25 Books of Christmas!

Some of my favorite things to get for Dakota and Levi are books. I loved books when I was little and I still enjoy reading when I get the chance. I think that books are a great escape and a way to enhance your imagination so I want to encourage my children to read and to enjoy books. I recently saw an idea for Christmas that was all about books where you get 25 books, wrap them, and each night in December leading up to Christmas, you unwrap a book at bedtime and read it as a family. These books don't necessarily have to be Christmas themed and it's a great way to build your child's library. I'm including books that are extremely popular (some of my favorite's from my childhood) as well as Christmas themed. The more books, the better because, let's be honest, I don't want to have to read the same book over and over and over. Haha! I've made a list of the books that I am going to consider including in my 25 days of Christmas. Keep in mind that you don't have to get your books brand new. There are several different ways you can get books at a discount or for free, such as library sales, thrift stores, and used book stores. I know I'll be taking advantage of  these options! A well-loved book is just as good as a brand new one! 

1. Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
2. Merry Christmas, Little Critter
3. Corduroy's Christmas Surprise
4. The Biggest Christmas Tree Ever
5. The Christmas Story
6. The Barenstain Bears and The Joy of Giving
7. Harold and the Purple Crayon
8. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
9. If You Give A Mouse A Cookie
10. Where The Sidewalk Ends
11. Oh! The Places You'll Go
12. The Lorax
13. The Night Before Christmas
14. The Day the Crayons Quit
15. I Hope You Dance
16. The Sweet Smell of Christmas
17. Dear Zoo
18. The Napping House
19. Counting Kisses
20. Dream Snow

21. A Pocket for Corduroy
22. What is Christmas
23. Room For a Little One
24. The Pajama Elves (to open with our traditional Christmas Eve gift, which includes
Pajamas)
25. Happy Birthday Jesus

 There are also a few other books that we read every year at Christmas time but didn't make it onto the list because we already own them.

The Night Before the Night Before Christmas
Elf on the Shelf
How The Grinch Stole Christmas
The Polar Express

I know this post may seem a bit premature, as it is only October, but in order to get 25 books I'm going to need plenty of time! If 25 books seems a bit overwhelming, or just plain overkill, even just a few on the last few days leading up to Christmas would be a lot of fun for the littles (and the big's!).
What Christmas traditions do you have in your house?

Dream Fall Wardrobe

Fall is here, although here in the part of Texas where we live, it certainly doesn't feel like it! Eventually though, it will cool off and I have a few things in mind for the boy's wardrobes! Although there is no way I will be able to get all of this for the boys, a girl can dream! Here's a few items I picked out for my dream fall wardrobe for Dakota and Levi.

Dakota

Obviously, these items would not all be worn together. It seems that I've fallen in love with both the color mustard and corduroy. The boots look like they would go with everything though! I might actually have to get those. They would be so perfect, especially for the holidays when he will need something a little dressier. I am absolutely head over heels for the bomber jacket. I love everything about it! Koda got a pullover sweater for his birthday very similar to this grey one on the bottom right. His is a cream color and I am certain you will be seeing a lot of it in his pictures as we get into the colder weather. As far as pants go, we usually stick to basic jeans. Dakota is very active and needs something that he can move easily in.

long sleeved shirt, corduroy shirt, booties
flannel shirt/hoodie, bomber jacket, sweater

 Levi

With Levi I need stuff that will be super comfy for him, as well as easy for me to get on and off of him. The Chunky onesie would be the perfect shirt for Thanksgiving and would suit him perfectly. I'm loving the varsity one-piece. Dakota had a few outfits in this style and they were so easy,especially when it came to diaper changes. I'm in love with this woodlands themed sleeper and the colors. The coat would be perfect for the holidays and it looks easy enough to get on and off because it only has 3 buttons.

Chunky onesie, one-piece, sleeper

sneakers, coat

Ahhh, if only I could just have a shopping spree in The Gap and Old Navy....

What's in your dream fall wardrobe?

Dakota's Birthday Party

This past Saturday, we had a little party for Dakota. He is completely obsessed with airplanes, so I went with a paper airplane theme. I hand made all of his decorations, as well as his cake and cupcakes, excluding the paper airplane garland that my mom made. I was really happy with the way his bunting banner came out, his cakes on the other hand....ehhh, not so much. But this is real life, and this is what it came out looking like. It's kind of cute in a rustic/cartoony way. At the very least, it tasted good.

For the drinks I made a label for the Lemonade that said 'Jet Fuel' and a sign for in front of all of the drinks that said 'Cool Your Engines', which I thought was super cute and clever (my sisters idea). I laid down a roll of chalkboard paper at the entrance and made it look like an airplane runway and a chalkboard that said 'Welcome Aboard flight 1019. Your Captain is Dakota. Enjoy the Ride' and had a 'Baggage Claim' area set up for his presents. I also made a paper airplane toss game out of a foldout posterboard. I cut circles out of it and made each hole worth a certain amount of points for your paper airplane to go through. The kids got frustrated with the game, though, and ended up just peeking through the holes at one another. I also made the shirt he is wearing in the picture below. I took the number 2 from his decorations, painted it, and stamped it onto the shirt. It ended up showing the pattern of the wood, which I loved! It turned out so well that I actually made another one for him to wear the next day on his actual birthday.



I was on a super tight budget for this party so I am pretty happy with the way all the decorations and everything turned out. It wasn't 'picture perfect' but I put in a lot of time and effort into making my baby's birthday the best it could be. He ended up having a great time with his cousins and family and thoroughly enjoyed the cake so I call it a win!

Dakota's 2nd Birthday

Dakota will be turning 2 this Sunday and I am just sitting here thinking- HOW?!
Where did all the time go?! I remind myself several times a day to take in each moment and to savor it because he won't be this little forever. I feel as though I blinked and here he is, wearing Toddler sized clothing and developing preferences and pointing out animals and colors and shapes and he knows their names!How did this happen? Watching your child grow is the very definition of bittersweet. 

 Koda has always been verbal but now he is doing very little 'baby babble'. Most of what he says is actual words and sentences. This kid is all boy. He was made for the outdoors and would play outside all day, every day if he could. He absolutely loves music and dancing. He will get down to anything at any moment. He has developed an obsession with airplanes and loves to look through old paper towel tubes and pretend it is a telescope. He loves to 'carly' (his word for color) both with markers -the Colorwonder kind, for my sanity- and chalk outside. He loves to eat 'cakes' (pancakes) and crackers and is not a fan of meat. Born vegetarian? Good luck in our house! Haha. 

Koda loves being a big brother. He tries to help and likes to try and give 'Lee-bye' (Levi) snuggles but he is still a little too rough so we have to keep an eye on him. His favorite thing (and Levi's favorite, too) is when he jumps around in front of Levi and they just giggle and laugh back and forth. I absolutely love watching them interact. It will be so much fun as they get older to watch them become best friends - hopefully!

This little man is just everything. He has taught me love and patience, peace and fear. He is loving, sweet, and a total brat. He is my baby who I love so deeply, unconditionally, forever.
Happy 2nd Birthday, Sunshine Man.
Mommy loves you!

A New Beginning

Back in April my husband left the Army and we moved back home. It has been quite the transition. Not only did we move back home from Germany, we were also coming back to our families after spending years away on our own. We went from being used to having out own house to living with family. We went from having a steady income to my husband being in construction and the possibility that at any moment the job could end and he would be laid-off and job hunting again. It seemed like there was no end in sight. But recently, my husband was able to secure a job in his field that the Army had trained him in and we are purchasing our first home! Although it has been nice to live near family, we are ready to be out on our own again and have our own space. I cannot tell you how excited I am to go from staying in 2 rooms in my parent's house (although, they have been wonderful and a true blessing to us) to finally being in our own house and not having to move within a year! Being able to settle back into our routine as a family will be so nice. I am so looking forward to it! Another thing I'm looking forward to is turning our house into our home! We have always lived in on-post housing and hadn't been able to really personalize our living space because we weren't ever in one place for very long. This will be the first time we have ever painted our walls, hung all our pictures, and done all the things that really make your home your sanctuary. I can't wait to post pictures of what we are starting with and then more showing our progress, and finally our finished product!You can check out my Pinterest board to see what I will be using as my inspiration. I also have seperate boards for specific rooms, such as the nursery and toy room. I would love for you to follow along with us as we step into this new season as a family.