Juliette's Colorful Nursery (done on a budget)

So initially we were going to have Juliette in our room, in her own crib.  Then we decided that since Mirabel is still in our room, but in her own bed, I should probably prepare a room for Juliette and then sleep in there with her, so that Mirabel doesn't think she's being replaced by her new little sis (that and I don't want to leave Juliette all alone when she's first born, and I'm too tired to walk across the house multiple times a night ;).  We're worried about some jealousy issues, as she doesn't even like me hugging her dad!  
There's a twin bed in the room but it isn't featured in the pics...that twin bed is for me :D.  Anyway, here's Juliette's Matryoshka/Nesting doll-themed nursery, and my room for the next few months after her birth, or until she sleeps thru the night :).
Sorry for the bad lighting.  It's been really cloudy and rainy over here.  No complaints about the rain, though!  We've been in a drought, so any trickle of water from the sky brings a sigh of relief.
Found these little picket fences at Hobby Lobby for like $1 and hot glued flowers on them, then cut out nesting doll images from left over fabric and glued them onto the picket fences.  The pink lamp was on clearance at Hobby Lobby for $10 regular $50!  Bedding and Bedskirt (Fabric found on sale at JoAnns.  With all the coupons, ended up getting it all at about 60% off. I didn't want to make a bumper b/c I'm paranoid :D)Valance in the larger window across from crib:Wanted something lightweight to hang above the crib, so we spray painted these embroidery hoops white then decorated them with nesting doll fabric.These three little windows looked boring so I literally just hammered some fabric under the window panels and just used steam-a-seam to finish off the edges, because I was too lazy to sew them at this point :P.  I figured that dresser I re-did awhile ago would match the crazy nursery colors.If you're wondering what's in those black frames by the windows...more nesting dolls of course.  Free clip art images found online and printed/cut out and placed on scrapbooking paper.  Framed on black $3 Walmart frames. (Sorry for the blurry image.  I think my lens is dirty. :)

This one goes out to the one I love :)...

At only 26, he's a father of 2 and a husband to a high maintenance woman who loves him very much, even when he doesn't want to take a picture ;).

He's not just a father; he's a dad.  The best dad I know, actually.  I feel blessed to say that.  He puts family first and never lets go, even when times get tough.  Literally and figuratively :).  Believe me, Mirabel really wanted to jump in that water.  She even asked us to take off her shirt.  

He's got a good head on his shoulders and he's level-headed.  He may be tough at work, but at home he knows how to have fun with his number one fan and he makes sure to spend time with us, even if that means losing sleep.

That's why he deserves this big piece of pecan pie cake, among many other things. :)

Happy 26th Birthday and Father's Day, Jose :).

Juliette Pearl

We got a great deal on these 3D/4D images!  I only had it done because I received a $50 off coupon in my inbox :), nice surprise.  Jose gave me a wonderful mother's day massage package to this pregnancy spa for Mother's Day, and I loved it, so we decided to go back for a quick ultrasound session.  It was great because Juliette was awake and so animated the entire time.  We got about 60 images, but I think these are my favorite.  She looks so much like her sister, except her lips are a little bigger--she got that from her dad :).  But they have THE SAME nose; I laughed when I saw it.  

We decided on a middle name: Pearl.  There were a few others I really liked, but this was one of the few we could actually agree on.  We decided on one earlier on, but Jose changed his mind.  He wasn't coming up with ideas so I created a list and made him sit down with me and choose one :). It sounds vintage, and that's what I like about it.  It's classic and still fairly uncommon but not weird.  Yes, a bit old lady-ish to some, maybe, but I think that's what I like about it.  It's a lot like the other common old school names, except not quite as common... yet ;).  My mom chose my name when it was uncommon and now there are so many little girls named Sophie/Sophia!  Jose really likes my middle name and wanted to go with it: Francesca, but I decided that I wanted her to have her own name :).

Anyhow, here are the images...

Mirabel's 2nd Birthday

Happy Birthday, Mirabel :)!

Mirabel's birthday was actually somewhat of a week long celebration. The morning of started off with showing her these new set of wheels (great Craig's List steal; perfect condition and 1/3 the price!). She was instantly a fan, if you can't tell by the smile on her face. Forgive the use of flash and ugly lighting. Jose got to see her expression before heading off to work, and in between checking his emails. ;)  Later on, we stopped by the pet store and picked up her fish.  Not sure if you can tell what's in the background (on the awkwardly placed coffee table below the windows--we put it there to avoid collisions during wrestling matches and dancing sessions)?  My mom bought her a Discovery Kids fish tank lamp last Christmas.  You turn it on, and the fish swim around.  We decided it was time for a live fish, so we bought her a girl beta.  We thought we should call her "shoosh," since that's how Mirabel says fish, but we decided on Mrs. B, instead.

Then we headed off to one of our favorite parks.  Mirabel is a very active kid, but put her on a train and she is silent the whole ride!  Fun for her and me!  It's so relaxing, and it wasn't too hot.

We actually invited a few friends to join us for a picnic lunch, too, since it's right by "the water".  So that was fun.  I bought Mirabel an ice cream before the train ride, but she didn't care for it and decided to fill up on blueberries instead (she has certain brands that she likes ;).  She also doesn't care much for cake, so I wasn't sure what to do about her special birthday dessert...

Thankfully (yes, this is evidence that she's, in fact, related to me), she loves cookies.  I think it's a texture thing.  She prefers crunchy to fluffy, I suppose.  So I baked her some cookie pops, sticking with the theme of her party, I tried my best to make them look like her favorite character. (This wasn't easy, it took hours upon hours--his pupils were too small at first, giving Elmo a creepy beady-eyed look until I finally figured out what was wrong; it wasn't cute, but thankfully, at least it was an easy fix.)  I also made some cupcakes for the rest of our party guests.  Mirabel approved of the chocolate frosting, at least :).

So the Saturday following her birthday was her party.  My mom did a great job of decorating the whole house and we also decided on getting a bouncy house.  Very happy we did that.  It arrived before the party started and Mirabel bounced in there for nearly an hour--she ended up taking an early nap right after.  She still had energy to bounce in it with her dad later on that day, though :).

The photo of the pies came out super blurry.  But anyway, I figured that pies would also be a good idea to serve, since this kid is obsessed with berries and fruit...

 

...She liked the pies :).  Not sure if you can see the berry goo all over her face in this picture?

...And she also likes running around barefoot. This picture totally captures her personality; doll in one hand, lawn mower in the other.

She really does love Elmo... (She's giving him a kiss here.)

I think it's safe to say she had a good time, since she was still smiling when the party came to a close :).

Happy kid, happy parents.  It's been a good year.  Looking forward to more!