I received compensation from Dr. Scholl’s® to write this post. All opinions are my own.
It was definitely a transition going from dating my hubby while I was pregnant to dating with an infant. And, if I’m being honest, I’ll subtly admit that View Post
Oh, sweet girl! That’s what your name must be to me because that’s what I always seem to gently squeal to you when I see you. I’m over the moon for you. I just went clothes shopping for you but unfortunately after you tried the outfits on I’ll need to return half of everything since you’re well into 6-9 month clothes! You’re a long string bean! The pediatrician said you’re tall just like your cute sisters.
The days of laying on your back while watching the ceiling fan spin are long gone. With so many exciting things going on in that brain of yours you can’t help but want interaction and play. Oftentimes you’re in my arms or snug in a wrap on my hip. That wrap has saved our bacon too many times. Savannah started school and we’re all missing her. I think she’s your favorite, <but my lips are sealed about it 😉 >. While the twins are napping, you and I will go out in our culdesac, my feet are buried in the tall green grass and you’ll lounge and nurse away while we wait for Savannah’s school bus to arrive. Once you spot her face your face brightens up like never before. It’s made my heart swell so much this week. And remembering that makes my stomach turn into a giant knot. It’s all going by way too fast. I’m having this feeling that I’ll want to keep you home until you HAVE to leave for school for Kinder. Savannah came home from the first day of school asking to get her ears pierced while telling me after the 2nd day of school that the kids in her class said they’ll be her best friend if she brings them money. Hm. Needless to say we’re all missing her, especially you. I just started rolling you on to your belly more often. Only your feet seem to know how to move. And they kick and flail so fast and furious. It makes me smile every time. Your poor knees are going to take a beating. You’re still nursing every few hours while sleeping 10-11 hours each night. Your day time naps have been a bit off, I’m just not home enough to be consistent with that. Once you started sleeping all night I just didn’t care about how long and well you napped. If you’re ever struggling to sleep, you sure do love the swing and that’s where you’ll go (a few times each week). We stopped having you swaddled a few weeks ago and since you pulled a long 2 hour nap the first try, we haven’t looked back. I’m real tired most of the time. It doesn’t help that your daddy and I fall asleep around midnight (or later) every night. We’re talking or working and before we know it’s far too late into the evening. There’s lots of exciting things going on with his orthodontic practice that he’ll be building from the ground up. And sweet girl, you’re our perfect caboose. We love you.
We found the cutest GoBabyGo leggings, socks, and tights that’ll be perfect as she’s entering the crawling phase. I’ve snagged almost every color! The non-slip rubber pads on the knees make the leggings last through all the fun moving + rolling this sweet girl will be doing. I especially love the wide ribbed waist. I can’t tell you how many leggings and tights my girls have gone through and the tight, skinny waist band is the first thing to start bothering them. 
Little girlfrand turned a whoppin’ 5 months old! My cute friend Emily from Olive Rae Handmade came over to whip up a new floral number! I found this romper at a thrift store and couldn’t resist. I loved the mustard, white, grey, and black colors. Emily used preserved English Ivy with black berries, preserved gardenias, and dried yellow strawflowers. And it turned out so stinking cute! Emily and I got done with it and was like, “Wow! That was the easiest number we’ve done.” The #4 from last month wasn’t as simple. After the 50th picture we realized the “4” looked terribly skewed and off. haha. Happy 5 months, baby Avery!
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Disney. All opinions are entirely my own.
Meal times with kids is not for the weary. And feeding kids lunch has proven to be a battle for a TON of my friends and definitely for me! In case you find yourself struggling to get your kids eating your nutritiously prepared food, know that you’re in good company! View Post
N I N E YEARS! wow. Aaron is my person. 9+ years ago we both were in the right season of life when my sister casually set us up on a blind date while we were in college at BYU in Utah. I had been studying late at night for an anatomy exam when my phone vibrated with a call from him (he later told me he had just called my sister beforehand to make sure he would pronounce my name correctly, lol) asking if he could take me out that evening. Um ok! Hot tubbing? Yeah, fine. <run to the bath to shave legs>. It was the first date in a long time where butterflies swarmed my tummy. View Post
Thank you JCPenney for sponsoring this post!
My oldest baby is entering Kindergarten. There. I said it. Cue the tears or toss some confetti, I’m not quite sure how I feel about it. View Post
I just got home from teaching my fitness class and now the 3 littlest kids are all down for naps. How they’re all sleeping at the same time is beyond me! I think persistence and a lot of luck went into each of their sleep training. HA! View Post
Dallas in the middle of summer can get a little hot. That might be a bit of an understatement… it gets REALLY hot. When we moved into our home 6 summers ago it was above 100 degrees for the entire first month! If we’re not spending our time hiding from the heat indoors with the air conditioning blowing full blast, we’re outside and in the water. Pools, splash pads, backyard sprinklers…. as long as water is involved, being outside is still an option! And the kids absolutely love it! BUT with their love for water comes the many, many scary experiences we’ve had around pools with my little ones falling/jumping/being pushed in the water. View Post
Avery truly has been the sweetest caboose to our family. When I think back to how life was while juggling the newborn twins, I just remember feeling like it was all a blur. My sister-in-law came in town for a week to help and another friend took off work for 1 week to help… and then it was all me. I struggled with not having the ‘down time’ to cuddle and relax since there was another baby that needed to bed fed/burped/changed etc (and a brand new 2 year old). To say that this has been the sweetest chapter to end on would be a huge understatement. I am SOAKING her chubby cheeks up!
But most of the time my mind is stretched pretty thin and I’ve gotta share my biggest “mom fail screw-up” with Avery. View Post
Avery is gaining weight and growing inches. With how fast time is flying I feel like she’s going to turn 1 year by next week! But y’all, it’s been so fun. Looking back, the first month was all about snuggling, waking a sleepy baby to feed, figuring out nursing, and surviving the 24 hour shifts. The eye bags were real and deep. It was hard. It was tough needing to be present View Post
{“It’s so fluffy I’m gonna die!”. Name that movie 😉 }
A few days ago I noticed little Avery seems so intrigued with me eating. Hubs and I were snacking and kept noticing her just staring and smiling every time we started chewing! Seriously adorable. We talked about how there’s this whole new world she’s going to be introduced to with food, and then jokingly said “Is there anything better in life than eating?” Tough question. And there may only be one thing in the whole world better than eating….. View Post
Y’all. I’ve been absolutely floored by the reaction to this one photo I shared on Instagram recently. I was humbled and brought to tears when nearly a thousand women reached out by sharing their own familiar stories while offering me encouragement for being real and honest about the changes that come with becoming a mother. This post was shared by a few media outlets like Huffington Post Parents, Huffington Post UK, PopSugar, Daily Mail, Trending World, Metro, and Poland. It BLOWS my mind to see this message that I feel passionate about has reached so many people that identify with this reality. View Post
Since their Grandad is 100% British, the phrase “the redcoats are coming!” means their beloved Grandad and Grammie are coming to visit. But even with that English blood in his veins, Ethan apparently has some mad American pride already 😉 And boy does my hubs love to give his dad a hard time when 4th of July rolls around every year! Grandad’s reply is typically something like what we got back from him yesterday: “It was just a rebellious colony that didn’t appreciate good tea. No big deal.” View Post
My hubs and I have been having some heart to heart chats about where we’re heading in our parenting journey. And honestly, it seems as though we come to the same conclusions each time. We want our home and family to be a place to express and receive a lot of love and grace. View Post
Each time I became pregnant my first thoughts always jumped to how I would be feeding the baby–Since that pretty much runs your life for the first few months. And each experience was totally different from the last. And knowing what I know now, if I had to go back and do it all over again I would remind myself to be incredibly flexible and do what was best for me. Because the mental health and sanity of the mama to a new baby means more than ANY thing else! And I love the catchy phrase, “Fed is best”. Ain’t nobody got time for any mom shaming. Mmmk?! I’d love to share a short recap of my experience breastfeeding all 4 of my kids including what tips I believe helped! View Post
I can’t stop gushing over our first vacation ever as a family of 6 at the JW Marriott San Antonio Resort and Spa! Avery is almost 3 months old and our day to day routine with a baby felt stable enough for a family getaway right here in Texas. San Antonio is a 5 hour drive from us in Dallas and the kids did fantastic in the car ride down! Aaron and I kept looking at each other during the trip while enthusiastically saying , “This is SO easy!” –A big fat shout-out to packaged snacks and our girl Moana who entertained the kids. View Post