Happy Wednesday, hope you all are having a great week so far!!  Waverly Maye & I have been keeping busy with lots of “just us” time together, I am doing my best to soak in these last summer moments with her.  We are three weeks until I return to work, something that I know is going to be a big transition for both of us.  It’s definitely hard to even think about, sometimes I wonder if it would be easier if we didn’t have these ten weeks to realize how much fun being together all of the time is.  Yet at the end of the day, I am so grateful for them & I know we will get through the change, we have done it twice before & made it happen.  Plus, there’s lots of fall fun to look forward to! 🙂

One of our favorite places to go this summer has been to the zoo, I ended up getting us a year membership in addition to our season passes to the waterpark.  As much as this chick is all about anything with water, she loves animals just as much.  Her relationship with our dog is only getting cuter, each morning she insists on reading to Bogger (she yells “Bogger, sit down so I read to you”), & the other day, I walked in on her feeding him with one of her doll play forks.  I mean, the cutest!  She is too much fun.

Waverly is definitely to the age that if I tell her what we are going to do the night before, she remembers & gets really excited about it the next morning (which I guess can be a good or bad thing!).  Last week she had been asking to go to the zoo for days, so the morning after I told her we were going she immediately was ready.  One of her favorite animals there is the tiger, so we put on her kitty dress in honor of them. Another new milestone, she likes to help pick out her clothes each day, she either says “I like it” or “NOT!”. 😉
It amazes me how interested she gets, she usually is so on the go that I never could have pictured her wanting to stop at each attraction.  Yet she does, she asks what each animal is & wants to watch them for a few minutes before moving on.  It’s been the best way to teach her about what the animals are & the sounds they make, I could seriously listen to her imitate the monkeys all day long. 😉
They also have fountains all through the park & a splash pad at the end, another reason she loves to go there.  I have tried to take her at least once a week, here are a few of the pictures from our visits so far!
Thanks to all of you who continue to link-up each week, Jess & I are both so thankful!  If you are new, welcome, & see this post for details.
XO

Here we are, another weekend down & almost halfway through August!  My two-year old (plus two weeks) is totally in rare form these days, making me crack up one minute & want to cry the next. 😉  Isn’t is amazing how fast their little moods can change?!
On the positive side, Waverly Maye’s love of fashion seems to be growing by the day & my mama heart couldn’t be more full about it all.  Out of no where, she has to have a bag every.single.time we leave the house & inside, she likes to pack all of the essentials (bottles, diapers, pacis …) for whatever babydoll we are bringing along with us that day.  Plus, she makes sure to pack “gasses”, either her own or mine will work.

Headband
Much like floral, stripes are one of my absolute favorite prints for all ages & seasons of the year.  They really are incredibly versatile, I love adding a fun twist with leopard or an accessory (or both).  This anchor dress was a great find from H&M last spring ($4.95!), but I also love this shirt version for girls & these striped sweatpants for boys, both which would be great for fall.  And ladies, this striped tee from Zara is quite possibly the best deal ever, how perfect would this be all year long?!  It also comes in other prints!

We also recently paired stripes with Waverly’s bloomers & headband from SugarPlum Lane, TOO much cuteness.  Also an example of my child’s passion for fashion, we now wear hello kitty bandaids even if we don’t have the need for them. 😉

 We had family & friends over for dinner to celebrate my husband turning 32 over the weekend & of course, Waverly had the best time with lots of her favorites to entertain her.  She is too funny about her daddy lately, she calls him “Joe” permanently now, something that makes us laugh every time.  I was convinced she didn’t know my name was Ashley, until this week when she refused to nap & was repeating “mommy” from her crib.  When she realized I wasn’t giving in, she changed to “Ashley” to let me know she meant business.  Two days in a row.  It’s really crazy how much these little ones take in that we don’t even realize!

And lastly, a few pictures from our summer weekend!  My husband went fishing for the day so my brother & I took Waverly to the farmers market, one of our favorite summertime visits.

Wishing you all a wonderful week!
XOXO

Sometimes I am convinced that crazy things happen to me (& only me), but then I realize that it’s pretty much a given that nothing ever goes as planned once you have a kid.  Luckily they are incredibly worth it. 🙂
The hubs & I were all set for our overnight getaway Saturday morning, our bags were packed & the hotel reservation was set like it had been for a few weeks.  Long story short, we had a few unexpected conflicts that kept us in VB until late that afternoon.  Good news, all is well that ends well, everything (& everyone) are fine, but since it was so late, we had to cancel our reservation.  We did still take Waverly to my parents to stay the night, our Plan-B was to go to dinner & stay the night at our house.  Not quite the getaway we planned, yet still completely out of the ordinary for us!

 Waverly did great, which made my mama heart a little sad, but mostly happy!  On the rare nights that we have left her with family (but still at our house), she has had a hard time with the change in her bedtime routine.  This time, she didn’t even ask for us, slept the entire night without waking up, & even slept in way later than she does at our house lately.  I think the complete change in scenery, plus her grandparents, kept her busy enough to not even notice we were gone!

As for us, it really was refreshing to have some quiet time alone (the house was crazy quiet, like weird quiet!), dinner at a place that didn’t have chips on the table when we got there (though we do love some Mexican food), & lastly, time to reconnect.  Before we picked up Waverly the next day, we took some breakfast down to the beach.  We were so anxious to pick her up that we didn’t stay too long, but those few relaxing moments really were worth it.  I definitely think that as a mom, one of my weaknesses is that I feel guilty whenever I even think about doing something by myself (that doesn’t involve cleaning or doing something for Waverly at naptime).  It’s little moments like these that makes me realize that a refreshed & rejuvenated mom is a better mom. 🙂

And the best part, we got to reunite with our baby girl!  There’s nothing like being back with her after some time away, it was a lot like I feel each day when I am driving home from work.  The weather here lately has been feeling a lot like fall, pretty cloudy but perfect for walks on the beach.  One of her favorite things to do, I’m so excited for lots more of these in the next couple of weeks!

V-Neck Tee & Headband

I hope you all are having a great week so far, we are halfway there!  Thanks to those who link-up each week, we are SO very thankful.  See this post if you need details.

Part of me is in complete denial about this whole back to school thing (& doesn’t understand why the aisle at Target has been there for over a month now … ), the thought of leaving Waverly again is a little too painful for me just yet.  Yet then another part of me is ready for fall & all the excitement it brings!  I love the change in weather, the falling leaves, how close the holidays are, & mostly, I love the fashion.  If only I could figure out how to do all this AND bring Waverly to school with me, I would be all in. 🙂
I’m super excited to be teaming up with 11 other bloggers today to bring you some back to school inspiration.  We are each posting something “school” related today, you can find the list of bloggers joining me at the end of this post.  A special thank-you to Keri for setting this up (& a really fun giveaway, also at the end of the post!), I feel lucky to be a part of it!
The fashion theme was a no-brainer for me, I really LOVE fall fashion & am really, really looking forward to jeans & boots again.  As a kid, I always loved the tradition of going back to school shopping.  I’m pretty sure I stressed about what I would wear the first day for at least a month – you know, it had to be perfect but without looking like you thought about it for even a couple days, much less the month you really did. 😉  
Waverly Maye won’t be going to an actual pre-school just yet (she still is a little young for most in our area), but she will be headed out each day to our sitter’s house & a new class at the kids gym.  
I’ve rounded up some looks I have my eye on for her & also that would be perfect for any of your little ones going to pre-school soon.  Boy mamas, that owl backpack might just be the cutest thing I have ever seen!
One: Gingham Pocket Dress, Two: Puffer Vest, Three: Marled Shirt Dress, Four: PomPom Beanie, Five: Hunter Boots, Six: Relaxed Jeans, Seven: Puffer Vest, Eight: Camo Backpack

We recently ordered these yellow hunter boots for Waverly, I cannot wait for them to get here!  They are the perfect color for fall & I also love that they work for both girls & boys!  I’ve had a lot of people ask me if Hunters are worth the price, they really are such good quality & way too adorable.  We had both the pink & the silver last year which are getting a little snug, but Waverly still loves to wear them despite how long it takes me to pull them over her calves. The other day she begged me to put them on so we could go outside to play in the puddles, I considered letting her sleep in them (for a few days) so we didn’t have to go through that again. 😉  Bring on the yellow ones.

Be sure to check out the other bloggers participating, they are listed here:
And lastly, enter below to win a $60 gift card to Target so that you can make sure you are school ready!!  The winner will be announced on August 12th. 🙂