Sequoia Zoo

I hit the local zoo with Grace today. She was still an infant on her first visit, so this time was a whole new experience. And it was hilarious! I hope that looks she's giving that goat makes you laugh as hard as I did. Welcome to the Petting Zoo Little Grace! 

She was a little hesitant at first, but eventually found her courage. I love doing all this kind of stuff with her-- planning our weeks, watching her experience things for the first time, being there for all the hugs... the list could go on and on. 

I hope your day brought you some new experience that made you laugh or brought you joy. 

For the Moms

This one is for all the young moms out there. 


May I encourage you to take a few minutes to check out this link and be encouraged again in your calling.


My husband alerted me to this post this morning, and I am so glad that he did! It's so easy to get caught up in all I'm not getting done and forget how important investing in my baby girl is right now. I love, love, love being able to stay home with her. I really do count it as a privilege and know that my wonderful husband works very hard to make this possible because it's something we both desire for our daughter. Even so, there are days that I feel I should be doing so much more, accomplishing more toward personal goals, especially since we moved, since a baby can really slow down the unpacking process. It is a good thing to be reminded of what the real priority is in this season which is flying by so quickly.

The Nursery

Baby Grace's birthday is coming up quickly, and I can't believe she's turning ONE! It really has gone by so fast. I know, I know. Sometimes I can get too nostalgic and sentimental, but I just can't get over it, and it makes me happy and sad at the same time to see her growing up.  I won't be able to call her Baby for too much longer.

Once I found out I was pregnant, I couldn't wait to hug and kiss and love on the newest little member of our family. I also really looked forward to preparing a place for the baby. But when my dad died suddenly and unexpectedly and my mom and sister moved in with us, the nesting months were filled with many other things that were more important than decorating a room. With just a little less than six weeks before my due date, we helped my mom and sister move next door, painted a ton of furniture, washed all her clothes and assembled her crib. That was about as far as we got. Once Grace arrived, elusive sleep and the busyness of caring for a baby left little time for getting projects finished. For most of Grace's first year she slept in a teeny tiny half finished room, that she shared with tons of books and craft supplies. It was definitely a bit of a disappointment {queue pity party music now please...}. Seriously though, I just had to get over it because there was a lot to be thankful for--like the reason for a new room anyway: Grace. 


When we decided to move and began looking over this last summer, I made the decision to not do anything else and just "be ok" with waiting. I didn't want to waste time and energy and money on a place we were leaving behind.

Fast forward to a month ago when we moved into our much, much larger home. Overnight, Grace got a room all to herself, at least for now. The space is large enough that we're hoping to fill it with a few more kids, Lord willing, as our family grows. So, my goal has been to finish the room for her before her first birthday. To make it a place where I really like to be, and I hope she will too as she grows. 


You get the idea of the before. Her birthday is October 26th, so that's what I'm shooting for. As renters, there are some constraints--like the wood floor that could really use some tlc but won't get any, or the fact that we're trying to do this on a cheap budget. But hey, constraints just force you to be more creative. I'm hoping you'll join me as I go about the process of transforming her nursery. I'm really happy and excited to do this and can't wait to show you how it all turns out!

A Little Light Reading

jelly kitten


Ever heard of these books?

There are plenty of soft cover baby books out there, but this is one of Grace's favorites!

This version, a gift from a family friend, is called "Farm Tails".

She really does reach for this book first over many other toys.

"Hello duck-where's your tail?"
"It's swimming behind me, cow."

You get the picture.

This is why she loves it so. Plenty of "tails" to suck on!

They are a little on the pricey side averaging about $15 each, but there are more versions out there that I'd like to get for her..."Birdy Tails", "Fishy Tails", "PetTails" just to name a few.

Have any favorite baby or kids books you'd like to share?

My Trusty Sidekick While Out & About

Babies are big business! There are so many fun, cute, helpful and totally unnecessary products out there for little ones. And have you ever noticed how hard companies try to convince you that you need every one of them when having a baby?!

Well, this isn't necessarily a must have product, it is something that I have found very handy and use often.

Before Grace was born, I searched high and low for a stroller that would work with her car seat. We went with the Chicco model--fits baby up to 30 lbs./30 in. and was one of the top rated from Consumer Reports. But, it's accompanying stroller was pretty expensive and the whole combo thing just seemed big and bulky to me. So, I kept looking until Grace began to get too heavy to run quick errands with.

My original intention was to just have one stroller that I could take anywhere, jog with, and that worked with her infant car seat. But, that didn't work out. I had found a BOB Jogging stroller on Craigslist for a steal of a deal, but the special "bar" that hooks onto it (which allows it to be used with a car seat) didn't fit our model. They wouldn't be coming out with one that worked until the Spring. I just didn't want to wait that long--I don't know that my arms would've made it! She's getting pretty heavy!

So, I went with the Graco SnugRider Infant Car Seat Stroller Frame. Quite a mouthful huh?! Seriously though, I would highly recommend this option to others for several reasons...

1. It works with the Chicco car seat. It also works with many other popular brands.

2. It is incredibly lightweight.

3. It folds up flat and easily fits into the trunk of my car with plenty of room for groceries and other items.

4. It has a decent sized basket underneath.

5. If she's asleep in the car, I can quickly pop her into the stroller and get going without waking her up.

6. It only cost around $50! This last one was the clincher!

Grace's car seat doesn't "snap in" to the stroller like its technically supposed to because the base doesn't work that way. This was something that concerned me initially, but as you can see, it fits so snugly that I haven't had anything to worry about. It's not like I'm racing down flights of stairs with her in this thing. I mainly use it while out shopping, running errands and shorter walks right around our neighborhood--for longer walks/runs, I use the jogging stroller.

It may even be helpful if you have more than one child. My sister-in-law has a Baby Trend Single Snap N' Go Stroller (This website was the cheapest place I could order one from, they shot me an email when they got more in stock--which didn't take long). It's a very similar model to my own. She had looked into a triple stroller to carry all three of my nieces in, but couldn't find anything that both worked for them and was affordable. So, she uses her double stroller for the older two and the single for Baby Belle when she's out and about with her husband.