Olivia Grace {weeks 37-40}

Olivia Grace... what a fun month with our littlest princess this has been! She is getting so big and developing such an adorable personality. A feisty little thing who lets you know what she wants, when she wants it... that's our Liv! At 37 weeks, she learned to clap while Hannah and I were singing "Happy and you know it" ... and does it ALL the time now. It's the cutest thing ever. Hannah will tell her "Good job Sissy!" when she does a new task and then Liv smiles a HUGE grin and claps for herself. She also got her very first tooth this month... a tiny bottom one. She was extra cuddly and needed Mama a lot, but it wasn't too bad. She's pulling up on all the furniture, and loves to be standing all the time!

At 38 weeks, our sweet girl is moving ALL THE TIME! She seemed to have lost a bit of chub in those cheeks too, since she NEVER stops moving! She fell off the bed... just like Hannah, but it was more of a slip-off-the-bed this time. I still felt horrible... we're two for two on that. Liv is so very cuddly lately... I absolutely LOVE that if she's got blanky, soothie, and Mama, she'll snuggle for long periods of time. She slept EIGHT hours straight this week... I couldn't believe it! She's done it again, and another 7hr stretch since then. Considering Hannah didn't do that until she was 13mo old, I am one HAPPY Mama. We think it's because she plays so hard and eats so much during the day... girlfriend definitely snuck some chocolate chip cookie and LOVED it. That's my baby!

Liv's blanky has become a crucial item lately... it's what calms her down when she's cranky, sleepy, or out and about. At 39 weeks, she cut tooth #2... the other bottom one. She was pretty upset and needed lots of nursing & chewing on everything. She's been crashing into everything this week, since she ALWAYS has to be pulling up! I'd worry more, but she rarely cries about it. We had such amazing weather this week though, and the sunshine sure seemed to help her! Olivia LOVES to be outside! She sits on a picnic blanket while Hannah runs around and just watches contently. We also had a few epic car rides lately... I'm praying she learns to like her carseat SOON! 

Liv has been playing more and more with Hannah lately and it is precious! They play legos together, picnic, puzzles, and even sit and look at books! She says "Mama, Dada, Nana (Hannah), and Gah (Gramma). She'll yell for Mama when I leave her sight and has been doing the same for Hannah too! She eats EVERYTHING lately... anything Hannah has (cereal, french fries, pancakes) plus her fruits and veggies too! She can wave "bye bye" by opening and closing her hands & she started pointing to people/things that she wants this week. I can NOT believe that 40 weeks have gone by with her! Brian and I feel like she was just a teeny little peanut yesterday, but at the same time, feel like she's always been a part of our family and couldn't imagine life without her. She may be loud, and is keeping us on our toes, but we are so in love with this girl! 

Hannah's photo project HERE.

Making our house a HOME {The Dining Room}

I've been wanting to show y'all the work that Brian and I have very slowly been doing to make our house a home. We've been here two years this May, and we're finally checking a few items off our to-do list! We'll start with the dining room...

If I invited y'all over for a cup of coffee (or a latte), this is the first thing you would see when I open the door and you step foot in our home. We live in a "reverse ranch" which means that the main floor is as high as it goes. Our dining room is just to the left as you come in the door. Beyond that, and to the right, is the kitchen, living room, and the little hallway you see in the picture above, leads to the garage and the basement. 

I LOVE that everything in this room has a special meaning/memory for me. The gorgeous hutch, and old school desk were given to us by a very special family that lead our church home group when Brian and I had just moved back from California and Miss Hannah was a baby. They made us feel so welcome, encouraged, and were very generous to us. I filled the hutch with dishes that are constantly being swapped out as I use them. The bottom half is used to store my scrapbooks/photo albums on one side, and Hannah's art supplies on the other. The wall hangings were collected over our first 4 years of marriage. I cross-stitched the embroidery hoop, and the print is from Little Light Prints (LOVE her work, and have several more prints throughout our home.)

The GORGEOUS farmhouse table was built by my wonderful husband, after I showed him pictures and ideas of what I wanted. The vintage doilies are from my Grandma, and although I have every intention of actually stitching them together at some point, they are currently just arranged that way and get fixed on a daily basis. I also collect antique blue Ball jars... so you'll see more of them throughout my home!

I am sad to admit, after MUCH searching and searching for a vintage/industrial light, I succumbed to buying our chandelier at Pottery Barn. I'm well aware of how overpriced they are, but this particular fixture was PERFECT. It was just what I wanted and it was actually pretty affordable. The light is on a dimmer switch, and I love the warmth it gives the room when the sun goes down. 

The rugs and chairs are also Pottery Barn, but were bought during a CLEARANCE sale that was way too good to pass up. There are actually two 5x8 rugs laid next to each other, which saved us a TON of money on an 8x10 area rug. I also planned on stitching the rugs together, but that's one of those things that happens when you have two littles running around. 

The cute little distressed bench was a great find at an antique show with my Mama. The moment I saw it, I knew just where it needed to go! I love the big windows in this house... all that natural light makes me so happy! I also love that the window are low enough that Miss Hannah can peek out them and watch birds play, and snow fall. 

The antique church pew is actually from an old church down the road in the small town we live in. It was converted into a delicatessan when I was in elementary school, just a block away. My Mama worked there for a while and she brought it home when the Deli closed. It now lives in our dining room, and I love that it has such a rich history! 

Here's a much better look at that farmhouse table! Brian used 2in steel piping, primed and painted a textured black. For the top, he used 2x12 pine boards, that he distressed, stained and clear-coated. I'm so in love with that table, and we get lots of compliments on it whenever guests are over. 

I'll post the rest of the rooms we've finished as I get some time!