Friday Favorites

Good morning guys, and happy Friday. I am so happy to be back to blogging and I think I will be able to stick to it this time. My girls are finally sleeping better, and not waking up at 5 am. I like waking up early, but by myself... haha! The early morning is when I like to have coffee and 'me time' to read, blog etc. But if the girls are up, that totally throws me off. Hence why I have been so MIA. We haven't had to sleep train Mia yet, because she is naturally becoming a better sleeper. Last night she slept from 7-5 no problem... I fed her at 5 and she is back asleep. Hallelujah! I was sooo ready to start sleep training her, but luckily she is figuring it out. I remember around 6 months is when Ella became a much better sleeper, so let's hope these habits stick around for a while.

I am working today from 7-4 while Michael is home with the girls. I am so excited for my weekend with them. We are going to start some Thanksgiving crafts and I hope to find some cute kids books on Thanksgiving at some book sales this weekend. We are all about the holidays this time of year! Ella has a birthday party on Saturday for one of her classmates and I am really excited to meet the other parents and children in her class. Lots of fun to look forward to! I just need to get through one day of work :D

And now onto my favorites from the week...

1. This blog post by Home & Garden magazine.

In case you need any reassurance that you can decorate for Christmas WHENEVER you want! Don't let other people telling you 'it's too early' hold you back. It's only too early if you think it is. I love decorating early, and in fact, I did already. It's a lot of work and it brings me a lot of joy, so I went for it. And now I get to enjoy it for 2 months instead of just 1.

Here's a peek...

One of my favorite spots in the house- our coffee bar. I plan to do a whole Christmas home tour in December, so I don't want to give too much away. BTW there's supposed to be candy canes in that little jar on the tiered tray but Ella stole them before I snapped a pic. #toddlermom

Even Ella's room got a little festive touch too! Peep Mia rolling around on the carpet... that sweetie!

2. A little celebration for a retiring coworker.

One of the hygienists at my office is retiring, so we had a little get-together for her. It was so nice. She has worked at the practice for over 40 years and has a lot of patients who love her. A bunch of them came to wish her the best and it was really touching.

3. Ella's very first school picture previews came back and they are PRECIOUS.

My sweetie looks so sad and scared... but I promise she is learning to love school. We are still working on smiling for pics. If she tell her to say 'cheese' she will literally just say 'cheese,' like she is in these photos. If you want a smile we have to say 'show me your happy face!' She is so darn sweet, I think I am going to order #4. I love her little arms.

4. The baby bullet has been my best friend.

We never made a lot of homemade baby food for Ella, but we have been for Mia and it's so easy. My mother in law had a baby bullet at her house, so we snagged it and have been making all her purees from scratch. I made a big batch of butternut squash and I am giving these ones to a coworker who has a baby just a couple months older than Mia girl.

5. Baking muffins with Ella.

Ella loves loves loves to bake. Yesterday she requested that we make muffins while Mia was taking a nap. We just made some from the box, but they are sooo yummy. Ella did the streusel topping herself, and wanted to add her own pink and bunny sprinkles on top.