taking monthly pictures is so much fun.

you should hear all the hooping and hollering that goes down just to capture these pictures! things start to decline drastically fast. the place turns into an absolute madhouse. i'm not even kidding. oh, but once you get just one good one it makes it all worth it...right? am i right? i can hear the Mr. "puhh-ing" in the background. oh well, let the hollering commence! i'm sentencing these two to side-by-side pictures for life!

p.s. good lighting makes the biggest difference, therefore, i'm hating you Mr. Winter for the dreariness you bestowed upon this past couple of month's photos!

p.p.s. i will announce the GooseWaddle Giveaway winner tomorrow! today is the last day to enter!

and p.p.p.s. sorry i haven't been posting the 6 week crossfit workout plan! if you are still following it, here are weeks 4, 5, and 6! i am stuck on week 5! grrrr.

why i blog.

i know you've probably read about a million and one of these, but i felt it was necessary to do, not just for you, but for me and to help keep myself in check.

first off, i will say that it's so easy to get side-tracked in the blogging world. i'm not really sure why that is, but it just happens, too much and too often in my opinion. i guess it's just easy to look at other blogs and start the comparison games which can, if you let it, lead you astray until you no longer know why you're "here". i'm speaking from a little bit of experience.

this space was started in complete innocence while i was pregnant with our son, rylan. it began with a poem to him. i was lying awake in bed one night waaaay past any decent hour that one should be asleep (which happens quite often around here-i have a tough time "shutting off" so to say) and this poem just came to me and i had to get it out.

in the morning i shared it with nick who proceeded to compliment my writing. my husband then shared it with a friend of his who agreed with the compliments. i can write? who? me? who would've thought it? not me that's for sure.

i mustered up enough courage to get this blog up not really knowing exactly where it would go, but i can see it now.

// 1 //  to remember. i want to remember all the details, big and small. when first steps were taken, how i felt the day my children were born, what they looked like, how they talked, the funny things, the hard things, the good and the not so good and most of all how we loved.

// 2 //  for growth. i hope to be able to look back and see how much God has grown and changed us over time. we know God uses things in our lives to purify us and we want His sanctifying work to be visible. i desire to see this process in progress for myself.

// 3 //  i like to write, simple as that. this blog has created a longing in me to write a book, just one good one will do.

// 4 // to express myself. if you know me then you know i'm not the biggest talker. i'm a bit shy, that is until you've stuck around long enough. but i'v got a lot to say man! sometimes i feel like i'm just going to burst with all the thoughts going on in my head and this is my way to sort through things and get it onto "paper". it definitely helps open up some free space upstairs :).

// 5 // to encourage. it is my hope that as i share our journey others will be encouraged along the way. i have a special place in my heart for mothers and building them up. may we all stay on course, find contentment in the difficult days of motherhood and rid ourselves of the "mommy wars".

and that's that.

GooseWaddle Blanket Review and Giveaway! the softest of soft in my book.

when rylan was a baby baby we would take naps together in our favorite spot on the couch with our favorite cozy blanket. those times spent all snuggled up, nice and warm, are some of my most cherished memories with my little man, mainly because he's not a big fan of cuddling anymore and i miss it. he hardly sits still these days, but that's another story for another time!

at the Baker house, we are just cozy fools, you know? the best thing about winter is bunching everybody up nice and tight on the couch in our warmest sweats and topping us off with a "softest of soft" blanket. so i was pretty pumped when i was contacted to review these blankets from GooseWaddle.

i'm a sucker for the furry ones and quilts, there's just something about them that lulls you to sleep, right? well, i've never felt a "furry one" like this one. we received a white (we went with gender neutral-in hopes of a baby baker #3 someday! fingers crossed!) baby blanket, blankie and the GooseWaddle plush toy-who most definitely needs a name by the way...i'm thinking Herbie-i mean, goodness gracious look at the guy-he's totally a Herbie ;), or something like that, or maybe just Goose. 

the full size baby blanket is perfect for either of my littles, but tenley will love cozy-ing up with the blankie-she's taken a liking to sleeping with blankies over her face! and rylan is pretty fond of the "Goose" and his "gasses" aka glasses.

when we opened the packages, you could almost immediately feel the high quality of the blankets. they are super soft and thick and seem to be "double layered"-whatever that means-(i know nothing of sewing and this could be the case, but i'm just guessing).

and i think it's safe to say that our littlest review-er gives it two thumbs up...or two eyelids closed!

anywho, we are looking forward to getting some good use out of these blankets for the rest of the winter. it's been a cold one, Oklahoma!

GooseWaddle is giving away a full size baby blanket and baby blankie (in the color of your choice) to one lucky Baby Baker Love reader! these blankets make the perfect baby gift!

to enter you must be a follower of Baby Baker Love. visit GooseWaddle and let us know your color of choice in the comments for one entry. for extra entries follow Baby Baker Love on twitter, bloglovin, pinterest or instagram. for every media you follow you will receive an entry. leave a comment for each one followed.

good luck!

also, check out GooseWaddle's buy 1, give 1 program!

overnight oats.

my friend Courtney got me hooked on overnight oats recently and we've been doing a bit of experimenting with them ever since. so i thought i'd share one that's become a hit over here.

// overnight oats //

ingredients: 

1/2-3/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup milk of choice

1 tsp vanilla

1-2 tsp nutmeg

1-2 tsp cinnamon

1-2 tsp milled flax seed

chocolate chips

half well-ripened banana

spoonful of peanut butter/almond butter

spoonful of plain greek yogurt

directions:

fill your favorite mason jar with rolled oats 1/2-3/4 of the way full. cover the oats with your milk of choice. splash with a tsp of vanilla, mix in your nutmeg, cinnamon, flax seed, and chocolate chips, as well as your banana (make sure you mash it up a bit). then add your spoonfuls of yogurt and almond butter/peanut butter. just shake it all up and leave it in the refrigerator overnight! enjoy your yummy oats right out of the jar in the morning!

we are loving this quick and easy breakfast! do you have any overnight oats recipes to share? or any other easy breakfast ideas? i'd love to hear them!

p.s. be on the lookout for a giveaway coming up!

last minute valentine's day gift guide for him. it's not too late! i hope...

// 1 // i don't know about the man in your life, but for mine a skinny tie is a great find! we stumbled upon this one at target and it was perfect! nicely priced too. we've also found some good ones at banana republic, gap, and perry ellis.

// 2 // the boys can never have enough comfy shirts, right? #targetdoesitagain

// 3 // chukka boots. the ones pictured here are calvin klein, but i've seen tons of nice ones at j. crew. they're comfy and more appealing to the eye than tennis shoes, in my opinion.

// 4 // wallet. they never leave home without this so make it a good one!

// 5 // nike sports watch GPS. this watch has so many cool features! it has a run reminder, tracks your distance, pace, location, and calories burned! it also helps you set goals and check your progress along the way. great gift for all the "runner" hubbies out there.

hope you all have a wonderful valentine's day! i think we'll be keeping it simple again this year, but that's how we like it. :)

the house that built me.

there once was a brown brick house down a winding narrow road lined by trees for miles.
past the baseball fields and under the railroad tracks.
a house filled with memories of a mommy and a daddy and their two little girls.
a yard that was perfect for snowball fights, playing catch, swimming pools, and bare feet.
acres of land that were driven by four wheelers and beloved pets that are buried beneath the ground.
a porch that welcomed you on cold rainy nights and had countless good byes said from it on the steps under the porch light.
a door that creaked as well as some of the floors.
a laundry room filled with basketballs and helmets, socks and shoes.
a kitchen that was cooked in and danced in.
a living room filled with voices.
a dining room table where there once was a fort built.
a hallway that was always a bit creepy and the sound of knuckles being run down the paneling.
bedrooms filled with laughter from sleepovers and early morning wake up calls-the sun flooding the rooms after the curtains were open.
the faint sound of the train in the background.
a den where christmas morning were spent.
and mommy and daddy's room.

there once was a little girl who grew up in this house and will leave so many memories there, the good and the bad, all a part of her.
so good bye one last time, but this time for good.
not a place untouched or a room unseen.
good bye to a house that is loved, but not forgotten.

love always,
the little girl

5/52

"a portrait, once a week for 2014"

i love these two little goonies.

the 52 project

25 months.

rylan, you are the definition of BUSY! always on the move, you've got places to go and people to see! between you and me though, i secretly like that about you ;). don't get me wrong, i adore the .25 second hugs you give, but it's just you to be on the go and i like you. so there's that.

you are getting into everything lately. i was brushing my teeth the other day and it got too quiet. i knew something was up. i found you in the BACKYARD!! did you read that?! BACKYARD!! you sneaky boy! you moved a chair from the dinning room table over to the door, unlocked it and went outside to play in your pjs! when i went out to get you, you said, "come on momma!". i love it.

it's one of the sweetest, saddest things when you get in trouble! you start crying and saying, "i sowwy, lubs you momma" and "hold you". i pick you up and tell you how much i love you even when you get in trouble.

some favorite sayings:

"yes sir."
"yes sir momma."
"careful."
"bwess you tenwey."
"don't fall like dum-dumpty."
"Czechoslovakia."
"chicken nugget."
"bad guys."
(if we're singing) "no no no no! stop it!"
"no, dats not a circle."
"puhpuhpuh-playdough."
"go funder (aka Thunder)!"
"go OU!"
"turn it off."
"charge it."
"shhh tenwey."

you still love music and singing. a couple of your favorite songs are "happy birthday" and "twinkle, twinkle".

one of our "things" right now is to have a little talk when you wake up from your nap. just you and me. i always ask if you slept good and what you dreamed about. i love asking you what some of your favorite things are too. i cannot wait for you to be able to really tell me. i want to know everything. i want to know all about you.

love you forever,

momma

4 months tenley.

tenley girl, time with you is just flying by! you are as sweet as can be and daddy is still your favorite. you can now roll from front to back and back to front so look out world! daddy and you like to play "rough" and flying in the air makes you laugh. looking at yourself in the mirror is pretty fun too. you've also been playing with your toys more and like to stick everything in your mouth! oh, and you love to bounce! 

i'm starting to wonder if you will always be our "high needs" baby. a lady at church made the comment, "she's fine as long as someone is talking to her!"-ha!!! tell me about it! so much effort with this one!

you laughed at your brother for the first time this month and your daddy and i about died. it was the cutest thing ever. rylan was pretty excited about it too.

you're still sleeping good for the most part. occasionally you'll give us an off night and wake up at 2 or 4 in the morning, but you usually sleep until at least 5 am. we've got your arms unswaddled now so we think that's what's been waking you up lately. we're just hoping that you'll start to develop a little bit more of a "schedule" soon. 

we can't believe that you are already at the age where we can start giving you solids. i think we will hold off a bit longer on that though if we can. 

everything is happening so fast with you sweet girl. before we know it you'll be crawling and i'm certain you will then conquer the world.

one step at a time baby girl. 

love you forever,

momma

Tips and Tricks for New Mommies and Daddies-to-Be

// 1 // mattress cover, sheet, mattress cover, sheet. when making the crib do a double layer, that way if there's an accident in the middle of the night you can just strip off the top sheet and mattress cover and voila the bed is already made for you. you'll thank me later i promise :).

// 2 // i hate, HATE, all of those stupid buttons on onesies! if you're off by just one the whole thing turns into a train wreck. one trick that i've found to work is starting with the middle button and working your way out. this will help keep you right on track!

// 3 // use sleep gowns at night. i know it may sound simple, but changing diapers in the middle of the night is already no fun, so make it easier on yourself-put them in a gown! outfits with zero buttons are always a plus in my book :).

// 4 // velcro swaddles. this thing has been a life-saver for us! we've used one for both babies and my mom keeps having to sew it back together because we're using the heck out of it! no more fussing over getting a good swaddle! i mean really, who wants to worry about this at 2 am?! these swaddles do the trick! also, another tip is to velcro the swaddle up when you wash it so it doesn't stick to other items in the laundry.

// 5 // always, i repeat, always carry a burp rag (we prefer cloth diapers) with baby. you never know when you're gonna need one! trust me.

// 6 // have a couple of different "changing stations" in your home. tenley is still sleeping in our room so we have a basket with all the supplies we need (diapers, wipes, lotion, extra pacifiers, diaper rash cream etc) in there and then we also have an area in the living room. this will save you from having to run around looking for things all the time while your baby/babies are screaming at you. i've never experienced this or anything ;).

// 7 // establish a routine early on. tenley has at least one scheduled nap time during the day at 2 pm (during rylan's nap) and we always put her to bed around 9 pm. we do the same things with her every night, i feed her, nick changes her and swaddles her and puts her down with her sound machine (did you know there's an app for that too??) going. she's always awake when we put her down and have read that this is good because it allows the baby to learn to put herself to sleep, but that's up to you.

// 8 // carry an extra change of clothes in your diaper bag. this is self-explanatory i suppose.

// 9 // hand/face wipes for your purse and/or car. i've found this is especially important as your baby gets older. can you say 2 year old messes?!

// 10 // gassy baby?? here's some tips! pumping the legs always seemed to help with ours!

// 11 // need some tunes to soothe your baby that you might actually enjoy as well? check out rockabye baby pandora station!

// 12 // buy gender neutral! i wish i would've thought to do this! baby #1 was a boy and 21 months later baby #2 came along and wouldn't you know it--GIRL! had we not been gifted with or given a decent amount of girl items we would have practically had to start over! we decided that she can make do with a blue bathtub and bumbo though :).

// 13 // let it sink in that all babies are different. what may work for one may not work for another. i had to learn this the hard way. baby #1 super easy, no fuss, but baby #2 was a whole new ball game! so take everyone's advice (cause' you know you're gonna hear it anyway) with a grain of salt and figure out what works for you and your baby.

// 14 // lastly, mommy and daddy-remember that you are a team! give each other some grace and help one another out.

do you have any other tips/tricks? please share in the comments!