Moments 02.2022

Posted Mar 01, 2022

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In February we enjoyed the mountains, celebrated a birthday and experienced some sweet milestones.

“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! Here’s a snapshot of our life from February 2022!

Life lately

In February we enjoyed the mountains and celebrated a birthday. It was a low key month as we dealt with some pesky colds, but we still enjoyed it, nonetheless.

Baby Z!

All right Zach is 13 months. I am now nursing him just once at bedtime and if I can do that forever I just might.

He is still very into snuggling and I soak it in every chance that I get. My favorite times of the week are rocking him to sleep. On Saturdays, when Ritch is home, I snuggle him for the entirety of his morning nap and it’s just the best.

He learned to climb UP the stairs! He’s so sneaky and fast that he’ll crawl away from us and before I know it, his cute little head is peaking out through the railings upstairs and he’s grunting or laughing to get our attention. We’ve been working on teaching him how to go down the stairs too, so we can all relax a little instead of watching his every move.

He can stand up on his own from the floor which is a great step towards walking. He’s cruising around on furniture and has taken a step here and there, but still has a little ways to go before he’s walking everywhere. Which I really don’t mind him taking his time learning this skill, because hearing and seeing a sweet baby crawling around my home brings me so much joy – and this is the last time I’ll get to experience it with one of my own children.

He still only says one thing – “Uh Oh!” which has evolved into the game every baby plays. He drops something, says “uh oh!” we pick it up – repeat. I love it so much.

Keilah turns 3

I feel just as emotional about Keilah growing up as I do baby Z. I think it’s because she is my last girl, and after having 3 baby girls in a row I find myself mourning the end of the toddler girl phase (because toddler boys and girls are VERY different haha).

She loves wearing pretty dresses, fake jewelry and getting her nails painted. She sings and dances like no one is watching all day long.

She is 100% her own tiny person, and very different from her siblings in many ways. The most notable being the fact that I don’t think she likes being the center of attention.

For example, on her first birthday she was scared of her cake and actually tried to get out of the high chair to get away from it (haha). On her 2nd birthday she cried when we sang to her, I think she was overwhelmed. And this year she was so unsure about it all that whenever she opened a present and I asked her, “What is it Keilah?” she responded with, “I don’t know” with a nervous look on her face, even if it was very obvious what the present was.

I have a feeling she is going to be more of a “Ron Swanson” birthday celebration person than Leslie Knope (if you know what I mean haha).

On her birthday she wanted donuts and hot chocolate for breakfast, then pizza (pizza dough, pizza sauce) and a unicorn cake for dinner (chocolate cake, vanilla frosting). We opened presents and watched Sing 2, per her request.

We decorate a “birthday chair” for the kids when they’re little, and we also put streamers and balloons all over the house for K. She felt like a little princess!

Every day since her birthday she has asked me, “Am I still 3?” And has told me many times that she wished it was still her birthday.

Birthday Date

The day after her birthday Ritch and I took her out to lunch for her birthday date. I just love being with her so much. She, once again, answered “I don’t know” to every question we asked her (what do you want to eat, where do you want to go to lunch, etc.) so we just made the choices we thought she’d like the best. It was a little more low-key than Bethany’s birthday date, but she is 3 so it was perfect for her!

K potty training

Keliah has been hilarious when it comes to potty training, and totally unlike any of her siblings in a few ways!

She really only had two accidents which were both while she was playing. Which is so nice.

The most hilarious thing she does is that she absolutely refuses to tell us if she went potty or which “kind” she went (1 or 2). As soon as she’s done she yells in the cutest voice, “COME HEREEEE!” If I say ask her any clarifying questions (1 or 2?) she won’t answer, she just says, “I HAVE SOMETHING TO SHOW YOU!”

Then when I walk into the bathroom she is usually either sitting on the toilet or leaning over it and covering the seat with her hands/body so I can’t see what’s inside. Then she says, “I have a surprise for you!” and reveals her accomplishment (hahaha)! Then I sing my potty song, “Keilah went poopy on the potty – woo hoo!” and clap for her, then let her pick out a treat.

For a while she did this with 1 and 2, and now she just doest it for 2 so I know what to expect most of the time. It’s just so funny that she refuses to get off the potty until this whole interaction takes please.

K’s favorite birthday gift were these glasses from my sister. They are handmade from the owner of this etsy shop and they are so great.

Skiing

We enjoyed the mountains this month skiing at the resort near our mountain house. We truly live in the most beautiful state!

Date with Naomi

Apart from birthday dates we have a rotation of regular dates with the kids. It goes oldest to youngest and alternates between mommy and daddy – so this time it was my turn to take out Naomi.

She wanted to go to breakfast at Gourmandaise so she could get a plain croissant. Then I took her to target to pick out some birthday presents for Keilah. She is the most fun to take out because she just loves being with you. She just wants to talk and snuggle and enjoy the time we have together.

Valentine’s Day

We don’t do much for Valentine’s Day (I’m not really into it). But we do want our girls to feel special – so Ritch got them each some roses.

This year was extra special because Valentine’s Day fell on co-op day. So the kids got to exchange valentines with each other at “school.”

One of the moms also set up “Donuts with Dad” for the morning. So the dads came to the morning assembly and instead of doing our regularly scheduled activities, they got to eat donuts with the kids. It was so fun!

Essential Oils

I replaced many of my cleaning products with this all-purpose Thieves Cleaner (recipe just posted this month). Plus I shared some information on the toxins in conventional cleaning products.

More essential oil posts:

If you want to purchase oils please sign up using this link: Young Living Essential Oils and enter my number #31270904.

You can also shop my Young Living Website where I share my favorite products and bundles: https://www.myyl.com/joyfoodsunshine

Things I’m Loving

Wooden Spatulas. I have had these spatulas since Mara was a baby (so for almost 5 years). I love them and use them almost every day. They are made in the USA in MT too which I love. Earlywood Wooden Spatulas.
On spatulas – these are my all-time favorite silicone spatulas.