Five on Friday

 

::: 1 :::

Do you watch Southern Charm? It's by far my favorite Bravo show, and I think Cameron is just about the cutest/coolest girl ever...and she just announced that she is pregnant. Not sure why I find that so exciting, but most of the show she said she wasn't sure she ever wanted to have kids, so I basically squealed when she posted this a few days ago. I'm too invested, I know. 

::: 2 :::

My mom has started to clear out some of the stuff they aren't taking to their new house, and I'm happily the recipient of all of her rejects. She just passed along these pillow cases and I think they're like a perfect fit for the new couch. I may only use one, but clearly my entire house is going to be a gold/navy situation. 

I am also thinking about biting the bullet on this light fixture (to replace that awful chandelier), but I'm just worried about its trendiness which is why I've delayed, but the price is insane so I may just go for it....what do you think. 

::: 3 :::

I read Southernmost, the adorable sequel to Southern Solstice, and now I'm on the hunt for a new read. I'm leaning towards One True Love (based on Shay's recap) , but could easily be swayed if you have a fun, easy book you would reccomend. 

::: 4 ::: 

 

This big kid is registered for a 2 year pre-school program! I can't even stand it! Now, because of where Leo's birthday falls (September 24th), he will actually end up repeating this 2 year program since you need to be 3 by September 1st to be in the 3yr old class, but that's just fine by me. I think he will benefit from being the youngest and the oldest, and at just one day a week...I think we'll all get on just fine! 

::: 5 :::

Tonight, Leo and I are going to meet Joel after work to do a little shopping and then grab dinner on the way home. Saturday we're hoping to do yard work between the rain they're calling for, and then Sunday I'm heading downtown to celebrate my sister's birthday. We have a fun little activity up our sleeves, so it should make for a fun day. 

Birthday Wish-List

My birthday and Mother's day are right around the corner....so obviously my list of requests has been growing with each passing day. 

For my birthday, Joel and I are spending the day in the city, and I want to spend a few child free hours shopping. I have a few returns to make at Nordstrom and Bloomingdales, so I'm hoping to go easy on Joel's wallet. 

As far as clothes are concerned, I need to update my summer wardrobe a bit. I'm on the hunt for a few new cardigans and easy, breezy, summer tops, and a few updates to my workout wear.

I'm also on the hunt for a new pair of fun earrings since my turquoise Kendra Scott earrings recently broke (although I'm hoping Nordstrom will swap/fix them for me). 

I'm kind of thinking about splurging for a nice Tory Burch cardigan....

 

  and I love this cutie from Madewell

 

but I'd like to get 2 or 3 to wear with shorts, dresses, and jeans for the entire summer.  

Along with a little fashion upgrade, I'm also hoping to get a child carrier for my bike for this summer. Anyone have any favorites? I'm liking this one from Target, but I want to make sure that we get one that is somewhat roomy 

I'm not in love with any of the bikes we currently have, but I want to see how much we actually ride them before I go all out and get a new one. 

Both my Kiehls Ultra Face Moisturizer and Daily Reviving Serum are about done - so those need restocking I suppose. 

...By the way....Am I the only person who cannot stand buying makeup and face creams? They are just so expensive, run out so fast, and don't make that big of a difference! My sisters are all about it, but I just can't seem to get over it. 

I also really need to invest in some new makeup. I've been using the same old things for the last few years and I want a little update. Do you have a new product that has been life changing? I'm really like Nars Undereye cream, and I like my Bare Minerals Complexion rescue....along with Benefit's Gimmie Brow...but I could use to invest in some brightening things, better eye shadows, and new mascara.

So there you have it....if I keep typing this list is going to get really expensive. 

Leo - Month 19

 

 

::: 1 month recap ::: 2 month recap ::: 3 month recap ::: 4 month recap ::: 5 month recap :::

 ::: 6 month recap ::: 7 month recap ::: 8 month recap ::: 9 month recap ::: 10 month recap

::: 11 month recap ::: 12 month recap  ::: 13 month recap ::: 14 month recap

::: 15 month recap :::16 months :::17 months

  18 months

 

Weight: at 18mth2w - 23lbs 11oz (40%), 31.4" (13%)

Nicknames: Leeman, Lee-Lee, Wee-whoa

Clothes: 18 months clothes, and we have gotten away with a few 18-24 month shirts from Gap if I roll the sleeves once. Pants are 12-18mth, still a size 4 diaper and we started wearing size 5 shoes

Sleep:  You have been back to your normal, solid sleep schedule. I'm curious what it would look like if you skipped a nap. There have been a few times that we have been out and about, and I've flirted with the idea. You're getting to be such a big boy, that I think you could probably handle it. If we are 30/45 minutes late to bedtime, you seem to rally really well too, which is awesome!

Schedule: 

7:00am - Up and Bottle

8:00am Breakfast- you looove waffles!

9-12am play

11:30am/12pmish- lunch

1:00 pm nap

3:15pm snack & playtime

6:00pm dinner with a cup of milk

6:30 pm bath

7:15 pm  bed

Health: You and Coco got a little cold while your dad and I were in LA. You were sick with it for like 10 days, but nothing more serious than a congested cold and runny nose and a low grade fever for a day. It wasn't too bad, and I can tell I'm getting a little more mom cred because I'm not freaking out at every little sneeze.

Crying: You do love your mama...............

 

Feeding:  You are basically a vegetarian - but your shining foods include greek yogurt, hummus, pita, peanut butter, eggs, blueberries, oatmeal, avocado, and pasta. Getting new foods into you lately is tough - even sweet foods, like kiwi are impossible to get you to consume, but we're trying not to make a big deal of it. We'll see how it goes!

Likes:  You like a lot. You are a happy little tot. You love to "walk", be outside, you adore bubbles and chalk, playing with your new water table, and being around people. You are a social, loving little boy, and you light up our days.

Milestones: Watching you learn is pretty amazing. You mimic everything - in music class you can pat your legs, touch your toes, reach high to sky, etc. You love to play games and you are receptive to everyone around you. New words this month include ring, watch, chalk, geese, flower, avocado, and probably about 10 or 15 more. I would venture to guess your speaking somewhere over 75 words at this point.

Places You’ve Gone: You were home all month, but mom and dad left you for 3 nights in California. We had such a fun time visiting our friends in LA, and driving down to San Diego to see Uncle Andrew and Aunt Corie, Sulley, and new baby Evie. It was a great little trip away and you did awesome with Coco, Papa, Aunt Nana and Aunt Bird. 

Visitors: I almost have to take this off here because the list is long. Sara and Sean came out to our house from Chicago, you saw lots of cousins on both sides, and spent a lot of time with your grandparents too.

 

Roscoe: In the morning, after your bottle, Roscoe sits right above the chair that I feed you on in our living room. As soon as your down with the bottle, you start petting him sweetly, talking in this cute little voice saying "Roro", and you kiss him and cuddle him for like 5 or 10 minutes. It's one of my most favorite times of the day...it's absolutely precious.

Weekend Report

Another beautiful weekend in the books. We're getting spoiled over here! 

Joel was in Nashville all weekend for work and a bachelor party which left little Leo and I alone for the weekend - and I  have to say, I kind of loved it. He's at such a fun age, I didn't mind having him all to myself for the three days.

That, and I had tons of help and visitors! 

Saturday morning my cousins came out to visit and hang, so we had a little breakfast and kept the kids happy with lots of bubbles and chalk. 

 

My cousin back in LA, Erin, came out to Illinois for the weekend to celebrate her daughter's birthday. It was so fun having them in LA with us, and with Leo and Carter only 8 months apart, it's been really raising our babes at the same time. 

 

Leo misses his cousin Carter from LA, but it was like no time had passed for the two of them. Leo was holding her hand, giving her kisses, and keeping a verrry close eye on her at all times. It was absolutely precious. 

 

When we dropped them off at the train to go home, we met up with my Father in law and brother in law for a beer, and then had dinner at our favorite spot..yet again..Duke's. I think because I was solo-parenting I just didn't have as much free time to take pics, so I'm lacking a bit here for this post! 

Sunday morning we were up early to pick up Joel from the airport and then we headed straight to Carter's 1st birthday party! 

 

 

 

We had so much fun celebrating this little cutie....It's just wild to think about the day she came home from the hospital, and how much has changed since then. 

 

 

 

 

 Not only is it really fun to hang with all of my cousin's kids, and for Leo to have so many 2nd cousins, but it's really cool to see our parents turn into Grandparents.

 

A fun, family filled weekend that we capped off with lots of patio time, music, and windows open. I'm so excited for this summer I can't even stand it.

Kitchen Progress....and on deck project!

When we bought the house, this is what the darling little kitchen looked like.

Eek.

After painting, updating the floors, and changing out the light fixtures, this is where we were at.



 

Much better shape, but after only three months of wear and tear on the kitchen, the paint started to chip behind the sink, and I knew it was time to get a backsplash installed. We decided to go with subway tiles with a dark grout to pull in the dark granite counter tops - and while I felt like that way a touch risky, I absolutely love the way it turned out.

This isn't exactly the kitchen that I would have built from scratch if I had my own way, but with really affordable updates, we are going to make the kitchen look a lot more stylish and a little more updated.

The next, and last project of the year (!) [for the kitchen] is new hardware for the cabinets and drawers. The brassy/gold has gotta go, so in the next few weeks we are going to pull some samples from Home Depot, and then make the switch. These are the styles I'm leaning towards but I've found that you really can't tell the way it's going to look until you sample a few - so time will tell! 

 

refined rustic in black  

 

Richelieu Hardware

 

hickory hardware

 

 

Lately

....I'm at a loss for what to blog about. I think between instagram and snapchat, I find myself a little self conscious about how much "talking" I'm doing about myself. I really like the whole process of blogging, I like having a scrapbook of not only pictures but of the stories that go along with them, and I like the data - like from my baby and pregnancy updates....but beyond that, I've been finding myself scratching my head a lot lately. 

....I'm freaking busier than I ever have been. Now that I've added my part time job, I now have to figure out how to add 18 hours of work to my week. And I don't really like that coming at the sacrifice of anything else (like my time with Leo, or trips to the gym, or cooking dinner, or doing baby classes, or meeting friends for lunch, etc.) but, that typically means that I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

....Leo has been melting down between 5-7pm and literally all he wants is "mommmmma, mommmy, mom". It's made for some not so pleasant dinner times and even though I try really hard to just ignore the incessant whining/clinginess, by the time he gets to bed at 7:15, I basically collapse into the couch with a migraine from it.  

....I've been ditching red wine for beer and rose. The weather is just too nice and I've been liking the refreshingness of a cold drink instead. Right now, my favorite beer is Bell's Oberon.....and, even though it's very basic - Whispering Angel for my Rose fix. My mom stocked us up with a haul from World Market if you're looking for it. 

....Getting Leo ready for his summer wardrobe (even though I am MORE than overdue for some new sandals and summer wear for myself, I can't help only shopping for him. He is just way more fun to shop for. There is nothing more I love than a little boy in overalls, so I'm stocking him up with a few different cute ones for the summer. 

....I'm obsessed with where we live. I have been telling everyone, we were really liking Chicago in February, but now that the weather has been so beautiful. I'm having a bit of a love affair. I just love having our windows open, I love our big yard, the deck off the kitchen Leo can play on while I wash the dishes, and the we can walk to my parents house in like 12 minutes. Everyone is starting to come out of their winter hiding spots, and there has just been an energetic change that I'm loving.

....much preferring coffee in a standard coffee pot. I have been hating my Keruig for months, and finally, made the permanent switch to a standard coffee maker and it is SO much better. Not only does it brew more coffee, the quality is like 10x. I would always get weak brews or have coffee grounds at the bottom of my coffee mug with the keruig, and now that I've made the switch I don't think I'll ever go back.

....I've had an itch to get to the movies, but there is never anything all that good out. I really enjoyed Beauty and the Beast, but there hasn't been anything else that I've really wanted to see this entire year. I feel like the last few years have been so weak when it comes to fun, cute movies. 

....I'm obsessed with podcasts. I know.....I've talked about my favorite podcasts before, but I've started listening to a few other ones that I don't think I've mentioned. The Bitch Sesh with Casey Wilson is honestly hilarious...and I really like Something You Should Know as well. When I'm working, I like to have podcasts playing at my desk, so I've been listening to a few every single day and can't get enough.

...I'm "planning" out the rest of the 2017...and holy hell where does the time go? I think Joel and I are going to try and get back to California one more time before the year is out, and I do not want to leave Illinois in the summer, so the fall is sort of our only time to get away. We're realllly itching to spend a few days back at Terrenea, so we're going to try and figure out a way to get there in October. 

...I have been sleeping so well. Until about 5am that is. I think now that it's getting sunnier so much earlier my body is just naturally adjusting, but damn, it feels like I've lived a full day by 9:30am. 

...I'm trying to make new friends. How do you make new friends in a new neighborhood? It's hard!!!!! After being in California, I realized how much I am missing having my girlfriends. I have been taking a few baby classes with some really sweet girls, so I'm having one come to my house tomorrow for a little wine/toddler play date. It totally feels like you are dating again, and you kind of just have to put yourself out there and see if there's a connection! 

...I am gearing up for my birthday! Joel and I are going to spend the night in the city (at The Robey, which you should check out if you are in Chicago). Basically, we're filling the day with all of my favorite things, and I couldn't be more excited. Lots of coffee, shopping, happy hour with friends, a great dinner, and a night at a hotel! We will indulge in a toddler free brunch before we meet my family for a cousin lunch at my Uncle's on the way home. What could be better than that?

Easter Weekend Recap

This weekend gave us the first glimpse into summer here in Illinois and what I can tell so far is that we are going to spend a LOT of time outside. Literally every time we would come inside for a water break, snack, bathroom, whatever Leo would pitch the biggest fit. The kid would spend every waking moment outside if he could! 

Friday (Good Friday), Joel and I both had the day off work, so we spent the morning brunch with our friends that came in from the city for a fun little play date.

That afternoon we took it easy, played outside and ended up throwing together leftovers for dinner. We both were exhausted from the week and welcomed the low-key Friday.

Saturday morning, Joel joined Leo and I on a 4 mile run, and then we spent the rest of the morning outside entertaining Leo and getting yard work done. 

That afternoon we hung out with some cousins, enjoyed our new gate on the patio and Leo's new swing from his Coco and Papa, ordered in pizza and just stayed in. We needed an at home weekend badly, and with the windows open, perfect weather....it was Heavenly.

We just started working on the outside, and while we don't have tons of major projects, we are ticking away at A LOT of little ones. Putting a gate up on the patio had to happen quick, and I'm glad that job is done. In the next few weeks, we will be power-washing and staining the deck and play set, adding much needed fresh mulch, trying to freshen up the landscaping, and hopefully laying down a patio.

We also said goodbye to our orangey-red front door. The painter needs to put the final jet black coat to it (on Tuesday) but I was happy to say Buh Bye! 

Easter Sunday was a perfect blur. We started the morning with church which was a total zoo - but we were glad we made it. When we got back home, my family met us at our house to give Leo his 12 Easter baskets (the only grandchild thing has him majorly spoiled) and a fun Easter egg hunt.

 

We're really hoping some of those lotto tickets Leo found in his eggs hit it big!

Then our family went to the country club for Easter brunch.

Leo was no where near a fan of the Easter bunny so I didn't feel like torturing him for the sake of a picture, so nothing to show there, but we had a really great time, and it was really nice to just be with our family and enjoy the low key day.

We spent the rest of the afternoon outside on the patio enjoying the weather and each other's company before having an early dinner and calling it a night.

When all of my family left, Leo totally lost his mind. I think the constant stimulation, and day filled with WAY more sugar than he typically ever gets made him go temporarily insane, and we dealt with almost an hour tantrum before we could calm him down. 

Besides that minor detail, nothing makes holidays sweeter than babies, and Leo brings so much joy to our family. We all truly just sit around in a circle and admire and stare and crack up at him. The boy has quite the fan club in us - and we couldn't love him more if we tried.