1st Week in the Books!

2017 is off and running folks and I've gotta admit, this first week left a lot little to be desired.  It has been FREEZING here {I totally forgot how cold SD gets in the winter...Sorry hubs!}, Dennis has still been feeling under the weather, and I've been getting progressively more uncomfortable and emotional while riding this pregnancy train.  ANYWAY, I want to highlight some of the things I have been loving this week because there is always something to be thankful for {spoiler alert: most of these involve a wild 14 month old}

one- short work weeks

Short work weeks can sometimes seem crazier than a regular 5 day week but I have been so thankful for days at the office flying by the past couple weeks and am getting a little too used to extra weekend days.  Maybe a 4-day work week can be my resolution for 2017?! ;)

two- belly snuggles

I haven't been able to capture this in a picture yet, simply because the moments are too sweet and I don't want to ruin them by grabbing my phone, but Duke has been giving the belly some hugs this week and it's about to make me melt.  This morning he even moved his fuzzy blanket off of me so he could lay straight on the bump and just smiled and laughed at himself.  Last night I kept telling him to say hi to his baby brother and pointing to the bump and he would poke at it and then dive in for some snuggles.  To die for.

three- self-feeding

I've warned myself that Duke is going to need me to feed him when he's 14 if I don't let him start practicing more on his own.  The problem is, although his skills are pretty stellar, he inevitably gets 1000x messier on his own than he would be if I was controlling the spoon/fork. Obviously. Last night though I gave in to the need to clean the kitchen, set him up in his high chair next to me and watched him completely take apart each quarter of his PB&J and mash it all over his face, mouth, and tray.  At one point I heard the weirdest squishing sound and turned around to see him mashing pieces of banana in between his folded hands.  Needless to say, it made dishes far more entertaining and he was happily occupied for a good 20 minutes before I threw him into the clean sink for a quick bath.

four- puppy chow

One of my best friends snap-chatted some puppy chow a few weeks ago and I had it stuck in my head for weeks, waiting for the perfect opportunity to make a batch.  I hadn't made any in probably 10 years, so we picked up all of the ingredients and my sister and niece ended up putting it all together New Years Eve and I've been munching on the leftovers all week.  Duke begged for a piece the other night and quickly found his love of the chocolate/peanut butter crunchy treat and was not at all impressed with the rations I gave him. If you haven't made any in a long time, go do it! So delish.

Recipe from Chex box!

five- all things basketball

We get to watch my 6-year old niece play in her first basketball "game" tomorrow and then follow it up with 2 games at USD.  I'm pretty sure the 6-year old game will take the cake, but I am also in love with the University's new arena and Saturday afternoons spent watching one of my favorite sports!

Showing Duke how to work on his vertical?

Happy Friday!  Stay warm and somebody please take me to a beach!

-T-