Social Sunday: Easter Edition.

Happy Easter, everyone!  I hope you all have a great day, whether you celebrate Easter or not!  Carson went to meet the Easter bunny for the first time on Friday!  He was actually pretty interested in the bunny but was also ready for a nap which is why he looks so serious. 

1. Favorite type of work out to do? I really don't like working out.  So bad, I know.  I would say my favorite would be exercise videos.  Is that totally 80's?!  My cable has some exercise on demand channels where you can do various videos with different focuses (cardio, toning up, etc.)  I like that I can pick a quick 5-10 minute video or a longer workout.  Plus it offers some variety rather than just doing the same thing every time!

2. Favorite guilty pleasure candy or sweet? I love cookies!  Homemade are the best but I also like some store bought cookies, too.  Yum, hard to have self control when there are good cookies around!

3. What is one thing you continuously forget to do? This is going to sound silly, but I always forget to put things on my 'To Do' list.  I have multiple lists - in my planner, on scrap paper, and in my phone.  My lists on my phone are categorized (to-do, errands to run, chores, etc....it's kind of embarrassing how many lists I have).  I'm constantly thinking of more things to do and I hate when I forget to put them on my list because then I never end up doing it!

4. Posts its or phone reminders? Why? Post-its.  I'm one of those people that still uses a paper planner.  I have this irrational fear that my phone will crash and I'll lose all of my important notes! 

5. Favorite picture currently on your phone that always makes you smile. This is my most recent favorite picture but I had to limit myself to pictures taken within the last few days because otherwise I could never decide!  This is a picture of Carson after he had been sick for a few days.  It made me SO happy to see him so happy and back to his old self!  

Easter Craft for the Kiddos

When I was looking for a cute craft to do with Carson for Spring/Easter, I checked Pinterest.  (Is there anywhere else to check?!)  I like to include handprints/footprints in his little art projects so that we can compare next year when we pull these masterpieces back out!  I've blogged about a few I've done in the past like Carson's handprint turkey for Thanksgiving or his footprint reindeer for Christmas!

What You Need
White paper (or another light color)
Paint of your choice, I chose a bright, sunny yellow
Paintbrush
Googly eyes or a black sharpie to draw eyes
Orange paper (I used scraps)
Feathers [optional]

How to Make

1. Prep your white paper by lightly sketching the chick's body.  I just did a big oval.  
2. Paint your child's hands (one at a time) with the paint color you chose.  "Stamp" their hands onto either side of the chick body you drew.  I chose to do thumbs up on both sides. 
3. Clean up your child QUICK before you have paint everywhere.  I'm a little OCD so these projects are always a test for me!  Next you need to fill in your chick body with paint.
4. Once the paint is dry, you can add your embellishments.  I used some scrap orange paper to cut out legs and a beak.  I also added a few googly eyes.  {Other Options: feathers, a bow or bowtie, background like sun/clouds/flowers, etc.}
5. Once my chick was fully embellished (doesn't that sound fancy?!) I mounted the white paper on some cardstock and added a little "Happy Easter" sign with the date.  If you're doing this craft with an older child, challenge them to write their name and the year! :)

Let me know if you attempt this project!  It was pretty easy and I think the result is so cute! 

My inspiration:

Source: makobiscribe.com via Emily on Pinterest

I'm linking up with a few lovely ladies today:

Easter Decor + Free Printable Spring Banner!

I can't say it enough but I'm more than ready for SPRING!  It snowed here again and I'm dying to get some warm weather and sunshine!

Front door DIY wreath (instructions here). 

Another DIY wreath....I think I'm going to add something to this one soon!

Target dollar spot find!

Easter printable and Easter grass hurricane.

Love this egg banner from Target!

Target dollar spot bunny!

Free printable + dollar spot tree.  (Can you tell I love Target?)

The mantle = the majority of my decorations, ha!

You might remember my DIY St. Patrick's Day banner from a few weeks ago.  I loved it so much that I decided to make another!  Since Easter was only a couple weeks after St. Patrick's Day this year, I decided to make a "Spring" banner so I can keep it up longer!

Spring Banner

For this SPRING banner, you'll have to do a little bit of work.  It's really simple though!

What You Need
Scissors
Glue or double sided tape
Cardstock
Hole punch
Yarn or Ribbon

How To Make
First, you'll need to print the pictures.  I chose to do 5x7 so I could fit two per page.  Here are links to the images:
Letter S, Letter P, Letter R, Letter I, Letter N, Letter G

Once you have your letters printed, cut them out.  Next, back them with cardstock using glue or double sided tape.

Punch two holes in the top of each letter.  Feed your yarn or ribbon through the holes to create your banner. Hang and enjoy!

**If you decide to make this banner I would LOVE to see pictures of the finished product!  :)

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies [Tasty Tuesday]

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) margarine or butter, softened (I use I Can't Believe It's Not Butter)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 package (1oz.) instant vanilla pudding mix, unprepared
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs (I use Egg Beaters)
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

In your stand mixer, cream together sugars, butter, vanilla extract, and vanilla pudding mix. Beat until creamy. 

Add eggs and mix until combined.

Add dry ingredients and stir until well-combined.

Fold in chocolate chips.  Drop by rounded spoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet.  I like to use a cookie scoop and like my cookie sheets with parchment paper! 

Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

These cookies are so soft, moist, and fluffy!  You can experiment by using different flavors of pudding mix, too!  I think I might try Oreo or chocolate pudding next time!

One more thing!  I've been emailing a few lovely ladies about guest posting while I'm on vacation in Florida, but I would still like to connect with a few more of you!  If you are at all interested in guest posting (or learning more) in late April, please email me!  

emilyp524 (at) gmail (dot) com

Carson: 10 Months! [Picture/Video overload]

Carson is now 10 months (as of 3/18!)!  Double digits.  [Less than] two months away from a year.  Hold me!

Carson continues to be all over the place and into everything!  Not only is he a speed crawler, but he can walk.  Right before he turned 10 months, he took his first steps and it was teetery tottery and oh-so-cute (see the video toward the end of this post)!

Weight: Carson is holding strong at 20lbs. 8oz.  (The exact same weight as last month.)  I'm not sure if this is just a coincidence or if our scale is different than the doctor's scale.  Either way, I know it's normal for his growth to slow down a bit at this point (especially in breastfed babies) so I'm not worried.  He's in the 36th percentile.  

Height: 29" which is the 57th percentile.  The latest game in our house is to say "How big is Carson?!"  He throws his arms up in the air and we yell "SO big!"  He loves it and it's so cute!

Hair: Carson's hair is still a medium brown (possibly getting a tiny bit lighter?) and straight.  He got his third haircut (!) and it was his first "big boy" haircut!  (The other two times I asked for a "baby cut" and they didn't use the clippers.)  Now he has that straight across line on the back and he looks like SUCH a big boy!

3rd Haircut: Before & After!

Caught his first fish face on camera, haha!

Eyes: Carson's eyes continue to amaze and confuse me.  I honestly don't know what color they are!  I usually say hazel but they're a mix of gray, green, and honey brown....very cool!  He likes to give us this huge smile now and squint his eyes. :)

Diapers: Carson is still in size 4 diapers (3rd month I think?!).  We use Pamper's Cruisers and Target diapers.  

A favorite pastime: emptying the bookshelf.

Clothes: Carson is still wearing 12 month clothes but he's about ready for 18 month outfits.  He wore a few 18 month t-shirts and they fit like a glove but the onesies are still baggy.  I guess it depends on the brand!  The t-shirts also made him look  like a toddler so I put them at the bottom of the drawer.  If I dress him in onesies he'll stay a baby forever, right?  I did buy some new 18 month clothes during Carter's 50% off sale (I also had a 25% coupon)!  I can't wait to put him in his new cute outfits...we just need to get some warmer weather up here in Ohio.  Get with the program, Mother Nature!

Here are a few recent playdate pictures:

Eating: Carson is still nursing about 4-5 times a day now and he usually eats 3 "solids" meals each day.  For breakfast he usually eats something simple like a pancake or cereal...sometimes with some fruit if he's still hungry.  For lunch he has oatmeal with a fruit/veggie and some puffs or yogurt melts.  Dinner is his big meal and I try to do a veggie, a grain, and a dairy.  Sometimes I do a fruit and a veggie but it depends on how hungry he is that day!  I've stopped making purees but we're still using up our freezer stash.  I do plan on making some fruit purees still because they're good to mix in with oatmeal and yogurt.  He's becoming quite the pro with his finger foods and we continue to try new things.  Some of his latest food adventures include tortellini, broccoli, plums, toast, and more!  He's a pretty good eater but definitely prefers fruits to veggies (takes after his Mama and Dada)!

Pretending he loves his carrots, ha!

Cheerios for breakfast...which he normally shares with Chip & Dixie, haha!

Squinty smile that I LOVE!

Loves his water!  P.S. Who stole my baby? :(

Sleeping:  I am so proud of Carson as a sleeper (and in every other way obviously).  He continues to sleep through the night (usually 11-12 hours) and he has been doing a great job with naps, too!  He still goes to bed around 8:30/9pm and we still do the same routine (lullaby CD, rock him and steal some snuggles for a few minutes).  He was consistently taking 2 naps a day, usually anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours long (only one long nap a day).  Now he's starting to transition to the 1 nap a day schedule.  I swear, he thinks he's 3 years old or something.  This kid.  Anyway, I can't complain about the one nap because it usually lasts a long time (1.5-2 hours on average)!  He still goes back and forth between 1 and 2 naps and it usually depends on when he wakes up for the day.  Speaking of waking up, he almost always wakes up happy.  I love it!  Sometimes I don't even know he woke up because he just sits there and plays with his blankie or paci.  Sometimes he stands up and turns on his monitor so he can listen to some music.  So sweet!  He always sleeps on his side or tummy.  We give him a lightweight blankie and a crochet blanket that his Memaw made for him....he always uses that one as a pillow! :)

Yes, we're STILL in Christmas jams.  Don't judge.

Nicknames: I have noticed Nick likes to call him "Little Man" and I call him "Mister Man" a lot.  Now that Carson is walking, he really does seem like such a little man, it's so cute!  Also, the oldies but goodies: C, Cars, Snickerdoodle, Snickers, Boog, Sugar, Bubby, etc.

Playing with big bro & sis.

"Come out and play, Chip!"

Exploring!

Favorite Toys: Carson's favorite toys are non-toys (my tupperware, wipe containers, cardboard boxes, remotes, trashcans with flippy lids, dog toys, etc.)  I bought a Fisher Price Laugh & Learn house from Craigslist and it has been the best $15 I've spent in a while!  Carson LOVES it!  He loves to open and close things (wipes containers, doors, cabinets, etc.) so he loves opening and closing the door on this house (especially because it announces "open!" and "closed!").  He also loves to play peek-a-boo with the little window and check for mail in the mailbox.  The house is a pretty cute toy and even though it's a "bigger" toy, it doesn't take up too much space!  Carson also loves his Baby Einsten Roller-Pillar balls.  He likes to shake them like rattles and bang them together.  He also has fun rolling them and chasing after them.  Another fun game he started was putting them in a container, and taking them out...putting them in, taking them out...repeat x 1,000. :)

Milestones: Remember last month when I said I never would have guessed Carson would be so mobile by 9 months?  WELL, I really never would have guessed that he would be walking by 10 months!  Don't get me wrong, he isn't running across the room [yet], but he is getting braver by the day!  He can currently take about 6-7 unassisted steps and he has to start somewhere where he is supported.  In other words, he can't start in the middle of the room without holding onto something.  He usually walks from one object to another.  (From the couch to a toy, from the ottoman to the couch, etc.)  He is a SPEED crawler now and loves to get into anything and everything!  He has stood up in the middle of the room a few times (without pulling up on anything) but doesn't do it very often.  He's getting way too good at standing without support (especially when he's distracted).  We had to put a gate at the bottom of our stairs because he loves climbing them so much!  

Carson now has THREE teeth! Last month he had his two bottom teeth but now he has a top tooth!  It's not all the way in yet, but it's definitely there.  I used to think I would hate it when he got top teeth (because obviously he would look like a 14 year old).  Now I think it's pretty darn cute...especially when he gives me his huge squinty eye smile.  My heart melts.   

Carson's speech is also continuing to develop and he babbles [and shrieks] all day long.  We're trying to figure out if "Mama" is officially his first word.  There aren't many times when I'm not with him but he only says it when he's with me and he says it almost every time he's crawling toward me.  His comprehension is awesome and he can definitely follow simple directions.  He totally impressed me when I asked him to put a block "in the hole" one day and he did it!  Such a smartie.

We're still working on waving, clapping, and kissing.  (Can you tell I'm impatient?)  He will give me a kiss (open mouth and slobbery!) if I ask, but still not on a consistent basis and he's less interested in giving other people kisses.  Can you blame him?  :)  He can wave when asked, but still not consistently.  As far as clapping, he's thisclose!  He clasps his hands together and also waves his arms in the air like he's about to clap.  He just can't quite get them together to make the actual clap!  

Giving Mr. Sock T. Pus a kiss. 

Linking up with Carissa today: