Olivia Grace {weeks 9-12}

Liv is developing such a sweet personality! She sits in her bumbo now and loves to "hold" her toys. Hannah likes to shake the rattles for her and tell her all the colors in her favorite catapillar rings. Liv can even get some of the rings into her mouth when she wants!

Still such a good little eater! She's eating every two hours during the day and can go up to 5 hours at night! We are loving the great sleeper she's become! Sometimes we think shes sleep better than Hannah. She rolled from front to back a few times this week... once in front of the Dr at her checkup...show-off!

She's smiling and talking all the time now...especially when Mama's got her! She's going through an "only Mama can hold me please" phase. I can't say I really mind... I'm so in love with this sweet baby! I make Bri give her the yucky Zantac for her reflux... she hates it and cries, which breaks Mama's heart.

At 12 weeks, she's almost 12lbs! We are loving those yummy rolls. She's such a Mama's girl... making such sad and dramatic faces when anyone tries to hold her. The minute I take her back, she stops. I'm secretly loving this. We're so enjoying this time with our girl! She's growing and changing and I'm not sad about it... I'm just excited for all the fun to come!

A Delicious {Smoothie} Recipe!

Need a new smoothie recipe? This one is seriously the best I've ever had! I got it from the Lovely Tiffany Ruda on IG a few weeks ago, and modified it for a single serving. It's now my go-to for lunch time! So good that little Miss Hannah asked for a taste yesterday and now I'm pretty sure I'll never enjoy a whole one again... "I like it alot Mommy!" It has cold coffee concentrate in it, which you can buy at Trader Joe's now or make your own, but I highly suggest buying some of Tiffany's YummyRudebegga's HERE. Also... you will need one of THESE adorable mason jar tumblers!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup cold coffee concentrate
1 heaping tbsp cocoa powder
1 heaping tbsp peanut butter
1/4 cup granola {any kind}
1 frozen banana
1/4 cup ice

Blend well and Enjoy!

Mug Swap 2013!

This was my first time joining all the fun over at Kim's annual mug swap! You can read all about it HERE. Such a wonderful idea and something that fits so well within my love-language of simple gifts. It's much more fun to give than receive in my book, and I LOVED carefully choosing a sweet little mug and gift to brighten my partner's day and hopefully be a blessing to them! The benefit of this swap is that I recieved a lovely gift as well!

My assignment was Miss Amy over at Grey Ceiling. She is such a beautiful writer and I love how she describes herself in her blog... someone I would just LOVE to be friends with in "real life" as well as online. She's genuine--something I most admire in a friend! Her faith in God is so evident and so very encouraging. I chose an adorable owl mug from my favorite place, Anthropologie. I also wanted to add THIS amazing print by one of my very favorite's, Lesley. Of course, I had to add a little bunting--since I'm obsessed and love to whip it up! I packaged it all up, put some washi tape on the box, and off went the happy mail to the blessed USPS!

After stalking my mailbox for days, I was so very excited to see my brightly colored package in the mailbox one afternoon. This Mama was having a rough day too, so a little happy mail was just what I needed! I opened up the box to find a pretty HAND-painted mug by Miss Elizabeth, and a sweet card too. Her lovely shop is HERE, and is full of adorable goodies!

Thank you Miss Kim for hosting such a fun swap! I'm linking up!

 

Insta-Friday!

Yeah... apparently no blogging happened in between last friday and this one. I think the summer heat is making this Mama feel tired.. that and the fact that we took two littles on a road trip to the lake last weekend and have been trying to recover ever since. We've been sleeping and enjoying the blessed air conditioning. Here's a peek at our week via Instagram...

She decided it would be fun to stay up until almost midnight

talking to her Auntie. She didn't even make it to the boat the

next day before passing out.

 

Liv and her Auntie cuddling.

 

 

Happy girl on the boat! She wasn't into the water too much,

but riding the boat was fun! It lasted a few hours then she

melted down because she wanted the jacket OFF!

 

She's been reading to Sissy, teaching her numbers, letters,

and colors! It's precious and keeps both kiddos happy!

 

Seriously so in love with this squishy girl!

 

Pumpkin Spice is HERE!!! Unfourtunately it was 102 today

so I had mine iced thankyouverymuch!

 

Have a wonderful weekend y'all!

 

Insta-Friday!

Happy Friday! This Mama is so. stinkin. excited. to be heading to the lake with my family! I can't wait to see how Miss Hannah does out on the boat/water this year! Please pray for a smooth drive down with two littles? Thanks friends! Here's a peek at our week...

Some much needed rest and peace after long nights.

 

Sweet baby slept off her shots and was a happy girl again!

 

She had been singing "Jesus Loves Me" all morning... precious.

 

It's been a while since this happened.

She had been sick and refusing sleep for a week.

Spending the day at Gramma and Papa's will do this to a girl.

Big girl sitting in her Bumbo! Please don't grow up so fast Liv!

 

#mugswap2013 gifts heading out to a special someone!

So excited to check my mail each week and find mine!

 

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

A Little Link Love...

In the beautiful and crazy chaos of Mama-hood, I've been deeply encouraged by several bloggers. These woman have touched on things I'm currently waist deep in and I'm so happy I stumbled upon their meaningful words. I thought I'd share the love...

To Moms of One or Two Children...

{On why it gets easier after two kiddos}

Multiplied, not divided...
{On getting to know baby number 2}

Some thoughts for new Mamas...
{On trusting your own intuition}

Easier by the Dozen...
{On why 1+1 is tough}

Because sometimes bedtime takes forever...
{On why it should}

 

A Special Date with My Girl {Monsters University}

My sweet girl LOVES Monsters Inc... She has watched it a hundred times and still squeals with excitement when we pop it in the blu-ray player. "Boo! Sully! Mike Owskiii!" She yells. She recently took a birthday trip with her Auntie Naenae to Build-a-Bear and as girly as she is, I expected a pink and purple, sparkly, princess bear. She came home with a Teddy in a Monsters U t-shirt and a Mike Wazowski stuffed friend. She carries them around everywhere.

I wanted to take her on a special date, just for her, after Liv was born. She had been so good with Sissy getting so much attention, and this Mama was missing the one on one with her as well. When Monsters University came out this summer...I knew it was time for her very first movie theater experience! Daddy happily agreed to stay with Liv so we could have our date. I packed up some of Hannah's favorites (gummies, strawberry milk, and Joe's O's), she grabbed her new Owskiii and off we went...

We met my dear friend Lindsey and snapped a few pictures before heading in. I was worried about it being so dark, but she didn't seem scared at all! At only 2yrs old this girl sat through the previews, Disney short film, and the WHOLE movie and never got off my lap! (She was way too tiny for the theater seats.) Lindsey and I kept laughing because she was so engrossed in the movie that she'd yell "Oh No!" when Mike or Sully were in trouble, or "Woo Hoo!" when something good happened. So. Stinkin. Adorable. 

 

The movie was super cute and I really enjoyed getting to do something new and special with my girl. It was long past nap time when we left, and I was so proud of Hannah for not having a toddler sized meltdown. I'm not sure we made it out of the parking lot before she passed out...love that about her. 

 

This age comes with lots of changes and challenges... Some days I feel very tired from redirecting, timeouts, and teaching. The days like this one though, outweigh all of that. It's a privilege to raise this sweet girl...the memories we make, the hilarious things she says, and the ornery bits too. I'm so incredibly in love with this child.