Oven-Roasted Brussels Sprouts

My favorite vegetable is brussels sprouts (I know... I'm weird!). Oh, and just a little side note, did you know that brussels sprouts are spelled with an s at the end of brussel? No joke, just check out wikipedia. I seriously just learned this today. I always thought they were spelled brussel sprouts (Because that's how they're pronounced. It's like a tongue twister to say brussels sprouts)!

Anyways, back to the topic at hand. Have you ever tried brussels sprouts? They are delicious! I love them just steamed with lots of salt on them, but one of my favorite ways to make them is roasted in the oven! Yum yum! My kids even gobble them up this way!

Next time you go grocery shopping pick up some brussels sprouts and try out this super easy recipe!

Oven-Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients

Brussels sprouts
Salt
Olive oil (or olive oil spray works too!)

Directions

1. Wash the brussels sprouts and then cut the bottoms off. I also usually have to take off the first layer of leaves because there is often dirt underneath that I want to get rid of. Cut the sprouts in half .

2. Arrange the brussels sprouts onto a baking sheet (preferably one with edges so they won't fall off when you stir them).

3. Drizzle olive oil (or spray heavily with olive oil spray) on the sprouts and shake a good amount of salt on them too. Stir to coat the sprouts evenly.

4. Bake the brussels sprouts at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, checking and stirring often.

5. Enjoy delicious brussels sprouts with yummy, crispy leaves and tender insides!

How do you make your favorite veggie? I'd love some new recipe ideas!!

Olive's Newborn Photographs

I recently received Olive's newborn photographs and I can't wait to share them with you!!! Jordan from Jordan K. Photography did them and did such an {amazing} job!!!! I would highly recommend her if you're in the area!

I am in love with them all and can't choose a favorite! I need help deciding which ones to get printed! Which ones do you like??

I have to start with this one because it cracks me up. Isaiah looks like he is thinking, "Ummm.... What in the world am I going to do with TWO sisters!?!?!" =) Lol!

I love the {joy} written all over Eloise's face!!! She loves her baby sister!

Love these three kiddos SO much!

Squishy cheeks!!!

Olive has a look of bewilderment on her face! Get used to it, Olive.... you were born into a crazy family!!! =)

One of my favorites! <3 Love my new baby girl!

Olive's Birth Announcement

I just got Olive's newborn photos back and finally got her birth announcement made! Not sure it's ever going to actually go out in the mail but at least I have a digital copy of it. =) I hope to have more of her photographs up on the blog soon. They turned out so well and I can't wait to share them!

And... I also just have to share this sweet video of Eloise singing Happy Birthday to Livy. She adores her baby sister so much!!

The World's Toughest Job

This about sums it up...

Happy Mother's Day to the best mother I could ever ask for! My mom is a wonderful example to me of a wife who respects her husband, a mom who raised her kids well, a Meema who loves her grandchildren, and a woman who seeks the Lord. I hope that when I grow up I can be just like her. =)

She truly does the toughest job in the world, and does it well!!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!!

Meema and Isaiah

Meema and Eloise

Meema and Olive

My Thoughts on Being Team Green

It's been a little more than a month since Olive was born and I've had some time to process my thoughts about being "team green" and not knowing her gender before she was born. Here's my take on the experience:

1. Being TEAM GREEN was fun

Even though it was hard, both Drew and I enjoyed not knowing the gender of our baby. It was fun to hear people's guesses, to look up old wives tales, and to dream and wonder for an extra 20+ weeks what our baby would be.

But, I think a big part of why being team green was fun for me in the end was because I had the gender that I thought I was going to. Let me explain. Many moms have a "mother's intuition" and often times have a strong feeling about what gender their baby is. In fact, mother's intuition is claimed to be right more than 70% of the time!

I had a pretty strong feeling that this baby was going to be a girl. My pregnancy was {so} different from when I was pregnant with Isaiah and also Olive was a totally different baby in the womb. My whole experience was different this time around. The night before I went in for my induction I asked Drew to cast his final vote on what the baby would be. He said boy. =) But I said girl and I was almost positive I would be right!!

Love this little face!

Although I tried hard not to, since I thought the baby would be a girl, I tended to think more often of our lives with a baby girl in our family instead of a baby boy. Thus, I wasn't disappointed when we had a girl because I had already sort of been thinking it was going to be a girl. However, if someone thinks strongly that their baby is a certain gender (or is hoping strongly for a certain gender) and then the baby ends up being the opposite gender, being team green could be a disappointing experience on birth day.

I will also add, though, that even though I thought my baby would be a girl I still felt a little disappointment when I realized that she wasn't a boy. I had washed all of Isaiah's old baby clothes and put them in the nursery dresser drawers. And I was a little sad when we came home from the hospital and packed those up and I realized that I may never use them again. I was overjoyed that I had a daughter yet somehow missing the son I could have had. Does that make sense?

Olive loves bath time! (But hates getting lotioned up!)

2. Being TEAM GREEN is not for everyone

Like I mentioned in this post, I would not consider being team green for my first baby and unless I had atleast one of each gender already. For some people that's not a big deal. But for me, I only felt comfortable being team green because I had both hand-me-down boy and girl stuff on hand, and because I was not hoping for a certain gender like I would have been had I not already had one of each.

But everyone is different and you have to consider your emotions and personality before you decide if team green is right for you. And remember, it could be hard to deal with any "disappointment" if your baby is not the gender you had hoped for or thought he/she would be... especially when you are flooded with all those after birth hormones that make your emotions go wacko!! It may be better to allow yourself a little time and work through your feelings at the 20 week mark rather than wait until baby is born.

My sweet matching girls!

3. Being TEAM GREEN was worth the wait

The moment Olive was born and I saw that she was a girl was {indescribable}!! (You can read her birth story here). She was born face up, so right when the doctor held her up she was facing me and I could see what she was. No one had to tell me! It was amazing to hold her on my chest and finally know what my baby was. I kept saying, "It's a girl! It's a girl! Oh my goodness, it's a girl! You're a girl! I knew you were a girl! I knew it!" 

It was definitely a high that was worth the 9 month wait! And it took me forever to get over the fact that she was a girl. Even though I had a strong suspicion that she was going to be a girl I still couldn't believe it! Lol! It is a great memory that was worth the wait to make!

4. I would consider being TEAM GREEN again but not sure if we would be

If we have another baby I would consider being team green again. I liked the surprise and the anticipation. And I liked the amazing feeling of finding out her gender on the day she was born. But it was also hard! I would have liked to have known if Olive was a boy or a girl so I could be a little more prepared. And I also liked finding out Isaiah's gender before he was born so we could start calling him a "he" and start thinking about our life with him in "gender specific" ways.

Kisses for baby sister!

The bottom line is that there are pros and cons to being team green. There are exciting things about it and disappointing things. (Just as there are no matter when you find out your baby's gender!) Some people are team green for every single pregnancy and some people would never even consider it (and some people are forced into it by an uncooperative baby on ultrasound day!). {But} the reality is that whenever you find out your baby's gender (whether at 20 weeks or 40 weeks) it will be a fun and wonderful surprise! One that is worth the wait!!!

The Mom Life

Haha! I can totally relate to this... Although ironically I am amazed at the things I can get done now with three kids that I never thought I could do when I had just one. I think I've learned how to multitask better!

Miss Olive: 1 Month

Can't believe it, but our little Olive is 1 month old today! I love the newborn sleepy, snuggly stage and it's flying by entirely too fast! Can somebody please tell this girl to stop growing so quickly!?!?!

One Month Old!!

Height & Weight: At her three week doctors appointment she was 10 lbs 4 oz but they didn't measure her height. Maybe about 22 1/2 inches by now?

Eating: We've been working on getting Olive on a flexible schedule. She now eats every three hours during the day at roughly the same times and two to three times at night whenever she wakes up. She is seriously a breastfeeding champ and has been the quickest of all my kids to figure it out! It helps too that this is the third child I've breastfed so I have it pretty much figured out too. =)

Meema and Olive

Aunt Adelynn and Olive

Sleep: Olive takes several 1 1/2 to 2 hour naps during the day and sleeps in about 3 hour stretches at night. Even though she wakes up 2-3 times during the night, when she wakes up she just needs to eat and then goes right back down, so it's not too bad!

Personality: Since I only have Isaiah to compare Olive to as a newborn (Eloise joined our family at 6 months) I'll just say that she is a totally different baby than he was! ( But she was a totally different baby in the womb too so I'm not surprised!) Isaiah was a good baby and Olive is too but just so different. One thing that's so different is that she gets startled very easily.  She will jump a mile high and start crying if something scares her. It's amusing to watch but I'm sure she doesn't like it! Lol! She will go from being content to all out screaming within seconds when she's not happy. Isaiah would at least give me a warning period of fussiness!

So far Olive seems to be a paci girl just like her big sister! And Eloise is like the paci police- always making sure her little sister has her paci when she needs it!

Olive has been a very peaceful and content baby so far. She's living up to her name! Although I know this could change at any time, for now I'm enjoying her mellow personality - a blessing when it's your third baby!

Milestones: Olive is already smiling and it's so precious! Isaiah's babybook says he didn't consistently smile (a smile on purpose- not a "gas" smile!) until 8 weeks old so this feels young to me! Her little crooked smile is so precious and warms my heart. Below there is an adorable video of her smiles!

Isaiah and Eloise: The kids are incredibly sweet with her. I'm surprised, but Eloise has NOT been jealous of me holding and taking care of Olive. Not even one little bit! She's jealous when I hold Isaiah and not her though... Lol! I think she just loves Olive so much and thinks that she is "her" baby that she doesn't mind at all when I care for her. So thankful for that! Eloise is there for pretty much every diaper change and bath time and visits her regularly when she's in her swing or bouncy seat. She always wants to help care for "her" baby. She says many times throughout the day, "Hold me baby" and wants to hold Olive. She is so loving with her and very gentle. She's been an awesome big sister so far!

Isaiah is also very gentle and loving with Olive! He is the "problem solver" of the family and if Olive is crying he immediately jumps up and turns on some music for her, puts her paci back in, or tries to make her laugh. He does not like to hear her cry! He picked her up once and carried her all the way across the house where he promptly dropped her on the ground! She didn't fall far though and barely cried at all. BUT we put a stop to that real quick and now he knows he can't hold her without mommy or daddy nearby!

The other day Isaiah asked me "So...when is the baby going to be a boy?!?" Bless his heart! Since we didn't know whether we were having a boy or girl we kept telling him that the baby might be a boy or it might be a girl and tried to explain to him that it would only be one or the other. I think he understands that we only get to have one baby but apparently he thinks that Olive can switch from a girl to a boy and back again. Lol!

We are so in love with our sweet Livy Kay and praise God for the blessing she is in our family!