My world

- “how do you do it with three so close in age!?” 

- “Wow you have your hands full, you must be exhausted!” 

- “I don’t know how you do it?!”

-“wow you’ve been busy!”

-“do you ever sleep??”

The list goes on...

I’ve heard all of these and more from random (and hopefully well meaning:) people! 

And while there are plenty of days where I honestly don’t know how I “do it” and I am SO beyond exhausted, those are the days that I have to remind myself just how blessed I really am.  How do I do it?!  With help from my super awesome husband, coffee (so much coffee) but most of all, I remind myself that my “tough days” are someone else’s dream days 💕 and this girl in the picture above, she’s so worth it.  

They all are.  

I’m trying to get back in the groove of blogging wayyy more often but as stated above, I’m pretty tired these days ;) here’s to hoping for more sleep so I can get back at it again soon! 

Happy weekend! 

-A

Welcome back

excuse me while I go cry into my pillow about how tiny and adorable she used to be! oh well, at least she’s still adorable ❤️

Well here we are!  Only a little over four-ish months since I’ve found the time jot out some thoughts on this little blog.  Adding a third baby into the mix has certainly been an adjustment, to say the least, but an extremely happy one. Our little Alice Olivia was born on October 31st (boo!) and has been such a blessing to our family.  She is the happiest little baby and even though we are going through a rough patch right now (thanks teething), she is our first baby that actually likes sleeping!  *cue angelic choir* thank you Lord!! Even when she is fussy you can almost always get a grin out of her just by getting in her face and talking.  

Her older siblings absolutely adore her!  Although to be honest it did not start out that way... Zo always loved her but she wasn’t a fan of Alice crying, and whenever she did cry Zo’s response was to cover her ears and yell at the top of her lungs “Mom!  Alice is cryyyinggg! Get her, get her, get her!” Peter eventually caught on and started mimicking his sister by covering his ears and yelling- “loud loud, crying crying!”  which is pretty ridiculous considering the fact that he used to like yelling just for fun... 

both older siblings are MUCH better with Alice now and instead of running away when she cries (which honestly is pretty rare) they run to her and attempt to soothe her until I can take over.  Zo loves making her smile and laugh and just seeing the friendship they are already developing makes my heart so happy.  There’s nothing quite like the bond between sisters❤️

Adjusting to life with three has had its complications for sure,  (Getting out of the house with all three on my own seemed nearly impossible, but I feel like that’s due  a post all of its own ;) but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  Alice is seriously the most chill and easy going baby.  I feel spoiled with how easy she has been but at the same time, her siblings were very difficult babies so maybe I’ve finally paid my dues and I do actually deserve an easy baby for once?  Well, I don’t deserve her (does anyone ever truly deserve the completely selfless love of a baby??) but I am SO thankful God chose me to be her mother.

Little Alice Olivia, you are loved beyond measure ❤️

Thanks for stopping by to read our quick little family update!  Stay tuned for more adventures and don’t forget to subscribe in the top right corner to follow along! 

-A

picking pumpkins

well it's finally starting to feel like fall here in Houston, TX.  took long enough ;) and even though it's that awkward fall weather where you can wear sweaters for the beginning of the day and then need to change into a t-shirt & shorts come 12:00pm, I don't mind.  hey at least it's below 85 outside!
in honor of the "cooler"'weather i took the kiddos to the pumpkin patch and let them both pick out there own little pumpkin.  now these kids are obsessed with pumpkins so seeing their faces light up at the sight of it all was adorable and so special!

 also, how cute are their little outfits?! these are from a small Etsy shop that's run by a fabulous mama who we met through our local Hike it Baby group.  she is so talented and these clothes are seriously so soft & comfy feeling!  be sure to check out her shop Little Wild Sprouts   and you can also use code: KLING4LWS1 for a 15% discount on your order! :)

I just love that in the end, Peter picked a bigger pumpkin than Zo...  she didn't want to have to carry anything that was heavier than the teeny tiny one she chose.  Meanwhile, Peter wanted a bigger one but finally accepted defeat after failing to lift the monster size ones and went with one that was small but still bigger than his sister's. 

happy fall y'all!  baby sister is coming on the 31st so this might be our last little post for a while!  wishing you all a wonderful rest of your week and happy Halloween! 

-A 

Helllooo 35 weeks!

  well, it only took until the middle of the night when i was rocking PB back to sleep and started having mildly painful contractions for me to realize that this baby is coming.  and she's coming soon.  that's when it hit me, we literally have nothing prepared...  i don't know if it's a third kid thing or what but i just haven't even thought about all the stuff that needs to be brought out, washed, packed, bought, etc.   well until last night.  and that's when i started freaking out a bit and making a mental list of things to do before she arrives.  so i told myself I would at least spend a couple hours going through baby clothes after the kids went to bed tonight annnnddd yet i somehow managed to never get around to it. instead i ate ice cream out of the carton and lounged on the couch... sorry baby, you're gonna be living in the hospital onesies your entire infant life ;)

dress: Umgee USA (amazon) {no longer available in white} 

i did have an ultrasound last week to check her growth and just as i suspected, she's measuring right on schedule!  as if she'd be tiny considering how uncomfortable i'm feeling these days ;) unfortunately there goes my excuse to pig out on unhealthy food, sigh.  but i do have to say that the highlight of my appointment was Zo pointing at the pictures of female anatomy in the patients room and declaring "mommy!  that's the biggest volcano ever!" umm yes.. yes it is.  seriously, toddlers say the funniest & most embarrassing things.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

-amy

learning to slow down

leotard: Alice & Ames  

these past few days Zo has tried my patience like none other.  the main cause of it is most likely due to lack of sleep on both our parts.  for some reason she's been waking up around 1-2am and not going back to sleep till almost 5am. then she's up for the day usually by 7:30am and still refuses to take a nap during the day.  i literally do not know how she functions on so little sleep.  also, why do kids not understand how amazing naps are?!?  moving on-- her little 3 year old attitude has been out in full force lately and half the time i have no clue how to respond, cause it can be so stinkin' cute & funny but also super annoying when i have to repeat myself 1,000 times to get her to do one simple task.  one of her new favorite phrases is "no mom!  you DON'T say that word!"  what word is she talking about?  i have no clue, i think she just means i shouldn't be telling her what to do/reprimanding her.  the other phrase is, while referring to me telling her she can't do something:  "but mom!  it's not a big deal or anything!"  sigh...  it's a daily battle trying to decide how to react to these situations and i know they are only going to get worse as she gets older.

but on the other hand it's like she flips a switch and can suddenly be the sweetest little thing!  sharing with peter, comforting him when he gets hurt while saying "aww cute little guy, it's okay honey."  she'll run up to us at random times just to give a kiss and say "i love you, mommy kitty cat."  (also not sure why she calls me that haha) she's obsessed with her little sister and she's not even born yet!  she'll run up to my stomach, wrap her arms around it and say "i love you baby!  hope you're feeling good!"  i'm praying that her obsession is just as strong once baby girl is finally here.

long story short-- toddlers are confusing and make little to no sense but are also fascinating & adorable to watch and learn from.  as hard as it is i really need to take my own advice as it comes from her secondhand: "mom, just calm down and slow down."

i tell you what, i feel like i owe my parents spa gift cards for life after going through just this short amount of confusing parenthood.

happy almost weekend everyone!

-a

3 2 weeks pregnancy update

okay sooo, once again a post that's been long overdue.  i'm gonna just go ahead and blame it on the weather since it's been so crazy lately.... after all we did get home from our trip to Galveston literally a day before Harvey hit!  on that note-- a huge thank you to all of you that reached out to make sure we were safe, offered a place to stay, and prayed for us non-stop.  we are so blessed to live in a neighborhood that has good drainage and the only thing we can even "complain" about was the cabin fever.  after seeing what so many other people are going through, i will take cabin fever 1,000 times over again.  please keep those prayers coming for everyone that was greatly effected by the storm(s), i know they are appreciated 100%.

okay, on to our little, or not so little, updates!  at 32 weeks pregnant i'm feeling all the feels and so ready to be done.  but i also know i am so blessed to be able to carry this little life inside of me so i have to try my best to not complain (which is super difficult 🙈) about the temporary pains i'm going through...  let's just say compression socks are my accessory of umm, "choice" these days?  but really- the vein situation in my legs is just ridiculous and i'm super ready to feel normal again.  whatever that means.  also, when the doctor says she thinks you're measuring small you take that as a sign to eat alllll the chips & queso.  i mean, i'm doing it to help the baby bulk up, right?  at least that's what i'm telling myself.  and i'll just keep ignoring the fact that the scale IS going up despite the size of my stomach, which honestly seems huge to me and i'm willing to bet baby girl is gonna be right up there with her siblings weighing over 8lbs. and hardly even able to fit into newborn clothes. but i'll take any excuse i can get, someone pass me the chips....

-A

dress: similar || button down: similar

s m a l l v i c t o r i e s

currently 28 weeks pregnant and feeling all kinds of tired & huge but here's a random little list of small victories/moments that make me smile.  also it helps me procrastinate all the packing i should be doing for our beach trip tomorrow...

•this little gem of zo reading her brother his favorite book

•she is also obsessed with feeling baby kick and move.  at first it seemed to scare her but now she loves it and asks all the time if baby is awake.

•took both kids by myself on a mini vacay/road trip to Waco & Fort Worth to visit family a few weeks ago.   zo had been begging and begging to get to see her cousins for weeks so i finally gave in and made the drive.  getting to see family is always good for everyone, and zo was not ready to come home but eventually she got over having to return to her endless amount of toys and only peter to play with.  she's got a rough life.

•being up for hours in the middle of the night with PB and still somehow managing to make it through the next day, thank you caffeine.

•when it's raining cats & dogs outside but you have to go to target (with both kids) and you realize your rain boots perfectly hide your super cute compression socks #glamourspregnancy
can it just be rainy every day?  no wait--that would just induce cabin fever and that's never a good thing with two littles...

dress: loft similar , similar short sleeve || rain boots: similar

•making it out of target without O N E impulse buy!  i made the mistake of telling this one to greg, his response-- "wait, so every time you go to target you end up coming home with something that wasn't on your list?!"  umm no.  that almost never happens... nope, never.  moving on!

•grocery shopping, *que the music* allll by myselfffff!

•this Instagram post where i raved all about our trip to Costco. *spoiler alert* we were in there for less than an hour and left, again, with no impulse buys!

•poor greg was so hoping zo would be his rock climbing child but this girl has the upper body strength of a newborn bird. peter, on the other hand pulls our solid wooden dining chairs out while zo is sitting in one every time she's done eating so she can get down.  sometimes he does this with one arm...  pretty sure that's daddy's futer climbing partner.

•getting allll the laundry done in one day.  i'm talking towels, bed linens, kids clothes & our clothes all washed, dried and folded in  O N E day!  yup, was feeling pretty accomplished that day. 

•counting down the hours  till we leave for our little beach getaway.  still avoiding that packing though...

•currently praying away the snot & cough that peter came down with.  please please feel better by sunday and please please let no one else get sick!

•have a happy weekend everyone! 

-A