5 Randoms About This Girl

Happy Friday! I didn't post this week my husband was on a business trip and my little kept me busy I went to bed early every night. I'm so happy he is home to help chase M with me. Today I am going to share with you 5 random facts about me.

| one |
I cannot make pancakes to save my life. It's pretty sad, I mean pancakes are like the easiest thing to make. I really love to bake and I've been told I'm pretty good at it (awards don't lie, no really I won a cupcake contest! ok ok enough praising myself haha) so when I say I can't make pancakes people ask me if I'm serious. They end up turning into blobs of odd yet still tasty breakfast. My husband bought me a waffle iron, I am like a pro at making waffles now :)

| two |
My husband and I have known each other for 21 years but didn't like each other when we were kids. One day I'll have to share our sappy love story.

| three |
I love traveling but hate flying. Being forced to sit for a long period of time with recycled air (I also don't like germs) makes me feel all itchy. I'm going to need to get over myself as I don't want to pass this on to M.

| four |
I love Target, who doesn't?! If possible I try to visit a Target when we are somewhere far from home to see if they have anything different. This used to drive my husband crazy but now he goes along with it, so sweet :)

| five |
My favorite day of the week is Tuesday. Why you may ask? It's my husbands first day off, it's our Friday.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend :)

Linking up today, you should too!!

5 on Friday

It's Friday again and another week that has just flown by! Today is off to a great start, M was up at 5 to eat and went back down in like 5 minutes but I couldn't go back to bed. Having quiet time this morning has been amazing.

| one |
Last week I discovered this tote/diaper bag on Pottery Barns site and of course now I want it. I'm looking for a heavy duty tote that still feels girly but can withstand baby stuff. To my surprise this morning it is on sale. I am so undecided because I can't see the inside and I'm wondering if its like my current diaper bag.

| two |

After changing my blog name last week and getting my custom domain my bloglovin still had the old url. I didn't want to start from scratch so I went to my BFF Google and found that your followers could be moved to your new blog with a simple email to customer support. YAY! 

| three |

M turned 11 months, can't believe in one month I will have a 1 year old! Last weekend I gave him an early birthday gift because I couldn't wait any longer. We bought him this car during Christmas and got it on sale for less than half the price! He loves "driving" around the block in his first car. 

| four |

I love to bake, like seriously love it! Yesterday I made muffins for M and oh my goodness did he love them. Combining baking with making something for my little, match made in heaven :) 

| five | 

So that tiny mischievous cutie broke my glass mixing bowls last week. Now now it was my fault. I put the security latch on every cabinet but that one, he is quick and narrowed in on it while I had my back turned for 10 seconds. Thankfully he was completely untouched and not even the slightest bit scared which I expected because it was loud. My bowls on the other hand were shattered to nothing. First of many things that will be broken by my kids. 

Have a wonderful weekend :)

Postpartum Hair

Dear Postpartum Hair,

I am not very happy with you, now I love you so don't get all angry and run away, I need you! During  pregnancy you went through some changes were truly amazing. You were manageable, not overly frizzy like usual, shiny and overall just pretty awesome. I didn't really appreciate your wondefulness until now, like right now! I knew I was losing hair, but because there is so much of you I really didn't notice where you were leaving. I'm begging you to grow back fast because this whole peach fuzz around my hair line is not my favorite, new hair is stubborn and just doesn't behave with products. 

I even cut you into a shorter style because everyone loves a makeover. I am not very savvy at styling my hair so I don't even know how to hide you very well, and the new hair is even more noticeable when I straightened. After taking time that kind of time to flat iron, it will not be wasted rewashing to return to my curls. So I'm asking you to make a truce with me and just cooperate with some magical product and lay flat. Please, pretty please? 

Let it be noted that you hide very well in pictures, thank you! 

Love,

Illy

Anyone else facing the same dilemma? Any product suggestions? I would really appreciate it :)

Guest Posting Today

Good morning :) Today I am guest posting on Chastity's blog on Wife After God. If you have a minute say hello to her and check out the post.

I hope that you have a wonderful Tuesday!!

Starting on Solids: From Purees to Finger Food

Today I am linking up with Kaitlyn and sharing about my sons journey to eating solids. I felt pretty unprepared when it came time to starting M on solids, I knew about baby led weaning (BLW) but didn't feel it was right for us so I went the puree route. Starting your baby on solids can be really overwhelming and confusing, truly it is not all and I say go with your own instincts!

M's first food was rice cereal. I learned after that rice cereal can actually cause constipation, thankfully it didn't and that sweet potatoes is actually a great first food too! I knew after a couple of days of rice cereal he was ready to eat so I made his first puree of butternut squash. For the first month or so I offered him food during breakfast and/or lunch depending on his awake hours that day. I waited 4 days before introducing a new food, once I saw he didn't have a reaction to certain ones I started making my own blends. 

At around 7.5 months there was a serious regression in eating solids when his first tooth wanted to come out. He went from finishing a bowl of food to eating a few bites and then just wanting to breastfeed. I questioned if purees was the right approach so I tried BLW and he wanted nothing to do with whole piece of food unless they were puffs. Once his tooth broke through his appetite increased a lot. He went from 1 meal a day to 3 meals a day almost overnight, this is when his love affair with food began.

M will be 11 months and he eats 3 meals a day plus snacks, he self feeds for dinner and lunch. It was a gradual process but one my husband and I are both comfortable with. My husband is not completely comfortable giving him whole pieces of food because he kind of shovels it all in his mouth and gags often. We have modified our approach by giving him a very limited amount at a time on his high chair tray. Over this past week we have seen a huge improvement in his pace and more chewing before attempting to swallow. Feeding him what we eat is sssooo much easier than pureeing, I haven't stopped purees all together but slowed down significantly. I like to keep apple and pear puree on hand to add in with his oatmeal in the morning. 

M's favorites are yogurt, oatmeal, squash, chicken, beans, tortillas, spinach, peas, sweet potatoes and pears. I truly believe that it is best to go with the approach you are most comfortable with. 

Valentoes Card

Making Valentines was something I always wanted to do with my kids. Seeing as M is really young he can't make a whole bunch. But those toes, oh those toes were screaming to be stamped for a Valentine for his Papi. I shared the process how to make these footprints here.

This was super simple, I stamped one foot at a time and kept M busy in his high chair while I embossed. It took about 5 minutes, the cleanup from gathering supplies however took way longer. He was very proud of himself and clapped when he saw the finished product. We are pretty excited to give this to my husband when he gets home from work today.

Let me know if you try this.

Happy heart day!!

Happy 5 on Friday!

Happy Friday and Valentines day! I will be spending the day with my tiny valentine until my husband comes home from work. We don't usually go out to dinner because it's always been so crazy, this year we are making dinner and dessert and watching a movie when M goes to bed.

| one |
We made this Valentine for M's Papi (dad).

| two |
A year ago today I left my job to start maternity leave. It was a really sad day for me having to say goodbye to my students and co-workers but also very exciting at the same time to start my new "job" as a stay at home mom. We were also in the middle of a renovation and my house looked like this...mind you I was due in 4 weeks I would be lying if I told you I was not stressed, remodeling + me = unnecessary tears.

| three |

This week I launched my new blog design and custom domain. I love it!!

| four |
My 10.5 month old has mastered so many new skills = proud mama! You can read about them here

| five |
M had so much fun at the zoo yesterday, he was talking to all the animals and got so excited to see the giraffes he started waving to them. One of them was drinking water and stopped to look up at him, never seen one do that and our first thought was do they spit like camels?

Skills, So Many New Skills!

My mommy heart is on overdrive this week. My sweet baby boy will be one in 5 weeks. I am excited for this milestone and a bit emotional all at the same time. Can you blame me?

Last week M had some serious sleep troubles which usually means teething and/or new skills. His gums are softening on top, he has lots of drool and is biting literally everything he can get his tiny hands on. BUT no teeth yet, boooo! On the other hand this baby boy has mastered a whole bunch of new skills.

He plays peek a boo, and claps all the time. In fact when I'm driving he loves watching himself in the mirror and playing peek a book then clapping because the baby in the mirror is playing with him.

He has quite the vocabulary and loves to talk he says; mama, mum, dada, mum-mum/ma (more), ball (baw), book (buh-ooook). Yesterday my little chatterbox said la-la (my niece) and dog (doh). I encourage him to say words daily and sometimes he looks at me like I'm crazy and then asks for a ball or book. I was shocked when he repeated duck (duh) tonight at bath time.

He goes through the kitchen cabinets and taste all the tupperware and then throws it on the floor while laughing for fun.

Speaking of the kitchen he loves to eat and complains when he is not being fed fast enough. Yesterday we went out to lunch and he made sure to let the section we were sitting in know that he needed more bread NOW because he was done chewing. He enjoys self feeding but most of the time would rather have a chunky puree because he can eat faster. What can I say the boys loves food. The very mention of the word yogurt sends him to this happy place where he kicks his feet and closes his eyes with every bite. So hilarious to watch and when the yogurt is gone cue the mini meltdown.

Tonight he signed more for the first time and I almost lost it. I mean 2 new skills in one night amazing! I like to think he is a baby genius, I am pretty biased though :)

The climbing, cruising on furniture, crawling and standing unassisted at times have me on the edge of my seat, who am I kidding I rarely sit down when he is awake unless we are playing.

My favorite new skill is hugs followed by big wet kisses. It is just the best! Watching this tiny human grow is amazing and I adore being his mama.

Cha cha cha Changes!

Today I am saying goodbye to Simply Inspired Me

AND

I am beyond excited to announce a HUGE change on this blog.....

Welcome to:

After blogging for a little over a year Simply Inspired Me just didn't seem to fit me anymore. I spent a long time trying to come up with a new name but nothing I came up with fit. I really wanted to make sure that this new name was more me. Illy is my nickname and is what most people actually call me in "real life". I love this new name, and made it a .com! This blog feels so official now :)

With this new change I feel ready to blog more, so get ready!!!

The only other major change (since I update my name on social media) is my new email address:

illywhoblog [at] gmail [dot] com

Thank you for reading, it means so very much to me :)

xoxo