Life on Summerwood Blvd: January 2015

Thursday 29 January 2015

Friday Favorites!!

Yahoo it's FRIDAY!

I'm linking up again this week with Andrea from Momfessionals for Friday Favorites! If you have a blog, you should link up with your favorites from the week too!

A few of my favorite things from this week...

*Family Time*

I mentioned last week that Cody was going to be coming home for a VERY short and quick visit because of the NHL All Star Break. He arrived home Sunday afternoon, and him and Brit came straight to our house from the airport! It was SOOO good to see him!! And he was SHOCKED at how big Sophia has gotten! We were able to spend lots of quality time with them in the 3 days that he was home, and I am so glad! We are so proud of him, and happy that he is living his dream of being a professional hockey player! BUT we sure do miss him when he is away!! The countdown to Summer has begun...

*Ice Cream and Babies*

On the weekend, we hosted games night with two other couples. And it just so happens that both of my friends are pregnant and due VERY soon. Soooo I figured that an 'Ice cream sundae bar' would be a fitting snack to go along with our games! It was VERY yummy! And they LOVED it!!

*TEETH*

After what seemed like YEARS of teething, Sophia finally got her first tooth! And she didn't get just one. She got her TWO bottom teeth on the same day!! We were soooo excited!! They aren't all the way up yet, but getting there. And she is VERY protective of them!! She will not let you anywhere near them!! ha! I have been trying to get a picture of them ALL week and this is all I can get...

This is how she felt about me wrestling her to try to get a picture of her cute teeth...

NOT impressed!! ha ha

*Ice on Whyte*

We headed to the Ice on Whyte festival with my little family this week! It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed looking at all of the ice sculptures. My favorite part was eating the maple syrup taffy at one of the food stations! YUM!

*Bows!*

I LOVE bows! That is one of the best things about having a little girl!! All of the fun hair accessories that I can collect for her! I decided to try making some of my own Valentine's Day bows for Sophia. I am still experimenting with a few different styles! I will be sure to share the final products once I have them figured out!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great weekend!!

Wednesday 28 January 2015

Happy Blog Birthday!!

Today is my blogs 2nd Birthday!!

It's hard to believe that I have been writing 'Life on Summerwood Blvd' for TWO years already! My little old blog started as my 2013 New Years Resolution, and has turned into one of my most favourite hobbies. I LOVE having a place to document and keep track of our daily life, especially now that we have Sophia. I have also REALLY enjoyed sharing recipes, party planning ideas, decorating ideas, and pretty much anything else I can think of! ha!

Here are some fun "stats" from my blog in the past two years:

My first ever blog entry was on January 28/2013 - This is the Beginning!

I have posted 135 blog entries!

As of right now, my blog has 37,064 page views!

My most popular blog post was - Minute to Win It with 14,602 page views!

My top three most 'pinned' posts from my blog...

Minute to Win It - 189 pins

A Box FULL of Sunshine! - 71 pins

Wall Art - 43 pins

My favourite blog posts to write thus far... Introducing...Peanut! and Sophia's Birth Story

My most popular recipe from my blog- Dessert Pizza with 204 page views

Thank you SOOOO much for reading my blog and following along with our lives!! I started out writing this blog just for myself, and I have been pleasantly surprised at how many people have contacted me and said they enjoy reading it as well! SO THANK YOU!! It warms my heart to know that I have such support people along on this journey with me!

~Kelsey

Thursday 22 January 2015

Friday Favourites!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!
I am linking up again this week with Andrea from Momfessionals blog for Friday Favourites.

If you have a blog you should link up with your Friday Favourites as well!!

Here are a few of my favourite things from this week...

*NHL All Star Break!*

Yahoo it's the NHL All Star break this weekend!!!

Now this may sound a little bit backwards...but I actually couldn't care LESS about the all star game!! HA! BUT the reason that this excites me is the fact that because of the All Star Break, my little brother gets to come home for a quick, unplanned trip for 3 days!! It has been a LONG FIVE months since we have seen him, and Christmas without him at home was particularly hard! So we are all SUPER pumped to spend a few days with him home! It's such a treat!! I am mostly excited for him to see how much Sophia has changed in 5 months!!

This was the last time we saw Cody!

Sophia was just about to turn 4 months old!!

*Sleep Training*

This is definitely a favourite this week! We have had a VERY successful first week working with our sleep consultant!! After struggling with any sort of sleep routine with Sophia for the past 5 months we finally bit the bullet and hired someone to help us. And I am SO glad we did!! I plan to do a separate blog post on our sleep training at some point. But so far it's been a LIFE SAVER!!!

*BarkTHINS*

This is my PSA for the week...

Go to Costco. Buy this bag of chocolate. TRY to NOT eat the entire bag in one sitting.

Your welcome!

This is my new favourite snack!!

*Valentine's Day*

Valentine's Day is just around the corner! And we all know I take every opportunity to celebrate and go over the top for just about ANY holiday!! I've started collecting a few special things for Sophia for her first Valentine's Day. This is what I have so far...

Annnnnd....

I am really hoping I have a new little niece or nephew to give this onsie to for Valentine's Day!! One of my best friends is due to have her baby a few days before Valentine's Day so fingers crossed they make their arrival in time to celebrate!!

*Swimming Lessons*

Sophia started her second round of swimming lessons again this week! She LOVES the water and is really turning into a little fishy!! It's so funny to watch her in the pool as she gets older. She isn't so interested in the 'cutesy' songs anymore...she just wants to grab all of the toys, and drink all the pool water!! ha ha! What a girl!!

Have a GREAT weekend!!

Mediterranean Chicken

This meal was DELICIOUS!! I remember being ~~forced~~ strongly encouraged to eat cooked spinach when I was a child and I thought it was the most awful thing EVER! I'm not exactly sure when I out grew that sentiment, however I am glad I did! Especially because the cooked spinach that goes with this chicken dish is AMAZING! This meal was quick, easy, and pretty healthy as well! A perfect score in my books!

Mediterranean Chicken

What you need:

3-4 chicken breast (boneless/skinless)

1 bag fresh baby spinach

1 small basket 'grape' tomatoes

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

In a large bowl combine;chicken, tomatoes, spinach, and oil.

Toss to coat everything with the oil.

In a separate smaller bowl combine; garlic,Italian seasoning, oregano and salt.

Sprinkle this mixture over the chicken/spinach mixture, coating well.

Arrange the chicken and spinach mixture in a single layer on a foil lined baking dish.

Bake at 450' for 22 minutes.

Remove from oven, and sprinkle with feta cheese.

Serve and ENJOY!

Soooo...

I was right in the middle of preparing this meal a few weeks ago and the bowl was sitting on the counter ready to be put in the pan and into the oven. Damian had just gotten home from work and looked at the bowl of food, and then very concerned and confused asked me 'Why did you put RAW chicken in the salad?!' Ha ha! I had to explain to him that, no, I was not trying to poison him and that I would in fact, be cooking all of that together! Nothing like a raw chicken salad?! ha ha! Ick!

Friday 16 January 2015

Friday Favorites!

Happy Friday!!

So I'm doing something NEW and FUN today! I am linking up with one of my favourite bloggers, Andrea at 'Momfessionals', for a series called Friday Favourites!

Here are few things making my list this week...

*My RED cast iron dutch oven*

I am LOVING my new dutch oven that I got for Christmas from my parents!! I made some spaghetti sauce this week, and I think it tasted even better because it was made in my new pot! Ha ha!

*Cousin Love*

On Sunday we celebrated my Grandma's 80th Birthday with the whole family! Now that Sophia is getting a little bit older, I LOVE seeing her interact and 'play' with her cousins!! I think these two are going to be buddies!!

Maryn and Sophia

*Carrots*

Carrots?! Ha ha...yes you read that correctly! Sooo...a little bit of background on how carrots became one of my favourites this week...Damian text me on Monday when I was out grocery shopping, telling me that one of the guys at work told him about THE BEST CARROTS EVER!! And my response was; ummm what?! Carrots are carrots!!. WELL apparently not, because Damian and this guy had a FULL lengthy conversation about these dang carrots. He then informed me that you can only get them from one SPECIAL grocery store! Soooo I was totally intrigued!! Sophia and I made a quick stop at this store on the way home to find these carrots. And when we found them, there was this BIG pink sign in front of them. NEVER IN MY LIFE HAVE I SEEN A LIMIT ON CARROTS!!! I honestly laughed out loud when I saw that!! And thought, sheesh, these carrots MUST be THAT good! Well people...I am here to report that these carrots ARE THAT GOOD!! They taste like 'straight from Grandmas garden' carrots...and that is a treat when its' the dead of winter here!! YUM!!

*Notebooks*

I LOVE cute notebooks and have a TON of them! I picked this one up from Homesense a few weeks ago and have been using it for my New Years Resolution goals.

Believe in your #selfie

*The Weather*

It has been unseasonably WARM here for the past few days and it has been WONDERFUL!! Usually it is -30 in January with 5 feet of snow on the ground!! We have been trying to take full advantage of the warm weather and have been going for a family walk every night after dinner. Fingers crossed the warm weather lasts for a few more weeks!

*Cranberry Chicken*

This is one of our favourite dinners and 'go to' meals in our house.

And what makes it even better is that it is easy peasy to make!!
We had it for dinner last night and it was delish like usual!

Put 6-8 chicken thighs in a baking dish. In a separate bowl, mix together; 1/2 cup Catalina salad dressing, 1 pouch dry onion soup mix, and 1 can whole berry cranberry sauce. Pour over the chicken. Bake at 375'F for 50 minutes. Serve with rice. ENJOY!!

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Tuesday 13 January 2015

Sophia Jo {eight months}

Where, oh where, has my tiny little baby gone?! Another month seemed to fly right on by and our little peanut girl is already 8 months!! I am beginning to understand why people have kids quite close together now...I SUPER miss having a little baby to cuddle on all of the time! HOWEVER, I don't miss it quite enough to start that whole process all over again quite yet!! Ha!

This was a super exciting month for Sophia as we celebrated her first Christmas! It was such a wonderful day, and we made special memories that will last a lifetime. This month Sophia began her quest to crawling! We are still not quite there yet...she is having major 'big baby' issues and hasn't figured out how to get her big tummy off the ground! Although she has gotten really good at just scooting herself backwards around the house. This month also included many sleepless nights! Not too sure what the cause was but we are working on it! This Mama needs some sleep STAT!

I have a feeling this next month is going to bring BIG things for our sweet girl!! Hopefully some crawling, and a tooth or two!!

Highlights from this month...

*You are 22.4 pounds and just over 28' long!! Still sitting at the 98th percentile for height and weight! You are a SOLID little girl!*

*You LOVE to eat! I nursed you almost until your 8 month birthday, but now you are on all formula and doing great! You also LOVE all of the solids we have given you, but I think your favourite is raspberries!*

*You want to crawl SOOO bad!! And you try SOOO hard!! Your arms and legs are just a motoring but you still haven't figure out how to lift yourself up yet!*

*You have found your screaming voice once again! Just lovely! ha!*

*You are wearing mostly 12 month clothes now! My tall girl!!*

*You are having some sleep issues and we think some of the problem might be teeth!! Hopefully they start arriving soon!*

*You are extremely good with your hands! You have mastered the pincher grip and can feed yourself cereal puffs and other smaller foods!*

*You have really started to 'play' with toys! Which is GREAT, seeing how you got a ZILLION of them for Christmas!!*

*Your hair is getting really long and starting to get a curl/wave to it! Its really long on the side but shorter in the back...so your first haircut is probably in the near future!!*

*You have VERY strong legs! Thunder thighs just like your Mama! You love to stand up and hold yourself at the couch or coffee table! And you like to 'walk' when we hold your hands up!*

This is what your month looked like...

You HATE having anything on your feet!

So you often look like this...one slipper on...the other tucked under your arm!