Day By The Hour

Yesterday Nathan worked a double, so it was just us girls all day. Every day with Emma is so much fun, but we especially love the regular "boring" days. I'll miss those days when Emma is begging me to drive her to her friend's house. 

7AM: We started a little early yesterday. . . 6:40. Our main floor was freezing so I put a little sweatsuit my dad got her on top of her jammies. I tried to take the jacket off and she threw a fit! 

As always, the harassing of the dogs starts early. :-) 

Something does not belong!

8AM: Playtime while I put the clean dishes away, inhale some breakfast, and get E's food ready. Why she moves her kitchen like that, I'll never know. 

9AM: I figured out how to put her on my back by myself! It was quite a process and required watching YouTube videos, LOL. We did a quick walk to get some fresh air. 

E has her own sunglasses and then wanted mine-- such a drama queen. Then she dropped mine and I didn't notice until she started yelling! 

10AM: More food while we bird watch. :-) Emma lets me know every time there is a bird, and she is a sad little girl when they leave. She insisted on the black leather shoes, don't ask. 

11AM: Nap time! Praise baby Jesus! Nathan got me those tulips the other day and I'm really enjoying them. I write in my journal and get everything together for our little Mother's Day crafts. 

12PM: Don't ask. We getting some mommie & me photos done, so I tried to find something cute to wear. UGH maxi dresses just don't look right on me. Regardless, I send this selfie to a few friends and we decide to try something else. 

1PM: Homegirl is up and we head outside. We walk to the playground at the pace of pond water-- stopping to look at every bird, plane, weed, and dandelion. 

E saw me blow on them and immediately grabbed a new one to do the same. She also blows on her food when I tell her it's hot. She is precious! 

2PM: We come inside, cool off, and read library books. I try to quiz her on the animals and she practically has "dog" down. 

3PM: We pack up everything and head to the mall before gymnastics. I return the hideous dress, the woman remembers us and helps me find something else that could work. 

4PM: We got to gymnastics early, so we talked to the coaches and they let her run around for a bit. They are so sweet to her! 

5PM: Having lots of fun at gym! E continued to point to the little boy beside her. The class is an hour and after about 45 minutes, Emma ran right to the exit and got my bag. I thought "Okay! We'll just head home early". Nope, she got a sip of her water and ran right back to the floor, LOL. 

6PM: Home, inhale dinner, quickly try on the next outfit, bath time. Ayyy yi yi I look like a cowgirl. 

Ems was asleep by 7. Score! Hope everyone is having a great day. Can't believe tomorrow is May, craziness. 

Emma's Wardrobe & How To Spend Less On Kid Clothes

So if you've read this blog for any length of time (or know me at all), you know we aren't really "brand" people. Most of our clothes come from Macy's, Target, Old Navy, and the like. But this post isn't about my clothes (ahem, I'm currently on day 3 of these jeans), it's about Emma's clothes.

Welcome to Emma's wardrobe. :-) I love the pink bear (Katie Bear) that is totally photobombing. I took these pictures on my phone during nap time. 

These are all of the clothes that currently fit her-- she also has a dresser with pajamas, leggings, and all that jazz. One day I can post about how I organize it all. Anywho. . . 

At this point in my life, I can't fathom spending more than $10 on an entire outfit for my toddler. Granted, I have "splurged" on a few pieces for Emma that I absolutely love (see her Easter shirt here). 

In the picture above, the left is what Emma spends 99% of her life in. ;) Target $5 leggings with a $5 tshirt. These are her play clothes and when she spills something on it, I don't have to worry. 

The right is a dress Nathan's mom got her for when I was pregnant. It cost probably 3x as much as the outfit on the left. It is absolutely adorable and I will cry like a baby when it doesn't fit her. But! It is what I call a "special" outfit. Special outfits are worth the money-- giraffe-related items, items with special meaning, etc. It all makes sense in my head, just go with it. ;) 

Next up are 2 splurge items I have purchased myself. I wouldn't consider anything from Target a splurge, but that outfit on the left was like $30! For a toddler! But it's special. Why? It was the outfit she wore for pictures when we surprised Nathan's parents for Thanksgiving (more on that back here).

The shirt on the right I found via Instagram & I just really liked it. Some ridiculous price like $25 shipped. I can't believe people spend that on a normal basis for their kid! 

And last, my best deals. The left (above) was in a box my grandmother sent (so, granted I didn't buy it)-- she got it from a thrift store for less than $1. The best part is that it's a 2T, so while it's a dress right now, it will be a shirt next year. 

The right (above) is from Old Navy-- $2.97. Seriously, their clearance section is awesome! I totally recommend Old Navy clearance if you have the time/patience to dig through the racks. Not pictured is a pair of $0.83 jeans. 

I'm not a huge Gap shopper, but I'm finding they have really good deals lately. I definitely encourage you to look there if you want something a bit nicer quality but not crazy expensive. Sign up for their emails. 

I guess I want my take away from this to be you don't have to buy your kid nice clothes. I know it's cliche but they really do get into so many messes it's not worth it. We are clean freaks and it still happens.

Okay, hope everyone is having a great night! xoxo

Babywearing

My new carrier arrived on Saturday & I love it! Like I posted I got it off a FB swap and it was brand new with the tags on. 

Despite Emma's terrified look, she loves it too. She has pulled it off the chair and brought it to me twice. So sweet! It's a Standard Tula-- just like my Ergo but fits a bit differently. 

I found some pics from the past year or so of me wearing E. . . time sure does fly. I can't find any of the "early" days, but I used a Moby Wrap. 

                                              

I think Emma was 3-4 months old here (above)? This is a Mei Tai-- super easy to use and you can use them for front, back, & hip carries. It definitely wasn't my favorite but super inexpensive so I recommend them. 

Also love that this picture shows Emma wearing socks on her hands. She had such bad dry skin she would itch all day/night! We finally got her some relief after, like, a bazillion doctor appointments. 

                     

Little E was about 4-5 months old here. I remember this day so well! This is our Ergo & I lovelovelove and recommend them 100%! They are super easy to use and you can do front, back, & hip carries. 

It's not recommended to put a newborn in an Ergo, so that is a big downfall. They sell an insert that protects your little squish. We had it and never used it (we just used the Moby). I think you could remove the insert after 2-3 months? The other downfall is that they don't travel well-- very bulky. 

Once your baby can sit up and hold his/her head up well, you can do back carries. We waited until E was about 6 months old until I put her on my back. She loves back carries because she can see so much more! 

                                     

My friend makes ring slings & wraps so I got this giraffe one (below) and I love it! Ring slings are perfect for newborns-- you can even nurse in them! You can just search "ring slings" and any one would do-- a cool breathable material if you're having your baby in the summer...shoot, they even sell mesh ones for the water! 

Our ring slings days are numbered, sadly. We still bring it to the store because it fits in my bag so well. E will stay in it for about 20 minutes and then she's over being confined. 

I remember each of these days so well! Oh & my favorite thing about ring slings is that you can wrap the tail (hanging piece of material) around the rings and it's nice & tidy, or you can use the tail as a nursing cover. 

Nursing in the Ergo is super easy; you just have to plan ahead-- I like the "tamis" from Old Navy (above) because they are super stretchy to pull up/down/all around. I think I have close to 10! They are less than $5/each on sale. 

Sleepy dust! E has had her fair share of wrap naps. That is one of our favorite things about baby wearing-- if your kid is having trouble sleeping, just wear them and walk around. They will eventually fall asleep. ;) 

Ahem. Time span between photo 1 (above) and photo 2 (below): less than 10 minutes. Those little pink things on the straps are for her to knaw on and she won't get the straps nasty. Want to be able to sell my carrier for retail price. ;) 

I can't think of anything else but looking at these photos makes me want to wake up my sweet girl and snuggle her! Just kidding. Hope everyone is having a great night! xoxo

A Peek Into Our Week

Besides it being 44 degrees right now, we have had an awesome week. It was super quiet without our family here and we miss them terribly! Luckily we have some visitors coming soon and I can't wait! 

Monday it was warm so we hung out outside to celebrate Emma's half birthday. ;) I forget the brand but we have some popsicles that have 1 serving of fruit and 1 serving of veggies and they are only 25 calories. She loves them. I can also eat an entire box in one evening. 

Nathan has been working lots of OT and I just want to remember these days . . . I scribble them on our calendar and there is always some conflict with a Dr appointment or something. 

Girlfriend has perfected the mean mug. Jeez. This was the day we went to Homegood/TJ Maxx (they are connected) and they have some other stores in this strip mall as well. I had remembered there was a yogurt place so I kept saying "If you're good, we'll go get yogurt!". Imagine how sad she was when we got there and it was closed down. 

Homegirl was still sad so we went to Target for some bananas and milk. Don't worry she only stood like that for 2 seconds, I don't need anybody sending me hate emails. 

They had (whole) watermelon on sale so I embarked on that mess. Probably never again. It was a fun activity, though! So glad I had some extra popsicle sticks on hand. Emma loved it and kept "asking" me if it was okay to eat the seeds. She'd pick them out and say something that sounded like "This?".

In that pic (above) she is looking at herself in the oven. She loves doing that and laughs at herself. Pretty cheap toddler entertainment if you ask me. :-)

I know I say it all the time but it's hard to really capture it-- Emma loveslovesloves the dogs. Adores them. She will chase them down hunched over trying to squeeze the life out of them and squeal with delight when she captures one. 

This was totally unprompted. My phone was charging so I had to dart and find it before she moved. they tolerate her so well and we are so blessed!

We have a cute little (TEENY tiny) bakery down the road from us. For loving it so much, I never go. Nathan isn't really into it so I hope Emma gets my love of sweets. 

We sat for a while and left when Emma wouldn't stop banging on the bells on the door (alerting the employees that customers are there).

And probably the highlight of Little E's week:

After the bakery I had this odd feeling to turn around and check out this little thrift store up the road. Right out front was this bad boy. I knew my husband would literally cringe at the idea of buying someone else's stuff, but when the lady said it was $5 and offered to put it in our car? We were sold. 

We made some Special K Bars for the fire department and this is the only picture I have of that! Whoops. Like my fire? How do you even draw fire? 

Yesterday we had gymnastics and of course that was a blast. Bonus: During separation time Emma managed to climb out and on top of a huge pile of mats (probably 4.5 feet tall-- to my shoulders). In true separation time fashion, I was sitting towards the front of the gym and just minding my own business. I heard her coach say "Emma! How in the world did you get up there?". 

When I saw her waaaaay up there she looked like that (above). LOL. Okay hope everyone had an awesome weekend! xoxo

Fri-Yay

*I started writing this at 11 this morning...and it's almost 9PM. Long day! 

Happy Friday, y'all! It's nap time, Clueless is on, and we have enchiladas in the oven. Boom. Nathan doesn't leave until after 1PM, so we usually try to eat lunch together.

Some reasons we are saying YAY today:

:: The Bruce Jenner interview tonight. Don't judge me I want to know the scoop!

:: Birds! We got a bird feeder last week and Emma is totally smitten. If we say "Emma, are there any birds?" She'll run over to the window and look for them. Bonus: It keeps her sitting at her table to finish her meal. Not bonus: The wind blew our feeder this afternoon and it broke.

The moment we get up tomorrow we will be running to Lowe's for a new one! The poor birdies need to eat!

:: I joined a FB Swap for baby carriers-- it's kind of a hobby of mine. I love the idea of wearing your kids because, duh, your hands are free. I've had dozens upon dozens of carriers/wraps/slings since before Emma was born, we are in a baby wearing group locally. . . you get the idea.

Anyway. I had been eyeing a carrier (above) and I finally took the plunge and got one! I'm totally stocked. I'll post more about it later. I didn't get the giraffe one (shocking, I know) because I didn't think it was girly enough!

Okay have to watch Bruce Jenner. Getting my ice cream out of the freezer, don't judge me! xoxo

Emma's Workshop

Several weeks ago, I emailed a picture of a little "workshop" (found it on Instagram, cant find it now) to my father in law asking if it would be hard for him to make. He's like MacGuyver so I wasn't surprised when it said it would be easy. 

He thought the one I sent him was a little boring and needed some "decor", so my sweet SIL added the flowers & words. 

Fa realz, I'm not joking that I think they need to sell these. I think I'd pay up to $50 for this! I think they should call them Boese Boards. Ha. 

Emma was so jealous I was having a photoshoot and not including her, so here you go. Check out that bed head. 

God love her. Anyway, Norm found the board-- it's finished, so she can't get splinters on it. I wasn't really fond of painting it chevron and having gold accents, but you could totally do that. 

Size wise, it's a big piece. We found it at Lowe's in the lumber section. I wish I had more information but if you email me I can find out more and let you know. :-) I want to say it was a little over $15. 

The pieces were a little pricey, mostly because I didn't have a lot of time with a toddler in Lowe's. I probably could have found cheaper pieces if I went by myself and took my time. I think I spent $30 on those pieces-- 2 not included because they didn't work out (a light switch and a round doorbell). 

He also put little rubber stickers so it won't dig up the floor & wall. It's yet to fall on her but I'm sure that's coming. Joking. I obviously watch her like a hawk all day. 

Also noted: Can you tell Emma went to town with her window crayon on the wood by the word "build"? I honestly shed a tear when I couldn't scrub it off completely.

And my favorite part. :-) Emma is one lucky girl! We will definitely be keeping this for many years to come.

17 & 18 Month Favorites

Can't believe we are halfway to two! At 18 months, these are some things that we are loving:

Books: Board books are good if I'm not right beside her. Her favorite board books are Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and Madeline. As far as regular books, she loves First 100 Animals (can't find the link but it's similar to this). We checked out this book from the library and she loves the illustrations.

Emma also loves the bible she stole from my cousin's wedding

Little People: Emma loves her princesses! They are small enough she can swipe them before we leave and bring them to the store, yet bulky enough that they aren't a choking hazard. Sometimes I find them in the pot in her kitchen! 

Water Table: So thankful it's warming up and we can be outside more! We have this one and it's fine. No crazy bells or whistles which is good for her imagination. ;)

I'm sure you could build on this and get a kiddie pool, let them play with the hose, or even water balloons. We've been playing outside every afternoon for an hour or so and Emma loves it. 

It probably wouldn't kill us to get her a bathing suit.

Kitchen/Play Food: Her kitchen is still a big hit! I don't know the exact model but I think it's this one. We also got some plastic food which we are slowly losing-- need to find more!

Crayons, paper, pens, bubbles, table & chairs, babies: All those "little" things are still her favorites as well and go a long way.

She can sit and color for quite a while! We got a bird feeder that's right outside that window so she likes to look outside for the birdies. 

Okay, those are all the things we are loving right now. Hope everyone is having a great day, nap time is almost over. :-)