January was a whirlwind of a month for our family! My oldest turned 9 and Naomi broke her arm (our first experience with a broken bone)!

I can't remember all the times I tried to tell myself to hold on to these moments as they pass."

Welcome to “Moments” here on JoyFoodSunshine. At the end of every month I share a recap of our family's favorite moments!  So here it is for January 2020!

A few of my favorite things...

Here are a few products and other things I have loved in January!

Le Creuset cast iron skillet

I LOVE this skillet so much that I bought a second one this month. I have it two colors, Marseilles and White. 

Calphalon Crock Pot

I have not jumped on the insta-pot train, and I don't intend to. I'm a slow cooker woman through and through. I also bought a second one of these Calphalon slow cookers this month for when I need to feed a crowd. 

Recipes I'm Making on Repeat

Here are a few recipes we enjoyed in January!

Homemade Pizza Dough & Homemade Pizza Sauce

By now you shouldn't be surprised that we made this Homemade Pizza Dough & Homemade Pizza Sauce this month! 😉 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I don't know why, but I have had a fierce craving for Brussels sprouts this month. So I've made these balsamic roasted Brussels more times than I can count. 

Black Bean Brownies

The BEST Waffles

Life with my tribe

January was a pretty ordinary month for our family. We had some sickness in the house in the beginning of the month, Naomi broke her arm (so sad), and I'm still battling a brutal allergic reaction from taking antibiotics after getting a cough in the beginning of November (HELP, I'm actually miserable and feeling hopeless), but for the most part we had a great month!

Keilah 11 Months

 My sweet girl still doesn't have any teeth, and I'm not complaining, as I haven't been able to give up nursing her! She is almost 1, and this is the longest I have nursed one of my babies, but I'm just not ready to let go. 

Lean in kisses. Miss K lovess her kisses. She is constantly leaning in, pressing her cheek against our faces waiting for us to give her the kisses she needs to fuel her cute little personality. 

Finger foods. I'm officially getting over the fear of an allergic reaction to foods (she had a reaction to avocado at 6 months), and I've been trying to feed her little bits of everything we eat. She loves these Greek yogurt pancakes, spinach muffins and these sweet potato tacos! 

Talking. She is not really talking per se, but she is mimicking sounds which is a step in the right direction. She says mama, dada, lala, hi and yeah. She is getting way better at communicating her feelings too, with loud shrieks of disproval and coos of delight! 

Bethany turns 9

I cannot even believe my oldest baby is nine years old. It seems unreal. We had a great time celebrating her special day. We went bowling, I made her cinnamon rolls for breakfast and her favorite chili for dinner. 

This was a monumental year, and the very first time she chose a a different dessert than a birthday cake decorated however she wanted. She chose this dirt cake instead, which I can't blame her for because it's so good. But I died a little inside not being able to decorate a cake for my baby for the first time in her little life! 

Since her birthday was on a Sunday - which is a huge bummer when your daddy is a pastor - Ritch came home and drove to church with us. We were planning on going out to lunch after too, but at church Naomi fell off a stool and broke her arm. So those plans had to change, and we extended her birthday celebration into Monday with takeout from her favorite restaurant for dinner! 

Naomi's Broken Arm

Guys, this is the first time I've ever had to personally deal with a broken bone. My sweet girl handled it like a total champ, but I was so emotional about her getting hurt. She fractured two bones in her wrist, and was so brave! 

They told us we had to wait a week and then they would cast it. At her appointment she still had fractures, but they decided that the soft cast was sufficient support and protection, and more convenient. They told us to have her wear it for 3 weeks then take it off, no follow up appointment necessary. 

Honestly I was not thrilled with this. Since she's 4 with 4 siblings I just feel like it leaves too much room for her to injure it further. The rigidity of a cast was comforting to me, but we listened to the doctors. I am going to insist on a followup appointment before I let her loose, 4 weeks seems like short time for two breaks to heal! 

Other than having to take a brief hiatus from swim lessons, and dealing with an overbearing mother telling her to be careful all the time, she has been living her life as usual! After the first week she was even able to write with her broken arm (which is her dominant hand).  Here's to a healthier February with no injuries! 🙂 

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