Remember when I wrote the post about getting Rowan to sleep in her own bed? Well, then we moved and we had to start all over again. This time it was harder and it took more time. I can finally say we did it though. We have crossed the finish line in what felt like the marathon of sleep training. It’s not perfect but she is staying in bed, falling asleep on her own and sleeping through the night. There isn’t much more we could ask for well, except longer naps but I won’t push it. I haven’t done one of these posts in a while so here are our ups & downs from the past few weeks…

UPS:
1. Potty Training. We are basically there. She is fully trained at home in undies and clothes as long as there are no real distractions (aka friends over). We have yet to venture out on errands with no diaper. We still do diapers for naps and bedtime though. I had some girlfriends over yesterday for lunch and Rowan’s little buddies were there as well. There was lots of playing out in the yard and running in and out of the house. Let’s just say we had 2 accidents, but 1 successful acknowledgment about having to go in time. It’s a good start and I’ve really had no frustrations over the whole process yet. I know she is still young, so we have been taking it slow and just working on it casually at home.

2. Her manners have gotten so good lately. She says “please” and “thank you” on command now without having to be asked. She is getting really good at saying she is “sorry” when need be too. I hope this will keep up as she gets older. I think its important to be a polite little kid.

3. The fact that if you say “I Love you” to her she walks around saying “I lub you too Mommy, I lub you too”. Hello melted heart on the floor! It is just about the best thing ever.

4. She is starting to eat more vegetables! Yay! She does the best with raw veggies, so I cut up lots and give them to her with some hummus. She likes dipping them.

5. She is a talking machine. I think she can basically say anything now a days. She copies everything we say so we have to be careful with our tone and how we say things. It is so fun to listen to her string sentences together. Her little questions crack me up and she repeats things like a hundred times.

DOWNS:
1. The short naps are killing me. I guess maybe she is just like me. I have never really needed a lot of sleep. I like sleep but I function pretty well without it. She sleeps from 9pm-7:30am every night pretty much and I am lucky if I get a 45 minute nap from her. It is barely enough time to get anything done.

2. Errands. I feel like over her 2 year life it has been a roller coaster with going out and doing errands. Some months we are up and things are easy and she enjoys being in the cart and getting pushed around and other times it is pure torture. We have hit the pure torture stage again. She refuses to sit in the carts anymore and just yells how she wants to “walk”. The only thing is she is still to young to just follow along beside me. She makes mad dashes when she sees things that spark her interest. Just like every stage I know this one will pass as she gets older.

3. We are still working out what kind of discipline works best for her. I don’t think there is any straight forward answer. I have talked to lots of parents and they have all told me what works for one of their kids didn’t work for the others. We are just trying to meet her needs and her personality. It is tough though. For the most part she is a pretty good listener. As much a 2 year old can be.

With anything in life there will always be ups & downs. Parenting is no exception. I try to keep them all in perspective and move forward from each day focusing on the ups and the joy that comes from it all. And when I can’t I go to bed knowing tomorrow will be a new day. Ha!

What were your ups & downs this week (parenting or not)?

We’ve been spending lots of time outside lately. We got our new yard fenced and it’s been such a blessing. It allows us let her play with a little more freedom instead of following her around like hawk. There is something about a nice white picket fence that makes me feel very “adult”. Ha! It’s been so much fun playing out there with her. Rowan is just the sweetest little girl. I love watching her explore things in the yard. Her favorite things lately have been to water all the plants and rake the leaves like her Dad. She is going to turn in to an expert gardener just like her Meme.

The lovely folks over at Cutting Edge Stencils graciously let us pick out a stencil to use in our new home. I decided on this polka dot one (even though I really, really wanted this cat stencil). I knew I wanted to make this painting for Rowan’s room and to use it in our downstairs bathroom. We just finished painting the bathroom white, so I haven’t been able to use the stencil yet but that is the next thing on the to do list.

Here are some pictures to create your own polka dot painting using this easy to use stencil. When it comes in the mail they include a nice roller and level to make sure its level on the wall. I didn’t need to use that stuff on the painting but will definitely be using it on the bathroom wall. I will also be using a little bit of spray adhesive for the bathroom to make the lines a little more crisp.

On Rowan’s actual birthday we took her to the ice skating rink. It was Kev’s dream to bring her on her 2nd birthday and get her a pair of double bladed skates. Being a half Canadian little baby, it sounded like the perfect way to celebrate. We couldn’t get a pair of doubled bladed skates in time, so we rented a pair of single blades from the rink. It was a little tougher letting her “skate” since she couldn’t really stand up but we still had a great time.

Kev and I got to take some cute pictures together for a special little project a while back. Unfortunately, we need to take some new ones but I didn’t want to waste these ones because I liked them so much. I figured I could still share them here. I don’t even remember if I knew I was pregnant in these photos. Have I told you any of the stories of how Kev and I got together before on the blog? I can’t remember if I have or not. Oh well, I thought today I could share one of those little stories from our past…

Kev and I met in Art History class in college. It was second semester of Sophomore year. I had just transferred in from another school. He was majoring in graphic design and I was majoring in art education and art history. I noticed him right away because well, he dressed like he would like the same music as me (stupid right? But that was what was important to me at the time). One day he sat next to me and we started talking. We both were in relationships at the time. I remember like 2 classes after we first met, he asked if I wanted a ride to go see a show that we both were going to. The shy girl that I was said “no” and was a little weirded out. Ha!

Over the next 2 years we become very close friends. We had all the same classes together and spent many, many hours together (with mutual friends too) in the studio at school. One day after bookmaking class, Kev asked me if we could go to my room for a bit. He needed to tell me something he said. We got up to the room and all the sudden I remember it feeling really awkward. He told me he was in love with me and he didn’t know what to do because he had a girlfriend and I had a boyfriend. I was in shock! Well, I kind of half knew it was coming. I think deep down I knew I loved him too. I was just too scared to make the big change from the loser boyfriend I had been dating for 5 years. I told him I didn’t know what he wanted me to do. I had a boyfriend. He said ok, but that he couldn’t hang out with me anymore because it was “too hard”. What a trickster. He knew what he was doing.

Time passed and he really did stop hanging out with me. He did however continue to hang out with all our friends and just not invite me along. He wore me down though. Finally, one day I realized I was completely over my boyfriend and had been for a very long time. I broke up with him and then that night Kev and I went on our first date. To see a band play of course. We never broke up and we never took a break. We were inseparable from that day on. We dated for 2 years before we decided to get engaged, married and move to Hawaii all in 3 weeks time. I guess you say the rest is history.

There are lots of funny stories about when we first started dating but I’ll save those for another day.

We’ve painted almost the whole inside of the new house, but nothing is really quite done except Rowan’s room. We decided the first room we would finish would be Rowan’s. Poor girl has been all out of whack since the week we started packing. We knew she needed to get into a room that felt like her own quick. I have a post coming about the transition with her and sleep training, but getting the room done and her onto a regular bedtime schedule was much needed.

I am kind of over the moon about this new little room. I didn’t cry over leaving our apartment until I had to go into Rowan’s room and pack it up. I laid in her bed and just looked around her old nursery for a while, thinking of all the memories we had built in there. I am so excited to have created this new space for her. One where we can start fresh and make new memories. I used a lot of stuff from her old room, I did however buy some new pieces from flea markets and the Habitat Restore (oh man I love that place). I also made a few little things for the room.

I knew I wanted white walls, a place for her to draw (we like drawing a lot in our house), a nook for reading, and lots of pops of bright color. I am not a fan of muted, pale or neutral baby/kid rooms. They are beautiful don’t get me wrong, just not for me. I always want our kids rooms to be full of life and well lived. Nothing too matchy, matchy and or perfect.

I’ll try my best to list out where everything is from..
Bed Frame: Habitat Restore
Down Comfortable: Target
Striped Sheets: Target
Pink Blanket: Thrifted (similar)
Crocheted Foofa: Handmade by a friend
Little Bunny: Gift from Germany from my Dad
Mommy & Baby Cheetah: Brevard Zoo, FL (Her Favorite! Similar one)
Painted Box used as Nightstand: Habitat Restore
Horse Lamp: My Grandama painted it for me when I was little
Piggy Bank: Gift (Similar)
Vintage Toys: Flea Markets
Wire Baskets: Homegoods
Rowans Stuffed Name: Handmade by me
Rocking Chair: Mine from childhood
Crocheted Animals: Blabla Dolls
Book Shelves: Ikea
Turtle Star Nightlight: Amazon (best thing ever)
White Table: Flea Market

ARTWORK:
I Freaking Love You: Hillary Bird
Cool Cat: Orange Studio
Polka Dots: Handmade by me (tutorial to come)
You Are my Sunshine: The Wheatfield
Cats in Sweaters: Paper Sparrow
Cat Lady: Amanda Atkins
I lovely Love my Family: Tuesday Morning
Live in the Sunshine: The Wheatfield
Pom Pom Garland: Made by me (I’ve been asked a few times from my last post to do a tutorial so that is coming too)

PAINT:
White: Du Jour by Valspar
Turquoise on Closet Doors: Behr (I don’t remember the name)

New paint | Making Pom Pom garlands | Mommy and Rowan lunch | Lunch time | Sitting for 2 seconds | A pretty house warming gift (bedside water carafe) | Playtime | New birthday toys | Lots of Thanks You cards to write | Eating | Fridge clutter | New to us blanket | Showtime | Working hard | Fruit smoothie with spinach | Lots and lots of bonfires.

1. Backpack | 2. Tiered Top | 3. B&W Cardigan | 4. Ked Sneakers | 5. Measuring Cups | 6. Cutlery Set | 7. Tall Socks | 8. Bralette and cute Undies

I was looking through my closet the other day and I realized almost everything I have has either stripes or polka dots on it. Whoops. How can you not love anything with polka dots on them?

I have some exciting news to share. I started writing for the Disney Baby blog this week. Not much will change around Jenloveskev, but I will start sharing more personal motherhood stories over on Disney Baby now too. Here are my first 3 blog posts this week…

1. A Letter to the 1st Trimester
2. Like Mother, Like Daughter
3. Savoring the Moment

and now here are my other favorites from around the internet this week…

1. Oh Goodness! These boots are killer!
2. Seriously! Elizabeth has been killing it lately with her blog posts. How beautiful does she look here?
3. Yay! The cutest new little family photo shoot.
4. No joke. I NEED an indoor hammock. I am on a made search. Love this family.
5. Just realize I may need a maternity coat this year. Love this parka!
6. Such a great Nursery tour. Can’t wait for Mandi to welcome her little bundle of joy to the world.
7. So excited to check out this new book. I don’t know how anyone couldn’t love Sherry and John.
8. This story had me laughing and loving the internet all at the same time. Leave it to Indiana.
9. This dress might just be the prettiest dress I have ever seen.
10. With a new house- I have been obsessed with pinterest lately.

The day is winding down and I am sitting here in the dim light of the tv. I’m looking over these pictures of Rowan’s birthday party and thinking about the day she was born. Tomorrow, September 12th at 9:38 in the morning Rowan entered the world. I can’t believe 2 years has passed. It really blows my mind. I feel like just yesterday I was writing my birth story for you all.

What a journey we have been on since then. We celebrated our sweet little Rowan on Saturday with a big ol’ birthday bash. It was such a great day to share with all the people who have been so important to us over the last 2 years. It wasn’t as elaborate as her first birthday was. It was just a laid back party in our new, hardly furnished home. What we lacked in decorations we made up with love. Ha! Oh boy that was cheesy (but true). I did make a few fun colored garlands, white tissue poms poms and a really cute felt party crown for Rowan.

You know those moments were you can’t think about anything else but the exact moment you are in? When all the problems you think you have seem to disappear and you can’t help but smile ear to ear? As an adult, I feel like sometimes we have a hard time getting there. We struggle to reach and experience those moments of pure joy. I think we can be happy a lot, but pure joy is something special. The world around us can bog us down. We all have responsibilities, drama, and hardships in our lives and sometimes I feel like as grown ups it is hard to see past all that.

I have noticed that as a parent I have come to recognize those “pure joy” moments more. Nothing brings a smile to your face quicker than seeing joy beaming from a child. They are so young and innocent. Watching Rowan grow and experience new things has made my heart swell and grow so many times over the last 2 years. Her joy has brought me to tears on more occasions than I can count.

My sister took these pictures of Rowan and her best little friends at Rowan’s birthday party the other day. I don’t know why but I can’t stop looking at them. The party got interrupted by a major storm (tornado warning and everything), but it didn’t stop these little girls from having such a wonderful time. You can just see the joy in their faces. I love how dark and sort of eerie the pictures are. You can tell there is a big storm about to happen any minute. I keep thinking they look like “lost girls” (if there were lost girls) from Peter Pan. It’s funny how sometimes your kids can teach you such profound lessons.

I hope we can all stop this week and really try to recognize those moments in our lives…

p.s. I just want to add that I don’t think you need to have a kid to experience joy. Obviously not. I was just expressing that for me having Rowan around has helped me live in those moments more.

I was a lucky girl this week and got some birthday money from friends and family to spend. I am not good with gift cards or money- it burns a hole in my pocket until I spend it. Here are some of my favorite things I’d like to add to my closet/house. Isn’t that green dress so pretty? I have debated buying these boots everyday for like the last week. I want them so badly!! I’m also convinced our door going out to the garage needs this keys/phone/wallet rug.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/7959686706/

Here are my favorites from around the web lately…
1. Jessica is looking drop dead gorgeous in this NYFW outfit!

2. I am not one who loves NYFW coverage but I do LOVE all the modcloth coverage. I look forward to it every season. I love the behind the scene videos.

3. Loving these “dear bee” letters Erin writes to her daughter. So sweet.

4. Oooh this plaid dress is so pretty for the fall.

5. Elizabeth looks so beautiful. Hands down one of my favorite outfit post of hers.

6. Love this post on Dear Baby. We have a similar motto-code word that breaks tension in our house.

7. I would love to make one of these. Mandi has the best DIY posts.

8. Annie is such a fabulous Mom. I love every post she makes. Have you checked out her new etsy shop?

9. Such a cute family photo shoot. Love these guys 😉

10. Are you from the Worcester area? Then make sure you head over to see Punky’s new store. Doesn’t it look amazing?

Guess what? I turned 30 yesterday!! I decided to take the day away from the internet and celebrate with Kev and Rowan. Yesterday was sort of a low key day at home with a nice dinner out and lots of ice cream snacks and candy for dessert. Monday however, we hopped the train and headed to nyc for the day to celebrate. It was quite grey out but we still had the best time. We walked probably 15 miles I think. I love that Kev and I are the same when it comes to that. We love exploring and that just means walking around all over the place. We started at BLT Burger for Lunch. Mmmm our favorite. Then walked The High Line, then walked all the way to the Brooklyn Bridge (checked that off my 30×30 list!), played at the Brooklyn Bridge Park, then took the ferry back up to 34th street. We walked over to Patsy’s Pizza for dinner (thank you Nat for the suggestion), then took a subway to 42nd to show Rowan Time Square. Rowan was a champ and loved almost every minute of the whole day! We had such a wonderful day. It was nice to step away from the craziness of moving and just enjoy some family time. Happy Birthday to me!

p.s. don’t mind my paint legs. It has been painting nonstop at the house and I am having a hard time scrubbing it off. Whoops.

Hello delicious lunch!

Outfit Details:
Striped Dress: H&M (similar online dress)
Belt: Target
Flats: Forever 21
Blank NYC 2Tone Moto Jacket: c/o Lulu’s

I won’t lie, last week was one of the toughest we’ve had in a very long time. There were lots of tears, frustrations and just pure exhaustion. It’s weird to be experiencing such lows mixed with pure joy as well. We of course are overjoyed to be moved into the house, but the moving, painting, organizing, cluttered craziness that accompanies that was just a lot to handle. Add that to being pregnant and having a toddler that has no idea what the heck just happened to everything she normally is use to and we’re talking melt down city (for everyone).

I was so thankful for my mom who was here all week and just kept painting everyday. What a trooper! Our friends were here helping till 2am on more than one occasion as well. Kev’s parents came for the weekend and helped us tackle painting the 15+ ceilings we have in our living room. We really couldn’t have done it without all the help.

The dust is starting to settle a little. We have a long way to go before we are officially “moved in” though. Our garage is full of boxes and I am sure it will be like that for a while but here’s to hoping we can chip away at it a little at a time. It’s amazing how a fresh coat of white paint can make you feel refreshed and energized to keep at all the hard work.

You know what makes all the downs worth it…
Standing in the kitchen with the kitchen window open. Feeling a warm breeze, looking out over our backyard and seeing Kev playing with Rowan. Hearing them laughing, giggling and having a wonderful time.

Here are a few photos from around the house this past week.