Photo Dump Wednesday: JOE's first date

I haven't been able to spend much one on one time with JOE since JAE arrived.  So I decided last weekend to dedicate some time to just JOE.
I used to always enjoy pottery painting before I got married and I figured since JOE loves to paint,  this would be a fun activity to do with her.
So after church last Sunday,  JOE and I headed to downtown Annapolis to do some pottery painting.
When we got there,  I had JOE pick out an item she'd like to paint.  She picked a mermaid.  Not too surprising since the recent Doc McStuffins episode she watched had a mermaid.
I told JOE what to do and she went to work on her master piece.

I chose to paint a shared ice cream cup for J and I for these long hot summer days.

JOE was very serious about her painting. She didn't even want to turn to take a picture. She said "it has to be just right momma."

The final product. A.k.a JOE's master piece! Not sure why the mermaid her dots all over her but there was no arguing with the child. I tried to tell her they don't have dots but she insisted in putting them on the mermaid. And not just one color either. She kept making me go back for more colors to put on there.

For comparison, below is the mermaid from Doc McStuffins. Not bad huh? At least she got the purple hair and green fins...sorta :-).

 And here is my master piece with my signature at the bottom :-).

 

We definitely had a great time painting. I know JOE certainly enjoyed it and I enjoyed spending some much needed one on one time with her. We will be picking up the final glazed pieces on Sunday after church.

Then it was back home to this beauty. She is getting so big and I am just amazed at how much she is growing.

JOE has been doing a ton more reading. Her child care provider often reads to her and with her. This week, it was The Very Hungry Caterpillar. 

Last week, it was Brown Bear. J and I read this book to her a lot when she was a baby and I am glad to see that it stuck with her. 

Check out the video of her "reading". I know she isn't actually reading but more reciting it from memory but I'm still proud of her.

And here is my smiling princess holding her head up and trying to crawl. She thinks she can and is very determined to try. Never mind the fact that there is no way her 3-month old legs can support the push movement needed to crawl. She still tries :-).

JOE playing at the park. Check out her hair. Yup. It is still growing and she LOVES to "shakie" her head. If you watch Doc McStuffins, you'll know where that word came from :-).

My girls and I. The best gifts from God. 

Question of the day:

Do you ever go on dates with your kids? If so, what are some activities you've done with them? 

I hope you are having a nice week so far! Just one more day until the weekend. Woohoo!

JOE and JAE's week in pictures

JOE and JAE had quite a fun week. The weather was really nice so their child care provider was able to take them out often to enjoy the outdoors. 

Here are some pictures from their adventures this week. 

After a full day, here's JAE sleeping. She literally did not want to let me go. JOE can sometimes be loud and this disrupts JAE's sleep so whenever JAE gets a chance to sleep, she makes very good use of the time. 

My lovely view while pumping. 

JAE and JOE's child care provider often sends me pictures during the day. These pictures often come right when I am having a hectic or stressful day. They are a reminder of just why I get up at 4:20am every weekday morning.

JOE loves going to the play ground where she gets to interact with other kids. 

I was going through my phone's pictures yesterday and saw this picture of JAE when she was just a few minutes old. I can't believe that was 15-weeks ago!

I saw this on Facebook this week and I would very much like to have something like this somewhere in our home. I just need to figure out where. 
Filing this under my ever growing list of "DIY projects."

And this is another one of the mommy-daughters selfie from the cutting room floor. I had a ton of these. 

My mini-me and I. 

The next few pictures are of JOE and JAE playing. 

Or rather, JOE playing and JAE trying to get away. JAE just wants to be left alone. 

But JOE was having none of that :-). Sisterly love! 

Another one of JOE at the playground. 

Miss. Too Cool for Words.

A very dear friend of mine gave me some hats for the girls. I kept most of them for the girls to eventually wear to Church but I let JOE use this one for playing. She has decided it is her "Sheriff Callie" cowgirl hat. Love her creativity.

I haven't had much one on one time with JOE since JAE arrived so I have decided that JOE and I will be going on a mommy-daughter date on Sunday. I am very much looking forward to it because I know she'll have a great time. More on that next week. 

Have a fabulous weekend and remember to be kind to strangers!

Photo Dump Wednesday (on Thursday): Manetabolism update - month 1

I completed my first month back on the manetabolism vitamins last week Wednesday. The first time I used this product, I had nothing but positive things to say about it which is why I decided to try it again to see if it'll help with my postpartum shedding/breakage. 


Before I do my review, I'll share some pictures with you and then do my review. 

NOTE: After washing my hair last Monday, I cut half an inch off it to get rid of the thin ends. 

 Length check after 1-month on manetabolism.

Sorry for the crazy look. It was wash day :-).

Side by side length check. 

 









 

Review:

1. I didn't see as much growth as I expected. I did cut off half an inch of hair on Monday but that was AFTER I took these pictures. I guess even manetabolism cannot combat mother nature.
2. My shedding was not significantly reduced. It appeared to be more in July than in June. But I am hoping that's just because I am in the "height of postpartum shedding". Hopefully, it'll be significantly reduced the next time I do a check. 
3. My hair DID get fuller. So even though I am shedding, it is growing. I guess the vitamins did work a bit in that regards.

I plan to continue on the vitamins since I still have another 90-day supply (I bought 2 more bottles when they had a 30% off sale). 

I don't know if it is working as far as longer hair but I know it is making my hair fuller. I still plan on straightening my hair at some point but for now, I'll wait until I am done with taking the vitamins and can do a real check.

In the meantime, this is how I've been wearing my hair for the last week. I told my good friend I love being natural because it gives me an excuse to not spend a ton of time trying to do my hair and still have it look semi-decent :-).

Question of the day: 

Have you ever taken a hair growth vitamin? If so, did it work for you?