House Tour - Kip's Room

House Tour Friday!

Kip's room was the first that we set-up and the first that we finished when we first moved into the house. It was important for his transition and comfort that we made sure he saw all of his things as soon as possible. Mandy cleaned his room ahead of time and demoed the storage shelf in his closet (see below) and gave the closet a fresh coat of paint.

BEFORE

AFTER

We opted to give Kip the bigger of the two kids rooms with the sliding doors to the tiny balcony. It is filled with light all day long. After Mandy took out the storage shelf, his closet was huge so we put his dresser in there to give him more floor space.

We reused everything from his old room, repurposed a bookshelf and some wall decor from other parts of the apartment, and added some new curtains.  

We still need to put some photos in a couple of the frames and hang some sort of gallery clips on one of the blank walls to display some of Kip's art. Otherwise, his room doesn't need any additional work!

 

We all enjoyed creating this colorful and playful space. It might be my favorite in the house!

Weekending It

I apologize that I teased about a house tour posts on Friday and then didn't post last week. I had intentions to but no follow through. 2020. Maybe saying "2020" will be an acceptable excuse for everything that doesn't go to plan?

But anyways, we had a lovely weekend because Marmee and Poppa came to visit! The decision to allow the grandparents to visit was not without debate or precaution or stress and it was not made lightly. Neither my parents nor Dan's had yet to meet Ivy and many planned visits during Ivy's first months of life were cancelled due to the circumstances. We felt that the end of this pandemic is not within sight and our chances of coming to visit either side of the family during the holidays was not going to happen. We did what could to minimize exposure and are cautiously optimistic it was effective. 

Regardless, it was wonderful to have them here. Kip adored their attention and it was great to have them and Ivy lay eyes on each other and begin to form that grandparent relationship. We didn't do much besides play together, go for masked walks, and eat delicious food (including an early celebration of Thanksgiving, and enjoy company.

Photo dump ahead!

Thank you for coming Marmee and Poppa!!! We miss you already and we hope it won't be so long before we can see you again.

Book Nook | Halloween Theme

One thing I've really enjoyed since moving is being able to expand our collection of kids books. At the apartment we had limited space for books and Kip wasn't super into sitting and listening to books when he was little, so we rarely added a book to our collection.

About the time of the city lock down, Kip started getting more into books. Now that he is three he enjoys bedtime books a lot more and will even look at books by himself. After moving and getting some more space to spread books out we split the baby books up a bit to put some in Kip's room and some in Ivy's. We also added some display shelves in the living room which I was excited to use for seasonal books. 

Before, I could never justify buying holiday or season themed books because we just didn't have the space to rotate books. Now we do so I've been slowly adding some that I wanted to build a collection. Surprisingly, our new grocery store has some great ones. Here is our little Halloween bundle.

A lot of these books are lift the flap because Kip tends to stick with a book if there is something interactive to do with it. If you haven't watched Room on the Broom on Netflix check it out. Super cute. It is based on a story book and we got Kip a little lift the flap version which he loves. Don't Push the Button Halloween Treat is a board book we've had for a long time. It is probably the first book Kip would tolerate me reading to him when he was littler. And, of course, Kip loves the Spooky Express book because of the train.

I'm excited to keep making little holiday book bundles and sharing them here. Any recommendations please add them to the comments!

Ivy || 5 Months Old

Ivy turned five months old on Saturday! I cannot believe in one months time she will be half a year old. Crazy. We were talking the other day about how bizarre this year has been and it feels like everything after March just evaporated. Like, time dissolved. It makes me sad to think that so much of Ivy's initial start to life is so clouded by the events in the world. But, I guess, it's a pretty epic self history for her as well and an "interesting fact" she may pull out during a job interview or an ice breaker or something.

Ivy at Five Months

Weight: no well visit this month (13 lbs. at four months)

Height: no well visit this month (25 inches four months)

Personality: sensitive and sweet

Likes

BATHS - still her absolute favorite

Stroller rides

Any and all teether toys. Kip was not into sticking things in his mouth. Ivy grabs anything and tries to GET.IT.IN.THERE!

Being held

Sitting up

Cuddles 

Kip

Music! She enjoys a strong beat

Dislikes

Not being held

Being left alone

Losing sight of people in the room

Being laid down

Not being snuggled for a sufficient amount of time after a nap

Diaper changes

I think if I was to guess Ivy's love language at this age, it would be physical touch. She wants someone near her or holding her at all times.

Wearing

About to size up to size 3 diapers

3-6 month clothing and some 6 month pieces

She is getting some squishy rolls but still a little peanut compared to Kip at this same age

We transitioned her from the Swaddle Up to the Nested Bean sleep sack

 

Things I want to remember about Ivy at five months old:

They way she kicks and splashes in the tub. So animated.

How she will grab your hand or arm if you place it on her chest at night to help settle her

Her fuzzy hair growing in so quickly

Her beat-red face effort to try and crunch to sit up

The way she snuggles into my chest for a rare snuggle nap

Attempting to put her foot in her mouth

The way she moans herself to sleep when overtired

How she puts her hands behind her head to sleep (a result of the Swaddle up for so many months)

Stroller naps

The way she will wail like a banshee for almost no reason at all. Quite dramatic.

How loud and opinionated she is

How she almost never stops making some sort of noise during the day

Her delightful squishy thighs

 

 

Sleep

Ugh. Can we just not talk about sleep? This month was the worst for us with Ivy's night time sleep. I feel like we were so spoiled with how well she slept as a newborn and how she was sleeping through the night at around 2 months old. Then it went south this month. At the beginning of September I had a really hectic week at work and one random night Ivy woke up at 4 am and I fed her. I thought it was a one-off but every subsequent night that week she woke up at 4 am. Since I as so overwhelmed with work stuff I just let it slide. But then it kept sliding. In a few weeks she was waking 2-4 times in the night and I would have to nurse her back to sleep. In an effort to break the habit we moved her from the bassinet next to our bed all the way down the hall to her crib in her own room. Then we switched her to be arms free in case she rolled. Didn't help. So I spent money to purchase a sleep training plan online. We haven't officially implemented the plan but I've tried to stop nursing her in the night. Instead I will go into her room and put her paci back and put my hand by her head or on her chest to help settle her. This takes a bit of time and sometimes it doesn't work and I end up rocking her to sleep or even nursing her. I feel like it is slowly getting better but we aren't there yet as some nights are still bad. We also switched her to a Nested Bean sleep sack to imitate the hand on the chest sensation. She likes it but it wasn't a cure-all.

She is napping 30 minutes almost exclusively. I have nothing good to say about that so we'll leave it there. Basically, a bad month for sleep. Supposedly 5 months old get better. Cross your fingers and toes and pray for that!

 

Eat

Ivy nurses on demand throughout the day and usually eats every two hours. She also takes a pumped milk bottle and has taken some formula as well when I don't have any freshly pumped available. We usually only bottle feed when I have a work call when she wants to eat or if I go out to the store or something on the weekend. I do not have an oversupply this time around. If she doesn't nurse in the night I am able to get an extra bottle to feed but if not, I have to pump when she eats or I won't have anything for the next feed. It is certainly different than with Kip when I had milk coming out of my ears. Ivy is still spitting-up a lot but I feel like it is getting a teeny tiny bit better, depending on the day. She is also very intrigued by our food so our pediatrician said we could start giving her tastes. She tried unsweetened apple sauce so far and loved it. 

 

 

Play

Ivy loves a good teether toy. This month we put together her sit-up seat, bouncer activity center, and new spin activity center. So far, she doesn't like any of them for more than a minute and all of them make her spit-up. She wants to be upright but still doesn't have the core strength to sit independently. She will take any attention anyone gives her and LOVES when Kip gets down on her level and "plays." She has tried to roll over many times but can't quite get all the way there. She will roll back if you help her roll forward.

 

Oh little Ivy, this month was wild. You grew out of your bassinet, bouncer chair, and swaddle and have transitioned to your crib in your own room! Such a big girl! You found your feet and you may be cutting your first tooth (remains to be fully seen). You have given us a few giggles but you aren't laughing fully yet. As for adventures, you went to two pumpkin patches and that's it. You love to be held and IN on the action but you also appreciate some quiet moments to snuggle. You are a Mama's girl and seem to be more introverted than your brother. You have a raging scream that frightens anyone who hears it. You're loud and proud and may grow into a little chatterbox based on how much "talking" you do now. We love you baby girl! Now give us some sleep!!!!