Room Makeover!!

So, I've been thinking about adding stuff to Lexi's room (to her walls) but I really had no idea where to start! I recently came across a few AMAZING ideas, so here we go! Today, I'm posting the "before pictures" just after I completely cleaned her room yesterday. It looks sooo much better with her swing out of the way. Now, I can't wait to get the pictures up. We're blowing up one of my favorites to hang above her bed! :) I'm excited to see how that turns out! 

This was all taken in the middle of cleaning. Lexi loves her room!

The last days of these of the bare walls. (I put her pack n play in her closet so that's not between the crib and closet anymore.)

Again, middle of cleaning so please excuse the mess!! :)

Now here is my room inspiration (these WILL be framed on her walls):

Thought this would be super cute by the glider and her books! :)

Nick chose this one to blow up and put above her bed.

I just love her baby feet. :)

This is another one of my favorites! Thinking this should get blown up.

This is the cutest! Thinking of finding a colored frame for this one! :)

I have 2 frames that I'm going to fill with pictures of her, but i'm going CRAZY cuz the picture slots are all strange sizes- makes it impossible!!

Well, I have like 3 blog posts just sitting in my drafts. I've had words but nothing worth posting all week. Lexi is getting SOOOO close to crawling. She scoots herself wherever she wants to be. I can't wait til she figures out to move her hands and legs together instead of lunging herself forward into faceplants. It's cute but I think she'll be happier not face planting all the time (and i'll get peace of mind when she's on our hard wood floors!)

Watch her go!!

I love my sweet baby girl!! :)

Happy Thursday, everyone!! Today is Nick's Wednesday!.. no fun! :(

smiles tears and mirrors

Today was one of “those days”. I am going to blame the time change just to get my mind around it… or maybe the time change AND her cold. yeah. that must be it. Lexi was a cranky little bug today! I wasn’t used to it. She’s always so happy and easy, but today she DEFINITELY gave me a run for my money! There were some really fun times though, of course! We watched Tinkerbell and Hannah Montana Forever. That was fun. She even sat on the counter and “helped” me bake! I wish I took pictures of THAT!!
It was really cute but she would get so scared every time I turned the mixer on! haha She’s a funny little one! Anyways, here’s our day through pictures.

I saw a LOT of this face today. So sad!!

At least she kept playing!

She even cried through her favorite time of day! … meal time! :/

Okay, a bottle and a new outfit made her better…

We decided to switch rooms and play in the living room!

FINALLY!!! A smile!! a very cute one, if I say so myself!

This is the fakest smile I’ve ever seen! glimpse into my future of school pics??

Okay, we’re done playing now. Hold on. Mirror- hey!! I see ME!!

Gotta get a closer look! Yep! Darn, I look good!!

How’d I get in there?! I gotta look REAL close.

Sitting pretty while waiting for Dada to get home and watching Tinkerbell with Mommy!  

We have GOT to figure out this time change. She is all out of sorts. Poor baby!! Anyone else going through this?? It’s times like this that I wish I lived in Arizona, where they don’t change the time.. but SHHHH! don’t tell Nick. Don’t want to get his hopes up! I’ll never willingly leave CA! haha

next time around...

Every parent learns as they go with each experience. I have gotten some amazing (and also really whacky) advice in these last 8 months. With Alexis, we got everything we needed and just a couple things we wanted. I find that I'm always saying "next time..." Well, we do it this time too. There are a few things that will have to wait til next time, but the last few times I've caught myself saying "next time...", I say no- we can still do it this time (getting Lexi a walker, making her baby food, giving her a good first- bday, christmas, easter, etc...)

Here are the things that will have to be "next time"...
1. Newborn photos. We completely failed on this one. I'm sad.
2. custom crib bedding... I LOVE what I've seen on Etsy)
3. custom carset cover. (again, from Etsy)
4. a swing that PLUGS IN!! ...we used the heck out of her swing and were replacing 4 D batteries once a week. Such an unnecessary expense!!
5. wear my baby. I'm getting a moby wrap and wearing my next baby as much as he/ she will let me. I love holding Lexi close and giving her loves but she isn't much of a cuddler anymore. She's good for a hug but would rather sit on her own and play with us.
6. enjoy every second that I can breast feed. I really wanted to BF longer, but she decided she was done. We've had to buy soooo much formula. kind of ridiculous!

I'm sure there are/ will be a million of other "next times..." but I really am enjoying this time. I love my lexi bug!

She's having somewhat of a rough morning. (can i blame the time change??), so I guess I'm just playing it by ear as far as our plans to go to the beach or pool. Poor Alexis has a cold... again!! :/ (but the fever is gone!) We'll be missing yet another gymnastics week.

Whenever she's sick, I give her her favorite snacks and just let her d

o pretty much whatever makes her happy (within reason). Here's what has made her happy today!

Her bottle always makes her a happy baby.

Yum! She loves these!!

These sound so gross to me, but she loves 'em! Blueberry and Sweet Potato Puffs.

yum. These are actually good. I tried one.

Always a Lexi favorite.

Hopefully I can catch a few smiles later. Hope everyone has a great day!

xoxoxooxxo

favorite!

So, I cannot stop listening to this song... It's my favorite. Definitely will be played throughout all of my wedding festivities.

I just love him so much!!

He is too good to me! :)

I can't wait to spend forever with him.

I love our little family so much. I feel so lucky everyday that I have such an amazing man and daughter.... our little klepto kitty is perfect, too.

I feel like I should report Klepto's "presents":

today-

1. sunglasses (found under the coffee table)

2. lasagna (found under a chair)

3. Lexi's puffs (okay- how did she do this!? under our bed)

4. my makeup brush (under the coffee table, and under and on our bed)- she only steals one- but steals it multiple times a day... we're on #3 so far... but it is only noon!

5. Lexi's shoes- she brings them into our bed. (thank you?)

6. Lexi's bibs!! (all over- in the halls, under the table, on and under our bed, on the floor)

7. Grandpa John's black sock- (just one of them... into lexi's room, our room, and under the bed)

Can't wait to see what else she decides to take. She's definitely on a roll today. Gotta love her!

Tsunami and Animal Cruelty...

I went to bed really upset last night.... woke up in shock!

I cannot believe the devastation in Japan! It is the most devastating thing I've seen since 2004ish when the tsunami hit the Phillipines. I cannot imagine what those people are going through and what fear they must feel. My heart and thoughts and prayers are with them.



Yesterday was such an amazing day. Lexi LOVED the beach, she napped and we played until Nick got home. I really had no complaints. Then. as Nick was walking in the door, one of our neighbors handed him a copy of a letter she had received. He didn't really read it (other than the fact that highlighted all over it was Neighborhood watch, warning, police involved....). He just handed it to me. I teared up as I read it. I cannot believe this sick, disgusting low life. Here's the short version of it:

Neighbor's orange kitty is an outdoor kitty and we all are graced with its presence every day as it roams each yard. Kitty really takes to one house and spends time basking in the sun in this neighbors yard and goes to the bathroom in this neighbors garden. Kitty darted across the street and scared this neighbors daughter as she was out on one of her first drives ever, causing her to swerve and just miss hitting a parked car... Somewhere in all of that was this person's breaking point. They sent the neighbor a letter saying that they need to contain their kitty and on Saturday, they will be putting *special* cat food out around their house. Now- what makes this kitty food special is these people are saying they will be adding 3 different medications to it that basically makes it rat poison, in hopes to make this friendly, harmless orange kitty VERY sick and die within hours. 

umm.......

yeah. WHO DOES THAT??!!? It's not like I live in an area where pets are frequently mistreated or an area where animal cruelty happens normally. This is Mission Viejo- a frequent top 10 safest city in the COUNTRY! I cannot believe this is happening, not only in my city, but in my neighborhood! Now, the police are involved and are investigating this, but I really wonder how messed up someone has to be to threaten to kill an animal! There are soooo many more ways to go about this "neusance". There are PLENTY of natural sprays that keep kitties away from areas you don't want them in. Plus, they're natural and won't harm this angry neighbors precious garden.

This blog is more of a rant and I'm sorry for that, but I just can't believe the nerve of some people!! I sincerely hope this person is caught and brought to justice. Thank GOD Animal Cruelty is now a FELONY. It will be a sweet sweet day when this person is caught for sending that nasty letter. I'm just appalled!

Now, I'll continue to watch the news and pray that Japan can catch a rest from this devastation. Also- I hope the tsunami won't be too bad on the CA coast, if it does hit just after 8am as being predicted. I was planning on another beach day today, but now, I'm definitely rethinking it. Stay safe and have a great Friday, friends!

xoxoxo

Library and Beach!

So, I'm combining yesterday and today's pictures into one post. :)

We had a BLAST at story time yesterday at the Aliso Viejo Library. We got there a little early and I didn't want to wait inside, so Lexi decided it was time for her to drive! (never too early, right?!) haha

Mom- I got this!

Watch out!!

Oh baby!!!

Checking the gauges!!

How do I put this in gear?!

Yum! This tastes good!

The lady at the library read 1 1/2 books to a romo full of toddlers before giving up and letting them play with the felt boards and tell their own stories. She was so great with the kiddos. I loved it and can't wait for next week!

Today, Lexi and I headed down to San Clemente to visit North Beach. I forgot how many rocks there were there! I think we'll go to Califia from now on! That one is right by my grandparents house AND it's sandy and great for babies! Regardless of all the rocks, Lexi had a great time! I can't wait to take her back! I'm checking the weather to see when it'll be warm enough to go back! :)

Here's her little beach adventure!

Beautiful day!!!!!

She loved to watch the trains and the waves. Couldn't decide which way to face! haha (sideways didn't make her happy...)

Here's a smile!! :) She had a blast! The best beach buddy I could ever ask for!

Hope everyone else gets the chance to get out and enjoy this beautiful weather!! Happy Thursday, everyone!!

Tuesday!

Well, yesterday definitely didn't go as planned, but it ended up being pretty decent in the end.

At about 9:45, I got a call from my mom that she had been in a car accident.... in Rachyl's NEW car! They had only bought it Sunday night... and in less than 48 hours, it's in the shop. :/ Bummer!! Other than some whip lash, my mom is alright though! :) Thank goodness!

Instead of going to our mommy and me gymnastics class and our park playdate and walk around the lake, we had an impromptu day with my mom. I loved spending time with her, even IF it was under these circumstances. I couldn't remember the last time I saw her by myself. Rachyl... or the rest of the family is ALWAYS there! It was good to have a one on one again. :) We spent the day at AAA adding the new car to our insurance, cuz- hello- didn't even have it 48 hours yet (and she worked ALL day on Monday) and then I took her to the dr's to get checked out. Thankfully, they think it is only whip lash and they gave her some meds to help with her pain and stiffness.

We finished running around in perfect time to meet up with my sister for some lunch! She was really having a bad day on top of her car getting a little hurt, so it was good to reassure her that her car will be okay and mom was alright, too. I love hanging out with my baby sister (not so much a baby since she's 17, but she'll always be my baby sister!). She is such an awesome auntie to Lexi. Lexi just lights up with she sees her aunt... and does her little happy dance. It's pretty cute! Ever since we brought Lexi home, she has smiled for Rachyl! I know that they say when we think babies smile when they're tiny, it's just gas... well- when she saw Rachyl, it was always a real smile. :) She love her Auntie!

Lexi is such a great baby!! I have no idea how I got so lucky! Any other baby I babysat through the years would have given me a run for my money having to wait for as long as we did (5 hours total)... Lex didn't take a nap and she was happy and content just being held or sitting on G-ma's lap (or the floor in the dr's office). I love my bug! :)

We finished off yesterday with some Handy Manny and some minestrone (for Lexi's dinner). She went down at 7pm and Nick and I were lucky enough to leave her with grandma and grandpa while we went out for some Taco Tuesday (well- we never actually order taco's... so mexican food tuesday??). YUM!! Why are enchiladas so yummy!? I have a serious problem.

Well, today- as long as everything goes as planned, we'll be going to the park and library for play and story time, then we'll head home for lunch and naps! I am thinking- since it's supposed to be so nice out today, that we'll take a little trip to the park in the afternoon, too. I love it when it's sunny and warm out! :) Tonight, we have the water polo banquet-- finally! :) I'm so excited to see my girls. It's been a month already (hard to believe water polo ended a MONTH ago!!) and I miss my girls so much!! I really hope the coach next year, whoever that may be, will let me come back to coach again. I loved it! Those girls were so much fun!

Waiting in the dr's office. Such a sweet baby! 

Playtime with Aunt Rachyl on g-ma's bed!

I call her name and she looks to Aunt Rachyl to smile. I see how it is!! :)

... FINALLY a good picture of our little klepto kitty! Every morning- and each time I leave the house- I come back to a bed filled with "presents".... or-- babies things that she has found and put in my bed. Thank you, kitty! haha