The Makings of a Weekend: Social Media-Free Version

This was a beautiful weekend. Ryan and I decided to turn off our phones and refrain from any social media so that we could really pour into our kiddos and soak up some time with them. I think it paid off. In fact, I think we need to make it a regular thing.

Moments from this weekend that I don't want to forget:

1. Seeing my husband walk through the door at the end of a long day with beautiful, huge, pink lilies in his hands just for me.

2. Sneaking out for a nice, quiet walk just as the sun was edging over the horizon- just my baby boy and me. The only sounds were crickets, sprinklers, and my feet hitting the pavement to the rhythm of the stroller wheels. We walked to the park and soaked up some quiet time together. I read Psalms out loud to him and he just grinned at me. Then I held him as he drifted off to sleep, head rested on my shoulder, drooling like crazy.

3. Vesper singing "Jesus Loves Me" for the first time at the kitchen table

4. Ryan tickling Grey and getting the biggest belly laughs out of him!

5. Walking into our bedroom and finding Ryan and Grey sleeping face to face in our sun-drenched bed, blankets crushed and surrounding them like a nest

6. Standing in the dark of Vesper's room singing our usual nightly songs. This time it was a praise song and as I sang to her and balanced her on my hip with one hand, closing my eyes and raising my right hand in an act of worship. Opening my eyes & seeing Vesper- arms stretched high toward the sky, smiling her huge, sweet smile.

God is so good to give us even one day together in such a beautiful life... I hope yours was just as sweet.

xo,
Chels

A Grey, Grey Room

Styling Grey's nursery was pretty tricky. We had little to no budget and although we would be moving him into Vesper's room, we wanted something very different from the kitschy vintage-vibe of Vesper's nursery. In the end, we spent only $110 and that was just on the crib. Everything else came from shopping our own house!

We wanted a clean, modern take on Southwestern Cowboy. Even though we stuck with the more classic dresser and glider, I think we achieved the look we wanted- and well within our budget!

The Crib is the Sniglar Crib from Ikea. We could have painted it, but I really liked the modern look of the raw wood, so we left it alone. Ryan was very happy with this decision. The blanket is from a vintage shop, the shelves and rug are both from Target. 

One o fmy favorite elements in the entire room is the faux cow hide! I made this from craft paper and acrylic paint and then crushed it to make it look soft and worn. I absolutely lov ethe way it turned out! The dresser was previously used in Vesper's nursery, as well as the glider. Curtains were a DIY from sheets.

Another favorite is this vintage lamp/ planter that my mom found at an antique store. It's so unique!

The details always matter! An owl puppet from Ikea, desk lamp from Target, and vintage perfume bottle double as a totem pole.

More details- vintage drums from various antique stores and a couple of teddy bears from my husband's childhood.

The gallery wall was really fun to put together! The Rugged and Manly print was a baby shower gift, as was the Bible verse. I sketched the cactus, and the cattle hook was a birthday gift!

This blanket was made by Grey's Gramma (Ryan's mom). It's very special to us! I made the artwork, and the sweet little flannel arrows were a gift from friends.

I think he's pretty pleased with it! I hope you enjoyed a little peek at Grey's room!

xo,

Chels

Must-Have Baby Items- Five Months

Five Months in! It's time for a list of my favorite baby items! These are the top three items that I use AT LEAST daily (usually multiple times)!

Seven Sling
First up, my Seven Sling. My mother got this for me from a consignment shop when Vesper was about six months old, and I've raved about it ever since. It's the simplest design (there are several DIY tutorials online and I've even made one for a friend, but I have to say, the originals are worth their weight in gold!) and it's not hot and heavy like a moby, or copious and complicated like an Ergo or simliar carrier. It's just a simple cotton sling and the babies love it! This is currently the easiest way to get Grey to fall asleep, and I take it EVERYWHERE just in case my kid needs to Koala me! (p,s. can we all laugh at how GORGEOUS the "mom models" are on this website?!)

Chew Beads
Next, a new favorite, my Chew Beads necklace! These necklaces are completely safe for baby to chomp, and they're totally cute! I have the Emerald Green Perry necklace. I like the Perry design because of the variation in the bead shape. The rubber doesn't show teeth marks, the beads are linked together with a knotted ribbon, and the clasp is a snap so there's hardly a chance that it might break! I put it on and picked up Grey and he immediately grabbed it and shoved it in his mouth and it stayed there for a long time! Vesper even chews on it now that her two-year molars are coming in! I love it so much, I'm grabbing a second color. This just might be my new go-to baby shower gift!

Dr. Brown's Bottles
Our little guy suffers from some bad reflux and gas, and when people initially suggested that we switch bottles, I refused. I figured that a different bottle couldn't possibly make that much of a difference, especially when we were using good quality Nuk bottles that we had used with our first baby (who also suffered from reflux). But when we switched to Dr. Brown's wide-neck bottles, it made a definite, noticeable difference in his gas! If you have a baby who suffers  from gas, excessive spit-up, and reflux, I highly recommend these bottles!

We also still love our Burt's Bees Baby Bee Diaper Ointment,  the Fisher Price Rock n Play bassinet (even though he sleeps in his crib now), and my Jo Totes Camera Bag which I use as a baby bag! I hope this was a helpful list for someone out there in the world!
xo,
Chels

Five. Months. Old.

My little Baby Bear... Five months already? And I'm so hopelessly in love with you! I can't even imagine how much more joy you will bring to us in the coming months and years! Here are a few things I want to remember about your fifth month:

-You are in the 85th- EIGHTY FIFTH- percentile for weight and weigh as much as your sister did when she was SEVEN months old! You're 18 pounds of absolute love!
-You gave up your pacifier over a month ago
-You started sleeping through the night (in your crib!), cut your first two teeth, and started rolling over from back to front all in the same week! We're still working on rolling from front to back
-Momma is your favorite person in the whole world and you can't stand watching me walk away! You spend most of your day attached to my side. We call you the little Koala Bear. You grasp onto my shirt or my hair and just hang out.
-You're still suffering from pretty severe reflux and you are still on your special formula to help with a milk protein allergy
-You are SO. LOUD. I'm not kidding. You're the loudest baby I've ever heard...
-You have the best belly laugh when Daddy tickles you with his beard!
-You're a moody little guy! Very sensitive, and you have the most intense pout face!
-RED hair!
-You still can't go a whole three hours without eating!
-You hate your car seat
-You always want to be moving!
-Eyes aren't quite blue- sort of muddy hazel blue
-You smile all the time. It's the greatest thing in the whole world!

We love you, Baby Bear. I can't wait to see what milestones you'll reach before month 6!

finding your feet again

I have a really hard month coming up and I've really been stressing about it. Ryan will be out of town a lot for work, we have a handful of Doctor's appointments, and Grey still isn't sleeping through the night. It's going to be tough. I go into the dry heaves just thinking about it... I even had a pretty spectacular meltdown around 4 a.m. last night following a particularly difficult three hours of trying to convince Grey to sleep longer than ten minutes at a time. I felt hopeless and exhausted. But in true hero fashion, my husband came to my rescue. He really is my rock... He took over the rocking and shushing and held me as I sobbed and choked out nonsensical sentences about sleep and nasal saline (the kids both have the sinus crud- further adding to my list of worries). It was quite a spectacle to be sure.

But things tend to look different in the morning light.

I often feel God calling me to be still and just let go of my desire to be in control (and by "often" I mean daily, if not hourly). I crave structure and organization in all aspects of my life. It has become my lifeline since becoming a stay-at-home mom. Of course, there's something to be said for being responsible, but often our desire for structure morphs into an unhealthy desire to be in control. There is a big difference.

Such is the case in my life as of late. A feeling of being completely at the mercy of one little person's every whim has me completely out of sorts. In short, it totally wigs me out. But after last night's -ahem- episode, I awoke with a newfound resolve and commitment to letting God have the reigns- to trust that he knows my heart and wants me to find joy in running my home and raising my kids rather than stress and worry.

So here's the deal: I'm praying for a spirit of humility and peace and I'm having faith that The Lord will be gracious in his dealings with me. I've got two sick babies and I'm going to let myself hold them when they need it without worrying about the laundry or creating bad habits in my 7 week-old. I'm going to be deliberate and intentional in my efforts to relinquish control. And I'm going to let myself fail every once in a while without beating myself up for it!

It starts today, and all I have to do is keep going.

35 Week Update

If you're squeamish about things like the female anatomy and babies, now is probably the time to ignore any posts from me. It's sort of consumed my life at this point. I promise I'll keep it G-rated though!

The general specific: My 35 week appointment on Monday revealed that I am already 3cm dilated and 80% effaced (do the big words make it more appropriate to share with the general public?) It's pretty early to be progressing that much, so they're taking a lot of precautions including some meds, non-stress tests, and orders for bed rest. Basically they want him to stay put for at least another week. everyone is healthy as of right now, but *somebody* is just a little too eager. For now, it seems i'll be forced to sit still until he decides to make his appearance!
Anyway, here are a few more specifics that I want to be sure I remember about this time in my pregnancy!

 

How far along: 35 ;weeks

Gender: alllll BOY

Name: After much debate, we’ve made a decision on the perfect name for our little fella, but we’re not ready to announce just yet!

Total weight gain: 7 pounds. I have no idea. Don't ask. But I do have orders to gain a bit more now that he's getting all antsy about vacating.

Maternity clothes: Almost exclusively! Pants for sure, and I throw in a few maternity tops each week. I just really hate the way most of them are tailored so I try to stick with non-maternity styles in a larger size. I am pleased to announce, however, that I can still wear all of my regular boots and shoes!

Stretch marks: same- Psh. I've had stretch marks since I was 15. All real women have them.

Sleep: I wish! I feel absolutely overcome by fatigue, and then I'll lay down and be wiiiide awake! Hip and back pain don't help the situation either! But I'm still getting a fair amount since I try to nap when Vesper does.

Miss Anything: White wine. Ohhhhhh white wine…

Symptoms: large abdomen pretty much gives it away... emotional, HUNGRY, the usual aches and pains, hair falling out (that's new and sexy), soreness in my pelvis, frequent bathroom breaks.

Belly Button in or out: In! I think it will at least flatten out this time, though.

Mood: It's gotten a bit better, but I'm still pretty emotional when it comes to sappy stuff. I cry pretty much any time Ellen gives stuff away on her show...

Best Moment this week: It's only day one of this week, and I have to say, it didn't really start off very well. However, my heart was so overwhelmed with joy when offers for prayer and help and support started pouring in soon after our appointment. My grandmother even offered to come down for the week to watch Vesper so that I can rest. Seeing my sweet daughter and the woman who is truly my hero spend time together has been such a beautiful thing.

Looking forward to: I'm looking forward to my baby shower on the 2nd IF we make it that far!

Exercise: not a chance.

Contractions: None yet!

Progression: 3 cm, 80% effaced, -2 head position. Yeesh. Sit tight, son! We have a ways to go!

xo,

Chels

Do? Be? or Don't?

I don’t want to jinx it, but this pregnancy has been a far cry from my first pregnancy. Although I had a fairly normal nine months with Vesper, I had yucky morning sickness, was tired all the time, gained WAY too much weight entirely too quickly (nearly 45 pounds total, and I’ll be damned if that kid wasn’t even 7 pounds when she came out. Imagine my shock when I didn’t birth a 20 pound baby…) and had really severe swelling in my legs pretty early on. This time around, I’ve had no nausea, very little fatigue, very little weight gain, zero swelling, and generally kept forgetting I was pregnant until my pants stopped fitting.

However, it seems as though now that I’ve hit my third trimester, my body has said “it’s been fun, but I’m done now.” I certainly feel pregnant- larger, off kilter, less cognizant, less energetic, and obsessive nesting has officially set in. (as in, I want the nurseries to be done like, yesterday). I have so many things that I want to do that I have about thirteen lists running at any given time. I’m balancing keeping a home, being a mommy to an energetic 14 month old, a wife to my sweet husband, a good friend, and being involved in a few different ministries through our church, PLUS I have plans for a couple of different business ventures that I want to do involving Red Dirt Revival and my photography business.

If you’re a mom you know that the golden hour (or sometimes two if you get lucky) is nap time. You can get SO many things done around the house while you’re little on snoozes, but I’m so tired that at this point, I know I should be resting during this time. I just want to DO and BE so many different things that I’ve been choosing not to rest when down time is presented to me. I’ve noticed myself being less energetic and creative when I play with Vesper and I can barely keep my eyes open at the end of the day when my husband wants to hang out, and then I feel guilty. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to sleep when I could work on a nursery project or do the dishes instead of taking a nap.

A few days ago, I was having a really sad day. I was feeling very selfish and having a pity-party about the fact that I don’t ever do the things that I want to do anymore- blogging, photo shoots, performing on stage, thrift store shopping, sewing, painting, etc etc. And as I sat there feeling sorry for myself and mourning the loss of seriously petty things, I said to God “I just don’t feel like I have all the time I need to do and be all these things!” and I felt His response to me:

“I have called you to do one thing.”

It was so true. I’m not called to do anything be glorify my God through EVERYTHING. I exist solely as a testament to his glory. Such a simple truth… but that was just the beginning of his teaching during this season of my life.

Yesterday, during nap time, I sat and watched Vesper do the ugly cry on her monitor screen for at least ten minutes, refusing to nap. She’s been battling a cold and I could tell she was exhausted, but she just wouldn’t go to sleep. I felt myself getting frustrated- angry even. Didn’t she know I had things to do during her nap time? I really wanted to sew a curtain panel and get started on some art for the nursery! Yes, I was exhausted and my back hurt, but I had to cross some things off of my To Do list! I thought “Just REST, child! You will feel so much better if you stop trying to BE and DO and just REST!” and those words resonated through me.

THAT, I thought, is EXACTLY what God probably says to me on a daily basis. “What are you doing? I don’t even care if your dishes are done today. I’m giving you REST… just take it!” so as I prayed that Vesper’s little spirit would calm down and she could find rest, I prayed the same for myself.

This morning my “verse of the day” on my Bible app was Psalm 46:10.

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Nobody does “obvious” like God, huh?

So here’s where I’m at: I’m feeling very convicted that I often struggle with not necessarily wanting to be the best and do everything, but at least appearing to be the best and doing everything. That’s such a pride struggle and honestly, it’s exhausting! What a silly thing.

I’m feeling challenged to make myself small. Be still. Rest. Obey. and TRUST, because in addition to all of this, I feel a promise that if I will just let myself rest in Him, He will give me all the time and energy necessary to get done the things that I need to have done. Now, notice I didn’t say the things I want to have done. I didn’t say the things that I pinned three months ago that are super cute and begging to be completed and blogged about, and I certainly didn’t say the things that I want to do to glorify myself. In fact, it’s pretty safe to assume that His list of things that need to be done is much shorter than mine…

I would bet His policy is more of a “quality over quantity” thing, and if I remember correctly, my mantra this year is “simplify.”

As hard as it’s going to be, I need to take this time not to make sure my house is spotless, the nursery is cute, and that I’m present for every church function, but to love my husband and my daughter the best way that I can and to glorify God through my words and actions. Because as much as I want to simplify our lives, they’re about to become a whole new form of “hectic” with this little guy on the way!

REST is what matters now. Resting in God. Trusting in His goodness and His promises…

xo,

Chels

Pregnancy Update: 30 weeks

How far along: 30 weeks

Gender: alllll BOY

Name: After much debate, we’ve made a decision on the perfect name for our little fella, but we’re not ready to announce just yet!

Total weight gain: Technically, my chart reads a gain of four pounds. I did, however, gain back the 10+ pounds that I lost early on!

Maternity clothes: Some. Mostly pants. I wear a lot of empire waist shirts or tunics with leggings anyway, so a lot of my regular clothes have made regular appearances this pregnancy, which is awesome because it’s really tough to find cute maternity clothes that aren’t expensive. I’ve also been lucky enough to wear heels throughout this pregnancy! I was very excited about this development because due to severe swelling, I couldn’t wear anything but flats that were a size bigger during my last pregnancy!

Stretch marks: same- Psh. I've had stretch marks since I was 15. All real women have them.

Sleep: Hit or miss. I have noticed a direct correlation to my water intake and my quality of sleep. Less water = more pain in my hips and back at night= no sleep for me.

Miss Anything: White wine. Ohhhhhh white wine…

Symptoms: I’m finally starting to FEEL pregnant- definitely slowing down and feeling less mentally present during the day. I find myself struggling to be energetic and creative with Vesper, which really makes me feel guilty, but I keep reminding myself that it’s just temporary and soon we’ll work ourselves into a new routine. Also, super awesome reflux. Aside from that, there is the aforementioned pain in my back and hips, but as I said, usually if I maintain my water intake, my pain is lessened. Overall, I still feel leaps and bounds better this pregnancy than I did last!

Belly Button in or out: In

Mood: WOOOOO moody. Not necessarily mean, but just really emotional! I consider myself a fairly level-headed individual, but my emotions are all over the place these days! It’s frustrating because I KNOW that I’m being unreasonable because of hormones and I STILL can’t think rationally sometimes. Crazy.

Best Moment this week:  It’s kind of been a tough week, honestly. Like I said, I’m starting to slow down, but you know who ISN’T slowing down? Vesper. Plus, she’s got a really great cold and has been SUUUPER fun to deal with… So the best moment this week was last night when my husband and I put Vesper to bed and sat down to some delicious homemade chicken lettuce wraps and just talked about our week.

Looking forward to: Getting this house organized and ready for a baby boy! We agreed to wait to start on the nursery until after the holidays, so now we’re off and running! And because this is our second, I don’t know if we will have a baby shower or not, so we’re just planning to do everything ourselves in regards to purchases. There are a TON of cute projects that I’m anxious to start, plus switching Vesper into the guest room and converting her current nursery into Baby Boy’s room!

Exercise: I chase a toddler around all day. I’m going to settle for that.

Contractions: None yet. Not even braxton hicks.

Progression: None yet!

xo,

Chels

A Lovely Read: BabyLit Books

I saw these Baby Lit books and knew that Vesper had to have them! Luckily, her Gramma spoils her and snatched them up before I could even click them into my shopping cart!

They’re counting primers based on the characters and story lines of classic literature novels. Vesper now has Pride & Prejudice and Jane Eyre and she loves to look through them and count with me! You might remember our favorite page from my Project 365 Week 1 round-up

I highly recommend them if anyone has a little one that loves to read like my Birdy does! I hope you’re all enjoying your week!

xo,

Chels

Project 365: Week 2

Every single photo from this week is brought to you courtesy of my iPhone. I don’t know why, but I just never got a chance to pull out my DSLR. Thank goodness for my phone. It’s always so handy when I’m in the moment and I think “THIS is what I want to remember about this day…”

So without further ado, Week 2

xo,

Chels