MY CHRISTMAS WISH LIST

With Christmas being only NINE days away, I figured I'd share the items that are on my Christmas Wish List this year. Gary and I usually just skip out on buying each other gifts because we honestly have everything we need. We'd rather use that extra money to buy gifts for the children, family or friends. BUT if you or anyone were to ask, these are the items I wouldn't mind having:

o n e // Jax is a cuddler and I love it but it's hard to get much done around the house carrying a baby. I follow a lot of moms on instagram who use the Solly Baby wrap to carry their little ones around and I know that it's something I could use all the time.

t w o // Now that I am staying home with the babies I wear nothing but comfy lounge clothes. These adorable fox slipper-socks would be perfect to wear at home!

t h r e e // / The Reina Chair! I have been wanting one of these for a long time now. I would put one on my back porch & sit in it all summer long. There is a house that I pass on my way home and they have one of these chairs just laying on its side on their front porch. It's been knocked over for months. I am so tempted to knock on their door and ask for it because the one I found online is very pricey.

f o u r // I have an obsession with coffee mugs but I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one. I drink lots and lots of coffee each day so why not ask for another adorable mug like this one!

f i v e // I'm a lover of music from 70's - 90's and anything vintage. So how perfect would it be to play some good music on this vintage looking record player?

s i x // The previews for the movie Wild with Reese Witherspoon has been playing on TV a lot and it looks like something I'd enjoy watching. I looked it up online and saw that it is a book as well. I would like to read the book before watching. Has anyone read this yet?

s e v e n // This product from Covered Goods is amazing. It is a nursing cover that will cover your front and back. I don't know why but when I go out in public I get so nervous to nurse so I know this will make me feel very comfortable. It also works as a carseat cover and can be worn as a scarf. I'm pretty sure I NEED this item!

What is on your Christmas list this year? Do you have any of the items that are on mine?

A GRATEFUL HEART | WEEK TWO

Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a great weekend! Ours was busy & kind of stressful so starting today/this week with a grateful heart is just what I need. Today I am grateful:

s u n d a y  m o r n i n g s
I LOVE Sunday mornings. There is something about them that makes it so relaxing. I think it's the fact that there is no need for alarms and usually no where to be on Sunday mornings. On the week days Gary is up early for work & I am up early getting Sophia ready for school. Those days seem so rushed. On Saturdays I normally go grocery shopping with my aunt and grandma, we have done this for years! On Sunday mornings I am able to just come downstairs and drink a cup of coffee without having to heat it back up multiple times. Yesterday I drank my cup of coffee and watched Sophia pull two chairs up beside her brother who was in his bouncer. She sat her teddy bear in one of the chairs, covered everyone up with a blanket, and "read" to them. It was the sweetest thing. Jax LOVES watching his big sister. I wish every morning was a Sunday morning.

{The picture on today's post are a little grainy because they are from my cell phone. I left my camera charger in VA Beach so I am waiting for it in the mail so pictures from the phone until I get the charger.} 

What are you grateful for? Head on over to Emily's blog by clicking the image below & join!

A GRATEFUL HEART | WEEK ONE

// image via pinterest

As you can see I am finally back to blogging. I  missed it so much but have enjoyed catching up on all of my favorite blogs & also finding a lot of new ones. Yesterday I spent the day entering giveaways {I'm obsessed with giveaways by the way} & looking for some new blogs to follow and I came across Emily @ Ember Grey! I'm glad that I did because I love her blog AND her most recent post was a link up called A Gratetful Heart Link Up. A Grateful heart is a weeklong link up that begins Monday where you share what you are grateful for. 

Right after I delivered Jax I went into a really weird funk. I'm guessing it was post partum depression but I was literally unhappy about everything. I didn't leave the house for weeks & I cried a lot for no reason. I know that it is completely normal but I hated that I was acting this way.  Whenever I started to get upset/unhappy I kept reminding myself how lucky I really was to have everything (and more) that I need + want in my life. I have SO many things to be grateful for. Plus, I just had a beautiful, healthy baby - no reason to be upset at all. I slowly started to feel better & now at week six post partum I am finally out of that mood. 

After seeing Emily's link up I decided that each week I will be joining because there is ALWAYS something to be grateful for and I need to continue to stay positive! No more depressed Josie! 

// This week I am grateful for friends. I seriously have the best friends and I know everyone will say this BUT really I do. During my pregnancy and after Jax was born my friends took care of me so much. I didn't even need to ask. They were always checking up on me, offering help, bringing me food and even cleaned my house! I am forever thankful for each and every one of them!

I am also thankful for my friends who don't have children yet who spoil & love on mine like their own. This weekend the babies & I met up with a group of my friends for lunch. Jax slept the entire time but Sophia had so much fun. My friends held Sophia, took pictures with her (Sophia loves pictures) & even danced in the middle of Panera with her. Sophia couldn't stop talking about our lunch date that day. Here are a few pictures that I stole from my their Instagram accounts {quality is a little grainy}.

What are you grateful for? Head on over to Emily's blog by clicking the image below & join!

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TREE FARM

Yesterday we spent our afternoon at a local tree farm. It was the same tree farm that we went to last year! The weather was in the mid 60's so it ended up being a perfect day to go. My friend Megan came along with me since Gary was at football all day. She was able to get a lot of pictures of me and the babies. It was kind of a hectic trying to get one of all of us just looking at the camera but she was able to capture us just being us and sometimes those are my favorites! 

Sophia & I spent most of the time trying to fix and keep Jax's hat on. Poor little guy! Looking at these pictures shows how much Sophia helps me with Jax. She is such a good big sister! She still has her jealousy moments but I know that she loves her little brother so much!

Hope everyone had a greet weekend and also happy December! How is that even impossible?! Have you visited a tree farm this year? If so, did you end up getting a tree or do you use an artificial one? We use an artificial one but I really want a real one this year!

JAX | ONE MONTH

On November 24th you turned ONE month old! 

w e i g h t | we don't have a scale here at the house so i don't have an actual weight for when you turned one month old. At your last doctors appointment about two weeks ago, you weighed 9lbs 11oz.  i'm sure you weigh a little more now bc you love to eat. you are def going to be bigger than your big sister.

e a t s | you love to eat, well nurse. it seems as if that is all we are doing. the first couple of weeks of nursing was miserable for me. you wouldn't latch on & i was very sore. but after three weeks we finally got it! i did supplement with formula to give my breasts a break but it's been mainly breast milk now that i am finally healed. right now you are eating about every two hours & we usually nurse for about 20 minutes each time. it's a long process but i'm so glad that we finally got the hang of nursing because i love it. 

// at this time i haven't been pumping. the first couple of weeks it felt like i was pumping non stop and it was exhausting. honestly, i just hate pumping. i have been with max 24/7 since he was born so i have been able to just nurse. also, gary and i made the decision that i will not be going back to work (i will post about this later) so there wasn't a reason for me to build a supply.

s l e e p | at one month you are starting your days around 6AM. you'll wake up, nurse & stay awake until around 8AM. then you'll nap. you're naps during the day aren't the same time each day but you are taking about three naps a day that last about 2-3 hours. i've been sneaking in naps with you when you sleep in the mornings since your sister is in preschool. naps with you are my favorite. you are ready for bed around 8PM. you wake up around midnight to nurse & usually go right back to sleep as soon as your done. you are then up again around 3AM & then up again at 6AM to start it all again. 

l o v e s | you love napping on mommy's chest & i love it too. i could lay with you on my chest all day if i didn't have other mommy duties to do with your sister. you also loved to be carried but when you aren't being carried you enjoy sitting in your vibrating chair. you love bath time! you screamed & cried during your first bath but now you seem to enjoy it. 

d i s l i k e s | right now the only thing that i have noticed is that you do not like being changed. you will cry until i have your clothes back on you or until i give you your bath. you also aren't obsessed with your pacifier like your sister was. you'll take it but spit it out after a few minutes.

THANKSGIVING 2014

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We had dinner at my aunt's house again this year. She did a great job and the food was delicious! The only thing that was missing was my grandparents were not there. Unfortunately at the end of last week my grandpa fell and was admitted into the hospital. He is doing better now but was discharged right before our Thanksgiving dinner & they decided to stay home for the day. I am just so thankful he is doing better and hope that he continues to get better!

This year I have SO much to be thankful for. My blog has been neglected ... again, so I have a lot of updating to do & as you can tell by the pictures, our little man is here and we are now a family of four! We are so thankful he is here and healthy! He was born on October 24. I plan on posting his birth story & pretty much everything else from the past couple of months. I also need a new blog name now that Jax is here. I plan on using this blog again as a way to document his first year!

But for now, here are a few more pictures from Thanksgiving. 

FIELD TRIP // PUMPKIN PATCH

Well, it's been forever since I've updated my blog. I am at the end of my pregnancy, only TWO more weeks & figured while I'm home on maternity leave I can start updating/blogging again. I miss it so much. I have been reading all my favorite blogs on Bloglovin & entering giveaways like crazy just haven't had the time (energy) to update mine. 

Today, I went with Sophia and her preschool class to the pumpkin patch. We attempted to go to the pumpkin patch a couple of weekends ago but it was very cold that day & Sophia didn't want anything to do with pictures or even walking. Today ... it rained. The children painted pumpkins and went on a hay ride and that was all we could really do. We walked around in the rain and snapped a few pics but after about an hour we headed home.

We spent the rest of the day napping & relaxing. I'll be posting a lot more the next following days of what we have been up to.

OUR ICE CREAM DATE

This pregnancy has me so exhausted. Monday - Thursday I work 10hr shifts & when I come home I have no energy to do anything. Nothing. I feel like all I have done is come home after work & lay on the couch and I hate that. I hate that I'm not up playing with Sophia. Especially now that it is summer & so pretty outside. 

Thursday, on my 25 min drive home, I thought a lot about it and made me real sad. Yes I'm working long shifts & yes I'm 19 weeks pregnant but that isn't Sophia's fault. She needs me especially after being away from me while I'm at work. This is her last summer as an only child. Her last summer with it just being the three of us. 

So on Thursday evening I made up my mind that I would not be lazy anymore. As tired as I am I will push through to have fun with Sophia. I can crash after or just be exhausted forever. As long as I'm there for Sophia and she's happy. I want us all to be happy. I also made up my mind that it is def. time to start documenting everything again and taking lots of pictures like I used to so this blog will be flooded with lots of pictures and posts. I miss blogging. And I know I will looking back at the last months.. maybe even year since I slacked on blogging. I haven't even documented this pregnancy!

When I got home Thursday after work I told Sophia we were going on a date. I changed out of my scrubs, let Sophia pick out her outfit, and we were out the door. Gary is on a football team & had practice yesterday so it was just me and Sophia.

We drove to Dairy Queen & let her pick out what she wanted. She wanted "Vanilla Ice Cream, waffle cone with...SPRINKLES!" We got out ice cream & headed to a nearby park that had a pond. We found a bench by the pond and just sat down & ate our ice cream. While we were eating we had some ducks visit us. Sophia thought it was hilarious and we ended up just giving the ducks our ice cream. 

We then headed to the playground area of the park. On our walk to the playground we found a patch of honey suckles. Sophia LOVES honey suckles. She calls them "Honel Suckies". 

There was a beach volley ball game going on beside of us. All the guys were shirtless and the girls were in tiny shorts. There was loud music playing. They were all probably my age & I just laughed. Here I was, the same age as them, with my unattractive maternity jeans on & my baby bump showing, chasing after my toddler on a playground. I thought about this while I was there & just smiled as I pushed Sophia on the swing. Even though the music was blaring and there were hundreds of cuss words being yelled from the volleyball players all I really could hear was Sophia's laughs and screams as she went down a "big slide". 

As we were leaving she asked if she could swing one more time. I put her on and pushed her and she just sang. I couldn't tell what song she was singing, didn't really sound like a song. Just her sining words. All I could do was smile. (I wanted to cry bc I'm so emotional but I figured I'd look crazy) But there we were. With all the chaos around us. Just happy in our own little world.

That was evening was perfect. And when I got home I felt little peanut moving around. I touched my belly & could feel it outside of my belly!! I yelled for Gary to come and feel & he finally got to feel the baby! Sophia did too. One more week until we find out what has been kicking me! We are so excited!

STRAWBERRY PICKING

Last weekend we went strawberry picking at Stacy Family Farm. Sophia & I went to the same farm last year so she was really excited to go back. This time we made Gary go with us! I found the perfect strawberry dress at H&M while we were in VA Beach & I bought it just because I knew we would be going strawberry picking this summer. I put on her red hunter boots & we were ready to go.

We got there around noon and it was already close to 80 degrees! We stopped at the Dollar Store on our way and picked up a little red bucket for Sophia. As soon as we got there she ran out and started picking. There were a lot of perfect strawberries left. I was afraid that we waited too long to go but we got plenty! Sophia would pick one up and ask us "Is this a good one?" or she'd yell "Look at this one!" I don't ever remember going strawberry as a child so I plan on taking Sophia each year.

After about 30 minutes Sophia said she was done. I think she was getting too hot (I def. was). We paid for our strawberries & sat down on a bench & ate a few. They were SO good. And we certainly got a lot for us to last a while. I see lots of smoothies in the future.

If there is a strawberry farm close to you I highly suggest going! I think it's the perfect summer activity. Everything about strawberry picking just reminds me of summer. We'll have a little baby to join us in strawberry picking next year!

Now a ton of pictures from our day.