Happy halfway through the week friends, hope you all are having a great one!!  Even though we are now three days out from it, I’m still dreaming of our past weekend over here, it was such a good one & I hated to see it go!  We didn’t have much planned (don’t those always turn out to be the best?), the weather was perfection & we took full advantage.  Waverly Maye decided to boycott naps, it was a slight disaster come late Sunday afternoon, yet it gave us extra time to spend together while getting some things done around the house, both which made me very happy! 🙂
It got warm enough for our first beach day of the year on Saturday, I was so excited to take Waverly since other than walks, she really hadn’t been there since early last fall.  I’m also trying to fit in as many trips now as I can, though I am definitely planning to try, I don’t know how realistic it is to take a toddler & newborn there once baby girl gets here!  I guess only time will tell, I’m hoping we can make it happen with some family members & their extra hands to help with what I’m sure what will be a traveling circus!
Our outdoor girl certainly didn’t miss a beat after a few months away, she still loved the sand & water every bit as much as she did last year, maybe even more!!  The water was a little cold but it didn’t phase her, she was splashing & skipping through it like it was nothing, and then putting her face directly in it before laughing hysterically.  I could look at these pictures of her forever, she is so full of energy & happiness, one of the many things I adore about being her mama is living life again through her eyes.

In other highlights of the weekend, one of my best friends had her second baby girl Friday morning!!  Her oldest daughter is about a year younger than Waverly so it’s been really fun to go through this pregnancy with her. I can’t believe we will have four girls between us within the next couple of months!  I was able to visit her at the hospital a couple of times, there’s nothing like a trip to the maternity floor to serve as a reality check that we will be there before we know it!  So exciting (& crazy)!!

And lastly, a recent Waverly Maye development that’s had us on toes more than ever.  Ever since the weather warmed up, I’ve been letting Waverly go into the backyard & jump on the trampoline while I clean up in the kitchen or get dinner started.  I love that we can do that now since my husband put the fence in & she can’t go anywhere, I just leave the screen door open & listen to her play.  A couple of weeks ago, she had been out there a few minutes when she walked in with her big girl panties in her hand & said “I peed outside because I am a doggie”.  OMG.  She literally squatted in the backyard like our lab does.  I have obviously tried to explain to her that she’s not a dog & that we pee in the potty inside, but ever since if I even turn my head for a minute, she is bent down peeing.  Here’s to hoping this is a phase, there is no doubt our neighbors really think we have lost it now.  As for us, it’s hard not to laugh & look forward to telling her all about this one day.

Enjoy the rest of your week!
XO

Some of my favorite posts to read are how other moms spend their days, both ones who are working & who stay at home with their kids.  I feel lucky that as a teacher, I really can relate to both worlds, since we get several breaks off during the year & of course, summer vacation (what we live for!).  Over the last couple of years, we really have settled into a great routine on my workdays, & with only a couple weeks left before my maternity leave, I thought now would be the perfect time to share it!  Chances are pretty high that our days won’t look like this in the future, and that we will read this one day & laugh at the fact that we thought we were busy. 😉  Either way, I’m more ready than ever for our new normal, but know I will love having this to look back on our life as a family of three, too!

My alarm goes off right after 5, which is when I attempt to get myself out of bed (these days it’s more like a roll because of one giant belly), then I get ready quietly in the bathroom while the rest of the house sleeps.  It’s hit or miss whether Waverly wakes up before I go downstairs to leave, I can never decide which I prefer, I love to see her but am convinced it makes it harder on me.  Regardless, my husband will wake up around 6 to make me coffee & breakfast for the road.  If Waverly is up, they will sit at the front door and wave to me (her jumping up & down, the sweetest), and yes, it’s still dark out for most of my drive to school.

My workday honestly flies by, I have been working as a Fashion Marketing teacher for ten years & thankfully, I have students who allow me to tell stories about Waverly to help with the separation. 😉  While I’m at work, Waverly is either with my sister, our sitter, or my grandparents, depending on the day, she loves them all & that makes the whole working thing so much easier for everyone.  I am able to leave in enough time to be home by 3, the drive home is my absolute favorite & I still get butterflies at the excitement of reuniting with her every single day!  We occasionally will go to Target, the grocery store, or the kids gym, but lately have been trying to stay home as much as possible to enjoy this beautiful weather.

Dress
After an afternoon snack, I will usually try to put things away from the day or put in a load of laundry while Waverly is entertained by playing with the dog or the toys she hasn’t seen in a few hours.  Then we play, I’m convinced that spring makes that so much easier & more exciting.  We will either walk to the park or stay in the backyard with bubbles, play-doh, and sidewalk chalk, Waverly will play with each on & off between going into her playhouse, pushing her babies in her strollers, or jumping on the trampoline.  These are definitely my happiest hours of the day, I look forward to them & they are what get me through those 5 am wake-up calls! 🙂
Around 5:30, I attempt to get dinner started, even though my pregnant self pretty much hates cooking & I can never decide what I want to eat.  If I am lucky, Waverly will play on the ipad or watch Sesame Street while I cook.  Yet sometimes it’s just that witching hour where she wants me to hold her & if I won’t, she will do just about anything she knows she is not supposed to.  My husband gets home at 6, Waverly & the dog (plus me) are so excited, we sit down for dinner as soon as we can finish making it.  We have been trying to eat outside as much as possible lately, it’s such a fun change & literally a breath of fresh air after a long winter indoors.

After dinner, my husband gives Waverly her bath while I take a shower, we have done that most of Waverly’s life, it gives them something to do together & gives me a little time to myself.  We get Waverly dressed & then read books in her bed, I used to read them but lately she is all about reading to us (the cutest, most entertaining thing ever).  We get Waverly tucked in, it usually take at least 15 minutes between her attempts to stall & need to have every toy she owns in her bed, then we leave the room.  Most nights she will talk herself to sleep (again, so very entertaining) & be out for good by 8.

By this point I am so exhausted I can hardly make a sentence, so any good intentions I had of getting a few things done on my computer or being productive on some sort of house project are outweighed by the need to watch mindless reality shows in my bed.  I’m usually asleep by 9 (I get wild), my husband joins me later since he is way cooler than me & can stay up way later.

Like most moms, some days I feel like we have it all together & everything flows like a dream, then there are others when I question my sanity and wonder how I’m ever going to make it work with 2.  Yet ultimately, there is nothing that makes me happier than this life, even during my most exhausted moments I know these truly are the days & one day I will miss them terribly.

Hope you are having a great week!
XO

We hope everyone had the happiest holiday weekend & a great start to this new week!!  I’m excited to finally share some pictures from our Easter Sunday, we had such a great time celebrating for the last time as a family of three!  As soon as we woke up that morning, we told Waverly the Easter bunny came & of course, she immediately responded with, “I don’t like him”.  We know. 😉  After finally convincing her that he had come & left (with treats for her), she agreed to come downstairs & loved what he left her!  She went through every single egg with so much excitement, read her new book to her babies, & then just as I thought, asked us to open every single chapstick while she rolled it on about twenty times in a row.  Then we had “bagel bunnies” for breakfast, a girl & a boy, both bunnies she actually liked. 🙂
Holidays are always crazy our way, we have two big sides of the family to see & it’s important to us to try to fit it all in, while trying to have time for just us, too.  We had two brunches, one with my in-laws & then one at my house with my side of the family, Waverly got to hunt for eggs again with her cousin & then spend time with all her grandparents, aunts, & uncles (one of her favorite things to do).  The weather could not have been better, we of course fit in a few pictures, I can’t get over what a little lady Waverly looks like in them or that we will have two girls (close to ages one & four!) in these pictures next year!
My Dress, Waverly’s Dress – Next Last Season, Headband
Even though we were all exhausted, we ended the day with a family walk to feed the ducks at the end of  our street & dinner outside on our porch.  Overall, another memorable holiday with our little & extended families, it’s bittersweet to see Easter go but we are super excited about what is to come over the next few months!! XO

TGIF!!  This week seemed like it would never end, obviously because it was my last before spring break & that’s how it always goes when you are waiting for something, right?!  We did have some highlights, I pulled off the best April Fools joke in the history of my relationship with my husband. 🙂  It was just too good of an opportunity to pass up, (thanks Jessica for the idea!), I couldn’t resist & called to tell him my water broke.  He totally went for it, freaked out & screamed at me to get off the phone to call the doctor.  It was so wrong & oh so right all at the same time, hoping it doesn’t bring me any bad karma in the weeks to come. 😉

Waverly & I dyed Easter eggs, she loved it and it was the biggest mess ever, both predictions I had going into it!  I tried putting the egg in the whisk like last year, only now that she is a little older & wiser, she pulled it right out within seconds.  Half of the eggs ended up broken, so we opted for decorating paper instead, overall a fun memory but thankful we have another year before that tradition comes around again!!

Our friends & their kids came over for brunch and an egg hunt last weekend, it was such a fun morning celebrating with the little ones!!  My husband was in charge of the egg casserole & I did the sweets, vanilla cupcakes and chocolate-covered pretzels.  I also covered apple juice boxes with paper to make little bunnies, it was easy & fun, such a great idea for anyone who has kids coming over for Easter this weekend!

This was Waverly’s second egg hunt of the year & she loved it just as much as the first, maybe even more now that she knew exactly what to expect.  The weather was chilly but the kids ran all around our backyard, they got so excited opening their eggs even though by the fifth one they found the same exact thing inside.   Just the cutest, mornings like these make me so very happy!

Wishing you all the HAPPIEST holiday weekend with those you love, thanks for your support to our little family all year long!
XO

The crazy amount of snow in Virginia Beach recently shut just about everything down, including schools, & I had an unexpected seven days off at home with Waverly Maye over the past two weeks! 🙂  Even though by day four we were feeling cabin fever to the max (& I am already dreading making the days up), I can’t help but think what a blessing all of this extra time together was.  My husband still worked through out, so it was just us girls for days upon days, something that doesn’t happen near enough.  Waverly really is my sidekick, my little best friend, & even though she drives me crazy, I am crazy in love with her.  I am so thankful for these pictures to document these sweet moments before our family grows, with the girl who made me a mama & the littlest one still in my belly.

Our sweet, sweet photographer turned friend Brooke called us after our second snowstorm to ask if we wanted to meet her for a random photo session, & of course, we took her up on the offer!  However, anyone who knows me knows how much of a planner I am, Type-A to a fault, so getting Waverly & I ready (plus picking out our outfits) in just one hour was a little overwhelming.  I mean, I usually would have been shopping & pinning images for months before something like that. 😉  Yet that is one of the many things I love about these pictures, that they forced me to be spontaneous & live in the moment, which is fitting, since Waverly has taught me a lot about just that over the last two years. 
The biggest thank you to Brooke of Brooke Tucker Photography, who is beyond talented & SUCH a joy to work with!  I had such a hard time picking just a few favorites for this post, our biggest problem will be finding enough space on our walls for all the ones we love so very much.  Brooke, we are so appreciative of all the images you continue to capture of our growing family, & are so excited for our maternity photos (with our main man this time) this spring!

PS – My hat, jacket & maternity jeans are all from H&M, in-store.  Waverly’s dress & leggings are from a boutique, past season, her hat, socks & shoes are from Zara.  The snow is all compliments of Virginia Beach, we loved it while it lasted but now are ready for SPRING!
XO