Losing

Magic City

We have been going nonstop since last September when we announced our move. Aside from the personal things keeping us busy, Daniel has been crazy busy at work and was ready to take some time off. I wanted to take a trip specifically during the school year because this is our last chance- Will starts Kindergarten this year (!) so everything will revolve around his breaks from here on out. We discussed many places and in the end chose Birmingham because it's close and we wouldn't have to spend a ton of money.
We knew any of our friends would be happy to put us up if we asked, but chose to stay in a hotel so we could surprise some folks and have a pool. We arrived in Magic City Saturday evening and went to church Sunday morning where everyone was surprised indeed. And you will be surprised to learn that it was Daniel who initiated this, not me. :) We were disappointed that Buddy, our pastor, was on a mission trip. I was really looking forward to his sermon. But we still heard a great, gospel-filled, truthful message. Daniel went to a guy's bible study, I went to dinner with some girls, Will got to swim, and we acted like tourists. It was really fun to just explore the city and relax as a family without commitments to attend to.

We visited the Vulcan- Daniel never went to the museum or in the tower- the zoo, botanical gardens and McWane Science Center. We ate at several of our favorite local eateries and walked our old stomping grounds-- where we always went shopping and even stopped in at Yogurt Mountain. We didn't have time to run by the house, but were uncertain about doing that anyway. I would've loved to meet up with some other friends and visit Hand in Hand where Maggie went for therapy, but time didn't allow to fit everything in.

I interchangeably used "home" to refer both to B'ham and our new home in Nashville. It's a strange feeling. But as we left, I told myself this was no longer home. And I think the trip helped me close that chapter of our lives. Don't get me wrong, I'm not miserable here in Nashville, but certainly have a lot of attachment to Birmingham. The place where we started. It will always be our first home as a married couple and family. I think even missing Buddy was God telling me it's no longer home, He's provided us with a new one. We enjoyed visiting our previous home, maybe we'll go back again one day.

Baby Jake- 7 months & Nursery Reveal

Wait, what? Uhm, isn't the nursery reveal like 8 months late, you say? Eh, technically, but what can a girl do? I could blame it on the move, but without the move Jake wouldn't have his own room and therefore no reveal. It didn't make sense to re-do Will & Jake's joint room as a nursery and I couldn't find a superhero/nursery combination I was happy with. So we all agreed to use Will's frog & duck baby theme until Jake got a little older or we moved into a new house giving them separate rooms (we discussed moving within the B'ham area before we knew about the TN move). Also, Jake's room has been finished for a couple months now, I just haven't been able to post about it. I'm making up for it now, 'cause this is a really long one, so sit tight!

Jakie-poo, before we talk about your room, I want to talk about you! So here's some things we've learned about our 7 month old baby boy:

• You really got this sitting thing down! You fall over every once in awhile but often you catch yourself when you start to teeter totter
• You've graduated from the Bumbo to the highchair
• You have not cut a tooth yet, but in addition to chewing on your lip, fingers/hands and anything you can get hold of, you're chewing on your tongue. Surely all this chewing is going to pay off soon and get you a brand new tooth!
• You can be quiet and observe your surroundings or talk with just a tiny little baby voice. But there's times when you just have something to say and pretty much scream it at us. It's so cute!
• You're still in 3-6 months clothes and size 2 diapers
• You love to bounce even when you're not in your bouncy. Seriously, you'll just sit on the floor or in the highchair, our laps, wherever and just bounce, bounce, bounce up and down and back and forth!
• We put you in a swing for the first time (at the park) and you really like it :)
• It sounds like you're trying to say ma-ma
• You are such a grabber! You grab anything you can reach and bring it straight to your mouth

Jake, you have the sweetest little laugh and are still such a cuddly little boy. I love watching you grow and your budding personality come through. It's also precious how much you love your siblings. You just smile, talk and laugh and them and your little eyes track them around the room. Will & Maggie both love talking to you and giving you kisses. Melt a mama's heart!! 

The Nursery
When I started planning for baby 3, I knew I wanted to make the bedding myself. I've never done it before and this way #3, now Jake, would have a 'first'. Will was our first child, Maggie our first girl and now Jake is the first to have homemade bedding by mommy. I did search for fabric to coordinate with a superhero room, but as I said, just wasn't finding anything I liked. One of the fabrics I did love was unavailable by the time we moved and I went fabric shopping. So we hung all Will's baby stuff in Jake's room because I wanted him to have something. I wasn't happy that it wasn't his 'own thing' but hand-me-downs are better than empty room.

Before

Then one day I went to JoAnn for something completely different and found exactly what I wanted. Bright and fun, but still baby boy and went with the colors already in the room. I like the green walls and had no intentions of painting. I left the curtains up because they're tailor-made and go fine with the new bedding even though they don't match. I found a tutorial here for the bedding and though it took me some time, it was easier than I thought it would be. And I just love that my baby boy has his own custom-made bedding. It's not perfect, but made with lots of love from mommy. :) 

walking into Jake's nursery

Along with the bumpers and crib skirt, I made the blanket draped over the glider. 

I made the letters and piggy bank before Jake's arrival.We bought a bookcase and Daniel assembled it...I wanted a place to set photos, decorations and books, of course. The blue frame above the bookcase was a gift from my parents when Jake was born. I found the other 3 frames from Goodwill for $1 each and spray painted white. I also found the lamp base from Goodwill for $3- it was brass so I spray painted it blue.

I bought the lamp shade from Hobby Lobby and added fabric to it. The other little items (cup that says little prince and two ceramic boxes for first tooth and first curl) on top of the bookcase were gifts from my Aunt & Uncle when Jake was born. 

Aside from the letters, I wanted to incorporate a fun, homemade element with Jake's birth information, like Maggie's, but different. I came up with this (below), designed and cut with my Cricut on vinyl. Because it's only 12x12, I needed something else and I love the idea of ABC flashcards...I first saw this several years ago when Daniel's cousin, Jennifer, kept a blog about her twin boys. It always stuck in my head as a cute idea. I found already made cards online (free), printed them on my home printer and attached to the string by mini clothes pins- left from Jake's gender reveal party. (I knew they'd come in handy!)

The shelf used to hang in the entry way of our B'ham house (for a short time anyway). I was glad to find a use for this since I just barely completed that project before having to take it down last year. The LOVE didn't work with the rest of the colors in the room so I covered the hooks with scrapbook paper and embellishments to match Jake's letters. I like that the shelf coordinates with the white bookcase- they both bring some brightness into the room. I probably would've bought white furniture if I had a girl first, but Daniel  didn't really like it for a boy. I purchased the J from JoAnn's and covered it with the same fabric as the lamp shade- I got this idea from my neighbor. The other items atop the shelf are hand-me-downs from Will's room. 

This accordion album was one of the final homemade touches and was also made 

to match Jake's letters. I talk more about making this here.  

I really like how my baby Jake's nursery came together and enjoyed adding all the little homemade touches to his room. Crafting is even more fun when it's for my babies. :) I still have one more project I want to complete but I couldn't hold off writing about this any longer. And who knows if I'll ever actually get around to it. I love you Jake! 

Soccer Mom status

I finally made it! Well, it's not like this has been a lifelong dream of mine, but I've been a SAHM for almost 4 years and have a big car (well, crossover) so it's kind of fitting. Plus soccer moms are cool. Will almost signed up last year but decided against it, which was fine. When I mentioned soccer this year he said yes several times, so we agreed to give it a go.
Soccer practice falls on the same day as tumbling so I have hauled bags of supplies and wardrobe changes several times now, thus validating the soccer mom-ness. We're enjoying it so far. Will staged a sit-in halfway through his first game, but it's improved since then. Look at my little man go!

first practice was very cold! despite the chill, Maggie did not want to get in the car to warm up. Instead, she wanted to stay by the sidelines and watch big brother play :)

 and then he started playing....jumping, doing flips, etc.

I'm pretty sure tumbling is his favorite so far :)

Fortunately, our first game day was much warmer than the preceding practices. We wore shorts and when the wind stopped blowing, it was almost hot! Here's little man in action....and not so much...the sit-in won't be hard to find, even though it started as a stand-in.

The girl on the far left of the pic directly above- I called her ms. world cup- seriously one in her future if she continues to play. In fact, we've seen a couple of boys with some potential but these girls are on fire! I really enjoy going to his games--Will's first season of soccer is under way!

Maggie's pretty pink room

When we learned of our inevitable move, I went through the gamut of emotions but I remained excited about one thing: decorating a new place, particularly the kids' rooms. I loved their rooms at our B'ham house, but the idea of starting from scratch gave me so many ideas and in some ways, the possibilities were endless. I wrote about Will's room here and am so excited to reveal Maggie's.
I had so many thoughts on how to decorate my Moosie's room but three things were certain: pink, something unique and an added architectural focal point. This mostly revolved around chair rail or molding of some kind and a fun paint job. She had a red accent wall in her previous room, so I wanted something different (at least to me) and my ideas included 2-3 colors and stenciling. In the end, we decided on crown molding and stripes. Instead of adding the molding to hug the ceiling, we chose to add it about 3/4 up the wall. Turns out it's a thing now, so we're joining the ranks. After three weekends, we finally finished and had a beautiful room fit for a beautiful girl and the best part is Maggie loves it!
Commence picture overload

Before

primer goes on...bye bye brown. It was a good, neutral color, just

not the right one for my little girl's room

 started the tape for the stripes...this took us for-e-ver

Maggie found out this was the paint going on the walls and 

asked to open it, she's ready for the pink!

 making music!

first coat of pink going on

 and Maggie is so excited! She's saying "pink! pink!" 

I took the tape down and was really happy with the stripes! it's really coming together!

 first piece of molding is up! Daniel did such a great job with the crown

molding- and this was his first time! He thought it would take a lot longer

but ended up finishing in one day

 last piece! Maggie Moo's room is almost complete!

After

Mommy & Maggie...our maternity photo
the g's won't sit quite right on the ledge, but I think it's cute anyway

Daniel and I are both very pleased with how Maggie's room turned out. Her room looks even better than I imagined. The stripes were time consuming, but worth it, I think. It took us a whole day just to tape, but once we finished that, painting the stripes was a breeze. A laser level was definitely a life saver! I'd highly recommend purchasing one if you ever want to paint stripes. And I love, love the crown molding- I'm so proud of Daniel's work. He's always been a quick learner and able to complete necessary jobs around the house, but lately has really taken a joy in the work. This is a win-win 'cause now we're both thinking of projects and are excited about them! Maggie's a lucky girl to have such a good daddy make her a pretty girl room. 

I love you my sweet Maggie Moo girl!!! Your room is almost as beautiful as you are. :)

Playing catch-up

I have so many projects/room updates and general life posts to write about but haven't had as much time as I like to sit down and do it. I'm in the process of writing several posts but choosing the pictures takes extra time. Bear with me, I should have some new posts coming this week!

Monkey Man

If you've been following the blog for awhile or know our family personally, you know immediately to whom this post is referring. If you're new (or don't pay attention), our monkey man is Will, our eldest child. He has been climbing since he was a baby and has crazy agility--like a cat-- he always lands on his feet. He climbs in my pantry... both at our Birmingham house and here, climbs on the counters, on furniture and walls. Literally, he climbs our walls. So I've wanted to get him in gymnastics for awhile now. It just didn't work well in B'ham, so that was one of my first searches when we found our new house and I found a gym right down the road! Last month we finally got him signed up for boys recreational tumbling and he's loving it!

super strong

 even though Will is one of the youngest and smallest in his class, he gives those boys a run for their money when they race at the balance beams. The instructor has mats set up to give the boys an extra boost if they need it, but Will just pulls right up and jumps over without using the mats!

So proud of my little man and all his hard work! Tumbling is such a good workout for Will and a great way to expense all that energy. And put his climbing to good use! But I still have to stop him from climbing on/swinging from my counters...