Marlee Josephine

Late night insomnia has struck again. 

Or maybe it is just the extreme pregnancy uncomfortableness that I have been feeling the last couple of days. Baby Nicholas has proven to be quite the trouble maker. 

Either way, making a strawberry poptart, playing Farm Heros Saga, and doing some online shopping is not exactly the cure I was hoping for so blogging it is!

A Marlee Jo update is definitely needed since it has been a little while since I posted all her accomplishments. She truly does amaze me everyday. I have been getting a little sentimental and going through some old videos of her and it really is hard to remember her being so small! At her 15 month appointment, she weighed 22lbs 4oz and is 31 inches tall. My perfect little peanut.

As you can see, her hair is long enough to fit into pigtails and I think it is the most adorable thing I have ever seen. She usually takes it out but for this brief moment, she allowed a couple pictures to be taken. 

Her favorite foods are yogurt and oatmeal. Of course, they are also the messiest of the foods. It is usually a shirtless affair which is followed quickly by a bath. She is getting better though and has become quite determined to get more in her mouth than on her belly. Sometimes I just let her do her own thing...

Since I never got around to doing a Trick or Treat post, Marlee was a kitty cat and I made her costume out of some tulle and a black boa. Super easy and it turned out just as I had hoped. Her ears were a little big and would not stay up but she was still adorable. She absolutely loved Trick or Treating. Ok so really she just loved being able to run around the neighborhood. 

At her 15 month appointment, the doctor expected her to know about 3-5 words. Well Marlee might not have the best pronunciation but she knows around 10-15 right now so when do I start calling her a baby genius! Just kidding. I know all parents think their kid is a genius. 

I will say that she knows the color blue (boo), where her nose is, and that a cow goes moo. 

Boom.

Marlee prefers to talk in grunts and hand gestures but when really forced to, she will use her words. She knows apple, thank you (tank ooo), mom, dad, bubby, sock, milk, snack, no (no, no, no), up, down, ball, all done, blue, book, and I am sure various other words that I cannot think of at this time. I am seriously so amazed that this little babe started from nothing! She is learning so fast and I feel like I cannot keep up sometimes. 

Literally, I cannot keep up sometimes. This girl is a little tornado of energy. While I am a large whale of a human being. The fact that I am not sleeping right now is beyond me. 

Bubby (Isaac) is still Marlee's favorite person. It is a guaranteed smile when he walks in the door. I hope they stay close forever. Siblings are so important. 

Other random Marlee facts;

She loves to read books...

and color.

She hates Band-Aids. Last time I ever do that...

And has a strange foot and tongue obsession. She thinks they are the funniest things in the world. She will literally smell peoples feet just so she can laugh about it. Wonder where she learned that from..?

That is about it. Marlee at 16 months in a nutshell. 

My princess. 

Now hopefully I can get some sleep. Church is going to come really early tomorrow.

Daddy

Daddy, 

I have been thinking about you a lot the past couple days. Then again I did eat a lot of pancakes and Snickers the past couple of days which always make me think of you. You made the best pancakes and I still can't even come close to your recipe. Of course they were smothered in Log Cabin Lite - the best syrup ever! And I know how much those Snickers commercials made you laugh. I miss that laugh. 

The Browns are kicking some ass - which I know you already know but I am pretty excited and wanted to share that with you. Is there a Dawg Pound in the sky?

The last time we talked, you were worried about the Ebola Scare of 2014. Well the United States is Ebola free so no need to worry about me in the hospital. I will continue to be safe though - not to worry. 

I know that Marlee won't remember her Grandpa but I promise to remind her how much you loved her and how pretty you thought she was. It has only been a couple weeks but she is growing so much! I have been reviewing her ABC's with her but still can only say O. L-M-N-OOOOO! Makes me laugh every time. And she goes to those magnets at Moms house about every time we are over there. I have yet to watch that video but it will forever be cherished. Especially when after I stopped taping, she came and sat on your lap. You said it made you so happy. It made me happy too. 

Anna asked when she is going to start feeling 'better'. I don't know how to answer that question. I have been doing a lot of praying though and that seems to help. I ask that you send the sisters some peace. Mom too. They all miss you a lot and I think could use a little faith that you are in a better place. 

I read two quotes that I continue to read when I am feeling down and wanted to share them with you. 

Death is nothing at all. I have only slipped away into the next room. 

I am I, and you are you. Whatever we were to each other, that we 

still are. Call me by my old familiar name, speak to me in the easy 

way which you always used. Put no difference in your tone, wear 

no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed

at the little jokes we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me, pray 

for me. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was, 

let it be spoken without effect, without the trace of a shadow on it. 

Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was; there 

is unbroken continuity. Why should I be out of mind because I am 

out of sight? I am waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very 

near, just round the corner. 

All is well. 

- Henry Scott Holland

1847-1918

Canon of St. Paul's Cathedral

Don't think of them as gone away

His journey's just begun, 

life holds so many facets

This Earth is only one

Just think of him as resting

From the sorrows and the tears

In a place of warmth and comfort 

Where there are no days and years 

Think of how he must be wishing 

That we could know today 

How nothing but our sadness 

Can really pass away 

And think of him as living 

In the hearts of those he touched 

For nothing loved is ever lost

And he was loved so much.

- Ellen Brenneman

I miss you Daddy and love you lots. 

Till we meet again.

Weekend Roundup

I love fall - or autumn for you fancy people.

I love the cooler air (perfect pregnant weather), the trees, the food (pumpkin everything!), the warmer clothes, Halloween, pumpkins, and everything in between! Fall is certainly my favorite season.

This weekend was so action packed that even going to work on Monday did not bring me down. Friday was my birthday so we did a birthday dinner at the always wonderful Tozzi's on 12th. I ate dinner so fast that I was not able to get a picture but the dessert was extra special!

Chocolate Lava Cake - Ahh So Good

Saturday was my cousins wedding and everyone had a blast as they should at a wedding. So weird to think that was us two years ago! The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was full of fun. My fat feet were crying by the end of the night though. I might not been able to drink but I was sure to get my fill of cookies. Maybe two peoples fill of cookies but who is counting? All four of us sisters were able to make it which is unheard of so a couple quick photo booth pictures were required. 

Sunday we went to Nickajack Farms with the always wonderful Moore family and had a blast. 

I actually kind of want to go back just to let Marlee run around some more. She was so excited to be free for once. Of course she ran right for a giant mud puddle but after a little corralling, she figured out where she could and couldn't run. She also loved playing with the girls!

Nick and Marlee did a little pumpkin bowling but the idea of knocking down the pins after she took all the time setting them up was too much for Marlee.

Quick photo shoot!

By the time the hayride rolled around, Marlee was pretty much done. 

After the hayride, we grabbed a quick pumpkin and left before a meltdown happened. Isaac was not able to join us so we had Marlee pick out his pumpkin too!

 

We ended the day with a Cleveland Browns win over the Steelers and some spicy chili for dinner. 

Such a great start to October with family and friends. We still have so much to look forward to this month but at the top of my list is Trick or Treating with Marlee. I should probably get started on her costume! 

Bedroom Switcharoo

Let me say first that my blog hits have freaking skyrocketed lately because of my 21 Day Fix posts from a while back. So everyone that is here for that, sorry I went and got knocked up. BUT I did see that there is a new 21 Day Fix Extreme coming out in February. Um hello! Baby is due in January so I will definitely be looking into this as soon as I hear more about the program. I can guarantee that it is not going to be easy but it was so amazing the first time around, I am sure it is only going to get better! 

Any who, since we found out that we are adding a baby boy to the family, we needed to do some bedroom reconfiguration. We do not have enough room in this house for the family size we have now (let the house search begin!) so adding another child to the madness is going to need a little finesse. We decided to move Isaac to Marlee's current room and move Marlee to the bigger room which allows us to put Marlee and baby Nicholas together. We finally finished almost finished painting both rooms (small touches still need added) this weekend so decorating and some small touches should make the rooms perfect for Isaac and the babes. I gathered a ton of inspiration from Pinterest so before I share the final outcomes, I thought I would share some of those ideas first. 

Isaac's room is almost complete. The number one thing with his room was to declutter and reorganized without making it 'boring' or 'too simple'. I wanted to keep it kid friendly but with Isaac turning 10 next month, he really is not a kid anymore. He is not into toys or legos or coloring or dinosaurs etc etc. He loves sports, video games, and movies. So we either donated all this old toys or placed them in the basement. Then Nick and I decided on a baseball theme and really ran with it. So far, I am loving his room. I will post pictures as soon as it is complete.

My original inspiration started with this dresser. I was not able to find a source for the picture but I just fell in love with the look of it! My mother-in-law just finished painting her bedroom furniture so had some paint left over and offered to tackle this task. 

Then things just exploded from there. What would I do without Pinterest?

I loved the clean, organized look of these pictures. Something we were missing with his room before. I hate clutter!

I loved these prints from Wunder Kammer on Etsy so I ordered them and placed them in frames for above Isaac's bed. They are baseball patents which really gave it an 'old baseball' feel. 

Then I found this tutorial for painting a baseball wall and I was hooked. I cannot draw. Or paint. Or even color for that matter. I pretend to be crafty but really fail about 80% of the time. Simply Mom makes it look so easy and amazing though so I am going to give this a try once the dresser is complete. 

Isaac is thrilled with his new room and it makes me so happy to see him adjusting so well to the new arriving this winter. He really is a great big brother. 

The babies room on the other hand is going to take a little bit longer to complete. Since it is a boy and girl room, I wanted things to be separate but still have a cohesive look to it. I choose gray for the main color of the room and rug. It gives it a neutral feel and then I was going to jazz it up with accents. Nick is not completely thrilled with all the gray but I think once it comes all together, it won't be so bland. Some of my Pinterest inspiration is as follows;

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I love the look of each of these rooms. They all had a great flow to them but it was very obvious that they were shared rooms. I am in the process of looking for wall decor to give each side a boy vs girl feel.

These plaques from Pottery Barn are perfectttt but spending $120 dollars on two pieces of wood is just beyond me. And I am pretty sure Nick would give me that look he gives when I do too much shopping... Look at these though! Adorable!

I will probably end up buying a couple of prints like these and then heading to Marshalls to get some cute frames to place them in. 

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Etsy is an amazing place for all things nursery related!

Ok now to head out to the craft store to buy some fabric for curtains. I am looking for a gray, blue, pink fabric to attempt to make some roman shades. This might push my patience to the edge but I am going to attempt it anyway. I am so excited to post some pictures of the rooms once they are complete!