Spring Style Favorites for Ladies

I will definitely admit that I'm not the most stylish person you will meet, but since most of the things I share on here are for little girls, I thought I'd share a few of my spring style favorites for ladies! I love anything that's both cute and comfortable - practical things that can be worn while chasing a toddler usually win in my book, but occasionally I like to step out of my comfort zone + mix things up a bit. :)

hat // necklace // shoes // jeans // black blouse // clutch // grey tee

Yes, I included a few "regular people" things because I'm dreaming of the day that I can fit into all my non-maternity clothes again.  Those jeans would definitely be on my wish list if I wasn't pregnant - I love them in the green and black too!  I'm kind of a sucker for neutrals and am also loving all of the blush tones I've been seeing lately.  Those tees are some of my favorite things in my closet and I'm still squeezing this belly into them on a regular basis.  Some cute sandals, a statement necklace and a basic hat are all really versatile.  Also, that clutch has a USB port built-in so you can charge your phone - diaper bag game changer, right?!

We're expecting snow over the next couple days (obviously because it's going to be April 1st and all...), so I'm more than ready for some spring weather to actually get here.  Hopefully it's a little more spring-like wherever it is you call home this weekend! :)

29 Weeks

How far along: Less than three hours shy of 30 weeks. Oops!

Gender: Girl!
Belly button in or out:  Out.

Maternity clothes:  Same as before for the most part.  Thankful I didn't end up buying a maternity coat again this time around like I had planned - if it zips it fits, right? ;)

Stretch marks:  Nothing yet.
Sleep: Definitely need to work on going to bed earlier, but my brain just does not shut off.
Best moment of the week: All of our weeks are kind of the same (not that I'm complaining), so I guess just getting some more stuff checked off our to-do list!  

Miss anything: Not being hungry late at night when I should really be sleeping.
Movement: Lot of tiny toes all up in my ribs.

Cravings: Pineapple, peanut butter and chocolate... and while I haven't tried it, I probably wouldn't complain about eating all three together?
Queasy or sick:  Feeling good.

Looking forward to: I can't believe April is so close! Between Easter, Ellie's birthday and finishing the nursery, I have a feeling the next month is going to fly by but I'm looking forward to it all!

Dress Up Favorites

If Ellie isn't running around the house half-dressed, there's a good chance she's piling layers of mismatched clothes + accessories on both herself and all of her babies - girlfriend is certainly developing her own sense of style these days! ;)  She's getting into a fun age where playing dress up is a daily activity for us.  Ells always wears her kitty ears and makes me put on her bunny ears, she brushes my hair and never says "no" to wearing a hat herself!  She loves to play with her fake makeup, but if you hand her some real chapstick or lip gloss, there's a good chance you're never getting it back. :)

I've been keeping my eye out for a couple new dress up things for Ellie's birthday this year.  It seems especially fitting for the occasion and I think she'll get a kick out of having a special outfit ready for her when she wakes up as an official two year old! :)  There are so, so many cute dress up outfits + accessories out there, and today I'm sharing a handful of my favorites.

one // two // three // four // five // six // seven // eight // nine // ten

 Hands down some of my favorite finds are from Seed Heritage.  If someone can find me a free shipping to the U.S. promo code, I'll be eternally grateful! ;)  Also, I totally got nostalgic when I came across some stick on earrings - how fun are these??

I'm wondering how many people will roll their eyes when I say that all this dress up shopping has got me already compiling preliminary Halloween costumes for the girls in my head. ;)  So much fun.  Happy shopping!!

Ellie's Big Girl Bed Transition

quilt set // sheet set // stuffed flamingo // flower throw pillow

We finally got Ellie's big girl bed painted a couple weekends ago and I was so eager to try it out.  Of course I was a little nervous about her being able to get out of bed and wander when I'm not looking, but I really felt like it would be a good change.  We had to wait until the end of this past week to try it out as we were waiting on her bed bumpers to come in.  I decided on these foam ones as opposed to one of the mesh side rails.  Ellie moves around a lot in her sleep, so I know these are more of a reminder that the edge of the bed is there and not necessarily going to keep her from rolling out of bed if she's flailing around like crazy like she sometimes does; however, I think they were the best choice in the long run as they will help teach her boundaries rather than just relying on the rail to keep her in bed.  I also think the softness of the foam bumpers reminds Ellie more of sleeping in our bed, like she's snuggled up to one of us, which might be comforting to her.

I would have loved to put Ellie in her new bed for a nap before I did it overnight, just for my own peace of mind so I could keep an eye on her; however, she still isn't napping these days.  Aside from quick car snoozes, I think she has taken two naps in the past four or five weeks, both of which resulted in being awake for hours in the middle of the night.  At this point, I'd much rather go fourteen hours of toddler chasing straight than have Ellie take a nap, because as nice as it is to get stuff done during the day, it's pretty awful being stuck watching "Goldie and Bear" on repeat at 1 a.m.  Anyway, we gave her big girl bed a go Thursday night and she slept all. night. long.  I, however, think I woke up to look at the monitor every time I heard the sheets rustle.  I really couldn't believe how well she was sleeping, partially because she was in a new bed and partially because she hardly ever sleeps through the night still.  Ells waited in bed just playing with the small herd of stuffed animals she sleeps with until I came in to get her the first two mornings.  The third, I woke up to the sound of her trying to break out of her room, twisting the doorknob like her little life depended on it (aside from one of our closet doors, she still hasn't mastered doorknobs yet).

 

While it's only been a handful of nights, I'm so happy with how this transition has gone so far.  I really felt like she would do well with it, so I'd say it's definitely one of those trust your instincts kind of things.  In full disclosure, we do put Ellie to bed asleep already every night still.  She's been curling up in my lap to go to bed for the past month or so, which is a huge improvement from the circus that was the bedtime routine not too long ago.  That being said, I have no idea what it will be like when we try putting her in bed awake for the first time, but we will cross that bridge when we get there. ;)

 Aside from looking ridiculously cute sleeping in her bed, one of the best parts about the transition is being able to get in bed with Ellie and cuddle.  We've already spent a lot of time reading, watching movies on the iPad and snuggling the kitties, who not surprisingly love her new bed too! :)

As for the bed frame itself, we lightly sanded it and did two coats of Rust-Oleum Chalked Paint in Linen White - we started with the spray paint but ended up doing most of it with the regular brush-on kind since we didn't want to wait for a warm, non-raining day to finish it.  I'm really happy with how it came out, we used chalk paint on Ellie's crib too and it held up really well.

With that, we've checked another thing off our "big girl spring to-do list"! ;)  I can't believe my baby will be two next month, but it certainly feels like she's growing by the day.  It's definitely bittersweet, but we are so proud of her. :)

28 Weeks

  How far along: 28 weeks.

Gender: Girl!
Belly button in or out:  Out.

Maternity clothes:  Same as before.

Stretch marks:  Nothing yet.
Sleep: What's that? :)
Best moment of the week: Another doctor's appointment confirming all looks good, huge bonus points for getting another ultrasound!!  While I was told not to worry about it yet, there was some concern about needing a c-section this time around when I went for my 20 week scan (partial placenta previa if you want to get all technical).  Turns out my doctor was right and we are in the clear, which was so exciting to hear! :)  The tech tried hard for about 15 minutes to get some good pics for me after she confirmed everything looked good, but girlfriend's face was kind of buried.  It was still cool to see how much she had grown since I last saw her, much more meat on her bones and much less alien looking. ;)  Also, she is 100% still a girl!

Miss anything: Fitting into all my normal people clothes.
Movement: Yep!

Cravings: English muffins with peanut butter every morning for breakfast for the past month.  Occasionally lunch too.
Queasy or sick:  Feeling good.

Looking forward to: Painting has started in Willow's nursery, so I can't wait to really get started working on it! :)

Baby Number Two Favorites + Wish List

I remember the day we brought Ellie home from the hospital, putting her in her bouncer (that she liked for all of three days), sitting down on the couch and thinking "okay, soooo now what?".   I have a funny feeling I won't have even .275 seconds to think "now what?" to myself when we bring Willow home from the hospital.  If I'm being honest, the number one thing on this wish list of mine is probably the ability to duplicate myself and be in two places at once.  Most days, I'm lucky if I can take two minutes to unload the dishwasher without a toddler literally climbing my legs for attention, forget trying to sit down and quietly feed a baby.  There's no doubt that there will be some chaotic times, but there's also no doubt that we will adjust to life with our two sweet babies!  Full hands, full hearts, right? :)

Having a second baby girl, especially so close in age to Ellie, means that aside from stocking up on tiny diapers, we really don't need anything for baby number two.   That being said, prepping for another baby girl has meant I can pick out a few new, fun things here and there instead of going crazy buying an entire new wardrobe or all new "boy things".  There are some new products that have come out, or things I've discovered after Ellie was born that I'm really loving, plus some tried + true favorites that I'm sharing today!

Swaddle blanket - We have a handful of Little Unicorn swaddles and still use them on a daily basis (although they are now used to make superhero capes or to swaddle Ellie's dolls).  Ells never cared for swaddling, but we still used them as regular blankets all the time when she was a baby.  They're super lightweight + breathable, which is really nice.  Plus, the prints are adorable!  Ellie also still sleeps with her Little Unicorn quilt every night.  I knew I wanted to get a quilt for Willow as well, and grabbed this one when I saw it on an Instagram resale account - a different brand, but same muslin material. Also, did you see Target sells some LU products now??

Hat - Is there anything better than a newborn baby in a hat?!  All of the ones I bought for Ellie were way too big when we were in the hospital, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this one fits baby Lo on her birthday! :)

Floral headband - These headbands are a favorite, but really I'm just looking forward to putting headbands on a little girl who won't immediately rip them off!

 Zip-up pajamas - If I could have one of these in every size + every color, I would. While I'm not opposed to cute prints, I love how simple these are and the zippers are so much easier than buttons for quick, middle of the night diaper changes.  I noticed that our old ones don't have a flap to cover the top of the zipper at the neck like the new ones do, which makes me like them even more!

Goat teether - How freaking cute is this thing?!?!  Ells loved her Sophie so much, she is in kind of rough shape and I would love to get Willow her own teether.  I randomly came across this similar one and think I may have found a winner! :)

Solly Baby wrap - I have a couple baby carriers (the Solly wrap included) from when Ellie was a baby, but she never liked any of them.  I am really hoping Lo likes to be worn because I know it would help immensely with getting pretty much anything done!

Baby gown - Ever since I saw these gowns, I've been just waiting for baby number two to scoop one up!  They're super soft, and also pretty functional (I'm imagining) with the tie at the bottom.  I've heard they're especially good for vaccine days at the doctor's, which I never would have thought of but it makes so much sense!  There's nothing worse than trying to put pants on a screaming, squirmy baby who just got a shot (or a few) in her leg.

Pacifier - Didn't we just get rid of these things?? ;)  We had to try a few different kinds of pacifiers with Ellie before we found one she liked, but I want to try these ones first with Willow.  They are all one piece, and I hated how water/spit/food/who knows what got stuck in some of Ellie's and we had to throw them out.

Tub - We have this other tub already that we really do love.  We used it forever before we put Ellie alone in the "big girl" tub and it's super nice to be able to drop it in the sink and not be hunched over the bathtub too.  However, I want to get this Angelcare one because I think it'll make giving both girls a bath in the big tub at the same time a lot easier.  It's a little bit smaller and obviously doesn't require a separate pool of water, which is a plus.

If you're also expecting, I've come across a few freebies for new mamas or mamas-to-be!  June & January will send something to all expecting moms if you fill out a super quick form.  We haven't gotten ours yet, but I believe it's one of their knotted hats.  Also, both Ellia May Designs and Bloomies Handmade will send you a pink bow if you send them over an email to get a special discount code (you do have to pay shipping costs for both) - contact info can be found on their websites.

Have some special deals or fun baby products that you love?  Be sure to send them my way!! :)

27 Weeks

  How far along: 27 weeks.

Gender: Girl!
Belly button in or out:  Out.

Maternity clothes:  Bought a new pair of white jeans for spring that I really like, although I'm sure I will still be spending most of my time in leggings.

Stretch marks:  Nothing yet.
Sleep: Getting to bed can definitely be hard, but I would have no problem sleeping in a little if it weren't for Miss Ellie. :)
Best moment of the week: Both sets of grandparents kidnapped Ells for a bit this week, which meant a lot of stuff that would otherwise not have gotten done (or only done sometime after 8 p.m.) got checked off the to-do list!  Yes, it is so strangely quiet when she's not around and we spend most of the time talking about her anyway. ;)  Also, the hat I originally wanted to get for Willow was backordered until May 15th for the longest time and I was afraid it might not arrive in time to bring to the hospital... BUT, it came back in-stock and has been ordered!! So excited to put a tiny hat on a tiny, sweet-smelling baby head.

Miss anything:  Well, sleep if that counts.
Movement: She's definitely a night owl!

Cravings: It felt a little bit like some kind of sin throwing away an ice cream cone that Ellie took two bites out of, but I'm trying to be good.  Or at least not too bad. Eek.
Queasy or sick:  Feeling good.

Looking forward to: Getting a peek at Baby Lo on Wednesday!! Can't wait to see how much she's grown in the past eight weeks. :)

Willow's Nursery Inspiration

With the third trimester quickly approaching (already!), I'm trying to narrow down some of my favorite nursery items + ideas so I can dive in and get started!  So many people have been asking me lately if Willow will have her own room and if we've been working on it.  Yes, she will have her own space and no, aside from a picking up a couple things, we haven't even touched it.  Today I'm sharing a few things I've already grabbed, plus a lot more on my current wish list! :)

rifle paper co print // swiss dot crib sheet // light fixture // seagrass + pink basket // stuffed lamb // i love you print // heart ottoman // swan head // faux fur rug // metallic woven basket (on clearance!) // water color print // tissue tassel garland // blanket

We'll of course be reusing Ellie's crib, as well as the grey chair that we had in her nursery at our old house.  Willow's bureau is a family antique that we'll be fixing up, likely painting and adding new knobs + pulls.  I also plan to reuse a couple of the prints I had hanging in Ellie's nursery since I still love them.

We will be painting the trim in the nursery white just like we did in Ellie's new room.  We have been talking paint color for the walls, and are thinking we will go with the same color white that we're using on the trim.  I love pink, but our thinking is that if we do end up having the third child we're currently thinking we want to try for down the road, he/she will go in the nursery and Willow will go into Ellie's room with her.  So, white is obviously gender neutral.  Totally planning ahead here, but knowing how much my husband loves painting, I'm rolling with this thinking.  Plus, the carpet is the same color as Ellie's and the room is smaller so we think it'll really make it nice and bright! :)

White walls will leave plenty of room for pops of color elsewhere - I'm thinking pinks, corals, greys, black, white + metallics for a (somewhat broad) color scheme.  I am obsessed with that light fixture to say the least; however, my sometimes extremely practical husband says that it'll use more electricity than all of our appliances combined.  Or something along those lines. ;)

I'm so excited to get to started on this little space for our tiniest baby girl and will for sure share more as we make some progress on it! :)

26 Weeks

 
 How far along: 26 weeks.

Gender: Girl!
Belly button in or out:  Out.

Maternity clothes: Finally got to wear a dress I got on super sale at Old Navy a few months ago! I feel like a few of my maternity tops from my first pregnancy were so well worn and got super stretched out.  The droopy fabric is such a pet peeve of mine and only makes me feel huge if that makes any sense, so I will continue to stretch out my regular tops for as long as possible. ;)

Stretch marks:  Nothing yet.
Sleep: Definitely hit or miss lately.  I randomly woke up at 11 p.m. Friday night and spent two hours looking at baby hats because I couldn't sleep.  Spoiler alert: I still haven't decided on one.
Best moment of the week: Ellie being pacifier-free was definitely a big milestone for us!  We had a girl's only ice cream date to celebrate on Friday and I foresee lots more mama + Ellie dates before Willow arrives. :)  Also, we got to see a bunch of Tyler's fam on Saturday which was really nice!

Miss anything:  Not having my love handles grow at the speed of light.
Movement:  Feeling plenty throughout the day, but baby girl's most active at night.

Cravings: Sweet tooth city over here!!
Queasy or sick:  Feeling good.

Looking forward to: I'm still not feeling rushed to get to the finish line, but I am really looking forward to seeing Ellie with her baby sis!  I think we both equally love the adorable Huggies commercial that's always on the Disney channel. ;)

Big Girl Happenings

Okay, so I'm using the term "big girl" very loosely here because let's be real... but!  We've checked off the first thing on our big girl spring to-do list this week and I'm pretty excited about it.  Ellie has officially been over 72 hours pacifier-free!  It's something I've been wanting to do for awhile, but with big changes in life going on (i.e. moving), I didn't want to throw too many things at her (or me) and set ourselves up for failure.  This past weekend, I decided that Sunday night would be her last night with her beloved binky.  I scrambled to hide all of the pacifiers I could find when we woke up Monday morning and she's been without one ever since.  Would she immediately put one in her mouth if she saw one right now?  I'm sure she would; but, things have been going pretty smoothly without them! She is looking for them a little bit, mostly when she wakes up in the middle of the night, but overall it's going much better than anticipated.  Even bedtime has been going over well, although that may likely be due to the fact that she is just so exhausted by the time bedtime rolls around since naps have become a thing of the past over the last three weeks.  Regardless, I was really dreading this since Ells was such a binky addict, so it's definitely a relief and feels good to get it over with!

The other things on this to-do list of ours are transitioning to her twin bed and of course potty training.  I'm super eager to try moving her to her new bed, so I think that is going to be next on our list.  Ellie has generally always slept better in our bed (whether we were in there or not), so I'm so curious to see if maybe she will even sleep through the night in a big girl bed once she adjusts to it.  I know, gasp.  The biggest thing that worries me about it is of of course her ability to get out of bed and roam, but I really do think she will be more comfortable in a bed as opposed to her crib.  She does still make her way into our bed some nights, usually if she wakes up and just won't calm down (nightmares, maybe??), so I'm also curious to see if we will be able to lay down with her in her own bed until she falls back asleep as opposed to bringing her in with us.  I also really don't want her coming in our room with a new baby who will likely be up at all hours of the night for obvious reasons.  Hopefully within the next few weeks we will try making the switch!

Saving the best for last, potty training.  I honestly have no idea how this one is going to go over.  While there is no doubt in my mind that Ellie will understand what we want her to do, I know her and how strong-willed she is.  So, if she decides it's not for her, it is definitely not going to be for her.  Who knows, maybe it'll go really well and we obviously won't know until we try, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  I'm going to try to not get too hung up on it, it would however be so nice if we only had one child in diapers come June!  Tips + tricks are welcome of course. :)

 And speaking of June, only 14 weeks to go until baby sister's arrival, 11 if she comes as early as Ellie did - WHAT?!  I kind of can't believe we are so close to starting out fresh again, so to speak.  Thinking about how much Ellie has changed and grown over the past 22 months is crazy.  I know she is going to seem even bigger when Willow's born and really can't wait to see her as a big sister! 

Birthdays + big changes, we are excited, eager and ready to take to them all on as a soon-to-be family of FOUR.