Simple iPhone photos of my precious babies! The boys are so into dressing themselves and doing their own hair. I love that. I want they to grow up and still enjoy it! My husband does and it makes me incredible happy! I hope their wives will love that about them. The girls, welllllllllllllll, when is it not a princessy-fashion-show day? Yes, I love that too.
Everything not mention is from Gap (All typically 40-65% off). Cruz: Nike Shoes (hand-me-downs from Jude), Jude: Pumas, Shirt (American Apparel), Ever: Scarf (my grandmother’s), Blouse (crewcuts by jcrew), Shorts (Target), Sweater (H&M) Zara: Shoes (Nordie’s), Shirt (H&M), Shorts (Stella McCartney for Gap)
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0000000000000 My friend Sharrah recently suggested that I do some sort of kids-clothing-shopping-thingy on my blog.
I loved the idea from the moment she said it, but I tend to post too many shopping thingys as it is, so I kinda put it off…until now! I’ve decided against posting individual posts about shopping, as this isn’t a shopping blog (I just have an obsession!) BUT in place of that, on my WTAWW post, I will just put my few of my new favorite items each week.
This week’s theme is Black&White (and the shades inbetween!)
I love Star Wars. I know, I know. Cruz is getting this and I’m sure Ever will wear it too.
I bought this onesie on clearance at Gap and LOVE it. Yeah, so what I have no baby for it. I’m putting it away for a gift or maybe just keeping it for a surprise baby that I imagine myself getting. Don’t hate, but I’d love this on a boy or girl.
Aggggaaahhh!! I love all of these on Zulily. They are for little little little babies, comfy, organic – everyday stuff with style. Love it. I want every single one of them.
…And last, but not least, I know I’ve posted this before, but I just adore this onesie for a little boy. I love love love Johnny Cash, so this would be a perfect was to pay tribute.
It was a long weekend. Long good, and just plain long… We maximized by not sleeping. I’m not kidding.
I’ll recap for you. Like the weekend, it’s going to be a long one.
Friday: Did school with Jude, Zara’s teacher came over to sign papers for school next year, and then, after dinner, I headed to visit my friend Andrea’s family. Andrea and I met in College, her brother was good friends with one of my good friends from home, so we ended up talking and hanging out. We meur husbands at college, got engaged, and then married 6 weeks apart. Now here we are 10 years later, still friends. Recently, Brent was diagnosed with a brain tumor, miraculously survived and very risky surgery and will be starting Chemo & Radiation on Wednesday. Please, please, please Pray for a complete healing for Brent! (Whether through the medical realm, or a miraculous healing from God!) While I visited, we took some pictures in their backyard – how cute are those boys?!
Ever, has charm in the clothing department. Check out the boots. Seriously, she wanted to wear those so bad, so I let her.
Saturday: I have no idea what we did. I can’t remember! Ahh hahaha! I know I bleached all the sinks, bath, shower, and cleaned the toilets. I don’t like bleach (although I love the smell of it, weird, I know), but everything was too stained and dirty looking, so I went ahead and got it all done at once.
Sunday: Mother’s Day, we went to church, then my husband got me a bunch of stuff. Yep, those are Sally Hansen Salon Effects, again. He also bought me the lace style! Can’t wait to try those next! Zara wanted to join the fun to so I let her have one of my sets…
And then he bought me two things for our room that I’ve been wanting for awhile: A chair and a stand (for next to the chair!) I am so excited to get them in the mail!!! And a reusable cup which has been awesome because I’ve already drank a TON more water, just in the first few days with it!
I got lots of sweet cards from my kids, and Daddy took us all out to a fancy dinner at In-n-Out (per my request).
I talked to Lindsay in the afternoon on Sunday, and asked her if she was in labor. Nope, nothing. I told her I’d been praying she’d go into labor because it was a good day for me to come down. She said, “I feel too good, I don’t think I’m going to go into labor anytime soon, maybe next week, or the next weekend.” I told her she still had 8 hours until the day was over…
And then, the weekend should have been over, and I should have gone to sleep on time… But I didn’t, and I stayed up until 2:00 am Monday morning….so I was completely wide awake when my sister called to tell me she thought she was in labor. (Thank you God!) So, I decided that labor or not, I was going to go down and see her. I told her, “If you aren’t in labor we’ll eat breakfast.” But, by the time I got there, it was obvious she was in labor and they were just waiting for my brother & Katie to get there to watch sleeping Ruby so they could head to the Birthing Center. I could see how much pain Linds was in (Never mind how energetic and excited Adam was! haha!) so I told them to go ahead, I’d wait for Zac & Kate, and then come after they got there. When she got there, Linds was already dilated to a 5, so she didn’t have long to wait…
…which meant we didn’t have to wait either! Amy, Katie, Me, Grandma & Grandpa, and Rara & Nana all made it in time, although, I’m not going to tell you we were all there the whole time. Rara was out for pretty much the whole thing. Quin’s first cry woke him from his slumber! So cute, huh?
Below: The only picture of me. Proof I was there.
I know there is no physical reward for going through birth naturally, so don’t get mad when I say this (just an opinion): There is nothing like a natural birth! Lindsay did SO incredible, she was perfect, and when Quin was born, the whole room was crying! It was beautiful and that kind of emotion is un-matched with anything else I’ve ever seen. (Hence the use of labor and childbirth as examples of emotion in the bible. Love that.) After that, Amy almost fainted, but it was a good kinda faint.
Quin Elizabeth – 7 pounds, 2 ounces – 18 1/2 inches – born at 7:07 am
We all left Adam & Linds at the birthing center by 8:00 am so they could have time to rest and relax with their new little love. Katie and I went to fetch breakfast for ourselves and Zac and then headed back to visit Ruby! Let me tell you, Ruby was so happy with me because I brought her a fruit cup. I’m all about bribery with her. I want to be sure that she really likes me, so I’ll go outta my way to make that happen. I also dressed her and had her wear some of “Ahhvee’s” shoes (her nickname for Ever) and that made her even more happy! After that, I couldn’t handle life anymore, so I laid down on the floor and fell asleep for 2 hours. (Don’t worry, Zac & Katie were watching Rube!) I hadn’t slept a wink the whole night, so it felt like the best two hours ever. I woke up when Linds & Adam got home. We all got to hold the baby and love on her for a few minutes before we left them to their new little life as a family of four.
After all that, I made it home not too long after lunch. My husband went back to work, I cleaned the house, it was fascinating, really, we are just so much fun. Haha! I am counting down the hours until I get back to see the girls now! Jude, Zara, Cruz & Ever have been talking about them nonstop since I got home. Zara is the most impressed, she’d like to keep Quin. We’re going to to try to do an official photo shoot sometime very soon so we can get Quin while she is smallest and so I can just see her again. I love having photography as a bribery for the older people in the family. Gives me the edge.
Joel and I had so many fun “vacations” separately before we got married. I visited Germany, Hungary, Austria, Wales, Mexico, Missouri, Oklahoma and spent a semester of college in England. Joel visited me in England during Spring break of that year and proposed to me – we were able to spend a week together and took a few day trips around the countryside. Joel grew up in Mexico, which obviously wasn’t a vacation, but he was able to travel to some of those fun vacation spots while he lived there. I can’t even name all the places he’s been because it’s absurd. He’s visited pretty much every state from Mexico to Penn. and from South Carolina to California in his travels back and forth with his parents, and to college, and back to visit his family. Since we’ve been married we’ve visited Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, & Mexico, along with a bunch of fun little spots in California. He’s also been involved in some work trips that took him to Costa Rica & Israel. Below is Costa Rica, but I’m going to upload the Isreal pictures to their own post sometime soon. They are so good, they deserve it!
Although I’ve enjoyed a lot of the places I’ve traveled to, I pretty much got that “travel itch” out of my system before we got married. And except for England, which I love and adore with my whole heart, I wasn’t sold on living anywhere except California – mainly for one reason: The weather. Yes, I love the weather here in California! Germany would be my 3rd choice of location, I loved so many things about Germany also.
Since we’ve had kids, our current favorite family vacations are all in California: Mammoth, Santa Barbara, Palm Springs & Disneyland.
Mammoth: My family went to mammoth every year while we were growing up. When Jude was little, we were able to all go as a family and Joel LOVED it. It is so peaceful, and the scenery is rustic & charming. We didn’t make it into Yosemite that trip, but that is definitely on our list of “to do” for a future vaca…as soon as Zara doesn’t get carsick anymore!
SSSSSSS Santa Barbara: Another one I grew up going to. Joel and I have been several times, and we always enjoy the relaxed beachy feel along with the fun shopping & dining!
Palm Springs: I love love love Palm Springs! Being a desert, the summer isn’t the best time to go, but the cooler seasons are incredible!
Disneyland: I think Disneyworld might have more “glitz”, but Disneyland definitely holds the charm. The whole experience is enchanting, cozy & lovable. Joel was a total skeptic about Disneyland (he’d never been until last year!) but after one trip he was sold. We bought passes for the kids birthday & christmas gifts and every time we go is like a little mini vacation!
In honor of Mother’s Day, I’m posting all the wonderful fun things that made being a mom easier for me. 4 babies in 4 1/2 years requires some products that will stand up to a beating handle all the lovin’. And BTW: Happy Mother’s Day to all the mommies who are reading this! Here we go…
I’m sort of a minimalist with products. I love having less and buying better. I also love loving the items I buy….but you already knew all that. So, of course, when it comes to baby & kid stuff, I don’t just buy all the “trends” in junk products, however helpful they might be. We have never had space for extra things like, Baby Swing, Bumbo, jumpers, exercise saucer…and so far, my kids have developed just fine…for the most part. Just kidding, just kidding! (I’m not against any of the above items, by the way, I just don’t care to have them in my way!)
I did, however, find a few items to be essential. We are “on the go” a lot, and there are some things that have made life with 4 kids, much more convenient.
Little Giraffe Blankets. I have this thing, for making my kids attach to a blanket, so that they have a good “comfort” they can keep with them! My mom gave each of their kids their special blankies, and the Little Giraffe is our favorite brand. The colors are super sweet, and they are incredible soft. They even make them in adult sized…I am so tempted.
Bouncer seat. I had one given to me as a gift for Jude and it lasted through all the kids, but it was hideous. Bright blue, really ugly, and so hard to clean. It was trashed by the time Evs was born. We would always put blankets over it. Anyway, totally off the trail of the most important fact: I couldn’t have lived without my bouncer! It really was my favorite baby item for when they are really small, and all of my kids loved it! If I could have a do over, I would get this pretty piece in place of the blue beast. It’s art & baby love in one. I would probably take it with me everywhere just to optimize my use of it. (and yes, you’d have to to justify the price!)
Seventh Generation Diapers. I tried cloth and hated it. And hate isn’t even a strong enough word. We are on the go way too much to deal with cloth. I couldn’t do it. Literally couldn’t. (Hence potty training between 12-18 months, it was a must!) I have really really really liked Seventh Generation Diapers though! My kids would get rashes from other types of diapers, but never with SG. I always get mine from Amazon because the price is much cheaper then the stores and they a delivered to my door. Love that.
The Boppy. Seriously, the love I have for Boppy is un-holy. The Boppy literally saved my body from a whole lot of hurting, and it was such a great way to lay the baby down where they could be cozy, help them sit up, lay on the tummy when it hurt – you name it. I had a cover on mine to make washing easier, and that is definitely what I would suggest, especially if you have a spitter! (Covers for Boppy need some help. Someone want to make me an Ikat cover?)
Born Free Bottles. I tried a ton of different bottles, and there were some others that I liked, but this one was the one I loved! Mainly because my babies loved it more then others, and the whole air flow/suction system on these is so much better. Cruz was the only baby I did any formula with, and he did great with these, even when he was a full time formula baby. (He nursed until 5 1//2 months, then switched to a bottle.)
Nalgene Kids Cups. I’m not personally a Nalgene fan, but these kids cups were irresistible, and doubly so after I read the reviews on them! They have four colors, all fun and cute:
Moby Wrap Carrier. I know it’s just a big wad of fabric, and it takes awhile to get use to the “wrap” part, but it really helps when the babies are small! I also had an Ergo, which my husband liked better than me, and I would also recommend it! (I think I have to small of a build for the Ergo, it was always too big, even on the smallest settings.) The ergo is quicker to get on, so it works better for certain situations like trips that require you to get in and out of the car several times. The Moby is for mall shopping, doing dishes and laundry, and wearing-that-colic-baby-all-day-long sorta stuff. If possible, I think it’s a great idea to have both!
Convertible Diaper Bag. A bag that will work both as a purse, and diaper bag, that is easy to clean, looks cute AND works on my stroller. Unfortunately, that’s too much to ask of most diaper bags. I searched high and low and ended up just buying a nice really big Leather purse that worked great! Recently some companies have come out with a few winners! I adore this Timi & Leslie bag. The features are great for on the go people like me, and it comes with all sorts of accessories that are super cute!
Mini-Pack & Play By Graco. Because we go a lot of places, it was nice to have a safe place to set them down to play, sleep, and even just to contain them (at the beach, away from the sand!) I think a mini is the way to go because it works great up until about 18 months, at which point, my children were little adults and we didn’t need it anymore. (Don’t hate this from the pictures, it is darling in real life! I never used the canopy.)
Strollers. (The thorn in my flesh) I have had so many strollers! First, 8 years ago, there was a regular Graco Travel System, which was fine, but oh-so-bulky. So, of course, I needed an umbrella stroller too for lighter use. Enter: full trunk. Enter: Second child. Exit: single stroller & umbrella stroller. Enter: Double stroller. Why are double strollers so ugly? We chose a plain black Graco Double. Seriously, at the time, it was the best on the market, and it wasn’t too expensive either. But, it was just so long and bulky that I needed something else too. So, I ended up with the first Graco Mosaic (it was black) and we loved it. Enter: babies #3 & #4. We still have both the double and the mosaic after all these years, and while bulky and not-so-hot they worked really well. Well enough, that even when we purchase newer and better strollers, they were still better and we promptly returned the other strollers. I’ve been looking again at strollers for a few months now, and I finally think someone got it right with a genius Single/Double adjustable stroller. Why did this not exist before? Can i have one in every color? I love the plum & red too!
And seriously, that is all I’ve had for babies/kids that I really felt like I “needed”, oh, I forgot to mention the infamous Medela Pump. Love this simple one, even when I was pumping everyday it was my favorite!.
…and, of course, there are the fun thinks like clothes…Went shopping with Zara just today and scored that sweater for $6, a pair of jeans for her for winter for $7 and a few other things for the same style of deal! Holding her had while we shop, the conversations, the “snack” we always have on our dates is just too much wonderful. I’m living a fairy tale.
It’s Friday (again) I love that. I am so so so excited to be able to go visit my friend Andrea, and also her husband and two boys, Micah & Jaiden. We haven’t been able to visit or talk much since Brent was diagnosed with cancer (tumor in the brain) and since he will be starting up treatments this coming Wednesday, I’m also going to take some photos of the boys and him together. Pray for them!!! Brent’s surgery was just a few weeks ago, and it was amazing to hear that at his follow up appointment this week the Doctor said Brent shouldn’t be alive based on how bad things were, and that there must have been a “higher power” guiding the Doctors….of course, we knew that already, but isn’t that cool that the Doctors were saying that?! So, like I said, pray for them, all of them: Brent, Andrea, Jaiden & Micah. I’ll try to get some photos up of them when I can! This post cracks me up. Look at that little chubby face on Cruz! Seriously, this was his only “chunky” stage, and I love ever picture taken during it! 2008….
This is just crazy to look back at the years (digitally). We have accomplished so much!!! Four kids is a great feat that is incomparable to anything else I have done with my life. It’s also, luckily, something I don’t think you could ever possibly regret!! For all the things I wanted to waste my life on, I’m so thankful the Lord didn’t let me – AND to top it off I got these little guys! What more could a girl ask for????
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by Ashley of Lovelock