What's Up Wednesday

For the past couple of years I have participated in a monthly Pinspired link up party. Starting this month instead of Pinspired I'm join in Shay, Mel and Sheaffer for What's Up Wednesday.

Here are the questions.

1. What we're eating this week...

Ball park hotdogs and nachos, leftover pizza, hamburgers and/or tacos and grilled spicy cilantro chicken. 

2. What I'm reminiscing about...

Our recent trip to Disneyland (still working on blog post) and Everett as a baby. 

3. What I'm loving...

all our the mommy groups I'm a part of - MOPS, church group, spouse work group and planning summer activities for them. And chalk art drawings with C. This is one her daddy drew. You can find more of our drawings on IG or Pinterest. 

4. What we've been up to...

watching lots of baseball and going to our first Padres game. 

5. What I'm dreading...

the 90 degree heat we are having and the upcoming HOT summer without AC

6. What I'm working on...

baking sugar cookies and royal icing

7. What I'm excited about...

hanging out with these kiddos tomorrow and the Carlsbad Flower Fields on Friday

8. What I'm watching reading....

i'm behind on a lot of shows - Grey's, Scandal, Nashville so I'm trying to catch up. I've been distracted by One Tree Hill on Netflix. I'm reading What Alice Forgot and the One & Only.

9. What I'm listening to...

the Amazon prime app.

10. What I'm wearing...

this shirt and scarf have been in heavy rotation lately

11. What I'm doing this weekend...

right now we have no plans, except to convert a toddler bed back into a crib

12. What I'm looking forward to next month..

going back to Missouri for a few weeks

13. What else is new...

Not much

14. What I'm am giving (or want to receive) for Mother's Day

i was able to find matching mother/daughter Lilly Pulitzer dresses from Target. I was not one of the crazies that made it to the store the day they premiered but I was on of the lucky ones(?) that found returned items. 

Everett: 5 Months

5 Months

I want you for my next campaign

Height: 26.5 inches; 96th percentile*
Weight: 15.05 pounds; 40th percentile
Head Size: 16.25 inches; 41st percentile*
Diaper Size: Size 2 and we are using cloth diapers. You could almost wear size 3 as we have been having some leaks in the morning.
Clothes: 3-6 month fits best. You can wear 6 month pants with the legs rolled up.
Sleep: You are sleeping better but not consistently. I can almost count on you to fall asleep at 8pm every night. You are still waking up at least once sometimes twice to eat. We are going to try some different sleep techniques this next month to encourage you to sleep through the night. Most days you wake up between 6-7 to eat and sometimes will go right back to sleep. I still can't figure out a morning nap routine. Afternoon naps are more predictable. You usually nap between 2-3 until 5ish.
Eating: You can usually go 4 hours during the day between feedings. We haven't started any solids.
Mommy Milestones: You are so close to crawling and started a few days after your 5 month birthday. You still mostly roll around to get where you want to go. You have started blowing raspberries and laughing when tickled. You drool all the time and always have something in your mouth.

5 Month Favorites

Taggie Blanket, Stroller toys, Ergo

*4 month stats

C's 5 Month Comparison

Weekend Trip to LA

Last weekend we made plans to watch the LA Galaxy take on Sporting KC in LA. The LA MIZZOU alumni association bought tickets to the game and invited the SD Chapter. We of course were the only ones from SD to attend and we dragged our friend Yohan, a fellow MU alumni and LA transplant, to go with us. I hadn't been to a MLS game in over 8 years back when Sporting KC were known as the Wizards. If you've ever had the opportunity to visit the Galaxy stadium you know that while the stadium is very nice the parking situation leaves something to be desired. Seriously we had to park at least a half mile from the stadium and didn't use a stroller.

We met up with the alumni association beforehand in the Stadium Club. Most of the people we met were local to LA who ended up at MU mainly for Journalism. While we hanging out we could tell C needed to use the restroom. At one point I asked her if she needed to go and she proceeded to pull her pants down and squat in the middle of the restaurant. As horrified as I was I had to laugh, pull her pants up and race off to the restroom.

The game was fun, but Sporting KC lost in the final minute of stoppage time. We did get to see 3 World Cup players play (KC- Zusi and Besler; LA - Gonzalez). We arrived back at the hotel late and everyone was wide awake. We quickly got everyone ready for bed because we had an early date with Disneyland the next day.

Hanging out at the Hotel

Snoozing

#twinning

2012 MLS Cup

Everyone was wide awake at the game

First Train Ride

Two weeks ago the Royals had a series against the Angels in Anaheim. Since David is a Royals fan (even through the years they were horrible) there was a good chance that he or all of us would be going to the game. Anaheim is only 1.5 hours away and since we had plans in LA the next weekend we decide to take the whole family on a train ride. C loves trains and recently has developed a love for trucks, firetrucks, school buses etc. Taking a train ride was on my bucket list from last summer and we were finally going to check it off the list.

The game was at 12:00ish so we knew it would be an all day trip. We were also in the middle of potting training so this would be our first real test to see how she could do. We boarded the 10:00 train and enjoyed a leisurely ride to Anaheim. Best thing about the ride, the train stops at the ballpark's parking lot. We had great seats right behind the bull pens and saw both starting pitchers (Ventura and Wilson) warm up as well as the relievers. C got a ball from the Angels pitching coach and had it signed by Mike Morin (of the KC area). At the end of the game one of the Royals relievers Ryan Madson also threw her a ball. We gave one of the balls away to an Angels fan who had patiently been waiting to catch a glimpse of his favorite team.

Overall both kids did great. It was only 70 degree, but HOT and sunny. E slept through most of his first MLB game and C alternated between coloring on the way (with a water pen) and taking potty breaks/eating snacks. The Royals came away with a win (9-2) and we saw Pujols hit his 522 home run. We also realized that this was C's 4th ballpark (Cardinals, Padres, Angels, Dodgers) she's been to 5 if you count in-utero (Cubs).

The ride back was less eventful, we were one of a few families on board the train. C relaxed watching a movie and David and I discussed our plans for the following weekend in LA.

Show and Tell Tuesday: Names

I'm linking up with Andrea and Erika for today's post on Names. I love hearing how people come up with their kid's names and I can't wait to read everyone's stories.

David and I thought about names way before we were planning to get pregnant. We both liked different names and there were times when I thought we would never agree on a name. That all changed when we started watching Sons of Anarchy. We both instantly liked the name "Jax" and "Jackson". Not long after that we were introduced to Pushing Daises. The lead actress' show name was Chuck aka Charlotte and again we both liked its uniqueness. At that point it was obvious to us that our children would be named after characters in shows we liked. The caveat to this was that we both had to like the show. That eliminated tons of names because we watched different shows and had a few shared ones.

When we found out we were pregnant we decided to stick with our two names Jackson and Charlotte and call them Jax and Charlee. I loved Chuck but thought it was too boyish for a girl. My parents gave my brother/sister/I names that couldn't be shorten and I always wanted a nickname. I wanted to call our kids by a nickname but give them strong names if they really disliked the nicknames we called them. As our pregnancy progressed we heard Jackson everywhere and were thankful that we found out we were having a girl. We were pretty set on calling C Charlee, but it never stuck and she ended up Charlotte. Now when we joke around calling her Charlee she'll respond with my name's not Charlee it's Charlotte.  Towards the end I really ended up liking the name Elliot for a girl, but David wasn't sold on it. Two of our friends that same year named their kids Elliot (1 boy and 1 girl) so I guess it's better we choose Charlotte. In the years since C was born I've known at least three girls born and named Charlotte.

She has kept all that hair.

The second time around we didn't have a favorite tv show character name to use. I was still sold on Elliot for a girl but had zero boy names. I loved Kennadi, Lincoln and Everly. When we found out we were having a boy I was stumped on names. I entertained Grayson, Dax and Landon but none of them stuck, plus Grayson was becoming increasingly popular. We were pretty set on using Everett for a middle name and after some discussion decided on naming him Everett and calling him by his middle name or a nickname. We came up with Carter but after a few weeks I wasn't feeling it. I saw James on the WTE site and immediately knew that was our name. I felt Everett was an old name for a baby and we thought about calling him EJ. He could always use Everett when he was older. Once he arrived he was Everett or "Mr Big Stuff" as Charlotte and I affectionally call him. Everett is David's grandfather's name and the kids only living great-grandpa. The name Everett is making a comeback as I heard of several other babies with the same name since his birth.

#lauraeveryday2015 Week 15

I thought April would be a slow month for us, but we've been busy. 

Day 102

First train ride to Anaheim to watch the Royals destroy the Angels. 

Day 103

Making music with my girl

Day 104

You looking at me?

Day 105

#OOTD

Day 106

Can you tell I have a big sister?

Day 107

She's excited about our weekend trip

Day 107

Watching the LA Galaxy vs Sporting KC game. 

Easter Celebration 2015

This year the grandparents were in town to help us celebrate Easter. We started off the weekend with donuts from Donut Bar. #theyneverdisappoint We waited in line for almost an hour to devour the delicious donuts. The Easter bunny was handing out the kids donuts. After donuts we met our friends downtown for the Farmer's Market and the Waterfront Park.

We created a chalk art scene to celebrate our bunny side.

We made pistachio cupcakes. These were delicious. Find the Pinterest recipe here.

Since it takes us twice as long to do anything these days we decided to attend church on Saturday night. Both kids slept through the service.

C was up bright and early Sunday morning and the Easter bunny hadn't arrived yet. ;) We quickly fixed that and opened Easter baskets. Her favorite gift was the fan. We ate bunny pancakes and headed to the park to take Easter photos of the kids. Meanwhile the Easter bunny hid eggs around the house.

That afternoon we flew a kite which C had been wanting to do for several weeks. 

A few days later we died Easter eggs. 

We had a fantastic time celebrating the holiday this year with our family.