Big Sister in training!

 Today my daughter is going to become a big sister. 

How amazing is that? AHHHH-MAZING!

Well, for the past couple of weeks I have been stressing out soooo much on how to prepare an 18 month old little girl for this. How do I explain this to her? Does she understand? Does she realize the growing belly she has been fascinated with the past 9 months is going to just disappear over this next week or two? Does she know that "brother" is another breathing, crying human being? I'm not sure, but I have been trying every day to show and tell her these things.

So I have asked veteran moms of multiple kids how they prepared their babes for their younger siblings. I read the blogs. I scoured pinterest. I did it all.

Here are the ways that I put Opal through a "big-sister-training".

1. Baby Doll training- We bought her baby doll a crib, diaper bag set, and every single day (multiple times a day) we changed her diaper, fed her, burped her, and then put her to sleep. We practiced "shhhhh"-ing and staying quiet because "baby was napping".
2.  Introduced the new baby's gear around the house. We set up the crib when we first moved into this apartment. We put a bassinet in our room. We put a rock and play in the living room. We bought a double stroller and used it before he arrived. We also added his clothes and shoes to her closet.
3.  Talked about baby- We have talked all about brother and how cute he is going to be. We let her answer questions about what big sisters do to help.
4. Set up activities that are all about her. Every day I sit down and watch a movie with her. We play with her toys. We clean up together. We read books. These are all things that I can still do while nursing her brother, and I explain that to her.
5. Taught her independence. We have one of those harnesses for our walks that she loves to use. This helps me because I can still keep her in arms reach while we are out, and she doesn't demand I carry her. This is great because not all situations call for a stroller. I can carry her brother in a carrier and she can walk herself.

I hope that these tips help you with your expanding family!

xoxo, Chels.

Printable Easter cards.

I designed these really simple little cards to stick into a toddler's Easter basket or to a friend. I don't like to buy cards, but I love to give them. Soooo, I pretty much make 90% of the cards I give out. I figured I would give some to my followers to share with their loved ones. :) 

Feel free to print them off and share! 

 -FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY-

Heres' a look at the inside of the card.

 I also wanted to provide a blank card that could be given to anyone.

I hope you enjoy them!

CLICK THE LINKS BELOW TO OPEN THE FILES & DOWNLOAD.

Boy Bunny Card

 Girl Bunny Card

Hoppy Day Card 

DIY Banners for the nursery.

"Scout Opal"

 *sorry for the poor lighting of these last minute photos*

 I've been working on little projects for Opal and Oliver's nursery this week before my move. I saw something similar on Pinterest, and even noted them here on this blog post. I didn't want to be a total copy cat, so I made this my own.

I also did notttttt want them to look like I personally made them. (insert how crazy for detail I can be about things being straight/ even) So, because of this preference for a handmade look I free hand cut the letters out and let it be.

We are going with a cabin theme for their room, so I loved the idea of calling them "scouts". Especially because we hope they will want to go to summer camps and maybe even cub/ girl scouts in the future.

"Scout Oli"

I plan to hang these over their bed/ crib. I'm excited to see them on the walls of the new apartment. I really hope that we can pull the whole "woodsy" look in their room. I don't want it to be too many brown tones though, that is why I used some bright pops of colors. I plan to use turquoise and apricot a lot in their room.

I actually already bought the fabric for their custom quilts that will be put together by my wonderful mom. I am just so darn excited for this. I love being a mom because I get to plan and execute things like this. Growing up, I never really got to decorate my room, so that's something I plan to always do with these 2. I want them to express themselves freely, for sure.

close up of Opal's banner.

 Materials needed:

• printed fabric of choice
• felt in one or more colors
• one large piece of felt (can be purchased at Michael's in individual packaged pieces)
• scissors
• hot glue gun
• dowel rod
• yarn, string, ribbon, or whatever you choose for hanging purposes.

close up of Oli's banner.

Directions:

1. Cut your banner out of the large prepackaged piece of felt. 
2. At the top, glue your dowel rod to the back. Best to roll the fabric over it so that it is hidden.
3. Next, cut your background shape/ image out of your patterned fabric. (I chose a heart)
4. Hot glue your shape down to the fabric.
5. Cut out your letters for whatever phrase, saying, name etc.. that you chose.
6. Lay the pieces down to make sure they fit. 
7. Glue them to the proper places you want.
8. Lastly, glue the yarn with an appropriate amount of slack to hang.

These are two other banners that I did in hopes they will look like a younger child made them. I didn't use any patterns or anything, kind of just rolled with it. I hope my bear and bunny actually look like a bear and bunny!! (haha!) I plan to use these over their dresser with a collage of framed photos, art pieces and maybe a shelf with some special treasures on it.

I hope this gives you inspiration to make a banner of your own. I think I am going to make something for my bedroom and living room next. A little less handmade-by-a-child though. Maybe some nice family or marriage quotes? hmmm! Now to plan my next project!

xoxo,

 Chelsea

We have a ONE year old!

Can you believe it? Our little girl is officially the big ONE!

 She is 18 lbs. 28 1/2 inches long.

She loves all things sofia the first and doc mcstuffins.

She loves to stick her tongue out, 

dance to Taylor Swift, and sleep to Miranda Lambert.

Her favorite toys are the ride/ push toys.

She loves to facetime her daddy on mommy's phone.

Kissing and hugging mommy are new, and she loves to do it.

This year flew by so quickly, I don't know where it went! Last year, I was in DC with Dillon and gave birth to our little winter princess in the middle of a snow storm that had the DMV area closed down. This year, I have been living in California with my family. 

We celebrated Opal's big day with an "Opal the first" birthday party with all of her cousins, aunts, and uncles in attendance. This girl was showered with love and gifts and had such an amazing day. 

I am thankful that she got to spend this day like a normal kid with all of her family having a blast. Especially knowing that next year it will probably just be her daddy and I spending the day with her. 

So here are some photos of her party.. I'll also give little descriptions of the items that I did craft myself.

 This was the kids table. I washi taped coloring pages down to the table cloth.
I placed buckets of crayons/ markers on the table. (cute buckets can be found in Target's $1 bins)
I found the wood magnets at the 99 cent store in 5 packs.
The pirate patches and party hats were from target's party section.

 This was her cake table.
I used yarn and clothes pins to hold photos from her first year.
I got the canvas from Walgreens (SAME DAY PICK UP!)
The "ONE" is cut from foam poster board (dollar tree) and I hot glued
silver tinsel to it. (also dollar tree).

 Chalk board info sign is actually a black foam board (dollar tree)
and I used a 4 pack of chalk pens from Michaels ($12- used a coupon to get it cheaper)

 For snacks I didn't want a bunch of candy, so I found these donut holes at my local grocery store's bakery. popped some cupcake toppers (dollar tree) on and wa-lah!

 The cookies are also from my local bakery.
The rice crispies are from the box. I dipped 'em in melting chocolate (food colored) and dipped in sprinkles with a cake pop stick on the end.

 plates were from target.
Is served fruits and licorice as my "candies".

Not pictured: I had brown paper bags for the kids.
Inside were heart shaped PB&J sandwiches, a paper cup filled with apples, grapes, carrots, and a orange slices. a cheese stick was also inside the bag, and desert were jello cups.