under the puffs and dreaming.

a few snapshots of ev's room, which is still a work in progress, and yes she is 2 1/2 months old and just barely got a crib last week. i imagine it is much easier to put together a room before the actual baby has arrived and you have more than 2 hours at a time to work and shop before your baby needs to be fed, am i right? i am lucky evie is an angel baby who doesn't seem to mind going to ikea, downeast and tj maxx every single day.

my favorite part of the room is the baby who is currently sleeping in it. see the pink & white blanket peeking out? yep, that part.

also, the title of this post makes me laugh. for some reason all i could think about when naming it is that album. (this is the part where half of you decide i'm crazy and the other half know what i'm talking about).

blessed.

 this past sunday, march 27th, we blessed our baby girl in the same dress i wore 24 years ago on my blessing day. it was such a special day for our family and one we will never forget. when i was laying in that hospital bed for weeks on end this was the day i was looking forward to. to be home, to be together, to have things progressing as they should be. the day finally came and g gave evie a beautiful blessing. i can't help but say that i am so grateful he is her daddy. i was reminded why i chose to marry him early sunday morning when i found him ironing her blessing dress without being asked. he couldn't understand why i thought it was so sweet, but i am sure most of you girls will understand. just the fact that he wanted her to look beautiful for her special day and took the initiative to iron her dress without any prompting from me was so loving of him. she is lucky, and so am i.

on a side note, because our apartment is small and our immediate families are already big, we decided to celebrate this event with just my family and gregs. we wanted to include our aunts, uncles, cousins and friends, but there is no way we could have hosted everyone in our home and we didn't want to invite some and leave others out, or invite some to the blessing but not to our home. after trying to think of ways to include both extended families and both sets of friends, and realizing there is no way we could get even a portion of them in our house, we decided to just celebrate with our immediate families this time. we hope you all understand and know that we love you dearly.

toes.

g gave me a new lens for my birthday. i love it. yet another way to waste time while i should be cleaning, cooking and starching my husband's shirts, right?

for the record i used the phrase "starching my husband's shirts" because it sounded right. i have never done that before and wouldn't know how to do it if i were asked. and now i will go bask in my shame.

pudge.

evie is petite (she was in the 3rd percentile when she was born! too funny) but she is still managing to pack on pudge in all the places that matter.

this is evie's belly. it is large and round and edible.

and here are her cheeks and double chin (not to mention adorable smile!) to go along with the tummy.

  she is irresistible. 

twenty four.

 my birthday used to be the shiz.

when i was little, the anticipation was so great i sometimes thought it might kill me to wait until march 21st each year. my parents made birthdays really special. sometimes we were checked out of school for lunch, sometimes we got to choose special restaurants for dinner...always, there was a party. my birthday felt like the greatest day of the year.

i don't feel that way anymore.

in fact, early early this morning, when i got up to feed my baby, it hadn't occurred to me that it was already my birthday. when my husband wished me a happy birthday a few hours later on his way to work, it finally dawned on me. oh right, 24.

i thought about what i might want to do with my day as i lay in bed waiting for evie to wake up. a list of a million errands immediately came to my mind, none of them the least bit exciting or birthday worthy. i thought about what i should wear (choosing a birthday outfit used to be a big deal, you know) and then reminded myself that ev has been on a puking streak all weekend and i should probably rule out anything i actually love.

and then i thought about what i might want for my birthday, and that one was easy. how about 12 straight hours of uninterrupted sleep. can we possibly make that wish a reality?


but then, as quickly as the thought came, the little girl next door starting calling out to me, begging for me to come hold her, change her, kiss her, feed her. and i realized no. no way.

so instead of fulfilling my wish for hours of rest, baby girl and i have big plans for lunch, a little bit of shopping and perhaps a dessert or two in the afternoon. and we're both going to wear our birthday best. after all, she turns 2 months old today, too.

today, i'm 24.

24 and more tired.
24 and more needed.
24 and usually covered in spit-up.
24 and happier.
24 and more blessed.
24 and more loved.

a happy birthday, indeed.

too good not to share.

while browsing ikea the other weekend i came across this plastic case meant to be used for organization in the kitchen, but i thought it might be perfect for makeup instead. most of my makeup is bare minerals and although i l love it, i don't love the way it leaks powder all over everything when tossed in a makeup bag. i've been searching for a way to store it all upright for a while now and this is the perfect solution. the case is slim, it fits perfectly in my bathroom drawer and it keeps everything from spilling. best of all, it cost next to nothing.

mom, this post is mostly for you. brilliant, right?

 

ps. i still store my brushes upright in glass cup like i always have, but a few of them would easily fit in the case as well.

monday is for suckers.

yesterday i took a bath that never drained. for the majority of the day our bathtub was full, to the brim, of dirty bath water. my husband is about as handy as they come and spent hours plunging out clumps of hair and other nasties but still, we cannot solve the problem.

and then today, our dishwasher broke. i unloaded all of the dishes before i noticed this. trying to remember which dishes you already unloaded so you can wash them all again by hand is fun. kind of like an intense game of "memory". you should try it sometime.

toby has an awesome habit of pooping right on the doormat outside our kitchen door. this makes life extra special, especially when i forget about his habit and walk outside with no shoes on.

and evie has recently decided that eating/nursing sucks and she no longer wants any part of it. she simply wants to be held and played with instead. that would be okay, except for the part where she doesn't eat any food and cries when i offer it to her, you know?

i'm tired.

on a happier note, i did discover that simply placing your baby on her stomach for tummy time can solve most of the above mentioned problems. those eyes and that smile and those funny little faces will probably make you feel better.

at least for 5 minutes or so.

day of rest.

we take sundays really seriously around here.

also, i am bored.

a message.

dear daddy,

today me and mom went on a date to target. sometimes she gets bored, so she puts me in my cutest outfits and curls her hair and takes me on random outings like this one. she pushes me around in the shopping cart and i look up at all the lights and sometimes i fall asleep. today, i stayed awake the entire time and never cried. are you proud? 

she bought both of us new spring outfits and then we rode home with the windows down because it was so sunny and warm. when we got home she put me on the bed and started taking lots of pictures of me because i am so stinkin' cute and i know it!! we hope this makes you happy while you are at work. come home early, okay?

love, evie

ps. i am 7 weeks old today, in case you forgot. mom keeps thinking all these irrational thoughts like pretty soon i'll be driving a car, and going to college and getting married & then she won't stop kissing me on the lips 400 times, even though the doctor told her not to do that. tell her to get a grip, okay?

ev & her bows.

a lot of you have been asking about where miss evie gets her hair accessories, so i thought i would just post all the links here for those of you who have little ladies or one on the way (which is lots of my friends and family members!)

i had lots of time to scour etsy while i was in the hospital, which is where i found everything you've seen. i love that they aren't too overwhelming for a teensy little head and add just a little bit of whimsy.

the little flowers you've seen, such as this yellow one are from lou&lee. we have the itty bitty newborn felt flower collection as well as the itty bitty newborn bow collection.

the headband evie is wearing in the previous post is also handmade from etsy. it is from just josie, and comes in a variety of cute colors.

we are also lovers of chelsea's shop, tatertot. evie has these rosettes as well as a few clips that are being attached to a thin headband until her hair gets a bit longer. chels also just added these darling newborn knots and is offering free shipping until sunday on any of the newborn sets, so now is the perfect time to order.

besides that everything else she has been sporting lately has been handmade by sweet friends or gifted to us. having a girl is so much fun. happy shopping!