Category: Jonathan

What’s Up Wednesday {01.25.23}

Posted on by Lauren Lane

Last week at work kicked my booty. And this week has been no walk in the park either. This January has flown by, and I’m not really sure that we’ve done much of anything but here’s a little peek at our January…

As always, I’m linking up with Shay and Sheaffer to share with you what’s going on in our life!

1: WHAT WE’RE EATING THIS WEEK: My parents brought me over a smoked pot roast that I’m planning on slow cooking this week as an easy meal. Such a huge help with how busy work has been the last couple of weeks. And later in the week, we’re going to do some homemade burrito bowls with carnitas, rice, and black beans.

2: WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT:

Kids grow up so fast. We all know that. The pictures and videos, though, of Jonathan a year ago at 1.5 versus the little boy in front of me at 2.5 is just wild how much they grow in that year. The way he talks now, understands things and tells us things about his day. It’s just so hard to believe that a year ago we were getting none of that!

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Christmas 2022: A Photo Diary

Posted on by Lauren Lane

I’m sitting at my kitchen counter with a bar of dark chocolate while one of our little boys naps upstairs after being sent home from daycare with a fever yesterday. Looking back through these pictures makes me eternally grateful. With little ones, I find myself treasuring any holiday we get without sickness and spent with family.

Here’s a look at how our winter break went…

Our annual making of our Chex Mix with the boys. I love a “recipe” that is so easy for kids this little, and they can snack while we make it.

And yes, we make it on the floor of the kitchen every year. It works for us.

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Halloween 2022

Posted on by Lauren Lane

I love Halloween with little kids. When Nathan and I first moved into our neighborhood, we were the youngest people in the neighborhood by at least ten, but probably close to 15 years. Our very first Halloween, I was so excited to have trick-or-treaters in a real neighborhood! And we had about 5 total trick-or-treaters. But slowly, our neighborhood has turned over in the past five years. Younger families have moved in that have kids around our age or are in elementary school, and it’s so fun seeing the neighborhood alive with kids on Halloween night running from house to house!

We started our Halloween at the boys’ daycare trunk-or-treat. They were so excited to wear their costumes for the first time and see their friends from school!

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Let’s Look At…How We Choose Halloween Costumes

Posted on by Lauren Lane

It’s Let’s Look day with Shay @ Mix and Match Mama and Erika @ A Little Bit of Everything! If you’re new here, it’s one day a month that we share a little peak into some aspect of our lives. So far this year, I’ve shared:

There are two types of people in this world. Those that LOVE dressing up in costumes, brainstorming ideas of things they/their kids can be, and putting it all together. Then there are those that can feel the creative muscle needing to be flexed, kind of grimace at the prospect of trying to pick the *perfect* costume, and then wonder why Halloween costumes are so stinking expensive. But in the end, look at the finished result and are like, “Wow. That was so much fun.” I am the second type.

Coming up with Halloween costumes for children is as much as I can take in using my creativity. We are not a dress-up family. The kids will look adorable, get all of the treats, and I will soundly scrounge through their takings when they go to bed at night and pick myself out a Reese’s or Butterfinger to enjoy.

We have only done Halloween a few times, so we’re going to do a Halloween parade of costumes over the years. 🙂

Harrison’s very first Halloween, I wanted a costume that was “homemade” but also easy….because we all know, creativity and crafts are not my strong suit. Thus, Waldo from Where’s Waldo was born. And I thought he was a particularly cute Waldo.

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What’s Up Wednesday {09.28.22}

Posted on by Lauren Lane

The end of another month means another What’s Up Wednesday!

How often do I say that this may be my favorite post of the whole month?! I love the little peak into people’s lives.

As always, I’m linking up with Shay and Sheaffer to share with you what’s going on in our life!

1: WHAT WE’RE EATING THIS WEEK: We got back from the Lake of the Ozarks Sunday afternoon. I was thankful that I had done my meal planning the week before we left, so I knew what we needed for groceries for the week! I really try to have meals planned out before we go out of town, so I’m not scrambling when we return. It doesn’t always happen, but I’m always thankful if I do have it already done!

We grilled chicken on Sunday and made a tossed salad and corn on the cob.

Then we’re also planning on chicken taquitos this week, which is a household favorite, and very easy pasta with sausage and my favorite seasonal sauce from Trader Joe’s.

2: WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT:

At the end of September, I feel like with October next week it is truly fall here in the Midwest. And it has me thinking about how fast this summer seemed to fly by. The one summer that the boys were 4 and 2. They were busy. They loved digging in the dirt, playing soccer. Mowing every Saturday was the most exciting thing of the weekend.

I watched their little brotherly relationship really grow this summer. Listened to them tickle fight and eagerly wake each other up in the morning. It was a summer with a lot of good memories for our family. I’m so thankful for that!

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Friday Favorites {09.09.22}

Posted on by Lauren Lane

It always feels so strange to be gone for a week from this space! But so good, because I miss it and you all! I’m still working on my blog posts about the beach, so I’m sharing a bunch of random favorites from this week with you all!

In previous years, I’ve always pulled my annuals around Labor Day because we were headed up to South Dakota, and I was just ready to be done watering. That was all when I did the watering by hand every single day. This year, though, I’m still loving the garden and part of it still look really beautiful. It’s definitely starting to fade as we get to the end of the season, and I’m contemplating ways to swap some plants for more cool loving plants for fall.

This zinnia fade still has me in awe…

I love a coral flower, and this one continues to deliver so much beauty.

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First Day of School 2022

Posted on by Lauren Lane

I’m so happy to be back on this little space of internet! We had a great beach trip. Definitely feeling like I need a vacation from the vacation, you know. But we are back to normal life this week, and I wanted to share our first day of school with you!

Yeah, the boys go to daycare, but our daycare has a private Kindergarten, so they celebrate the first day of school with lots of fanfare! The boys move up a classroom, there’s a special snack and new backpacks. And so, we make a big deal out of it, too! Life is too short to not celebrate things! Didn’t COVID teach us all that?!

We started the morning with good luck green waffles!

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Friday Favorites {08.26.22}

Posted on by Lauren Lane

Happy Friday, everyone! It’s a big day and weekend for us! We’re officially setting off on our first flying family vacation with just the four of us. I’ve got so many bags to pack, and lists to check off before we head out the door. But I gathered up a few of my favorites from this week for you!

Please ignore my greasy hair that needed to be washed in all of these pictures….but I just couldn’t wait to share with you the Nani swimsuits I bought to try out for our beach trip! I personally discovered this brand a year ago, and bought one suit from them. It’s my absolute favorite suit. And this is the only picture I have of it…my sister is really going to appreciate being in the background of this picture yawning…

The one above is on major sale right now. Like half the cost of when I bought it. Top is linked here, and bottom here. I wear an XS in both top and bottom.

So I bought a bunch of colors and a few tops, and tried them out.

Saw my sister wearing this top originally, and after seeing it all summer, I had to have it. And these bottoms in color Zuri are both cute and comfortable.

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What’s Up Wednesday (early!) {08.24.22}

Posted on by Lauren Lane

This is my favorite post every month. I love sharing and reading about just the everyday things that people are into currently! We’re going to be gone next week on vacation, so I’m sharing my WUW with you early! I just couldn’t miss it.

1: WHAT WE’RE EATING THIS WEEK: This week we’re doing homemade pizzas, cheesy sausage pasta florentine, and lemon butter chicken piccata!

2: WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT:

Reminiscing and enjoying the pictures and videos from Jonathan and Holden’s second birthday party! We all had so much fun celebrating our little COVID babies!

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