On Vacation: Part one

Sorry for being MIA for over a week now, we've been travelin' fools over here. Last week the little and I flew home to the Pacific Northwest, Seattle, and enjoyed a long week visiting family and friends. I love going home, I truly miss living in the Seattle area, even though I know we love Boise, i'm always torn, especially when I visit, it's tough not to want to stay. We had so many fun things planned this trip, and to start us off I've posted a ton of pictures from a road trip we took to a friends wedding. Saturday morning we packed up my mom's car and headed to Vancouver, Washington. 

It was a long drive, I got kinda bored and took a couple selfies :)

After 2 hours of traffic through Tacoma and Fort Lewis, we pulled into an adorable little town, Dupont, for some leg stretching and naked time. Stella had a massive poo, so she got to air out for awhile and let the buns get some sun, while mom and I tried to set her GPS to figure out where the heck in Vancouver we were going. 

We made it to the church with a half hour to spare... whew!! Neither of us expected traffic to be so bad, so we were happy to just be out of the car after such a long drive. We changed in the parking lot... yup, we were those guests lol. But at least we had dresses to change out of our jeans into. It worked out well, Stella got some more naked time before the wedding, then she slipped into her adorable little dress and headband, isn't she cute!?! She also got a new toy to play with during the ceremony, which only kept her entertained for about 10 minutes before she was chucking the thing into the aisle, where it would land with a huge thump and rattle... great. So I wore her in the sling, and danced around the back of the chapel for most of the ceremony. Stella really was pretty awesome throughout the whole thing, much better than her first wedding earlier this summer. She loved watching all the people up on stage, and loved when they had music and people singing, that got her attention with the first notes of the piano. 

After the ceremony, the bride and groom, Laura and Andrew, rode off in this awesome Plymouth! It was such a beautiful car! I just had to snap a few pictures to show my dad and Brent. 

My sister (the blond) was one of the co-maid's of honor. Laura and her have pretty much been best friends since high school, where they were co-yearbook editors for 2 years. And their yearbook teacher? She came to the wedding too! Her and her husband flew all the way up from Arizona to attend Laura's big day, that's Ms. B below Pammy and Laura. She was actually my yearbook instructor in middle school, almost 15 years ago! She said that she will be back for Pam's wedding when it happens and she wouldn't miss it for the world. 

Stell was quite the grump during the reception. She would not smile for anyone... well, except for Ms. B's (or now Mrs. Rodriguez) husband, Freddie, he seemed smitten with Stella, and she reciprocated that affection right back. It was pretty cute, I think she thought he looked like her daddy, because they both had facial hair... she has a thing for men with facial hair... it's pretty cute.

miss grumpy pants hangin out with grandma

and gettin some snuggles from Auntie

See, still grumpy

not even kisses will cheer her up

Stell finally told auntie off a little, lol, which shocked all of us a lot.

finally a happy girl with her mama

and no, my hair did not look like this the whole time, it was cute and down with a slight curl, but it was super humid and hot, so up it went when we got to the reception and Stella started pulling it.

awww, smooshy face kisses from the little, a mama's favorite

I love me some little snuggles

We had a great time celebrating Laura and Andrew's wedding, and I'm so thankful I was able to make it over for the event! Cheers to them and many years of love and happiness to the newlyweds!!!

Living room makeover

I've been trying to post these pictures for a few weeks now (ok, for almost a month...) but with many visitors, and a baby who is kinda a not great napper right now, it's been tough to get pictures with the living room clean, let alone in decent light... which i'm still not sure I captured. While my mom was here at the beginning of the month, we decided that my living room needed a little sprucing up. I've been tired of the red theme for some time now, and was thrilled when she suggested we tackle this big project! The new color theme?? Blue! I wanted something calming and beautiful, and I'm so happy with how it turned out! So, after looking through some recent Pinterest pins of things that had caught my eye, we got to work, and, I'm beyond happy with how things turned out! Even Brent likes it, Thankfully. He was out of town while we did all this, and it was a total surprise. I'm so thankful my hubby is ok with things I do to our home, he knows when I get a creative itch, it's hard not to scratch it, and that's just one of the many amazing things I love about him. So, want to see our new living room?? I'm sure you're dying to know how it turned out, It's pretty awesome. 

The Ottomans came from TJ Maxx Home Goods... probably my most favorite store, ever. 

The whole living room, well almost, minus the large sofa along the front wall, but you get the idea

Abby enjoying the new pillows, curtosy of TJ Maxx and Fred Meyers (floral print)

We added a few new "home" photos, prints that I've collected of Washington over the years from Pike's Place, they help us miss it a little less in some ways. We also bought new end tables (which I LOVE!) to help us be a bit more organized. and see the new lamps? Those were our color inspiration, the perfect shade of blue.

Pillows

Our new lamps, from Lowes. They are so perfect!

So, what do you think? I'm wanting to add a few lemon yellow accent pieces, but its really hard to find the right color for some reason. As always, the house is a work in progress, never ending, but so much fun to work on. 

a few of our favorite (and necessary) things

I've been wanting to share the things that are our saving grace with Stella these days, things that keep her entertained, things that keep her engaged, things that make her happy, things that make our lives a little simpler. We have our go to items, the ones that never get left at home, always make it in the diaper bag, or in the carset with Stella, the ones that i'll even tuck inside the wrap with the little while were are the grocery store. I know every baby is different, but I do think that most enjoy similar simple toys at this age, things that make noise, feel good in their hands and mouth, and keep them entertained for more than 3 minutes. 

So, in no particular order, Stella's favorite things:

Indestructibles - books that were built for babies.

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These books are AWESOME! Stella is totally in the destruction stage... chewing, tearing, pulling, ripping, kicking... she is pretty much into everything right now. The other day at Starbucks, she grabbed a handful of straws and knocked over a stack of bubble lids... in one fell swoop. She totally destroyed one of Brent's work documents just a few minutes ago, it's now covered in baby drool, ripped into pieces, and crumpled into an unrecognizable blob. I found these books at one of our local downtown book shops, The Rediscovered Bookshop , and from the moment Stella had them in her grasp, they have not been let out of her sight without a fuss. She loves them! The cool part? These can be crumpled, chewed, pulled, dunked in water, washed in the washing machine, run over, etc. and wont be damaged.... The only thing that really ruins them? The microwave... which I don't know about you, but I don't normally microwave my books ;)

Sophie

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Sophie the Giraffe has been around for 50 years (as of 2011! Happy 50th Sophie!) and thank goodness she's still one of the best teething toys around! Stella loves her Sophie, she goes everywhere with us, and is always the first toy I go to if Stell is fussy. 

Rich Frog Duck Crinkler

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This little duck is another one of the little's favorites. She'll twist, pull, chew and overall try to destroy this little crinkly duck in everyway she possibly can, and it has held up over the last month just perfectly. She loves the crinkly noise, and that she can chew, and I love that it is soft, entertaining, and fits perfectly in her little hands. 

Homemedics sound spa lullaby 

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This sound machine has been our nighttime saving grace since Stella was born. It was a gift from a family friend, and we honestly use it almost EVERY night, I love it, Brent loves it, and Stella for sure loves it. It helps block our the street noise, or neighbor noise, or any other noises that the night brings. The light show is great for getting Stella calmed down and relaxed for naps or bedtime, we turn it on while were reading books if she's not really into the book, it's a good distraction but keeps her calm. The projector part tilts, so it can be shown on the ceiling above the crib, or on the wall at any height. I love the rain setting, it reminds me of the sound I grew up with in Seattle, the constant rain drizzle hitting the roof, hitting the patio outside my window, it's a very comforting and soothing sound, both Brent and I love it. 

Didymos wrap

I realize you cant see the whole wrap, but check out their website to see more beautiful patterns and wraps

Stella loves being worn. I've worn her since the first day we brought her home.... we'll, my sister actually wore her in the Moby that first week while my milk came in, it was just too painful to have her snuggled tightly against my chest. But, she's been worn almost every day of her life. I wear her around the house, on walks, at the grocery store, to the market, to parks, pretty much anywhere. Only recently has she been in the stroller, which I think she enjoys for short walks and when it's really hot out. Otherwise, she's being worn. We now use a Didymos wrap, which I borrowed from a babywearing friend, and have decided to purchase from her, I love it because it's so much more sturdy and breathable than the Moby. I can no longer wear her in the stretchy Moby wrap, they are not safe for babies to wear over 15 or 16 lbs, they just sag and get super loose. Woven wraps don't do that, they only have a slight stretch, which is perfect for small adjustments and for the baby to be able to move and wiggle a little, but they wont sag or need to be adjusted, even if you're going hiking or will be wearing the baby for a long time. I also prefer these to the more structured carriers that are advertised so much, such as the bjorn or infantino, which are not safe baby carriers at all, and can cause injury to babies when worn too long or improperly (i.e. facing outward). I love seeing moms and dads wearing their little ones, but please research before you buy, try on carriers, and look a little more deeply into good carriers vs. the inexpensive and not so great ones. I've been thinking of asking a good babywearing friend if she would be interested in writing up a blog post on the different types of carriers and carry's, so keep an eye out for that sometime in the future. 

Raw Baltic Amber Teething Necklace

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We ordered this exact Baltic Amber necklace a few months ago for the little and I am SO thankful we did. Not only is it absolutely beautiful, but Stella is a different baby with it on. She was getting to the point where her hands were always in her mouth, crying in pain constantly, nursing non-stop, and had some major rashes going on down there from all the acid building up in her body from the developing teeth. This necklace took about 3 weeks to arrive from Latvia (my first piece of international mail!) and was hand made to order just for Stella's little neck. Baltic Amber is a natural healing analgesic, it has natural anti inflammatory and pain relieving properties that the skin absorbs from the amber beads which help with teething. So far? It's perfect. Stella is super happy almost all the time, and hardly seems to have any pain from teething anymore. She wears it 24/7, and the days we do take it off? the rash returns, and her pain seems to come back, so we just keep it on to keep the pain away and keep the little happy. Stella also has a Healing Hazelwood necklace, which helps pull the acid out of her body and into the wood and also is a huge help with teething. We put that on her when her rash flares up, and in a day it's usually under control. 

Well, these are just a few of the things we cant seem to live without these days. Do you have your favorite, go-to items, the ones you never dare leave the house without, the ones that are babies tried and true happy time things? I'd love to hear what they are, and what you can't live without. 

5 months and growing!

Stella Jean,

You are 5 months old today baby girl!! It is still hard for me to fathom how quickly you are growing up! You are becoming quite the little girl, actually looking more like a little person, than a baby. You are rolling over a ton! We always seem to miss it, we'll put you down to play, turn around to get something and you'll be on your belly from your back, or back from your tummy... I have yet to get video of you rolling over, but I will soon, I promise. One day last week we were snuggling in bed in the early morning hours, and you thought it was hilarious to roll towards me repeatedly, when I flipped you back to your spot, you giggled and rolled again, repeating this fun game probably 15 times before I decided to get us up out of bed to start our day. Then of course you didn't roll over at all for a few days... it's just how you roll, pun intended ;) You are such an active little baby! You are into everything, reaching for anything you want, even people! You enjoy pulling the sunglasses off my face, picking up toys off the floor when we lower you to grab them, using your feet to push and hands to pull to get something just out of reach, sitting up from laying down. You are not quite fully sitting up on your own, but it'll happen any day I bet, you sit up with just a little support in the bath tub, you love to grab the faucet while water is coming out and are fascinated be everything around you. 

You are sleeping SO MUCH BETTER!!! I worked really hard while daddy was away last week for 10 days to get you to sleep on your own, especially for naps! You now go down for 3 full naps a day, sometimes it's only a half hour nap, but most days you'll sleep for a full hour to an hour and a half! Night time sleep is doing much better also. Thankfully you now go to bed at about 9:45pm, much better than the 11:30 bedtime you kept just a few weeks ago. You'll sleep for an hour or so and wake up to nurse, then go right back to sleep for a few more hours, it's wonderful! You're still nursing once or twice at night, which is just fine with me, as long as you go right back to sleep, which does not always happen. 

You and your daddy have developed quite the special relationship this past month. You LOVE your playtime with him. Some of your favorite things to do is throw the toy with Abby, play airplane in the air, read hunting magazines and rip out the paper, its all pretty adorable to watch. I love the way your face lights up when you see him, and the way his lights up when he gets smiles from you, you two are going to be inseparable one day. 

Now to share a couple of my favorite photos from today's 5 month shoot, which was actually on time this month!!! YAY me! :) 

Happy 5 Months baby girl!!!


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Snapshots of our week

So I'm thinking of starting up a new weekend post/photo dump with randoms that happen throughout the week, nothing fancy, just extras that I don't get to blog about throughout the week normally. I find myself with a ton of pictures left at the end of the week, photos from a day spent out back, at the park, cute snuggles with daddy, or even sometimes mommy if I'm lucky. We'll see how this goes, I'm not sure I can keep up a weekend post every weekend...but i'll sure try :)

Now I fully understand the term "sleeping like a baby", She's so cute.

Having fun hanging out side with daddy

and a couple attempts at family photos that didn't turn out so well...

Happy Weekend!

Night Walks to the canal

With the temperature in the low to mid 90's outside now, walks have become more important to us than ever. We usually have to wait until the late evening to head out, and Stella is always draped with a gauzy blanket until out of the sun, otherwise it's a blinding 5 minute walk to the canal for her. But once were down there it's wonderful. Abby loves to swim, it runs in the family I guess, and she's an awesome jumper, with some pretty impressive splashes and retrieves. We have so much fun on our short walks, I really hope one day soon we'll be able to resume the entire 'loop', which is just over 2 miles down the hill, and around the canal back up the hill to our house. I did the loop often during my pregnancy, and walked it every day the week before Stella's arrival, trying to help things get moving. I love the walk, but there is zero shade, no trees, all sun, so it's tough to be out that long in the direct heat, especially for Stella. I think we'll stick to our short evening trips for now. 

mommy checking in on Stell

They were having a 'moment', I love when she looks at him like that.

Just a girl and her dog. This is bound to be one strong companionship between these two, it's love already.

Abby waiting patiently to be allowed into the canal, we make her sit until were close enough to see the water, then she goes charging in, she loves it. 

I love the lighting in this picture, how you can see the sunbeams, I never get this lucky with lighting :)

And now for an awesome sequence of Abby jumping into the water, it's rare that I actually get the launch off the side and the entrance into the water, this is pretty neat (I think) :)

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