Baby West #2

It's high time that this is blog post official... Cash's crew is expanding this fall. Baby Boy West #2 is due October 29, 2016! We are SO excited about adding another little boy to our family and we can't wait to meet our son!

As un-ceremonious as it may be 7 months in, I'm finally getting around to posting about expecting our second baby. As much as I'd love to say I'm a successful blogger of our life events, I love even more that I know when something I enjoy isn't just an outlet, but a distraction. Keeping up with a wild toddler, opposite work schedules, maintaing our household, enjoying time with family & friends, and balancing Aaron's grad school schedule make for plenty of "busy," for me. My down time has been spent much differently lately... more naps, more Netflix and more ice cream, if you must know. Someday though, I'll likely look back and wish I would have written more about this pregnancy and our growing family, so better late then never is just going to have to work this time around. I have no plans to do a weekly pregnancy update, but I wanted to jot down a few current thoughts and reflections comparing this pregnancy to my last pregnancy.

Today : 31 weeks + 2 days (this picture is from 29 weeks, since then I have cut 6" off my hair and gained a few lbs)

Weight Gain :  20ish lbs... I was slowly losing weight when I got pregnant this time around (I'd guess I was about 5 lbs less than when I got pregnant with Samson) so it's difficult to give an accurate number. I gained weight slower at first and then faster in the 2nd trimester. I'm still not sure if it's something I care more or less about this time around.

Maternity Clothes : Of course! My belly expanded much quicker this pregnancy! I love the warm weather of summer, but I'm ready for it to cool down a little bit... my wardrobe will expand significantly when I can start wearing long sleeves and sweaters!

Stretch Marks : I have a few that arrived AFTER the birth of Samson... which doesn't seem fair does it?... but I'm not sure that I'm accumulating more at this point. They were kind of hard to see in the first place and my belly is a little too round for me to report on the current state of them. Second time around, I can honestly say it's not something I care about. Don't expect a weekly play by play. You'll still see me in a bikini next summer.

Sleep : So good! Looking back at posts from my pregnancy with Samson, I can't believe how much trouble I was having with sleep by this point. Maybe I've just adjusted my expectations of a good night of sleep now that I'm a parent, but I do think this pregnancy has been much easier on my body than the last time around. No insomnia, no carpel tunnel and no sore joints to keep me up at night... yet. Woohoo!

Sickness : None. At all. The whole time. Can I get an AMEN?! After throwing up daily for half of my pregnancy with Samson, this has been the most welcome of changes. I have been dealing with heart burn lately, but maybe that just means we're getting set up for another hairy newborn?

Movement : So much! Samson doesn't know what's going on yet, but his baby brother has been kicking him quite a bit lately. I love feeling a baby move in my belly, it's one of my absolute favorite parts of pregnancy. I'm also pretty sure that baby boy is also doing a little bit of "Wax on, wax off" because his movements seem super rhythmic and strange lately.

Craving : Twizzlers! I have eaten more strawberry Twizzlers in the past seven months then in my last 26 years combined. It's a distinct possibility that this child will be born with red hair, courtesy of all the Red 40 color. My first trimester, I was obsessed with strawberry everything... I could have eaten strawberry jelly with a spoon. In fact, I might have. I'll never tell. It's worth mentioning that I also still love Dr. Pepper and donuts, but Aaron says I can't claim those as pregnancy cravings anymore.. that they are just my favorite things, since I kept up the habit long after Samson had been born. ;)

Exciting happenings : So far this pregnancy has been an easy, healthy one. Hopefully the next 9ish weeks are just as great as the last 31 have been. We've stocked up on Pampers Swaddlers (yes we still cloth diaper Samson & will cloth diaper this babe after a few months as well). We bought Samson a big boy bed so we'll be ready to upgrade him when he's done with his crib... hopefully the timing will work out with his little brother. We're in no rush since we plan on the baby sleeping in our room for several months in the bassinet. We have a bought a few sweet little outfits for baby boy, I'm on the hunt for a new baby blanket and lovie. We have been evaluating everything we have and the things we need to purchase/upgrade this time around. I'm trying my hardest to hold out until October to start un-boxing all of the baby things we have packed away! We're all starting to get really excited around here!

Finally Spring

It's funny that it felt like spring took so long to arrive in Indiana this year, especially since we had such a mild winter. But, the yard has been mowed for the first time, there are dandelions a plenty, and it's comfortable enough to wear shorts and shirt sleeves. So without further adieu, I declare it spring.

I don't pull out my camera often enough to take pictures of Samson. I have come up with a handful of excuses but, the easiest to toss around is "Now that he's walking running, it's too hard to take nice pictures." Which is, in fact, totally true. But, the thought of these memories being lost on me someday breaks my heart. So today, we took some pictures. They aren't perfect, they aren't composed, they aren't even edited... but, they are of my sweet little backyard adventurer and of moments I hope I never forget.

Samson's Easter Basket

When I was growing up, the Easter bunny only left candy in our baskets (with the exception of the year that I was treated in the hospital for dehydration and wasn't allowed to have candy... worst year ever!) so it feels a little sacrilegious to be picking out non-edibles for my own kid's Easter basket. However, I'm not about to give my 1 year old any candy either, so we're changing things up for Easter in our house this year. A couple snacks and a few fun things will be a nice surprise for Sam, without taking away from the real magic of Easter (Can't wait to shout "He is risen! Alleluia!" in a few days!)

Cherokee Shirt How cute is this spring shirt I picked up from Target? I think I paid $4 for it. If you ask me, it's kind of silly to put clothes in an Easter basket, but I've been buying spring clothes for Samson anyways, might as well give the Bunny credit for something ;)

Bunny Graham Crackers One of Samson's favorite snacks. These are always in our grocery cart anyways ($2), it's just a happy coincidence that the bunny shape is perfect for Easter.

Bubbles Kids love bubbles! Samson has no idea how they work yet, but he absolutely loves chasing them around. Just $1 from the outdoor toy section at Target.

Toddler Crayons Shaped crayons that are easy for little hands to hold (he keeps breaking all the regular shaped crayons with his wild coloring) and less than $5 on Amazon.

Plum Organics Snack Pouch Samson loves these snack pouches. We always have them stocked in the pantry. We usually pick them up for $1 and they are the perfect mess free snack/ on the go meal.

Guess How Much I Love You A classic book to add to our mini-library, bonus points for bunnies! Got it for $4.50 on Amazon.

Another Memory for the Baby Book

Well, a little over a week ago, Samson's long, wispy baby hair, a.k.a. the sweetest mullet I have ever seen, has officially been trimmed up into a toddler hair cut. My sister-in-law, Ravelle, had the honor of attempting to trim the locks of a squirmy one year old, while simultaneously trying not to gouge his eye with the pointy end of her shears. Sounds like fun right? We started out by giving him a food pouch, which actually worked really well for about 30 seconds until he had sucked it all down. After that it was a lot of coaxing and trying to get him to watch Sesame Street on my phone until I realized I knew exactly what he would hold still for. Adam Levine. He is my child after all. So, I turned on the music video for Maroon 5-Sugar and he got in the hair cut zone. Hallelujah! I'll try to start with that one next time.

I did my best to take pictures, but Samson won't hold still for anything these days. His hair cut was so cute, I had forgotten all about how I cried at just the thought of cutting it the night before. How did he  grow up so fast?! It's amazing to me how I spent so much time memorizing every detail of him as a new baby and he's grown and changed so quickly, yet so subtly over the past year, now suddenly before me is a little boy. I swear my heart gets bigger every single day.

Favorites : Ten - Twelve

I've been meaning to post this for quite some time.. but I've officially got the first year of baby favorites covered now. 

Ubbi Tweat Snack Container - How cute is this snack container? It has a flip top lid that is easy for Samson to open, but stays shut in the diaper bag. Inside it has a removable ring of soft flaps (similar to other snack cups) that keep snacks in and Cash's nose out.

Imaginarium Stacking Rings - We got this wooden stacking ring toy for Samson for Christmas and he plays with it every day. I've had a lot of fun finding wooden alternatives to plastic toys. The bright colored rings are the perfect size for little hands. Samson loves to carry them around and stack them up.

Plan Toys Walker - Another awesome wooden toy alternative that we have found. Samson's favorite thing about this Van walker is the space for storing all his toys (future shopping cart lover here.) You can adjust the tension of the wheels and the height of the handle to accommodate your kiddos abilities.  Plan Toys is an awesome company that practices world class sustainability that you can read about here.

Boon Creatures Bath Toys - Boon makes the best bath toys! These are colorful, fun to stack,  and have fun holes that pour out water. They dry out easily, which makes them a breeze to keep clean. 

That's Not My Panda - These touch-and-feel Useborn books are still some of Samson's favorites. Samson's Great-Grandma G supplies him with these books that he loves so much. 

Old Navy Flannel Shirt - Good grief, there is nothing more cute than seeing your baby dress up like a little man. Aaron wears flannel shirts all the time and it was due time that Samson got one of his own. We got this one for him a few months ago for our family pictures and it's on sale now!

Old Navy Trapper Hat - We got this hat for Samson back in October and we love it. I mean, it's adorable. He looks like a little lumbar jack when he wears it (and it happened to work perfectly for his Halloween costume). It's one of our favorite hats because the chin strap helps keep it firmly on his head on a cold, blustery day. Also on sale now!

Playtex Sippy Cups - These were one of the first hard spout sippy cups that we purchased for Samson. I know that professionals recommend you give your baby straw cups or regular cups since sippy cups require the same sucking action as nursing from a bottle. However, you can't beat the leak-proof quality and ease of cleaning that these sippy cups allow. We save straws and regular cups for meal times and pack these sippy cups in the diaper bag etc. These are SO easy to clean with just one silicone valve and a one piece lid. These are some of the more leak-proof sippy cups we have.

Cloth Diapers : What We Really Think

Samson was about 8 weeks old, when I got brave and decided to snap on one of the cloth diapers.  We've been using cloth diapers for quite some time now and we've learned a lot along the way. People often ask me if we still use cloth diapers or they act shocked that we are still using them (often with heavily cynical voices). Bottom line: we love it or we're crazy enough to not hate it. Second bottom line: we aren't quite all in, but we're committed to what works for us. Third bottom line: we are saving loads of money.

Diaper Choice : Charlie Banana One Size Pocket Diapers. Two thumbs up. The fit is great, the style is great, they come with two sizes of inserts, the elastic on the back holds in all the poop. Zero blow outs so far... but never say never. (We've had several blow-outs in disposables). I definitely recommend them. We have 19 diapers, which cost us $215 out of pocket. I can't even begin to stress how good of a deal that is... $215 for the diapers Samson will wear for 2+ years! I'm thinking about investing in some new inserts though (not in love with microfiber, what do YOU use? Please let me know!)

Diaper Pail/Bags : At home, we keep a regular lidded trash can in the bathroom next to Samson's room with the diaper sprayer. Holds in smells okay, keeps the grossness contained & is very easy to clean. On the go, we use Planet Wise and Itzy Rizy wet bags. Both hold in smells and grossness exceptionally well. I've stashed a massively dirty diaper in the diaper bag after a mid-church diaper change and no-one was the wiser. Impressed.

Diaper Sprayer : Bumkins cloth diaper sprayer. Do you need one? Yes No. Should you get one? Yes. Definitely yes. I jumped the gun on using the cloth diapers before we actually got the sprayer installed. So for a while we dunked and swished. Honestly, it wasn't that bad, but considering that we had a sprayer just anxiously waiting to fulfill it's poop cleansing purpose, it was kind of undesirable. The spray is adjustable and easy to control. I feel like the diapers and inserts get clean much easier with a little pre-rinse.

Detergent : We started out with a bag of Rockin' Green courtesy of my cousin Jess. I ran out before I had re-ordered so I did some quick research to find an inexpensive cloth diaper safe detergent in-store near me. I bought a huge jug of ECOS Free & Clear laundry detergent from Target. I'm smitten. I use it on diapers and all of our clothes. I love that it's liquid, which for whatever reason is more appealing to me.

Wash Routine : For reference, we have this washer and this dryer, which I highly recommend. Also, I do a cycle with HOT water which isn't recommended for Charlie Banana diapers. However, ensuring that my diapers are clean with as few chemicals as possible is more important to me than voiding a warranty, so make sure you educate yourself on your own particular brand of diapers before you commit to any routine.

It took a lot of trial and error to get to this point. This is about 2 hours worth of washing and 1 hour of drying. It might seem like a lot of water, but keep in mind we have an energy efficient machine. We haven't noticed any change in our water bill because we are still using well below the minimum usage fee.

1. Rinse with Aqua Jet - Cold Water
2. Quick Wash - Heavy - Hot Water -  Line 1 ECOS Free & Clear
3. Normal Cycle - Heavy - Warm Water - Line 1 ECOS Free & Clear - 2 T OxiClean Free & Clear
4. Rinse with Aqua Jet - Cold Water
5. Timed dry - Very Low - 60 minutes, or we line dry outside when the weather is nice.

Disposables : Yep, still use them. I always have some in the diaper bag and in the back of the car. I try to pack one cloth diaper in the diaper bag, but if we are out for an extended period of time, I prefer not to carry around a bag of dirty diapers. To each his own. We use disposable diapers every night and we still using disposable wipes every diaper change. If I had to estimate we use about 2 disposable diapers a day...we use The Honest Co. diapers and wipes, and love them. I highly recommend their products and their subscription service. As a busy mom, there is nothing better. They send reminder emails to select diaper designs and adjust your delivery date as necessary. You can adjust your delivery rate (more often or less often) and a sales rep for The Honest Co, says they can even split your bundle if you think your baby is in between sizes (or uses larger diapers at night for more absorbency.) Here is my referral code for The Honest Co. if you decide to give one of their bundles a try!

Overall, we are happy with our choice. Cloth diapering wasn't even on my radar until I was pregnant and observing the mommas around me. And cloth diapering wasn't on Aaron's radar until I told him we should cloth diaper Samson. There are some days I feel a little crazy but, it feels good to spend less on monthly expenses, to produce less waste, to put something gentle on my baby's skin, and to pat that cute fluffy cloth diaper bum.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Every time I make my chocolate chip cookies, someone asks for the recipe. I most recently made these to take to some of our friends and a few our neighbors and realized that this would be a great recipe to share. Now I'm not promising that this is an Emily West original, but I also can't remember where this particular recipe came from, because I don't have a written recipe that I follow. It's one of my favorites that I just keep tucked in my mind. Also, I can ensure you that this is full of gluten and dairy and sugar, because that's what good things in life are made from. While I'm definitely no food blogger, this is a recipe I feel confident sharing because I know you will love it and I know that you'll probably never want a regular chocolate chip cookie again. 

Brown Butter Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs

1 heaping cup milk chocolate chips

1 heaping cup dark chocolate chips (I use Private Selection dark chocolate chunks)

Sea Salt for topping

First, you need to brown the butter. This is the most important part. Don't screw it up. If you don't know how to brown butter, this video is helpful. After you brown the butter, pour it into a bowl to cool. Use a rubber scraper to get all the brown flecks out of the pan into the bowl (that's the best part.) Don't proceed with mixing until the butter is no longer hot to the touch.

While waiting for the butter to cool, I typically measure and sift my flour, baking soda and salt and set aside in a bowl. Then I measure out my chocolate chips and set them aside in a separate bowl. Finally, I measure the sugars and vanilla extract into my stand mixer bowl so I'm ready to go when the butter is cool. It makes a few extra dirty dishes, but it does make the cookie dough making efficient.

Once the butter is no longer hot, pour it into mixing bowl with the sugars and vanilla extract, using a rubber scraper to transfer all of the brown flecks. Mix on low speed until combined. Next, add the eggs. Then, slowly add the dry ingredients. Once the dough is thoroughly combined, add the chocolate pieces. I recommend doing this by hand to prevent the chocolate from breaking. Cover and freeze for 30 minutes or refrigerate for 1+ hours.

After the dough has been chilled, preheat the oven to 375˚, scoop the dough into balls and place on to cookie sheet. The bigger the better, in my opinion. Bake for 8-11 minutes, to your liking. I always err on the side of less done, because the cookies will continue to cook a bit on the baking sheet after removed them from the oven. Just before transferring cookies to a cooling rack, sprinkle with sea salt.