Things I’m Loving Friday #294

I am a little too excited to share the thing I’m loving MOST this week with you guys so I’m forgoing my usual intro in favor of diving right into my list of Friday favorites. Let’s get to it!

Things I’m Loving Friday

Surprising Callie!

Surprise! I’m in Florida! I headed south with the boys on Wednesday afternoon as part of a grand plan to surprise my niece Callie (and my sister and brother-in-law) on Thursday for Callie’s FIRST birthday!!!

I cooked up this little plan a few weeks ago and, with my parents’ help, was able to execute it to the fullest! Chase, Ryder and I hung out at my parents’ place until Thursday evening when my parents were planning to go over to Leslie and Ross’ place to celebrate Callie’s birthday. The boys and I hid around the corner in their front yard and ran out to say “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” and it was just the best!! I absolutely hate that we don’t get to see Callie on a daily or even weekly basis and any chance I get, I find myself thinking of ways for us to make it down to Florida to see this precious little girl!

The boys clearly love their only cousin and Callie is such a trooper about happily accepting a lot of Chase cuddles and grabby Ryder hands.

Beach + Pool Time

What would a trip to Jacksonville Beach be without lots of beach and pool time!? Considering the fact that both boys are 100 percent water-obsessed, you better believe we’ve been spending our fair share of time splashing in the pool and ocean.

This is actually our first trip to the beach since Ryder learned how to walk and it definitely feels like all hands on deck with both boys running and splashing and playing. Ryder was a little timid around the crashing waves for the first five minutes of our first beach trip but he soon found his courage and now he beelines for the surf. It’s keeping me on my toes, that’s for sure!

Maple Sea Salt RXBar (+ My RXBar Power Rankings)

I almost always have an RXBar in my bag for emergency snacking purposes. I’m not sure if the maple sea salt is a new flavor or if I’ve just never seen it available in my area before but I picked up a couple of them at the grocery store two weeks ago and they’re awesome!! I have a continually-updated RXBar power ranking in my mind and this flavor just made its way into my top five. My current favs (in order): Chocolate Coconut, Gingerbread (seasonal and SO GOOD), Chocolate Sea Salt, Pumpkin Spice (another seasonal find) and Maple Seat Salt.

Well Rested Mama Giveaway: Customized Sleep Training Plan

If you are on the struggle bus when it comes to sleep with your infant, baby or toddler, I think you are going to be all about the giveaway I have for you guys today! I know how hard and defeating it feels when your baby is up all the time and you feel like you’ve exhausted every single baby sleep training trick in the book. When Chase was a baby, I felt like I read just about everything there was to read to help him sleep through the night and it just didn’t happen. Now it seems like there are a lot more resources for baby sleep help for those struggling and my friend Cara, founder of Well Rested Mama, is one of those fabulous resources!

Cara is an elementary school teacher turned certified sleep consultant and works with parents to create customized sleep training plans for infants, babies, toddlers, twins and young children. (If you happen to be in the Tampa/Clearwater area, she also offers in-home sessions.) She believes there is no “one size fits all” approach when it comes to sleep training and creates plans that align with your specific parenting philosophy and values.

If you think you and your infant, baby, toddler or little one would benefit from help from Well Rested Mamas, check out Cara’s services (there are packages at all price points) and definitely enter today’s giveaway!

One blog reader will win a customized sleep plan from Well Rested Mamas ($189 value), a Starbucks gift card and a Zipadee-Zip sleep swaddle!

To enter this giveaway, simply follow @WellRestedMama on Instagram (if you have an IG account) and leave a comment on this post telling me about your biggest sleep-related struggle. (My answer: With Chase, his small size made me feel like he needed lots of nighttime nursing sessions and that bled into a lot of other sleep-related struggles. My sleep-related struggles with Ryder all centered around the four-month sleep regression.) I will randomly select a winner next Friday morning. Good luck!!