Resolutions 2017

Another resolutions post! I know everyone is probably sick of these but I feel it's such a good time to reflect on the past year and see how I can improve. I just read my list of 2016 resolutions and feel that we did pretty good on that list. One of the major ones we did was purchase a home and I am glad that happened cause right now interest rates have jumped up a lot compared to what we got when we closed. I did pretty good with the blog goals I had until about October as well as the reading three books a month goal. I actually only missed one month of that and felt that I branched out a little in regards to books I read this last year. After looking back on my goals I decided to do the same categories I had before only make the goals in each one a little smaller and more manageable.

Spiritual Goals:
-Have family scripture study and family prayer every night before Claire goes to bed. We did okay this week but we need to really get in the habit of doing this.
-Attend the temple once a month. This is a goal Zack came up with and I think it's perfect and something I really need to do.

Personal Goals:
-Workout at least 30 minutes every 3 days. I can do this! Today I shoveled snow so I am counting that as a workout.
-Write in journal more. I love looking back on old journal entries and really want to write in my journal more. My best friend writes in hers every day and I just think she probably has some really good stuff in those books. Stuff her kids will want to read in the future when they are going through similar trials. So I may not write everyday but I just want to write more.

Financial Goals:
-save money for a cruise this summer
-budget for the end of the year expenses better (we have car registration, property taxes, Christmas, and a bunch of other things all due at the end of the year now so we definitely need to plan ahead).

That's it. I know they aren't much but I don't want to overwhelm myself with a bunch of things to do throughout the year. I've learned it's easier to accomplish a small list of tasks then one that is so long.

I hope to continue teaching piano lessons this year, keep up my youtube channel and maybe get started on that book that I want to write. All in due time and I am in no rush, just when I find myself "bored" or in a rut I can come back to this post for things I can do.

What are your new years resolutions?
XO
Caitlin

New Years Trip to St George

This year we went to St. George for New Years Eve. We stayed at a rental house that my husband's aunt owns and it was so fun. The house was incredible, very big and had lots of space for all of us.
On Saturday we went to Zack's Cousin's wedding open house.

 My favorite picture of the two of us. Her hair looks so red!
On Sunday we went to church and then went on a hike that afternoon to see some petroglyphs.  It was really fun.

 This is what we did during sacrament. She re-arranged the chairs in an empty classroom. It was cute.

 I love my red heads :)

 Sunday night we played games, Actually I think this was from Saturday night. We played poker and it was fun. Claire loved playing with the chips.

 On Monday we woke up and cleaned the house a little bit then went out to eat at Don Pedro's for lunch. It was really yummy food so if you need a good Mexican restaurant try Don Pedro's.

After lunch we finished cleaning the house we stayed in and drove home. By the time we got to Payson it was snowing and the roads were pretty scary. Glad we made it though. Love these people and I loved hanging out with them all this weekend.

XO
Caitlin

Claire's 15 month update and stats

Birth:

7 lbs 8 oz

19 inches long

Two Week Appointment:

8 lbs 8 oz 75%

20 inches long 75%

Two Month Appointment:

12 lbs 4 oz 75%

 21 inches long 75%

Four Month Appointment:
  16lbs 5oz  75%

25 inches long 75%

 

Six Month Appointment 

19 lbs 75%

27.5 inches long 95%

 

Nine Month Appointment

20lbs 3 oz 75%

28.5 inches long 75%

 

1 year appointment

22 lbs 0 oz 80%

31 inches long 95%

 

15 Month Appointment

23lbs 12 oz 50%

31 inches long 75%

 

Stats:

Wears 18 month clothes now although the 18 month size pants are a little too big for her still. 12 months are to small so she needs an in between size. I put away all her 12 month clothes into storage already and purchased all her new clothing within the last month and a half. FYI Target has a new brand out for babies called Cat & Jack and it's so cute! The shirts are only $5.00 so go check that out. 

Sleeps through the night, 8:00 to 8:30 without waking up. If she does wake up she puts herself back to sleep so I usually just wait and listen to her on the monitor to make sure she's okay. 

Down to one nap a day which ranges anywhere from 1 hour to 3. Usually around 2 hours though. 

Eats all the food we eat and only has a bottle at nap time/ bed time now. She loves cookies, chicken nuggets, eggs, pasta, and french fries. I am trying to make sure she has a more balanced diet now, which in turn makes me have a more balanced diet so win win. 

She can walk now, she actually started walking about 3 weeks before she turned one but would still crawl every now and then like most babies. She officially started walking all the time about 3 weeks after she turned one. Now she is running, literally all over the place. 

She still whistles, and now loves dancing. She is very aware of music, and loves to lead the music in church when everyone is singing. 

She loves people! She will go up to anyone and just ask them to hold her. It's so cute. 

She has all her molars in and most of her teeth in now actually. We are just waiting on her k9's.We have started brushing her teeth and she really likes that a lot. 

She can say about 30 words right now and knows some body parts, some colors and animal sounds. She is so smart, our pediatrician actually said we will have to watch that to see how she continues to develop because of how fast she is learning everything. 

As for us. I recently had another miscarriage earlier this month (December). We were so excited to be pregnant but also a little overwhelmed. We do want our kids to be close in age but have decided to wait for a little bit before trying again. I have been diagnosed with progesterone deficiency which is why I have miscarriages. Basically my body doesn't produce enough progesterone at all and so we are looking into ways to regulate that. 

Zack recently graduated from his electrician school at the top of his class. I was so proud of him and he got a lot of awards for being at the top. 

We also moved! We honestly weren't planning on doing that but things just worked out and we ended up purchasing a house in Payson Utah. We have loved living here and although we know we wont live here forever we will be here for a while and we are excited to be apart of the community here. 

I am planning on blogging more in 2017. I kind of fell off the track with it when I started my new job but I really want to get back into blogging more. It's been so fun looking back at all my posts from earlier this year and I don't journal very good so this is a good way for me to do that. 

Here are some pictures from the last little while. Thanks for reading!

XO

Caitlin

Holiday Gift Guide 2016: Gifts for her $25 - $50

I got this idea from the amazing Jennifer Ross over at Pretty Neat Living. She does a holiday gift guide every year and I thought this would be fun to do on my own blog. Hope she doesn't mind that
I am piggy backing off her idea. Please go check out her site here to find her reviews and gift guides as well.

Today we are doing the category of gifts ranging in price from $25 - $50.
For Her:
 1. Sonix phone charger.  Retails for $45.

This is the perfect gift, especially for someone who uses their phone a lot. I have found that I needed a portable phone charger more often now. I use my phone constantly, for pictures, for social media, for internet research, for how tos, etc. I mean we all use our phone on a daily basis so a portable charger is a great gift for someone who may need that extra battery life but doesn't have access to an outlet.

2. Plaid Boucle Square Blanket Scarf. Retails for $35.10

I love scarf's. This one is perfect for winter. I especially love the colors as it reminds of Christmas. I haven't actually seen it in person but I think this is the perfect plaid scarf to have on hand. It's also on sale so that's a great bonus.

3. Target Tote Bag. Retails for $29.99

I want this bag! It's the perfect bag for a carry on for flights, or for a long day outing like to the zoo. It's also a great diaper bag. I am always looking for a bag with lots of pockets. I don't carry around as much stuff as I used to but this would be a great every day bag to have.

4. Skull candy Headphones. Retails for $29.99

Headphones! My husband loves this brand so when I came across these in this gorgeous coral color I knew I had to include them on this list. These headphones are known for being noise cancelling so the surrounding noise around you isn't distracting you from your task. These would be great for someone who spends a lot of time on the computer. I would use these daily and am hoping my husband sees this list and gets the HINT that I love these. (Will it work?)

5. Erin Condren Life Planner. Retails for $55.00 Use this link here to sign up and receive $10.00 off your first order making it $45.00 (plus shipping).

This is my planner I currently use. Check out my planner Instagram here. I love this planner. A planner is a great gift for someone as they start the new year, it's a way to map out your life so your goals can be accomplished. Planning helps with my anxiety and I am so grateful I have found the planning community. It's fun to share spreads with each other in Facebook groups and to gain inspiration for your planner from others. If you know someone who would love a planner this is a thoughtful gift that they will love for the entire year.

6. Two Faced Grand Hotel Cafe Holiday Gift Set. Retails for $49.00

Look how cute this set is. This is for all the makeup lovers out there, this gift is perfect because it's already in cute packaging. Just put it under the tree and you are good to go. I love the color scheme of the different palettes and feel that I would use all the different shadows. For someone who loves makeup this gives them a variety of blushes, a mascara, and eye shadows. It's a great collector's item as well.

Well I hope this was helpful for you. I will be doing another post this week on gifts for him in the $25 - $50 category and I will be doing two more posts of gifts in the $50 + category. I have a lot of great ideas for those gifts. Now to link this post to my husband's facebook so he sees what I want.

XO
Caitlin