{under the weather}

My sweet girl has not been feeling so good this week. Little baby colds are the pits! She's just been so congested with a super runny nose and a gnarly cough. I hate not being to have the magic fix to take it all away and make her feel better. All we can do is keep her hydrated, rested, and give lots of extra snuggles. Suffice it to say, we haven't done much this weekend. The poor girl hasn't even left the house since Thursday...but she is really starting to seem much better today, so I think it might be time to venture out into the sunshine.

Have I mentioned that little bug has started full on crawling this past week?! Hands and knees...crawling! Before, she would just get a few paces and then fall onto her belly...but now...she's taking off like crazy. I love watching her explore every little nook and cranny of the house...although, it is making us realize how much more baby proofing we really need to do! I love having this cute little girl tugging and pulling at my pants wherever I go...

She has also figured out how to pull herself to the standing position, but she hasn't quite yet figured out how to sit back down. It really makes me laugh...is that bad? I can't help it. Everything she does is cute!! I wonder how long that will last? :)

And one of my favorite things is that she has also finally starting the "m" sound. I'm hearing "mamamama" now! I'm not sure if she's really associating it with me yet, but it really seems like it. For example...if I go into the kitchen and out of her sight for a minute, she will just starting crawling toward me and yelling "mamamamama"....so yeah...it pretty much melts my heart!!

I was able to get out for a little while yesterday afternoon while Zach hung at home with the babe. My mom's group (the girls I met while doing my prenatal yoga class last year) was having a chili party at one of the girls' houses. Husbands and babies were all there too and it was such a great time. I was sad that Lucy and Zach had to miss the fun, but I certainly didn't want to be spreading any of her baby germs. One of the other families was also unable to make it due to being sick...no fun. Something that is fun, however, is that one of the other girls in the group is due in 3 months with baby #2...another girl for the group! It's funny because all of our friends only seem to pop out girls. There have only been a few boys in a sea of girls these past few years. Guess there isn't much boy mojo going on around here :)

{j'adore}

I love her!

....okay, I love him too! :)

...and I adore the cute little headband I made

for her a few weeks ago (okay, I'm mostly

just proud of myself for being able to make it. ha!)

Anyhoo...we had such a lovely weekend here. Lucy and I spent Friday in our pajamas while daddy was at work. We snuggled, we ate, we played, we napped, we crafted, and we made lots of baby food (and by we I mean me, of course, while Lucy sat there looking all cute and stuffing as many puffs in her mouth at one time as she could...this is her new favorite game).

Saturday morning, Lucy and I drove to Cincinnati to hang with some family (daddy had to work all day again!). It was my cousins 14th birthday and he wanted to go to Red Lobster for dinner....so to Red Lobster we went. While Lucy does very well at restaurants most of the time (as she did this night), I do feel the need to comment how exhausting it can be to keep her fed and entertained while sitting at a table. It's like "10 bites for Lucy, one bite for momma. Oh wait...you dropped your sippy cup (more like flung it to the ground as hard as you could)...again. Oh, there goes the menu to the ground. Now she's yelling for more food. Oh man, now she's flashing me that sweet little smile (the one that makes it all worthwhile!) Oh wait...we need more puff's, STAT!"...yeah, that's about how a night out for dinner goes with our Lucy. :) 

Sunday, we hung out with mom mom and pop pop (my parents) for awhile. I seized the opportunity to go and do a little shopping while I had a babysitter. and then  it was back to Columbus for baby and I. We finally got to spend some time with papa that evening. 

It's been in the 40's all weekend here in Ohio...and sunny. I'm not complaining...although something sure doesn't seem right in the world to be having all of this mild weather this time of year. Oh well....I'll just enjoy it while it last!

{treats for my sweet}

I can't say we had the most exciting Valentine's Day in the world...but we made the most of the little time we actually had to spend together. Zach went to work in the morning. I dropped off Lucy at 12:30 and went to work after that. He picked her up at 5:30 and brought her home. Then I was home by 8:30pm. This is how it works every Tuesday through Thursday for us.

Before leaving for work yesterday, though, I did manage to finish and put up Zach's little Valentine surprise. I got my inspiration on Pinterest (three cheers for actually making something I pinned!) and I love how it turned out.

I already had a pack of these cute little brown craft bags, so I embellished them and gave each one a number (1-10). Each one contained a little piece of cardstock with a reason that I love and adore the mister. Of course...I could have come up with a million reasons, but who has time to embellish that many bags?! :) So anyhoo...when I was finally finished putting it all together, I strung it up on the fireplace for him to find when he came home from work.

 It's safe to say...he absolutely LOVED it! Woo!

I should mention that I came home last night to my favorite meal, a bottle of my favorite wine, and my all time favorite candy bar (twix baby!) for dessert. There was also a sweet little card that he and Lucy made together. {swoon}

The day before V-day, I had also whipped up some of these delicious chocolate ganache truffles (with a touch of Bailey's Irish Cream)....sooo yummy (if I do say so myself!)...

My sweet mama also came to visit the day before yesterday. Have I mentioned how much she rocks?! She came to spend the day with baby and I and helped me out by babysitting while I went to get my hair chopped off (picture to come soon). Of course, Mom never comes empty handed and had these beautiful and delicious homemade heart marshmallow's for us (her baking talents are endless!)...

Is your mouth watering yet?!

It sure is a good thing that Zach and I decided it was time to start exercising again!! 

Hope you all enjoyed a day full of love and sweet treats!

{crib talk}

Some cuteness for your day.... :)

Chillin' in my crib... from Sara Reat on Vimeo.

{Lucy's bird/birch tree nursery}

I recently realized that I had never posted any pictures of Lucy's nursery once it was all totally put together (oops!) So, better late than never, right?! Plus, we finally just put up some of the artwork I have had ready and waiting to hang for...oh...over 8 months now! Again...better late than never, right?!

I am so totally obsessed with this room. My inspiration was a photo of another nursery on Apartment Therapy that had a beautiful white birch tree mural painted on the wall. So off we went with the bird/tree theme. Three walls are painted a fun kelly green color and one is painted a darker grey color. Our beautiful and extremely talented friend, Kara, painted the amazing mural on the wall for us. {love!}

 (the baby in the crib multiplies the cute factor by

at least a million, don't you think?!)

 (oh goodness...there's that adorable baby again)

I got a great deal on these picture frames at Ikea and used my Silhouette craft machine to cut out a bunch of different birdcages. I also painted a canvas yellow and threw one on there too for good measure.

This adorable glass bird nightlight was picked up by Zach's parents at the Columbus Art Festival last summer.

See that beautiful branch/bird mobile hanging above the changing table? Yeah...it's awesome and it was made by another dear and talented friend of ours, Michelle. Boy, are we lucky to know such wonderful and creative people?! Also...the picture in the yellow frame was made by my little cousin Rhiannon and was given to us on our wedding day. So sweet!

We really wanted to keep the guest bed in the nursery as well "just in case"...plus it's nice to have a place to lay with Lucy if she needs some lovin' in the middle of the night. It did make the space a little trickier to work with, but we made it all work in the end and we absolutely love it!

 

Crib: "Tori" from JCPenney

Crib bedding: Treetop Friends by Skip Hop 

Mobile: Paisley Splash (in lime) from Babies R Us
Marbletop dresser: From my old room at my parent's house :)

Curtains and shag rug: Ikea

{8 months}

 

Hey everyone! It's Lucy checking in this time! Mom asked if I could drop by and say a few words about what it's like to be 8 months old. Gosh, I'm old! Okay, not really. 8 months is pretty great so far. I love being able to get around more. I'm not really crawling yet, but I did figure out how to rock back on to my knees. For some reason, I can only push myself backwards! I don't understand! Mom and dad put toys in front of me, and I just seem to get further and further away from them! Oh well...I know it won't be long now before I figure out how to go the other direction. and then they'll really be in big trouble.

Speaking of toys (they are so much fun!), my favorite ones right now are my LuLu ladybug rocker, my pink babydoll, and my stacking rings. I especially love when mom puts my super soft blue bear in the crib with me. I cuddle with him and he helps me go to sleep...I think mom and dad really appreciate that!

I love food. Seriously...I can't get enough of the stuff. Avocado, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, waffles, apples, bananas...I could go on and on! I could really live without butternut squash though. yuck. It's too bad mom and dad made so much of that. Anyway, I especially love when I get to feed myself. Just give me a big old pile of puffs or frozen peas...and I'd be a happy girl! I also still love nursing from my mama...I think that makes her pretty happy!

The dog and I really seem to be getting along pretty well these days. I think I'm finally growing on her..although I think it might just be because I am dropping so much food on the floor for her now. It's okay...I'll take what I can get!

So yeah, things are pretty great these days. Mom and dad take me out and about a lot, which is super fun. I get really bored when I'm stuck in the house too long! I love going to visit my little friends, to restaurants and going to visit mom-mom and pop-pop in Cincinnati. 

The only thing not-so-great right now are these two teeth I have coming in on the top. Mom keeps calling them my "fangs"! They sure do hurt a lot and it makes me have a real hard time sleeping sometimes. Mom and dad give me gripe water before bed and that helps. Just give me something to chew on...please!!!

Well folks, that's it for me. Mom says it's nap time (aka...my least favorite thing in the world), but I'll try and be a good girl today. Over and out!

Love, 

Lucy