One On One

One On One

Friday, June 5, 2015

I'll confess to you right now that I'm not one of those moms that is constantly down on the floor with my kids playing cars & blocks. I do spend my fair share of time in the playroom building Lego creatures and reading books and tickling but I just don't feel like kids need to be entertained all the time. I have a million things to do during the day like cleaning the bathrooms, picking up 100 (thousand) messes, vacuuming, mopping, laundry, sewing, organizing, re-organizing...the list goes on forever. I don't feel guilty sometimes telling the boys when they ask me to play that I'm busy cleaning and they can go play together without Mommy. Jack knows that if he wants to spend time with me when I'm busy then he can "help" me clean the bathrooms or wash the windows or make dinner (joke! I never make dinner...), etc. And I promise you he is not any worse for the wear by being told "not right now."

I think kids actually thrive playing on their own and learning to self-entertain. Both of my boys can spend at least an hour alone in the playroom (like alone, while the other is napping) and be totally happy. It's nice knowing that they don't need constant entertainment or stimulation from me.

All that being said...I find so much value in regular one-on-one time with the boys. It doesn't happen all the time because that just isn't realistic but I do really try to focus on setting aside some time while one boy is napping to give my full, undivided attention to the other. I'm sure this will get even harder when Baby Sister comes along (and even more difficult) with each future child after that and "dates" might need to happen outside of the house more often but for now we're able to squeeze in some at-home mommy/son dates during the days and let me tell you how much I seriously treasure those hours!

^Jack & I had a date watching Toy Story and eating popcorn. (Besides taking this picture) I was extra conscious to put my phone away and had to really resist the urge to not check Instagram. Putting my phone away is definitely one of my struggles but Jack gives me good reminders when I'm not paying attention and tells me "put down your phone!" Hahaha! It's one thing I'm really working on and I try extra, extra hard to keep my phone out of sight during these one-on-one's.

^a little date with Phillip while Jack was still napping. Notice the Mr. Potato Head glasses on his neck hahaha.

 ^this little one lives for attention (and I would say needs it more than Jack) but unfortunately definitely gets less one-on-one time than Jack as there are very few minutes in a day where Phillip is awake when Jack is not. Phillip still takes two naps a day and his and Jack's afternoon naps pretty much match up perfectly.

^btw he is the neighborhood's greatest greeter. He waves to anyone and everyone who drives/walks down our street.

^Jack's favorite thing to do during one-on-one time is build lego creations (because Phillip can't knock them down). Almost every night he asks to "build just one thing!" before bed hahaha.

Aaaand just look how happy he is when he gets to run errands with Mommy on the weekends while Daddy stays home with (a napping) Phillip.

Some of our favorite one-on-one's with the boys include:

-Trips to the Target, the hardware store, or even just to the gas station.
-Lego building with Jack.
-Reading stories with Phillip (his very absolute favorite!)
-Riding in the jogging stroller while Daddy runs (the one not going always cries - they love this!)
-Movies with Jack
-Tickle sessions with Phillip
-Painting/coloring with Jack
-Yard work with one while the other naps (they both love "helping" outside)
-Chores with Jack. He actually really loves to help me with chores and he gets a sticker every time he helps. Once his sticker chart is full he gets a dime for each sticker. We have yet to do our first payday since we recently started this a few weeks ago and haven't filled up his 30-sticker chart yet! Pretty excited for the first payday haha!

As you can see, we generally try to incorporate "dates" with things we are already doing in order to have it happen more often. The boys really don't care what they are doing, they just love the attention! In fact, Jack always cries when he finds out that T & I are going on a date and begs and begs to come too haha. He only sometimes wins that fight.

Tell me some of your favorite "dates" or one-on-one's with your littles! Always looking for new ideas!

xoxo

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36 Weeks...and counting!

36 Weeks...and counting!

Thursday, June 4, 2015

36 weeks! 4 weeks left! We are officially less than one month away from Baby Girl's due date! I have a feeling that four weeks are going to fly! I still have several things on my to-do list to prep for baby girl:

-Finish tassel mobile in nursery
-Organize Baby Girl's closet (which includes organizing Jack's closet and merging Phillip's clothes...proving to be quite the undertaking as I can't figure out where to fit all their clothes!)
-Install car seat (this takes like two seconds and I likely won't do it until the week she's expected but I do need to move Jack's car seat to the third row which includes flipping him to forward facing and I think I should allow myself more time for that as it seems semi-complicated).
-Pack hospital bag & baby's bag. Likely won't do this until week of haha. But maybe I should start making a list of what I want to include?
-Headbands! I have so much fabric I've bought over the last several weeks that are just waiting to be sewn up.
-Sew new changing pad cover. I just made one for her a few weeks ago but I've decided it doesn't quite fit the space. So I'm off to the fabric store very soon (tomorrow maybe?) to pick out new fabric.
-CLEAN AND PURGE. Like everything. Nesting, ya know?

Okay well a little 36 week survey, shall we?

Total weight gain: 31 pounds ahhh! I am freaking out because I just calculated that based on the number I saw the nurse record today and GAHH. Having only gained 28lb total with Phillip I'm feeling so blah about 31 pounds at 36 weeks.

Maternity clothes:  Still living in dresses for the most part with the exception of a new pair of ankle polka-dot skinnies from A Pea in the Pod (pictured above, find them here) which are so comfy I could scream. 

Sleep: Getting pretty uncomfortable at night. I'm generally fine during the day but once I stop moving and settle down in bed my lower back starts to kill, my belly feels ginormous and the Braxton Hicks start coming. Still sleeping decently well though, all things considered so I can't complain too much.

Best moment of this week: Hmm lots! Had my baby shower which was so amazing (post coming soon!), put Baby Girl's clothes in the closet (drooled lots), shopped for newborn outfits since we had a grand total of two everyday outfits, one Sunday dress, and two sleeper gowns in newborn size. Shopping for newborn clothes is SO FUN. Bought everything else from my registry that we need that wasn't gifted. Worked a little more in Baby Girl's nursery which is turning out just exactly as I'd hoped! 

Miss anything: Same things. Non-maternity jeans, being able to walk a flight of stairs or across Target without running out of breath. Being able to bend over easily to clean up the playroom, etc.

Movement: She's still moving but definitely feeling like she is more cramped!

Exercise: Still so consistent and so proud! 20 minutes of cardio, tricep dips, calf raises and squats 6 days a week! And still feeling pretty good while I do it so happy about that!

Food cravings: Still crushed ice. Craving it like nobody's business.

Labor signs: None yet!

Looking forward to: Completely finishing all of the baby's nursery (almost done!) and starting to get really excited for labor!

And just a few more updates:

-Saw my OB today who did a cervical check ("easy 1cm" !!) and then stripped my membranes as we are hoping Baby Girl makes an appearance a bit before her due date (for insurance purposes we really want her here before July 1!). We'll do a sweep every week in hopes of encouraging her. Just a few days early would be great!

-Weekly check-ups! Can you believe we're already at weekly check-ups!? CRAZY.

-Jack came newborn clothes shopping with me the other night (we spent over two hours at Target and he was the most well-behaved, cutest little shopping buddy!) and he was super opinionated on which outfits we chose. I put one orange outfit back and he told me "oh man, but that's my favorite color! Mom, get that one! It's cute!" We ended up buying it because he was just so insistent but T agreed with me that it wasn't as cute as the others so it's going back...secretly. Don't tell Jack. I'm so loving how opinionated he is on all things baby. Her name, her clothes, everything!

-Still haven't picked a name or gotten any closer to picking a name. We'll likely just wait until she's here to decide.

-Thinking Baby Girl dropped today as I suddenly started getting unbearably sharp lower back pain on one side just as I did with both boys toward the end. It comes and goes but when it comes I can literally barely move. Walking is a joke so if I'm out and about when the pain hits it's the. worst. You might find me crawling around my house if you happen to show up during an episode ;)

Getting so excited to meet her but also feeling like it's coming SO FAST and we are not ready! It's time to start seriously attacking my to-do list.

See you next week for another update!

xoxo

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Phillip & his stuffed animals

Phillip & his stuffed animals

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Besides his fierce attachment to Mr. Bunny, Jack has never really been one for stuffed animals. Before Phillip came along they could stay put in their chairs, on the bed, in toy boxes, etc without being touched for weeks. Post-Phillip? I am always finding stuffed animals scattered around the house. Phillip is obsessed with them! ALL of them. His favorite is easily his elephant (who never got an official name so is just known as Elephant ha) but he will find and love on any other stuffed animal in the house, at the store, everywhere! 

^We saw this huge bear at Ross the other day and Phillip was SO excited about it. I was so tempted to buy it but I'm like Jack - not a huge stuffed animal fan haha! We have enough hanging out around the house that have basically all been gifted to us and we definitely don't need any more. So I was strong and I passed and the poor babe cried when I took it away and put it back on the shelf.

But really, I just had to document how adorable it is to see Phillip come walking down the hall with 50 stuffed animals in his arms and bumping into the walls because he can't even see where he's going with his tower of animals haha! Now just hoping he feels this same way about (still nameless) Baby Sister? I just hope I don't catch him walking down the hall with her ;)

xoxo

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Wallace House Updates: May

Wallace House Updates: May

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Our May (and maybe a little of our April haha) went a little something like this...

A few days at the park with the amazing (much cooler than usual!) weather we've been having.

Lunch dates with my parents'.

An 18th birthday celebration for Baby Davis!

^I spy Jack being like "hurry up and blow the candles out so we can eat that cake."

A partial master bedroom reno. BEFORE --->

And AFTER:

Basically I love it. Those nightstands are the first pieces of real furniture to be added to our master. This room has definitely been neglected since we bought our house as almost nobody sees it besides us. That makes it pretty low on the priority list. But I was getting pretty sick of the piles and PILES of stuff on our single nightstand (and not having a nightstand on my side of the bed!) and then these went on sale at Target so I snatched them. And then I just had to finish them off with decor & lights and it has seriously made a huge difference in our bedroom. It feels so much more cozy and homey. We still need to replace the blue blinds, add a bench to the end of the bed, find a headboard and buy a dresser and an arm chair. All in good time.

I think we maybe have received more packages in April & May than in the last two years. I don't even know why it seems like I've been buying something online every other day. Maybe because of all the baby girl stuff? And maternity dresses? And we've been on a bit of a workout kick lately and ordered a workout bench, weights, a pull-up bar...and more. hahahha

Time spent with BFFs.

Lots of messes made.

Baby Girl's (& mama's!) very first quilt finished! Obsessed is an understatement.

Good long afternoon naps after long days in the sun and out & about.

Car shenanigans. Like when our van started making an awful sound and the alternator had to be replaced. Yuck.

Goodbye's to BFFs. This is Elder Dorff, Jack's missionary BFF. The missionaries for our church have lived with my parents' off & on over the last year or so and while they are all great some of them just really click with Jack (and everyone else). Jack has had a few missionary BFF's and Elder Dorff was on the top of his missionary BFF list. He was transferred to another area and Jack will definitely be missing him!

A trip to the zoo with Jack's cousin Hayden's preschool class. Daddy happened to have this week off work so he got to come with us which was so. much. fun!

How adorable are these little cousins?

Many trips to Carter's. I can't stop shopping for baby clothes! But I've been trying to be smart about it and not buy too many clothes in the same size. So I now have a wardrobe for basically newborn-12 months haha! Okay, not her entire wardrobe but at least a few pieces in every size! Good thing Carter's has their lego/toy tables to keep these boys entertained because I could spend hours in that store.

Afternoons spent watching the Little League-ers practice. You should have seen how excited Jack was when a ball was hit over the fence and he got to go retrieve it and throw it back.

A day at the splash pad with many more anticipated splash pad days this summer!

Lots of zzz's because the boys are exhausting and I'm in my third trimester.

Giddiness over this cuteness and the fact that we made that.

Creepy stalkers taking and sending us pictures like this.

I'm only halfway kidding. We were stopping at Starbucks after an appointment with my OB and my brother was at work at Chili's across the street. He saw us walking by and (fast-thinker!) snapped this picture and sent it to me. I was only a little creeped out when it popped up on my phone two seconds later haha. I also felt a little celebrity-ish which was cool.

54th birthday celebrations for Daddy-O.

Lots of snuggles & books (mostly Peek A Who over and over again because it's Phillip's favorite ever).

And this is totally random and so old and not at all April/May related but I came across this picture the other day and A) I miss my long(er) hair and B) I miss being skinny and C) I really should wear my glasses more often because I paid for them and I never use them when I really do need them while driving hahaha

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