18/52 + 38 weeks

1 - LM has finally started showing interest in her dollhouse after pretty much neglecting it for the past couple of years. I thought she would love it when we first gave it to her, but she just wasn't interested even when I sat down to play with her. I am glad it is finally getting some much needed play time on record. I was about to claim it as my own and start decorating it for fun, ha. Now we can do that together.

2 - Lark came down with a fever so we have been taking it easy at home the last couple of days. Gratefully, I think she is on the mend after sleeping most of today.

3 - My next midwife appointment is the day before my due date and I really hope it is my last... fingers crossed. I feel ready to start this next chapter of our lives as a family of five. Both of the girls kept me waiting days past my due date though, so I imagine this dude will give me the opportunity to practice my patience too.

17/52 + 37 weeks

I wasn't very good at getting my camera out this week, as in I didn't get it out at all, so I am using this as an opportunity to go back in time a bit and post some iphone pictures from Easter this year...

1 - The girls wore the matching dresses I made them to church and then we drove up to my mom's little farm for a delicious family dinner and some festivities. It is the perfect setting for an egg hunt, don't you think? You can see our pictures from last year here (husband actually makes an appearance in them, this year we didn't even take a family picture, whoops).

2,3,4 - Scenes from the egg hunt. LM actually found a real Swallow egg in the middle of the field while on a walk with her cousins. She brought it home nestled in a little box and was so excited to show it to her class for show and tell that Friday. We put it up on a shelf to keep it safe, but she liked to get it down to look at often and one day she decided to keep it in her bike basket while riding around the driveway. Well, the bike tipped and I'm sure you can guess what happened. It was so sad. She ended up taking a picture of Swallow eggs in a nest instead.

5 - This week we got items like our baby bath tub and cloth diapers out of storage, and my awesome friends Danielle and Annie threw me a nice baby shower. So, I have a lot of washing and folding and organizing and counting my blessings to do now. I ended up cleaning out the dresser in my craft room to use in the nursery and we got a simple crib that is a keeper, so the main pieces in the room are starting to come together. It is turning out to be a quiet, peaceful little place that I like to slip away to and just sit and think and imagine while baby boy rolls about inside of me.  

16/52 + 36 weeks

1 - LM has been putting the roller skates she got for Christmas to good use all winter long around the house. Now that the weather is warming up and we've been venturing outside more she is getting lots of good practice on more uneven ground. Skating outside has been a lot more challenging for obvious reasons like hills, rocks, and sidewalk cracks, but she is getting the hang of it. Some days she wears her skates until bedtime.

2 - Lark is an early bird and always climbs into bed with us in the morning before we are ready to start the day ourselves. She is usually content to just rest quietly between us until daddy's alarm clock goes off, but some mornings end up looking like this if the game phone is charged and mama is extra tired. 

3 - Well, we made it to baby month! From now on my midwife appointments are weekly which is helping to make me realize how close we are to meeting this little guy - exciting! We did set up the new crib last week but unfortunately it didn't work out for us to use for the baby. We decided to go a different route which I think will be even better. So, now I am hoping this is the week we can at least put some piece of furniture in the nursery, ha. 

15/52 + 35 weeks

So, this week it seems we've all been taking turns sitting in this rocking chair, ha. I found it while searching on the local classifieds (which I do waaaaaay too much of lately looking for a dresser for the nursery) and it was just too fun to pass up. 

1 - Every day we set aside some time for LM to practice reading out loud. It makes me so happy when she figures out new, harder words all on her own. I am really proud of her because she tends to get easily frustrated when she can't do something right the very first time, but she has overcome a lot of that frustration when it comes to reading (and life in general). It is beautiful to watch her practice patience and try again instead of melt down. Yay, for maturity!

2 - You can't tell in this picture, but I finally got around to taking Lark in for her first haircut so she is no longer business in the front, party in the back, ha. Lately, she has been blowing raspberries on my belly and yelling silly phrases at the baby like, "Hey, pooper brother, I'm your sister!" and "We'll read books, you tooter." So, pretty much I think they will get along just fine. 

3 - At 35 weeks I am starting to have some sleepless nights. Our new crib arrived but we have yet to take it out of the box as it's been a pretty busy week for us. I think today is the day though and that will be fun. 

healthy homemade fruit snacks

Healthy Homemade Fruit Snacks

2/3 C fresh or frozen berries
2/3 C fresh lemon or orange juice
2-4 T honey, depending on your taste
5 T grass-fed beef gelatin

Directions:

1. Combine juice and berries in a medium sauce pan and cook over medium heat until the fruit begins to soften.
2. Add in the honey and stir until fully incorporated.
3. Take the mixture off of the heat and let it sit for a few minutes, then puree until smooth (I love my immersion blender so I can leave it right in the pot).
4. Slowly add in the gelatin while continuously stirring to avoid any clumps. If you do get some clumping put it back over low heat and stir until they are dissolved.
5. Once the gelatin is all incorporated and dissolved pour the mixture into a 9x9 baking dish and put it in the refrigerator to set for 1-2 hours.
6. Cut it into squares and enjoy!

Keep them refrigerated to last longer.

If you follow me on Instagram (@stacyhartsew) then you already know that we made some healthy homemade fruit snacks the other day. I shared the recipe there, but wanted to share it here as well to help spread the word since I know a lot of kids love fruit snacks while a lot of parents won't buy them because of the icky ingredients. I fall into that category so I was excited to come across this recipe and try it out.

One of the main reasons I wanted to make some for my kids wasn't necessarily to give them a store-bought fruit snack alternative, but to offer them a food packed with natural collagen, protein, and all of the other health benefits provided by gelatin (if you live in Utah I got my Great Lakes grass-fed beef gelatin at Real Foods Market, otherwise you can find it online here, but you can use regular gelatin as well).

The recipe was easy to make and my kids have been enjoying snacking on them throughout the week, even if at first it did catch them off guard that they didn't taste exactly like the super sweet sugary fruit snacks they expected (I used 2 T of honey, but in my opinion it could have used more).

After we made these I came across this recipe using different combinations of fruit and veggie juice which I think I'll try out next time. It also adds in vanilla which sounds so yummy! Have you ever made homemade fruit snacks? What is your favorite flavor combination? We made a batch of strawberry and a batch of blueberry. I find myself partial to the blueberry.

14/52 + 34 weeks

Catching up for last week...

1 - If it were up to LM all of our Easter eggs would have been dyed purple. She is purple obsessed these days.

2 - Lark has started to test her ability to climb the apple trees in our backyard. She gets a little higher each time. I have no doubt she will climb up far enough to make me nervous by the end of the summer.

3 - I mentioned in my last post that I hung up all of the clothes I have collected for baby boy so far. Well, now they are the only thing in the nursery because this last week I sold our crib and changing table on a whim. Call me crazy to sell such an important piece of baby furniture while 34 weeks pregnant, but I just sort of wanted to see if it would sell? And it did! That same day. So I was left a little bit in shock as I looked into our empty nursery. But the extra cash allowed me to choose a new crib that I like a whole lot better, so phew, maybe I'm not so crazy after all? Now everyone in Utah stop searching for low mid century dressers on KSL so I can snag one up, okay? Please and thank you.

13/52 + 33 weeks

1 - One of LM's favorite things to do right now is put on a twirly dress and do her make-up. And she is crazy good at putting it on. Seriously. Like she can apply mascara without getting any on her eyelids, or nose, or all the places I accidentally get mascara on myself all the time, ha. She is allowed to apply a little bit of mascara, blush, and lipstick, but I always make sure to talk about how make-up is just for fun and she is beautiful with or without it. She is my girly girl.

2 - Lark also likes to play with my make-up, but more so in a naughty-caught-spilling-it-all-over-the-bathroom-counter kind of way. She destroyed this pink lipstick all over the mirror a while ago so the only way to get any out is to stick a Q-tip in it. She starts out on her lips but quickly starts coloring outside of the lines, meaning all over her face, arms, legs... She is my mischievous one.

3 - I feel like I don't really have anything new to report pregnancy-wise this week. I hung up all of the clothes I have gathered for the little guy so far (which isn't much) and hung them up in the closet. I keep going in there just to look at them. :)