Oh my… I feel like the days are just FLYING past! How is it already October? How is it almost NOVEMBER?

Craziness.

All that being said, now I can catch you up on my last week. About two weeks ago, Jon and I were driving and we passed the cutest little pumpkin patch ever. So, last weekend we got Nathan all dressed up and cute and went back to take some pictures.

My new favorite picture of my boys!

He had the best time! I just can’t believe how big he is in these pictures! I’ve been having to buy 3-6 month clothes now because his little legs are SO long that he doesn’t fit into any of his 0-3 month clothes anymore. And today, I was at Target and found myself putting 9 month pants in my cart because they were $2.80 and I figured he might need them by the end of this winter.

Cue the need for Kleenex. People were right – it goes by WAY TOO FAST on this side of it!

(And might I just say – $2.80 for a pair of sweatpants? Score!)

(Oh and another off-the-topic thought – even though I’m not super certain what the topic is right now anyway – I went and got a few tunic-style sweaters and a couple of leggings. And you guys are right – it is SO comfy! And pretty much I think it would be flattering on almost anyone!)

When we were pregnant, I was that lady who said things like this, “We probably don’t even need a bassinet in our room. I guess we can, just for a week or so.” So last night, I decided, after much urging from Jon, that it was finally time to move Nathan to his crib.

He’s three and a half months old.

I think God created motherhood to cause women to 1) respect their own mothers more and 2) cultivate humility. I’ve had to eat hundreds of words over the last three and a half months. Words like, “Boppy pillows are the dumbest things.” The Boppy has saved my arms and my couch cushions.

Anyway. So, he slept in his crib last night and did really well! He did a lot better than I did, actually, because I kept waking up and straining to hear something over the monitor before finally getting up and going in his room to check on him. And when I wasn’t waking up out of worry, I kept getting woken up by the monitor, which decided for no reason at all to just randomly burst into spontaneous beeping.

Rather annoying.

We’ve been trying this new thing for naps because, as y’all know, my boy doesn’t nap. I was talking to the women in my Bible study about this and they recommended to try the cry it out method which KILLS me. I hate, hate, hate hearing him cry! Yesterday, we were pretty much both in tears trying to get a nap time longer than fifteen minutes in. But I know a long nap is the best thing for him and for my sanity as well! Plus, he was actually pleasant to be around last night after he finally napped – no horrendous meltdown at eight o’clock and even went to bed peacefully! 🙂 So hopefully he’ll get the hang of nap time soon!

Here’s some FUN NEWS – Cool Beans is being offered FREE on Kindle for one week only – starting October 29th and ending on November 4th. So, if you’ve got a Kindle, iPhone, etc, head on over to Amazon next week and download it! 🙂

Lastly, I have the greatest dessert that I decided needs to be shared with the masses. I really believe that I’m just a happier person all around when I have a dessert a day, be it cookies, brownies, whatever. I used to say milkshakes and ice cream, but I’m on a no-dairy diet thanks to some issues Nathan was having with it (sadness!).

But this dessert… oh. my. goodness.

It’s SO easy! Jon and I have made this multiple times after the Nater Tot is in bed because it is that quick. I found a recipe for it online, but we’ve been experimenting and made something that I think is even better. And the title we’ve given it just shows you the level of wordsmithery we’ve got over here.

That Apple Thing

1 can of Pillsbury Crescent Roll Creations (this is just a can of crescent rolls, but they aren’t perforated. Makes it a lot easier)
1 Granny Smith apple
3 heaping tbsp butter (or fake butter, should you be like me and not allowed to eat dairy currently)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg
1 tbsp sugar mixed with 1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Chop the apple finely and dump it, the butter, brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon into a saucepan. Mix together on medium-high heat until apple is softened.

Roll out the crescent rolls sheet (if you’re using just regular crescents, just mash the perforations together). Spread the apple mixture on it almost up to all the edges. Then quickly roll up from the short side, pinching all of the edges together so you’ve got a little log of deliciousness.

Brush the top and sides with a little of the egg and then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mix over the top. Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

And ta-da! It’s AMAZING. Jon even loves it cold the next day. I think it’s probably the most perfect fall dessert! I love this time of year! Time for soups, stews, crock-pots, hot desserts…

But now I’m curious – what are your favorite fall recipes?

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The Nater Tot is napping and lately his naps have been about fifteen to twenty minutes long and I’m hoping to get some work done on a new proposal, so I’m going to have to make this quick!! (I guess that is reason enough for a run on sentence!) 🙂

* First, thank you SO much for the overwhelming response in wanting to be an influencer! I SO appreciate it! 🙂

* A lot of you have asked if you will get an email about whether or not you got a copy – YES, you will, just as soon as I get my stubborn email account up and working again (technology. sheesh.). I’m hoping to have those out by later this afternoon – again, assuming that my email is back up.

* If you don’t get an email, I’m taking pre-orders for Double Shot on my website – yay!

* I’m not sure when NavPress will be sending the influencer copies out, but I’m assuming it will be sometime soon! 🙂 Keep checking those mailboxes!

* It is obviously getting colder out because I have had to pretty much soak my hands in lotion at bedtime so they don’t crack and break off in the middle of the night. Not sure that any of you needed to know that.

* Question for my more style-savvy friends: Got any suggestions for some new fall/winter clothing? Last year I was sporting the maternity look, so my closet is ready for an overhaul! Another question: Tunics-and-leggings Trend – cute for a 25-year-old mom or ehh, pass?

Y’all have a fabulous Monday! 🙂

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I cannot cannot believe I’m already writing a post with that title! These past three months have absolutely flown past and I’m usually feeling like (to borrow a phrase our pastor has used) I’m drinking from a fire hose and I just want it to slow down!

Nathan is just the absolute highlight of our lives! He is SO funny and getting to be such a character – I just love seeing his personality coming out. He is LOUD too – he squeals and shouts and just generally makes noise most of the time he’s awake. And he can now roll over from his stomach to his back! He’s growing up WAY too fast!

He’s a busy boy – he is constantly moving and getting him to take a decent nap (as in more than 15 minutes) is usually pretty hard. He’s been in a bassinet in our room since he was born, so he now doesn’t like his crib (oh boy). The only place I can get him to sleep for more than a few minutes during the day is in his swing. He did sleep unswaddled in his crib the other day and I managed to get a quick picture of it. 🙂

But the not sleeping is only during the day! At night, he is the BEST sleeper! He goes down every night right around 9:30 and usually sleeps great until about six. Then he’ll nurse and go right back down until usually around nine. I love that! He is developing a bad habit of wanting to sleep in the bed with me after Jon leaves (my bad), but even that isn’t TOO terrible. 🙂

He has definite favorites with his toys (shout out to Dylan the Duck!) and we are never out of arm’s reach of a burp cloth. This kid spits up more than I’ve ever seen – and sometimes more than it seems like he’s eaten in the last several nursings. 😛 Pretty nasty! I told Jon that Nathan is going to start thinking his burp cloth is supposed to be his favorite blanket, because we always have one with us!

Nathan has become a definite Mama’s Boy – rarely, rarely will he go to anyone else and even then, it only lasts for about ten minutes before he’s crying for me. And most of the time he’s good with Jon – but he does have his moments even with him. I’m sure it’s because I’m with him 97% of the time. We’re trying to get better at this though. My parents came over last night and watched him while Jon and I got a much needed date night. And I think he did pretty well! 🙂

We went to the Balloon Fiesta with my mom and sister last week and had such a great time! We did not, however, like our alarms that went off at 4AM that day so we could get to the park.

Before we left. Can we tell I’m not a morning person?

The O’Brien Boys in front of the shamrock

So cute!

The five of us – Nathan did so good in the Moby Wrap!

Rocking the stocking cap with Gammy

I got this video of him yesterday morning. He was being SO funny! He just makes me laugh! Sorry again for the poor video quality – I really need to get better at filming things without moving the camera everywhere!

We just love our little Nater Tot!

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YAY!!!

Go to my Book Store and there you can pre-order an autographed copy of Double Shot! It will ship on or around October 29th!!

Be sure to specify who you’d like me to sign it to!

Oh, I’m just so very excited!!!

BUT WAIT!!! I have an extra special opportunity for you!! NavPress has graciously agreed to let you, my sweet readers, have a free copy of Double Shot in exchange for a review on Amazon, talking about it to your local bookstore and chatting it up with your friends! Send me an email with the subject “Influencer Copy” along with your name and address and I’ll be sure to send it to NavPress. BUT this is only for the first fifty people and only for people who are serious about promoting Double Shot, and this opportunity will end on Wednesday (unless we get 50 of you before then!). So hurry, hurry! 🙂

UPDATE: I have more than 50 emails already!! I am overwhelmed by your sweet words – thank you so very much!! To those who didn’t get a copy, please feel free to go to my Book Store below. Thank you!!! 🙂

Note that the free influencer copy is NOT an autographed book – to order that, go to the Book Store!

Yay for Mondays! 🙂

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Okay, so not totally wordless! 😉 Please ignore the big box of winter clothes that have been sitting in the middle of my living room for the last three days waiting to be unpacked. Cooler weather is here!

LOVE our happy boy!

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My brother, Bryant, flew in for the weekend on Thursday night. I love, love, love having the whole family back together again!

We hung out on Saturday and then went to get our family pictures made. Jon and I met Sarah Eastwood back in the ole engagement days and she took our engagement pictures, our wedding pictures, our pictures of just us and Kody and Saturday, she took the new family pics! 🙂 I haven’t gotten to see the ones of my whole family, but she made a little slideshow sneak peek of the ones of Nathan that I just had to share! She’s so sweet – we just love her!

Sunday, we went to church where Nathan proceeded to distract every single person behind us because he was being SO obnoxious (and so funny!). He didn’t want to sit in our laps, he only wanted to stand. So, we let him stand, thinking he’d be quiet and instead, he laughed and talked and made faces at us through most of the sermon.

My apologies to those people sitting behind us in the balcony.

The cool thing about our church is the balcony and I’ve noticed it tends to attract families with little kids. Most people don’t seem to care when Nathan starts getting loud up there. So nice!

Then we went and hung out at Mom and Dad’s with Bryant, watched some football and ate tons of Mom’s famous chocolate chip pumpkin bread.

After Bryant left for the airport, Jon, Nathan and I met up with our friends Clint and Leigh Ann (and the baby yet to be seen!) for a super fun trip to the Balloon Fiesta! Every year in October, we have this HUGE international Balloon Fiesta and it is SO fun! It’s one of my absolute favorite times of the year – it definitely signals that fall is here and winter is coming!

Here’s us with the babies and the new Baby Bee balloon!! I love Leigh Ann’s expression!! 🙂 And isn’t Nathan’s hat just the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen?

Last night was a Balloon Glow and a fireworks show. Jon and I have been to a Balloon Glow every year since we were dating and so this time it did my sentimental heart good to be sitting there last night while the fireworks went off next to sweet friends, snuggled back against Jon and cuddling a sleeping, bundled up baby. 🙂

And I have a sad story to share. But there’s a long drawn-out backstory to go with it.

I’ll try to only share the details.

When Miss Match was published and I got my very first advance, I was SO excited and decided that it was time to start driving something other than the 1996 Tahoe that my parents had bought for us kids to learn to drive on.

So I bought this:

That’s right. 40th Anniversary, super low miles, premium sound, incredible acceleration power from those pesky red lights and absolutely zero room for a car seat.

Which was totally fine back in the single days. And the Married With No Kids days.

Not so much now. Last fall, we bought a Yukon that I’ve been driving since Nathan was born (except on those rare occasions when I didn’t have him with me) and Jon has been driving the Mustang. So, we decided it was time to upgrade to something that did have room for a car seat, just in case something happened to the Yukon.

Which meant we had to sell the Fun Car.

I took some pictures of the Nater Tot in it yesterday morning so that someday, when he’s fifteen and complaining about the clunker that we get him for his first car, he can see the car his mother gave up for him…sadly, but willingly. 🙂

Peace out, Mustang. 🙂

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