Baby #2 + Bump Pics!!

Ellie is pretty stoked to be a big sister

We are so excited to be having a second baby girl! We finally announced on social media this past Saturday,  thank you so much for all of the love!! We are over the moon happy to be having another girl and appreciate everyone's kind words and excitement. Our hearts are so full!!

So there's been lots of secret keeping and questions and I hope to answer all of them in this post, if I've left something out, ask below!

Our first look at our sweet baby girl!

What's your due date? My due date is August 12, and if we have another c-section the baby will be scheduled to arrive around August 3-4.

Will you have a c-section again? With this pregnancy, if everything stays great and the baby is healthy and not breech, then it is my choice what kind of birth we will have. We have not made a definite choice yet, but we are leaning towards a c-section. I had a wonderful experience and a great recovery, plus we know what to expect.

12 Weeks Along

How far along are you? This Wednesday I'll be 21 weeks, over halfway!

When did we find out? We found out December 8, 2014. It was kind of already obvious to us since I was a week late, but we like to test just for confirmation.

14 Weeks Along

How did we tell our families? It was so hard not to tell everyone right away, but we told our parents and siblings on Christmas. One of Ellie's gifts was the Super Sister Tee she wore in the announcement and two big sister books. It was such a fun surprise and seeing everyone's reactions and how soon it clicked for some! Lots of tears, hugs, and smiles were shared and it really made Christmas special.

15 Weeks Along

Why did we wait so long to share? We slowly told our friends and extended family, but not everyone. Some family/friends we were hoping to surprise later found out when we saw them because we couldn't keep a big round basketball belly a secret in person! We decided early on that we would officially announce when we knew the gender. However, at every appointment either the cord was between the legs, her legs were crossed, or her legs were so close together the doctor couldn't see anything to be sure. Otherwise, we would have spilled the beans a few weeks ago!

Are we sure it's a girl/Did we want a boy? Well, a baby of any gender coming at any time is considered a blessing around here! It really didn't matter to me what gender the baby would be, I'd love to have more children so maybe the next time I might root for a boy, but this time I honestly would be happy either way. It's also a running joke that Matt will be the only boy again (he grew up with 3 sisters!) so part of us almost expected to have another girl. I only had a sister growing up and I love the bond that we share, she is my best friend and I'm happy that Ellie will have that chance for the same bond (that's not to say a sister/brother bond isn't just as special- I just don't know that first hand).

16 Weeks Along

Did you have a feeling one way or the other for gender? Not really. I flip flopped back and forth between what I thought it was, but didn't have a strong feeling one way or another. The old wives tales all said boy (except the heartbeat), even the Chinese Gender Chart and Ring Test, which I swear is 99% accurate. At my 12 week appointment for the NT scan, the nurse said she'd bet her paycheck it was a girl based on the behavior and heart rate, but couldn't give me a definite answer because the cord was between the legs. 

How is this pregnancy different? It's really not much different than when I was pregnant with Eleanor. I even looked back through my Bumpdates to compare notes. I don't have cravings for fruit and frozen yogurt this time, but want crunchy, vinegary stuff and sweets. I would have an upset stomach early on, chicken didn't gross me out, but didn't sound appetizing to me (I could still eat it), and I had a few waves of nausea, but they came and went in a moment.  No morning sickness again, woohoo! Because of those few differences, I thought maybe it was a boy, but I didn't think they were different enough to have a definite gut feeling about it.

18 Weeks Along

Do you have a name picked out? We finally settled on one this week! We still have boy names from when we were pregnant with Ellie that we plan to use should we ever have a boy, but we've been going back and forth about girl names since we found out we were expecting. I love baby names and knowing what people are naming their children and if there's any story behind the name. We had a hard time finding one we liked, we wanted something that would flow well with Eleanor and the boy names we have chosen, plus a middle name and our last name. I didn't want to have Eleanor, an older feminine name and pair it with a new trendy name. I love when sibling names have a nice ring to them, a theme, etc. We finally settled on one and once we did Matt and I both can't identify this little one as anything else. We refer to her by name when we talk about her and when I picture her and her nursery, I think of her name and how I imagine her personality will be. I probably won't announce the name on the blog/social media until she arrives though, sorry to keep you waiting!

20 Weeks Along

Does Ellie understand a baby is coming? She knows something is changing, we talk to her a lot about the new baby sister she'll have. We read her big sister books nearly every night and she understands that she's the big sister and not the baby. She's also become obsessed with babies and all baby related items- carseat, strollers, playing mommy with her dolls. I know it's part of her age/development, but I'm happy that it's corresponding with the upcoming changes. Our daycare provider recently had a baby and Ellie is obsessed with her. She does really good at daycare around her and doesn't touch the baby or give it kisses (we practiced at home before she arrived so she would be prepared at daycare), she loves to wave to the baby and say hi. It's so cute!

Can I feel the baby move? Yes! It started a little earlier than with Eleanor, but I knew what it felt like this time. She's mostly active first thing in the morning and mid-afternoon. Matt felt her move last week, just the smallest of movement for him, nothing really strong yet.

Here are some side by sides from this pregnancy (on the left) vs with Ellie:

 

Will I do weekly bumpdates again? Honest, I'm not sure. I don't want to bore everyone with pregnancy details, but I don't want to look over the second baby either. She's just as special! Let me know what you think and what you're interested in seeing- if there's an interest I'll be sure to share!

Thank you for all of the love and sharing it with me. It really has been so heartwarming to receive everyone's comments/messages/texts to our announcement!

A SLC Weekend

Just over a week ago, one of the most important people in my life passed away. My Grandpa left this life to join my Grandma in eternity and I know that they are so extremely happy to be reunited again. I didn't want to post about it anywhere, like I had before with my Grandma. It was just too hard now that I don't have either of them. It was a beautiful funeral, lots of great memories were shared, it was wonderful to get together with family we hadn't seen in a long time and catch up and reminisce. This is all I really want to say at this time, but I really appreciate the love and support from everyone.

My sister, her fiance, and Ellie and I flew out Wednesday morning and Matt followed up on Thursday. Ellie did great on our last trip on the flights, and I was worried now that she's older that it would be harder for her and I. She was such a dream though! It was so great on all four flights round trip! Big thanks to my sister and future bro-in-law for keeping her entertained!

When we got in, we relaxed and visited with family. I could have stayed up all night long talking and laughing! Before we picked up Matt, we headed to a restaurant my BIL found on the Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives website called the Blue Plate Diner. It was such a neat place; lots of vintage decor, knickknacks, a jukebox, and an old school milk shake counter.

Of course, I didn't eat anything that Guy Fieri suggested (no thank you to Corned Beef Hash), but this giant waffle covered in bananas and home style potatoes was delicious. The bananas were perfectly ripe and my mouth is watering looking at this pic. Matt was totally sad to miss out.

After we picked him up, we headed to the City Creek Center (also known as the prettiest mall ever) to walk around and show the guys. I love this mall and check out it every time I'm in town. Ellie was so excited about her Tinkerbell doll, it was so cute!

After our little shopping trip, we crossed the street to one of my absolute favorite places- Temple Square. It's so beautiful in the spring time and I couldn't resist getting a few family pics. I wish we had brought our good DSLR camera, because the whole square and Temple are gorgeous. My lame IPhone pics don't do it justice!

Friday was the funeral and we spent the day with family before we had to fly out Saturday morning (at the crack of dawn). I really wish we could have stayed longer. I know I haven't lived there in some time now, but it still feels like home to me. The time we spent went by so fast, I hardly have any pictures. None with cousins, my dad, or anyone! I hate not having the pics, but I'm glad I spent the time together with them present and not on my phone too (which is why I have some rather boring pics). 

Hope you had a good weekend and an even better start to your week. Thanks for reading!

Day Off Recap

Last week I had a day off during the typical work week and I did my best to photograph our day to share. I love taking a peek into other people's lives and Meg does great posts that share a typical day or morning of her life which I really enjoy. So, inspired by her here's a look at a typical week day off around our house.

Top // Very Jane Necklace (Old) // Jeans // Sandals // Sunnies // Old Navy Tote (old)
Ellie and I wake up around 7 and have eggs and toast for breakfast and we watch Mr Peabody and Sherman (such a cute movie!) while I do some clean up in the kitchen. After that, we're on our way out for a Target run for some goodies. It's getting hard to shop with Ellie in toe now, she wants to look at everything, touch everything, and say hi to every stranger. I went armed with an apple sauce pack, pretzels, and a bag of Hershey Kisses (which she found way too soon). 

Peplum Top // Shorts
After our trip we enjoy some strawberries and water outside in the sunshine. Ellie also is loving the Fubbles we picked up during the adventure. 

We're always listening to fun music in the car and Ellie is in love with a bunch of nursery rhymes right now and I was so excited to snag this CD for her Easter basket. On sale for $6.99 too! 

Essie Blossom Dandy  // Baby Lips in Pink Punch // TRESemme Sea Salt Spray // TRESemme Serum

I also picked up a few things for myself too... 

e.l.f. Brushes
After bubbles and a cheese quesadilla lunch, it was naptime! I took advantage of this time to finally get around to washing my makeup brushes. It's a task I hate doing, but love the feel of a clean brush afterward. I also need to do this way more often. 

Naptime is also the perfect time to catch up on some TV and catch some Zzzz's myself. 

Once naptime is over, we're back outside. It was such a gorgeous day and we love spending it outside together. We also found a big lizard Ellie is obsessed with. She looks for it everytime we go outside and is so upset and offended when she can't find it. I just tell her it went home to have dinner with his mommy. Which works for a few minutes before she starts looking for him again. 

I put on a childhood classic and give Ellie some Pirate's Booty while I start dinner. She loves all the mice and the singing, but mostly is playing with her Little People and watching what I'm doing for dinner. 

During this time, Ellie also learns how to take selfies. 100s of them.

Dinner plans change since Matt has to work a bit later, so Ellie and I have something simple and delicious- chicken apple sausages and steamed broccoli. 

We end the night with some brownie making and it's off to bed for her. Matt and I relax and watch some American Idol before we head off to bed ourselves.

It's a pretty standard day off around here, we also play a ton with dolls, fake food, coloring, and puzzles in our playroom.  We try and set up playdates or often head to the sports park nearby, but no matter what I always try and get us out of the house for our sanity.

Happy Hump Day! I hope you're all having a great week!

Spring Beauty Wishlist

With every season comes new things I want to try and buy, not just sandals (check out my picks here) and new summer dresses, but I always want all new fresh makeup. A different color on my cheek, a new shade for my lips, etc. Here are a few things I've been eyeing and hope to add to my never-ending, Mary Poppins carpet bag of a makeup bag.

MAC Dame Blush
I have MAC’s Pink Swoon, which I understand is pretty similar to Dame, but when I look at side-by-side swatches, Dame shows to be a bit warmer and with some shimmer. I’ve read all kinds of review comparing them, but haven’t found any to be really helpful. After all that research (by “research” I mean Pinterest/Google searches) I still want Dame in my beauty bag, especially since Pink Swoon has been discontinued. Do you have either blush? What’s your take?

NYX Terra Cotta
Do you guys follow Chrissy Teigen on Instagram? She’s one of my fave celebs to follow (ooh maybe that will be a future post?) and I absolutely loved her red carpet looks this season. There’s a few shots of her and Nikki Reed that they have very bronzey cheeks and I absolutely love the sun-kissed natural look they rocked. Terra Cotta is a gorgeous gold bronze color that I think will be beautiful over a tan in the summer. When doing some more “research” (see above), I found several sites saying that’s it’s a dupe for MAC’s Sunbasque- which I already own! I wore my Sunbasque and checked out the shade and then shopped the NYX blush on a Target run, but I really don’t think they’re that similar. I definitely will be picking this up for summer!

OPI You’re Such A Budapest
So this OPI collection is a few years old, but I saw it on Amber of Barefoot Blonde and I have to have it. I love the blue/lavender look of it and I think it will be a color I’ll be wearing all spring and summer.

Essie Blossom Dandy
Yes, I need another polish like a fish needs a bicycle, but this is such a pretty color. It’s the perfect shade for Easter- just the right mix of mint and blue and bolder than Mint Candy Apple. It’s from their new 2015 Spring Collection, I also love the nude shade Picked Perfect which is so spot on for spring trends. When I saw this color available on a Target trip, I threw it in my cart and Ellie immediately picked it up and started pointing to her toes, she’s also a fan of the color.

Maybelline Baby Lips in Pink Punch
Now, this product isn’t new and it’s from their original line of Baby Lips. For spring, I really wanted a sheer pink. I have so many lipsticks and glosses, but I’ve recently been using a lot more chapstick and nothing else. I thought this bright color would be a great wash to add to my everyday look. I’m on the fence about the Baby Lips product overall, I have three other colors and have reviewed two of them here.

TRESemme Sea Salt Spray
Every summer, easy soft beach waves are always in style. I love a great undone, slept in curl look and I think a sea salt spray would be a great way to add some lightweight texture to my hair. I’ve talked to my stylist about Bumble & Bumble’s Surf Spray, but she thought it would be too heavy for my hair type. I’ve always been a fan of TRESemme products, they’re usually lightweight enough not to weigh my hair down or have a buildup of too much product. It’s a great price point too, so it doesn’t hurt to try it!

What are some of your spring beauty items you've had your eye on?

Recent Purchases for Ellie

Today I'm sharing a few purchases for Ellie, I bought several items from their big President's Sale (see my picks here) but I have a few things from other stores I picked up. I love shopping for little girls, they are so much fun! Right now she's in a 3T and I swear it's so hard to find that size, it seems like it's always sold out in stores. It also makes me sad that she's in toddler sizes and not baby ones anymore.

Floral Dress

My grandma and I went shopping and made a stop to Old Navy and I had to pick up this bright floral dress for Ellie. I love her in lots of different colors, but she really looks great in bright ones (my favorite is blue and yellow on her). I think I'm going to save this dress for Easter, but there's so many gorgeous spring dresses out I might change my mind. It's also a bit casual, so we'll see as the holiday approaches.

Chambray Hat

This adorable hat is also from that same shopping trip and it looks so cute on! They had a really cute straw hat I wanted for her, but they didn't have her size and I haven't been able to find it online.

Multi-colored Sandals

When Carter's had their big sale (see my picks here), I ordered two pairs of shoes for Ellie, but they were both too small. Anytime I order shoes in the future for her, I'm going to order two sizes and just return the ones that don't fit.  I was kind of kicking myself in the butt for not doing that in first place when I know better. They didn't have the same ones we ordered in-store, but we found these bright ones and Ellie flipped over them. I think I'll just order the other pairs again online. LOL

Rash Guard Swim Set
I saw this swimsuit at Target and snagged it almost immediately. I love the colors and it's nice that there's extra coverage for Ellie's fair skin. I've seen so many adorable suits this year, it's been hard not to buy each and every one I see! I'm also eyeing this one and another fringe one I saw in-store at Carters, but haven't seen online.

Polka-Dot Flip-Flops

I found these adorable flip-flops online and they match the suit so perfectly, but they're sold out online! Gotta find them somewhere in store- which I'm sure will never happen, but I'll try anyways. 

One more day until the weekend! Hope your week is going swimmingly :)

Recent Faves

Happy hump day! Only two more days left in the work week and Saturday will be here before we know it! There's been a few items I've been loving lately (and Ellie too) and wanted to share with everyone. Nothing crazy or expensive, just some everyday goods we enjoy. 

1. Honey Chamomile Tea

This has been in my tea pantry forever and I recently started drinking it again and haven’t stopped. It’s so delicious and perfect for chilly mornings. I add a little bit of honey (Savannah Bee’s is delicious!) and it’s the perfect touch. It’s the perfect drink at night to unwind during a House of Cards episode, anyone else watching?

 Dark Places // SkinnyGirl Bar // Image Lip Treatment

2. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

I’ve now completed all of Gillian Flynn’s books and this one is by far my favorite. Gone Girl was great, I didn’t catch the ending, but it was a bit boring at the start for me. Sharp Objects, I knew who the murderer was from the get-go, but still enjoyed the book overall. Dark Places though… it snagged my attention from the start and I couldn’t figure out the ending until the last three chapters. It is a great read and perfect for a weekend getaway. They're making it into a movie with Charlize Theron as the main character and I can't wait to watch! Gillian Flynn is so twisted, I’ve really enjoyed the dark tales in her books.

3. “Sugar” by Maroon 5

No joke, I think this is the first Maroon 5 song I’ve truly ever liked. I love the sweet lyrics (pun intended) and the beat. The video is even cuter! Being married has done Adam Levine good- I hope I enjoy their future songs just as much. I'm finally getting Ellie to enjoy a song other than Uptown Funk.

4. “Uptown Funk” music video

This video (and song) get played at our house daily, on repeat, otherwise we have a tyrant on our hands. It’s Ellie’s favorite song and she gets down on the dance floor to it.

Essie Go Ginza // Sally Hansen Blue Away

5. Spring Nails

After getting my nails done last week, I’ve been obsessed with bright and pastel polishes. I have a couple saved on my to-buy list, but you can check out my summer favorites post for my tried and tested colors!

Sandals I'm Loving

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 //

Sandals are staples for me and since I live in the California sun, I get to wear them all year. It's crazy to follow people all over the US and see how drastic the weather can change from one coast to the other. Luck for everyone warm weather is just around the corner and I've been drooling over some sandals I just had to share. As you can see, I'm a fan of neutrals although several of them come in varying colors. #1 in hot pink and green! I'm in love with 1,3, and 7 and have them in my carts ready for check out.

Weekend Recap

So sorry for the lack of posts, we've had a lot going on with daycare, sickness, and a transfer at work. I've had to focus on getting everything together and adjusting to some changes. Regular blogging should be back on track this month! Thanks for still reading!

Last week Ellie and I visited with my grandma and took her to lunch. It was such beautiful weather we were able to sit outside and Ellie loved people watching and saying "hi" to everyone coming and going. I love having my grandma close by and getting to see her more often!

Thursday night, my sister came over to watch Ellie Friday while Matt and I worked. They had so much fun together and it's always nice to spend time with her myself. She just got her engagement pictures back and we looked through all of them, oohing and aahing over all the gorgeous shots. On Friday, after work, we all went out to Chili's then my sister and I watched Grey's Anatomy (well, I fell asleep halfway womp, womp. Her wedding is this fall and Saturday morning we headed out to check out some bridesmaid dresses. We didn't have any luck, we found some gorgeous dresses, but they weren't the right color she's looking for so the hunt continues! We came back home for lunch and watched the season finale of How To Get Away With Murder.

This weekend I finally got to use a gift card my sister gave me for Christmas. It was for a deluxe pedicure at a new spa that opened. It was glorious! It included a nice scrub and a hot stone massage- I was in Heaven!

Before my pedi, Ellie helped me pick out the color so I of course had to paint hers to match when I got home. Being a girl mom is so much fun, she is hilarious and so girly, I love it!

Hope your week is of to a great start!