weekend happenings

Apparently I need to share my weekend to-do list every week because it turns out it not only was motivating for me but also provided me with a sense of accountability because we got all of those things DONE! Cue the confetti!! 

Our weekend happenings ...

On Friday night an Amazon box was delivered with a bunch of things from our baby registry and while unpacking it, it sparked a desire to bring up a few bigger baby items we've been keeping in storage since Liam grew out of them. Like a baby carseat! Nic installed it in our car and it has been so crazy to look in the back seat while out and about this weekend to find not one but TWO carseats back there! It starting to get very real that we are about to have TWO kids!! Liam of course was completly fascinated by this new addition and felt like it must be for him ;) ...

After our walk on Saturday morning we did the big basement clean! I don't know about you but I LOVE getting rid of things that are just sitting around collecting dust so I filled several bags that we donated later in the day while Nic vacuumed everything and Liam ran around like a wild man finding random childhood treasures of ours to play with. haha

We are still very much in the middle of potty training by the way. Up until about Thursday of last week, he had the peeing part down but would have a complete meltdown anytime he had to poop. I'm talking screaming, water works, and a lot of fear. He hasn't wanted to go in his pull up though so anytime he did have to go he would start panicking and we just felt at a complete loss of how to help him. In the beginning we were giving him a new "beep beep" anytime he went in the potty and that seemed to work a few times but then the fear set in. It wasn't until giving him a popsicle after he went on Thursday because we were out of new cars that he started WANTING to try to go! Who knows how long those blessed popsicles will work for but we'll take it!

Saturday evening my boys were such troopers and humored me with maternity/family pictures. They turned out really cute and I'm excited to share them this week! Until then, I was just snapping away to check the lighting on my camera before taking our family picture and happened to capture one of my new favorite pictures of my boys ...

After church on Sunday there was an incredible cloud cover going on outside and I could actually stand the temperature for a change! We spent the evening in our backyard doing Liam's new favorite activity, harvesting from our garden. I couldn't believe how many sugar snap peas we had already! Besides chopping them up on salads, I only have one or two recipes I've ever used them in so if you have any good ones, please share!

As they always seem to, our weekend went SO fast and before we knew it, it was Monday morning again. Thankfully today has been just as productive ... cleaned my house like usual but deep cleaned my kitchen from top to bottom! No more crumbs in cupboards, the pantry and every single drawer completely organized, and the front of the cupboards washed down. Nesting at it's finest! 

Hope you had the BEST weekend! XO

Friday Favorites

Anyone else's week seem to FLY by?!! I have a feeling this will be the case as we countdown these final weeks until our little girlfriend joins our family! We've been checking off several projects on the "nesting" list including finally finishing her dresser so I spent nap time today moving all of her tiny newborn clothes into the drawers (ah, they are SO tiny, including newborn diapers)!!

Also on the list of things I hope to accomplish this weekend ... an organizing, cleaning, and purging of our basement (Liam has gotten sand from his sandbox everywhere down there and I hate knowing in the back of my mind that we are hanging on to a bunch of crap we don't need) and a family photoshoot. I'm probably crazy to try to taking the pictures ourselves but we're going to give it a shot! I don't have any maternity pictures from Liam's pregnancy anyway (a sad story for another day) and so I don't really have huge expectations, just want to keep it simple. Our last family pictures were taken in October, almost a year ago, so I'd like to get a few of us three before a fourth member joins our family. Liam will be starting preschool here in a few weeks (CRAZY!) and his teacher also wants a cute headshot of him to go in his very own binder so I want to capture one of those too. Before jumping into the weekend, just wanted to share a few Friday favorites including a peek at her dresser! ;)

First of all, the color we painted the dresser is Pink Elephant by Behr and it is the perfect pale pink with a peachy undertone and the knobs are from here!! I love it!

We've been on the hunt for a double jogging stroller all summer and were lucky enough to find a neighbor selling her gently used one yesterday! It's an InStep and so far it has been great!

Land of Nod is having their site wide 20% off Friends & Family sale this weekend and I'm having to hold myself back from getting this rug to complete baby girl's room.

I wore this non-maternity dress for my baby shower last weekend and plan to wear it again for maternity/family pictures this weekend. It's so beautiful in person!

I came across this quote this week and haven't stopped thinking about it since ... "Speak to your children as if they are the wisest, kindest, most beautiful, magical humans on earth, for what they believe is what they will become." - Brooke Hampton ... As a mom, I not only want Liam to believe he is absolutely that but so much MORE because in my eyes, it couldn't describe him more perfectly. 

Happy Weekend, Friends! XO   

a baby shower for baby girl

My sweet mom came to town this weekend and hosted baby girl and I the most beautiful garden baby shower! It was small, simple, and perfect! A few family members living near by and some of my closest friends came to celebrate with us and baby girl was completely spoiled! 

32 weeks pregnant ...

We had the cutest little set up in my backyard where we had the party. We hung an "OH BABY" balloon banner on the fence with some of my favorite peachy pink colored balloons. 

Nic helped set up our new umbrella to try and shade the table because it was definitely hot out there by 11:30 A.M. We decorated the table with berry boxes and a little watering can filled with beautiful cone flowers and baby's breath. It turned out beautiful! I'm so excited to plant the rest of the cone flower plants in my front yard to remind me every summer of the shower they were from. :)

As guests arrived, we had chicken salad sandwiches on croissants, veggies, cheese and crackers, and pink lemonade for lunch. Everyone got to know each other and catch up as we ate. 

We played pass the prize with a cute poem which Nic wrote half of ;) (I was seriously impressed!) and guess the children's book title. My friend Dani won the first game and my friend Mickenzie won the second and both got cute flower covered closet scent bags to hang in their closets and make them smell good!

After games we had sugar cookie fruit pizzas for dessert. They were a HUGE hit with the kids and they loved licking off ALLLL the frosting. haha 

 After dessert was gift opening. Baby girl got so many adorable outfits, blankets, and cute things to finish decorating her nursery that we ended the day feeling so much more prepared and set for her arrival! 

Liam's little best friend Hadley came to the shower with this magic wand that clearly he was fascinated with, so funny ... haha

I gave all the guests a peek into her nursery before they left. One of my oldest and dearest friends drove all the way from Twin Falls to come to the shower (it meant so much to me!) so she stayed a little while longer after everyone else left to talk with my mom and I! 

So many thank you's from this day ...

To my mom :: for driving all this way to spend the weekend with us, putting together food and decorations, and for everything that went into hosting the best baby shower!!

To my sweet friends and family who came :: thank you for being part of such a special day for me. It meant the world!

To my friends and family who sent gifts but weren't able to travel so far :: you were definitely missed but made baby girl and I feel so loved!

second baby bumpdate | 32 weeks

First of all, it feels so exciting to be in my 8th month of pregnancy. I definitely am physically feeling it at this point but knowing we get to meet our baby girl in just a little over a handful of weeks from now makes it totally worth it!! 

She still doesn't have a name quite yet which I've been surprised we haven't felt concerned about because Nic and I are such planners at heart. Also considering we had Liam's name picked out shortly after our 20 week ultrasound with him and it just fit right away and felt right from that moment on. We have narrowed it down to a couple of favorites and plan on deciding at the hospital after we meet her for the first time!

You get to see a little peek into her nursery in this picture. It is getting so close to being done, I can't wait to share soon!

How Far Along ...

32 weeks

Gender ...

GIRL! 

Maternity Clothes ...

Definitely! Although I won't lie, I spend most of my time in my Dwell + Slumber nightgown or my robe that barely ties shut at this point whenever I am home. ;)

Belly Button & Wedding Ring ...

Belly button barely in, ring barely on. haha 

Sleep ...

Pregnancy insomnia has hit in full force and sleep is really hard to come by these days. I feel discomfort in just about every position I try and have a hard time with acid reflux or breathing while lying down. It makes for some long nights and even longer days entertaining a two year old.

Best Moment(s) this Week ...

Getting a surprise opportunity to see baby girl on an ultrasound! I've been measuring big throughout this pregnancy and my OB just wanted to check and make sure everything was okay. Baby girl only measured 2 days ahead of our scheduled due date and the amniotic fluid levels were normal so we feel blessed she is healthy and growing away in there! My second best moment was getting her going home from the hospital outfit in the mail this week. It was such a fun and special thing for me to pick out for her and I can't wait for her to wear it!

Miss Anything ...

I miss having energy and being able to sleep! If I exercise in the morning it completely zaps the rest of my energy for the day and I usually have to take a nap when Liam does to keep up. Even on the days that I just got for a walk in the evenings, by the end of the day I definitely physically feel it. 

Movement ...

She loves to move any time I'm still (sitting or laying down) which is my favorite because I can actually enjoy it during those times. She never kicks hard enough to wake me up or anything. At our ultrasound, the tech said she was head down and facing up which would explain the constant little feet I've been feeling shoved under my rib cage though! haha ;)

Cravings ...

I'm loving grapes lately! 

Feelings & Emotions ...

Physically it has been a rough couple weeks for me which of course takes a toll emotionally too. I had the flu two weeks ago and then followed it up with an unexpected tooth implant last week. I also decided during all of that chaos to potty train Liam so poor Nic has come home to tears a few of those days. haha I'm thankful that the flu only lasted about 48 hours. Now I'm just hopeful that the tooth pain will go away soon too! 

Looking Forward to ... 

My mom coming to town tomorrow and throwing me a baby shower on Saturday! I'm excited to see friends and family and celebrate this sweet baby girl!!! 

Potty Training & Tooth Implants

Based on THAT ^ title, you can imagine what a FUN week it has been over here! ;) It actually started out amazing but definitely went downhill from there. Monday Liam and I had such a good day together. We didn't do anything out the ordinary (in fact, we cleaned the house) and typically we both miss daddy going back to work on that day so Mondays are never really our favorite but Liam woke up in such a good mood and he LISTENED all day long!! I don't think I heard the word "no" once. It was SO nice considering most of our days don't look like that right now, with a 2 1/2 year old and all. 

We've been "practicing" on the big boy potty for a month or two now. Going "bubbles" as he likes to call it. ;) haha Because he established a word for it and expressed great joy from receiving a handful of mini m&m's after he went each time, it was enough to make us want to go all in on Tuesday morning. The first day went GREAT! I didn't sleep at all the night before (pregnancy and major anxiety dreams) but something about the excitement of it all, he made it through the entire first day with 0 accidents!! He even pooped in his potty TWICE! There was clapping, cheering, copious m&m's all around, two new "beep beeps", and a cute little bare bum running around the whole first day! I went to bed that night feeling on top of the world, like this might not be so bad after all.

Day 2, he woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Immediately I knew we weren't off to the best start. It was obvious after a few minutes of asking him if he had to go that the excitement of the first day had worn off already and he no longer wanted to be asked anymore. Two hours into the morning I had already heard the word "no" about 30 times and after stepping away for 2 seconds, he pooped right on the carpet. Awesome. The positive part was that it was his only accident for that day. Up to this point I still kept him naked on the bottom half and he had gotten really good at saying, "Mom, more bubbles" when he had to pee. 

Day 3 was a real doozy. Nic took the day off work because one of my baby teeth (they never fell out as a child or had adult teeth to replace them underneath) had finally reached its lifespan and I had to have an extraction and implant put in. There really is no "fun" time to have that kind of thing done but being almost 31 weeks pregnant and having to lay flat on your back as someone drills into your gums is just about the worst timing. When I got home Nic was helping our neighbors load their Uhaul (so sad that they moved yesterday!) and Liam was happily playing in their garage with underwear on for the first time. I hadn't planned on starting that step so early but Nic said he'd asked him all morning and Liam had kept them dry! I went in to rest as the numbing started to wear off and the ache set in and felt thankful to have him home to keep an eye on Liam and take over the incessant "Do you have to use the potty?" question for me. It turned out the underwear were maybe a LITTLE premature because he peed through them and all down his legs three times that day. 

That leaves today. Today is day 4 of potty training (halfway through the day) and he has already pooped in a pair of underwear that went promptly into the garbage can because ain't nobody got time to clean that mess up and peed in the second pair. So, off come the underwear again and it looks like maybe I have to remain home bound with a naked toddler for the rest of the weekend. Thankfully day 2 of tooth implant pain isn't so bad. 

If you made it through all of that (likely only my parents and grandma haha), bless you for reading my doozy of a week! I am fully aware that potty training takes time and thankfully, time is what I have so we won't give up and continue pressing on, poop filled underwear and all! haha Hope you guys have a great weekend! XO

15 things lately

Happy Monday! 

Just popping in to share 15 things that have been happening around here lately ...

1 | Liam has been refusing to wear a bib at meal time but always wants the messiest foods (i.e. yogurt!!!). However, he'll wear one no problem if daddy does soooo ... Parenting at its finest!

2 | Suns out, buns out! haha just kidding but definitely pig tails on repeat for this momma in the 100 degree heat we've been having!

3 | Liam's year was made when all of his favorite "beep beeps" were in one place ... the Wellness Complex Family Fun Days last month! He has been yanking his arm up and down mimicking the conductor pulling the train whistle every day since! We went back for the first time last weekend to go for a run and of course he was sorely disappointed when he discovered we weren't in fact going there to ride the trolly train again. Being two is hard.

4 | With each trip to Jump In I lose about 10 years off my life and gain a handful of grey hairs. Those step ladders are STEEEEEP and of course my invincible two-year-old BARELY hangs on. "Look at me, mom! I'm 10 feet in the air one handed!"

5 | My sweet grandparents drove a LONG way to bring Liam that incredible antique John Deere tractor you see in the picture above!  He absolutely adores it as I'm sure we will too just as soon as he can reach the pedals. ;) Thank you so much Grandma and Grandpa!! We loved visiting with you!

6 | I've never really taken Liam to a big event by myself before and was feeling a bit ambitious agreeing to take him to his first circus in the heat of the day until my sweet friend showed up with not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR of her 5 kids and I realized what a slacker I was! Seriously, she is super woman and I am so grateful for her example and friendship in my life! p.s. Liam loved his first circus experience!

7 | You guys, after last year's garden success I should have a little more confidence in my slightly less black thumb abilities but boy have I been thrilled with the harvest of strawberries we've already had this season! Liam loves to pick them with me and eat a few right off the vine. ;) They may be the size of pennies but there are a whole lot of them!

8 | Summer is for ice cream with little best friends!!

9 | Nic spent an entire week (weekend days and after work weekday nights) slaving away painting the baby's nursery and it is finally finished and looks SO amazing! It was a true testament of how much  he loves me considering it was my idea and I couldn't even help much and I can't thank him enough!! We spent last Saturday in her room together hanging things on the walls and I can hardly wait to give you a tour when it is all finished!

10 | Rue is living the high life in the backyard this summer! You'd think she was a cat with how obsessed she is with digging and lounging in Liam's sandbox. :)

11 | I've been wanting to put up a flag up at our house for some time now and my sweet father-in-law gave us this one to stake in our front yard! I loved having it for the 4th! I wanted to snap a quick picture of Liam under the flag to share with him but he wouldn't stay put so Nic tried to help me out by providing a tribal Indian dance around it and that seemed to do the trick! haha

12 | Saturday was free day at the zoo and almost every animal was sleeping! haha Luckily Liam could care less and was more thrilled with a bear statue than the ACTUAL real life bear that he couldn't touch. I also think it is worth noting what a genius of a husband I have for recommending we go first thing when it opened, pre-shower, AND in workout clothes. SO hot!!

13 | It was a BIG day in the Williamson household on Saturday when Liam went to his very first movie at the theatre!! We went in with low expectations and walked away excited to take him again very soon! Some combination of arriving RIGHT as the movie was starting and missing the commercials, buying ALL the candy, and choosing Despicable Me 3, he sat through the entire thing!! Proud parent moment! Not to mention, it was absolutely adorable watching his eyes dance with amazement at the huge screen in front of him, the dim lights, and his very own big cushy seat. 

14 | Unless he is sick, it is pretty unheard of these days to have Liam fall asleep in my arms anymore.  Just when I think to myself, maybe we made a mistake letting him play at our church nursery until 4 and only giving him a one hour nap before dinner, I go to wake him up and bring him out into the living room and I get an extra 10 minutes of this! Fast asleep in my arms and my kind of heaven!

15 | We've been "practicing" potty training with Liam for the last month or so, baby steps at a time. He started out in fear of his potty chair until we introduced m&m's. Then he quickly went from being willing to sit on the potty fully clothed to get an m&m, to practicing pulling down his pants on his own, then removing his diaper, and has since gone pee successfully 4 different times with a whole lot of cheering from mom and dad! We feel like maybe he is finally ready and it is finally time to rip off the bandaid and go all in so tomorrow is the day. Please pray for us!!  

Fourth of July 2017

I had every intention of sharing our Fourth of July on Wednesday but came down with the stomach flu instead so the last couple of days have been pretty rough around here. I am thankful to be on the mend, that neither of my boys got sick too, and to be rounding the corner to a much healthier weekend! 

If I'm being totally honest, some combination of being pregnant, mid 90's outside, and a random Tuesday, I felt a little off this holiday. Despite those feelings, Nic and I tried so hard to make it fun and memorable for Liam! We headed to our parade first thing in the morning. It was held in a new location in our town this year and we definitely underestimated how early to get there. This is where my mom guilt came in because there just wasn't a spot in sight near the street so we settled with the second row back and I thankfully came prepared with a bunch of snacks to keep this little guy happy!

SO grateful for this amazing dad who held Liam or hoisted him up on his shoulders during the entire parade so that he could see! How cute are they in their matching sunglasses by the way?! ;)

One of Liam's favorite parts was watching the military jets and hospital helicopter fly overhead at the beginning. He kept waving his arm toward the sky and shouting, "ZOOM!"

Second favorite part, the "woo woo's" (police cars). 

Even though we were standing a bit back from the street, there were a few floats that saw little kids back there and made sure Liam got a few pieces of candy!

I stood for the first half of the parade and then the heat got to me and I started to feel a bit lightheaded and nauseous so Nic positioned my chair with its little umbrella blocking the sun. Seriously, I'm so lucky!

After the parade we met up with our friends at the splash pad to play! Love these two cute best friends, Liam and Hadley!!

In the afternoon, Liam and I both took naps which were very much needed after our eventful morning. For dinner, Nic and I had hot dogs and corn and our picky little eater had left over pizza from Papa's house the night before. haha

After dinner we picked up some sparklers, pop-its, and confetti poppers from a firework stand and headed to a shady spot to go for a walk. We spent the rest of the evening playing on our driveway until the sun went down. Liam has become so entertaining on his wheelie car these days. He goes flying down the driveway with his feet up in the air and then jerks the wheel sideways to turn just before he reaches the street. Half the wheels come off the ground as Nic and I hold our breath every single time that he doesn't fall off and it always ends in everyone laughing hysterically!!

Learning how to shoot confetti poppers ...

I LOVE this picture of their reactions when it went off! haha

Last year, Liam was scared of pretty much any and all fireworks but especially holding a sparkler. We only bought one box this year because we weren't sure if he would even like them and it was our only regret for the day. He went through the entire box in about 5 minutes flat. haha Five boxes it is next year!

Living his best life with that popsicle ... ;)

It is so hard to believe that this might be our last holiday as a family of three if baby girl decides to join us by Labor Day! We can't wait to meet her!

29 and a half weeks ...

I love this little sparkler loving boy SO much!!!

Every time we lit a new sparkler for Liam we tried to explain to him that the top part of the sparkler was hot and he could only hold on to the bottom part. Everything was going great until his second to last sparkler when he went to throw it away and accidentally slid his hand too high on the stick and he cried out when it burned his little palm. We felt terrible and immediately covered it in cold water. It turned red and he cried for a couple minutes but thankfully the redness died down quickly and was gone by the next morning.

As we were waiting for the sun to go down, Liam begged me to take pictures with my big camera. He sat on my lap and took pictures of daddy making silly faces at him and was giggling SO hard! It really WAS pretty entertaining. ;) 

Picture by Liam, age 2 1/2 ... now accepting clients!

When he finally got bored of that he took another 100 pictures of the sky completely out of focus and balled when the memory card was full and I had to take it away from him. haha It took sitting on Nic's lap and getting to play on his phone for him to forget about the camera. This kid and technology! At about 9:30 our neighbors started lighting off a few fireworks that we watched for a bit and then Liam started showing MAJOR signs it was time to go to sleep (insert tantrums here!). At this point my feet were swollen, my back was aching, and I had enough sweaty heat for the day so this momma was done too. We all went inside, took a bath, and headed to bed. 

Hope you had a safe, festive, and HAPPY Fourth of July!! XO