Hoppy Easter, Everybunny!

this little chicky had the best Easter weekend :)

she had dinner with tasman friday night... 

went on an egg hunt saturday morning :)

smooched tasman saturday afternoon...

followed by some peek-a-boo egg dyeing :) 

was escorted by a very handsome toddler sunday morning...

hung at the park with her meme 

...and daredevil cousin 

and was spoiled by mr. e bunny!

hope you all had a blessed holiday weekend!

-ivy

warming up!

just got lucy down for nap. i savor these 2 hours that i can cross things off of my to-do list, and i'm becoming increasingly aware that these predictable 2 hours each day that i count on to either rest or get some work done are coming to a swift end in a matter of [6] weeks! the bloggy may be put on hold for awhile at that point :)

we've been busy continuing to settle into the new house- jon especially. we finished the girls' rooms [yippee!], and he painted the kitchen over the weekend- big projects! he plans to paint the dining room on friday before family arrives friday night [we're super excited for easter weekend! our neighborhood easter egg hunt was postponed from yesterday to next saturday, which means that our nephew will be in town! i can't wait for he and lucy to go egg hunting, meet the easter bunny and do some easter crafts with other kids in the neighborhood- such a fun time of year!]

lucy's been spending lots of time outdoors as temps have sprung up! we have a great park and a playground smack in the middle of our walking loop that she's gotten [almost too] brave on :)

we added a seating area on our deck, rather than a patio dining set, and we've been spending each warm evening out there. lucy and charlie love people and dog watching as our neighbors walk the trail that the house backs up to. it's definitely their location of choice!

lucy immediately found the kid chairs and started rearranging them to her liking :)

patio pizza party last friday night!

lucy's really into horses these days. if only you could hear her say "horse"- it melts my heart! & she has a pretty impressive "neigh" for an 18 month old, if i do say so myself :)

riding the wooden horse at meme's that was uncle matt's as a kid [AND she can now say "meme"! in the last week, lucy's added the "eee!" sound to her vocabulary, which has added really fun words- meme, minnie, and wheee! my speech therapist friends will be proud :)]

best way to get through a grocery store trip- the promise of lucky the horse at the end :)

saturday morning at meme's playing with my childhood dollhouse toys, so dad could paint and mom could get her hair done :)

thrilled to share pics of the girls' rooms! these have been quite the labor of love. 

lucy's purple princess room :)

my old pointe shoes on her ballet barre- they're hardly worn, as i actually hated ballet, but a nice sentiment nonetheless, eh? :)

and sister's pink palace :) 

quite a lucky gal to have allll of her big sister's hand-me-down wardrobe- and coordinating pink hangers :)

their bathroom!

sister's initial matches lu's- but their dad is adamant about not hanging it until she's here and we've shared the name. he lives for surprises, i tell ya.

and that's that! so much fun- so happy it's done!

sister 2 weeks ago playing footsie :)

happy easter week!

-ivy

7 to go...

i really can't believe we're due in less than 7 weeks. i remember how much i missed being pregnant a few months after lucy was born, so i'm working hard to enjoy this time- feeling her sweet kicks and rolls- rather than rushing to delivery day in my mind. lucy is on such a great schedule right now- she eats great, sleeps great, talks and sings constantly- she is so much fun! and i know how her world is going to be rocked in a matter of days, really. when i feel this anxiety, i remind myself of what a gift a sibling (especially a sister!) is. i can't imagine my world without my big sister, and i know lucy's baby sister will feel just the same about her own big sister. there's no one better to fill these shoes than my sweet (so so so sweet), feisty, bright-eyed lucy jane. 

baby day photography 

-ivy

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 :)