happy 3 months to my little love

I am having the hardest time believing that my James is already 3 months old! Each time I say it, I have to pause and count the months to make sure that's right, because he can't be 3 months already?! Time is so cruel sometimes, ha ha! Each day just gets better and better with this boy, but my momma heart is a little broken over the fact that we are officially out of the newborn phase!

This month was so crazy, and flew by so quickly, that I didn't record a single milestone in my notes to keep track like I normally do. Hopefully my mom brain can recall all the info (not likely, ha!)
- James is truly the happiest boy! We didn't think we'd get two happy babies in a row, but we were proved wrong! (Which means we are in for it when they are teenagers, I'm sure ;))
- He smiles so easily but it's still tough to get giggles out of him!
- James is seriously all eyes for his sister! It's hard to get him to look at anything else when Mia is around. They are starting to interact so much more and goodness, my heart can barely handle the cuteness! I love my kids!
- He is a talker! James has a lot to say these days and we can't get enough of his sweet voice!!
- At his 2 month check up last month, James weighed in at 12.5 pounds (!!) He is one chunky boy with rolls everywhere :) It's so cute and SO different than Mia! She was teeny tiny and never had one roll on her body. 
- I can count the number of times that he's only woken up once through the night to eat on one hand... he's still up twice in the night most nights to eat. I blame it on those chunky rolls... he's gotta maintain them somehow! 
- James has really mastered the bumbo this last week. It is so fun to have him sitting up while I'm working in the kitchen, sitting at the table, etc. He loves to be more apart of everything and it makes my heart skip a beat each time I look up and see his smiling face!
- He still hates tummy time. I have to place him on his belly right after he's eaten to have him play there in peace for a few minutes before the screaming starts, otherwise he screams the second I lay him on his belly. He used to flip over when he got sick of it but I suspect that he's too big to flip himself onto his back now, ha ha!
- I showed James one of his new Christmas books yesterday (December 26th) and he was SO interested in it! He inspected every inch of every page- it was SO cute! I was totally shocked over how interested he was at such a young age! He's so alert, I love it!
- James still sleeps a lot during the day which is nice! He sleeps more during the day than Mia did!
- We've pretty much got a routine down with James. I know what to expect from him each day which makes things a little easier while still adjusting to this mom of 2 thing :)
- He has finally started going longer between feedings during the day which is a relief! Instead of eating every 2 hours on the dot, he will go 3 hours, sometimes (maybe once a day) even 4 between a feeding!   
- James has outgrown his 0-3 month clothing and wears 3-6 month clothing! I guess that's a good thing since those are all winter clothing (and he won't need them after January here in Arizona) but I do wish he would slow down with the growth ;)
- He is in size 1 diapers but it's definitely time to size up to 2's!

We are obsessed with our happy baby boy!          

December happenings

Oh December. This month feels like it has dragged on forever, but flew by in the blink of an eye all at the same time! Eric has worked every. single. day. (hence the dragging) but our babies are growing and only 2 more sleeps until Christmas (what?!) We've missed out on some of the festive fun due to Eric's crazy work schedule right now, but I've done my best to make the most of this month and I think Mia has been having the best time :)

We survived holiday shopping with a nursing newborn and newly potty trained Mia... that was an adventure every time we tackled the malls, ha ha! My best friend came and stayed with us for a few days and we had the best time! It was just what I needed! The kids played so well together and Mia talks about them every day!

We have done a couple festive things like our church Christmas party and a local "snow" day. They had snow (aka a big pile of ice) for the kids to play on, face painting (Mia was thrilled with her reindeer! I was expecting her to choose the Frozen snowflakes... I should have known better, ha ha!) food trucks, games for the little ones and Santa!!

Mia got to see Santa twice this year! My best friend braved the mall with me (5 kids under age 5 is not for the weak, guys!) and we took the kids to visit Santa. Mia was SO excited... until it was her turn to talk to him. She quickly turned around and started walking away, ha ha! I held her the whole time she talked to him and barely got her to take a photo while sitting on my lap next to him. That warmed her up for our next Santa meeting I guess because she actually sat on his lap! And while she's obviously very weary of the situation, she didn't scream (like the past 2 years, and I adore those pictures, ha!) and even waved for the camera. No smiling though. Of course as we walked away she excitedly told me all about seeing Santa :) 

We celebrated Mia's THIRD birthday! I threw a simple birthday party for her at the park with cupcakes and she LOVED it! I just wasn't up to throwing a big party with Eric being gone and, you know, trying to survive each day with two kids ;) It was so nice to only have to "worry" about baking the cupcakes! I won't have an excuse as to why I need to keep it simple next year, but I'm definitely going to keep it simple for as many years as she lets me :) (I wish I was a party planner but it's just not my talent and ends up stressing me to the max!) On Mia's actual birthday we went to church (she was thrilled to see all of her friends on her actual birthday as well!) then Eric got home from work the same time we did! I can't even tell you how nice it was to have him home before bed time, definitely Mia's favorite thing about her big day! We ate pizza, opened gifts and played with every single one of them and dug into her princess cake that she'd been requesting for weeks. Eric made her dreams come true with a pretty awesome princess cake (which I forgot to take pictures of in good lighting, I'm so bummed!) and she has asked every day since if it's her birthday again and where is her princess cake? ha ha! Mia was so, so happy and even though it was such a simple celebration, it was everything she wanted it to be! My very favorite part was that we were all in bed an asleep before 8pm, HA! I love my little family so much!

I've had a hard time keeping up with the blog this past month but I don't hold back on Instagram ;), so be sure to find me, @courtbrink, if you want to keep up with our Christmas fun! Two more sleeps, guys. Two more sleeps!!

it's a start... {Senita Athletic Wear GIVEAWAY}

I was at my sweet friend Fatty's house the other day and she snapped some photos of me wearing my new Senita athletic outfit (which I loooooove, but more raving about that later!) I am extremely awkward in front of the camera by myself (fo real, yo!) and was telling Fatty that I feel so much more natural and confident (in front of the camera) with my kids in my arms. As I was saying this I was watching Mia run around and I couldn't resist telling her to come jump in the photos with me! I LOVE these adorable, candid photos with my girl but as I was scrolling through them, I'm ashamed to say that the FIRST thing I noticed was my back roll. But I did my best to quickly push those negative self image thoughts out of my head and own this picture of me playing with Mia... I did just have a baby less than 3 months ago for crying out loud! I don't know if the pressure comes from myself or from society, but my body is a work in progress, and will continue to be so once I hit my fitness goals. It's about being healthy and that's what matters most! So here I am, back rolls and all, showing off this incredible outfit from Senita!

 Tank and Capris c/o Senita

Senita just launched here in Scottsdale, Arizona (where are all my locals at?!) and they offer CUTE, affordable athletic wear for women! I don't really know where to begin when it comes to professing my love for these capris. They are so comfortable and have the most practical pockets that all workout bottoms need! These are my go to for working out.... and lounging around the house ;) Because workout clothes that can be worn on lazy days at home as well are a total win-win. Yoga pants got some competition ;) I highly recommend Senita for your next athletic wear purchase, because the first step is putting on the work out clothes and it's hard to resist exercise once you're wearing an outfit like this! I also highly recommend you head to my Instagram page this instant and get yourself entered to win a gift card to Senita... there are TWO winners, my friends!

Mia is THREE!

Our precious princess is three today, THREE!

Oh how we adore our Mia! 

Happy Birthday to the sweetest, silliest, smartest three year old! We are eternally grateful to be your parents!
WE LOVE YOU!

Freshly Picked GIVEAWAY

Blanket c/o Shuga Bebe Couture

Onesie c/o Izzy and Isla

 Moccs c/o Freshly Picked

I will be the first to admit that I'm not a sock lover, which means my babies rarely wear socks. Poor Mia, my December baby, never had anything covering her feet (but she was always wrapped in a blanket!) until she started walking. We got our first pair of Freshly Picked moccs then and fell in love! She still loves to wear the last pair that still fits her! Freshly Picked sent a pair of newborn moccs (I die over the tiny cuteness!) to James and oh my goodness, I fell in love all over again! It's actually pretty chilly in Arizona (I know, I'm shocked too!) right now and I'm constantly wearing James while we are out running errands, instead of leaving him tucked snug in the car seat, so his precious toesies need to stay covered! His moccs go with everything, I never worry about them falling off his feet, people stop to compliment them all the time, and most importantly- his feet stay warm! I love that we will be able to pass these on to baby #3 (don't tell Eric I said that out loud... he says we are done ;) ha ha!)  because I'm seriously a huge fan of these darling moccs! The second best part of this post (because duh, biased mommy here, and I think his photos are the best part!) is that I've teamed up with Freshly Picked to give away a pair of moccs to one of YOU! Merry Christmas and good luck, my friends! xoxo

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