Moments 08.2020 - We had a wonderful August, enjoying the last bits of summer. Ritch and I celebrated 13 years of marriage, we started homeschool and played at the pool all month long. 

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 August 2020! 

Life with my tribe

This month was really great! We enjoyed enjoying the last bits of summer. Ritch and I celebrated 13 years of marriage, we started homeschool and played at the pool all month long. 

Baby 21 weeks

It feels impossible to already be over halfway to meeting our sweet baby boy! I am feeling really great. The second trimester bliss has set in and I am not sick anymore, have no aversions (other than to touching raw meet of any kind) and my belly hasn't popped to the point of discomfort...yet! 

I am definitely living in workout clothes and flowy dresses (jeans need not apply haha) because it's so hot here! I'm still slathering this cocoa butter on my belly every day - and have been since the day I got a positive pregnancy test. 

Baby Kicks

I am feeling our baby boy kick a little bit every day. It started just before 20 weeks, which is really early for me. The last three pregnancies my placenta has been in the front of my uterus, so I didn't feel my babies move until around 24 weeks. This time, when I started feeling movement earlier I suspected my placenta might be in the back - and our 20 week ultrasound confirmed that was the case!

I was so grateful, our hospital started allowing spouses to attend the 20 week ultrasound literally the  day we had our appointment. I had thought about getting it done somewhere else or waiting a little longer because I really didn't want to go without Ritch, but God totally provided and made it so he could come! It's my favorite appointment and it was so wonderful getting to see our healthy baby boy! 

Baby Registry

If any new mommas are reading this, I recently updated my Baby Registry List. We are as minimalistic as possible when it comes to baby stuff, and typically around 20 weeks is when you start putting a registry together, so I recommend checking it out! Plus, this isn't my first rodeo so you can be sure the things we've used have stood the test of time - and 5 (almost 6) babies.

13 years of marriage

This month Ritch and I celebrated 13 years of marriage! I can barely remember life before him, and am not really interested in trying. We're a team in life and I'm so grateful for him. 

Our amazing friends watched our kids so we could go out on a date to our favorite restaurant (Communal). We enjoyed great food while chatting about the last 13 years. We reminisced about how far we've come (that first year of marriage was rough), and what we hope the next 50 years will look like. 

Homeschool

We began our homeschool year towards the end of this month. We started slow with 1-2 subjects a day and are now into our routine full-swing. We start our co-op next week, and I always like to get into a rhythm before we have to add that piece to our week. 

I've thought about doing a full post on what our year will look like, but I'm not sure how interested everyone is in that! Let me know in the comments if that's something you'd like to see this year! I'm working on finishing up our homeschool rooms (1.5 years after moving into our home haha), and I plan on sharing that once they're finished.

Here they are on the first day! I did get individual pics too for the first time to be able to compare them to the last day to see how much they grow this year (too much, I'm sure). 

Piano lessons

After taking a year off, I re-enrolled Bethany in piano lessons and Gabe is joining her and starting his first time in lessons. The day they had lessons they came home and took turns playing the piano and it hasn't stopped. All day long they just play and play and it's awesome. I'm looking forward to a beautiful Christmas recital and watching the kids learn! 

Keilah - 18 Months

Sweet baby K is 18 months! Her vocabulary is expanding, and I think my favorite new word added in the last month is "Apple." She finally let me put shoes on her feet and will walk around for an extended period of time without trying to take them off! Hallelujah! She just wants to be like her older siblings, and gets frustrated when she can't be included in their fun.

She is as cute and sweet as ever. We bought a baby swing for our play set and all the wants to do is go out there and have one of us push her. She has mastered the art of fake crying - and it's kind of adorable. 

I'm getting pretty emotional about the fact that she wont be the baby anymore in a few short months. When I rock her to sleep at night I just cry, knowing that season will naturally have to come to an end because I'll be putting the new baby to sleep. I just am not ready to let go of it yet. 

Family Photos

We went to CA in July, and since I wanted to get some announcement photos anyway, I asked our favorite photographer (Brooke Steinicke Photography) if she would come to the beach to take our photos! She said YES and we were so excited. You can see the announcement photos in this post: A little news. And I'm about to bombard you with some of my favorites from the shoot! 🙂 

A few of my favorite things...

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

Nut Chopper 

I've been testing a lot of fall/holiday recipes and many call for chopped pecans, walnuts, etc. My other nut chopper broke (it was like 10 years old) and I found this one and have loved it. I appreciate that it's glass instead of plastic, and I never chop nuts with a knife - I only use a nut chopper! 

Elderberry Syrup

I take this elderberry syrup every day and I think it has helped calm my hives reaction (that was ongoing for over 9 months). I also give it to my kids when they show any signs of sickness to help their immune systems fight it off naturally. A must to stock up on before cold/flu season hits this year. 

MacBook Pro Case

After owning my MacBook for over a year I finally found a case that isn't terrible! Haha! I don't understand why more manufacturers aren't making great cases for the 16" model, but this case is worlds better than the previous case I had and I'm grateful I found it!

Recipes I'm Making on Repeat

Here are a few recipes we enjoyed in August!

The best chocolate chip cookies

I don't think a month goes by that we don't make these cookies. This time I snapped a photo of my cute helpers. 

Puppy Chow

Always and forever a favorite 

 

Sweet potato tacos

I haven't snapped candid pics of these in a while, but I make them every week.

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