Happy Father's Day!

Dear "Dad",

Today is a day where Baby Z and I would like to take the time out to say thank you. Thank you for getting up in the middle of the night to change dirty diapers, for doing the dishes even when you are exhausted, for taking out the trash in the rain, and for working long days and nights to provide a comfortable material existence. Thanks for tickling when you are tired, lugging around heavy baby equipment, and going through the torture that is traveling with a baby so we can see out-of-town family. Also, thank you for giving up fight nights and expensive coffee drinks to help ease our budget. Thank you, Dad. We love you more than anything in this world, and are privileged to have you as our rock. Happy Father's Day, we look forward to many many more.

Love,

Wife & Baby

6 Months

 

Dear Baby Z,

In April you entered your sixth month of life. I can hardly believe how fast you are growing. Some days I wish I could push pause to savor your babyhood more deeply. The other mamas told me this would happen, and they were absolutely right!

This first half year of parenthood has been quite the journey. To say it is hard work is an understatement. Life is now filled with a million to-dos and not nearly enough sleep, but you've certainly been worth the trade-off. Just seeing you smile and the way you light up when Daddy comes home melts my heart. And the teamwork you force your father and I to do just to survive, has strengthened our marriage in unimaginable ways.

In these past few months you have become our best little friend. You make an excellent workout partner, and holding you while I exercise is helping to tone me up. You are also a wonderful confidant, and more than once I've caught your father bouncing ideas off of you. Of course you do not talk back yet, but I think that's a part of what makes you such an awesome little buddy right now.

We are both enjoying watching you grow, learn to sit up, giggle, play with your toys, and eat solid foods. It has been as one friend put it, "a time your kid will never remember, but you will never forget."

We love you with parts of hearts we did not even know existed, and I am awestruck by how blessed we are to have you.

Love Always,
Mom & Dad

Sale Alert: Timonium Totswap

Hi locals. This weekend the local children's consignment pop-up shop Totswap will be holding a sale at the state fair grounds in Timonium. It's a great place to find affordable kids clothes and toys. You can learn more HERE.

Goodnight My Love

When I was a little girl my father used to sing me a lullaby before bed. He wasn't much of a singer, but there was no doubt his tunes were filled with love. I can still hear him singing.....

"Goodnight my love, pleasant dreams

Sleep tight, my love

May your tomorrow be sunny and bright

And bring you closer to me"

Just think I have a little girl to sing this song to now. I can hardly believe it.....life is good! :-) 

What tunes do you remember from your childhood? Do you sing to your kids?

"How long do you wanna be loved? Is forever enough? Is forever enough? How long do you wanna be loved? Cause I'm never, never givin' you up." ~Dixie Chicks

Happy Halloween!

Baby Z and I wanted to wish you all a Happy Halloween! Enjoy yourselves :-)

A Letter to Baby Z (#1)

Dear Baby Z,

Thank you for putting up with us while we forced you to play dress up and take a million pictures the other day. We know you are a person and not a doll, and that you probably had better things to do that day, like lay on mommy's chest. From the looks of a few of your pictures you did not have the greatest time during our little photo shoot. We apologize for putting you through it, it's just that grandparents and other loved ones are suckers for this sort of thing and we hope to appease them from time to time. We promise we won't let it happen too often. We love you, even if you may have felt like we didn't as we forced your little body into this outfit. Please forgive us.

Love,

Mum and Dad

The Greatest Push Gift in the World!

Introducing.......Baby Z. Isn't she lovely :-)

"I thank you for choosin' me to come through unto life to be, a beautiful reflection of his grace. See I know that a gift so great is only one God could create and I'm reminded every time I see your face, that the joy of my world is in Zion." ~Lauryn Hill

Diary of a Hungry Pregnant Woman

Pregnancy has been an interesting journey, one filled with lots of fatigue, anticipation, indigestion, introspection, aches, nesting, and vomiting. Recently a new item has emerged, hunger! And I don't mean just any kind of hunger, I'm talkin' wild animal "I will kill you if you take away my ice cream" hunger. It seems to have appeared out of nowhere. I first noticed it the other day when the hubs made the bad move of stealing a few of my french fries. Normally this would be no big deal, but on this day it made me literally want to pummel him. After realizing that my fries were missing I immediately jumped in the air like I was Michael Jordan, to retrieve the fries before they reached the hubs' mouth. I tell ya.....Mother Nature is nothin' to play with. Sorry you have to deal with me like this honey, hopefully in a few months we can both look back and have a good laugh. Til' then, don't mess with my french fries!

Around the House: Progress in the Nursery Pt. 2

I hope everyone had a fabulous 4th of July weekend. I used the extra time off to make some progress in the nursery, so I thought I'd share an update. 

For this project I had a few stipulations. It had to be done cheaply, use stuff I already own, have a classic aestethic, and not be too "baby" looking so there is no need to overhaul the room in a few years. So here's what I came up with......

The walls are painted in Benjamin Moore's Chantilly Lace (sidenote: I actually got the paint from Sherwin Williams, which is a few blocks away. Did you know you can have them reproduce colors from other companies?). I couldn't decide on a color, so I figured I couldn't go wrong with white. It makes the small room feel larger, and is gender neutral. The window curtains are Ikea's RITVA. I have these in every room in our house. They are cheap, wash well, and stand the test of time. I highly recommend them. The candle sconces are vintage and  were purchased years ago on sale at AVENUE ANTIQUES. I've had them hiding in a closet and almost forgot I owned them. Finally, they have a home :-)

Above the crib is an old ship pic. I like to incorporate nautical elements throughout our home because it makes me feel like I'm on vacation at the beach. It's also a nod to the hubs who is a former sailor. The ship photo was picked up in DC at GOOD WOOD years ago.

 For the rocking chair I went back and forth about reupholstering. Unfortunately, reupholstery was just not in the budget, and not a job I thought I could DIY. To change the color, I just plopped a blanket over it. It's not perfect, but definitely gets the job done. 

 The chest as you'll RECALL was something I already owned and painted. The lamp I got a while back for $10 at Target. The shelf above the chest was a vintage find from THE TURNOVER SHOP.

The rug is just a simple classic sisal rug. It adds texture, and pretty much goes with anything in case I want to move it to a new room or change this room's color scheme later. I found it at Homegoods for the great price of $25!

I'm almost done with things. I'd just like to add a small child sized chair and perhaps a crib skirt.

I Spy: Items That Can Be Used For Our Nursery

As I begin designing our little one's nursery, besides safety, the most important issue I must keep in mind is the budget. I've set aside a total of $350 for decorating, and not a penny over. To keep costs low I have to be resourceful, and use restraint when shopping (this is soooo hard when all first-time parents want to do is buy all kinds of cute stuff for their kid). The first place I'm shopping for items is at home. Most people have tons of stuff around their house that they are not using or could be temporarily repurposed for a nursery. Today, I took inventory off all the stuff I currently have that might work well in the baby's room. Here's what I found.....

A small chest currently being used in my home office. It's tiny, but so are baby clothes, so it might work. I don't have much money to buy a dresser, so I've got to get creative. It's cheap looking and in a hot mess state right now. I'm hoping it's something some paint and new hardware can fix.

A throw I used to cuddle up on the couch with, but since changing the color scheme in the living room I haven't used it much.

 A vintage rocking chair I picked up a few years ago. I have back problems sometimes, so when I spotted this cute rocker for a good price, I quickly scooped it up. The bear was a gift to my nephew that he keeps at our house, hopefully he doesn't mind sharing with his cousin.

A lamp I bought for a few bucks for the hubs' office. He never used it :-( I guess his loss, is the baby's gain.

 An antique ship photograph that hangs in the hubs' office. This room will become the baby's room, so I figure there may be no need to move it.

A pillow from my office. I love the print of the fabric, so this has a good chance of making the cut.

A dream catcher picked up from a vintage store during our latest trip to St. Michaels. (You can read about trip our trip HERE).

An old basket that's currently housing shoes I never wear. I'm thinking it might make good book or toy storage.

I also have multiple plastic drawers that can be used for hidden storage, a silver picture frame, old shirts I use for scrap material (I frequently shrink the hubs' shirts, terrible, I know), and tons of leftover paint from past projects (remember that powder room PAINT FIASCO?).

I think this is a good start.

Around Town: Wee-Sale

Ever heard of WEE-SALE? They're a group that sponsors seasonal pop-up children's consignment sales. The sales are open to the general public for three days straight, and there's currently one being hosted in Greenbelt.  They offer baby clothes, baby gear, toys, books, and shoes. I was curious about the event, so I decided to stop by. All-in-all it was a pretty good experience. I picked up several outfits that were reasonably priced (a total of $44). I didn't get any baby gear, as a lot it was a bit tattered.

They are hosting events in Annapolis and Charles County in May that I may pop into. The sale in Greenbelt lasts through the weekend and on Sunday all merchandise is 50% off.  It's a great place to get cute cheap clothes. The hubs and I have agreed to buy only used baby clothes, with the exception of onesies. So far, it's saving us a small fortune.

Expecting, The Unexpected.

Life is full of surprises. And in this case the hubs and I received a HUGE one, when we found out we are expecting our first child. As two people who had committed to never becoming parents, this came as a huge shock. Even after several weeks we still sort of can't believe it. But we are taking things in stride and are both super excited. Apparently the universe knew we needed something, we had no clue we wanted.

With little prep time I'm scurrying to immerse myself in all things baby. I've got no clue about this stuff! There seems to be so many decisions. One of my first projects will be tackling putting together a nursery. Because we had no baby budget set aside, all baby prep will need to be done super cheap. I will share with you my tips and tricks along the way.

Well that's all, just wanted to update you on things. By the way, for obvious reasons there will be no more weight loss posts, but these will be replaced with baby posts, yay! Also, if you have any favorite family blogs please share them in the comments section.

“Miracles are what happens when you get out of the way of yourself.” ~Brad Szollose