Wednesday, April 26, 2017

In a field of roses, she is a wildflower... or a tulip ;)


Last weekend we met my very sweet and talented friend Lindsey of Lindsey Wiatt Photography at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival for some photos in the tulip fields.  We actually tried to take photos there at the beginning of the month, but as soon as we got there Sloan started getting sick so we booked it home.  So this was our second go at it and it was a little bit cold and a lotta bit windy!  But oh my goodness was the light just amazing and I love the photos so much!

The girls had so much fun running through the rows of tulips.  Especially Phayre, who fell every three steps due to the uneven muddy ground :).  When I first looked at these photos I couldn't believe how big the girls look!  I have a love/hate relationship with P's pigtails... I love how they look, but hate that they make her look so grown up.  Sloan is looking like a little girl and P has become a toddler and shed her babyness overnight.  We are only days away from celebrating Sloan's fourth birthday and I feel cheated with time.  Where have the last four years gone and how is she not a tiny baby anymore?  Stay little my sweet baby girls.

Thank you, thank you Lindsey for these beautiful photos!!  (links for our outfits are at the very bottom)

Balloons for our big almost four year old girl!






















My maternity dress  /  Eric's shirt  /  Eric's Jeans  /  Sloan's dress c/o The Little Design Co.  /  Phayre's romper  /  Girl's boots  /  Girl's bows c/o Wunderkin Co.  /  Sloan's party hat c/o Presh Toast    /  Phayre's flower headband c/o Beck and Belle
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Monday, April 24, 2017

Sloan's 4th birthday mermaid outfit!

I have been busy getting ready for our Disneyland trip!  So excited we leave at the end of this week!  Sloan will get to wake up in Disneyland on her birthday, we'll spend the entire day playing, and then end the night at Ariel's Grotto for her "mermaid party".

Sloan has been asking for a mermaid birthday party for months, but when we booked our Disneyland trip I decided not to throw her a traditional birthday party.  I made a reservation at Ariel's Grotto and we've been calling that her birthday party.  She'll get to meet and twirl with princesses, eat cake, and we're even wearing mermaid tail party hats!  So it's not really a "party", but she's still pretty thrilled!

Sloan's only requests were a mermaid tail and red Ariel hair :), and boy did I deliver!  I haven't shown her the outfit yet, it's a surprise for her birthday! But I'm just so excited about it, I decided I had to share it with you guys!


Mermaid tail party hat c/o Little Blue Olive
Violet peplum top by June and January
Sequin mermaid skirt c/o Carken Design
Carken Design has been generous enough to offer you guys 20% off with code HELLOBABYBROWN.
Sloan will be wearing a mermaid necklace from The Wishing Elephant and Phayre will be wearing a custom woolie ball necklace from Hooray Everyday (I chose purple, green, aqua, and pink for the felt balls!).  The girls also both have mermaid purses from Baby Mama Sew Shop.

I had so much fun pulling this mermaid outfit together!  Cannot wait to spoil my big girl, but how on earth is she going to be four?!

Xo

M

Friday, April 21, 2017

Friday Favorites

Flamingo wall mount is old ( similar here) /  Art print / Girl's dresses c/o  Vivie and Ash / Tutu c/o  Trevi Ave Co. / Girl's bows c/o  A Little Lady Shop /  Lucy lamb doll c/o Cuddle & Kind

Happy Friday babes!  Not only is it Friday, but today also marks one week until my birthday!  I'm a bit of a birthday nut, so I'm pretty excited!  I do however, feel like I'm holding onto my twenties with a death grip :).  Sloan's birthday is three days after mine (she was due on my birthday, but made her grand appearance a few days late) so it's a fun week of celebrating!

I have some fun Friday favorites for you guys!

First up, I'm so excited to share one of my new favorite shops: Helmsie.  Helmsie was founded in Atlanta, GA and is full of southern charm.  I recently put up this "Sugar Pie Honey Bunch" print in Sloan's room and it is so darling!  Helmsie actually has a kickstarter campaign going on right now for their "Not your Momma's Alphabet Cards".  I am so excited to get these cards for Sloan, they are so colorful and beautifully illustrated.  They're also super cute with cards like "S is for selfie" and "Y is for yoga".  You can only order the alphabet cards through the kickstarter campaign right now, go take a look for yourself!



I've been having lots of fun shopping for baby brother!  You guys, whoever said there aren't cute boy clothes needs to step off their throne of lies!  There are such cute boy things!!!  I recently ordered this colorful pineapple swaddle (perfect for a summer baby!) and this darling striped romper. I also sized up in this hooded jumper so that little man can wear it in the fall.  Stripes, they get me every time.


We are moving P into our guest room and giving baby brother her nursery, so I decided I have to start working on her big girl room before I can start on the nursery.  I ordered her bedding... and I might have cried after I ordered it and envisioned her in a big girl bed :(.  I went with this gorgeous quilt, but the real show stopper is her sheets!  I am obsessed with these floral sheets!  I just honestly cannot believe we're already working on her big girl room, how is she shedding all of her babyness?!


Speaking of P, I got her this fruity romper and oh em gee I could eat her thighs they're so cute.  I swear her little body was made for rompers... and all things that show off her glorious thighs.

Sloan's birthday is right around the corner and this year we decided to get her a tricycle!  She's not quite old enough (or coordinated enough) for a bike, so we thought a tricycle would be perfect.  I am in love with this pink tricycle, I feel like it has a vintage feel to it.  We are going to give it to her a few days before her birthday since we'll be in Disneyland for her actual birthday.

I've been busy getting things together for our trip!  I decided that instead of carrying my diaper bag and an additional bag full of the girls "plane stuff", I am going to have each of the girls wear a backpack and they can carry their own stuff (genius right!).  I'll fill it with snacks, some new books, and a new toy to keep them busy on the plane.  I found the cutest pastel pink backpacks for them and they're even cuter in person.  They are actually adult backpacks, but when I pulled the straps all the way tight, they were the perfect size for the girls.  Eeeep I'm so excited to finally leave for Disneyland!


Pinterest has been my go to for meal planning lately, especially since cooking has become my least favorite thing to do this pregnancy.  This last week we tried chicken ratatouille rice bowls and not only were they super easy, but they were delish and healthy too!  Make sure you're following me on Pinterest (ya know, so you can see more lazy, I mean easy dinners!).

Alright babes that's all for today!  I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Xo

M
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Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Little Lady Style // Favorite Spring Dresses

I've been saying all my hopes and prayers that summer and sunshine will come to Oregon ;), and while I wait I've been doing lots of window shopping for the girls!  Sloan will ONLY wear dresses.  And because Phayre wants to be just like Sloan, she has started refusing pants too.  Luckily for me there are SO many cute dresses out right now!  I wanted to share a few of my favorite finds.


Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Owlet Care... Sleep like a baby while your baby sleeps


I was recently working on a "newborn must haves" post and one of the first products that came to mind was the Owlet smart sock.  I discovered Owlet when Phayre was a baby.  She was four months old and Eric wanted to move her into her crib in her nursery.  I was having a really hard time with it; I felt so nervous and overwhelmed at the thought of her being so far away from me.  We finally compromised-I got the Owlet smart sock and Eric got to move P into her crib in her nursery.  I had complete peace of mind and transitioning her was no big deal!  Whether your little one is sleeping in their nursery or your room, the Owlet is a must.

The amount of peace of mind and SLEEP that the Owlet Smart Sock brought me was huge (and if you know me, you know how much I love sleep).  I couldn't have lived without it with Phayre and I am so happy I'll have it right away with the new babe.  I don't think it would matter if this were my third or my sixth baby, I would still have anxiety when it comes to my baby's sleeping and their wellbeing.  The Owlet Smart Sock takes care of that anxiety and for that I'm so thankful!

And the best news?  Owlet has somehow improved this already amazing product and recently released the Smart Sock 2.  Here's how it works: The Smart Sock 2 uses pulse oximetry to track your infants heart rate and oxygen levels while they're sleeping.  You can track your baby's heart rate and oxygen levels right on your phone and will receive a notification (with lights and sounds) if your baby's levels fall outside of the preset zones.  All of this information is transmitted to you by a little sock that goes onto your infants foot.  The sock has been upgraded with a smarter, more reliable sensor and it's made out of a super soft, flexible material.  The sock itself is simple and goes on easily, Phayre never even knew she had it on.

The information is communicated from the sock to your phone through a base station.  The base station now has an increased range and can be up to 100 feet away from the sock.  There have also been improvements in the hardware, leading to less false notifications (we never actually had a false alarm with P).  Bottom line, it's crazy easy to use.  All you have to do is slip the sock on your infant and you'll have total peace of mind!


I so so highly recommend the Owlet Smart Sock.  We had complete peace of mind transitioning Phayre to her crib and I am so thankful we have this product for the new baby.  I cannot wait to try out the new Smart Sock 2 and see the improvements for myself.  He may not have a name or a nursery yet, but I am definitely making progress preparing for him!  If you are pregnant or have a tiny baby and are looking for peace of mind and better sleep, definitely check out Owlet Care!


I partnered with Owlet Care for this post, all thoughts and opinions expressed are 100% my own.

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Brown Bumpdate / 20 Weeks (half way!!)


20 weeks!  20!!  I cannot believe this pregnancy is already half way over.  With both of the girls I wished the weeks would just hurry up and pass so that I could hold them in my arms!  This is my first pregnancy where I feel the exact opposite.  While I cannot wait to hold him and kiss him and see his sweet face, I really need the next twenty weeks to prepare for him!  We're really focused on wrapping up Eric's moms estate and then we can start to focus on preparing our home and the nursery.  We have more home projects than we'll be able to complete by his arrival, but I hope we can knock out a decent amount!  We also really need to name him, something that is proving to be super difficult for us.

I'm definitely feeling unprepared, but I am so so excited for this sweet boy.  I keep envisioning his sweet little face and how the girls will be with him.  For some reason I really feel like he's going to look like Sloan did as a newborn, cannot wait to see (ok but really I can wait)!!

20  w e e k  b u m p d a t e

Due date: August 25th, 2017

How far along: 20 weeks!

How many days to go: 140

Gender: BOY!

Baby's name: Baby Brownie (stilllllll... hopefully we find the perfect name soon!)

Size of the baby: He is the size of a banana, about 12 ounces in weight and ten inches long

Movement:  He is super active at night when I lay in bed!  His kicks are getting bigger, I am dying for Eric and the girls to catch one of his kicks.

Total weight gain so far: 14 pounds


Most recent doctor appointment: We got to see baby boy a few days ago at my 20 week scan.  His heart rate was 150 beats per minute and he is super long!  Everything about him is measuring big which terrifies me.  The girls were peanuts as newborns and I have a feeling he is going to be a big boy!  We got to see him suck his little thumb (which was so cute!), but he was super uncooperative when trying to get ultrasound photos!  Seeing him felt magical.  I love him so much already and keep envisioning our life with him.

Belly button in or out: in


Favorite maternity clothes right now: I am obsessed with the Blanqi maternity belly support leggings and support wear tank.  I will be totally honest, I was a little gun shy with these at first because of the price.  After wearing them for a few days in a row and feeling sad when I had to take them off and wash them, I am happy to report they are worth there weight in gold.  I have never worn maternity leggings that fit so well and are so flattering, I highly highly recommend!!  I plan on ordering the postpartum leggings before baby boy arrives and bringing them to the hospital with me.  Seriously mamas you need them, you can thank me later ;)

Stretch marks: So far none!  

Sleep: I have a hard time falling asleep and wake up a lot throughout the night... mornings are not my jam lately.


Mood: Not as emotional as I was a few weeks ago which is good!  I've been a little sluggish these last few days, trying to recover from being super sick earlier this week.  But overall I feel happy and normal. 

Food cravings: Pretty much everything all the time.  But more specifically... cheeseburgers, mangos, cutie oranges, spicy avocado hummus with pretzel crisps, milk chocolate covered cashews, and Cawston Press rhubarb sodas.


Favorite moment this week: Two things:

1. Seeing baby boy at our ultrasound!!  Seeing him move and wiggle is so incredible, I love him so much already!

2. Sloan put her little hands on Phayre's cheeks and told her, "Phayre Bear, you need to pay attention to me right now.  I need you to start watching what I do because you have to learn how to be a big sister.  I'm gonna be mama's helper and I'm gonna hold the baby when she has to take care of you.  But sometimes you might have to hold the baby so you needa watch how I do it."  And then P started patting her belly and saying, "BABY! BABY! BABY!"  They melt my heart those two sisters.

I'm missing: Wine and having skinny ankles.


Biggest complaint: At my ultrasound he was head down and already incredibly low.  If I'm on my feet  for too long and he gets too low, I feel a ton of pressure and have to sit down.  It's super uncomfortable!!  My skin and hair are also crazy dry which is kind of annoying.  

Recent baby purchase: I bought him the sweetest little romper and it's so tiny and cute!  I also got a super soft nursing cover and I love it, super excited to use it once he arrives!


Nursery:  We haven't really made any progress... yet.  But I did go through fabric samples with my friend Whitney from Madly Wish and chose the nursery colors!!  You guys, it's going to be so cute!  Cannot wait to get started and share.

Labor signs: none, thank goodness!


Photos by the oh so talented Lindsey Wiatt Photography.

Monday, April 10, 2017

Road Trippin with toddlers: what to pack

Video and photos by the incredibly talented  Lindsey Wiatt Photography.

The girls haven't stopped talking about and reliving our recent Seattle trip!  Phayre will start chanting "Attle" (Seattle) at random and Sloan gets so excited.  We love getting away as a family and have a few more weekend trips coming up.  Planning and packing can be stressful, but getting away is ALWAYS worth it!  I love a quick change of scenery, I always come home feeling refreshed and ready to take on a new week.

I've had a lot of questions about packing for trips lately, so I wanted to share my packing list for quick trips.  This is my slimmed down packing list, but it's just enough to have a comfortable weekend away!  I also can fit pretty much everything for the girls into one bag which is key when road tripping.


On our most recent trip, I used the new Itzy Ritzy diaper tote insert and Ll Bean tote.  It was the perfect size for all of the girl's things!  I love that the bag was big enough to hold everything and I was able to keep all of their smaller items (like toiletries and pacifiers) in the diaper bag insert.


A few other things worth mentioning when it comes to packing for the girls...

-I always pack the girls an outfit for each day, plus one emergency outfit (I also always have something for them in my diaper bag as well so I guess technically I have two emergency outfits).
-I try to bring neutral shoes so that they go with multiple outfits.
-I bring one pair of pajamas for every two nights.  So for a weekend away, I pack one pair per girl.
-I always have travel size toiletries on hand that I can take with us when we go-no use in wasting a bunch of space with full sized toiletries.
-If you've read my "out and about with two" post, you know that I cannot live without my Uppababy Vista double stroller, I bring that baby everywhere with us.
-I love bringing our Hatch Baby Rest with us because it doubles as a sound machine and night light while we're away (this comes in handy when we're all sharing a room and I can't turn the lights on).
-I always bring my Covered Goods nursing cover with us (even though I'm not nursing) and use it on highchairs and shopping carts.  My girls have come home from a getaway and gotten sick a few too many times, I try to eliminate as many germs as possible!
-I usually pack a seperate small car bag for the girls with a few of their favorite books and toys and some snacks.  I keep that between them in the backseat.

I hope this packing list is helpful on your next adventure!

Xo

Marisa




Thursday, April 6, 2017

Hatch Baby Rest / Night light, sound machine, and OK to wake


When Phayre was a baby I discovered Hatch Baby through their smart changing pad (an item I couldn't have lived without while I was breast feeding and struggling with supply issues!).  Hatch Baby is an amazing baby gear brand that is incredibly innovative in solving parents everyday problems and concerns.  I am always waiting to see what they will create next!

Hatch Baby recently released the Rest, a night light, sound machine, and OK to wake clock.  We've been using it in Sloan's room for the past few months and I absolutely love it (and so does Sloan!).  The machine itself is a great design, it looks nice in her room and is just the right size.  The night light actually changes color and you can control the brightness.  Sloan loves the rainbow setting!  It has several different sounds to choose from and you can control the volume.  Sloan usually sleeps in until about 8am so we haven't used the Ok to wake alarm, but I am planning on buying a Rest for P and utilizing that feature (she's been waking up earlier and earlier)!

The Rest is super easy to use and the buttons are discreetly located on the bottom.  I've told you all this, but I haven't even told you the best part!!  While you can control the machine at its base, you can also control all of it's features on the Hatch Baby Rest app.  This is what sold me on the machine!  You can control the night light color (and brightness), sound (and volume), and set or change your wake up alarm.  You can also choose different "favorites" settings and even choose when they turn on.  We have Sloan's sound and night light settings turn on at 8pm so that she knows it's bedtime.  She is such a rule follower, she's so good about seeing her Rest light turn on and getting right in her bed and ready for books.  It's almost like because we're not telling her that it's time for bed (but she has a very clear indicator), she doesn't fight it or have a hard time getting into bed.


You can learn all about the Hatch Baby Rest here, I so highly recommend this product!  It's not only an affordable baby item, but one that will be useful for years and years.  If you were to buy a night light, sound machine, and OK to wake alarm you would end up spending more than the price of a Rest.  It really is such an innovative and useful product.

I actually plan on getting two more, so that each of my babes has one in their rooms.  Phayre could definitely use all of it's features right now (especially the OK to wake indicator!) and I will use it as a night light in the baby's room during those late night nursing sessions.  It's a product that will grow with him so I feel good about adding one to his nursery.  Plus let's be honest, I love the design and think that it will look so nice on his dresser!


You can see Sloan's full room tour  here.

I partnered with Hatch Baby on this post, but all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own!

Saturday, April 1, 2017

Sloan's Room Tour


I have shared little bits of Sloan's room here and there on Instagram, but I've never actually done a room tour!  I figure this post is long overdue so I'm super excited to finally share!  I love Sloan's room because it's a great combination of beauty and function.  While the room is decorated and very girly (like Sloan!), it's also super functional and she loves spending time in there.

The girls have a playroom (full playroom tour here) on our main floor and that's where we spend most of our time, so their bedrooms don't house very many toys.  Sloan loves having quiet time in her room so some of her favorite items are in there.  She has a little table with a few art supplies and her tracing books, her princess castle, and a box of her favorite figurines.  The little table is just a cheapy from ikea that I hacked.  I got the idea from this pin on Pinterest (I couldn't find a tutorial when I clicked through, but there's tons on Pinterest).

We were lucky enough to work with Land of Nod (one of my absolute favorite children's brands!) on Sloan's bedding and I love the way it turned out.  Sloan has the Jenny Lind bed in a full size.  I had originally chosen her duvet cover in pink, but it was on backorder so we went with gray instead and I'm so happy we did.  While Sloan prefers pink, I think the gray duvet will last her much longer.  I love her floral sheets and polka dot shams, they go so well with the duvet.  And because Sloan really does think she's a princess, we chose the 'How to be a princess' pillow :).  The 'loved' sign above her bed is old and I couldn't find anything similar, I will update here if I find something!


Sloan's bow's and dress up items hang from little brass bow hooks and they're probably my favorite things in her room.  I bought the bow hooks when Sloan was a baby and hung them in her Seattle nursery (Oh how I miss baby Sloany!).  I had originally hung one of Sloan's dress up dresses on a cute hanger from the bow hook, but Sloan took it down and put all of her favorite things up.  I think it looks even cuter the way that she decorated the hook :).  The photo above the bow hook is a photo of my grandma when she was twenty years old, right before she married my grandpa.  Sloan loves the photo almost as much as I do.


Instead of a traditional nightstand, Sloan has a darling little gold chair where she puts her favorite bedtime books.  She loves the lift and flap Bible and any kind of look and find book, we do one of those every night.  I finally put her hamper right by her door and she actually puts her dirty clothes in it now!  I hung some of Sloan's artwork in simple white frames and I highly recommend doing that with your little.  She LOVES that her artwork is framed and feels so proud of it.


Sloan has a simple ikea dresser, we just changed out the knobs to some cute ones I found at Home Depot.  I absolutely adore the handmade wood sign above her dresser from The Graced House.  I would order one of everything from that shop if I could, I love all the wooden signs so much!  I'll probably get something for baby brothers nursery :).  I always split a bouquet of flowers between two vases and put one in our room and the other in Sloan's room.  I think it makes her feel grown up or maybe she just really likes looking at them, but she loves when I put fresh flowers in her room (isn't that so sweet).


Sloan loves spending time in her room and really so do I.  It's beautiful, but also super cozy and fun.  It's oh so girly which screams Sloany!  I'll link everything I haven't so far below, if I forget anything please leave a comment below and I'd be happy to share!

Xo

Marisa :)







Book ledges from ikea / both baskets are old from Target








Flower headband by Beck and Belle / Crown and party hat by Presh Toast / Felt ball necklace by Hooray Everyday









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