Holly Jolly

Hey, remember Christmas? Ya know that holiday that was A MONTH ago? Yeah, I'm just now recapping it because I am that awesome of a blogger. I contemplated just passing it by but I have some really cute photos of Kenley that I just can't resist sharing. Christmas around these parts, to be frank, is exhausting. We have 8 parents between the two of us so the movie Four Christmases is true life for us, except we like our families and actually had 7 different Christmases when you add in extended family. It's fun for us and important to us to see our families on or right around Christmas but it means a lot of running around, poor Kenley was so excited to open all of her presents but then didn't have time to play with anything because we'd have to pack up and move to the next one. OK, I shouldn't say poor Kenley, homegirl was spoiled. I just mean she didn't get to tear into every new toy and play with it, but I suppose we're teaching her patience.

Even though we were spent when it was over, this past holiday season was an awesome one. We had so many fun things planned and it was so magical with Kenley. This year she really understood it all and was so excited about every last thing. She even cried when we told her Ralph the Elf had to go home to the North Pole. The spirit of the holiday truly is revived with a little one, putting her to bed on Christmas Eve and waking up with her on Christmas morning was absolutely the highlight of my holiday. 

Along with your typical gift wrapping and cookie baking we also met Santa and decorated cookies, went on a real life reindeer sleigh ride, Kenley had her very first Christmas program at school where she spent more time making sure the other kids were performing than performing herself, spent lots of time with family and friends, enjoyed our friendly elf Ralph and got the best gift in the entire world...a baby brother! 

 

T'was a wonderful end to a wonderful year. It is so surreal to me that next Christmas we will have an 8 month old baby boy with us! 

Kenley, a Self Review

Last week, Kenley's teachers sent home a super cute worksheet for us to fill out with her. It asked some questions about her 2015 Year in Review and her answers were so adorable, I just had to share. 

My best idea: "to go for a bike ride after my nap"

My best memory: "going to get bagels {girlfriend loves going to Bruggers for lunch}

I always say: "Okay"

I am proud of: "mom painting" {in reference to the baby's room, haha!}

My friends are: "Bobo, Cora & Ziggy" {Bobo is our bestie's friends son Brody, Cora is a little girl in her glass and Ziggy, of course, is her baby brother #heartmelting}

I like to spend my time: "Playin'"

My favorite animal: "Rhino"

My favorite book: "The Kenny Book" {The Little Girl Who Lost Her Name}

My favorite color: "YELLOW!"

My favorite food: "Paw-pellows" {aka marshmallows}

My favorite song: "Let it go"

Next Year I want to...

...Learn to play back-a-show {translation: basketball}

...Go See Yia-Yia {what she calls my mom, who lives in AZ during the winter}

...Be Better At playing hungry hungry hippos

Three year olds, while there are definitely some trying times as she learns it is also my favorite age by far because she is learning so quickly and it's incredible to see. Plus, she says the funniest dang things! 

Nursery Progress

It's official. I am nursery crazy. I don't know what it is about this room, but I am obsessing! I think it might be that it is literally the only thing about this pregnancy I can control. It's one of those design projects that I know exactly how I want it to look in my head and am executing it so, but when people ask "what's the theme?" or "what's the color scheme?" I don't really have an answer. There are DEFINITELY sports involved {I mean duh, this kid is being born into a huge sport family} BUT that does not mean that it is a sports themed room and that I am just throwing in anything with a ball on it. I'm being so fussy about the decor and have searched high and low for just the right pieces to make this room special for my little man. I think this nursery is going to be a good mix of myself and my baby daddy and I am so very excited for how it is coming together! 

So far, I've managed to get the guts of the room finished which feels incredible! It doesn't look like much, but I have actually checked quite a few things of the nursery to do list. So far I have cleaned out all the non-baby related items; gone through all of Kenley's clothes and sold or donated everything that can't be used for a baby boy {and held on to a couple of things my heart could just not part with}; sanded, primed and painted all of the trim including the window and closet doors {both of which I cursed the whole time I was doing it}; freshened up a wooden window treatment originally in Kenley's room; purchased and hung knew blinds AND replaced all of the existing beige outlets and plates with white ones.

The room has gone from a catchall space to an empty boring room to the beginnings of my son's room! It makes me so excited to look in there and see some personality! Here's a little look at the transformation so far.

Now that the base of the room is done, I can move on to the exciting parts like FURNITURE and DECOR!!! I am working on refinishing the dresser we are going to use as our changing table, our crib has arrived and I still have my rocker from Kenley. We have baby's bedding {just need to get a crib mattress} and I have also started on a few of the decor projects, one of which was inspired by this hoop from my favorite show, Fixer Upper.

I also came across some incredible sports prints from Saint and Sailor Studios that I am super excited about!
 
 
I think a few of these prints will go perfectly with the other ideas I have floating around in my head! I wish I could just snap my fingers and have everything at once because I am so excited about every last detail! 

I also need to start brainstorming what I am going to do to organize the closet. I cleaned out all the crap and got it painted but as more and more Ziggy baby stuff arrives, I am going to need to store it in there as well as get all of our existing baby stuff out of the family room which is where it's currently residing. So doing a little baby item inventory and getting some shelving and storage in there should probably happen sooner rather than later. Most definitely before my Sprinkles!

So there you have it! I cannot stinkin' wait for this room to be finished and to show you all! It has the makings of being my favorite room in the house! 

{bump two} 25 weeks

 Mom :: +20lbs // Baby :: appx. 13.5inches & 1.5lb {an rutabaga!}

Baby is adding some fat and is getting less wrinkly as a result!
105 days til Due Date!

If you can't tell from that horrendous photo, the past week has been all about getting sick and staying sick and griping about how cold Minnesota is. I have also become crazily obsessed with labor and delivery once again. You'd think after being through it, my mind would settle a bit, but it just hasn't. Anyways, because my head is plugged and filled with thoughts of childbirth, I'm going to use that bumpdate blogger survey for today's update.

Size of the baby?  
It's crazy to me that Ziggy is now OVER a foot long and weighs OVER a pound. I know that is still itty bitty, but considering it feels like just yesterday this little boy was the size of a poppyseed, it's nuts. 

Total Weight Gain/Loss?  
Up 20lbs from the start. Bah.

Maternity Clothes?  
Still rocking the maternity jeans, although Jason's comfy t-shirts and sweatpants have been the wardrobe over the past week. I also ordered a bunch of stuff from Pink Blush this week, I'm excited to get it and see if it works! 

Stretch marks?  
Nope. None to be found so far! Hallelujah! 

Best Moments?  
Getting our crib!!! We  hadspent the day up at the ranch with my in-laws and my FIL and I worked on a couple of nursery projects and while we were there were talking about how I couldn't hang any of the projects until I got furniture {ahem, a crib} and then when we pulled up to our house that night there was a crib by the garage door!!! It was totally random and so exciting and awesome! Thanks Mom & Steve! We have yet to set it up as I've been working on finishing the boring stuff that has to be done to the nursery before the fun stuff can start, but soon! 

Movement? 

I have started to track baby's movement over the past week and so far Ziggy is passing with flying colors. He is most active in the evenings and the movements are getting stronger and stronger. I love it so much. 

Food Cravings?  
Really no cravings this past week but I've had a huge appetite despite a super sore throat and clogged head that ruins the taste of everything. So I've been having a lot of toast with peanut butter and soup.

Anything making you queasy or sick? 
Not really, which is nice.

What I miss?  
Sleeping through the night. between pee breaks, this cold, and a toddler who has decided it's fun to wake up a bunch throughout the night, I really miss a peaceful night sleep. I realize this is what life will be like after Zigs arrives, which is why I would really appreciate feeling rested leading up to the whole newborn thing.

Nausea/Vomiting?  
None lately, which is great since I felt like I was going to puke most of December.

Symptoms? 
Tired. Back Pain. Leaky Boobs. Dry Skin.

Labor signs?  
No signs of labor! Thankfully. Just A LOT of thinking about labor.

Gender? 
BABY BOY. 

Belly Button In or Out?
The button is still in, but it's getting super shallow.  

Wedding rings On or Off?  
Rings are on and still fitting normally.

Sleep?  
See above. It's not great.

What I'm looking forward to?  
Setting up the crib and getting more of the nursery put together!

25 weeks with Kenley.

Five on Friday

It's Friday! Hip, Hip Horray! I have been so excited for this weekend as we have NO PLANS! Not a one! I legitimately think it's been a year since this happened! And then, of course, I go and get sick. Boo. I woke up yesterday with a head cold that has taken over my whole body. I can just tell my insides are like "hey, we're growing a baby here. we'll try and fight this cold, but no promises" and therefore my whole body aches. So anyways, today's post will be short and sweet and kind of random. 

one. I am 25 weeks pregs today! Crazy town. It's hard to believe I only have 15 more weeks with my little Ziggy Boy on the inside. 15 weeks does not seem like a lot and I have a feeling they will fly by!

two. It seems like everyone I know is on vacation. We have a vacation coming up but if I see one more beach photo, I'm going to lose it. This time last year we were in Mexico and my warm weather heart is aching for some sunshine {and a cocktail}. 

three. Anyone else LOVING Monday night television??? This season of The Bachelor and this season of The Biggest Loser are off to awesome starts and I'm totally into them. I actually look forward to Mondays!

four. The Oscar nominees came out yesterday and got me all kinds of excited. Oscar Sunday is one of my favorite days of the year and seeing the list of nominees always fires me up. My sweet Leo is deservingly nominated for The Revenant {which Jason and I saw last weekend and loved} and I am hoping so hard this is the year he gets some hardware to celebrate his incredible career!

 

five. I came across this somewhere online and crack up laughing every time I look at it and then can't stop. It's one of those things that is just majorly tickling my tissue.

 

Happy Friday everyone! Enjoy your weekends!