Monroe is almost 3 months old.... where in the heck did the time go? It makes me so sad that we are kind of out of the newborn phase. Although I miss how little she was I am happy we are to the phase where we have 3 predictable naps and where she sleeps 12 hours straight with no nighttime wake ups! She has really been such an easy baby, she really only cries if she's hungry or in her car seat. With Leo we relied on a lot of movement and bouncing with her we really haven't had to do much. You just lay her down and she falls asleep. I tell Jay on a daily basis, "how did we get so lucky getting such an easy baby"... then he reminds me that she will get us back in her toddler and teenage years. So now this second time Mom is rounding up my all star newborn items that were key with both Leo and Monroe and a few things that I needed to get me through the first month. 

It is finally time to show you all Monroe's nursery. As I've talked about before I went ALL GIRL on this room! It was a bit overwhelming for me the first few days especially the purple paint but I do love how it turned out. I know one day the wallpaper will have to come down and she will ask to paint the tongue and groove white but until then we will relish all the colors and patterns.

Oh goodness here we go, today wanted to share with you my fears of it not just being Leo and I anymore. As we are expecting baby sister any day now. Staying home with Leo has been life's greatest blessing. Although at times it has seemed really hard it has been so worth it. We had Leo during Jay's final year of residency while living in Portland where we had no support system. Jay's hours were rough, the weather was terrible, and living in a duplex was challenging as I was constantly worried his cries would wake up our neighbors. There were trying days but they soon faded and the days continued to get better. Jay graduated and we moved back to the Tri-Cities where we have a huge support system. Jay worked less, Leo became easier, and most of all we had help. Leo is now 2.5 years old and despite his Dad working a lot less I still am solo parenting quite often. But I don't dread the days or nights anymore alone with him, I actually look forward to them as I love our time we have together. So with that being said this stay at home mama is having a hard time giving up all my one on one with my sweet little boy. Today I share those feelings and fears as I write a little letter to Leo. I am sure one day he will read this and be so embarrassed but I know I will love to look back at this and remember how I was feeling the days leading up to baby sisters arrival.

Can you guys believe it is back to school already? Summer always flies by and I swear having kids makes it fly by even faster. We headed to Columbia Center to do a little back to school shopping. Back to school shopping was so long ago for me but I remember how much I used to look forward to having that time with my Mom and browsing the stores. . I  loved it but I will say think it is even more fun as a parent. I had such a great time shopping for Leo and I can't wait to show you guys what I got. 

Life is always so crazy in the summer. We are now home and settled from a great vacation at Priest Lake. More on that in a little bit. But I just thought I'd update you all on a few things that have been going on in our lives as well as this pregnancy. We are getting close to having the new baby less than 7 weeks. Jay has added a new job, as if we weren't busy enough. Ha ha! He is now working a few days a month at Tri-Cities Regenerative Institute. It is very different from his ER gig, but he is really enjoying it. It is awesome that this is now being offered in Tri-Cities, they do stem cell injections as well as Platelet Rich Plasma injections for injuries and cosmetic reasons. Once I have this baby I'm dying to go have a vampire facial!! You guys should check out their website HERE. 

Welp this isn't your typical Nordstrom anniversary sale blog post today. I did add some wrap dresses currently on sale for the Nordstrom sale and I also added a few things I bought. I wasn't planning on doing too much shopping  this year but I ended up finding more than I excepted to! But this blog post isn't about that, it is all about the wrap dress. I love the rise of the wrap dress this past few seasons, I can't believe the wrap dress was only invented in 1974 by Diane von Furstenberg. Diane knew what she was doing because this dress is so flattering and versatile. I think the wrap dress truly compliments most body types and works great with pregnancy. This dress isn't a maternity but as you can see you can wear this dress pregnant or not! 

Activities activities activities...... this is my last summer alone with just Leo . So I am trying to make it the best summer ever. I have a big list of activities that we can do and everyday we try and do something new. From scavenger hunts to shaving cream painting I have 5 fun summer activities for your kiddos. None of these activities really cost more than a few dollars. Most of the stuff I actually had a home so check out the fun we have had going on at our house. 

School is out or almost out and everyone is starting to think about their summer plans. Leo is starting soccer this summer and doing swim lessons. But on top of that I made a little summer bucket list for us. This one is more catered to toddlers and younger kids, but is a fun start to some summer activities. I want to make this summer as special as possible because it will be my last summer with just Leo. I have adored my 1 on 1 time with him for the last 2+ years and as excited as we are to add another to the family I am a little sad all my alone time with him will be coming to an end. So until September we will be working away on our summer bucket list! 

So I was browsing through another person blog and saw this thing where you take 10  photos throughout 1 day. I thought what a great idea, I think this blog post is more for me than other people. As it is a bit of a photo journal to document our day. We did this when Jay was off work so that he could take some photos as well as be in some. I thought this would be a great thing to encourage you mamas to do for Mother's Day. You don't need a fancy camera just grab your iPhone and start snapping. I know I am going to want to remember these chaotic and amazing times in our house. One day I am going to miss the days when my house was full of toys and little baby giggles and I am glad I stopped and took some photos of it. 

I don't have much of a blogging process. But what I do have is a little notepad where I write down a ton of ideas of topics for possible blog post. I usually end up writing about 1/2 of them, but it is nice to have a constant list of things to chose from. This blog post been on my blog "list" for about 6 months and  I am finally getting around to it. Last weekend we were out with friends talking about snacks our kids like to eat. People were really all over the map with what they feed their kids and were looking for new ideas. I thought I'd share with you a few of Leo's favorite snacks. Don't get me wrong he still gets fruit snacks, fish crackers, and apple sauce but I try and make a point to make sure his snacks have some protein and are fairly healthy. I have been feeding Leo these snacks since he was little so he never complains.