audrey's big news

Audrey has had some potty training success! A few weeks ago I tried the 3 day potty training method, but gave up on day 2 after Audrey came down with a cold and approximately 574 accidents (ok, maybe it was just 30 pairs of undies in 2 days but that adds a lot of laundry!) we put potty training on hiatus. Audrey loves to sit on the potty though, so I have given her ample opportunities to hang out there.

I've kept her in diapers for the most part, but have also been using her blueberry trainers. They are expensive, but are so nice!

I picked up an extra potty chair to keep at my moms house. The girls were fighting over who got to sit on it. You really can't tell from the picture, but they were both shrieking and quite upset.

I ordered a fancy potty from amazon for us to use at home and in the go- I'll give a review once it arrives (I'm sure you are just waiting with bated breath).

what's cooking

My favorite part about the temperatures cooling down is that I start baking again. We avoid using the stove and oven during the summer and primarily use the crockpot and grill. This past week I have made all sorts of things that have been waiting on my Pinterest boards. 

This morning the girls and I enjoyed Cheddar and Green Onion Grits (yum!). Justin refused to try them, but that just means there will be more for us tomorrow. I mean seriously, look at how happy Audrey is.

Earlier in the week we dined on Cheddar Stuffed Herb-Crusted French Bread (don't you just love my food names?) and Tomato Basil Soup. Claire was not impressed with the Bread (which was amazingly delicous) but she thoroughly enjoyed the soup. 

For a quick lunch, we had spinach and feta grilled cheese- Audrey was especially fond of this lunch. I'll have to repeat it again. I'm not a huge salad fan, so I will make Spinach and Parmesan Orzo in the next couple of days to finish up the spinach.

Last night I made Ham and Cauliflower Mac and Cheese- this was a big hit with the girls. It was good, but not quite as delicious as the Cauliflower Mac and Cheese with Prosciutto and Creme Fraiche that I made a month or so ago.

Later this week I plan on making Potatoes Dauphinoise (which from what I gather is a fancy name for scalloped potatoes). Sign me up for anything with copious amounts of heavy cream and butter.

I did have a flop though- I attempted to make pumpkin scones and it turned into a mushy mess. I believe that my main error was frosting it before it completely cooled down. I have pumpkin muffins that I have made several times with great success (and are much easier than the scones) so I may add the glaze and frosting recipe to the muffins next time.

19 months

The girls had their 18 month check up a little late. Here are their stats:

Claire- 31.5 inches tall (37 %), 20 lbs (16 %)

Audrey- 33 inches tall (78 %), 26 lbs (83 %)

It is nice to see Claire move up a bit in percentile- she has consistently been in the 10th percentile for height, so unless the measurement was inaccurate, she has had quite the growth spurt! They have definitely slowed down in their weight gain- it is neat to look at their growth charts. Claire weighs what Audrey did at 6 months, which helps explain why we have so many clothes ;) Audrey is wearing mostly 2t clothes with a few 18 months mixed in. Claire is in mainly 12-18 months, with a few 18-24 months and 2t.

Both girls love to read! It is interesting to see the differences though- Claire tends to flip through the pages and babble while Audrey spends time looking at each picture on the page and saying words she knows (i.e. puppy, hat, ball, etc.)

Audrey would definitely spend all day being read to though! She will grab a book and back herself right onto my lap. She also knows the name of some of her books- I've asked her to grab certain books from her room and she runs off and returns with the correct book!

It is harder to get good pictures of the girls these days! They are so busy and rarely stand still. Amanda took family pics for us recently and I've seen a few sneak peeks and she definitely got some good ones! I'm going to create some sort of photo gallery downstairs. Minted.com has some awesome photo art- last year they had some good Black Friday deals, so I think I am going to hold off on ordering anything until then.

The girls also love playing outside and swinging- I ask them if they would like to "go wee" and they run to the patio door. They also love playing kitchen.

In not so great tricks, Audrey has started climbing into our bay window. She uses a chair to get up and then scoots across the 5 feet or so to get to the "treasures" (remote, kleenex box, whatever). I've moved everything so hopefully that puts and end to her antics.

The girls have about 30 or so words- it seems like they learn a new word everyday!

baby shoes

Baby shoes are so irresistible and cute- Claire and Audrey probably have more shoes than the average adult. I am no stranger to buying shoes, but baby shoes are a whole different world than adult shoes- some things I have learned:

-Don't even bother with shoes when your baby is less than 6 months old (unless you can take the pricey plunge and buy moccasins from freshly picked, more on that below). They won't stay on their feet. Instead, invest in some Trumpette socks. And no, I'm not crazy for suggesting that you spend $5+ per pair of baby socks- these are the only socks that would stay on the girls' feet, and are so cute you won't even miss the teeny tiny shoes.

-Think function over fashion. The girls own keens and crocs. I never thought I would buy either of those brands in my lifetime. The girls got the keens handed down to them, and they actually stay on the girls' feet! And they can run around and play. These are our go to summer time shoes.

-You probably only need 1 pair of casual shoes, perhaps 2 if the kids are in daycare and play outside a lot. Favorite brands include toms, sperrys, and minnetonka moccasins. I haven't been able to tank the plunge, but freshly picked has some of the cutest moccasins out there! Audrey has a pair of knock offs and they actually stay on her feet! Jane and GroopDealz both have offered similar moccasins, but I keep on missing out on the sales. Apparently one of the sellers is going to be offering them on Jane again soon, so I am going to stalk that website daily. Also, check out your local bait shop to get a good deal on the minnetonka moccasins.

-If you choose the color wisely, you only need one pair of dress shoes. I love metallics and colors! We've owned a few pairs of basic black shoes over the past 18 months, but I much prefer adding a pop of color- check out hanna andersson and crewcuts for inspiration. Baby gap has been our main source of dress shoes- I try to purchase them when they are on sale, but we also use our dress shoes for every day, so I don't mind spending a little extra for something really cute. 

random cuteness and favorite baby clothes

The girls have been up to all sorts of cute things lately:

-This weekend when we were driving home, Claire randomly started tickling her own feet, we noticed because she said "ticka ticka ticka".

-When the girls want to play outside, they go up to the patio door and say "wheee".

-Audrey loves to share with Claire- she gives her food, sippy cups, pacifiers, you name it.

-This morning, Claire took Audrey's hand and led her all around the house, it was adorable!

We had family pictures over the weekend, once again Amanda did a fabulous job! Here is a sneak peek:

And now that I am an experienced baby clothes shopper, I thought I would share a few of my favorites.

1. Hanna Andersson is hands down my absolute favorite. I think people close to me probably get sick of hearing me talk about my obsession! But seriously, the fabric is awesome quality, it washes and wears incredibly well. The sizing is crazy too- the girls fit into it forever! Claire is still wearing dresses from last summer. The only downside is that it is pricey- a set of pajamas runs about $40 and the site rarely offers free shipping. I'm hoping to scope out the sale section the next time we go to the city and also stock up during their Black Friday sale (jammies are half price then). I've also had some good luck on ebay- I've been able to get dresses from $5-$10.

2. Tea Collection has the most beautiful printed dresses. The girls have a handful of these dresses that I've scored at rummage sales and once upon a child. These dresses also wash quite well- the fabric is thick, but not quite as durable as HA. Thankfully it is fairly easy to find these dresses on sale- right now their website has a few choices for $15.

3. Baby Gap- this is where I find most of my bargains! Sign up for their emails to catch the best sales! I've found that my local store tends to have better prices than online, so it pays to stop by every so often. My favorite time to buy is when you get an extra 40% off clearance. I recently picked up some jeans for Claire for about $5 a pair, which is less than what they sell for at OUAC! I'm a bit mad at myself over that purchase though, there was a gap cash promotion going on- in the past I was awarded gap cash for the amount I spent pre-discount, but this time you actually needed to spend $50 to get the promotion (for those not familiar, you get $25 off a $50 purchase with gap cash). The only downside of the gap cash is that it can't be combined with other % off promotions. My way around this is to scope out the clearance section and only buy from there- that way I still get a double discount.

4. Target- some of the girls' most adorable clothes are from Target. I've found that these clothes tend to wear a bit quicker than the other brands I've discussed. My way to counteract this is to only buy things when they are 50-70% off. Most of the items I've picked up at Target have been $5 or less.

party prep

I'm making preliminary plans for the girls' golden birthday. I fell in love with the dress the flower girl was wearing at my cousin's wedding last December. I'm not sure why I didn't just order the dresses from Gymboree last year, but at any rate they are out of stock now and I have been stalking ebay. I ordered Audrey's dress, it arrived today and is gorgeous! I haven't been having as much luck finding smaller sizes for Claire, but since I'm preparing ahead of time hopefully I will encounter one.

I have some rough ideas for the rest of the party- obviously I will be incorporating lots of gold! I also like mint and pink. I've came across some adorable invitations on etsy as well. I figure this will likely be the last year that I have complete creative control of the party, so I am going to take advantage before the girls insist on Dora and Doc McStuffins!

18 months

The girls are at such a fun age right now- it seems like they are learning new things every day. Audrey is really picking up on new words- recent additions are ears, duck, and quack.

Claire loves playing ring around the rosie- Audrey isn't as into it, and Claire gets very upset if Audrey refuses to hold her hand.

The girls are becoming more grown up everyday- they love using their forks! We went out to eat on Monday and Audrey insisted on using a fork. The girls are also very interested in whatever we are drinking! We frequently walk over to caribou for their happy hour. Last time we went Audrey was insisting on trying my drink- I figured she wouldn't like it so I could just let her have a sip and she would lose interest- that plan backfired! I had to put my coffee away and finish it after she went to bed.

Their favorite toys are little people, play food, and books. Audrey can't get enough of her books- she would be happy to have someone read to her all day long. Claire is a bit more active- she likes to run around, twirl, and dance.

The girls continue to be great eaters- they went on a bit of a banana strike, but after giving them a bit of a break they are eating them again. There really hasn't been anything that they have refused yet.

The girls are both getting molars- I'm not even sure how many teeth they have these days, it is hard to get a good look in their mouths! I know they have 10 for sure... maybe even 12? They insist on brushing their own teeth, but I'll have to investigate. Audrey has had a bit of a fever with this teething business so she has been alternating between irritable and snuggly.

We are going to start potty training soon! I ordered some basic gerber training pants, but then spoke with my cousin who is a cloth diapering genius and got a few other ideas. I'm going to bypass the whole pull up business- I think I'm going to order blueberry training pants and rumparooz diaper covers. I won't use the diaper cover when we are at home, but I think it will be helpful when we are out running errands and when we are traveling.

I'm also waiting for Hanna Andersson to have free shipping- they are one of the only places that offer undies in Claire's size, plus I am obsessed with HA- it is such great quality! They are pricey, but the girls are young enough that they won't know the difference if they get socks and undies for Christmas :)