and is fun for her so it also makes it a win for me too! and the fact that the top spout closes to avoid touching germs when we're out and about. yes please. I'm determined to keep us all healthy all spring & summer long.

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth