Leighton :: 15 Months

Age: 15 Months!

Stats: Girlfriend is in the 99th percentile for height at 33 inches and in the 92% percentile for weight at 25 pounds, 7 ounces. People look perplexed when we say she just turned one when they assume she's almost two... ;)

Clothes: 24 months and/or 2T depending on the store. Her outfit in the pictures is Old Navy and she's definitely a 2T there. Size 6 shoe for the most part as well. Her deliciously chunky feet have a hard time fitting into any shoe but with warmer weather ahead, I think flip-flops, sandals and jellies will be our friends!

Favorite Foods: Leighton has yet to find a food she doesn't like. I'm hoping it stays this way, for a least a little while longer! She's been known to put back a scrambled egg, banana and piece of toast for breakfast only to then help me finish my bagel. She loves milk and water and prefers to have a snack cup in her hand 24/7 like big sister. 

Favorite Toys: She loves to play with the kitchen the girls got for Christmas and is a BIG fan of swiping whatever Gracyn is playing with at any given time. She loves the remote for the TV, the controller for Justin's xBox and my work computer. It's always a little awkward having to explain a random, baby gibberish email response to my coworkers. She sees the open keyboard and straight up lunges for it as fast as she can. 

Words: mama, dada, daddy,  banana (nana) and hi are the ones we hear regularly. She recently started saying bubble (bubba) and we're working on baby as well. She doesn't have as many words as Gracyn did at this age but she's definitely not quiet. She will fake-laugh at you during dinner and scream in order to keep up with G. 

Leighton Lynn is a spitfire, that's for sure and the days with her around are anything but dull. She loves to play and we're working on listening and having her stop whatever she's doing when we say "no." For the most part, though, Leighton-Badger don't care. She's naughty and mischievous and sweet and funny and we think she's pretty neat.

These girls of ours tend to get along for the most part and I absolutely love watching them together. It'll only get better the older they get, too.

Gracyn at 15 months on the left and Leighton on the right. All the heart eyes... :)

Easter 2016

Joining the blogging masses with an Easter recap! We headed to Oklahoma to spend the weekend with Justin's family. We watched one of our nephews play some baseball and the girls ran around with their cousins until they could run no more. 

Everyone congregated at my sister-in-law's home for dinner on Saturday night and we had a little egg hunt for the kids on Sunday morning. The weather turned cold and it was even snowing back here at home (um, what!?!) so instead of cute matching Easter outfits, the girls stayed in their jammies until noon and changed into sweatpants for the car ride home. Better luck next year, I guess!

We were all exhausted and the girls slept most of the way back but we had a great time visiting family! Now, to purge all of the extra candy around here... 

oh hey, friday...

Another crazy, busy week! Oh man, where to start...

{ONE}

We got a call from our Realtor around 9:30 PM Saturday night saying she had some information for us from our builder. A little birdy told her there was another potential offer on *our* new house. Um, what!? I thought that was the purpose of a contract! To make it ours!

Turns out, it wasn't so cut and dry. We had a contingency built into our contract, meaning we had to sell our current home first before we could close on the new loan. The idea, obviously, was to make sure we weren't stuck with two mortgages because that would be no bueno. Well, Mr. Builder didn't like that and was entertaining the idea of accepting an offer free of contingencies in order to move forward on the home.

Our Realtor said we had a couple of options...

1. Walk away and start over - or -
2. Haul ass to finish the last of our cleaning/projects, list our home and have an open house THE NEXT DAY and hope that we get under contract so we could remove the contingency on the new house.

Oofta.

Around 11 PM on Saturday night, we sent her a text that basically said "screw it - let's LIST!" We were (are) emotionally invested in the new house and it's already been a whirlwind experience so we might as well continue on this crazy train, right!? RIGHT!

We stashed the rest of the girls' toys and finished cleaning. Our home went "live" and we had a random, unadvertised open house set for Sunday afternoon.

{TWO}

Now, everyone had been saying that the housing market is "hot" and our Realtor expected it to go quickly but we were still anxious. If we didn't get an offer soon, it could potentially mean losing the new house.

Our home sold IN FOUR HOURS. It. was. nuts.

We received two offers right away and just like that, we had a contract. We celebrated by going to our new house (for reals!) and giving her a big ol' hug! ;)

my view from the new kitchen. isn't it lovely!?!?!

{THREE}

The only (minor? major? depends on who you ask, I suppose...) sacrifice we'll be making is the fact that we have to move out of our current home by the end of April and the new house won't be ready until June-ish.

So.

The hubs and I along with two kids and a giant pain-in-the-ass dog will be apartment dwellers for a few short months. The thought of having to move twice is daunting. Please oh please, tell me it'll be worth it!?!?

Also, I think I've been stress-eating. These things are the devil...

{FOUR}

Somewhere along the way, this girl turned 15 months old on me! Can't believe it. She's is the sweetest, naughtiest girl. She's so mischievous but we love her so. If I can get my act together long enough to stop shoving animal crackers in my face, I'll post a little update about miss Leighton Lynn.

{FIVE}

Did you know it's EASTER this weekend!? Yeah, that kinda snuck up on me, too... I quick ran to Target last night to snag a few goodies for Sunday. We're heading to Oklahoma to spend the weekend with some family and Gracyn was very worried the Easter Bunny wouldn't find her there. Luckily, the E-Bunny and I go way back and had a chat. There will be plenty of eggs to hunt!

I hope you have a great holiday weekend!

I'd like to thank the Academy...

...just kidding.

But really, thanks to Sarah at Seeing All Sides for nominating for me for my very first blogging award! ;) I'm still laughing.

Sarah and I recently connected on social media. She's local to KC but we have yet to meet in person, which we should really change here someday soon. Like drinks or something, yes? Hopefully we can make that happen sometime in the near future! :)

Anywho, the  Liebster award makes the rounds through bloggyland every now and then and it's purpose is to recognize other bloggers you follow and/or admire and share the love with others in the blogging community. Kinda fun, right?

Sarah asked her nominees some questions so here goes nothing...

Why did you start blogging?
I needed a hobby! I'd been reading blogs forever and thought it'd be cool to start my own. I originally wanted to start one to document all things wedding but that didn't happen. And then I was all ready to chronicle married life so I started a blog but then never posted anything. Finally, after pregnancy and having a baby I decided it was time. Read my first post here!

How has your blog changed through the years?
This space has pretty much always been about 'dem babies! They're my world and I'm obsessed with them so you, lucky reader, get to see an inappropriate amount of pictures of them.. ;)

What is our favorite post and why?
I love the girls' birth stories (here & here) and this particular post about what being a mom is really like is a good one, too. You all know what I'm talking about...

What have you learned through blogging?
I've learned that everyone does things their own way and that's ok. Ain't nobody got time to feel inferior because they didn't bake shamrock-shaped pancakes on St. Patrick's Day or decorate their baby's nursery with items from the hip Instagram shops or get out of their pajamas on a Tuesday. I've also met (in real life and online) some really cool people through blogging and I think that's neat.

If you could meet one blogger friend in real-life, who would you choose?
Not sure if they'd consider me "friends" because I'm pretty sure I just e-stalk them and they don't know who I am but Grace is hilarious and Karli is the real deal.

What is your favorite social media platform and why?
Instagram, hashtag always and forever, because it makes me feel like a good photographer (I'm not actually, though...) and it's the only reason I have family photo albums. Thanks, Chatbooks!

What was the last thing you ordered online?
Bubble wrap from Amazon. I lead an exciting life I tell you...

What is your favorite place in your house and why?
In our current house, it's honestly probably our master bedroom so I can lay in bed and watch tv. Real life. We're building a home and I think I'll really enjoy the new kitchen (it'll be amaze-balls compared to what we have now)!

What are you most looking forward to this summer?
MOVING!

What is the last vacation you took?
The hubby and I went to Jamaica last September for my 30th birthday and I felt the need to blog about it on three separate occasions ( 1 | 2 | 3 ). I have a problem.

If you could choose another job different than what you have now, what would you choose?
I think I'd be a nurse that works in the healthy baby nursery taking care of newborns. I'd also make sure to only work like three 12-hour days so I could hang out the other 4 days of the week. Also, why don't they advertise that information when you're in high school and college trying to decide what to do with your life?! If I knew I could work full-time by only work three days a week, I would have signed up then and there. Now, all joking aside, I know nurses work hard and it's a very challenging job but still. I think I could handle it!

11 Facts about Me

1. I'm left handed but really only eat and write with lefty. I bat, golf and throw a ball right-handed. And because the world forces me to do it, I use scissors with my right hand. There should really be more left-handed scissors available to people like us...
2. I've worked in the insurance industry since my senior year of college and do not find it exciting in the least. That may sound sad but I really like the company I work for in the sense that it's small and very flexible and family-friendly and the people that work there are cool. So fear not. I'm not completely dissatisfied in my career... ;) 
3. I'm a freak about finances and start a new way to budget our money like every week. I have spreadsheets and pieces of paper and notes on my phone and if the internet didn't exist and people still wrote checks, my checkbook would always be balanced.
4. I don't have any college debt thanks to my parents and hope to provide the same foundation for my own kids one day.
5. I could eat candy and gummy worms all day every day.
6. I hate to work out which bodes well for me given my candy addiction. Not.
7. My life changed for the better in all ways once I got a minivan...
8. I hate having my feet touched and I've never had a pedicure but I always wear toenail polish.
9. Similarly, I've had manicures in the past but hate having my fingernails painted. It's complicated.
10. I haven't dyed my hair since my wedding in 2011.
11. I have no desire to ever bungee jump or skydive. I also had to look up how to spell "bungee" because I thought it was "bunji"............

My Nominees!!!

A few faves and some new finds...

Elizabeth @ That's Mrs. Burns to You

Whitney @ The Smith Family

Vanessa @ Sunflower State of Mind

Hannah @ My Delicious Adventure

Sarita @ My Girls' World

Questions...

1. What is your favorite part about blogging?
2. How did you choose your blog name?
3. What is your favorite blog post?
4. What do you want to be when you grow up?
5. Who is your role model and why?
6. What is your favorite holiday and why?
7. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
8. Appetizer or dessert?
9. Morning or Night?
10. What is your favorite beverage, adult or otherwise?
11. What is your favorite movie?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

If you've never heard of the Liebster award, it's an online recognition given by bloggers to other new bloggers for enjoying their work.  The intent behind it is to award awesome, new, up and coming blogs within our community.

Official Rules of the Liebster Award

1. Thank the Blogger that nominated you in your post and link back to their site
2. Display the Liebster Award logo on your blog
3. Answer 11 questions from the Blogger that nominated you
4. Tell your readers 11 random facts about you
5. Nominate 5-11 Bloggers with less than 1000 followers for the Liebster Awards
6. Ask your nominees to answer 11 questions

Have fun!

Easter Inspired Activities for Kids

Happy Friday! I wanted to stop by and let you know that I'm blogging over on Lucky & Me today! Check it out and while you're there, stock up on Jada Girls Bike Shorts and Ava Girls undies!

Use Promo Code EASTER2016 to save 20% now through March 22nd!

Confessions

Confessing a few things this St. Patrick's Day and linking up with The Newly...

I confess... 

I still play candy crush.

I've been stuck on level 534 and have been for monnnnnths.

I'd rather buy a new stove than clean the one I've got...

I tried cleaning said stove yesterday because Pinterest said it was easy to do by putting the grates in a garbage bag with ammonia. I followed the steps but my bag leaked everywhere. Twice. Luckily I attempted this outdoors but I'm pretty sure I had a mild high the rest of the morning.  

The girls and I dyed Easter eggs yesterday and it wasn't a disaster. I was pretty sure we'd end up with a mess of spilled water and cracked eggs but they turned out!

I also realized I really enjoy hard boiled eggs. Who knew?! 

Both kids need some new play clothes. I have several online shopping bags filled and just need to commit.

We've had service providers at our house every day this week. Well, except for yesterday I guess. Carpet guy, wood rot fixer guy. Electrician guy comes this afternoon and window cleaner guy comes tomorrow!

My parents are coming to visit this weekend and Gracyn has been looking out the front door for them since yesterday afternoon. We're a little excited to see them.. ;) 

Is it too early to spike my coffee with some Irish cream? Have a great St. Paddy's Day!

10/52 & 11/52

A couple of snaps from the last two weeks. We've been having a few warm days here and there which means we hightail it outside as often as we can. G loves it. Leighton is coming around.

Leighton had random fevers on and off last week for no apparent reason, other than teething perhaps. She has sad eyes in the picture below from when she wasn't feeling so good. She seems to be back to normal this week!

We walked in a local St. Patrick's Day parade on Saturday. It was raining and kind of cold and muddy but this girl had a blast. She made some new friends (kids of some of the other KCMB contributors!) and loved handing out (and receiving) candy along the parade route.

Leighton was a champ as we waited around for the parade to start and dozed off as soon as we started walking, flare and all.

We've had some work done to the house this week - carpets stretched, which I didn't even know was a thing, and some wood rot repaired on the outside. Our windows are getting cleaned on Friday and we have a long list of things to get done this weekend. My parents are coming to help with the girls while Justin and I go into beast-mode getting this bad boy ready to list (and sell! fast! please!?).

And, we can't forget St. Paddy's Day tomorrow! We'll be wearing green and eating corned beef and cabbage. Justin doesn't really care for it but I find it to be delicious but only fix it once a year. It is YUM.

Friday Things

Happy Friday! We've had a big, busy week so let's jump right in to my Friday Five shall we??

{ONE}

I'm still pinching myself but we are officially under contract for this big, beautiful house. We've been semi-stalking a few homes in this neighborhood and when we found out we couldn't build the plan we thought we wanted on the particular lot we were looking at, we felt a little defeated. Until we walked through a finished version of this baby. We moved fast, they moved faster and bam. We have a new house. 

We're thinking we'll have a move-in date at the end of June and until then I'll be stressing about getting our current home sold, making sure things are in place to secure the new house and move all of our shhhtuff!

I can't wait.

{TWO}

I mentioned things moved fast. The house was nothing but studs the day we decided to write up the paperwork. We stopped by two days later and drywall had been added. We met with the builder on Tuesday and went to pick out some finishes on Wednesday.  I start sweating just thinking about it.

Also, picking out flooring and tile and carpet and paint from itty bitty samples should be illegal. I'm confident we made good choices but man alive was it hard!

Below you can see the selections for the master bathroom. Floor tile, vanity top and backsplash. 

Swoon!

{THREE}

This girl. Not even a mild fever could slow her down. Girlfriend acted completely normal all day long and yesterday afternoon I noticed she felt a little warm. Justin took her temp and it came up at 101! She was smiling and playing and eating.. and burning up apparently.

Not sure if it's teeth? She's cutting her canines but that seems like a high temperature for just teeth. By bedtime it was showing 99 so we gave her some more motrin. Her naps have been short this week but she's sleeping well at night so we'll see. Hopefully it's nothing major!

{FOUR}

Big sister lives for the second I say we can go outside and play. She helped Justin rake some leaves and "dug up flowers" for me, which were actually just dead leaves and sticks but still. My heart melted.

{FIVE}

Did you see my post about St. Patrick's Day activities earlier this week?! I'm all about quick & easy  and these ideas are just that.  The family and I are walking in a local St. Patty's Day parade with Kansas City Moms Blog tomorrow and I'm excited to dress up in green and get out for a bit! The girls are ready, Gracyn even has new festive shoes to wear. 

We have some more work to do before we list our home so after the shenanigans on Saturday it's back to the grind for us! I think things will die down a bit once we get the listing photos taken and get everything that we don't need packed away. 

Have a great weekend!

Quick & Easy St. Patrick's Day Activities for Toddlers

Happy Tuesday! If you've been reading this little blog for awhile now, you know we are (or at least try to be!) big DIY-ers and crafters. If you're new here, welcome! My name is Mackenzie and I attempt to make things with my kids every now and then. Sometimes they turn out, other times we're a hot mess. ;)

The fact remains that I love doing activities with my oldest that keep her entertained and I'm constantly pinning different crafts that catch my eye. At only three-years old though, we tend to keep things on the simple side. I also work from home so any activity can't be super over-the-top since I still need to multitask to get some work things done here and there. When Lucky & Me asked if we could conjure up a few fun and easy activities to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, I knew it was right up our alley!

My first stop when trying to find things to do with the kiddos is Pinterest. Obviously, right!? There are a TON of blogposts and websites that offer activities for kids of all ages. When choosing a craft or activity, I usually follow a few criteria:

1. They should involve common household items. Often times, I'm trying to find something for us to do as a last minute thing so any time I can find that's quick to put together is a win for both Gracyn and me. Construction paper, glue, crayons, pipe cleaners. All good things and, usually, all things we have lying around the house!
2. Bonus points if it involves food! My girls LOVE to snack so if I can entertain them with a fun treat that's easy to make (with the help of my sous chef, of course!) is awesome. My daughter really enjoys pulling up a chair or sitting on the counter so she can "help" cook.
3. Minimal supervision required. Because I'm also working during the day, I like when I can set Gracyn up with an activity at the kitchen table and get a few work things done while still keeping an eye on her.

We found some great little activities surrounding St. Patrick's Day! First up was a rainbow-inspired morning snack. Complete with "clouds" and a pot of gold, of course.

Gracyn helped me pick out the fruit we needed based on the colors of the rainbow. Delicious cream cheese fruit dip served as our "clouds" and {as luck would have it...} we found some foil-covered chocolate to serve as the "pot of gold" at the end of our treat.

This was so easy to put together! It took a few minutes of prep time cutting up what we needed and then we were free to enjoy the rainbow goodness. Gracyn told me her "favorite fruit is chocolate..." and even the littlest set of hands got in on the action. One-year old Leighton gobbled up most of the blueberries.

After lunch, and while the baby was napping, Gracyn and I mixed up some St. Patrick's Day slime. Yes, SLIME! It was so fun! We followed this recipe and while I did make it a point to pick up some liquid starch, this was completely doable with only a handful ingredients.

We mixed the glue with a little bit of water and added some glittery sparkles to make it a little more festive. Once we added the mixture to the liquid starch, it turned into a slimy blob! Gracyn played for hours, you guys. It was a total hit!

Check out my Pinterest board for more St. Patrick's Day craft and activity ideas! This coffee filter shamrock would be super easy and this shamrock shake looks delicious. 

Also, check for activities happening in your area surrounding this lucky holiday! There are several parades and festivals here in the Kansas City area, many of which are kid-friendly. In fact, my family will be joining Kansas City Moms Blog and actually walking in one of the parades here in town! We will be sure to feast on the traditional corned beef & cabbage and wear plenty of green, as well!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Mommy Confessionals

You know I love a good link-up. And reading these types of posts, along with posts about the hilarious things that come out of kids' mouths are my favorites because half the time, I'm thinking the same things as these other moms and we all know toddlers be cray-cray.

Anyway, several of the other bloggers I follow link up with Jess so I started following along, too. I've never written a confessional before but here goes nothing... ;)

I confess...

I've tried to find the time to link up with Confessional Thursday for like the last 3 weeks. Time just gets away from me, I guess.

We've decided to move forward with finding a new home and moving and the very thought of packing up all of our stuff stresses me the 'eff out. One room at a time, right?!

I'm nervous our home won't sell, even though our realtor said we need to be ready because when we list, she thinks it'll go within DAYS. It's been good to us these last seven years and it's perfect for a young family just starting out so hopefully the right peeps will come along!

I think that if you're going to abbreviate the word "favorite" that you should write "fave" instead of "fav." Weird, I know, but anytime I see "fav" all I can think about is that clip at the end of There's Something About Mary where Ben Stiller is trying to say Brett Favre's name..."Fav-ra"


My number one pet peeve is when people use their windshield wipers at full speed when it's barely sprinkling. I mean, that's just excessive.

I cannot stand to pull hair out of the sink or shower drain if it's draining slowly. Even though it's my own hair. I always have to have Justin do it. I basically gag at the thought of having to do it.

Justin and I have a vacation planned in April and I'm feeling a little guilty that it's our second major trip away from the kids in the last 7 months...

...On the other hand, I'm so freaking excited to relax on the beach with a handful of my best girlfriends and their husbands. It'll be epic. We'll be celebrating Justin's birthday while we're there and our 5 year wedding anniversary so it's for a good cause, right!? It'll probably also be our last hurrah for awhile since we'll  (hopefully!) be focusing on moving and settling into our new place.

I've been losing my patience with the girls a lot lately. I really hate that. These girlies are crazy and at ages where they're playing together but also fighting and I have to remember to take a chill pill myself most days.

Leighton is almost 15 months old. Gracyn was almost 15 months old when we found out little sister would be joining our family. I'll be so excited to add another baby to the mix... someday. It's probably best to wait a little while longer... ;)

9/52

How and why do the weekends always seem to fly by!? We were busy around the house, I was finally feeling better and the weather was insanely gorgeous. Couldn't have asked for more!

These girls were sweet as can be this morning. Gracyn was playing with our new favorite activity slash mini science experiment {more coming soon!} and Leighton was busy getting into all the things. Messy face and all...