Jan 08

A Stuffed Animal 1st Birthday Party

It’s no secret around these parts that Finley is obsessed with stuffed animals. At any given moment of the day there is a good chance that Finley is holding not one but two stuffed animals. She just loves them. Especially those extra soft ones. It was an easy choice to decide to have a stuffed animal theme birthday party for her. I made little party hats for all her favorites and used them to decorate the table and dresser. We decided to have the party later in the afternoon on her actual birthday, so we just had cupcakes and ice cream and didn’t have to worry about food. I made a bunch of homemade ice cream the week before and had a ton of toppings for everyone to make ice creams sundaes. I stayed up the night before till very late (cough, cough 4:30am) setting everything up because we already had a busy Sunday morning planned. I didn’t want to have to rush around when we got back from church. Anyway, Finley was pointing, laughing and kicking her legs like crazy when she saw all her stuffed animals together. haha. Totally worth it!

What a special day to celebrate our sweet little Fin.

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Nov 01

Let’s Make Homemade Baby Food

Nov 01 | Do It Yourself

I’ve been mildly obsessed with making Finley food lately. I really enjoyed it when Rowan was little, but since Finley started eating solids I had just been giving her those organic packets. They are pretty darn convenient on the go (especially when your little one learns to suck them out themselves!). Anyway, they are sort of pricey when you think about it. I decided I would just make some food a few weeks ago and I totally forgot how much fun it is. I have the Beaba Baby Cook, which I LOVE so much!! I think it’s so fun because anything goes. You can really come up with any combination you want. Fruit, veggies, spices, grains, the possibilities are endless. All you need to do is fill the streamer basket full and you are on your way. I try new combinations each week. I make a ton and then freeze them all in these containers. Perfect to bring with you on the go.

Here are a few of the ones I made this week…

Add ins:

Apple & Cranberry: Just add some multi grain oatmeal to it as you blend. I also added some chia seeds, cinnamon and blended with coconut milk.

Quinoa, Cauliflower & potato: Add already cooked quinoa when you blend. I also added some parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Blend with formula or breast milk.

Sweet potato, apple & carrot: I added some ginger and cinnamon to this mix. I always want to eat it when I heat it up for her.

Nothing is an exact recipe. I just cut a bunch of stuff up and throw it in the steamer. Don’t be nervous! Just have fun!

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Oct 13

My Journey with Nursing pt. 2

Oct 13 | Motherhood

As I sat down to write this I decided to reread this post from a month after Finley was born. Boy! Have we come a long way. I can honestly say I’ve learned to really love breastfeeding since then! It was not a quick or easy road by any means. I hope I can give some hope to even one mama out there that you can make it to the other side if you were like me. Not everyone gets it right away and not every one loves it right away. That’s totally ok. I was one of those ladies. Over the past 9 months though, we’ve become a well oiled machine (or milking machine?). We both know what we are doing and we do it well. We’re still going strong with no plans to stop anytime soon either. Actually the thought of stopping stresses me out. Ha. who am I? Again, it’s not for everyone and that’s ok. Whatever your choice is there should be no guilt attached to it. Be confident in what you need to do for your baby.

It took us a while to get here that’s for sure. The pain really didn’t stop at 3 weeks like everyone told me it would. Her latch was right, but it was just plain painful. It did get better over time and slowly but surely we found our groove. I would say like 7-8 weeks the pain starting going down. I’ve still stuck with the no hooter hider thing like I mentioned in the other post. I hate them. If my shirt is loose I usually just lift up and cover boob parts that way (babies themselves really cover more than you think) but if I am in a particular situation that I feel I need a little more cover you know what has been my life saver? The aden and anasis swaddle blankets. We literally take those things with us every where. They are my number one recommended baby item. You can pretty much use them for EVERYTHING.

I was super stressed at one point when we had to leave Finley for 5 days to go to the conference in TX back in August. I was scared she wouldn’t want to nurse when I came back. I pumped like a mad women out there. At least 5x a day, took fenugreek daily and drank a crap load of water. Let’s see… I pumped in the airport, on a plane, in a moving car (no, I wasn’t driving), during a cocktail hour, in between sessions at the conference, almost in a Savers but I just couldn’t get comfortable enough, the list goes on and on. Thank goodness for battery powered pumps and public restrooms. It all worked out though! Thank you Shaynah for your helpful tips! It was an awkward minute or two at the beginning when I got back, but she latched right back on and it was like we both sighed in relief. She is quite the Mama’s girl so I think that was to my advantage. She refused to take a bottle or sippy cup the entire time we were gone. My mom had to feed her milk from a cup. Silly Baby.

Nursing Finley has really helped slow life down a bit for me. You have to stop periodically through out the day and just be there with your little one. I actually really look forward to it. As easy as it is for me to grab my phone and start doing a million things like checking emails, twitter, etc… When I nurse her I try to enjoy her. To watch her. To breath her in. She won’t be this small forever. I use the time to pray for her, for our family. To thank God for all the he has blessed us with. I love laying in bed in the quiet of the night and nurse her there beside me. All cuddled up under the blankets. What a blessing it has been. I am so very thankful to have had his chance to nurse her. I hope that if we ever have another baby that maybe, just maybe I will have an easier time now that I’ve made it through with one.

I’d love to hear your journey. Please share below!

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Sep 17

A Dedication

Sep 17 | Family Adventures + Travel

So I’ve been away from this here site for a while. I wasn’t planning on it but it just happened. Life is busy. Wonderful, but busy. Life with two is more joy than I ever imagined and about 1000x more time consuming. There is nothing profound to say about my absence other than blogging and social media just take the back seat to first days of school, new ballet classes, birthdays, necklace making, a styling and photography job, family time and friends. Life is good and we are living it. With that said, I do have lots to share and catch you up with here on the ol’ blog. To start though, I wanted to share something very personal to our family. This past Sunday we dedicated both girls at our church. It was such a special day! I don’t talk much about our faith here on the blog and this isn’t in any way trying to sway peoples thoughts. But I did want to share the prayer that Kev said during church for our family and for the girls. God has blessed us with 2 of the most amazing and perfect for us little girls and it’s our prayer to raise them to know God and his true love for them.

“Jesus,

We thank you so much for these two girls. It’s hard to put into words the blessing they’ve been in our lives. Not only do they fill us with joy, but daily you are revealed to us through them.

We see your patience, your unending love, your forgiveness and your grace so much more clearly since we’ve become parents. We pray that you would bless Jen and I with similar qualities so we can raise them to know, love and serve you always.

We pray that you would protect their faith and their hearts through all stages of life and that they would feel your presence always.

We pray that our family would be bonded, with you as the focus.

God, we lift these girls up to you and we praise you for them – all in the name of Jesus.

Amen.”

My dress is from asos, shoes are Swedish Hasbeens. Rowan is wear a dress from the Gap. Finley is wearing headband from Little Hip Squeaks, Dress from the Gap and Chrome Mocs from Freshly Picked.

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Aug 28

Our Everyday Style | 08.27.13

Aug 28 | Our Everyday Style

Umm Rowan starts Preschool next week. Can we all just take a second to process that. What?!?!? Crazy town. I am not ready for this summer to be over. Also, I turn 31 next Wednesday. 31?!?! I liked turning 30, but 31?? I am not so sure about. Eeeeek! Well, so far this post has nothing to do with these outfits. Nothing special to say other than we got dressed today and this is what we wore. We went to Hobby Lobby and waited in line for the new Habitat Restore to open. We got a sweet Kilim rug for $20. I love that place.

That concludes the most boring post ever.

OUTFIT DETAILS:
(Rowan):
Skirt: Gap (similar)
Tank: Old Navy
Sandals: Salt-Waters

(Jen)
Polka Dot Button Up: Forever 21
Chambray Skirt: jcpenney (just as cute!)
Heels: c/o Lulu’s (Available here)

(Finley)
Romper: Old Navy

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Aug 21

Dear Finley James

Aug 21 | Motherhood

My sweet, sweet girl.
I haven’t written very many public letters on the blog lately because I just haven’t been able to truly articulate all that you mean to me. I feel like words fail in comparison to who are. You are what we call in our family the “gateway baby”. A baby so sweet, so happy, so easy that you make us want to have a million more like you. How are you 7 months old already? I have loved this baby stage so much. You are making a liar out of me. I’ve written previous blog posts about how I wasn’t a baby stage kind of person. Well you my dear Finley, I could eat you up with a spoon. This new perspective you gain from having another kid is about as wonderful as having another kid. I know how fast it all goes now, how each and every tough stage is just that… a stage. So I hold you a few minutes longer, the laundry gets put on hold for a day or two more, and I just enjoy you. I breath in your sweet baby smell and I try my hardest to just be with you. This baby stage passes all too quickly.

You and me are quite the team. That’s how I like to see it anyway. One superhero, attached at the hip kind of team. You sure do love your Mama. I am not going to complain though. As we get ready to send your big sister to preschool this year, I know it won’t last forever. Besides, I do very much enjoy that you seem to love me most over everyone else. However you did just start saying “Dada”. I won’t hold it agains’t you though. He is a pretty swell guy. I can see why you want to get his attention. He sure does light up when he hears you say his name. You have just the sweetest little voice. You smile with your whole face. Almost everyone that meets you calls you “bright eyes”. I think it’s a pretty fitting nickname.

Just so you know, you are quite the stubborn little girl. I like the spunk you have. We went away for a few days and you refused to take a bottle for 5 days. 5 days! I thought for sure you would crack. Your Meme had to give you your milk from a big girl cup. You drank it like a champ but boy, oh boy you would not give in for your Meme. I don’t blame you though. We worked so hard on nursing. Just you and me. Tears, late nights and lots of persistency. Here we are 7 months in and neither one of us are ready to be done. You held on for me to come back. I have gotten to a place where I really love that time together. It was slow coming but I couldn’t be more proud of us.

p.s. You seem to really love crossing your little feet together when you sit up. It’s about the cutest thing ever.
p.p.s. 7 months later and we are still obsessed with Little Hip Squeaks headbands! A Finley staple.

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Aug 07

The Adirondacks

Aug 07 | Family Adventures + Travel

One of my favorite parts of where we live is that we are so close to the Adirondacks. What a beautiful place. Lake George is a just gorgeous! Not so much the touristy part but the rest of it. The lake is huge and has so many places to explore. It feels very much like northern Ontario and for that reason alone it makes me want to go there all the time. We packed up the girls last weekend and headed up there for a family hike. It was the perfect day to try out our new ergo baby carrier for Finley. The travel collection carriers are so light weight and easy to throw in the car on the go. What a work out to go hiking with a kid strapped to you back or front. We need to get out there more often thats for sure! We ended up having a lovely time (besides the massive amounts of horse flies out).