pastel love: spring is almost here

 

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

pastels are really popular right now and with spring almost here, it makes me anxious for spring fashion. i think we are all getting sick of winter clothes, not to mention the winter weather. spring means walks outside, flowers, the smell of fresh cut grass, birds chirping, and sunny afternoons. spring for me also means baby will be here, and i can finally get a chance to get into some non-maternity clothes…well maybe by the time that happens it will be summer…or fall. i love all these spring looks above. we just have to hang in, and before we know it, spring will be here!

DIY knee patch leggings

i have been seeing some of the cutest baby leggings online lately. i see everything from knee patches and fun fabrics, to painted and stenciled leggings. i wanted to try something myself so i went to target and got some cheap baby leggings. i washed and dried them first so that there wouldn’t be any shrinkage after the patch was added. then i decided on a shape to make the patch. i chose an apple…don’t know why, but that is what came to me. i have seen simple ovals and hearts which are totally cute too. i cut my shapes out of felt i bought at the craft store. you could use any fabric for this part. the reason i chose felt was because it’s pretty easy to work with and won’t slip and slide around while i am trying to stich it on. once they were cut out i placed the apple patches where i wanted them to go. i chose to do knee patches, but you could place your patch anywhere. i am thinking i want to do a pair of leggings with something on the butt. who doesn’t love a baby butt? anyways…then i chose a bright color of embroidery thread to stitch the patch on. you can see my stitches aren’t perfect, but that’s ok. i worked my way around the apple, then added the leaf. i went all the way around the apple and the leaf and finished it off with a knot (on the inside of the pants). then i went back and stitched up the part of the leaf that overlaps the apple. i did the same thing on the other side and that’s it!

if you don’t feel comfortable with stitching a patch on, you could always use fabric glue. i personally like the way the stitching looks though. this whole diy project only took me about an hour. it’s simple and adds a personal touch to your little one’s clothes. i got size 6 month leggings, so it will be a bit before he can scoot around and wear those patches out, but i am excited for it!

week by week: 31 weeks

31 weeks pregnant is very similar to 30 weeks. the good things are: i am sleeping like a log, i am still able to work out, i can manage to still get things done around the house and although i do feel pretty big, i don’t feel like a gigantic beached whale yet. the bad things are: walking is becoming almost more uncomfortable than any excursive i have been doing and i want to eat like all the time. we ran some errands yesterday afternoon and i was sore after 45 mins walking around in nebraska furniture mart. it feels like there is a clamp on my pelvic bone and it makes it so i can’t walk very fast (little waddling preggo over here). i can kick and do granny jumping jacks during kickboxing, but walking…man that’s brutal haha.  i have to sometimes remind myself that i am pregnant and i have a baby inside me…growing and growing.

we did lots of baby talking this weekend also. brian just got done reading a book our doula kelly recommended called ‘The Birth Partner‘. He really enjoyed it and said he learned a lot! I am reading ‘Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth‘ which is informative and such a good read. We shared with each other all the things we have learned over dinner; the people siting around us at the restaurant were probably not expecting to hear about uterus’s during dinner…but oh well 🙂 Every little thing we did this weekend we would say, “oh soon we will have a little baby sitting there” or “our little guy is going to be cooing crying in the back seat soon”. i want to soak-up these last few weeks sans baby though. enjoy being a little selfish, enjoy time with brian, enjoy how we can just pick up and run errands, go to dinner or movie and sleep in…ahhh…sleep.

my belly is getting quite a bit bigger each week. i am pretty much only wearing stretch pants these days because they are just so darn comfy. i wonder if this guy is bigger than he should be at this point? my belly is so big right now, that i can’t imagine another 9 weeks of it growing. i have heard that those last 4 weeks are pretty major in the belly growth…which makes me worry that i will just be gigantic! at the end of this pregnancy i want to put together a little slideshow of all the belly pics i have taken each week. i think it will be crazy to see it all together.

ps. last week i had more pics of my belly and don’t know why they didn’t get posted…but if you want to look back, they are up now! 30 weeks post

avoiding the mom cut

 

romantic bun | side pony | simple braid | chestnut bun | high bun & headband | boho braid

so i know when you have a baby you become a mom…but does that mean you have to get the inevitable ‘mom cut’? i have long hair, so i need to make sure that i keep those sticky little grabby baby hands out of it. i am not saying short hair means your a mom, because i LOVE short hair. i have had short hair for a big chunk of my life, but i feel like women who have long hair do the “don’t have any time for me anymore, so i must get rid of all inconveniences” hair cut. so what does that make me do…? get on pinterest and remind myself of how many pretty things i can do with long hair while still getting it up and out of my face. does this mean i am capable of doing 80% of these hairstyles? no…but a girl can dream and pinterest is the ideal dream machine. i hear from moms how important it is to still shower (well obviously for sanitary reasons…) and get dressed when you have a newborn. i think it makes you feel a little more human and less like a milking/burping/poop picker-upper machine. so i will hold onto my hair for as long as i can take it…and i know my hair stylist will love to hear this too 🙂

mom + baby essentials

one. two. three. four. five. six. seven. eight. nine. ten.

these are some things i have received and some things i am going to buy for baby and me. searching for baby products, clothes and accessories is so fun. i am also a blog junkie which has led me to a lot of the products on here. {1} the stroller is something brian actually found. it has really great ratings and we both love the look. it’s a jogging stroller, very comparable to the BOB. {2} the baby sling is something i am so excited to try out. you can watch this video on how to put a newborn in there…and it’s adorable! the little baby has the cutest little baby grunts. i found out about this sling from one of my favorite bloggers. {3} the puj not only comes in the greatest color but it looks so functional and doesn’t take up a bunch of space. i also heard about this from one of my other favorite bloggers. {4} i feel like everyone with a kid has the squeaky adorable toy, sofie the giraffe. i love that sofie almost looks like a vintage toy too! {5} the aveeno baby bath products smell so good and i can’t wait to rub baby’s little footsies with some lotion. babies have the sweetest smell, i think i will smell that little guy all the time. {6} ok, these moccasins are more like “if i were a rich girl” baby essential…but i do see them on all the coolest little dudes in hollywood, and how cool is that cobalt blue color! {7} i have two adorable bow ties for our little guy that i can’t wait to dress him in. who doesn’t love a man in a bow tie? {8} these woombies are just the cutest things ever! it’s like a little cocoon for the baby when they sleep. {9} these swaddlers are sooo soft! i hear they are a must have for babies. target has them too! {10} this is an essential for post preggo mamma! the belly bandit is suppose to help your uterus contract back down to it’s normal size. i have heard they work pretty well, and they also offer some support for your back while breast feeding. i think will wear this sucker all the time, and hopefully it will help me feel less jiggly.

do any of you out there have any baby/mamma essentials that you couldn’t live without? share them with me!

nursery: geo-mobile

this awesome geo-mobile was given to me by one of my lovely friends at my baby shower this past weekend. i must admit, i came home and immediately starting assembling it.  the mobile was pretty easy to put together, although i did have a little helper that thought it was more of a toy than a delicate paper project…he’s black, furry and very very naughty. i love the mobile and think it looks great against the painted wall and i hope little guy likes it too! i have a couple more projects for his room and i can’t wait to share them with you.

ps. this was my 100th post!!!!!!!! what a milestone 🙂 i have really enjoyed sharing my life with all of you out there. you all have been so supportive and it really makes me want to keep doing more! thanks for following or just checking in every once in a while. it means a lot 🙂

week by week: 30 weeks

30 weeks pregnant, can you believe it?! once you hit 30 weeks, it seems like you are in the home stretch. i have felt really good this week. my hips are a little sore, but i guess that is to be expected…making room for that head 🙂 this little guy is getting more and more active every week. he seems to be awake quite a bit more. he still prefers to be a mover and a shaker when i am sitting still or laying down. BUT of course, when my friends want to feel him move, he is as still as ever…stinker. we are still listening to music, and he still really likes it. at first he is really active, then he falls asleep to it.

i had my first baby shower this weekend hosted by some of my best friends. it was so much fun! baby boy got so many great gifts, and i couldn’t be more thankful for every single one of them! when i got home i went through all the presents to show brian. he was surprisingly excited about all of them haha. sunday i did baby laundry, which is so fun! (i say that now…) folding all his little clothes, towels, washcloths and blankets makes it seem that much more real. on sunday i sat in his room on the glider imagining what it will be like to have a wiggle worm to play with on the floor, to rock good night and to change his poopy diapers. i could sit in his room all day long.

these last 10 weeks are going to go fast, and to tell you the truth it makes me a little sad. i kind of like being pregnant. anything i initially missed in the begininning of this pregnancy has passed and being pregnant makes me feel like i have a super-power. ‘amalia the amazing! can grow big babies and fight off any sickness!’ give it 6 weeks…and i will be ready to be not gigantic 🙂

life lately

 

1. can’t believe there is a baby in there…
2. baby boy’s aunties love him so
3. because she is a purrrrfect cat
4. because he is a hambone
5. still growing…
6. she is my snuggle partner at night
7. the corner creperie chef’s
8. the crepes were amaaaaazing! mine was chocolate espresso
9. you have to wear hot pink shoes on valentine’s day
10. grandma ann gave baby boy these gifts for his valentine!
11. valentine’s dinner: pistachio crusted salmon, risotto with balsamic glaze, zucchini and goat cheese rollups
12. valentine’s dessert: banana ice cream (added some berries) with healthy peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

nursery: diy curtains

because i am cheap and well…cheap, i didn’t want to spend a ton of money on curtains that didn’t serve a purpose besides looking cute. i went to target and bought two shower curtains…yes, shower curtains. i measured and found two shower curtains would give me enough fabric for both windows (one window only needed one curtain, while the larger window needed a curtain on either side). i knew i wanted to line the edge of the curtains with this cute fuzzy ball trim that i got off etsy. seriously all i did was cut each shower curtain in half, then i hot glued the red fuzzy ball trim on the cut edge of the fabric so that i wouldn’t have to finish off any edges. i hung the curtain rods and then took some extra trim to tie the curtains back. done. cheap. easy.

guest post: free printable valentine’s cards

don’t spend money on an overpriced hallmark card this year. just download and print off these super cute valentine’s card your your sweetie. designed by your’s truly! head over to parentsavvy.com to download them.