Thanksgiving 2013

We've had a great Thanksgiving day in Little Rock with my family! We woke up early and watched the parade while eating a big breakfast, then lounged around in our pajamas for the rest of the morning. The weather has been chilly but beautiful so we took the girls outside to play for a little bit but not without putting on their sweaters and taking a couple of photos of course!

We usually have our big Thanksgiving meal at lunch but this year we waited until dinner and I really enjoyed doing it that way. As always, our food was delicious and I helped myself to an extra large serving of everything. My eyes were much bigger than my stomach.

The little nuggets got a small plate of Thanksgiving food themselves. Now Ivy is sick and can't stop throwing up (they don't usually get table food) and the other two are, and will probably remain, in a food coma for the remainder of the evening.

I have so much to be thankful for and I don't think I could even begin to count all of my many blessings. He is so good!! Happy Thanksgiving everybody! I hope you have too many blessings to count as well.

Campbell's Closet {Fall/Winter Edition}

One of my favorite things about expecting a baby is shopping for little mini clothes! Right when I found out I was pregnant I started browsing the baby isles in department stores and couldn't wait until I knew the gender so I could actually start buying things. When I found out I was having a boy I was so worried that shopping for blue instead of pink wouldn't bring me as much joy. I had honestly never really paid attention to boy clothes because I was too distracted by the adorable girl clothes to even notice them. Once I started to shop for Campbell I realized that I am going to have just as much fun shopping for a boy as I would a girl. Boy clothes are so cute and I love, love stocking my little guy's closet. Spring and summer clothes haven't hit the stores yet but there is absolutely no way that I could be patient enough to wait around for them to arrive before I started buying things. The fall and winter clothes that are out right now are so cute and I just had to purchase some items even though we have a whole entire year before he'll get to wear them. Today I thought I'd share Campbell's closet with you guys and give you a small glimpse into what his little style will look like!

1.) This was one of the first outfits I bought for Campbell. It's one of my favorites and I bet he'll look so adorable in it come fall 2014!

2.) I'm kind of obsessed with this plaid one piece. It will be so precious for him to wear during the holidays and I think it looks super cute paired with the little jean jacket. Gap labeled this as a "cool mom pick" and I have to admit, that label makes me love it even more.
3.) I like that this is a shirt with a little onesie underneath. This will be perfect for fall weather.
4.) As you can see, I like one piece rompers. This, like #2, is lined with flannel so not only is it cute but it will be really soft and comfortable for him as well.
5.) I love this old grandpa-looking sweater. It will be great for layering.
6.) I bought this sweater jumpsuit at Target the day I found out I was having a boy. It was one of the few boy items that caught my eye before I knew the gender and I told myself if I was having a boy I had to go back and get it.
7.) One baby clothing item that I am obsessed with is Kickee Pants. It's my go-to baby gift because the material is so soft and they look so comfortable. Campbell will definitely be lounging in lots of Kickee Pants!
8.) I found these Ugg knockoff's at TJ Maxx and I love them. I feel like baby shoes can be kind of awkward because they look too big and bulky and impractical. I think these boots will be perfect for keeping his little feet warm in the winter and I feel like they'll stay on really well while he's crawling around on the floor. My husband isn't the biggest fan of them but oh well.
9.) I'm not usually drawn to clothes with phrases on them and we probably won't own many but Meet Me Under The Mistletoe.....I mean, how could I resist that?

My Home At Christmas

I love decorating my house for Christmas. I have so many Christmas decorations stored in my attic and I look forward to the anticipation of pulling them out and setting them up every year. I usually go all out and it takes me days and days to decorate my house but this year it's gone a little differently. I did a few things here and there and maybe I'll add a little bit to it but I didn't put up as much Christmas this year as I have in the past. We're going to be out of a town a lot of December and I honestly just didn't feel like messing with decorating. I'm not being a scrooge, I promise! My house is still festive and fun but on a smaller scale than usual. Want to take a peek inside?

This is only my second Christmas in my house but every year I love my mantel. The white works really well with Christmas decorations! As I was putting up our stockings I thought about next year and how we'll have 5 hanging up instead of 4!

I did my Christmas tree different this year and went with an all white and silver theme. It's very pretty and I'm really enjoying the change!

I always love the way ornaments look in clear containers so I copied what I did last year and stuck some pastel colored ornaments in my lantern and placed a mini poinsettia beside it. I always enjoy the way this turns out. Side note: I love that photo of Ivy and Madison. I took it of them right before they got their first haircut. They look like such little babies in that picture! 

My absolute favorite part of my Christmas decorations is my Department 56 Snow Village. I didn't get to put it up last year because the table that it's sitting on now hadn't come in yet and we didn't have anywhere else to put it. I usually add a new house every year but what we have on this table now is all that will fit so Scott and I aren't real sure how we're going to be able to continue to add to our collection. Hopefully we can figure something out because it's so fun adding to it every year!

So there you go! That's my Christmas decor this year. I still have one more piece to add before it's all complete and I'll probably get to that at some point today. I have a bunch of beautiful glass ornaments with holly painted on them and I always like to do something with them in remembrance of the best Christmas present I've ever received, my sweet Holly. Christmas will always remind me of my sweet girl and I like to do something special to feel like she is somehow still included. 

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

How is it already Monday? My weekend flew by! I spent my Friday helping my best buds unpack/move into their new house. Oh and I should probably mention that these best buds of mine officially live 2 doors down from me. TWO! One. Two. Two doors down the street. Can I get a Woo Hoo?! My two absolute closest and bestest girlfriends both live in the same neighborhood as me now and I could not be more thrilled.

Jaclyn, Jacqueline and I have nearly been inseperable since bid day 10 years ago. We lived together in the Kappa house, we take trips together, we were all in each others weddings, we spend our weekends together and now we live in the same neighborhood! Jax (right) and her husband moved into the neighborhood in August and Jaclyn (center) and her husband are the ones who moved in next door (basically) over the weekend. Doesn't every girl dream of living in the same neighborhood with her best friends!? Having them living so close makes me so, so happy! I keep telling y'all that I live in the best neighborhood in NWA and this is officially the cherry on top!

While Jaclyn was unpacking her new house her pup, Rose, came to our house to play. My girls are obsessed with Rose. Her name is one of their favorite words and they love when she comes over. Hopefully they'll get to see a lot more of her now that she lives next door. Nothing would thrill them more.

I spent the majority of my day yesterday getting my house decorated for Christmas. I usually wait until after Thanksgiving to decorate but since it's only 30 days until Christmas I figured I should get the ball rolling. Everything is pretty much finished except for a few little things here and there. I'll share pics tomorrow! Until then....

20 Weeks

Today I hit the halfway mark in my pregnancy! 140 days in, 140 more to go. I'd have to say that the midway point in my pregnancy has been my favorite time so far. I feel great and Campbell moves all the time which is such an amazing feeling. Everything is getting really fun now because we're in the beginning stages of getting the nursery ready and simply calling him by is his name instead of saying "the baby" makes it all feel even more real.

Size of Baby: 10 1/2 ounces and 10 inches long, about the length of a banana.

How I'm Feeling: I feel pretty good. I've been more tired this week than usual and had a tiny bit of nausea but really, there isn't much to complain about. The last few weeks have been easy breezy compared to the first 16.

Cravings/Appetite: My appetite has definitely changed. When I'm hungry I'm starving and have to eat right away but a few small bites of food later and I am stuffed. Sometimes I get so full from lunch that I don't even want dinner. It's weird. I thought I would be famished all day long being pregnant but I eat less than I did before I was pregnant.

Clothes: Believe it or not my jeans still fit. They're definitely getting tighter and leave marks on my stomach when I sit down for a long time. Haha. They aren't uncomfortable though so until they are I'm hanging onto them. I've been wearing a couple of maternity tops that I got at Motherhood Maternity and I really like them because they're long and work great with leggings. I'm totally going to continue to wear these tops for years to come because it's so hard to find tops long enough to wear with leggings. Who knew you just needed to shop the maternity stores to find them?!

Movement: Oh yes! My little man moves around constantly and I LOVE it. I can't feel him when I'm standing but the second I sit or lay down I feel him moving around. I've always wondered what it feels like to have a baby move around inside of you and I feel so lucky and blessed that I get to experience it. It's seriously one of the most amazing feelings in the world and if I let myself think about the miracle of it for too long it brings tears to my eyes.

Changes in Me: I'm just half a pound shy of my pre-pregnancy weight now. I weigh every Friday morning and I always expect the scale to be up by 5 extra pounds from the week before since I feel like I'm growing so much but I'm gaining a steady pound a week and I'm really pleased with that. I hope I stay on this track for the duration of this pregnancy.

Baby Purchases: I've given the green light for the baby bedding to get made! I went to the fabric store earlier this week to look at swatches and I thought I would be there for hours but I found exactly what I wanted in about 45 minutes. I think it helped that I wanted something very simple. Campbell's room will be really "grown up" with different shades of grey linen and I think it's going to come together really well!

Favorite Moment This Week: Feeling my little one move around so much! I don't have anything to compare it to but I would say that Campbell is a very active little baby. He kicks and punches and I've even felt him roll around in there. Or at least I think that's what's happening. I like to think that he's a happy baby given how much he dances inside of me!

Looking Forward To: Thanksgiving with my family! I saw my Mom just last week but I know she and the rest of my family are going to be surprised to see how much I've grown since I last saw them. Within the last few days Scott occasionally looks at my belly with big eyes and says "you're pregnant!" There is definitely no denying it!!!

Baby Needs

I was bored on Saturday and didn't have a lot to do so I decided to set up a baby registry online at Target. I know it's still really early but I figured I'd slowly add things to it here and there. While I was attempting to add items to my registry I realized I had absolutely no clue what I was doing and the only thing I felt confident about adding was a basket of Aveeno products. About an hour later I logged out with a major headache. I'm aware of the very basics that I need but for the most part, I'm clueless. Everyone has been really helpful so far when I've had baby questions so I thought I'd occasionally blog about items I'm questioning and see if anyone out there wants to give me advice or offer their input. Please help me out! Any and all opinions are appreciated!!

1.) This isn't really anything I need to worry about for a while but since I have plenty of time now I would like to get it figured out. I really want to make my own baby food for Campbell. I know, it's cute that I think I'm actually going to do that, I get it. I really, really want to give it a shot though. I've been doing research online to try to figure out which baby food maker is best and I haven't really come across anything. The one that stands out the most to me is this one from Williams Sonoma.

Has anyone out there ever used it or any other baby food maker? If so what are your reviews? I have a regular food processor but I've heard it doesn't puree the food well enough. If anyone has some insight on this I'd love to hear from you!

2.) I somehow stumbled upon this Bamboo Mod'Swad swaddle from Woombie and I think it's so cool. I love that it zips up and the little tie at the bottom is so cute to me. Has anyone ever used it?

3.) Obviously baby monitors are really important. I found one at Target that I like but I'm basing it solely off of looks which probably isn't the most practical way to go. What baby monitor do you/did you use? Any tips on how to pick one out?

4.) Is it honestly necessary for me to get a pack and play? They're so big and take up so much space and the anti-clutter girl in me does not want one of those in my house. I know people like to have them for traveling but I feel like the only traveling we'll do when he's really little is to my parents house in Little Rock and I'm pretty sure my Mom will have her own crib/baby bed so I won't always have to bring my own. Let's discuss this.

5.) I am head over heels in love with this bassinet from Restoration Hardware. My husband keeps trying to tell me that this is not a practical purchase. Silly Scott---of course it is!! Anyone out there want to help me win this argument?