Top of the delicious morning! We had our weekly terrible night’s sleep last night, but somehow I felt OK all day. I’m still in complete awe over how awake I feel during the daytime. We are nearly 3 months in to parenthood, and despite having a baby who most definitely does not sleep through the night (at least the parents’ version), I’m doing well. I must still be running on adrenaline. And oatmeal.
Sunflower overnight oats for breakfast. Just the typical OO recipe minus banana plus pumpkin. And some half caf coffee (because Matt was home!)
We played Man in the Mirror after breakfast. He cracks me up! He flirts with himself and does so much TALKING. I have a video in the works!
We headed to Pump Challenge a while later for a nice workout. I walked there and back with the stroller for cardio and as always, Chris’s 55 minutes of non-stop weights wore my muscles out. The class was PACKED. And all my friends were there!
Our friends Sylvia and Sarah came home with us for lunch! Maze gave her some big smiles : )
I made the moms salads with peppers, carrots and pecans and an olive oil/honey dressing
Cville Crunch
And No Bull Burgers topped with this incredible spinach feta spread I got at a Whole Foods demo called Uniquely Greek. It’s delicious!
Maze was on the grumpy side today (we think he is teething already!) and we had to cancel our plans with my mothers group to take a nap. But I always welcome naps!
I made a cranberry sauce smoothie while he slept!
Inside: 1/3 cup cranberry sauce (the last 
) plus a cup of milk and half a banana. That’s it! It was awesome.
Coconut butter + cereal on top!
I have been neglecting my coconut butter all summer because it separated and then got hard. It just took 5 minutes in the hottest water my sink could produce to mix and melt it again. Must do more often!
Baby fun times!!!
Matt and I made tofu stir fry for dinner.
Thanks so much to my rice cooker for doing the hard part!! We cooked the Twin Oaks tofu in safflower oil plus broccoli and peppers and Matt made a soy sauce + apple cider vinegar + brown sugar + garlic reduction to go on top. Just combine a little of this and that and let it bubble over medium high heat until it’s nice and thick.
During his evening swing nap: “Mommy, when does Santa come?”
You look great as a mommy! Despite not having restful sleep you look beautiful and really happy. 🙂
I was ready to write EXACTLY the same thought! Dear Kath, you shine 🙂
The Little Tiger is lovelier than ever.
Ella P.
Ahh I can’t wait to get my hands on TJ’s Sunflower Seed Butter and stock up on it! I love the stuff. Beautiful little tree! Love it!
Kath you are SO beautiful!=) I look forward to reading your blog every.single.day! We must be on different time zones as it is always up before I am awake, even at 6am here!=)
You are sweet : )
Talking before teething? Interesting development pattern! 😉
Cranberry sauce is so easy to make!
You should make yourself a nice batch for the season.
And since it’s all for you, you can flavor it however you like.
Yum.
I can’t believe he is 3 months already! Where has this year gone?! 🙂
Haha I’m with maze – nap time trumps everything else! And I still haven’t tried coconut butter! I have coconut oil (which I really should use more often…) but I’ve yet to try butter!
Your recipes and pictures always look so good. I’m working on mine looking like that!
Well you certainly look rested even if you’re not right now! Your tree looks absolutely adorable. Who needs a big ol’ tree to feel festive?!
I haven’t had coconut butter in awhile either. Luckily, I ordered some and it should be delivered today!!
That cranberry smoothie sounds so delicious! I have about a cup of fresh cranberries that I’m planning to use to make some cranberry sauce (I’ve never done it before!!) and I’m so excited!
Adrenaline and oatmeal are definitely winners for the morning after no sleep! After that comes nap time. I hope you have a great day Kath!
I can’t wait until Christmas to have more cranberry sauce – I never thought about using it in smoothies or on oats like you did yesterday! Must try it next time I have some!
Love that last shot of the lighted christmas tree…it looks enchanted! 🙂
Cranberry smoothies all over the blog world recently! I might have to try one.
3 months and teething already? wooo!!! what’s the sign of teething that you’re seeing in M?
great tips on melting coconut butter. I always forget to use it when it’s solid.
Lots of drooling, hand knawing, sleep regression
What you’re describing is a behavior ascribed to teething, but not a sign of an erupting tooth. The wonderful Nancy Holtzman says it well in this Storify of several tweets she wrote about teething: http://storify.com/nancyholtzman/25-tweets-about-babies-and-teeth-teething
If Maze is taking an evening nap, you might consider trying a 7pm bedtime. Once you get the “bookends” of the day well established, you’ll see a nap pattern emerge, too. For some reason, 7-7:30 is a great bedtime for a lot of babies. Try it for a week and see – he may pop up again in the evening, but he might also start to establish an even longer first chunk of sleep. Good luck!
good advice from Nancy! Sounds painful to cut a tooth.
The mirror photo is so cute. And you are just beaming with happiness! It’s pretty cool to think that one day Maze will see his childhood moments documented this way 🙂
This year, we bought the most amazing orange cranberry sauce from Trader Joe’s… I was eating it by the spoonful! And I totally need to get me some of that feta spread… Can you say “YUM?” Looks fantastic.
You have made many comments about Maze’s sleep lately, and I just wanted to let you know that he sounds like a pretty good sleeper for his age. Sure, there are some (not many) babies who sleep through the night by this age, but there are many who are not. I was the same way with my first — obsessed with sleep. I kept asking my mother when he would sleep through the night, and she simply told me that I needed to adjust my expectations. Maybe hearing that it’s completely normal that he doesn’t sleep through the night yet (and fights naps) will help you do that too.
Tofu heaven! Fast food at its best! Super cute photos of you with Maze! And I REALLY want that smoothie! I’ve been neglecting my coconut butter too – thanks for reminding me! I might just have to take it out of the wood works tomorrow!
The smiley photos of Maze are too cute. I think your blog gives me baby fever 😉 I agree with the last comment – love that last shot of Maze gazing at the tree. Beautiful moment and such a beautiful photo!
Pretty mommy + handsome baby boy = cuteness!
…..can’t believe we are almost to the teething stage & crawling is right around the corner! Weren’t we JUST pregnant with our boys?!!?
I know!
That mirror photo is adorable – you look so positively happy in every photo with Maze. 🙂
The Christmas tree is adorable!
And I think you don’t feel exhausted because you treat your body right! Sleeping when you can. Staying active physically and socially. And fueling yourself with good tastes and good nutrition! It’s all balance and you seem to have it down. 😀
Are you transitioning Maze into the swaddle with his arms out? I was so sad we couldn’t use them because our little guy it too long. How long is Maze?
I loove that last shot….so magical 🙂
Not yet… But thinking about it. Although he responds well to swaddling, so I can see us doing it for a while
I was wondering about your overnight oats with pumpkin- by taking out the banana, are they not sweet at all? Is there any element of sweetness in them??
Right. Everyone thinks my breakfasts are so sweet, but this is just pumpkin and the usual… Other oats, milk, plain yogurt
Nap sleep improved for us around 8-10 weeks when we started watching for our son’s sleepy cues and putting him down for a nap whenever that happened (About every hour and fifteen minutes). At first we would rock him to sleep, then rock him until he was drowsy and eventually for naps we could lay him down awake and he would get to sleep after some fussing on his own. (Unless he is growth spurt/regressing; then his naps go out the window) It got him on an EASY type schedule and now he knows when this happens that it is nap time. He is 4 months old.
He has slept well swaddled with one arm out during naps for weeks but both arms out is still throwing him for a loop. Bedtime he is still swaddled since I read to do naps first. Swaddling till 5-6 months is totally normal so I am just trying to follow his lead.
3-4 months can be a tough time for sleep and I hope it goes well for you both. Helping him fall asleep on their own is difficult but so worth it.
Maze lasts about an hour fifteen too, and his naps are soooo much better than they used to be. Thanks for the tips
Your tree is lovely – as are you! Mazen is so sweet – I love the pictures in the mirror.
You have got me seriously craving cranberries with your oatmeal topping and now your smoothie. I think that this season cranberry may be the new pumpkin. 🙂
That picture of you and Mazen in the mirror is just beautiful!!!
That cranberry smoothie is genius! I always wonder what to do with the rest of mine-while I love it and make it every year, there is always a lot leftover!!!
Cancelling plans in favor of naps is a good call! And of all groups, a mother’s group would totally get it! When the baby finally decides to sleep, that trumps all 🙂
And I just polished off a jar of TJs SFSButter. Need more!
I love your “K” coffee cup! Is it from Anthropology? I really want one 🙂 Your meals always looks so pretty and yummy…I really need to work on my food photography!
Yup! Thanks!
Love those mugs from anthro I have one as well 🙂
I would have never thought to put cranberry sauce in a smoothie. Was it overly sweet? It looks delicious.
Love the pic of you and Maze in the mirror!
Aww, that mirror pic is too cute 🙂 Pure joy!
Love the new additions of Maze to slideshow 🙂
I still have yet to try the Sunflower butter. It looks delicious!
Isn’t it amazing how sleep deprived you can be and still function?! I’m at the 20 month mark and still don’t have many fully restful nights (sorry to say!) but daytime awakeness still gets easier and easier 🙂
I need sunflower butter in my life again! We don’t have a TJs near us, but when we head home for the holidays, I’m definitely stocking up!!
My mom just got me a jar of TJs sunflower butter. Can’t wait to crack it open!!
He may well be teething Kath! my little one stated the signs at 12 weeks and everyone said it was impossible by 15 weeks we had a tooth and shortly after another 3:)
Those picture of you with Mazen- I would never know you didn’t sleep well. Motherhood agrees with you 110%!
The pictures of you and Mazen are so adorable! 🙂 I love the last picture with the tree too! So pretty.
Everything looks delicious. I need to make tofu more often.
KathYou look radiant! Touch wood, loving your shirt/jacket! Where is it from?
Plum
Thank you! It’s LOFT. A flowy open shirt