I could watch this girl all day. Oh wait, I do.

Just being herself. Weird. Silly. Creative. Full of energy...



Kids just make me laugh sometimes.

Musical Cribs

We are on our third crib for miss Kensie.

Yes, third.

Here's the FIRST crib:

Ahhh, the nursery in the beginning stage. Blank walls. New crib (minus the mattress at this point in the pic). No curtains yet. Fresh new rug on our newly refinished wood floors. Anxiously waiting to meet our first baby girl. 

And then she came and filled this crib full of sweetness....



{I can't believe how little she is here!}

I love this crib.

We found it on craigslist (if I had a dime for every time I said that...) and it has everything we wanted in a high-quality crib but (again) for a THIRD of the price. SCORE. Big time. As in, "we-got-a-4-piece-Pottery-Barn-nursery-furniture-set" kind of score. Yeah.

I love this crib.

An.y.way....

9 months past by...

and I was pregnant again.

Excited. Thrilled.

But, we needed a second crib. So, we moved the (above) crib into the "new nursery" (which now belongs to Mason) and my thoughtful friend Jessica offered to loan us the SECOND crib...

A perfect fit and exactly my taste.

That makes one crib for Kensie and one crib for Mason.

Problem solved!

Then....

Jessica was pregnant again.

Her third girl.

{Jess is one of those cute Moms you could totally picture with 3 adorable girls. Go check out her blog here to see what I mean. Adorable right? I told you.}

Anyway, she is due in September--right around Kensie's second birthday.

You do the math.

I wasn't ready to force Kensie out of the crib to a big girl bed yet, so we had to think of something quick!

We figured it was worth investing in a second crib so, back to craigslist we went and found her THIRD crib...



A convertible crib that will go from crib to toddler bed to full size headboard.

And in case you were wondering....cribs DON'T FIT THROUGH DOORWAYS. That means disassemble, reassemble, disassemble, reassemble....etc. We are now professional crib-setter-uppers to say the least.

But, I think we are DONE with the musical crib game. Whew!

For a while anyway....

:)

Puzzles!

I feel like I am on a video marathon here by sharing one in every post lately {my apologies to those of you hoping for something other than "life with kids" kind of posts--it's such a BIG part of my life}. But, there's something about watching toddlers grow and learn that just beckons me to pull out the camera, ya know?

Kensie spends a lot of time doing puzzles. After she hops down from breakfast at the counter, she wanders over to her kid table and becomes enthralled in some kind of puzzle. Sometimes she will do them by herself. But, usually she wants me to sit with her and cheer her on to finish one.

I see her determination to finish and her satisfaction once it's done.

Such simple accomplishments make me swell with pride.

Pockets and Shews

This girl loves two things right now....

Pockets.

Pockets on shorts.

Pockets on dresses.

Pockets on other people's shorts and shirts.

Pockets, pockets, pockets.

And her hands must be in them at ALL times.

It's all fun and games until the day she runs with her hands in her pockets and trips and falls and...well, you know what would happen next...

Ouch.

She also loves "shews" as she calls them.

Her shoes.

Daddy's shoes.

Mommy's shoes.

Mason's shoes.

Everyone must wear their shoes at ALL times.

She frequently brings me various pairs of shoes and informs me who they belong to.

And like any good mom would, I play along.

For now.

My favorite things

{1} Kensie's Crocs

She can put them on herself. They go with every outfit. She can wear them to church, to play, and run through the sprinklers. I scrub them with dish soap and a brush and they look like NEW. Found them on Amazon--they have tons of different colors.

{2} Certain Dri

I have a sweating problem. Bad. Embarrassingly bad. So bad, in fact, I probably could get a prescription for it. Just ask any former teammate of mine and they will tell you my uniform was always a darker shade than the rest of the team. No lie. But then I found this stuff and it works like a charm--at least for the under arm area. And you can buy it right at the grocery store! I make sure to NEVER run out. Let's hope they make it forever!

{3} Dirt Devil

Small enough to fit in a tiny closet. Light-weight enough for Kensie to use. Powerful enough to pick up just about anything on the wood and tile floors. Cheap enough to fit in your budget. LOVE.

{4} Aveda glossing straightener

I use a pea-size amount of this product so it lasts a loooong time. I run it through my hair as soon as I get out of the shower. It smells amazing and keeps the frizz down as I'm blow-drying my hair. It's a little pricey but SO worth it.


{5} Cougar Chariot {double}

I could go ON and ON about this one. Basically it's a double jogger stroller on steroids {the one shown is a single so ours is a bit wider}--can be a four wheel stroller OR a jogger stroller OR converts to a bike trailer in a pinch. Ours came with extra storage on the top and back making it easy to pack everything you need for a long outing. It pushes with incredible ease and turns on a dime! I cannot say enough about it. Thankfully we found one on craigslist for half the price!


{6} Hamilton Beach Brew Station coffee maker

This was one of those Christmas gifts {from my thoughtful hubby} that you never asked for but your gift-giver hit the nail right on the head! I especially love that it self-dispenses. No clumsy coffee pot to take in and out. Just put your cup under the dispenser and push. Mess-free and great for company!

{7} King-size bed

We love to cuddle. But when it comes down to actually sleeping, we need to stretch our 6'0" and 6'3" bodies way-the-heck out. We tell every newlywed we know to get one of these. Even though you think you will want to sleep right next to each other your whole life...trust us. This bed will make you love each other even MORE. Speaking of sleep.....

{8} Sleep Mate sound machine

Now that I have "mom ears" (you mommies know what I'm talking about)...I'm not a very sound sleeper anymore. This machine saved my life. And it easily packs in our bags to take on vacation!

{9} Mary Kay mineral powder

All my skin care products are MK but this is the one I love the most. And it lasts for.e.ver. All over coverage that doesn't weigh your skin down.

{10} Watching these two

'Cuz the list wouldn't be complete without them.

4 months!

And the next two pics sum up how the day went...

Kensie insisted on being in the picture and then refused to smile or look at me. Little stinker.

It seems like when we try to take it easy in the mornings and don't go anywhere, she turns into a 13 year old with an attitude. Follows me around ev.er.y.where.... to the bathroom, to get a drink, to do the laundry.

JUST PLAY BY YOURSELF CHILD. 

Mr. Mason {however} is just as happy as ever. As long as he is fed enough--still working on a post about that whole issue lately. Let's just say, I'm SO ready to be done nursing. And I'm ready for my little sleeper to come back for good.

Backyard decisions...

First of all...to weed? Or not to weed?

 (looking out the living room window into the backyard)



I choose "not to" and it's not pretty.

***

Ok, now onto something a bit more fun to discuss...

Here's a shot of our backyard {looking out the same window}:

 Love the grass and shady trees. Don't love the view of the house behind us.

Here's the problem:

I want privacy and a safe place for our kids to play without running into someone else's yard {never mind the busy street behind us too}. We live on a cul-de-sac so the front yard is where we spend most of our time. But, the backyard is not so enticing.

Greg doesn't like the "look" of fences. He understands the need for safety if we ever want to play in the backyard but, cannot get past the "look" of a fence. Mind you, he grew up in farm country with TONS of room. I get that.

So, here's some ideas we've discussed:



A white picket fence...

(simple version using my paint program)



A row of bushes...

Or a tall privacy fence {with bushes in front}...

What do you think? Opinions? Would love to hear other ideas as well!