Hope you are doing well! Spring break is officially upon us and today I wanted to share the cutest mommy and me spring green dresses. I love this green maxi dress because it is perfect for vacations and will grow with my baby bump. Ella’s coordinating floral green dress is a Target find for under $20. Check out how we styled these looks below!
SHOP OUR LOOK:
I can’t get over how beautiful this dress is. It’s definitely one of my favorites!
The secret is finally out! Baby #3 coming soon! Ya’ll I still can’t believe it. We didn’t think this would happen so soon. In fact the month we we didn’t think it would be possible is when we got pregnant. Only six months after having Ella. It took us three years and two miscarriages to have Ella after finding out all the damage my IUD had caused to my body, so I didn’t think this would happen so soon. Especially after the crazy birth recovery I had with Ella. But it just shows it’s all in God’s timing, and we are so thankful for our newest blessing.
Baby #3 Q&A
When did we find out?
We found out a couple days after the new year. I had been feeling extra tired and I just had a feeling since my period was two days late. We actually had travel plans to go snowboarding in January and for some reason I hadn’t bought my lift tickets yet, luckily I didn’t waste my money because I didn’t even go on the lifts. Instead I stayed on the bunny slopes with Jayden to take it easy and not take any unnecessary risk.
How am I feeling?
For my first trimester I was so tired and nauseous. I never threw up, but certain smells would just get to me. It was also draining mentally. When you are about to turn thirty five like me, you start getting doubts if you can handle two under two. Now I feel so much better. Occasionally tired, but much better than my first trimester.
Any weird cravings?
I’m not a burger person but lately I’ve been loving my Jr Delux burgers from Wendy’s and a chocolate protein smoothie from smoothie king. I’ve realized my body craves a lot more protein now that I’m pregnant. I’m not much of a meat eater, but when I’m pregnant I definitely make the effort to eat more meat for the protein and iron, since both past pregnancy I’ve been anemic.
Anything you are doing differently this time around?
I’m definitely prioritizing my health and making sure to eat healthier and stay active. I don’t want to gain as much weight as I did with Ella because it really took a toll on my body. I also don’t want to risk getting high blood pressure again, or preclampsia. I’ve been doing my daily two mile walks even through my first trimester. I have found if I just get it done in the morning it helps me feel better through out the day.
I am also making sure to take the right prenatal vitamins with my pregnancy. Since I get anemic through my pregnancy I made sure to have iron in my prenatals, along with other vitamins that help with my energy and morning sickness. This prenatal has been a game changer. I don’t feel tired or sick like I did with Ella when I take this. And they are all natural!
It’s crazy to think I will be a mom of three soon, and to top that a mom of two under two! But even though it can seem overwhelming I have such a wonderful supportive husband, who is an amazing dad, and we have a wonderful support system with our family so I know we will have all the help we could ask for. We are so thankful and excited for this next chapter in our lives and can’t wait to add a new little baby soon!
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Hope you are doing well! It’s been almost three months since our family went to Paris, and today I am sharing my Paris family travel guide with ya’ll. Last time I went, it was just me and my husband, but this time we decided to take our kids. Paris is my favorite city and every time I go I feel like I never have enough time and already planning a time to go back. I even looked at real estate when we were there because my dream is to have a second home there. We had a wonderful time with our family, and Paris is truly a kid friendly city. It’s easy to get around and everyone is very friendly or understanding with little ones. Check out my tips and recommendations below!
Paris Family Travel Guide:
HOW TO GET AROUND PARIS:
Paris is easy to get around, whether you are using the metro, walking, or taking an Uber or taxi. For our family we found the most convenient way to travel was taking an Uber. It allowed us to get where we needed to quickly. If you have a baby I would highly recommend bringing the DOONA stroller. It is our go to everyday car seat/stroller with Ella, and easy to load in and out of vehicles. I can’t recommend this stroller enough. I promise you it is 100% worth it! Ubers are more expensive than taking the Metro, but when you have kids it’s worth it.
WHERE TO STAY:
For our stay we stayed in a local Airbnb. The reason why we love Airbnbs over hotels when we travel is the space and amenities. You get more space, a kitchen, washer and dryer, and the experience of living like a local. A kitchen and a washer and dryer is a must when you have family and a baby. We love our Airbnb because it was in a great location in town. Right next to shopping, restaurants, bakeries, and the Arch Triumph. We were a 10 minute drive to all the local attractions like the Eiffel Tower, all the museums, and luxury shopping. It was perfect for our family.
WHAT TO DO:
There is so much to do in Paris with your family. We loved just walking around and doing some sight seeing. One thing I would highly recommend is getting family pictures at the Eiffel Tower like we did here. The photographer we worked with was great with our kiddos, and the pictures turned out beautiful.
Another place to go with children is the Jardin des Tuileres. They have a play ground, a huge ferris wheel, and tons of other fun things for kids. When we went they had a Christmas market filled with fun shops, delicious food, games, and ice skating. Plus it’s walking distance to the Louvre, and some amazing luxury shopping like my favorite store here!
One of our kiddos favorite place to go was Disneyland Paris. You can take the train there, and it is only forty five minutes from the city center. It is a fun day trip and surprisingly very affordable at least compared to the states. You can definitely spend a whole day there if not two!
WHERE TO EAT:
One of my favorite things about visiting Paris is the food! I feel like everything is made fresh with local ingredients, and surprisingly for a very nice restaurant it isn’t as expensive as eating at comparable restaurant in Houston. And as much as I love Houston for the food industry, it isn’t anything like Paris. Paris is just on another level when it comes to the food experience. It’s my personal favorite!
There are so many amazing restaurants to go to, it’s really hard getting to visit them all. We didn’t even get to do any Michelin star restaurants this time around, but I definitely will be back for that experience, because I can’t even imagine how amazing that would be. Below are the restaurants we went to that I would one hundred percent recommend. Delicious food, amazing atmosphere and vibe, photogenic, and not to mention kid friendly!
Girafe – For the best views of the Eiffel tower head here. They do close the outside eating in the winter, but you still can walk out and see the Eiffel tower. The restaurant is beautiful and the food is so good! Great seafood!
Laduree – Champs Elysees – My favorite macaroon shop. Make sure you go to this location because it is the prettiest restaurant. Also it’s close to all the high end shopping. Great area to walk around with your family.
Francette – If you want to see the Eiffel tower sparkle at night from your dinner view you have to come here. It is located on a boat on the river bank next to the Eiffel tower. I loved the steak and oysters. Make sure to make a reservation ahead of time. It is a smaller venue so they fill up fast.
Le Cafe Marley – Need a little hot chocolate with a croissant while waiting to visit the Louvre, stop at this cute cafe. It has the best view of the glass pyramid and very quick service.
Maison Julien – We were so lucky there was one was located right next to our AirBnb. We came here everyday for breakfast and for pastries. It is definitely the Parisian thing to pick up a baguette for the day from this local bakery.
We loved our family time in Paris. We are already planning to come back. I honestly can’t recommend it enough. And with family it was that much more special! I hope you found this guide helpful. Thanks for stopping by! Check out more family travel post here!
Hope you are doing well! I wanted to share with you this fun and easy DIY embroidered baby name sweater I did for Ella. Check out the step by step process below!
Embroidered Baby Name Sweater DIY
MATERIALS:
You only need four things for this DIY: A knit sweater, yarn, knitting needle, and washable marker. I got everything for under $20.
DIRECTIONS:
Outline name with a washable marker on the sweater.
Using a simple chain stitch, stitch over the outline to create the name. Here is a simple chain stitch tutorial that helped me!
Once you are done gently wash the sweater so the marker comes off.
You can add a simple flower stitch for added details.
It’s really that simple and it took me only a couple of hours to finish. I loved how it turned out, and I will definitely be making more of these for her in the future!
Hope you are doing well! Today I wanted share our A Day in Brussels Family Travel Guide. On our trip to Europe we took a train from Paris to Brussels for a day. It was such a fun day trip, and I am so glad we went. It was everything we dreamed of from the chocolates to the beautiful history and architecture. Plus it is kid friendly too. If you are planning a trip to Brussels check out more of our travel guide below!
Jayden the pigeon king. He loved feeding them and chasing them around the Grand Place.
A Day in Brussels Family Travel Guide
HOW TO GET THERE:
From Paris we took an early morning train to Brussels which only took an hour and half to get to. One of the reasons I love traveling in Europe with family is the convenience of public transportation. You can get almost anywhere on a train and it’s really comfortable for the whole family.
WHAT TO DO:
The one thing I love about Brussels is how easy it is to walk everywhere. Everything is easy to get to from the train station. It is very kid friendly. The first place we went to was the Grand Place which is the central square of the city. Its beautiful historical architecture is a must see.
From there we walked down to see the famous “Pee Pee Man” statue the Manneken Pis which is statue of a naked baby peeing in a fountain. They change his outfit everyday to match with the holiday or season. And they even make life size chocolate statues of it. It was one of Jayden’s favorite thing to see. Boys and their sense of humor.
We checked out the Royal Gallery of Saint Hubert which honestly was not something we would go to again. It was too crowded and not very kid friendly.
My absolute favorite thing to do, which I would one hundred percent recommend if you are visiting Brussels is take a two hour chocolate making class. Brussels is known for their chocolates and being able to see it first hand on how the chocolate process works and making your own chocolates is a dream come true. We took our class with the Belgian Chocolate Makers. Unfortunately no babies allowed where the classroom is so Josh had to wait at the shop with Ella. But Jayden and I were able to attend and we made some delicious chocolates. The teachers were great and we learned so much about the chocolate history and process in Belgium.
WHERE TO EAT:
For the best views of the Grand Place, great service, and delicious traditional Belgium food, La Brouette is a must. Plus it is one of the only restaurants that is open all day versus traditional European time. And when I mean European time, I mean most restaurants in Europe do not open but for four hours for lunch, close in the afternoon, and open at 6pm for dinner. It was nice not having to wait with two hungry kids for lunch, especially since we tend to eat lunch and dinner earlier due to bed times. The restaurant is located right in Grand Place and it has all the old time Belgium charm when you walk in. The food was amazing, and the service was great. Kid friendly too!
Another thing you must absolutely do in Brussels is have their famous waffles. There are waffle shops everywhere, with amazing displays of all their delicious waffles. You absolutely must get a waffle in Brussels. It is a treat!
SHOP OUTFITS:
KIDS:
JOSH:
We had the best time on our day trip to Brussels. I would one hundred percent recommend it for families visiting Europe. It is easy to get there and get around. Plus it is very kid friendly. My favorite thing about it was the chocolates. I still can’t get over all the delicious chocolates they have. We made sure to bring back some to our family and friends too!
Thanks for stopping by! Check out more family travel post here!
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Happy 8th Month to our sweet happy Ella girl. I can’t believe she is eight months already. I love how her sweet personality has grown. She is honestly just the happiest, sweetest little baby. So easy, independent, and just loves all her pets, and her family. She still has no teeth yet, which makes for the cutest gummy smile. Girl is taking her time with her milestones and I love it. I don’t want her to grow so fast. Plus she is just as content as can be. Check out her eight months photos below!
SHOP ELLA’S OUTFITS:
I can’t get over her sweet smiles. She is our little doll baby and we are so thankful she is all ours. We can’t get enough of her!
Hope you are doing well! Today I wanted to share what I pack in our travel diaper bag when we go on our trips. These are my must have essentials for my baby when I travel. Check them out below!
Check out this video for more on how I pack my essentials in my travel diaper bag. This diaper bag is amazing and for under $40, it is a steal! Plus it can turn into a changing bassinet. I hope this post helps in your future travels!
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Hope you are doing well! We just got back from our yearly snowboarding trip for Jayden’s eight birthday in Keystone. As a mom I always give the option of a birthday trip or party for our family and 90% of the time we always choose to take a trip together. Plus I honestly can’t think of a better way to celebrate than exploring the world with your family. Check out more of our family trip recap below!
Made a lunch stop at our favorite town Frisco, which is fifteen minutes from Keystone where we stayed. This town is so cute, and if you aren’t an avid snowboarder or skier and want to be in a cute picturesque town with fun snow activities this place is great. Check out all our times we stayed here.
Can’t get over how cute Ella is. She is always such a happy travel baby.
I can’t believe how big Jayden looks. Check out this post of his very first time coming to Colorado, and his first time snowboarding.
We put Jayden in snowboarding school for two days and by the end of it he was already doing 360 turns. I can’t believe how good he is getting. He is so fearless. I was going to take lessons, but plans changed with Ella, so instead Josh and I took turns watching her and going down the slopes with Jayden. It was so much fun to be able to snowboard with my family, and Ella slept through it all. She is seriously the best travel baby.
Thankful for these memories with my little ones. They are my favorite travel companions.
SHOP OUTFITS:
This time around we stayed at the Keystone Resort area so we could ski in and ski out from our airBnB. It was very convenient because we could walk everywhere and easily get to our house when we needed a break. If you have kids I 100% recommend staying as close as the slopes possible so you don’t have to drive. Keystone was very family friendly and not super crowded at all. We will definitely be back.
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Hope you are doing well! Today I wanted to share a quick recap of our trip to Normandy Beach and Caen, France. We took a quick road trip from Paris so Jayden could see Normandy Beach and visit the World War II museum. We also visited the nearby city of Caen where we toured a medieval castle. Check out our photo recap of our trip below!
How To Get There:
To get to Normandy Beach from Paris, the fastest way is to drive. There is no direct train that will take you there without having to drive at least twenty minutes. We rented a car and the drive was very easy and scenic. It was nice to be out in the French countryside. Caen is the closest city to Omaha beach.
What To Do:
The first thing we did was visit the Omaha Beach WWII memorial. Jayden was in awe and was reliving what it would have been like as an American soldier back then. When we went it was not busy.
There were a lot of things that were closed for the season as well. However one of the museums that was open the Overlord Museum was an unexpected surprise. I am not a fan of museums, however this one was unlike any I’ve been to. The museum is set up like a realistic WWII movie set with authentic uniforms, sound effects, and time period props. It gives you a realistic picture instead of just reading something off of a plaque. It was a really cool experience. Plus they have tanks and military guns outside from WWII where the kids can explore. Jayden loved it and for someone who isn’t such a history buff I enjoyed it too!
We then drove to Caen for lunch and to visit the Caen Castle a medieval time period castle. It is massive, and even with the hour that we went we only explored the outside of the castle which is completely free. They do charge to tour the inside which we did not have time for. The outside of the Castle also had a picnic area and play ground for the kids. Jayden loved it. The views from the top were spectacular especially during sunset. You could see all of Caen!
Where To Eat:
Right outside the castle grounds are tons of restaurants, pastry shops, and shopping. We didn’t get to spend too much time outside of the castle but we did get to eat at a cute sandwich shop and picked up some pastries to go. Caen is a very pedestrian and kid friendly town with plenty to see and do.
SHOP OUTFITS:
We really enjoyed our little day trip to the french countryside and can’t wait to explore more of France. There is so much history from medieval castles to WWII battle fields. It was definitely something we could check off of our bucket list!
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Hope you are having a great week! Today I wanted to share 5 Family Saving Tips when visiting Disneyland Paris. We went there recently during our trip to Europe and we had the best time! It was the least expensive day trip, and my favorite Disney trip to date. Better than the time we went to Disney World. As a parent I know how expensive it can get to take your kids to Disneyland. But we did these tips and saved so much money when we went. Check them out below if you’re planning a trip to Disneyland Paris or any Disney park! These tips apply to all!
5 Family Saving Tips Visiting Disneyland Paris
Visit on a weekday and/or the “Off Season” – It’s significantly less to go during the week. You can save over $20+ a ticket sometimes hundreds!
Look on third party sites or apps for discount tickets – We used Viator to book our tickets and got an extra 10% off our tickets!
Bring your own snacks/food – Not only does this save you money but time waiting in lines for food. I felt like the food line as just as long as some of the ride lines if you didn’t order ahead or have a reservation.
Have a set budget for souvenirs – The only souvenir we bought from Disney was a refrigerator magnet. I felt like a lot of things that they have at the souvenir shop you can find for less outside of the park.
Visit one park vs two – Honestly it is really hard to visit multiple parks in a day anyways. There’s just so much to do! We opted to just go to the main park and I’m glad we did because we spent the whole day from open to close and still weren’t able to ride all the rides. Make the most of one park and you can save so much on your ticket!
SHOP DISNEY OUTFITS:
We had the best time at Disneyland Paris and would highly recommend it if you plan on visiting Paris as a day trip. Even though we went during the holiday times it wasn’t as busy. It was the perfect weather and beautifully decorated. I would rather be cold in lines than hot and sweaty. And with a baby it was very easy and kid friendly with their designated baby stations. We spent less on this day trip than any other day on our trip, which was surprising! I honestly prefer it over Disney World. But I am not a huge Disney fanatic and I prefer less crowds.
I hope these tips help for your future trips to Disney. Thanks for stopping by! Check out more family travel tips here!
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Happy New Year! Can you believe it it’s 2023! Wow what a year it has been! There was some amazing memories we made, but not without some crazy almost life threatening ones that have made us appreciate those good memories even more. Today I am sharing my 2022 year recap with some of our favorite memories and sharing my outlook for the next year!
2022 Year Recap
With the birth of our most precious blessing this year, I had complications after my birth due to preeclampsia that almost cost me my life twice! It was the brush of death that spurred on my new revitalized sense of life. Carpe Diem, seize the day! I did not want to miss another moment to live my dreams, one being to take my family to Europe for the holidays. It was such an amazing memory! I will be sharing travel guides soon! But you can see our family pictures in front of the Eiffel tower here!
Last year with my pregnancy and birth complications we put a hold on building on our farm we bought, but this year it is a goal of ours to start building our home. It isn’t going to be our forever home since we realized after everything we went through with my birth complications that we want to be closer to family. We love the property but it is just too far from family. So eventually we will sell it after a few years and build closer to my family. But it will be a great experience and a new adventure for our family for the time being.
Aside from that all I want to do is focus on family, making memories, and possibly adding another little one to the mix if God wills it this year. Praying for continued good health for my family and that we will have many birthdays and milestones to celebrate in the future. And without further ado here are my favorite memories of 2022.
First trip after baby, and it was a much needed break after everything I had gone through. So thankful to celebrate my dear friend and to be surrounded by my friends who I’ve known almost my whole life. They really helped me fill my cup and recharge my batteries so I could come home rested and refreshed.
Last but certainly not the least, was taking our family to their first European vacation and taking family photos in front of the Eiffel tower. A dream come true! Will be sharing a travel guide soon!
It’s been one heck of a year and I wouldn’t change a thing, the good or bad. If life has taught me one thing is you can’t truly appreciate the good in your life without experiencing the bad. I have found the most grateful people are the ones who have overcome so much in life. Thankful for what God has given me this year and the lessons I’ve learned. Goodbye 2022! You have been amazing! Walking into 2023 with purpose and gratitude. Here’s to the best year yet!
Happy 7th months to our sweet Ella girl! I can’t believe she has already been to Europe and she fits right in. The cutest Parisian bebe you have ever seen! She was amazing and I know she will be an avid traveler just like her family! Ella has been growing in leaps and bounds at 75% in growth. She sits up, is starting to eat solid foods, and loves to smile and talk. She is seriously the happiest little baby. We can’t get enough of her! Check out more of the past month photos with her below!
Shop Ella’s Outfits:
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I can’t get over all of Ella’s cute outfits. I hope as she gets older she still wants me to dress her. I loved the book Madeline growing up and so I bought the yellow dress for her to wear to Paris just like the girls in the book. We are so thankful for our sweet Ella girl. She is just the sweetest, smiliest, happiest little babe, and we love watching her grow! Check out her past month’s recap below!
