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

three + four month favorites

...doing this quick before yet another month flies by!

november has been a bit of a tough month over here. from harper being sick with a yucky cold, to then tanner coming down with bronchiolitis. I'm not quite sure where the last three weeks went. sick babies make for such a roller coster of days/weeks. it looks like we're finally seeing the light though! 

so... a few of our favorite things for three + four months!

floor play mat // since tanner began reaching and playing with toys- toys have been a big new favorite around here. the floor mat we have is from when harper was a baby and it's just as loved!

car seat toys // we're entering the phase of needing entertainment in the car. of course tanner gets very entertained by harper :) a few carseat toys have also been helpful. we have this elephant and this hanging toy and he really likes them both. 

nursing cover // I ended up buying a second of these after tanner was born. being that it doubles as a carseat cover, it easily got dirty and days (or weeks) could pass by the time I got it washed, dried, and back in my bag :)

paci clips // we use these every day! though my legs could benefit from the squatting down all day long, it's much easier that we use a clip to keep the paci from falling on the ground. and these leather ones by Ryan & Rose, I love for tanner.

monitor // we had/have this exact same levana monitor for harper and were so happy with it that we bought a second to have for tanner. harper's has been dropped a thousand and one times, but is somehow still hanging in there and working for us!

play chair // we used this chair allll the time when harper was a baby. and we're already getting lots of use out of it with tanner! it's also so easy to clean- which makes me love it that much more :)

mama roo // another hand-me-down from harper. we're likely nearing the end of swing days as tanner prefers more and more to be in a sitting position. but it's still quite useful to bring into the kitchen for him to hang out in while i"m making dinner on the nights where he doesn't want me out of his sight :)

how in heaven's name will he be tuning F I V E months in just less than two weeks!?

xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

Christmas Holiday Fun List

I've always been the "no Christmas until after Thanksgiving" kind of person. I know, I know... some think I'm all bahumbagh because of it. well.... having kids is changing me. just a little.

the christmas decorations were brought in from the garage this last weekend, I'm already writing a christmas bucket list for us this year, and as I'm sitting here typing, I've turned on the classic rudolph show for harper.

...and I'm actually loving it!!

having kids (especially now of age to understand more of the excitement) makes this holiday even that much more fun! I can't wait for us to do all these fun holiday things together and to see harper light up and enjoy it all with us!

here's one of our pictures from last christmas season. I was just barley pregnant with tanner :)
so excited to take our family pictures this weekend!

2016 Christmas holiday fun list:

--decorate the tree as a family with christmas music playing in the background and sipping on hot apple cider

--bake + decorate sugar cookies. I"m on the lookout for the softest sugar cookie recipe. I've yet to find one that I've fallen in love with.

--ZOO lights at our local zoo. we've been before, but I just know harper is going to LOVE it this year! she already loves when we go to the zoo and this will be magical for her.

--drive around neighborhoods looking at christmas lights with some hot cocoa :)

--watch christmas movies in our christmas jammies while eating stove popped popcorn

--make, cut, and wrap our annual homemade caramels

--deliver christmas goodies to our neighbors. we did this last year and it was so fun to quickly see each of our neighbors. we all live on the same street, yet sadly, we rarely get to see each other unless it's in passing while going to get the mail.


...and tonight we're breaking out matching christmas jammies!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!!
we always something to be thankful for.

Xoxo

-Brittney