Baby #2 : Recent Purchases

Nesting mode kicked in so much quicker this pregnancy than before.  I feel like I'm checking things off the list a lot sooner this time around, but part of that could also be because we started out with more--re-using the nursery furniture and already having lots of baby items.  

There have been a few things that I've bought lately that we found great deals on!

DOUBLE STROLLER--
I periodically check Amazon and Target to see if anything we need for the baby is on sale, and finally our double stroller hit an all-time low price so I snagged that up today!  I love the style of this tandem stroller for a toddler & baby.  This is the older model, which sells for $100 less than their new "ultralight" version and it has all of the same features but it is 7lbs heavier.  Both are light enough for me to lift with one hand so I figure this stroller was a great way to get all the features but at a lower price.  AND--today it went on sale $40 off the normal retail which is the lowest I have seen it over the last several months.

Joovy Caboose Graphite Stand-On Tandem Stroller

After reading reviews and comparisons on several tandem sit-stand strollers, this one was the winner!  We bought it in red to match our red Britax infant carrier, and because #gobulldawgs.


NEW MATTRESS--
This one was a little switch-a-roo.  Instead of purchasing a new nursery crib mattress (the one we love that Ryleigh uses is the Lullaby Earth Healthy Support 2-in-1 Mattress) we bought a much more affordable toddler bed mattress and we will move the current mattress to the nursery.  I found this Kolcraft foam toddler mattress (fits a crib/toddler bed) with fantastic reviews and it is 40% off right now.  The only negative in the reviews was that the waterproof cover wasn't as soft/comfortable, so I bought these extras which are 50% off right now and will also be good to have on hand for the accidents that are probably in our future because of eventually #pottytraining.


POSTPARTUM WARDROBE--
I've made several purchases for my postpartum/nursing wardrobe.  I did this last pregnancy too, and I think that (1) It gives you something to look forward to in the midst of newborn craziness, and (2) buying new items that you know are going to accommodate a postpartum body help to avoid being sad that none of your pre-prego clothing fits yet.  I've got a lot of cardigans (including three of these thick sweater cardigans that feel like heaven!) so I aimed my focus at good transitional tunics and sleepwear.

Penguins // Polka Dot // Plaid 

All of these pajama sets were on sale under $15! 

Wearing nursing sleep bras like these was a necessity last time, so I bought a couple new ones...

Nursing Sleep Bras

I'm in love with these sleeveless tunics that I found on Zulily. The prints are gorgeous and can easily be dressed up or down. They are a nice shape that isn't low cut or tummy-hugging and will look great under a cardigan. They are the perfect 4-season shirt that I think I will be continuing to wear long after my postpartum months.

That's all for now! I've got some free time the next two weekends so I'm hoping to make lots of headway on the nursery :)

Aubrey Kate's Nursery Design Plans

Planning the nursery decor is always one of my favorite baby checklist items! I am incredibly excited to see my plans for Aubrey's nursery come together.  Here is a little peek into what we are working on...

It typically starts for me by looking through fabrics and finding one that is my inspiration starting point.  Last time for Ryleigh's nursery, I found a cute, colorful giraffe print that became her whole nursery theme.  This time, Aubrey's design started with Budquette in Nightfall from Bari. J's Emmy Grace collection.  I immediately fell in love with the artsy floral print and the charcoal background.  Our house has a lot of gray and blue tones so this fit in well.  After looking at a lot of paint samples, I chose SW Restful for an accent wall.  The other walls are SW Agreeable Gray like the rest of our house.

I always like to include the baby's name in the nursery and started brainstorming after I read a recent blog post from Katie about the Alphabet Soup letters at Michael's craft store.  I spent a good hour there rooting through the options since some are on clearance/discontinued, and coming up with this (although I have a lot of work to do with them before they are ready to hang)...

I ordered a crib skirt and one fitted sheet in the Budquette fabric from HappyMae on Etsy.  From there, the floral print took my mind in a wildflower/woodland direction.  I stumbled across this Monogram wall art from Anthropologie (unfortunately now discontinued) and looked up the artist, Starla Michelle Halfmann.  Her work is incredible! I am so in love with her style and wanted to order canvases and prints of everything, but eventually I decided on a large print of Kandy Forest.  I found the handpainted clipart images of woodland animals with flower crowns from FHFclipart on Etsy, and I shared a sneak peek on instagram of some cute artwork I've made to go over the changing table and rocking chair....

And of course, we will be re-using the crib and dresser/changing table from Ryleigh's nursery, now that she's in a toddler bed and we have a different set of furniture for her (my childhood bedroom suite).  

The accent wall has been painted and now we have lots of organizing and moving around of furniture to do.  I'm excited to start making progress!

Baby #2 Bump-date | 19 weeks

I feel like a picture-taking failure thus far because the picture above is the single belly picture I have taken with this pregnancy.  #imsorrysecondchild

For comparison sake, here is my 20 Week Bumpdate with Ryleigh.


How far along? 19 weeks, 5 days!

Total weight gain: +11lbs

Maternity clothes? Yes, over the last couple of weeks I've switched from belly-banding my regular pants to just wearing maternity and hello stretchy waistband.  I should have made the switch sooner.  Also wearing some pre-prego skirts with elastic waistbands and lots of dresses/maxi dresses.

Sleep: Pretty well these days.  Still very tired at points throughout the day too.

Best baby moment this week:  We had our anatomy ultrasound on Wednesday which is always so fun.  This little one looks so much like her big sister, at least so far.  Long, active legs and her bone structure/profile is incredibly similar to Ryleigh's.  It will be very interesting to see if they end up with the same coloring because I think they are really going to favor each other.  Also, on Tuesday she decided to start being much more active throughout the day and hasn't stopped since.  

Miss Anything? Sub sandwiches.  It's funny because I would eat them when I was pregnant with Ryleigh, I just always made sure to make sure the whole sandwich was toasted to try to zap any possible bacteria.  I guess because of all of the Listeria outbreak recalls on food lately I have been more hesitant this go 'round and haven't eaten any.  Also, I could really go for a good sushi dinner at Enso.

Movement: Yes! I've felt her little flutters for a couple of weeks and this week she's gotten much more active/stronger.  

Food cravings: Fruit with cool whip.  Milk. Tons of Milk.  Ice/Shaved Ice.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing that I have noticed yet.

Have you started to show yet: Yes, a decent little bump :) I don't think I have quite 'popped' yet though.

Gender: GIRL!  Jake was right.  Her name will be Aubrey Kate. 

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy/tired.  

Looking forward to: Starting to plan nursery ideas and Ryleigh's "big girl room" ideas.  Also, when I was pregnant last time during summer, it was the very beginning months and being outside in the sun at all was really effecting me, unless I was able to cool off in a pool.  Just a few minutes in the hot sun would have me feeling physically ill and extremely tired.  I'm so happy that that doesn't seem to be the case this time!  We recently decided to go in with some friends on trading up to a much newer pontoon boat and I have a feeling we will be spending most of our free time out on the water this summer!

Projects of Penrose | Paint, Flooring & Organization

We are getting so close to move-in!!  We are hoping for this weekend if all goes according to plan.

We went to the house all day on Sunday and I painted two accent walls, one in our bedroom and one in Ryleigh's.  My handy Daddy also helped with hanging some lights and ceiling fans.  I was preoccupied so I didn't get any pictures yet, but those will be coming soon enough!

Our flooring downstairs is going to be installed on Thursday and should hopefully only take one day!!



Here is an update on some purchases and room Decor.....


Mudroom

Family Organization Center 

 This fun display will be in our mudroom across from our cubbie bench area.  I can already picture lots of beautiful pictures of our friends and family on the corkboard to celebrate their life events :) The calendar and whiteboard (aka-where we can make a grocery list) will help to keep Jake and I on the same page with our busy day-to-day.   I really love this unit with the white frame, especially since it will be across from our white cubbies, but white is backordered until February.  So, espresso it is! Luckily we are espresso people so it will match everything else and especially the kitchen which is the next room over.



Ryleigh's Room

Artwork // Be Wild and Free  |  Paint // Sherwin Williams for Lowe's

Still searching for a good vinyl decal for her name on the wall via etsy.  I think I'm leaning towards this one or this one.



Master Bedroom

Loving this new color scheme and how the patterns play off each other.






 

Pinning for Penrose: Bedroom Decor

I am so excited about decorating our new house.  I know, duh, anyone would be.  But it's just something about this house, I guess building it from scratch, that makes me feel so much more like it's ours and I want to decorate every room.  Our last house we sort of decorated as we went, some rooms never event ended up with art on the walls, because we hadn't needed to use them yet.  This house I have so many ideas for every single space.  I can't wait for it to all come together!

We chose Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray as our whole-home wall color.  It's a nice warm gray that I think goes perfectly with espresso wood, which we have a ton of.  We will end up with some accent walls, because that's how I roll...you know this if  you were at our last house ;)

Here are some ideas I'm gathering with some Pinterest inspiration for bedroom decor.

Ryleigh's Room:  Bright colors & Puppy Dog theme

Anyone who is around Ryleigh knows how much she loves her dogs!  She requests to give them goodnight kisses every night before bed (or else she will refuse to go to sleep!) and she carries her stuffed "Puppy" around all the time.  She's also obsessed with Bubble Puppy from the Bubble Guppies show, her favorite!  So, baby girl gets a puppy-themed room :)

Master Bedroom:  Deep, Earthy colors with Navy & Green

I just can't seem to steer away from my favorite color, green. I love it for accents and I feel like it matches everything!  I try to not go too girly in "our" spaces because I want Jake to feel comfortable and like it's just as much his space to relax as mine.