Weekender

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Well, this weekend was SUPER low key. Almost did nothing! Tyler has this week off so it’s nice to not feel rushed after the weekend- even if it was a three day weekend!

Friday: Pumpkin pancakes to start the day. I used the last of my maple syrup jug! Sad face. I may or may not have licked the remaining syrup off my plate 😉

And that is the only photo I took of the day! haha. The rest is just same old, same old–> I worked out, walked the dogs, picked up around the house. Wes napped, ate, pooped, napped, ate, pooped. Thrilling day I tell ya.

Saturday: The day started off pretty darn slow. I ran a couple of errands while Wes took his morning nap then presented him (a day early) with some Valentine’s day goodies. He was super thrilled as you can see.

We went to Costco in the afternoon then rounded out the day with a delicious pork tenderloin dinner.

I also enjoyed a beer…with a baby in the background!

We watched Bridge of Spies then went to bed.

Sunday: Another slow as molasses day. Lots of cuddles with my little guy in the morning and I squeezed in a workout, shower and some breakfast while he was down for his morning nap.

The sun was a-shinin’ so bright I NEEDED to get Wes out of the house to soak up some good old vitamin D! We walked down the street to the swings for a hot second.

Boo sported his brand new Will & Co toque and loved it! Know how I know? He didn’t even once try to take it off. #winning

Funniest part– he looked as if he was falling asleep on the swing for a few minutes. Tyler thought we could get him down for a nap right after, but my mama instincts knew that wouldn’t be the case. It’s so cute though I have to share a small video of it:

Wes on the swing from Jen Linton on Vimeo.

I took the doggies for a long walk to get more fresh air while Wes napped again and wound up with a fresh air headache. Does anyone ever get those? They hurt.

Got some pics of my handsome little Valentine

posing for the ladies 😉

SOMEONE *cough cough Tyler* didn’t acknowledge Valentine’s Day (the girly girl in me is bummed out there were no chocolates or flowers or even a Happy Valentine’s Day) but he did make pizza for dinner, so that makes up for it. Well, makes up for 10% of it. I still want chocolates. And flowers.

We watched The Walking Dead (so romantic) and I called it quits. I don’t know how I’m so tired when my fitbit tells me I averaged 8hr 54min sleep this past week!

Monday: Typical morning. After Wes’s nap, we headed to Cross Iron and Tyler’s mom got him a bunch of new clothes. I packed my lunch for the ride!

We were there for a couple of hours and Wes did really great.

While he was down for his afternoon nap, I posted his 10 month update and took the dogs for a nice run/walk. Tyler spoiled us for dinner with smoked steaks. SO YUMMY! (And he did buy chocolates at the mall, so he’s partially excused for the Valentines mishap) We watched The Good Dinosaur then went to bed.

How was your weekend? Have any chocolate? Wait, don’t tell me. I’ll get jealous 🙂

Wesley Arlo- 10 months

Posted on February 15, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

That one year mark keeps creeping closer and closer and I don’t like it one bit. Well, I do love watching him develop and learn new tricks, but I miss my teeny tiny little baby. I can’t believe it has been ten whole months! Double digits.

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He wasn’t in the happiest of moods while I tried to snap his 10 month photos this morning, but I think I got a few.

He weighs about 23 pounds (home scale) and wears 18-24 month clothes. He’s got three teeth- both bottom front and his top right. Size 5 diapers. And really big socks so his circulation isn’t cut off…#cankleproblems.

Eats: He still breastfeeds every morning, but he hardly gets anything so it’s almost immediately supplemented with solids. 3 meals a day: his favorite breakfast is peanut butter toast and a half a banana (Every day. That’s a lot of bananas!) he gets cheese and fruit and veggies and a meat (if we have any leftovers) and some cheerios, and dinner is somewhat the same as lunch. He’ll polish off a squeeze pouch if he’s not satisfied with the solids we’ve given him. 3 bottles a day: between 4-8 oz in each. He’s a really easy eater. I have him cauliflower and broccoli and pickles and pork and he’ll just pick them up and eat them like it wasn’t a big deal.

Sleep: We’ve finally started letting him put himself to sleep. Most of the time it works, but there are occasions where we’ve had to go in and soothe him. On a typical day, he will nap twice, ranging from 45min-80 min, and will sleep through the night for 12-13 hours.

In the past month, he has really tried to get on his knees to crawl. So far, he’s pretty much mastered the roll and will get from one side of the room to the other in a flash.

He’s learned to clap his hands and can even give me a high five when I ask for it! Of course, I always ask for his left hand, so that’s the only hand he’ll use 😉

He babbles a lot and only really says ‘dada dada’ which is totally unfair considering *I* should be the favorite parent, right??

He loves shaking his toys and has a favorite book that I’ve check (and re-checked) out of the library. It’s about a puppy and the last page is a lot of WOOF WOOF WOOFs and when I read it he laughs so hard. Speaking of laughs, he’s ticklish! I love getting right into his underarms and he’s SO CLOSE to making a belly laugh I cannot even stand the cuteness of it.

He loves to play with the blinds. I blame this on the fact that I’m always looking out of them for the mail person each morning. He loves his reflection and high fiving himself in the mirror. He LOVE LOVE LOVES his car (remember to check out my Instagram for #WesOnWheels) and will cry when I take him off.

He’s getting a lot better at actually petting the dogs rather than smacking them. Layla could care less so long as she’s nearby, but I think Reggie appreciates the more gentle approach.

He loves his baths and splashes so hard that it looks like I also took a bath with him. I put him in a laundry basket in the tub and keep the basket in the bathroom when we’re not giving him a bath so it makes for a makeshift playpen when he has separation anxiety and I have to pee 😉

He’s an overall amazing little boy. He does like to have me close by or in sight at all times which can get a bit tiring. Big boy=big whines. You know that clip from Dumb and Dumber when Lloyd asks if they want to hear the most annoying sound in the world? Well, that would be Wes’s constant whining. I’m not complaining though, because we have it pretty darn easy.

From the Week

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

And just like that, another week is in the books. This one just FLEW by! How is it already mid-February? I am so confused.

Monday: Breakfast a super delicious smoothie (vega + sweet potato + oats + almond milk + ice).

It was sunny and warm-ish out so I took Wes to Bowmont park for a walk.

We didn’t stay long because I brought the wrong stroller (the citi mini gt isn’t that great on somewhat icy/rocky/snowy/terrain and I left the BOB at home) and Wes kept taking his hat off! Silly boy.

After we got back home, I walked us down the street to our mini makeshift park and introduced him to the swing for the first time. HE LOVED IT. As soon as I put him in, he grabbed the handles and just sat there enjoying me pushing him non stop for EVER.

We had burgers for dinner and they were so good, I had a second patty. I could have probably eaten three. We gave Wes some burger to try and he loved it too. He’s just like his daddy- loves burgers and pickles and cheese 🙂

Tuesday: I remembered there was a baby playdate scheduled at our local library, so we walked over there to see what it was all about. It was another nice day out, so it was great to get even more fresh air! Plus, we live super close to the library and it would take just as long to load and unload him from the car as it would to just walk on over.

They had set out a bunch of blanket with various items for babies to touch and play with. Of course Wes wanted to just shove everything in his mouth. I was dying on the inside about all the germs but what are you gonna do?

There were about 10 other babies and although Wes wasn’t the oldest..he was definitely the biggest. The other moms were shocked when I told them how good of a sleeper and eater he is. And I got to brag about it a little bit 🙂

We went back to the swings again later that afternoon and it was still a hit.

We had chicken tortellini for dinner- it was a Costco find and we didn’t think it was that great. Not bad, just not yummy enough to buy again. Good thing we have two more packages of it in the freezer ha.

After dinner I was playing with Wes and did the worst thing EVER…I spilled a full glass of water all over my laptop. Tyler quickly swooped in and took my laptop of to the laptop ER (the bathroom counter) to inspect the damage and set it up to dry out. I was a nervous wreck and took the doggies on an even longer walk that night because I was having heart palpitations over the potential cost of buying a new one.

Wednesday: I drowned my sorrows in a batch of sweet potato pancakes. It did the trick for the time being. I’m pretty sure anything drenched in maple syrup helps.

We went over to Safeway to pick up some produce (thank GOODNESS they lowered their prices on produce. It was over $2 PER PEPPER before!) and Wes got a kick out of sitting in the cart. So much so that he was doing his Tarzan call over and over again to entertain other shoppers.

I love that the cover has a couple of loops in the front to attach toys so he can’t launch them onto the dirty floor. (This is the one I have)

We had chicken tenders for dinner- they were so good! I could have eaten way more, but wanted to leave some leftovers for lunch the next day. Next time we have these, I’m going to prepare 4x more to put in the freezer for quick meals in the future!

AND GUESS WHAT? Tyler tested my computer and it was fully functional! Hip hip hooray. We already ordered another one just in case, but will be returning it (free of charge) once it’s delivered. I did a major happy dance. Major.

Thursday: I posted a Parker & Posie giveaway. Have you entered? You’d be crazy not to! These soft soled baby shoes are to die for!!!

Not much got done since Wes decided to only have one nap. It’s crazy how much that can affect my productivity! I still managed to get some stuff done around the house and before you know it Tyler was home and I was headed out the door for a brewmasters dinner downtown.

At the very last minute (and I’m VERY thankful for it) I got two tickets to the Bomber Brewing Beer Dinner at National on 8th. It was a 5 course meal with beer pairings from the Vancouver brewery as it was introducing its beers to the Alberta market.

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Thankfully, Brie was able to go with me (thanks Brie, and sorry for the last minute invite!).

With the exception of the first course which I didn’t eat (oysters…ew) the food was really good. Like, really really good. I was really glad I wore stretchy pants. I’m not a fish person by any means, but the cod dish was my favorite! And who doesn’t love grilled cheese? It was paired with a spicy tomato soup- perfect for dunking. Then there was the brisket which didn’t even require a knife to cut. And the dessert I could have eaten 10x over because I have the world’s worst sweet tooth.

The beer was pretty good too! A bit too hoppy for my taste (as a stand alone beer), but I think they did an excellent job of pairing each with great foods that really complimented the flavors. My favorite was the chocolate porter that came with dessert- that one I could probably drink on its own! Check out Bomber Brewing here.

All of our beers went unfinished since we were both driving home. Womp womp.

I was home by 10, in bed by 10:10 and still managed to get my 8 hours of sleep. Can’t hate that!

And that’s the week in a nutshell! There were some baths, long doggy walks, and workouts in between. Never mind the fact I polished off the entire batch of nutella muddy buddies I made on Sunday. Oops!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Parker & Posie [+ a GIVEAWAY!]

Posted on February 11, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Happy Thursday everyone! I hope you’re all having a great week. We’ve been enjoying some time outdoors with the warmer temps. Had a bit of a mini crisis the other night when I clumsily spilled a ton of water all over my Macbook, but it seems to be in working order now. Fingers crossed it stays that way!

Moving on..

A while back, I was wandering around Instagram and came across Parker & Posie. Jaimie, the woman behind the shop, hand makes the most gorgeous baby shoes and I desperately needed to get my hands on a pair! (She also just so happens to be located in Calgary, so it’s a great #supportlocal win).

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shoes

(source)

The shoes come with either a fleece or flannelette lining, depending on the time of year, and elastic around the back to keep them on little babes feet. You also have a color choice for the suede bottoms as well as top covers- so they’ll completely customizable.

I waited for some time before placing my order because Wes was growing like a weed and I wanted to make sure I’d have a size that lasted. When I did finally order a pair, I opted for the Golden Harvest print (seen above). But really, she has so many adorable prints it’s hard to narrow it down!

As luck would have it, Jaimie sent us TWO pairs! The teal optical print is great, and both are pretty gender neutral…for IF we have a girl in the future 🙂

What I love best about these shoes is that they actually fit Wes’s feet. He has a pretty high arch and non-existent ankles (due to chub) so it’s been a struggle to find anything warm that would actually make it onto his foot comfortably.

The lining is nice and soft so he could wear them with or without socks. And the sole is sturdy enough for when he starts to walk (Gahhh..I don’t need this to happen any time soon!)

PLUS, they’re actually easy to get on. I have a few pairs of shoes from some major retailers that take either some serious grunt work to get on OR they end up looking really awkward on his feet. When that happens, I’m convinced he knows this is the case and he’ll grab at them.

Oh man, I can’t handle the cuteness.

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Jaimie mentioned to me she was on the hunt for new prints, so I’m keeping on eye out. I have a sneaking suspicion I’m going to gush over just about all of them.

Guess what? Jaimie has kindly offered to giveaway ONE pair of shoes to a lucky reader! This is open to US & Canadian residents and entries to the giveaway can be any- or all- of the following four options (leaving a separate comment in this post below for each entry completed):

Visit Parker & Posie’s site and leave a comment telling me which print you’d choose!
Like Nutcaseinpoint AND Parker & Posie on Facebook
Follow nutcaseinpoint AND Parker & Posie on instagram
Follow @nutcaseinpoint on twitter

Giveaway is open until Wednesday, February 17 at midnight (MST) and I’ll be checking to make sure your entry is valid before announcing the winner. Good luck!

Weekender

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Happy Monday, friends! How was your weekend? Do anything fun? We’ve had some pretty good weather here and it only seems to be getting nicer over the week. I’m really excited to get some outside time with Wes!

Friday: Pancakes to start the day… per usual. Now that Wes is eating solids, I’m afraid I’m going to have to start sharing! Instead, I gave him half a banana blueberry muffin with peanut butter. He inhaled it PLUS half of a banana! Kid loves his fruits.

He ended up fighting his normal nap schedule and took a super long midday snoozefest. I can’t complain- I got a lot done around the house! Afterwards, we ran errands. Nothing fun but at least we got some fresh air, so that was nice! I picked up a few beer goodies for Tyler and we inhaled pulled pork quesadillas for dinner.

PS: The beer on the left, from Dandy Brewing Company (local to Calgary!) was really good. I first tried it at National Beer hall a couple of weeks ago and wanted to have Tyler try it. Definitely need salty snacks when drinking! The beer on the right is from Dead Frog Brewery (in BC). I LOVED this beer- it was so tasty and you can really taste the real peanut butter come through. I wish I bought two of these!

Saturday: Not much happened! We got a lot of cleaning done in the basement…..and.that’s.pretty.much.it.

Tyler ran out to pick up a prescription and returned with a couple of goodies for me! Can alcohol be a love language? Because I think that’s ours.

He then made us pizza from scratch and we enjoyed a cuddly night with our little guy. Also, I’m a great multi-tasked (see below).

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Also ALSO, I need to step it up in the appearance department. I’ve been too busy with Wes and crap around the house to even look in a mirror. Maybe that’ll be a goal for this week..

We watched Black Mass and a couple episodes of The Last Kingdom before going to bed.

Sunday: Another super low key day. Once Wes went down for his morning nap, I threw myself in the tub and watched a Netflix movie in the dark. It was glorious! …Until I had to get out.

To celebrate the Superbowl, we made wings and potato skins. And Nutella muddy buddies. I’ve already had Tyler hide the bag of muddy buddies because they’re LIKE CRACK. So good.

Before Wes went to bed, I put together his alphabet floor mat from Christmas and we played with some Mega Blocks! Confession: I played with them- he tried to eat the mat.