if the shoe fits...

shoe shopping in mama's closet :) 

happy monday from this little red-booted cowgirl!

-ivy

home sweet home

what a whirlwind of a couple weeks! it's been non-stop on the go, but i am so happy to share that we are really moved in, settling, and jon has already completed several small projects throughout the house! he's updated all of the outdoor lighting fixtures, added pendent lighting in the kitchen, changed out lighting in bedrooms [including the girls' chandeliers!], replaced all of the hardware in the house from a porcelain white to a brushed bronze, built shelving in one of the unfinished sections of the basement and 2 work benches in the other, painted that darn front door, and most importantly- painted miss lucy's bedroom! the girls' bathroom and the nursery are next on the radar- they should be finished in the next week or so! all of this on top of unpacking... efficient doesn't even begin to describe that man [and he has some awesome friends who have hung out & let him boss them around!]

putting in new kitchen lighting before boxes were even unpacked

we bought the house from the original owners who built it. they left the blueprints and building plans for us- it's so neat to be able to see what they chose to add and take-away during the building process!

my happy yellow front door! it makes all the difference in the world to me, brightening up the darker house paint- and so fun for a spring move-in!

the girls' lighting! lucy's is on the left [dark bronze to match her espresso furniture], and sister's is on the right :)

lucy's princess purple and yellow big girl room :) 

we've started bringing up the baby toys as we've unpacked them- and lucy makes sure to check each for good measure. she was one month old in the left-hand picture... on the same playmat that she's attempting to destroy on the right :)

big sister practicing her skills with baby in tow!

prepping for the neighborhood easter egg hunt that's in a couple weeks! we're really excited about all of the fun events our neighborhood hosts :)

lucy's great aunt kim has sent lucy [& now sister] some of the most beautiful outfits over the past couple of years! lucy was so so excited to open the box that came addressed to her with this sweet easter dress inside :)

she finally fits into the sweater that her great-grandmother on jon's side made for jon as a baby- yellow because his parents didn't know gender. oma gave this to me at my baby shower, and i'm thrilled it'll be getting lots of great use this spring!

the first weekend we were in the house, my mom and i spent 8 hours [literally] pulling together the girls' closets. we packed away all of lucy's winter clothes and organized them for when her sister will be able to wear them [late 2015!], pulled out lucy's spring and summer clothes for this year [i can hardly believe i actually had time to shop for her through age 2 during my last pregnancy!], and went through every single tub of her clothing up to this point in order to organize her sister's closet. 

this was no simple task. 

we're talking 10 huge filled-to-the-brim tubs of baby clothes. it's just sinful. really. i make myself feel better by repeating that i'm having another girl, so they'll all get plenty of double-wear :) 

when the rooms are finished, i'll post pictures and include the closets! little girls' closets are where my OCD shines brightest :) my favorite part of both are my labeled tubs- purple for lucy and pink for sister :) [of course it's actually all color coded, down to the hangers and hampers!]

lucy and charlie have both adjusted tremendously well! from the first night, lucy slept all night, and i honestly think any thoughts of the other house flew from her mind immediately. i'm thankful for her resiliency! she loves having the extra space to run and dance, and has quickly figured out where everything belongs- or at least where she has designated them to live :)

kisses from my sweet lucy jane!

...and for a chuckle. a quick video of her love for corn :) mama ain't complainin'!

-ivy

funky lucy

naptime is my savior. really- other than evenings when i'd rather catch up with jon, it's the only time i ever have to sit and collect my thoughts, catch up on emails or complete anything on my to-do list without grabbing cheese or strawberries or another of lucy's favorite foods out of the refrigerator [i know all moms of youngsters relate] and today especially, i am so very grateful for my great little napper! 

jon gave us strict orders to stay out of the movers' way. this means, "find a way to fill your day outside of either house, please!" movers were due to arrive this morning at 8, so after our 20 pound 6am alarm clock woke us up, we quickly started packing the rest of the house- bathrooms, kitchen, lucy's room [which i had held off on until the last possible minute]. lucy and i were out of the house at 8, dropped charlie at my mom's [who a. is conveniently visiting my gramma this week- just kidding :) she's actually had that trip planned since before we'd even put our house on the market- and b. lives 5 miles from our new house, so it's been really nice to have her home as a median between our 2 houses over the past couple of weeks- this week especially]. lucy and i headed to our f a v o r i t e little local coffee shop for a cinnamon tea for me and a 'nana muffin for her first thing :)

and followed it with a trip to the mall play place- gotta love free kid entertainment! 

here's why i love social media: i logged onto facebook this morning and saw that funky mama [aka the beautiful, talented, inspiring krista eyler who i met when i was 10 and sang at my wedding 12 years later:)] was giving an 11am concert at the lenexa community center! lucy had an absolute BALL! and it was a perfect distraction from the mess of the move :)

...as always, nothing compares to dora [or as lucy lovingly calls her "da-do"]

we had a pizza lunch, dropped off my carload at the new house, and lucy's now napping peacefully at meme's while i take a few minutes to sit here and rest the basketball that i'm carrying around. 

tonight's our first night staying at the new house- fingers crossed that miss lu and charlie adjust well!

-ivy

ps- a quick shot of jon and lucy working hard at the new house last night :)

moving day!

happy march 18th to us! we closed on our new house this morning! jon's been busy over there today, building shelves in the basement with his dad, moving our garage gadgets and shampooing the carpets. lucy and i plan to stop by later, and we officially move tomorrow morning! we have movers taking care of our large pieces and closets, and we'll tote the rest. we're thrilled this day is finally here! [the perfect day to turn 30 weeks!]

we've had some more spring-like days over the past week or so. lucy loves playing outside :)

snapped this pic of the sisters :) i can't wait for them to meet face-to-face. 

my sister and nephew came into town over the weekend- lucy and tasman are finally really playing now! they take turns, share toys and food, belly laugh, jump on the bed and give each other lots and lots of hugs and kisses. it's the best! anxious for easter when we get to see them again :)

meme made green berry pancakes to celebrate st. patty's day :) such a fun couple of days. 

newest lucy-isms: 

*she points to charlie's paws and calls them "shoes!" :)

*she knows her first shape- a heart! aka "art!"

*she's learned to reach for our hands before meals to pray, and says "amen" at the end- although it sounds awfully close to "open" :)

*one of her newest color recognitions is aqua- haha! she'll point to bluish green items that she sees around the house or in stores & yell "aqua" [or "ah-pa!"] quite proudly! i LOVE this age!!

...what moving with a 17 month old looks like :) 

HOWEVER, i will say that i highly recommend moving at 7 months pregnant. jon's really taken care of all the packing & moving thus far- leaving me to simply chase after our daughter amongst the box chaos and rest when i get a chance [ha...] such a stud!

 [and a huge thank you to our wonderful friends who have gone out of their way to offer lucy-watching help during this packing and moving segment of our lives:)]

a craft store run to finish our final purchases for the girls' rooms! i bought the last of my list this morning- now just gotta get in and get settled! wahoo!

-ivy

springing forward

this morning i went in for a routine ultrasound- i'll be 29 weeks tomorrow. everything is looking great- baby is happy, healthy, and so darn cute to boot! the ultrasound tech gave me the sweetest surprise- a 3d peek! her kicks are getting stronger with each day as she continues to get bigger. it's true- i really love being pregnant (once i work through the first trimester horror nausea so imprinted in my memory)! i deeply missed the kicks and hiccups once i delivered lucy, so i'm making a conscious effort to enjoy each day that i get to feel this sweet girl. nothing like having my lil buddy with me everywhere i go :)

-ivy

weekend!

happy friday! 

lucy's had a cold this past week- i'm sure we picked it up at gymnastics ! we headed to the pediatrician to make sure it wasn't turning into an ear infection, and of course she was in great spirits once we arrived at the doctor's office :) 

we went to lucy's friend kaitlyn's 3rd birthday party last saturday. she had the best time bouncing around the bouncy house and going down the big kid slide with daddy :)

it was the perfect princess party!

lucy climbs on everything these days, and much prefers her perch on the coffee table over anywhere else. we're excited to have more space for more appropriate options of things for lu to climb on!

this week lucy's confidence soared on the trampoline at gymnastics! she's getting more and more steady with her motor skills. i absolutely love this age of exploration and discovery!

jon doesn't travel again until we're in the new house! we're spending this upcoming weekend packing up our glassware, photos and other breakables. last weekend, jon took everything off the walls and packed the upstairs, while lucy and i were busy playing dress-up. it was a great set-up in the opinion of a 7 month pregnant lady! i can't believe we only have 2 more weekends in our first home. 

i've started bi-weekly prenatal appointments now that i'm in my third trimester, as well as weekly ultrasounds. i had this same ultrasound schedule when i was pregnant with lucy- with both pregnancies, my blood work indicated a slight risk of low birth weight, so i'm monitored a bit closer in the last 3 months. lucy came out a perfect 6lbs 10oz, and we're grateful this baby is right on track, too. AND i'm not gonna lie, i love the chance to be able to see our sweet girl each week :) as of last friday, she was in the 51st percentile at 2lbs 7oz!!

a quick list of the latest lucy-isms:

**if she sees a picture of someone with their eyes closed, she says "shhh!" even if the person is laughing with their eyes closed, she still thinks they're sleeping :)

**she points to purple things and says "purple!" and yellow things and says "yellow!" she knows [receptively] pink, red, blue, aqua, and green!

**when we ask her "where's the baby?" she kisses my tummy, and lifts up my shirt to find her :)

**she knows jon and i as "mama" and "dada" of course, but has started pointing to girls and saying "mama" and boys and saying "dada"- she totally knows who is a girl & who is a boy! 

excited to get outdoors in this 60 degree weather once my rascal's up from nap!

-ivy