The weekend fun began early Friday afternoon when Alyssa, one of my favorite blogging friends, stopped by our house with her boyfriend. They were heading into the city for Alex’s friend’s wedding this weekend and were kind enough to spend a few hours with us on Friday! (Sadie was psyched!!!)
Slouchy Cropped Tank Top: Lady Tank (via Zulily) / Bralette: Free People (via HauteLook) / Denim Joggers: Level 99 (via Nordstrom Rack) / Shoes: Converse Chuck Taylor Slip-On (via Zappos)
It was great to meet Alyssa’s boyfriend (they are ridiculously adorable together) and I also loved introducing Alyssa to Chase and Sadie for the first time! Alyssa came to Charlotte from Virginia for my baby shower last summer but wasn’t able to make it to a BBQ we hosted for friends afterward, so this was her first time meeting the rest of the Fagan gang.
As you can tell from Chase’s face, he was quite smitten with her!
Whenever Alyssa and I get together, I’m pretty sure we hardly breathe because we talk so much and we’re really hoping to plan a fun weekend together this summer. My fingers are crossed it all works out because Alyssa and Alex are a blast and a half.
Saturday
In the nine month baby recap I shared early last week, I mentioned that we were going to try our hand at (re)sleep training Chase and fortunately we had a lot of success. After two not-so-fun nights, he seemed to find his rhythm again and slept through from his dream feed at 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. which was such a blessing. I still woke up at 4:30 a.m. because my mom mind seems to be conditioned to waking up for feedings around then and I tossed and turned until I eventually fed Chase and got up. Chase actually went back to sleep right away after his 6 a.m. feeding, so I used the free time before my 9 a.m. workout class to work in my office and eat a couple of slices of my favorite frittata for breakfast.
Saturday’s Burn Boot Camp workout was a cardio scorcher and after a week of mostly heavy strength training (my favorite), it felt good to work up a serious sweat.
(Pic from Snapchat –> juliepbfingers)
By the time I made it home, I was ready for a snack and whipped up an egg white and oatmeal protein pancake, which was my go-to morning snack of the week last week. I seem to get into patterns with my food choices and this one recently made a resurgence in my life, along with an afternoon green smoothie snack. We’ll see how long they stick! Probably until I find something new to be obsessed with and make on repeat…
I spent the rest of Chase’s morning nap working on the computer until he woke up and Ryan and I headed off to Chase’s swim lesson!
Swim Lessons
Chase and I usually go to swim lessons during the week but two weeks ago, I had to reschedule his normal lesson after I had a mole removed at the dermatologist and couldn’t get in the water on the day we normally go to swim. (Friendly reminder to get your skin checked regularly!) It actually worked out well because Ryan got the chance to take over and be Chase’s buddy during swim class on Saturday!
I wasn’t sure how Chase would respond to swim lessons at first but he absolutely LOVES the water. I look forward to taking him to swim class all week because I know he’s going to have an absolute blast. He kicks his legs and splashes like crazy and it’s so clear to see that he’s loving every minute of it. I’m also shocked at how well he responds to having a light stream of water poured over his head and how strong his little grip is on the wall of the pool when we practice safety skills.
Of course I told all of this to Ryan and totally talked it up, so wouldn’t you know that 90 seconds into Saturday’s swim lessons, Chase started crying.
I quickly realized I was the problem… I was sitting on a bench too close to the pool so Chase could see me and cry and cry. I dashed into the indoor observation area to watch the rest of the class behind glass where I was hidden from Chase and that seemed much better. (All the pics of Ryan in the pool with Chase were snapped from the observation area, so I apologize for the graininess.)
Though Chase does seem to be in a bit of a “Mommy” phase right now, on the way home from swim lessons, I told Ryan I think Chase has the same herding mentality Sadie does and likes all of us to be together. When Ryan gets home from work, holds Chase and then tries to give him back to me so he can head upstairs to change, Chase will often start crying. He isn’t ready for Dad to leave, even if it’s for 2.5 seconds to change clothes. Chase does much better if he can’t see someone walking away/leaving. We have to do the “surprise sneak away” right now!
Kaitlyn’s Second Birthday Party
Once we arrived back home, Chase was exhausted and napped for almost two and a half hours. Apparently swimming and crying will really tire ya out! After he awoke and I nursed him, we headed out to Brittany’s daughter Kaitlyn’s second birthday party!
I was excited to celebrate Kaitlyn, especially since the first time I met her was on the Fourth of July, right after we moved to North Carolina, when Kaitlyn was just under two months old! (By the way, now that I’ve been through the first few months with a newborn, I told Brittany I truly cannot believe she hosted a bunch of people for a Fourth of July party when Kaitlyn was under two months old. I’m pretty sure my biggest accomplishment at that point was making it to season four of Grey’s Anatomy.)
We totally lucked out with great weather for Kaitlyn’s birthday party and spent most of the party outside, enjoying the bubble machine, swing set and water table which was Chase’s favorite. Brittany said she knew how much Chase loved the water table at Discovery Place KIDS and set it up for him to enjoy which was so incredibly thoughtful.
Chase definitely made use of the water table and we walked away from it with a soaking wet baby. Water table success!
I loved catching up with Brittany, meeting her family and talking with her friends over delicious food and drinks. Unfortunately Ryan and I had to take off before cake time thanks to a cranky baby who was up past his bed time, but I’m so glad we were able to celebrate Kaitlyn, even if it was only for a couple of hours!
On me –> Top: Frenchi (via HauteLook) / Bralette: Free People (via HauteLook) / Skirt: Roolee Good Fortune Skirt / Sandals: Klub Nico (via RueLaLa)
On Chase –> Plaid Jumper: Faded Glory (via ThredUp) / Moccasins: Freshly Picked
Once we arrived home, Ryan and I both said we were bummed to miss the birthday cake and wanted something sweet, so I quickly threw together a batch of no-bake chocolate peanut butter cookies for us to eat while we watched Dateline. (They turned out quite gooey but that didn’t stop us from inhaling them.)
And now that I realize I’ve typed up more than 1,200 words about our weekend so far, I figure I should break this post up into two parts and will see ya a little later with a less-wordy recap of our Sunday.
Hope you have a great Monday, my friends!
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Love the pics of Chase at his swim lesson, so cute! And no bake cookies are so good, even if they are gooey because well, chocolate! =) Have a great week!
What a Saturday! My son and dog are the same way, they like us to all be together as a family. Chase is so cute with his kicking, what a little water bug!
You guys had quite the busy weekend! Isn’t it crazy how things always happen on the same day?? Making for a very long day with a little one 🙂 I am hoping to get Annabelle into swim lessons soon! She’s 7 months and I think she’d love them, plus we have a boat and it would make me feel a little better to just have her used to the water.
That was our thought, too! We’re planning to be near water a LOT this summer, so I am hoping swim lessons will help Chase learn to love it!
i cannot wait to get william into the pool this summer!!!! he loved splash pads last summer (any in your area?? seriously they were a HUGE hit!!)
We do have one really close to us! Did William like the splash pads before he could walk?
So awesome that he loves swimming! 🙂 Looks like you guys are having beautiful weather down there! We’re getting there in PA too–even though this morning was randomly 38 degrees!
One of the best gifts we got for our children was their water table. They played with it for years. I can’t tell you how many play dares we had at our house at that was the favorite toy. We would sometimes put a drop of food coloring in to change it up. We also bought squirting little tikes toys and they would use those. This has been our go to gift for any one year old birthday party we go to. Looks like it might be a great outdoor toy for Chase.
Love all the cute pictures!
Such a great gift idea! Do you have a specific water table you’d recommend?
This is similar to what we had – the color is now different. We never put sand in ours. The umbrella was great on sunny days and having a cover to keep toys inside it and the umbrella hidden when not in use was great. We had ours for 7 years and passed down to a friend and it. Looked like new. Super durable.
Here is the link:
http://www.amazon.com/Step2-Naturally-Playful-Water-Center/dp/B001PGTNK6
Thank you!!!
Such a great gift idea! Do you have a specific water table you’d recommend?
Forgot to mention – I would bring it in the kitchen sometimes in the winter and place on a plastic play mat and fill with snow – sooo fun!!!! A but messy but the kids had a blast. Great on days that it was just too bitter cold for them to play outside (Midwest winters – lol!)
Those cookies look delicious! Can you post the recipe?
I followed this recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/microwave-no-bake-oatmeal-cookies-254169 They were definitely gooey and didn’t set very well (we also didn’t give them much time since we wanted to eat them immediately), but they were really tasty!
Such a fun weekend full of babies and friends! Love seeing little Chase so excited about the water. 🙂 Do we have a little Olympian on our hands? (…And I’m slowly noticing my Olympic obsession creeping into my vocabulary. Greeeeat.)
Glad you had such a fun weekend!
XO, Jessica
http://www.semisweettooth.com
You seriously have the cutest child. His smile is infectious! And now that this is the second post I’ve read with a water table for the kiddos, I want to get one for Ellie.
A water table is on my radar, too! Chase really seems to love it and it’s the only thing that keeps him entertained for more than 5 minutes these days!
Looks like a great weekend! I have so much respect for anyone with a new little one who’s able to play hostess just the same 🙂 I can’t imagine!
I love your recaps, so no worries about being “too wordy’. Wordy works for me! 🙂 So cute watching the tiny tots in the pool. Love it. Sounds like a very eventful and fun weekend, thanks for linking up to some of your recipes, too, because it reminds me to remake them. Love the recaps as always, have a great Monday!
I second that, Julie!! I love your “wordy” family/weekend recap posts-they are always my favorites!
Thank you!!! 🙂 That makes me feel better!
Same, love these posts! Chase is so adorable in his swim pics — I don’t have kids of my own yet but whenever I see baby’s swimsuits at Target I turn to mush!
Thank you, Kim!!! <3
looks like you guys had such a great weekend!!! Babies in the pool are the cutest!!
Oh friend, we are in the “surprise sneak away” phase now too and it kind of breaks my heart!! But it also makes me feel special that she loves me most currently 😉 Ummm also totally jealous you can pull off the midriff look as a new mom, you go girl!
sweet chase, he’s getting so big! also, i love, love your birthday party outfit!
Loving Moore Blog
What an adorable weekend! You guys are seriously too cute! I love all of your outfits and love that you include links to purchase. My wallet does not share the same sentiment. 😉
Haha!
Aw how cute. Looks like a fun weekend!
You have to share your thoughts on Grey’s! I recently went through all the seasons on Netflix and I’m kind of obsessed with the characters. I love the swim photos, you have a seriously adorable baby <3
Gooey cookies are the BEST! 🙂 Looks like such a fun weekend! Chase is getting so big!
I just got done reading Brittany’s blog post and I saw you pop up in a picture so I raced over here to see your recap as well! You’re so beautiful Julie. I know I’ve said that close to forty times, but it will never stop being true! I always feel refreshed after reading your blog. 🙂
Your comments always have a way of brightening my day. Thank you, Julia! <3
Great pics! Looks like an awesome weekend. I really like your Roolee Good Fortune Skirt. Adorable.
Oh wow I just had a funny spot removed my ear on Friday at the Dermatologist. Apparently I have not been great about putting sunscreen on my ears when I run. I live in GA so we have a lot of sun here! My dermatologist basically said “sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen!” Hope your mole comes back okay. Chase is adorable 🙂
So funny what you said about Sadie and “herding mentality” – my dog is absolutely the same way. She gets anxious when any one of my family members isn’t around for a while.
Your weekend sounds like so much fun! And I’m totally going to second what was said about about not being too wordy at all – I always enjoy your stories and never think you “talk” for too long. You all look great and so happy!
Oh my goodness! The swimming pictures are so stinkin’ cute! Way back in high school I taught swimming lessons to little ones and loved it! I’m glad Chase is enjoying them!
I started doing swim lessons with my little girl around the same age and we LOVE it. She is now 14 months and able to take a breath and then hold it while I “swim” her underwater, so I feel like that is a pretty good skill! I think it’s so great to get them comfortable in the water early so that when it comes time to actually learn to swim they have a good foundation!
If you are thinking of buying a water table for Chase, we got my daughter the Little Tikes Anchors Away Pirate Ship for her first birthday and it is so cool! She loves it and we use it almost every day if it is warm enough outside. She now stands at the back door and screams to go outside to play with it! A couple of my friends have the Little Tikes Spiralin’ Seas water table and they have great things to say about that one as well.
Thanks you for sharing!!
Oh my… Chase is adorable.
Love your blog. I was just wondering what fitness watch you are wearing in that picture…is it a fitbit? Do you like it? I am in the market for a new one.
It is the Fitbit Surge! I LOVE it. Ryan gave it to me for Christmas and it’s definitely my favorite fitness watch I’ve tried to date. I love that there’s no need for a heartrate monitor strap and it has GPS capabilities.
Love all the outfit links. I need to find some jean joggers like that — so cute!
Had so much fun on our visit, sweet friend! I can’t wait to get more time in with you soon. xoxo!
any particular reason (aside from cost) that you went with the fitbit and not an apple watch?
It was a gift from Ryan for Christmas, so I honestly didn’t give it much thought! I do love it though!