October 28, 2013

Pumpkin Patch

We all went to the Pumpkin Patch last week. We went on the coldest day so far. It was 57 degrees but it felt much colder! This little farm is only like 15 minutes from our house.

When we first pulled up Amelia was very excited. We had to take a hay ride out to the field. At first she didn't know what to think!



Last year we went and we didn't realize there were things to do but this year we spent $2 to buy some goat food. Amelia thought it was the best thing ever! I knew she would like it but considering we have zoo passes and feed the goats there I didn't think she would react so strongly!




Of course we had to take a photo op of the cutest pumpkin in the patch! Any time you shoot the phone at her she says CHEESE!


Then it was off to the field to find our pumpkins. Amelia helped us pick them out and really wanted to carry all of them. We picked out 2 pumpkins and of course Amelia had to carry the smaller one.


Look how proud she was carrying her pumpkin back!


We had a lot of fun for a quick trip. Although we had to pass by a bouncy house and Amelia really wanted to go up this huge slide. Too bad we didn't buy any tickets!

PS I use Google Plus and it made these motion graphic for me. Too funny



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October 25, 2013

Five on Friday


I am linking up to The Good Life's Blog Five On Friday link up.

[ONE]
We went to the Pumpkin Patch yesterday. A whole post to come. We had lots of fun on a chilly afternoon. Officially felt like fall!



[TWO]
I have to work on Halloween again. Bummer! I hope I can get off early. I got Amelia a little Sofia the First dress yesterday because she loves Sofia and pretty much wore it all day. If she can't wear it for Halloween, we can start a dress up bin! Joe said we should find a bunny costume for Liam and he can be Clover!

[THREE]
I really want to get some nice boots this winter. My wardrobe has seriously lacked the last few years. I have been trying to decorate a house then clothe either my pregnant belly or my babies that I haven't bought anything for myself. I think these boots are super cute. But spending $100 on shoes probably not happening soon!
 



[FOUR]
I am really starting to get more done for the birthday party in a couple of weeks. Last year I said I wasn't going to do this again and here I am! Kids parties are fun to plan but I know I get more stressed out than I should! I'm just excited for Amelia to see the finished product. She knows all the characters so I hope its fun for her!


[FIVE]
I need to do something with toy storage. They are kind of crazy. I never put up a lot of baby toys because I knew Liam would like them soon. I need to come with a system that Amelia only has access to some toys at a time and rotate. Anyone have any thoughts?

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October 23, 2013

The Blessing Box




I am linking up to The Blessing Box. I know I always need to be thoughtful and grateful for the blessings God has given to me. There is a quote I hear on the radio. "What if you woke up this morning with only what you thanked God for yesterday?

So today I am thankful for my little family.


There were moments when I was not sure we would get here let alone have 2 beautiful babies our in laps. Sure my days are filled with little sleep, lots of diapers, and more tears than I can count. But we are filled with lots of love, snuggles, giggles, and I love yous!



I am thankful for my little princess who lights up my world with her big hugs, how she screams when Sofia comes on TV, and her stubborn instance that she needs a CRACKER!! I love picking her up from her Sunday school class and her running and yelling MAMA!! She has her Daddy wrapped around her little finger.

 



I am also thankful for this sweet unexpected blessing. He looks just likes his Daddy. Who loves his mama and gives the sweetest smiles that light up his whole face. How he has peed on many people in his short little life, even his Pediatrician who said that hasn't happened in years. And how he fits perfectly in our little family.

So I am immeasurably blessed!

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October 22, 2013

Having 2 Under 2



Since Amelia is going to be 2 in a couple of weeks I decided to bookmark the time in our lives when we had 2 under 2. I remember when I found out I was pregnant with Liam thinking how am I going to do it? Even that first hour after he was born I said to Joe we must be crazy! And maybe we are!

I have learned a few things since having my second child. You quickly learn to prioritize and multitask, especially when they are both crying.

I was also scared going in public with them at first by myself. But I decided it doesn't get easier until you try. So I went to Target. I put Amelia in the front of the cart and Liam in his car seat in the cart and we survived, but maybe not quietly!

Amelia really does do well with the baby. Probably every day we have to let her hold him for all of 30 seconds before she is ready for something else. She is also really good at getting his pacifier in while he is upset and I am cooking dinner. He thinks she is pretty funny and loves to smile at her. We have our moments of jealousy especially if we are at church and Amelia is unsure and wants me to hold her. I try to give lots of hugs and reasurrances.

What I have Learned
-I really have to go out of my way to get some special time with Amelia. Whether that is just snuggling on the couch, reading books together, or having a dance party in the kitchen.

-I really try to let Amelia help with the baby. She loves to help him get a bath and get me things.

-We talked about the baby before he came but she was young so probably didn't understand much. At least she knew the word baby.

-Again I love my carriers. I used the moby wrap when he was small and starting to transition more the ergo which gives me better support on my shoulders.

-Amelia takes afternoon nap so I really try to get him down at the same time so I don't go too crazy during the day.

Does anyone have any tips for having 2 little ones?
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October 20, 2013

Liam's Alligator Nursery



When we found out Liam was a boy I set out to make a sweet little nursery for him. I originally wanted a circus themed nursery but Joe nixed that idea pretty quickly. After searching for ideas, I decided on the Pottery Barn Madras bedding and based my design off of it. I liked the primary colors used, especially the green and navy. Then the alligators were very cute and you know I am always up for a good theme!

The room was originally our office which is code word for junk room and painted green. Once we cleaned it out we decided to keep a green strip to make it more interesting. It took probably an hour to tape it off and Joe painted the room for me.


 
Because it was a boy's room I liked the dark wood tones of the crib and strong lines. I think it plays off the color scheme well. The chair was another affordable craigslist find. I would love a big upholstered chair in there for all the rocking but it wasn't what we could afford. I found the alligator prints on etsy and framed them. I think they are adorable above his crib.

The curtains were inexpensive Ikea white curtains. I used a cheap twin flat bed sheet from Walmart and used no sew hem tape to make the stripes. They were time consuming to make but they may be my favorite part of the room.



 The dresser was a craigslist find. I had been searching for an affordable piece that I could make over. The weekend before Liam was born I found it and we picked it up on the way to the hospital! I used Annie Sloan chalk paint in Aubusson Blue. I found the idea of the peg board on Pinterest and I love how it turned out! I showed my dad a tutorial and he made it for me when we were in Indiana. I then used stain on the frame. I also love the wall shelf to display more cute things!




I had fun decorating the bookshelf with mostly things I found around the house. I brought some old toys of Amelia and put them in a basket (which Amelia loves to raid!) I also love the Jellycat Alligator (he shows up in Liam's monthly pictures).


Source List

Davinci Crib
Pottery Barn Madras Bedding
Davinci Bookcase
Jellycat Gator
Pearhead Alligator Bank
Alligator Wall Prints
Ikea Wall Shelf

Oh and the cutest baby in the nursery!




What do you think?



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October 14, 2013

Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street? LIVE!

We took Amelia and Liam to see Sesame Street Live recently. I just happened to look to see if there were any shows nearby and there was one semi close so we decided to go.

We talked about it for a few days before we went. That morning we dressed Amelia in her I LOVE ELMO shirt (that barely fit) and grabbed her Elmo stuffed animal and off we went. Melmo is what she calls Elmo!(so cute!)

Amelia was very excited when we got there and kept saying Melmo! and Cookie! When the show started she sat in my lap in awe of what was going on. As it continued she got the wiggles and couldn't sit in her seat. It also didn't help that we were right next to the stairs and she wanted to climb them. We got her popcorn to entertain her but we did have to leave a little early because she was starting to throw a big fit because she wanted to run around. Liam was a little trooper and only got a little fussy when we had to keep switching off to make Amelia happy. I hoped we could stay the whole time and really did think Amelia would sit still better but she is my wiggly busy (almost) 2 year old.

The show was cute with lots of singing and dancing and all of the main characters. I was still confused how they got their mouths to move when they were in the costume. Especially Big Bird!

Sorry for my bad iphone pictures! Amelia is especially blurry!











She does love Sesame Street so much so that her 2nd Birthday Party is all Sesame Street. I am knee deep in planning for it. That means pinning a whole bunch of stuff and not actually doing anything yet. I have designed the invitations and a birthday banner and ordered the cake.


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October 3, 2013

Liam is 3 Months!!

 
Can't believe that I have had my little man for 3 whole months now. He is the cutest little boy I have ever laid eyes on (I'm not biased or anything! haha)

This month I am seeing him smile more and more and even getting little laughs from him. He is quite a little talker. Of course he is still quite the momma's boy! And do you see how his hair sticks up in the back. Yep I can't control it!



Liam is still my breastfed baby! He takes bottles okay when I am gone (only because he has to!). He usually eats about every 3 hours, sometimes more and sometimes less.

He usually wakes up for the day between 7-8. He will cat nap in the morning and then take a good nap in the afternoon in his swing. He will sometimes take a little evening nap and is usually asleep around 9:39 if not sooner. He usually wakes up once or twice during the night to eat but goes right back to bed. He still sleeps in our room with us. He is the fussiest in the evenings and hopefully we are outgrowing this phase soon!




I have gone back to work this month and has spent more and more time with his daddy. That time away kills me! Look at this trio. Too much! He thinks his big sister is pretty funny and likes to watch all that she does.

Likes
Momma!
Snuggling!
Amelia
Taking his clothes off
His changing pad

Dislikes
Car rides
Not being with Momma

Liam James we love you to the moon and back a thousand times!

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September 14, 2013

Amelia

I haven't done an Amelia post in FOREVER! That could be because I totally slacked on blogging.



Amelia is 22 months now. Which means that she is almost 2...cue the tears!! Amelia likes to take life full on. She is quite a determined little girl but also one of the sweetest! She loves to give noisy kisses to everybody, even the dogs. 
 
She weighs 31 pounds, wears 2T clothes (but outgrowing those fast), size 6 shoes, and size 5 diapers. She has 13 teeth, all four top and bottom, four molars and one incisor. 
She really is a good big sister to Liam. She has her moments where she can be jealous, especially if Joe is holding the baby. But she loves to give kisses and pat his back. And she always thinks he needs his pacifier in at all times and wants to make sure he has it.
She has become quite the talker, especially since I was home on maternity leave. She says about 30 words and learning new words all the time! It's much nicer that she can tell me what she wants instead of just crying. She says Milk for all drinks, Melmo for Elmo! She knows most of her body parts and lots of Animal noises. 
Eating has become more of a struggle with her. She LOVES fruit. If she could only eat fruit she would be a happy clam. Our struggles come when we don't give her as much fruit as she wants to encourage her to eat other things, which that list is dwindling. My good eater is drifting away!

Her favorites are fruit, Sesame Street, Sofia the first, baby dolls, and of course Mommy Daddy and Liam! Baby girl mommy loves you to the moon and back!!

PS Here is a video of my big girl who rode a ride at Holiday World all by herself!


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September 4, 2013

A Day in the Life with 2


I have written a couple day in the life posts when Amelia was smaller here and here. They are mostly for me to look back on to see how my life was then and how different it is. Now I have 2 small children who are still very dependent on me for everything so my days are pretty busy usually!

3:00 AM Liam wakes up for his first feeding. Sometime he wakes up earlier for this. He eats and falls right back to sleep. It takes me a few minutes after him to fall back asleep.

7 am I hear both Amelia and Liam stirring. Joe goes and gets Amelia and brings her in bed with us. We watch Sesame Street while I feed Liam in bed.

7:45 We leave because I had left my car at church on Sunday so I drive Joe to work. On the way home I run (which is an oxymoron with two kids) into the grocery store to get some celery and chicken broth I needed for dinner. I go to the self check out lane which takes way longer because it wouldn't read my gift card!

0830 We get home and I bake some homemade cinnamon rolls I had in the fridge and I turn on Sofia the first to appease Amelia while we wait. I also feed Liam again because he is pretty fussy after the car ride. Amelia eats a whole big cinnamon roll.



0930 Liam is happily awake in his swing so Amelia and I do some "preschool" which really involves playing, reading, and doing crafts. I am using ABC Jesus Loves Me. It is a pretty simple things to teach that week, colors to focus on. She's not quite 2 but I thought it can't hurt to try. We sing songs, read, and I decided to let her finger paint for the first time. Amelia had lots of fun and made a mess!


10:15 Amelia has fingerpaint all over so I decide she should take a bath. She is playing happily for awhile when all of a sudden she is fussing and I noticed CODE BROWN!! I get her out quickly and clean the bathtub. Liam is catnapping still in his swing.



1045 We play with our shape sorter which means Amelia watches me sort the shapes (smart cookie).

1100 Liam is over the swing so I feed him then we all go upstairs to the playroom. Amelia has a little slide she plays with and Liam and I snuggle on the couch.

11:30 Amelia is getting more fussy so I take her downstairs and start lunch. I make her a grilled cheese and fruit but all she wants it the fruit. I put Liam in my moby wrap because he is very fussy and tired.

12:00 I put Amelia down for her nap. I come downstairs and put Liam in his sleep sack and rock him to sleep. He falls asleep and I just snuggle him for awhile and read blogs, facebook, etc.

1:00 I try to pick up the house, do a load of laundry, shower. About 2:30 I realize this is too good to be true! I really didn't know what to do with myself to have them both asleep. It really never happens this long!



3:30 Amelia finally wakes up! I am trying to transition Amelia to one nap a day so I thinks she was extra tired.  We spend 30 minutes in her room reading all of her books together. Around 4 we come back downstairs to check on a sleeping Liam.


4:30 I start making dinner. I am making Pioneer Woman Perfect Potato Soup. Joe gets home soon after and takes care of Liam who finally wakes up! I am quickly trying to get it together because I know Liam is hungry now! We trade off and I put Joe to watch the soup and I feed Liam.


5:30 After an unfortunate incident with a hot soup, blender, and my hands, I finally get a bowl of soup while Joe holds Liam. Amelia is starting to fall apart a little and wouldn't eat any dinner and was screaming to eat a whole bag of oranges. After a time out she does calm down.

7:00 We all hang out downstairs together and play. I change a dirty diaper of Amelia's and notice she has a bad diaper rash. :( I put her pjs on. Joe takes Liam upstairs and puts him in his pjs.

0830 We brush Amelia's teeth, give our kisses, read our night time devotion and prayer and I put Amelia to bed. I then take Liam upstairs and feed him. I swaddle him up and he falls asleep by 9:15. Joe comes upstairs and we watch TV and we fall asleep by 10:30.

So there you have it.  Exciting life huh?! I wouldn't trade these days with my babies home for anything and because I am going back to work next week.

 
 2  points if you read this whole post!
 

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