Tales from the Crib

Every morning, Olivia hangs out in her crib with her stuffed animals and baby dolls.  She'll read to them or have little conversations, and I love listening to her over the monitor.  Sometimes this can go on for close to half and hour and others, she's calling for us instantly.  Boy, was she on a roll this morning!

(IG @thebirdsnestblog)

She loves to talk to her baby sister and frequently gives my belly kisses, talks to her, and exclaims "she's so cutie tootie!" I think she'll be the best big sister!  This morning started out with her saying "Baby is going to say Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, and me tell her it's ok baby."  Then she proceeded to ask her baby doll some important questions... "You have an "O" for Olivia, Baby Jesus?"  "Oh, oh, oh, ok, ok me hear you."  

One of her newest favorite songs is Shut Up and Dance.  Her version this morning was "Ho, Ho, Ho shut up and dance with me!!" She also has killer dance moves to go along with her songs ;)  

Once she decided she was awake and ready to start the day, she looked into the camera and said "Mommy, you listen to me!  I want to go to Mama's (Grandma's) house!  You listen to me right now! Mommy, you listening to me?!" She is so stinkin funny! A few weeks ago, she looked right into the camera and told me "Mommy, me speaking English!?  Come get me!"  I can't help but crack up! 

I just think this age is so funny...perfect little humans that are so hilarious! Do you have any funny stories to share? I'd love to hear ;) 

Party Details - Our Gender Reveal with Freshly Picked

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!

We are SO excited for another little girl.  I was hoping Olivia would have a sister and we're over the moon that she will.  We've chosen a name for the baby and Olivia says it in probably the cutest way possible!  She's been talking to her so much lately, saying good morning, I love you, what are you doing in there...it's so adorable! It makes me so excited for the baby to be here and to be a family of four.  

Freshly Picked was a HUGE part of our gender reveal and I couldn't be more thankful for their hard work!  At our 16 week ultrasound, we were able to find out whether the baby was a boy or girl and asked that our ultrasound tech keep it a secret from us.  She wrote it down on a card and sealed the envelope and I typed up an email before our appointment and she was able to type boy or girl on the line and sent it on its way to Freshly Picked.  From there, Rachel (FP) put the moccs in a box and sent them our way!  For a boy, I had chose "Prince George" and for a girl, I chose "Neon Pink".  I wanted bright, bold colors to ensure we knew exactly what it was when we opened the box ;) My friend Masha knew what the baby was too and was so good at keeping our secret! She was able to get the tracking number for the moccs and updated me when I was freaking out. When the moccs arrived, I had our neighbor open the box and put them in a special box I had chosen for the party.  I couldn't risk opening the mailing box just incase I was able to see through the FP bag! t ;) 

For the party prep, Olivia and I got to work making chocolate covered pretzels, popcorn, Nilla wafers, cupcakes and pink/boy water bottles.  She loved "helping" and I was sure to save the ones she made to the side...just incase little nibbles occurred here and there ;) I made everything but the cupcakes the day before so I wasn't running around like a nut before the party.  

By the time everyone arrived, I was able to put all of the treats out and enjoy myself.  Around 7pm we started FaceTiming family and friends who could not be with us and I was getting so anxious.  I felt like I knew it in my heart that the baby was a girl, but then I was second guessing myself...it was all exciting leading up to it! We had Olivia open the box and pull out the FP canvas bag and sure enough, she pulled out bright pink moccs!  It was really fun to have everyone vote right before and seeing their guesses, "team girl" was winning for sure.  

Overall, we had such a fun night and its so nice to know there is another little girl on the way!  Now to start planning her nursery ;) Hope you enjoyed seeing a glimpse into our gender reveal party!  Did you have one too?  What are your favorite details of gender reveals that you've seen?  I'd love to hear! XO

Yummy Thanksgiving Sides

I looooove Thanksgiving!  I can't wait for all of the yummy food, and of course seeing our family.  Thanksgiving has always been at my parent's house and we gather together with all of our cousins, aunts, uncles, and family friends.  As the family is growing, it's been so much easier to serve everything buffet style.  There's turkey, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, creamed onions,  cranberry sauce, green bean casserole...so many yummy dishes!! (I almost just drooled #preggoproblems)  Last year, I made green bean casserole and used this recipe for fresh cranberry sauce.  This year I've been looking for something equally yummy and I'll pass off the green bean casserole for my sister to make.

{Photo via: Damn Delicious}

This slow cooker creamed corn sounds SO good!  I love that it can be made in the slow cooker then transferred to Thanksgiving dinner.  It's gotten great reviews and let's face it, anything from Damn Delicious is, well, delicious!

{Photo via: The Local Vegan}

I'm also going to make these brussel sprouts with cranberries, pecans, and balsamic drizzle.  I've made a version in the past, but adding the balsamic drizzle will undoubtedly make this a delicious side.  Also, perfect to take as a side dish because you'll be roasting them at home...leaving the brussel sprout aroma there when you leave instead of at your host's house ;)

What are some of your favorite sides?!  I would love for you to share!

P.S. - Check back on Tuesday for a fun giveaway!!

16 Weeks - Baby Update

Today marks 16 weeks with baby number two.  Tomorrow we're headed to the doctor to check the baby's growth and we'll be able to see if the baby is a boy or girl.  Normally, they would wait until 20 weeks for another ultrasound, but since the baby was measuring ahead of schedule they are checking to see growth progression and if my due date is accurate.  I'm SO excited!  Instead of finding out at the appointment, I'll be asking them to write it down and seal it in an envelope.  Then the big gender reveal plans will get started!  I'm thrilled that Freshly Picked will be doing our gender reveal for us and they'll know what it is before we do!  We'll be having a small get together mid-week next week to reveal blue or pink moccs...super excited!  Can't wait to share with all of you!

With Olivia, I was good about weekly updates and posts...now with baby two it's basically when I get a chance (or remember) #sorrybaby #secondchild oops ;)

How far along:  16 weeks

Gender Prediction: Girl...I've been feeling very similar to when I had Olivia so we'll see!

Maternity Clothes:  Not yet, still wearing my regular jeans and tops...although that may change soon as I'm starting to pop out a little

Cravings:  Nothing too crazy... still loving grapefruit and anything shrimp related.  Although I did start texting Rob at work around 8am yesterday to decide what he wanted for dinner...as if I was starving and would never eat again. 

Aversions:  I can't even look at/think about anything Asian based.  The thought of lettuce wraps literally makes me gag.  I can barely type the words! Random, I know but some of you have asked for my lettuce wrap recipe and I just can't even think about it.  Also, anything with ginger, stir fry, literally anything like that I can't even stomach the thought.  

Missing the most:  Probably a good deli sandwich and some sushi... and sleep.

Sleep:  I feel like I'm more sleep deprived than when Olivia was a newborn.  I don't know what is wrong with me?!? I wake up for hours and hours at a time throughout the night and I'm up between 5 and 6 for the day, which makes for a loooong day with a toddler!

Overall health:  Overall, feeling pretty good.  I've had a sore throat that will hopefully be on it's way out soon and very tired, but feeling much better than first trimester.  

So excited to share our gender news with you soon!  Be sure to follow along with me on Instagram (@thebirdsnestblog) for all of the updates! XO 

Nursery Inspiration - Baby Boy

Today I'm sharing Part Two of our nursery inspiration, specifically for a baby boy!  As I mentioned previously, we don't know what we're having yet so this is a fun way to get excited for our little one on the way.  To read Part One, Baby Girl Nursery Inspiration click here. 

For a baby boy, I am leaning towards rustic touches with blues and grays mixed in. We'll be using the same crib, rocker, and possibly dresser from Olivia's room, which are white, so I'd like to incorporate some masculine touches to round out the room.  I'll be partnering with Spoonflower to create the room's wall design and I love this reclaimed wood wallpaper, which I would use as an accent wall.  I'd pair it with a blue-gray paint and accent the crib with navy sheets.  Here is my inspiration board for a baby boy's nursery...

I've always been drawn to grays and being a neutral-lover, I'm really hoping to create a calm environment for our little one.  I've never been a fan of pastels, especially baby blue colors so I think I'd lean more towards deeper blues.  I really love navy hues with gray!  Can't wait to see if this little one is a girl or a boy!  What are your favorite paint colors for boy rooms?  I'd love to hear! 

Nursery Inspiration - Baby Girl

Today I wanted to share some sweet nursery inspiration with you.  We don't know what we're having yet, but having a little girl already, it's all I know so far! I'll be starting off with some baby girl nursery inspiration, followed by baby boy nursery ideas next.  

Currently the future nursery is occupied by our cat, Annabelle, and office furniture - aka everything we don't use gets piled in there...as in I'm not sharing pictures because I'd be embarrassed.  We told Olivia that the baby will be living in Annabelle's room, which she replied "that's really vierd..." I almost died with her little toddler accent and judgmental looks.  She also knows that she'll be giving the baby her crib and she'll be getting a big girl bed.  She now asks everyday if we're going shopping for her big girl bed ;) We thought about having Santa bring her one, but there's so much excitement around the holidays that we may do it closer to Valentine's day so it's less overwhelming. Also, let's be honest... I don't need a "Hi Mommy!" at 6am in my face instead of hearing it on the monitor quite yet.  Thanks to my mom for pointing that out. Seasoned parenting win.  The office is smaller than Olivia's room so I'd like to move her dresser in there as well as it's bigger and more practical to use in a nursery but we'll have to measure to make sure everything isn't too tight.  

I'm thrilled to be partnering with Spoonflower for part of the room's wall design and depending on whether the baby is a girl or a boy will determine which route we take.  Going with a girl theme, the floral wallpaper above is one that I love!  I would pair it with pale pink walls and pink crib sheets.  We're using the same rocker as Olivia had, which is a great gender neutral gray.  I also love the look of barn doors to add rustic touch to the room, which I think would be really fun! Overall, what I'm looking for is a mix of pinks, grays, and whites to create a soothing, yet girlie area for our new baby.  

Up next is my baby boy nursery ideas! 

Favorites Lately

Hi friends! Hope you all enjoyed your Halloween.  Olivia was a bunny and she had a blast.  Now she's wondering why she can't have candy for breakfast ;)  

{Three years of Halloween with these munchkins}

As I'm entering week 15 of this pregnancy, I'm starting to get more energy and feel better overall.  We find out in about two weeks what the baby is and I'm super excited to know if this little one is a boy or a girl! Part of me contemplated not finding out, but I'm a planner and after much thought we decided that we will find out.  When I was pregnant with Olivia, we did a gender reveal cake and found out along side our friends and family.  This time I have something super fun and cute planned and can't wait to share with all of you.  

{Had a fun day at the zoo with friends this week}

As a mid-week pick me up, I wanted to share some favorites with you that have made my life easier (and yummier) the past few weeks...  

This No Boil Baked Ziti was so easy and so good. It really hit the spot for some comfort food and was done in a fraction of the time.  I used jarred sauce (!!!) and threw some meatballs in, but you can use ground beef, ground turkey, sausage or just made it vegetarian.  So much easier than making baked ziti the traditional way.  *I used a whole pound of pasta and just added a bit more sauce.

I'm loving this entire holiday collection from H&M! My favorites are the pillows and tea towels.  I can't wait for the holidays!  I laugh because a few years ago I was anti-red anything decor wise and now I can't get enough.  Red is the perfect holiday color! 

Speaking of red, these Scarlet Leather Earrings are perfect for the entire holiday season and they're on sale!  I've heard they are life changing, so lightweight and stylish.  A few pairs of these earrings will definitely be making an appearance on my Christmas list. 

Thinking ahead to Thanksgiving, this Roasted Brussel Sprouts & Butternut Squash recipe sounds SO yummy!  I may have to make this next week to test it out ;) 

Hope you all have a great day! XO

*GIVEAWAY* Paperlust Studio - My Favorite Pregnancy Journal

Hi friends!  Thank you so much for all of the sweet well wishes.  We're so excited to welcome a new little one! When I was pregnant with Olivia I always wanted to keep a journal so she could look back and read it when she was older, but I never found one that I liked and then things got rather busy so it never happened.  With this baby, I was determined to document all of the special milestones, weekly updates and trimester round ups, which leads us to Paperlust Studio.

I'm thrilled to be partnering with Colette from Paperlust Studio, home of the most stylish, functional pregnancy journals.  I chose the Classic Pregnancy Journal and I am so happy with it!  I love the sleek black and white design and the pages are filled with quick, easy to fill in questions to perfectly document your pregnancy.  You can also choose devotional journal pages (which was my second choice!) and blank pages that you can fill in however you choose.  Also, new to Paperlust Studio are IVF pages, a sweet way to document a mama's journey to welcome a little one.

Here are some of my other favorite designs:

Marker Stripe Linen Journal

Butterfly Garden & Printemps Journals

Gold Foil Journal

Colette has graciously offered to give away one of her pregnancy journals to one of you lucky readers!! Simply click the Rafflecopter button below and enter to win!  Giveaway ends Sunday, November 1 at 7pm EST.  No spam or giveaway accounts please.  Winner will be contacted via email.

If you can't wait for this fun giveaway to be over, simply use code "birdsnest" to receive 15% off your Paperlust Studio order.  Thank you so much to Colette for partnering with me!

GOOD LUCK!! XO a Rafflecopter giveaway

SURPRISE!

We are so excited to announce that Olivia is going to be a BIG SISTER!

I feel like I've known forever and we are finally sharing our secret!  The first trimester really wiped me out, hence the absence on the blog! There were so many times I wanted to share our news because I felt guilty for the lack of posts, but I'm hoping to feel better very soon as I'm in the second trimester.  My due date seems to be going back and forth between April 23 & 28 (Olivia's birthday!) so I'm getting a 16 week ultrasound to check the growth.  Super excited about that because we can find out what the baby is! Currently, the baby is measuring 13 weeks so that would be consistent with the first due date. Another surprise is that my twin sister is also expecting her second baby and we are due ONE day apart (or four with the second date)!!! How crazy is that?!  The girls were born 8 weeks apart so this may be a Father of the Bride situation this time where the family slides back and forth between hospital rooms ;)  I'm so happy to be sharing the experience with her again and even more happy that we both have toddlers.  Aka...after the fourth meltdown of the day, lip gloss on the walls and no nap ninjas, we can text each other with emojis and phrases like "kill me" with full understanding on the other side... of course those feelings are only here and there ;) 

Anyway, I have some fun giveaways coming up that you won't want to miss and I'll be sharing more details of our baby news soon!  So excited to share with you XO 

Books We Love || Inspirational Nursery Rhymes

Hi friends! Today I'm excited to be sharing Inspirational Nursery Rhymes with you. Jackie was kind enough to send us three books from their collection, complete with an adorable tote!  Olivia absolutely loves books, so much so that she'll request to read more and more books one after the other...esp at bedtime ;) The books are perfect for teaching life skills to young children such as responsibility, giving thanks and believing in yourself.  

It's so important to read to children and its so nice to read stories with background meanings that little ones can relate to.  Olivia was so excited to read them with me and even requested to take them into her bed to read after she napped.  The illustrations are super cute and definitely relatable...especially the above preview about sharing.  Toddlers & sharing don't always mix so this is a great model for them ;)

{via IG: @inspirationalnurseryrhymes} 

Be sure to check them out on Instagram @inspirationalnurseryrhymes and their website here. We're off to go read more! Enjoy your Friday XO

Lately

How is it October already?! The summer has flown by and now the fall weather is quickly approaching (which I love) and it's been a whirlwind.  We had such a great few months and I'm looking forward to the holiday season starting up.  I feel guilty I've been absent lately but I have a lot of exciting things coming up for October that will surely make up for it ;)

While I settle back into a normal fall routine (tutoring, toddler classes...things that don't involve hanging around enjoying summer breeze) I wanted to share what we've been up to lately (@thebirdsnestblog)...

Looking forward to catching up with all of you soon! XOX