{Baby Holt #2} Boston's Baby Registry

With Boston set to make his debut in less than two months and our baby shower set to take place next week, I thought today would be the perfect day to share a few items on my baby registry the second go round. Although we have all of Harper's baby things which were predominately gender neutral, there are still a few new products on the market that I wanted to add to our wish list this go round; as well as a few things we need duplicates of due to Harper still using them. So without further ado, here's what made the cut...

Gear

Fisher-Price Newborn Auto Rock n' Play Sleeper: When Harper was first born she slept in my childhood bassinet next to our bed. However, by the time she was close to a month old, she had completely outgrown her bassinet which led me to purchase one of these nifty inventions off of Craigslist for just $20! Unfortunately, since it was an after baby registry purchase, it was butterfly patterned and I knew it wouldn't really work out for our little guy. To top it off, in the last two years, Fisher Price added an automatic rocking setting to this little baby which means I don't have to lay in bed rocking it as I drift to sleep. So needless to say, this is at the top of my want list (good thing since it's already been purchased :P). I plan for our little guy to spend his first few weeks sleeping in it next to our bed. It also folds up and is super lightweight which means I'll be dragging it all over the house and will probably pack it in the car for visits to the parents and in-laws.

4 Moms Plus MamaRoo: MamaRoo's were just making their way on to the scene when Harper was a newborn which led me to register for a Fisher Snugabunny swing (similar) and bouncer (similar) when I was preparing for her arrival. Although we loved her swing and she loved it as well, the MamaRoo is so much more compact and serves as both a swing and bouncer with all of it's many functions. So if I can get rid of two pieces of baby gear in exchange for one that's half the size, this mama will take it! Plus Harper will appreciate the fact that she won't have to get rid of some of her toys since this won't take up much space in our living room (;

Summer Infant Full View Video Monitor: We have the older version of this monitor and we love it! The imaging is crystal clear during the night as well as the day and the pan and zoom is amazing. Sadly, when we registered for the older monitor three years ago, we didn't think to include a second monitor to have on hand for a second baby and that particular model has been discontinued. Since we still use Harper's monitor in her big girl room, we'd love another one of these to add in Boston's room to keep an eye out on him as well.

Fisher-Price SpaceSaver High Chair: This is another product we registered for with Harper and we absolutely love. Since Harper still uses her's daily, we're in need of another one for Boston. These high chairs are amazing because they don't take up a ton of space. We leave Harper's at the kitchen table all the time. If we have guests over, it's so easy to unstrap and place in another chair in our dining room. It also packs well for beach vacations and weekend getaways.

Graco 4-Ever All-In-One Car Seat: We love Graco car seats here in the Holt household so when Graco created this car seat that goes from the newborn stage all the way to a booster seat, I was sold! It'll be so great to have just one car seat that will take us through the next five to eight years which makes the price tag worth it.

Graco Ready2Grow Click Connect Double Stroller: When Harper was born, we were given the Graco FastAction Jogger Click Connect Travel System. We loved, loved, loved it so when we started talking double strollers I knew without a doubt I'd be looking at Graco's strollers again. I knew I definitely didn't want a side by side stroller as they are huge and can hardly fit through a door so when I discovered this little beauty that matched our current car seat and would even fit our current carrier from our previous stroller, it was top priority on our list.

Diapering
Aldo Tote Handbag with Pouch: When I found out I was pregnant with Boston one of the first things I started looking at was diaper bags. When Harper was an infant I used a Skip Hop Versa and loved it but after a year and a half, it had finally had it. It was showing serious signs of wear as the lining was tearing and one of the zippers had broke... but what can you expect when you're lugging a suitcase around each day. Since I had such a great experience with Skip Hop diaper bags, purchasing another one from their line was my first choice. After perusing their new bags, I came across this Skip Hop Duet 2-in-1 Diaper Bag and fell in love. I loved the fact that this bag served as two bags in one...a tote and a removable crossbody because let's be real, when you're just doing a quick run at the grocery store or going to dinner at a restaurant, no one wants to lug those giant diaper bags around. So having the ability to zip out the inner lining filled with just a few necessary essentials like diapers, wipes, and a bottle made this mama giddy. However, the $130 price tag did not. Which led me to look for an alternative and as always, Target did it again. They carried a very similar tote that was not baby related for less than two thirds of the cost. Win win in this girl's book!

Up and Up Baby Wipes: Out of all the wipes we tried with Harper, Target's brand of wipes are my favorite! Which is why you'll see that I requested 10 boxes of them. But no worries... I'll take more than that (;

Pampers Swaddlers & Luvs Diapers: You know you're a second time parent when you stop asking for the cute stuff and ask for the essentials (; We registered for about 30 boxes of diapers... about five boxes in each size. When Harper was little we loved using Pampers Swaddlers since they had the line that indicated whether or not she needed changing. This was perfect for those middle of the night feedings when you weren't sure if you should bother changing her since she'd just fallen back asleep. However, once she started sleeping through the night, we switched to Luvs as they were about $10 cheaper a box and were just as good.

Random Items

Aden + Anais Burpy Bibs: These are seriously the best burp rags ever! They are so large and provide the most coverage of any we tried. They also double as bibs which means they have two functions in one which totally make them worth the price. Since the ones we had for Harper were all in patterns of pink, getting these in colors that would work for a boy are a must!

Aden + Anais Swaddle Plus Blankets: These blankets were by far my favorite with Harper. But like the burpy bibs, we had these in patterns of pink as well. So adding these adorable blue elephant pattern ones to our collection for the little guy would just make my day!

Nuk Pacifiers: Harper wouldn't use any other pacifier than NUK so since we already had a few of them still left lying around the house, I decided to register for some more of these for the little guy. Hopefully he won't be as picky about pacifiers as his sister was.


And that's pretty much it other than a few other items like crib sheets, a stroller toy, and a few hygiene items. There were plenty of cute outfits from Target that I could have added to our registry but let's be real, everyone buys babies clothes so I knew there was no need to do that. I'm sure he'll end up with an even more stuffed closet by the time our shower gets here...which is a-okay with me. Whoever said boy clothes weren't as cute as girls was seriously lying. Have you seen what Carters, Old Navy, and Target has to offer these days?!

And that's it ladies! Anything you second time mamas suggest I add?!

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{Weekend Recap} A Weekend of Accomplishments

It's Sunday night and I'm having a hard time accepting the fact that tomorrow is Monday. Why is it some weekends just seem to fly right by in the blink of an eye while the week always seems to drag on?! But on the bright side, once we get this week started we're on our way to a three-day weekend. Hallelujah! Praise Jesus! Amen!

Friday

This weekend was a busy one. Friday after getting off work I headed home with the intention of taking a nap and showering before we headed out to dinner. But as tends to be the case, neither of those things happened. When I got home Kevin was already showering which meant by the time he got out, I had barely any time to get myself ready and I just wasn't in the mood to rush to get ready. So instead I threw on a new outfit, tied my hair in a ponytail, freshened up my makeup and we headed out the door with Harper and my friend, Brittni, to meet up with Kevin's cousins and his brother for dinner at one of my favorite Japanese restaurants, Fire and Sticks. 

Before meeting up with everyone, Kevin took me to return a few items at a local shopping center. Over Thanksgiving I had purchased Harper several pairs of pajamas from Carters and Oshkosh and I still had a pair with the tags on them. Since she received quite a few pairs from other family members for Christmas, I figured I'd return them and get my money back despite how cute those jammies were. Not going to lie, I seriously went back and forth on returning them the whole time I waited in the check out line at Oshkosh! haha But I ended up giving in to the better decision and then headed to Macy's to return some towels I had purchased. I expected it to be a quick process but boy was I wrong. Apparently when you purchase from Macy's online, if you pay through paypal, every item has to be returned in an individual transaction. Who knew? So I spent nearly 40 minutes holding up the line while the poor sales clerk had to return 20 items! Oops... Not only were the people behind me mad, I don't think Kevin was too happy about it either as he had to wait in the car with Harper. But what was a girl to do?!

Saturday

Saturday morning I was up bright and early to get ready for a concealed carry class. I've been wanting to take a concealed carry class for some time now so when one of my coworkers set up a class for our school staff, I was totally in...despite that I was scared to death to use a handgun. Since Kevin had to work Saturday night, my parents volunteered to watch Harper for the morning while Kevin slept. So as a gesture of appreciation, Harper and I headed out early to pick up breakfast and take to their house. We spent some time chatting with them before Dad got Harper distracted and I made my getaway. The things we have to do when we have children (;  

The class lasted all day and wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected. I was still nervous as all get out when we headed to the shooting range but once the instructor showed me what to do, I had the best time! Be prepared ladies... I'm armed and dangerous now :P haha

Following our class, I headed to Olive Garden to meet up with Kevin's mom and Harper for a 16th birthday party for Kevin's cousin. It was so great to see all of Kevin's family and Harper loved all of the attention she got. She tends to steal the show wherever we go but when you look this cute, how can you not?!

Sunday

I woke up this morning with all intention of heading to church but as soon as I sat up I knew I wasn't going to make it. Due to being outside in the rainy weather all yesterday afternoon, I developed the worst sinus headache and of course, being pregnant there is absolutely nothing you can take for it. So since Harper was still sleeping soundly, I crawled back in the bed where I slept until 9:30. The Lord knew what he was doing when he let Harper sleep in too! 

By the time we got up and moving, my headache was disappearing but there wasn't enough time for me to get both myself and Harper ready for church so I decided to fix Harper some waffles, throw on some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and set to work deep cleaning our kitchen before heading to my parents' for lunch. 

After returning home, the rest of the day was spent with me in major nesting mode. I cleaned out our pantry, scrubbed bathrooms, dusted furniture, washed windows and mirrors, and marked off several other to-do's before Boston's arrival. Usually I'd complain about spending my day doing such tasks but the feeling of accomplishment is reigning in right now and I'm pretty happy with all that's been done and accomplished! To top it off, I got to tote this little number around the house and with it being so cute, it's hard to be upset! 

Hope your weekends were filled with a bit more fun than mine but if not, I hope it was at least as satisfying (:

{5 on Friday} Happy Friday, Girls!

It's Friday! Can I get an hallelujah or an amen? This has definitely been a tough week trying to find myself back in a routine. Our house is a disaster, the laundry hasn't been done in days, and I may or may not have overslept twice this week. But we made it and that's what counts so lets get on to our Five on Friday.

1} This Week's Posts

Can we just take a moment to acknowledge the fact that for the first time in at least a year, I actually got blog posts up each day?! I am as floored as you ladies are! I'd like to say I hope it could continue but let's be real, it won't. At some point, life is going to get in the way again and I'll probably take a week or so blogging absence here and there and I'm starting to realize that that's okay. But for now, if you want to catch up on this week's posts you can read about how we spent last weekend, read my eight month update on our little guy, see our amazing maternity pictures, or read my list of goals and to-do's for 2016. 

2} Monogram Obsession

If you've been reading this blog for a while you know I have an obsession with monograms. I would pretty much monogram anything...except for my toilet because I've seen that and let's be real, that's just weird. But I love monogram clothes and accessories and with all of the after holiday sales taking place, I've been adding to my collection. I pulled the trigger on these black riding boots, this Carolina Panthers baseball tee, as well as this awesome sweatshirt tunic. Now to just get this baby popped out so I can sport them all :P

3} Baby Carriers + Deals

Did any of you mamas wear your babies? When Harper came along, I purchased a cheap baby carrier I could wear her with but never actually used it. However, this week I got to thinking that getting out and about with a toddler and an infant would probably work much better if I chose to wear Boston instead of trying to struggle toting a car seat carrier, a diaper bag, purse, and trying to hold Harper's hand as well. I also got to thinking it would work so much better for our spring beach trip instead of trying to lug our double stroller with us. That thing is a beast! So I've been asking around and have been trying to see which carriers you mamas suggest. A friend of mine suggested the Ergo Original. She still uses it with her almost three year old so I added it to my baby registry but as luck would have it, I found it on clearance at Target on the same day for a third of the price. I went on and snatched it up, just in case, but if you ladies have another suggestion, please share! 

4} Pregnancy Side-Effects

While pregnancy is a beautiful time in a person's life... there are also some not so pleasant side effects that people don't tell you about and that you often forget until the second time around. And last night I was quickly reminded about leg cramps. For real, those things are NO joke. I was up every thirty minutes to an hour last night pacing the floors because my legs were aching so bad. And of course, my pacing, moaning, and groaning woke up my half asleep toddler which resulted in me getting about a total of two hours sleep last night. So this morning, I'm sitting at work with no shower, proudly sporting a t-shirt, jeans, duck boots, and a ponytail. #noshame

5} Photo Dump 

32 week bump. 

If I'm going to be as big as a lumberjack, I figure I might as well embrace it and dress the part. 

& this my friends is what potty training looks like I'm our house. I can assure you, she's the only one smiling. Haha 

& that my friends is all I've got for today. See ya Monday!!

A New Year + A New List

I'm not sure how you ladies feel about January but January and I have a love-hate sort of relationship. I love January in that it's a time to start over; a time to re-evaluate. A time to set new goals and new priorities. A time to start fresh. But at the same time, I hate January. It's cold and boring. There's nowhere to go; nowhere to be after the hustle and bustle that November and December brings. The decorations from the previous season are gone which leaves our homes feeling lifeless and colorless. Anyone else feel the same way or is it just me?
But instead of focusing on the downside of the month, lets talk about the upside. New goals. I'm a list maker without a doubt. However, when it comes to New Year's resolutions, my list is pretty short because let's be real, I struggle to keep my head above water three-fourths of the year so tackling a long list of resolutions doesn't work for this girl. Over the last few years I've tried to stick to a just a handful of goals and so far that's worked well for me and my little family. 
This past year, I set three major goals for the year. (You can read more about them here)

1. Be present with my friends and family 
2. Clean out, weed out, and organize our home
3. Tackle home projects- focusing on our living room and master bedroom 

In looking back over this list, I realize I seriously need to try harder with the first goal. However, I did make major progress on cleaning out, weeding out, and organizing our home despite that the job isn't quite done yet. But we did at least complete our living room and master bedroom makeovers by the fall. I shared our living room updates but as I wrote this post, I realized I never got around to sharing the master bedroom. Oops. I'll try to do that before our room is taken over with baby things :P No promises though! 
With all that said, let's talk this year's list of goals and to-do's. 
Be Present Since I still need to work on being present instead of on my phone or on my computer while I'm at home with my family or out spending time with my friends, this is my top priority this year. With our family expanding this year, I definitely don't want to look back on the year and realize I missed so many milestones and memories because I was looking at a computer screen. No facebook, instagram, or blog post is more important than making memories with the ones I hold closest to my heart. 
Spend Time with my Husband This year is going to be a big year for our family with the addition of our little guy. As I've been told by many people, going from a family of two to three isn't near as hard as going from a family of three to four.With this in mind, I know Kevin and my time is going to be spread thin and finding time for each other is going to be few and far between. With this in mind, I gifted Kevin twelve pre-planned and prepaid dates for Christmas this year. It's my intention that we find at least one day each month for each other. A day we can go out, loosen up, have some fun, and reminsce what it was like to be just Kevin and Sara... not just Mom and Dad. 
Continue to Clean Out, Weed Out, and Organize This was a huge task last year and despite that didn't get done, I am so happy with the progress I made. You have no idea how much junk we needed to clear out. My goal is to finish cleaning out everything we don't need, want, or use anymore this year. Once that's accomplished, I vow to work hard to keep it all organized and in it's rightful place so that this doesn't have to go back on next year's list!
Tackle a Few More Home Projects Since moving into our house five years ago, we've done quite a bit to make our house our home. This year there are just a few things I'd like to do. With Kevin planning on purchasing a new vehicle this year, I'd love to expand our driveway and add lights to our garage. Once that project is complete, if we have a little extra money left over, I'd love to have our kitchen cabinets painted a creamy shade of white; as well as add a six person table to our kitchen.
Draw Closer to Him  This year I felt like I was more distant from God than I've ever been in my life. I allowed the hustle and bustle of being a wife, mother, teacher, and business owner get in the way of my time with God each day and without realizing it, I grew further and further away. This year, it's my hope and plan to start each day with a devotional and prayer so I can draw closer to Him. It's my earnest prayer that in starting my day with God it'll better reflect in my attitude and actions each day in an effort to lead others to Him. 

{Baby Holt #2} Maternity Pictures

As I mentioned in my weekend recap, last weekend we got together with my sweet cousin for her to take maternity photos for us. I wasn't quite sure if I wanted pictures this go round but since we did them with Harper I felt like it was only fair that we do them for Boston as well. After getting the link to these photos, I am so glad we decided to go for it. April did such a great job capturing our little family of three {soon to be four} and I have been dying to share them ever since I first received them!

{Baby Holt #2} 8 Months

How Far Along: 32 weeks. 
Weight Gain: Not quite sure what happened but I actually lost weight over the holidays despite the million and one homemade desserts I ate. When I stepped on the scale over the weekend I had gained right at 20 pounds. Not nearly as much as I had thought I would have gained at this point but definitely not complaining (; 
Cravings/ Aversions: I am still loving pizza! I could eat it all day everyday. No shame. As for aversions, I'm finally able to eat steak again; however, I can only handle it in small quantities. 
Exercise: The only exercise I've got time for these days is chasing Harper around and running all around the house cleaning and weeding out every space I can find! 
Stretch Marks: So far there are none in sight. I still haven't started using cocoa butter but I'm thinking I should probably grab some next time I'm at the store just to be safe. 
Maternity Clothes: I finally pulled out my maternity clothes bins but haven't actually started wearing the clothes that are in them. With Boston being located behind my placenta, I'm not nearly as round as I was with Harper which has allowed me to wear leggings and tunics much longer than I had figured possible. At this point, I'm curious if I just might be able to make it the entire time without them...
Wedding Rings On/Off: Still wearing them!
Sleep: I'm still suffering from insomnia. I'm exhausted each night but by the time I get Harper in bed and our things laid out for the next day, I'm wide awake. But on the bright side, it's allowed me time to tackle cleaning and weeding out without Harper trying to mess with everything!
Movement: This little guy is quite the wiggler at night just like his sister. Needless to say, I'm already preparing myself for him to have his days and nights all mixed up when he arrives. 
Gender: Boy. 
Symptoms: My acid reflux is still hanging around. I've finally figured out that it tends to be worse when I drink sweet tea and Coke. Needless to say, I've had to cut back on those which hasn't been easy but my throat sure thanks me for it. 
Best Moment This Month: Finishing up little guy's nursery and having our maternity pictures taken. 
Looking Forward To: Our baby shower this month! So excited to see all of the sweet outfits and items that will line his closet and shelves!

{Weekend Recap} So Long Winter Break

Hello ladies, remember me? I'm Sara, the author behind this little corner of the internet. With working full-time, entering my third trimester of pregnancy, starting a new business, and the holidays, I got a little preoccupied and just couldn't find the time to sit down and share what all was going on in our world over the last couple of months. If you're still with me, thank you; if you're not, I don't blame you! I'm hoping that with the holidays behind us and things starting to settle down I'll be back to this little corner of my world more regularly. Fingers crossed and no promises! haha But on to our weekend....
This weekend was the perfect ending to a nice, long, two-week absence from work due to Christmas break. With that being the case, this weekend was spent wrapping up projects I set out to accomplish when school first let out... i.e. working on Boston's nursery and cleaning and purging out every nook and cranny of our house! 
Friday After staying up way too late celebrating New Year's Eve with our family and friends on Thursday night, Kevin, Harper and I spent the majority of the day Friday sleeping in. Even Harper slept till almost 11am which is totally unheard of but this mama had no complaints! By the time we were all up and moving it was nearly noon and Kevin's cousins, Emily and Daniel, were on their way to the house to help Kevin paint Boston's nursery. Our original intention was to leave the wall color the same but once we got the bedding in his room, it just didn't look as good as I had hoped. After mentioning we were looking for someone to come paint since I couldn't being pregnant, Kevin's cousins volunteered to help us. Thank you Jesus for supportive family members! 
About the time they wrapped up painting it was time to get ready for our maternity pictures. My cousin is a photographer in Jacksonville, NC. Since she was home for the holidays, she volunteered to take our maternity photos as a baby gift. Best cousin ever! Despite the fact that Harper didn't have a nap and it was freezing outside, the pictures turned out amazing. I'll be sharing them in a separate post soon but for now, here's a sneak peek! 

After wrapping up our photos, we headed to Greensboro with my best friend, Brittni, and Kevin's brother, Bryan, to meet up again with Emily and Daniel for dinner at Kabutos Japanese Steakhouse.

Following dinner we wrapped up the evening with a Target and Starbucks run with the whole group :P & if you ladies haven't checked out Threshold's new kitchen linens line, go there NOW! I grabbed this kitchen rug and am beating myself up for not grabbing the matching table runners and placemats! No worries though... I'll be heading back there later this week! 

Saturday Saturday morning I wasn't near as lucky to have Harper sleep in as I was the day before. At 8am she was up and at it which meant this mama had her work cut out for her. While Kevin tried to sleep in preparation for a night at work, I tried to get ready, straighten up, and keep Harper occupied all while trying to keep somewhat quiet. Needless to say, poor Kevin didn't get a ton of sleep and he was up before noon. But we made the most of it and headed to grab some Mexican for lunch as a family and then headed over to the in-laws to visit until it was time for Kevin to head into work. 
Not long after Kevin left for work, my friend Brittni came by and hung out with us for a while. She entertained Harper while I wrapped up decorating Boston's nursery. The end result was everything I could have dreamed of and I'm so anxious for some sunlight so I can get in there and take some good pictures to share. If you didn't catch my sneak peek on instagram though here it is. Maybe it'll hold you over until the reveal (; 

Once Brittni left I put Harper down to bed. I was utterly exhausted but couldn't fall asleep. After tossing and turning for a while, I finally decided to give up and get up. But it made for some productive time. I managed to clean out the bathroom cabinets which was a job I've been putting off for quite some time now so I guess the lack of sleep was worth it haha
Sunday After getting nearly no sleep Saturday night, I finally managed to drag myself out of bed shortly after 8am. Thankfully Harper was still sleeping soundly which allowed this girl just enough time to get ready before I heard Harper yelling "Mommy" down the hallway. Nothing like finishing up in just the knick of time. 
By the time we finished breakfast and I got Harper dressed it was time to head to church. Of course after we headed over to my parents' house for lunch with the family. Unlike usual, we didn't stick around once our plates were cleared. I was on a mission to get some more cleaning done so we said our goodbyes and headed home. While Harper and Kevin played and watched football, I cleaned out our refrigerator and freezer and wiped down the kitchen... a task that hasn't been accomplished in far too long to admit. 
Once that got done, I spent some time with Harper watching Mickey and playing with her new toys that Santa brought which just happened to be my favorite way to end my winter break! 


Hope you ladies had a fantastic weekend! See you tomorrow with an update on our little guy!