I am so excited to be back for the link-up this week!  I was thinking about the fact that we have been rolling with this weekly since February the other day, that makes my heart so happy. 🙂  Thanks again to all of you for your support, participation, & of course, for appreciating the “little things” like we do.  It really means so much to Jess & I both.

If you have read my blog much or know Waverly Maye personally, you know that she is not much of a “sit still” kind of girl.  She is as active as they come, I am sure of it, my experience at kids classes & around other toddlers in general tells me so.  My parents (who have four kids) & grandparents (who have two plus ten grandchildren) say has more energy than any of us ever did. ðŸ˜‰

Yet my girl has always had a love of books, right now more than ever, & if anything can get her to sit still, it’s reading.  The sweetest, it melts my heart every time.
 

Headband
I still read to Waverly each night, we sit on the recliner in her room before bed & it really is one of my favorite times of the day with her.  She also asks for a book when I lay her down & as soon as I walk out of the room, she reads to her babies until she falls asleep & most mornings does the same thing.  She also LOVES reading to our dog, she asks him to sit in the playroom with her so “I read to you, Gogger!”.  Lately it is the biggest reality check on how smart she really is, she can “read” most of the our favorites herself, saying the exact same lines that I have been reciting to her for months through most every page.  There isn’t much I love more than hearing her little voice say the words I have been going through with her since she was a little babe.  I can’t believe how well she had been listening all that time. 🙂

Some of Waverly’s current favorite books are “Brown Bear, Brown Bear“, “I Love You Through and Through“, & the “Three Little Pigs“.  I just got her “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” last week, it’s quickly turning into a nightly read, it’s great for teaching the letters of the alphabet!  We still are really big on board books, touch & feel books, plus anything with bright colors.  We recently got this bookshelf for Waverly’s birthday for her big girl room, the brown one was on sale so we bought it then painted it white.  It’s perfect for her to get the books on her own.
We also did a Pinterest project for the books in her playroom, these gutters turned into really cheap shelves that she can also reach!!  I’ve already added a few Halloween books for the fall, I have been trying to buy a new one each year with each holiday.  Spending money on books doesn’t make me feel as guilty, I know we can use them for years to come & most are gender-neutral. 😉

I am always open to new book ideas or suggestions, do you guys have any favorites?!  I hope you all are having the best week, see this post if you need a reminder on how to link-up.

Here we are, only two months into Waverly’s two-year old status & I already can’t help but update on her!  This is such a fun age, with so many changes each week, I feel like I am constantly taking in moments because I never want to forget how special they are.  I am obsessed with her vocabulary, her little voice, & the things she comes up with!  Yet again, this might just be our favorite age yet, I want to bottle her up & keep her just like this forever.

We had Waverly’s two-year appointment with our pediatrician about a month ago, she was still very short (5th percentile) & average for weight (50th percentile).  This appointment followed one we had a couple weeks before, dare I call it a “behavior” appointment?!  I called in for help after a couple rough days with Waverly hitting & throwing just about everything she could find.  Her two-year old status clearly got to her head & I started going crazy in mine! 😉  Just as I thought she would, our pediatrician said it was completely normal & to continue with exactly what we were doing (time-outs when needed & just straight up telling her no!).  It felt good to have reassurance, I feel like I am always second-guessing myself in how I discipline.  Raising Waverly to be a polite, well-rounded young lady is so important to me & I feel like this is one of those things that you don’t get a “do-over” on.  We definitely still have our tough moments (& tantrums), but I know that is part of this whole parenting thing & that ultimately, the good moments far exceed the challenging ones. 🙂

Some of Waverly’s current favorite activities are taking her babies for walks, dancing to the music player she got for her birthday, putting on jewelry, & coloring.  We are still Sesame Street obsessed, as well as phone-obsessed, she gets on her phone every day to call her “guys”. #troubleahead
 She also LOVES to go to the grocery store with me, as long as it is Target (where she gets to sit in the extra big cart plus get an icee) or Kroger, where she gets to push her own “mini” cart around the store.  It’s ironic how that used to be one of our challenges, but now is one of our favorite things to do!  Of course, she is still FULL of energy, most moments of the day. The other morning I left for work (at 6:05), she had already pulled every toy out of the bin & was circling the downstairs with a pom-pom in each hand singing.  Girlfriend amazes me.

We have officially entered the “mine” phase & also, Waverly wants to do everything, all the time, all by herself!  We are working on sharing, we do know our little lady does not own the slide at our neighborhood park, despite the fact that she definitely thinks otherwise.  The sweetest moment the other night though, we were driving home & she kept repeating “my daddy” & “my mommy” while pointing to us, then would point to herself & say “ME!!”.  She went through the rotation for about ten minutes straight, laughing constantly, & we loved every.single.minute!

And lastly, in fashion news, we are wearing mostly 18-24 month clothes with some 2T pieces.  Waverly loves to help pick out her clothes, plus attempt to put them on herself, & looks in the mirror to say “cute!” before we go anywhere.
 

 
 I really can’t put into words how much I love this little girl!  It is too much fun to watch her grow & I can’t wait to see what the next few months will bring!
XO


I was looking through (the insane amount of) my pictures the other night, something I find myself doing often!  It never fails, 6pm hits & I am so exhuasted all I can think about is sleep.  I make the mental note to go to bed at 7:05, five minutes after Waverly goes to sleep.  Then, that time actually comes & I start looking at pictures of our day, all I want to do is go jump in Waverly’s crib to snuggle with her all night.  I miss her so much!  Tell me I’m not the only one this happens to. 🙂

So I thought it would be fun to share some of the pictures I never got a chance to from our summer.  I’m not sure if it was all the extra time that we got to spend together or just our love of summer activities, but I took a lot of pictures the past few months.  Looking at them makes me so happy, I love that we will have these memories to look back on forever!

The last two are from that time I had the bright idea to take a family walk on the beach a couple weeks ago.  All three of us were fully dressed & not one of us had a bathing suit on.  We had been down there two seconds & Waverly started sprinting to the water, jumped in & thought it was about the funniest thing ever.  We obviously had to jump in after her.  Summer memories. 😉
I’m always so flattered when I get compliments on my pictures, I never cared much about photography before I had Waverly but obviously can’t get enough of it now!  For those who have asked, I have a Canon Rebel camera & use Lightroom to edit my pictures.  I do take lots of pictures, but feel like I am always conflicted between “in” the moment or capturing photos of it.  So most often, I try to get a few shots right at the beginning of whatever we are doing & then make a point to put it away.  Also, almost all of my favorite pictures of Waverly are candid ones, moments that she was really being herself & doing the things she loves the most (which includes jumping in the water, fully clothed or not!).
Happy weekend to you all!
XO


Happy Tuesday & more importantly, HAPPY September, everyone!  Other than the whole going back to work thing (which, by the way, officially starts today), this time of year is one of my absolute favorites & I am so excited for all the fun that is to come.  We had a great long weekend soaking in our last moments of summer, Waverly’s highlight was definitely a boat & beach trip with lots of land for her to run free & “swiiiiiim”, her favorite. 🙂
Waverly’s Swimsuit
We celebrated my birthday on Friday night with Mexican plus a last-minute concert afterwards, & then celebrated some more the next day at a friends wedding.  So much fun yet completely exhausting, we were once again reminded that kids don’t care if you stayed up late the night before or if you had a few cocktails.  I’m pretty sure we will be recovering from two nights out in a row for a couple weeks. 😉
My mind is officially on all things fall now, Waverly & I had a mall date over the weekend & picked up so much fun stuff for the change in seasons.  We took advantage of the labor day sales at both Gap & Old Navy, I got Waverly these halloween pajamas & as I was standing in line, couldn’t resist this jacket for me.  We picked up a couple bath & body works fall candles, the three-wick candles are my favorite & this flavor screams fall!  Also, halloween costume brainstorming has begun!  I know I only have a couple years left before she starts picking on her own, so I am totally taking advantage while I can. 🙂
Lastly, Kathleen from Her Joyful Studio sent Waverly the sweetest headband & I can’t wait for her to wear it all fall.  I love how unique it is, the colors are perfect to transition from season to season!
I hope you all had the best, most relaxing three-day weekend!  
XOXO

This Friday is a good one, I’m so excited to relax after a week back at work & to do it with one extra day thrown in!  Also, today we celebrate my 31st birthday. 🙂  It’s not nearly as exciting of a celebration that Waverly’s was a few weeks ago, but alas, we will celebrate.  Because we love to do just that.
 
Seeing that I already went through the whole milestone birthday last year, this one feels way less special & comes with way less pressure.  I like that.  Honestly, & I know this is cliche, the older I get the less important the “number” becomes.  I remember thinking that thirty(one) sounded really, really old & there are definitely times that I have a complete reality check on my age (like when I am watching reality tv & every single person is at least five years younger than me, most more than that).  Yet most of the time, I love this age I am at, I love how much more life experience I have, & therefore how much less I care about the little things that don’t matter.  And of course, most of all, I love that I get to have Waverly Maye as my birthay present year after year.

Tonight, I will celebrate in true thirty-year old fashion, with dinner at the Mexican restaurant with a few friends & family.  We have a wedding tomorrow so I really hated the idea of leaving Waverly two nights in a row & also, not celebrating with her.  So ultimately, the kid-friendly plan won out & I couldn’t be happier about it. 🙂

Since this weekend also marks Labor Day, we have accepted the fact that it’s now time to say good-bye to summer & hello to fall.  It’s definitely a bittersweet feeling, we really are excited for the months to come but this summer babe is going to have some serious water withdrawal.  We will forever remember this summer as one of our best ever, the one in which (among many other things), Waverly basically learned to swim, count to fifteen, fell in love with her babies, & also, that the sun turned her red hair strawberry-blonde. 😉  It’s crazy how many people have stopped to ask me where she gets her blonde hair from lately, I’m so anxious to see if it goes back red this fall & winter!


We are wishing you all the best holiday weekend, enjoy these last summer moments with those you love! XOXO