Nursery Overhaul

So we have officially finished the renovations on the little girl's room and I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out.  

Here are a few of the details that made her room perfect :)

1. A fresh coat of paint on her name letters.  I found a metallic Navy blue that was exactly what I was looking for.  I knew I wanted her letters in Navy, but the metallic makes them perfect :)  

2. Updated bedding.  My mom took the old bumpers from Natalie's bed and made covers for them which was a great money saving way to update her bedding.  I could not be happier with the way they turned out.

3. A little pink monogram action :)  What is more perfect than a monogram?  One that is pink!  I bought this monogram for her chalkboard forever ago and it never quite stuck right - this weekend I tried again to put it up and it applied to the wall without a problem.  I guess it was just waiting for the right time to make the room complete!

4. New wall typography art!  I used a website called PicMonkey to create wall art for her room.  We have a bunch of quotes printed out so that we can change them out as we please.  We found the frames at the dollar store and love how they turned out with a little bit of pink and glitter spray paint!  Another way to keep the room funky and different.

Her room is perfect.  It's so much more "Natalie" than it was previously.  As I said before, her room was beautiful, but now it's beautiful and fits my little bub's style.  I am so excited to have a space that fits her personality.  Brandon thought I was crazy when we started this project but the other night when we were putting Natalie to bed, he admit that the room really did feel more like her's now.  HA! I am not completely nuts after-all :)  

I want to replace the pink basket on the dresser that has her bows in it with something else, perhaps an apothecary jar, but I will get to that eventually.  To see more of the pinspriation behind Natalie's new room - check out the design board!

bring on fall and cool weather styles!

I could not be more excited that summer is winding down and fall is right around the corner.  The last couple weekends I worked on one of my favorite mama projects. I started to change out Natalie's clothes to make room for the next size.  It is such a bittersweet thing and while I know so many mamas who dread it, it is something that I seriously enjoy doing.  She is slowly starting to outgrow some of her 12 months things, so I wanted to put away some of those things to make room for the new.  This time, though, it was different than the other times. 

Maybe it was the fact that I am so excited about the first of the fall clothing lines for Carter's and I am excited to make room for the things that may be purchased during an outlet trip with Natalie and her Nanny - my mother in law and I love to gush over girl's clothes.  Maybe it was the fact that she has been in the 12 months clothes for the longest of any of her stages and I am just excited for what is next.  She went though 3, 6 and 9 so quickly and has been in the 12 months clothes since late May and she will stay in some of them for a little bit longer.  I was so ready to retire some of her outfits but at the same time, so happy I get to hold on to some of my favorites a little while longer.  Maybe it was the fact that while I was folding the little bit of 18 months clothes we have for her, I could picture her walking around in them and playing at the park in them.

That being said, I have put together some of my favorite fall looks!

I love the salmon color and the camo from Carters!  I have every intention of getting Natalie into that style.  The tough but girly concept is something I am a huge fan of.  I also LOVE buffalo plaid for fall.  I can just picture Nat wearing that top with some leggings and running around the playground.  I am also in love with the overalls from Oshkosh! They have some really cute long sleeved onesies to go with them!  Per usual, Emerson Grace Boutique has the cutest little bows and wraps and I love their pumpkin wrap for the fall!  Chelsea's little shop does fall the right way!  My newest fashion must have for the little miss - Sweet n Swag moccs! They are super easy to slip on her feet and she actually keeps them on!  Natalie is starting to have quite a collection of them!

Is everyone else starting to get excited about the cooler weather and fall fashion?

nine months :)

age: Nine months! We are three quarters through her first year of life. How is that possible?

weight: We had Natalie's nine month well visit today and she is weighing in these days at 23lbs 1oz.  What a little chunk :)  I could not believe she was 29.5 inches tall.  Good gracious!  She is almost literally half the size of her Aunt Michelle.

food: The little girl has tried what seems like everything under the sun and really seems to love it all.  She especially loves Greek yogurt, cottage cheese and tuna. She loves cheerios and anything she can pick up and eat herself.  She is such a big girl :)  It is crazy sometimes when I think about all the things that she eats and has tried.  She is growing up too fast!  We are officially off of formula liquid gold and onto whole milk.  The cost savings alone make me want to do a happy dance - seriously $45/week on formula to $12/week on milk.  The girl is going through about 2.5 gallons of milk a week.  Good gracious.  To top it off, we had a smooth transition with no allergy issues. Yay! However, I did get a nice lengthy and stern lecture from the pediatrician about this though.  She is concerned that the miss is not getting enough nutrients.  The way the child eats - I don't really think that could possibly be the case, but this still caused me to have a mini-meltdown about being a terrible mother.

milestones: We officially have six teeth.  Well, the bottom two are in and the top four are through the gums and almost in.  We also have another bottom two starting to make their way in which I guess would make a total of EIGHT teeth.  Woof.  

The miss has mastered crawling and she gets into absolutely everything.  Last week she started really confidently standing on her own and I have a feeling that she will be taking those first steps any day/week now! I am not entirely sure that I am ready for that!

favorites: She loves her blocks. While she hasn't mastered stacking and building with them just yet - they are making great teethers in the mean time.  She loves to read her story books - or at the very least turn the pages.  She is convinced that Hank is her own personal jungle gym and she loves to climb and crawl all over him.  He is such a tolerant pup :)

looking forward to: This month the little girl starts day care!  This is such a big an exciting step for all of us and I am excited to see how this goes.  I am feeling a little anxious, but that is to be expected.  Natalie was home when I left for work and home when I got home from work.  The idea of dropping her off somewhere is a little bit hard, but I know overall it's the best thing for her.  She is going to make new friends and learn so much that I know this will be so beneficial... at least, that's what I keep telling myself!

nine month favorites!

1. Gerber Puffs.  Natalie is in love with the entire Gerber Graduates snack line.  We incorporate puffs (or cereal like Cheerios) into most meals.  While I generally like to do her main meal before Brandon and I sit down to eat so that we can actually eat a meal together, we will give her some puffs, melts or crunchies to work on while we are actually eating.  This encourages her not only to join us at meal time and includes her in our dinner routine preparing her for that being the norm, but it also allows us to eat our meals while they are still hot - something we did not do much of for the first 6 months :)

2. Fisher Price Little People Fun Sounds Farm.  Natalie loves to chew on the farmer while listening to the different songs and sounds made by the farm animals.  While not ideal for the farmer, it helps those sore little gums.  I love watching her play with the farm with Brandon.  A Fisher Price farm was one of his favorite toys growing up, so it's fun to see them play with her little farm together.  We love to use this to introduce the animals and the sounds that they make - which will make it more fun when we go to the fair this fall and she gets to see those animals up close in real life :)

3. Wooden blocks. Toy or teether?  It's both - sensing a theme here?  She loves to gnaw on these things which is totally fine by me since I don't have to worry about her choking on them.  We got her cousin lego-like blocks to keep at our house and the pieces were just small enough that Brandon was constantly putting two of them together to prevent a choking hazard and Natalie was constantly taking them apart.  It's nice to have blocks that all the miniature humans can play with that don't make the life size people worry.  Natalie has also discovered that if you clap them together they make loud noises. She loves to watch us build towers so that she can knock them down.  Such a destructive little girl :)  

4. Evenflo Exersaucer Triple Fun - Life in the Amazon. Remember this gem from the six months favorites? Well it's back!  The excersaucer comes apart and become a play station, for lack of a better way to put it.  Since Natalie loves pulling herself up on things and standing up - this has been a great way to help her do that.  It's a familiar toy used in a new exciting way.  I love watching her stand up and use it to stabilize herself while she walks from one end of the toy to the other.  Soon enough - she won't be needing it to be stabilize and she'll be playing at the different stations and walking between them without care.  Yikes.

fun hating dictator or minimalist mama

There are times that I have a hard time conveying how I feel about certain things.  My need for Natalie to have fewer toys is definitely one of those things.  I have had countless arguments with Brandon about this.  I have tried to explain it to my family, my co-workers, my friends and my in-laws and I come off sounding like a totally insane fun hating dictator.  I swear to the high heavens - that is not at all what I am trying to be!  Natalie has so many people in her life who want to spoil her rotten.  Can you blame them?  She is the greatest little human ever and I absolutely believe that Natalie deserves the world.  I just don't think it needs to be done with material items.  

I recently found an article that so absolutely perfectly sums up my feelings on this.  It was like finding a shiny new penny.  This article so perfectly says what I am feeling in such a nice way that I felt like my heart was literally jumping for joy.  I sent it to Brandon. That went over like a fart in church.  I then had to explain that I was not trying to bring up a topic that is so touchy and ugly, but I was so excited to find an article that makes me feel so validated that I wanted to share it so the topic can become shiny, pretty and understood.  

Ok, so I know I totally over linked to the article just now, but I cannot help it.  It makes me so excited to sound less crazy.  I feel so incredibly validated as a parent and a person.  The article talks about how fewer toys will help children do the following things:

1. Learn to be more creative and more resourceful.
2. Learn to be more respectful of their things and take better care of them.
3. Develop a greater love of reading, writing and art. (Bring on the books!)
4. Learn better communication skills and social skills.
5. Experience more of nature and the outdoors.
6. Live in a cleaner and tidier home.

How does that not sound perfect?  While there are some points in the article that I don't quite agree with, the points above are the ones that I liked.  A day at the park does not require any purchased toys, but creates so many incredible memories.  Last Sunday is total proof of that.  When we took Natalie to Jersey, Brandon's dad took her for a ride on the tractor - memories like that are going to live with her forever.  Story time snuggles are something I live for that don't require toys either.  There has to be a balance.

While I absolutely believe that toys are necessary, I think moderation is key especially now when she is so young.  As Brandon said last night - quality over quantity.  I have no doubt that in a few years when Natalie is playing dress ups, my mom will be over the moon to make Natalie a princess dress or two and my mother in law will be just as excited to be buying tiaras, miniature human high heels and costume jewelry - especially after having two rough and tumble boys - and I want that.  I am beyond excited about that.  It's just hard now to find that balance right now.

I hope all of the people that I have tried to explain my feelings to read this article and understand that I am not a fun hating dictator but rather a mom trying to do the best she can for her daughter.  Isn't that the case for any parent, though?

a little weekend recap

I love when weekends play out exactly like you wanted them to.  Saturday, Brandon and I got things done around the house and my parents came by to hang out.  My mom and I (but mostly my mom) made the bumpers for Natalie's room make-over.  I cannot wait to show that off sometime this week when the final touches are in place!  Sunday was another big day for us.  We spent the morning prepping meals for Natalie for the week.  I am really loving the different things we can do with her now that she is getting older and mastering that whole chewing thing.  I'll recap her menu for the week on Friday after we see how it goes :)  Sunday afternoon, we had a WMA region picnic for work.  I think it might be one of my favorite memories with Natalie to date.  Here are some of the pictures from the day...

the loves of my life

Jordan bravely letting Nat play with Zac :)

my little family of three :)

It is so amazing how one little person can fill your life and your heart in such a big way.  She is growing up so fast and her personality is really coming out.  She was so inquisitive and sweet with Zac.  She loved to play with his little toes and hold his hand.  She was a little jealous when I was holding him, but she quickly got over it thanks to the distraction of Cheerios.  She was so adventurous - nothing slowed her down.  She was quite interested in the grass and ate probably too much of it, but you pick your battles.  She is such a speedy little crawler that more than one person warned me that she will be running in no time.  Sometimes I can't wait for that.  I am excited to chase her around the park and playground.  However, other times I am dreading it - like when I am at Target watching parents run after their small humans while those small humans knock over display stands.  Each day is an adventure with her and I am so excited about this chapter.

mixed emotions on first year growth

This morning I was texting with Jordan.  It's true, we are completely codependent.  And, like every day, she sent me an updated picture of Zachary.  I seriously cannot get enough of that little boy.  Today though, it was different.  Today he looked so much bigger than he did yesterday.  His eyes were wide open taking in the world.  His hair was post bath fluffy.  His head seemed so stable in the picture.  He looked like a baby, of course, but not a tiny fresh newborn baby.  Just an adorable little baby boy and he is only two weeks new.  How is that change already happening?

While Natalie was never quite so small, she was once smaller.  It made me think about that time just a short eight months and change ago when Natalie was in that stage: that new little baby face but losing that fresh newborn baby look.  They grow up so fast.  How does that happen?  You blink and they are almost walking.

It's the weirdest set of mixed emotions.  You want to see them grow and get bigger and stronger, reinforcing what an excellent nurturing mother you are.  But then, at the same time, you want them to stay small and snuggley.  Natalie is on the brink of taking her first steps and while I am so excited for that milestone, I want her to stop growing-up so fast.  She has six teeth coming in right now to go along with her other two.  How is that possible? I feel like at almost nine months old she is on the brink of being a toddler and I am not okay with it.  She is so smart and so strong.  Clearly, we are doing something right, but I am just not ready for her to be such a big girl.  Seeing those pictures of Zachary makes me miss when Natalie was itty bitty and toothless.  It makes me quite emotional about my little miss.  

Any other moms out there feeling like that?  If only it was possible to freeze time, just for a little bit.  But we can't, so we move forward, still wishing that they stay little just a bit longer.  While I won't miss the teething, I will definitely miss the snuggles that go with it.