{Personal} Living Life a Little More Slowly

Diaper bag by Seaport Stitches

Doing this the second time around, I'd like to think that I've learned a thing or two about motherhood. Although, I'm definitely re-learning and remembering things forgotten (i.e. diaper blowouts, creating a new sleeping schedule and cooking/cleaning/doing the laundry with one hand), one task that is teaching me a whole lot is leaving the house. With a newborn and a toddler in tow, time is usually not on my side. So, I've reminded myself of a couple things and figured I should write them down for refreshment and/or let some new mommies in on a few things.

1) Don't plan on being everywhere on time. I tend to stress out if I'm late to events and outings. Having a new baby though, I've re-learned to be patient and more lenient in this area. Usually, others will understand too and life isn't about rushing through it. You will get to your destination eventually. If though, I must absolutely be somewhere at a certain time, I tend to get everything ready(this includes myself and the kids) about 3 hours ahead of time.

2) Make sure everything is absolutely ready to walk out the door about an hour before you have to leave to give you time to relax and feed your baby. Since I'm breast feeding, I have to make sure our little girl is full and happy before I put her in the car seat. Otherwise, we will be making a stop or two on our destination to feed her which is definitely not uncommon.

A few places we've stopped so far? An Autozone parking lot, a gas station, a dirt lot next to a gas station, a dirt lot next to a stop sign where we imagined giving tickets to several cars making california rolling stops (I must laugh at this one), a grocery store parking lot and off a random dirt road as I counted 110 cars on a train going by...just to name a few "detours". My husband and our three year old son are complete troopers because they have sat patiently at just about every stop!

I remember just how quickly Levi went from being an itty bitty baby to being a rambunctious, independent toddler. I know our little girl won't be so little real soon so I'm enjoying Lyla's time as a wee one. The snuggles, the little giggles, the feedings, the random stops, the diaper changes, the tiniest outfits, the innocence, the coos, the cries, the soft skin, the spit up and all. I'm remembering to live life a little more slowly and enjoy it a day at a time.

Life Lately

A little compilation of Life Lately. I'm a momma keeping up with two kiddos now. Trading sleep for coffee and baby snuggles, clean shirts for spit up stains, skinny jeans for yoga pants and quiet time for chore time. I've been taking a break from the shop to spend time with my family and I am so thankful that I've been able to do so.

Follow along on my personal IG page @kayla.lsp for more.

Morning coffee...seeing how I'm currently sleeping in 3 hour increments when it comes to bedtime

Family trips to the Farmer's Market

Morning Kisses and Baby Smiles

Afternoon chases, bug hunts and flower picking in the sunshine

 Afternoon snooze fests...because it takes a lot of energy to keep up with the babes

Morning, noon and night feedings.

 Movie dates on the couch

Bike races

We recently got some chickens and and they are finally laying eggs! Mornings have now included egg hunts.

Follow along @kayla.lsp for more of life.

{Personal} We are now a Family of FOUR!

Hello World!

I've been pretty absent with the blog and social media since having our little love at home with us! Lyla Rose was born March 25 at 7:57pm and weighed in at 7 lb 6 oz and 18 inches long. We've been enjoying our family time together so I will get to updates and emails soon but in the mean time, thank you so much for your patience as we have now become a family of 4!

We are so incredibly blessed and thankful that our little girl is finally here! Her big brother is so in love with her too! It's amazing to see him with her.

I will also be sharing her birth story soon when I can squeeze in some writing time and reminiscing.

Until then, you can see updates on my personal Instagram profile over at @kayla.lsp.

{Personal} 37 Week Bump Update + Recents

As of this past Monday, I'm 37 weeks pregnant with our little girl, Lyla Rose. I can't believe how fast time has gone and we are now at the point where we will be meeting our little one almost any day now! Throughout this whole pregnancy, I've felt so ready to meet Lyla. I've had little worries and have been pretty prepared to be a momma of two...until recently. Maybe it's just the realization that she will be here soon but lately, I feel like I'm racing against time to prepare the house, nursery, baby essentials and my emotions to welcoming another tiny soul into our home. I am more than excited to finally kiss her little cheeks, snuggle her tiny body, stare into her new eyes and meet her face to face! I'm just also nervous for the new adventure ahead-becoming a momma of multiples. When I ask friends who have more than one child about preparing for another baby, they tell me that I will adjust. That's how it is-there's no real preparing yourself...you just do when the time comes & I believe it. As much as I want a solid answer, everything is going to be ok.

Thank you Jesus.

This week so far...

The little man and I enjoyed the sunshine in the hammock while we read some of his favorite books. It wasn't the best idea to crawl into a hammock being so pregnant but I did eventually make my way out...safely.

The husband and I fried up some apple fritters after I found this recipe for them on Pinterest. They were DELISH!! I've been craving sweets SO much this last trimester which is a huge change since the first half of this pregnancy, I only wanted fruit and vegetable soup. Needless to say, I've been enjoying the sweets.

I started on the redo of the crib wall. Since my son knocked down the prior decor of the nursery (see what it looked like here), I've had to rethink what I will be placing above the crib. I went a little simple this time yet detailed with this lace decor piece and watercolor print by Katie Daisy. I will share more of the nursery when it's all complete.

I created our daughter's first headbands. Believe it or not, I didn't have any headbands for our little girl which is surprising since I'm all about creating pretty pieces (especially to wear in the hair). I made her a few of her first flower crowns which I used soft stretch lace for. I came up with this idea since she will be laying down most of the time as a newborn, I wanted her to be comfortable without flowers all the way around her head. I simply love these designs and may even add some to the shop upon reopening in a few months...or hosting an instasale on the IG sales page @shoplsp.

My next task to complete is packing my bag for the hospital. I recently received my diaper bag from Seaport Stitches which I am in LOVE with!! I will be packing it for the hospital as well as our trips out of the house. I love that although it's a "diaper bag," it doesn't look like one and when Lyla is old enough to not need a diaper bag anymore, I can use it as a cute tote! I will be sharing my list of hospital essentials soon. Any advice on what I should bring?

Lists and Prepping for Baby Number Two...help

It is now officially March-the month of my due date! The shop has been on vacation for almost 2 weeks now and this list is actually getting smaller and smaller! I just have a few things left to finish as far as the shop goes but soon, I will be tackling another list...the list of things to do to get ready for baby #2! 

So far, the laundry is done and hung up for Lyla Rose but I still have to find a dresser that will accommodate both hers and her brother's clothes, re-do the nursery wall (remember this? Well, all of the decor was knocked off the wall  by big brother and broken...so, I have to rethink things here). We also have a few things left to find which has been stored in the garage such as the bobby pillow, breast pump, etc and pack for the hospital trip! I just ordered a diaper bad from Seaport Stitches that I LOVE and can't wait to pack full of necessities because seriously, it's the cutest diaper bag (that totally doesn't look like a diaper bag)! I will be sharing more about it when it arrives in the mail soon. I also have to sanitize and clean, clean, clean! I've been so disorganized lately trying to race against time to get everything done so I have quite a bit of catching up to do.

Any pointers, tips, advice on prepping for baby #2?? Please, please, please!

{Personal} My Secret Garden Themed Baby Shower

About a week ago, I had my baby shower for miss Lyla Rose. It was such a wonderful day and couldn't ask for a better shower! We were so incredibly blessed by our friends and family who came and celebrated the anticipated arrival of our second little love due next month.

Since I can be quite a control freak when it comes to events, I wanted to do the decor for the shower. My mother and mother in law took care of the rest as well as my dear friend Crystal, step mother in law and aunt in law which I am SO thankful for! Since I adore flowers (anyone who knows me or has even seen my shop knows that) I went with a little secret garden theme. I bought a bunch of fresh flowers at the farmers market, lots of antique style keys (thank you Michael's) and borrowed some vintage books from a friend of mine to create the majority of the decor.

The day went by so quickly but I enjoyed every moment of it! It was so good to see so many of those that I love under one roof, play some hilarious games and eat some YUMMY food (deli sandwiches, homemade taco salad, lots of fruits and veggies, bean dip, strawberry lemonade and let's not forget that AMAZING strawberry naked cake!!! I wish I snapped photos of the food-SERIOUSLY!).

Here are some photos of the shower (I wish I had more photos with friends and family but I will share some of the phone pics that were sent to me at the bottom).

Enjoy.

Ok, so earlier in the post I mentioned that we played some hilarious games. One of them included a "memory game" where I walked around with a tray of baby items for everyone to see and left the room but instead of being asked questions about what was on the tray, it was questions about mommy (me) such as what color shoes I was wearing, color of nail polish, how many rings, etc. Needless to say, I was snickering in hallway as everyone was confused and making funny comments-Gotcha!

Another game (which was my fav.) involved making a baby in 2 minutes-with play dough. Seeing everyone's babies made me laugh and although there were SO many cute and funny babies, I had to go with a super creative one made by my aunt...the sperm fertilizing the egg. I couldn't resist!!! I laughed so hard...yes, I may be a tad immature then. ;)

More photos from cell phones.

Thank you again to all who came! It truly meant so much!! I love you all. <3
Now, let's try and wait patiently to meet this little lady.