October Coffee Date

It’s been a minute since I've written about life in general lately, so we should catch up! Coffee date style. I'm drinking water at the moment, but I'm going to pretend it's a big warm mug of pumpkin spice latte. Predictable, I know. What about you? Coffee or tea? Whatever it is, grab a seat and settle in. Let's chat about September and what I'm looking forward to this month!

4 FAVORITE THINGS IN SEPTEMBER

If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that my 4 favorite things about September were...

1. Labor Day Weekend Beach Trip: We kicked off September with a trip to Panama City Beach over Labor Day weekend! We all brought our kids, so we had 12 adults and 5 kids (all under age 3!) in one house. And y'all, after this trip, I'm ruined for all other beach trips. Kyle found a house right on the beach (a MUST with kiddos), with a pool, huge back porch, and everyone had their own bedroom + bathroom. It was seriously the perfect fit for our group, but I'm afraid since it was new construction, we got a really good deal on it, and it won't be nearly as cheap in the future (and honestly I'm not sure if it's still there after Hurricane Michael). But all that to say, I absolutely loved this trip and the memories made with our friends and kiddos!

2. Getting to See Our Baby + Hearing a Heartbeat! This was by far my favorite thing about September. As expected, there was a lot of anxiety going in to our appointment, and sometimes it's still hard to be in the ultrasound room. But with each appointment, and with each strong heartbeat we hear, anxiety is having less of a say in this pregnancy. We are still beside ourselves that this is happening, and just so thankful for our sweet little growing babe!

3. Gabe Starting Preschool: Technically Gabe started preschool the last week in August, but September was his first full month. The first two weeks were a little touch and go during drop off, but now he absolutely loves it and hardly ever turns around to wave bye when I drop him off in the mornings. Funny how things change so quickly! He talks about his teacher all the time, and his day consists of circle time, playing on the playground, music class, story time, snack time, and centers.  We're so thankful for this little school and y'all, I'm already counting down the days until his Christmas program in December! It's going to be hilarious!

4. Meeting Anne Bogel at The Story Shop: I still can't believe this happened! When I found out Anne Bogel would be making a stop at our local children's bookstore on her I'd Rather Be Reading book tour, my sister and I bought tickets the DAY they were released! No way would I miss meeting one of my favorite authors/bloggers/podcasters. She was an absolute delight to meet in person, and it was so fun to hear her gush about The Story Shop!

READ, WATCH, LISTEN, FOLLOW 

If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that one of my all-time favorite podcasts, Around the Table, occasionally did a segment called Read, Watch, Listen, Follow, where they talked about--you guessed it--what they had been reading, watching, listening to, and following lately. I loved the segment so much I've decided to do one of my own for our coffee dates!  

Read: I've been going through the Breathe study by Well-Watered Women, which is a study through the book of Psalms, and I am LOVING it. I highly recommend it, especially if you are currently going through or recently went through a season of grief. I've been in the Psalms this entire year it seems, and I'm not mad about it at all. The Psalms are balm for the soul, and also a reminder that we can praise the Lord in spite of our circumstances. The only fiction book I finished in September was Sunburn by Laura Lippman. This was my first dip into the mystery/thriller genre, and I'm disappointed to say I didn't love this one. I have In The Woods by Tana French on hold at the library, so hopefully it will change my mind on thrillers? I also started reading Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman for book club, and I'd Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel. I'm hoping to finish those soon and will let you know my thoughts next month!

Watch: Victoria, Season 2. SO GOOD, y'all. I love watching Victoria and Albert's relationship unfold, and there's hardly a secondary character I don't like! I just wish Eliza + Mr. Francatelli got more screen time this season. And y'all, I can't even with Ernst and Harriet. If you're even a little bit of an Anglophile, you'll love this show. Can't wait for Season 3 in January!

Listen: As far as music goes, I've had the Well-Watered Morning and Journeywomen Jams Spotify playlists on repeat lately. When I'm in the car with Gabe, we've been listening to Ellie Holcomb's new children's album, Sing, which goes along with her board book, Who Sang the First Song? Such a fun combo! I may or may not already have the board book on Gabe's Christmas list. A few of my favorite recent podcast episodes have been This Is How We Do: Pregnancy on the Coffee + Crumbs Podcast, Humility with Hannah Anderson on the Journeywomen Podcast, and Let's Catch Up! on the Around the Table Podcast. I have a separate post on my favorite podcast recommendations coming soon--hopefully it'll go live in the next week or so!

Follow: Y'all, I can't stop won't stop with following allll the fashion bloggers. While I definitely don't have the budget to update my wardrobe that often, it's a great way to get ideas on how to style things I already have in my closet, or add things to my wish list for Christmas! I've been following these ladies for a while and they are my absolute favorites! Brittany at Loverly Grey, Laura at Reese and Rowe, and Mary Margaret at Simply Darlings. Give these sweet ladies a follow and you won't be disappointed! 

LOOKING FORWARD TO IN OCTOBER

Is it cheating if I say everything on our Fall Bucket List? Either way, it's true! We went to the fair last weekend, and are planning to go to the pumpkin patch and corn maze this weekend if it doesn't rain. I think most of all I'm looking forward to our annual GA/FL trip to Amelia Island and trick or treating with Gabe on Halloween! Love this time of year.

That’s all for today! See you in November for our last coffee date before Christmas! (SAY WHAT?! I can’t even think about that right now.)

P.S. To all friends across the Southeast impacted by Hurricane Michael last week, I'm thinking of and praying for you!

We're Having Another Baby!

I can hardly believe these words as I type them. We are expecting another little love, due to join us April 2019! We are in complete awe of this answered prayer and so incredibly thankful for this gift from the Lord, our sweet little rainbow baby.

As expected, there are many, many emotions flying around in my head and my heart these days. While our hearts ache knowing our family will never be completely whole again this side of heaven, we are so excited and in love with this sweet babe, and are praying + believing we will hold this little one in our arms next Spring. In all of it, I’m just overwhelmed with gratitude because I feel so undeserving of all that's happening in my life.

When they say that pregnancy after your first is different, they were absolutely right. When I was pregnant with Gabe, I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t know the kind of love I would experience as a new mama. I had all kinds of fears and doubts. This time, I know what's ahead. I know the crazy physical exhaustion and the agony of childbirth and icky pregnancy symptoms and toys all over the house, and I can absolutely say it’s 100% worth it. On the other side is a tiny soul who I will love with more than I think I’m capable of. I cannot wait to find out who this little person will be!

Kyle is thrilled, and Gabe is baby-obsessed, so I’m pretty sure he’s going to LOVE being a big brother!

Now for all the fun pregnancy questions!

When are you due? 

April 23, 2019

How far along are you? 

13 Weeks today! And good grief I HAVE NO ABS. My sweet little belly has popped out so stinkin' fast with this baby there is no more hiding it!

Have you had any symptoms / morning sickness? 

YES. Cue the first trimester nausea, exhaustion, and inability to find any type of food appealing. It has been quite a different pregnancy so far than I had with Gabe, and I now truly understand what morning sickness is. I think I'm finally starting to turn the corner and feel better now that the second trimester is here. Despite all the icky symptoms, I am so grateful for that little babe growing!

Are you going to find out the gender? 

YES! We're hoping to find out in early November and planning to have a small gender reveal party with just family soon after. Kyle's thinking girl, and I'm thinking boy, so we'll see who's right soon enough!

Do you have a name picked out? 

We have a girl name up our sleeves, but boy names? No clue.

I’m nervous, excited, and so thankful that our little family is growing. My greatest desire right now is to savor this season of being pregnant, having Gabe as our only baby, and loving Kyle well. To not rush, but to enjoy every step of this journey, exactly how it’s meant to be. Y’all, I can’t believe I’m going to be a mama of TWO! We would love and appreciate your prayers for our family as we grow!

Gabe | Two Years

I was feeling sentimental the other day and scrolling through old pictures and watching videos from this time last year, and man -- my round-faced, wobbly walker has changed SO much. While I feel like this season with Gabe as a toddler has gone by extra fast, I absolutely love this age and these new milestones with him. I am doing my very best to soak them in and not miss out simply because “I’m busy.” So many memories have been made in this 2nd year with our little buddy, and I'm hoping by writing this post I can document them all together in one place. Without further adieu, here's more than you ever wanted to know about Gabe at two years old:

TWO YEAR STATS

Weight: 28 pounds

Height: 34 inches

Clothes: 2T (24 Months in some brands)

Shoes: Size 7

Diapers: We haven't officially taken the potty training plunge, but he is wearing 2T/3T pull-ups since he's started telling us he needs to go potty and pull-ups are much easier to get off than diapers! But still wearing Size 5 diapers overnight.

SCHEDULE

Gabe's typical schedule right now looks like:

8:00 a.m. - Wake up
8:15 a.m. - Breakfast
9:00 a.m. - Playtime
10:30 a.m. - Morning Snack
12:00 p.m. - Lunch
1:00 p.m. - Storytime
1:30 p.m. - Afternoon nap
3:30 p.m. - Wake up from afternoon nap
3:30 p.m. - Afternoon snack and playtime until dinner
5:30 p.m. - Dinner
7:00 p.m. - Bath and bedtime routine
8:00 p.m. - Bedtime

All of that to say, don't think that we follow this schedule to a tee everyday! Most days (aka everyday) we're all over the place, but in general, this is what our day looks like.

EAT

Gabe will try what we offer him for the most part, but he does have his moments of picky eating. I notice it mostly when he's cutting teeth or if he isn’t feeling well. He will also eat all day long if I let him. If Gabe knew how to open the door, he would probably just help himself to the pantry.

Some of his favorites include grilled cheese, pizza (he finally loves pizza!), chicken, rice (especially Mexican rice), cheese, deli meat, and yogurt. Fruits are something he requests at meal time too. When it comes to eating protein, dipping sauce is his jam, and he especially loves Chick-fil-a sauce any time we have chicken. He loves to dip chips in salsa and queso too!

KIND granola bars are hands down his favorite at this age, along with bread, dry cereal, and raisins. We stick to about 12 ounces of milk, and 1-2 servings of yogurt and cheese every day for his dairy. For the most part Gabe will eat breakfast (which is usually milk right when he wakes up and then cereal or granola bar and yogurt around 8:15-8:30), lunch around 12:00pm before nap time, and dinner is all over the place right now but is usually between 5:30-7pm, depending on when we get home from work.

SLEEP

Gabe’s usual sleep schedule is from 8:00 pm to 8:00 - 8:30 am with a nap after lunch (about 1:30pm) until 3:30-4:00 pm. Lately it's been hit or miss with his naps though. Some days he'll play in his crib for an hour and half before he finally falls asleep, and other days he doesn't nap at all and just plays the entire time. I know he's still too young to skip a nap altogether, so he still has designated rest time in his crib, whether he's reading a book, playing with his stuffed animals, or actually goes to sleep. We haven't transitioned him to a toddler bed yet, and honestly we're not in a rush. Our pediatrician advised to let him sleep in the crib as long as he'll stay in it, and that's what we've planned to do all along. Once he starts trying to climb out and it's no longer safe, then we'll transition to a big boy bed.
 

HEALTH

Overall Gabe doesn't get sick that often, though I'm sure that will change now that he's going to preschool. He's had the stomach bug twice this year already, and both times were during the summer. Over this past winter, we noticed he starts to wheeze when he gets a bad cold, so we now have a Nebulizer machine at home to give him breathing treatments when the wheezing gets bad. The pediatrician said it's too early to diagnose him with asthma, but since he only wheezes when he's sick, most likely it's not something he'll struggle with long term (PTL!).

MILESTONES

The older Gabe gets, the more I've learned to take a chill pill when it comes to milestones. They'll do it when they do it, and there's honestly not much we can control as parents. Gabe started walking at 14 months, which is within the average age range, but in my head he was "late." Why in the world did I think that? Now I wish I could go back and tell my year-ago self to just chill the mess out. He's running and jumping around now like there's no tomorrow, and there really was nothing to worry about.

So instead of talking about milestones specifically, these are just a few more random things about Gabe that I want to make sure I remember. As far as talking goes, he is much more inclined to repeat what we're prompting him to say, and his annunciations surprise us all the time. His ‘I love you’ is one for the books and melts me into a puddle everytime. A few things he says the wrong way that I can't bring myself to correct because it's so darn cute -- "nunder" for thunder, "bee" for blanket, and "wuv" for love. He loves singing, and his favorite songs right now include Baby Shark and If You're Happy + You Know It.

He is really smart and truly enjoys problem-solving. Coloring and playing with his golf set, basketball goal, or t-ball set will keep him entertained for a good while. He loves to dance, run, and jump (especially on the couch, which is our daily battle right now). His running can be best described as kicking his feet out to the side, arms flailing, and bouncing while shimmying his hips. It is SO cute and I never want to forget it.

ADVENTURES IN YEAR 2

Took his first trip to the Georgia Aquarium
Went to his first Braves game
Dressed up as a Ninja Turtle for Halloween
Experienced his first plane ride!
Spent a weekend exploring Washington, DC
Played in the snow for the first time
Went to his first UGA basketball and football games
Welcomed three new boy cousins into the family - Graham, Elijah, and Nick!
Fun adventures on Ama + Big Dad's farm - collecting eggs, picking strawberries, and hanging out with the horses
Visited Aunt Ashley and Uncle Drew in Augusta and saw where Mama + Daddy spent LOTS of time during PT school!
Took lots of boat rides (+ his first jet ski ride!) at the lake
Visited Aunt Jenny and Uncle Zach in FL and spent time playing at the beach
+ many more I'm probably forgetting!

Gabey Baby,

You are a laid back little bit with the most free spirit and sweet demeanor anyone could ask for. You have changed the very most over this last year, and I fall in love with you more and more everyday I spend with you. You have absolutely changed our life, Gabriel Kyle, and I thank the Sweet Lord every day for blessing me with you.

I love you,

Mama

Fall Bucket List

Now that it’s officially Fall, I feel like I can finally share our fall bucket list! We’ve had a stretch of overcast, drizzly days this week that brought relief from the heat, and no one is mad about it over here. Some things on our list are yearly traditions, and others are things we’ve never done before. I am so excited for all the family time and activities for Gabe. Everything is more fun now that he can actually participate!

OUR 2018 FALL BUCKET LIST

• Pick pumpkins, ride the hayride, and get lost in a corn maze. I know I can get a pumpkin $5 cheaper at Kroger, but it’s about the experience! 

• Decorate the front porch with pumpkins + mums 

• Have a bonfire + roast s’mores. This will be the first year Gabe can somewhat do it himself!

• Road trip to North Georgia to hike and see the changing leaves

• Go to the homecoming football game 

• Watch Hocus Pocus + have a Harry Potter movie marathon

• Dress up for Halloween and go trick or treating in Aunt Ashley's neighborhood

• Trunk or Treat at a local church

• Movie date night in the hammock 

• Bake all the fall things – pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, pumpkin rolls, apple pie, snickerdoodles, etc.!

• Make a soup recipe from the Fall Magnolia Journal

• Eat chili while watching football

• Annual Georgia/Florida family weekend on Amelia Island  

• Spend a day at the Georgia National Fair 

• Take our Christmas card photo

• Carve a pumpkin with Gabe and toast the pumpkin seeds

• Read a mystery/thriller novel – need some good recs since I normally don't read this genre!

• Do some leaf crafts and DIY with Gabe

What's on your Fall bucket list? Here’s to a new season full of excitement and intentional time with family. And the perfect days for playing outside + soup simmering on the stove + watching football!

Gabe's Nursery: Part 2

I'm so excited to share Part 2 of Gabe's nursery today! I know I promised this last Thursday, but unfortunately my laptop had other plans. Thankfully all is well now, and like I said, I can't wait for you to see Gabe's finished room today! In case you missed it, here's Part 1, which details the design process. This room has quickly become my favorite room in the house. We've already made so many sweet memories here, and I can't wait to see Gabe grow into this space as he gets older. I've got links to as many sources as possible throughout the post, but feel free to message me if you have any questions about anything!

CRIB + GALLERY WALL

We got Gabe’s crib from a local store called Georgia Baby and Kids, and when we walked in we were completely overwhelmed with the selection. But once we saw the Pali Modena convertible crib, we fell in love. Georgia Baby sweetened the deal by offering the adult rail kit to us for free, so that once Gabe is ready to transition to a big kid bed, we can convert it to a full size bed. Unfortunately, we haven’t been super happy with how the crib and dresser have held up to normal wear and tear. The finish easily chips off, and for what we paid for it, it should be higher quality. We made an investment by buying the convertible crib hoping it would last until Gabe goes off to college, but we’re not sure that will be the case. Thankfully if we need a new bed in the future, Kyle is confident he can make one (and we'd know the quality would be good right off the bat haha). 

Crib: Pali Modena in Distressed Granite | Bumpers: Caden Lane | Crib Sheet: Pottery Barn Kids | Crib Skirt: Pottery Barn Kids | Wooden Picture Frame: Hobby Lobby | Metal Print: Nations Photo Lab | Wood + Galvanized Metal Letter G: Hobby Lobby | Galvanized Metal Picture Frame: Hobby Lobby | Fearfully + Wonderfully Made Sign: Hobby Lobby | Wooden Arrows: Hobby Lobby | Be Brave Sign: Hobby Lobby | Maternity + Newborn Photos: Linds on Life Photo

  

NURSING + READING NOOK

Now for the place where we spend the most time in Gabe's room — the reading nook. Of course, while I was still nursing, this was also where I sat for feedings, and I was so thankful to have such a cozy place to sit during that season. After testing it out several times at our local Buy Buy Baby, we finally took the plunge and got the Hagen swivel glider, and thankfully were able to use a 20% off coupon to save even more money on it. As I mentioned in Part 1, the side table and shelves were custom made by Kyle, and I love that Gabe already has furniture specially made for him by his daddy in his room.

The red book crate was also a custom-made gift from Gabe's Aunt Ashley. She got the crate unfinished from Michael's, painted it red and stained it, and then glued the "Gabe's Books" letters on. It has been one of my favorite details about Gabe's room, though as you can see in the other pictures, it's been hard to keep Gabe from peeling the letters off, so it's been turned around for now.

Chair: Hagen Swivel Glider | Striped Blanket: HomeGoods | Pouf Ottoman: Amazon | Wooden Picture Frame: Hobby Lobby | Moose Stuffed Animal: Jellycat | Red Caddy: Greensboro Antique Mall 

Another fun detail about the reading nook shelves is this baseball. While we were cleaning out the guest bedroom upstairs, I happened to find this game ball Kyle got when he played little league baseball as a kid, and it turned out to be the perfect bookend for this shelf. I love personal details like that!

Side Table: Shanty2Chic | Red Picture Frame: Hobby Lobby | Lamp: Hobby Lobby | Humidifier: Amazon | Basket: Target

CHANGING TABLE

For the changing table, we opted for a dresser instead of a traditional changing table since we knew we could get more use out of a dresser in the long run. In the dresser drawers we keep things like extra diapers, wipes, diaper rash cream, extra sheets and changing pad covers, and the clothes I fold and don't hang up, like pants and onesies.

Changing Pad: Summer Infant | Changing Pad Cover: Caden Lane | Changing Pad Liner: Boppy | Red Diaper Caddy: Hobby Lobby | Wipe Dispenser: OXO Tot | Hand Sanitizer: Babyganics | Baby Lotion: Babyganics

Changing Pad Table: Pali Modena in Distressed Granite | Diaper Pail: Diaper Dekor | Laundry Hamper: Target | Red Lantern: Stansport | Moose Cutout: Hobby Lobby 

CLOSET

Organizing Gabe's closet has been our most recent project, and I'm so happy with the way it turned out. He badly needed a shelf to organize his books and toys, so Santa helped us make that happen. Now Gabe loves to come in here and play, which mostly means him dragging everything off the shelves and onto the floor for Mama to pick up later.

Shelf: Target | Navy Shelf Inserts: Target | Diaper Pail: Diaper Dekor | Green Recycling Truck: Green Toys | Very Hungry Caterpillar Stuffed Animal: Amazon | Stacker Toy: Fisher Price

Toddler Georgia Hat: Amazon | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Illustrated Edition: Amazon | Shape Sorter Toy: Tupperware | Counting Stacker: Hape  

I remember when we were designing the nursery I was curious about how people mounted their baby monitors and kept the cords hidden, but rarely saw photos of it in nursery galleries since it's not very "cute." I wanted to be sure to include how we do it in Gabe's nursery since I'm sure there are other mamas out there like me. We have the Infant Optics DXR-8 baby monitor, and we have it sitting on a little corner shelf that's out of reach from the crib. Thankfully the white cord blends in with the board and batten so it's not very noticeable, but the way we currently have it secured to the wall is not toddler proof at all. Gabe has ripped the cord organizers off the wall and tried to eat them on multiple occasions. To eliminate the choking hazard, we're planning on getting this cord cover kit to replace what we currently use.

Thanks for hanging out in Gabe's nursery with me today! Of course, there's still a hundred more things I want to do in here, but that's the fun part about having a home — it's always a work in progress! 

Gabe's Nursery: Part 1

Hands-down, one of my favorite parts of being pregnant was dreaming about and creating the nursery. I have a huge respect for parents who have everything ready and tied up with a bow before the baby arrives, but that definitely wasn't us. Here we are six months after Gabe's 1st birthday, and I finally have his room the way I want it, though I feel like it will always be a work in progress. I'll share photos of his finished room tomorrow—today I'll be talking about the process it took to get us there!

While I was pregnant, a lot of people asked about the theme I was planning for the nursery. It was hard for me to answer that question, since Kyle and I aren't really theme type people. My plan from the beginning was to find crib bedding I loved, and use that as a jumping-off point for inspiration for the rest of the nursery. Once we knew we were having a boy, I found the perfect blue buffalo check bedding, which lent itself to adventure/outdoorsy decor for the rest of the room. It couldn't have been more perfect for Kyle and me, since we both grew up loving to spend time outside (and still do!). 

In order to get things going in the nursery, we actually had a long list of things to do before we could even clear out the room. At the time, we were using the nursery as a guest bedroom, so we had a bedroom suite and a large bookshelf in there. We decided to move everything to the guest bedroom upstairs, but that room had become the catch-all space when we first moved in and the floor was covered with unpacked boxes. Having Gabe forced us to finally go through all the boxes, have a yard sale, and haul the leftovers off to be donated. I loved getting that done! After Kyle put a fresh coat of paint in the room upstairs, we were finally able to clear out Gabe's room and have the blank space we needed.
        

The first project we (and by we, I mean Kyle) tackled was to install board and batten on the walls. This Pinterest board is full of inspiration and tutorials if you're interested in doing board and batten as well (our favorite was this one from Shanty2Chic).   

Next up was paint. Kyle spent an entire Saturday painting the board and batten white to match the trim color, and the upper half of the wall navy blue. He went a solid week convinced he hated the blue color, while I loved it, and then it slowly grew on him and he eventually loved it too. The color we ultimately decided on was Benjamin Moore Van Deusen Blue.   

We were fortunate to have the crib, dresser, and rocker all delivered within a few days of each other, so Kyle was able to tackle putting those together in one afternoon. I don't know why, but having the crib assembled made everything so much more real to me. That was such a fun day! 

The last projects on our list were the shelves and side table for the nursing/reading nook. For the shelves Kyle simply stained two pieces of 2x4 and used industrial piping hardware from Hobby Lobby for the brackets. For the side table, Kyle used this tutorial that included a bottom shelf so I could have a place for a basket next to the rocker.

Last but not least, the gallery wall! We pretty much kept Hobby Lobby in business last year as 99% of the artwork in Gabe's nursery came from there. I love their selection for nursery decor, especially since they have so many pieces with Scripture on it. I wanted a strong reminder of God’s word so we could see it and speak it over Gabe as he grows, and I just love how the gallery wall over his crib turned out. 

   To see photos of the finished nursery, be sure to come back tomorrow!  

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