Short Hair, Don't Care.

I finally did it. After growing my hair out for six+ years, I chopped it off and donated it! I originally started growing my hair out to donate it, but to be honest I started to like it... and got possessive. I procrastinated this haircut for three years. I really wanted to do something new, and when better to chop off all your hair than right after you have a baby, right? Part of me DIDN'T want to get the haircut right now, for that exact reason... everyone thinking it's a #typicalmom move. ha. Luckily I decided I didn't really care what people thought. 

I went into the salon with all my picture of "the look" I was going for {I really shouldn't bother, it never looks like Jennifer Aniston anyways}. Although I could have kept my hair pretty long and still donated the 10 inch minimum, I decided to go more drastic.

I donated my 15 inch {super thin} pony tail to Locks of Love. It was super easy, the salon I went to handled everything for me! 

Here's some pictures: before, during, and after! {So funny and random, but a friend happened to be at the salon too and took a few pictures! So great!} Also, excuse the creepy {school closet/bathroom where I use my breast pump} selfies. I just wanted to make sure I officially documented the length of my hair RIGHT before. 

J. Crew Factory tee//old J.Crew necklace similar here
Also- I didn't get highlights, haven't colored my hair in YEARS. 

Wisdom-less.

I had my wisdom teeth {all 4} out a week ago {from tomorrow}. Yes, I'm 25 and just now having them removed... why? because my childhood dentist was apparently not good at reading X-rays. I was told I was in the clear for getting my wisdom teeth extracted, but obviously not. I found out while I was pregnant that I needed to have them... how? because they were coming in! I needed to wait until I had Sullivan to go get the X-rays and get the ball rolling.

I didn't know what to expect with the procedure. I was NOT expecting to need an IV for the anesthesia. I HATE them! Surprisingly, the surgery took less than an hour. I was literally in and out in 45 minutes, that was also unexpected. 

I wasn't super funny afterwards, no David after dentist over here, but I did send a few funny videos to family/friends and had a good time in the Starbucks drive thru! The recovery was fine- I wasn't able to nurse Sullivan for 24 hours and I only ate soup and apple sauce for 3 days. A bruise showed up on my jaw on day 3 too. 

All in all I think I'm pretty lucky. No dry socket, pretty quick recovery, and minimal puffiness. I never  needed took any of the pain meds either, just toughed it out with Tylenol. Here's a series of embarrassing pictures of me after...

On another note, my mother-in-law and Jeff's aunt came for a long weekend. It was great to have them here and they were able to help with Sullivan while I took extra naps during my "recovery". It's crazy that they hadn't seen her since Christmas because she has changed SO much!

All Things Green.

headband// Gymboree pants// designer tutu 

This is definitely overdue, but we had a pretty fun weekend {LAST WEEKEND} over here. Friday and Saturday were very chill. Sunday Jeff and I served at church, then went straight to friends' house {my only friend down here with a baby}. We had cabbage and brisket then headed out for the St. Patrick's Day parade. We'd never been before during out 3 years living here, so it was a fun experience. Here is something I learned... parades are really an excuse for adults to get wild. My mistake, I thought they were for kids and families.

St. Patty's Day.

I used to care very much little about holidays, but I think that having Sullivan has made me want to celebrate EVERYTHING. I've recently been really excited about decorating for each upcoming holiday. I'm definitely thrifty and have to be selective with what I spend money on... so, when I see really cute decorative stuff, my first thought is always "how can I make or recreate this?" I don't like cliche and predictable decorations for holidays, but just simple, cute touches. I have especially been diggin' garland, it adds JUST enough festiveness to our home. I do wish we had a mantel to decorate and hang garland from, and as we are beginning to look at future homes... a fireplace/mantel is definitely on my {wish} list. 

Here's the DIY St. Patty's Day garland I currently have hanging from our kitchen pass-through window. These were super easy to make and I think it looks so fun! 

I actually got this quick "tassel" idea from the Factory J. Crew store. When they reset the floor for spring they had these cute, homemade tassels hanging above all the wardrobes. I loved it and made up my own process to recreate! I am also always on Etsy looking at all of the creative things people make. 

Quick directions for tassel garland: 1. measure twine and decide how many tassels you need 2. accordion fold cardstock {mine is standard sized paper, 8.5in by 11in cut in half horizontally} 3. staple the tops to keep secure and then fan out 4. take a thick sewing needle and twine and threaded through tassel {this can be difficult because of thickness} 5. put a not knot after each tassel to keep from sliding. 6. loop each end and tie and hang around clear thumb tacks 

Quick directions for gold glitter circle garland: 1. measure twine and decide how spaced you want the circles 2. punch out circles from the cardstock {I used this 2" circle craft punch} 3. using a large sewing needle thread twine through each circle 4. put knot to secure 5. repeat over and over 6. tie loops on both ends 7. hang around secured clear thumb tacks

I am no craft guru and I obviously didn't do a step by step pictures documenting the process. But please let me know if something is unclear or you have questions! 

You can see all my birthday cards displayed. When we move I want to come up with a cute way to display cards.

This weekend we are going to Hilton Head's St. Patty's Day parade, which will be a first for us! I'm so excited for Sullivan to have her first St. Patrick's Day celebration! Can't wait to share pictures. 

Four Month Well Visit.

Yesterday we had Sullivan's four month well child visit. I should mention that I wasn't even at this appointment {I know, I almost died not being there} but Jeff {Daddy of the Year} took her and sent me the play by play through texts. We made this appointment forever ago, before I started back at work. The ONLY problem with my job, is that it's not salary nor do I get "sick days", if I don't work for any reason I don't get paid, so...

We're almost 2 weeks behind on her check-ups because we were in Cincy when she should have had her two month appointment. Yesterday was all pretty standard stuff. We did find out that her head is TINY. I put her baby fedora hat on {size 0-6months} and it looked like it could fit me {which it probably could, because my head is tiny too}. The doctor said {again} that Sullivan is simply a petite baby. Her head is in the 2nd percentile {15 1/4 inches}! What does that mean? Take a hundred babies and ONLY one baby would beat her for the title of smallest head. She weighs 12 pounds 11 ounces and she is 24 inches long. {there is a slight discrepancy in length, because apparently our hospital and pediatrician always have a one inch difference so based off her birth length and hospital measurements, she's 25 inches. WHO KNOWS!}

We found out that she will continue taking her blood pressure medicine {for her hemangioma} until around 10 months. In a couple months we will slightly increase the dosage. This treatment is not to get rid of it, but to prevent it from growing. She will probably have the hemangioma on her nose until she is in early elementary school. 

The shots went well. She only screamed for a couple seconds, and by the time they put the bandaids on she was already distracted by chewing on her hands... of course. 

Our pediatrician recommended that we wait as close to 6 months as we can before starting solids. He also shared this website, and said it had lots of good info, from Doctors... not random people's opinions {like me!} ha. I haven't gotten to really explore and look at it, but I figured I'd share.

Another exciting thing... Sullivan rolled over for the first time on Monday! She rolled three times from back to front. Today she rolled over twice from front to back. She's well on her way to moving. We've also had PERFECT weather this week, so lots of family walks. 

Quarter of a Century.

Yep, I'm 25. I'd say I've accomplished a lot in my life already. I think I'm a little ahead of the game, and I like it. I am SO thankful that I met Jesus while still in high school, that I gave my life to Him early on. I didn't have to begin adulthood lost and hopeless. I was able to start my adult life and make all the important decisions that came my way, with Christ on my side. I was confident that I had a purpose.. to serve Him in all that I do.

So, instead of wandering into adulthood uncertain, confused, and searching- I got married, THEN graduated college, moved, started my career, ended my career, started a family, and then decided to move again {I believe it's what the Lord had for MY life, everyone's path is different}. I didn't have to experiment to find my purpose or path, because I have Christ lighting the way and walking with me through life.

As I reflect back on these 25 year, I feel proud and I feel blessed, very blessed. He has certainly provided in HUGE ways, and given me a lot of responsibility, even when I feel unworthy. If ALL of these things have happened in just the first quarter of my life, I am literally ecstatic about what the other three-quarters of life has in store {assuming my life span is 100 years- HA}.

I literally feel like I was twenty-four 12 yesterday. Time is going so quickly, Sullivan is growing up SO fast. I want to appreciate, rejoice, and serve EACH and EVERY day that I am given to add on to this 25 years.

CHEER TO ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL 25 YEARS!! xoxo

great friends who threw me a SURPRISE birthday party! 

Sullie REALLY interested in my birthday breakfast pancakes

A year ago, life changed.

So exactly a year ago from today we discovered we were pregnant {and by we I mean I}. About a week earlier, I finally went to the store and bought an at home test- a box of three. Of course it was the kind with the pink lines... The first test I THINK said "no you're not pregnant" but those blurred lines {Robin Thicker anyone} are pretty tricky. So a week later, on Wednesday {3/6/13}, I took a second test. This time that second blurry pink line was definitely making an appearance. When I told Jeff he said "you probably did it wrong" and started googling about false positives. So later that night I too the last of my three tests, and that third test DEFINITELY confirmed that indeed, I was pregnant. But Mr. Skeptic wasn't so positive. The next day he was out of town all day, so I went and bought a DIFFERENT brand, the kind that literally says "pregnant" or "not pregnant", pretty cut and dry.  Sure enough my screen said "pregnant". I took a picture of that and text Jeff saying "I'm calling the Doctor".

It's funny thinking back because at this point I was working out a lot and was running a 10 mile race on that Saturay {3/9/13} the day after my birthday! But I had eaten an entire LARGE jar of whole pickles from Sams Club in two days. I mentioned that to friends at school and of course their reaction was "uhhh sounds like you're prego". To which I responded "no my body must just need extra sodium from running so much"- WHAT? I ran a full marathon a couple years ago and NEVER needed a extra large family sized jar of pickles {and juice}. 

So all of it came together to mean only one thing- WE WERE MOST CERTAINLY PREGNANT. I kid you not, after all of this Jeff was STILL not convinced. That's Friday we had a 2.5 hour drive to Jacksonville to celebrate my birthday and for the race. The whole way Jeff kept saying "well IF we're pregnant" "if we really are...." Finally I couldn't take anymore denial and let him have it. ha. 

Little did I know a year Iater our baby girl would be 4 months old and the sweetest, happiest, and BEST thing that would ever happen to us.  Life has changed drastically. We can't stay out past 7:30pm, we have to plan out our weeks down to the littlest details, and we would have a new purpose in life. Nothing we do can be without thoughtful consideration of Sullivan and what would be best for HER. It's wild to think that for the rest of our life we will put her {and all other children} best interest ahead of our own. WHOA. 

Funny story- after I ran that race last year, we got back to the hotel and the concierge asked how I did. At that exact moment I had the sudden urge to puke... And the only option was a bush right there. So I throw up in the bush, look back at the concierge, and run away crying. All while Jeff is standing there witnessing this hugely embarrassing moment. His response is "she's pregnant" and comes to find me hiding in the lobby. That was one of three times I puked during my pregnancy. 

Month Three & Four: Need-to-Haves

  

1. Bumbo Floor Seat: Now that Sullie Girl is sitting up {with support obviously}, it's been fun to put her on the counter while cooking in the kitchen, sitting at the dinner table with us while we eat, or in the bathroom while I'm getting ready {yes, we watch her carefully}.
2. Activity Very Hungry Caterpillar: This is super cute and so fun! I typically hang it from our baby carrier. It has so many fun features and it so bright. This always distracts baby, in the car and at the grocery store!
3. Burt's Bees Baby Bee Face & Hand Wipes: These are great, especially since Sullivan has discovered she has hands and loves to shove them into her mouth at any opportunity! I also started to realize that people love to touch babies hands... so now I'm constantly cleaning them. I also use these to wipe her face off when she takes her medicine {it's sticky and sometimes drips out of the corners of her mouth}.
4. HoMedics Sound Spa: I personally sleep to the sound of the ocean every night, and so Sullivan did for the first couple months of her life while she was still sleeping in our room! When we moved Sullivan to her room {right around 3 months} I knew I wanted something soothing for her and it helps drown out any other noises {although she doesn't typically wake from loud noises}. I put this on for naps and nighttime, and I think she's starting to make the connection that the ocean means sleep. Hopefully this summer she can stay awake when we go to the beach.
5. Philips In.Sight Wireless Baby Monitor: Once we moved Sullivan to her own room this was essential. To be honest, I'm not sure if this is the BEST video monitor out there, but I do recommend a video monitor of some kind! This monitor has to be hooked up through wifi, the problem with that is wifi {at least ours} is it can be so inconsistent sometimes. I worry that one night it won't work, and we won't hear our little baby crying since she's on the other side of the house. BUT I do like that we can use our phones from ANYWHERE. For nighttime, it has a feature "always listening" which is just audio. The monitor tells you the temperature and humidity of the room AND has a night vision feature, you can also set notifications but I got super annoyed by them.
6. Sophie the Giraffe Teether & Go GaGa Squeeze & Teethe Elephant: Since three months Sullivan began showing signs of teething. She drools EVERYWHERE and literally chokes herself by shoving her hand so far in her mouth. We were given Sophie the Giraffe as a gift {so thankful, because everyone says it's a must have item}. As a member of the Target Baby Club we get coupons in the mail, and one was $2.50 off Kiki the Elephant- so I figured why not! Sullivan loves both! She still doesn't have the best control over her hands, so they fall a lot but she really likes chewing on her "friends". They both have a squeaking feature, and she could take it or leave it. Overall, I like these as alternatives to her hand!

And as always, so pictures to prove these items are our faves...