Hill, Party of Four! Plus One Bit of News.

Remember that time that we got pregnant (twice), lost a baby, sold a house, bought a house, moved across the country, started major renovations, left two jobs, had a baby, and started a new job all in one year?
Well, it's been a while since our lives have erupted into mass chaos, so we've decided it's about time for another adventure... in addition, of course, to having a newborn! Curious? You should be.
But first, let's talk about this lovely lady!

We got to welcome this sweet girl into the world on August 24, which is her Uncle Devin's birthday too! She was born at 10:34am, at 8lbs 12.5oz and 20.5 inches long. She was the same height and only 3 oz less than her brother!
Of course, we're enjoying our new bundle. She's a sassy pants. She's not quite as chill as her brother, but doesn't have any major issues, colic, etc. She sleeps and eats like a champ, which is awesome! She really likes to be held, and wants to be SUPER warm all of the time. 

Charlie Grace is a month old today!! We just got home from the doc and she is now 11lbs 12.6oz. (91%ile)  and 22.25 inches tall (96%ile). She's a chunker & we love it! I thought it would be sweet to try and take some Pinterest worthy photos for her 1-month mark, but we all know how that goes.

You're welcome for that. :)
Regarding the adjustment: it's been an adventure, to say the least.
The first few days that Charlie was home were pretty rough for Beckett, and for the adults by extension. He had some nasty tantrums & aggressive behavior, he stopped sleeping, and he wants to be held significantly more than before. Luckily, the horrible behavior resolved after about 4 (very challenging and emotional) days. He finally started sleeping again after 2 weeks. He still wants to be held and snuggled but that's a change I'm happy to deal with! 
He hasn't shown huge interest in Charlie yet but it is improving. Thank goodness, he has never been aggressive to her. He has always been very gentle and has occasionally requested to hold her. He likes to help calm her down, pat her, and bounce her bouncy chair when she's crying, so that's sweet and encouraging! Of course, he's also realized that he can get away with more when Mom is nursing, so that's an adventure! 

Luckily, I've had Nana around for the first MONTH! She stayed here with us for two weeks, then LAST MINUTE we found out that Brian had to go to Tennessee for THREE WEEKS (more on that in a minute) so I headed to Mom's in Chicago so that I would still have help as I continued to recover from surgery & adjust to life with 2.

I came home last week, but Brian is still in Tennessee until next Wednesday. So now about that. 
SURPRISE! We're movecationing BACK to East Tennessee! MoveCationing, you ask? It's a word. I made it up. It means longer than a vacation but not a permanent move.
It's a really long story with a lot of details that we'll save for another time, but I'll give you the quick rundown: Remember that time that we moved to St. Charles with the intention of launching a branch of Brian's former company, LEP? And then it fell through AFTER we got here so Brian was stuck finding a new job? Well, back in May, Brian launched his own company. Shortly after, we learned that LEP needing new ownership. The board called Brian, he accepted, we acquired/bought a flippin company [because apparently we're grown ups now], and we're movecationing to East Tennessee for approximately 6 months while we get organized.
Deep Breaths.
Why yes, this DID happen the same week Charlie was born, and therefore has been an additional little bit of "holy cow, this is happening" for us to adjust to. So! We're praying a lot and trying to just take things one day at a time. We make the official movecation on October 7.
We are VERY excited about this leg of the journey, and VERY, VERY excited to spend FALL (the most glorious of seasons) in the most beautiful state ever! We expect we'll have quite the entertaining story over the next couple of months, so keep us in your prayers and in return, we'll keep you updated!

Beckett at 21 Months

In a few short days (hopefully), Beckett will be a BIG BROTHER! We are so excited for him. It's such a big deal!! But you know what is ALSO a big deal? TODAY, this kiddo is 21 months old. He's also the most AWESOME kid I know. 
So today, I wanted to give the world a quick update on Beckett.

Rockin a bow tie at our BaByQue for Charlie Grace

The most important thing to note here is that he is LITERALLY the COOLEST KID EVER. I know moms tend to think that about their kid, but I'm pretty sure I am being objective here. ;)

Breakfast Date!

He is definitely starting to have his toddler moments. His favorite places to have tantrums are 1) at the refrigerator/pantry (because he wants to hold them open and make you guess what he wants) and 2) in the store (because he doesn't want to be in the cart).

Chowing on some red pepper.

Our little Sam's Club chauffeur

He's also starting to develop a super silly personality. I love his goofy side! He's totally moving into that "let me do something to make you laugh" stage of toddlerhood.

He LOVE playing with blocks, cars, & balls. He is a water baby, for sure, and he LOVES his cousins! 

He likes to be outside with daddy. And he's a BIG helper. He throws things away, takes out the trash, loads and unloads the dishwasher & laundry, picks up his toys, prepares meals, and more! Of course, in true toddler fashion, it's on his own terms and often more work than it is help, but I appreciate his sweetness. 

   He loves food SO. MUCH. His favorite foods are fruits, but he'll eat almost anything you put in front of him. His new thing is he NEEDS to be in a big boy chair instead of that ole baby seat we used to make him sit in. He's mostly rockin it. I love that he loves food so much because I can bribe him with his next meal. "If you want to go have lunch, we have to finish cleaning up the playroom." I'm not above it. ;)

He's FINALLY starting to sleep well. WOOHOO! He took a bottle much longer than he should have because the sleep situation in our house was a NIGHTMARE. But Jesus loves me and the sleep situation in the house is improving. He's still picky about his routine. Last night he chose SEVEN books, TWO sippy cups (one with milk and one with water, of course), and his quilt from Great Grandma Satchell to be in the bed with him as he fell asleep. He likes to sit up and read before he falls asleep. I LOVE IT.
He also doesn't like to wear pants. You'll notice MOST pictures of him are just in his fluffs (cloth diapers). I'm ok with that. They're cute and it means less laundry for me.

He also LOVES to learn. He can identify over half of his letters consistently, and three colors (with less consistency). He's also starting to work on numbers, animals, and animal sounds. However, outside of these things and some random words, he still doesn't talk much. 

He's got lots of big changes coming up! In a couple of weeks, he starts back to "school" (Parents Day Out at a local church/preschool). He'll attend two mornings a week this year, and will get to move up to the two year old room! I LOVE his school, and so does he. It's only a couple of hours per morning but it's a great opportunity for him to get out and socialize & they are intentional about learning activities, fine motor skills, etc. 
He's also got potty training on the horizon! YIKES!! We're almost two so it's time to start thinking about it! Pray for me, ya'll.

That time he took off his diaper and tried to put it back on...

And the biggest change is CHARLIE GRACE! Little man doesn't seem to have a concept of the child that's about to come in and turn our worlds upside down, but I think he'll do fabulously. 
And that's Beckett @ 21 months! :) .

Charlie Grace's Nursery

Well, I am almost 39 weeks pregnant with Charlie Grace and as of THIS MORNING, the nursery is COMPLETE!! Yaayy!! I am SO. IN. LOVE. with this room! I wish I were a better photographer so that I could capture the true sweetness, but I did my best!!

I started designing this room before Charlie was even officially Charlie. I mean, I named Charlie before I even met Brian. Having a little girl is basically what I'm built for. Glitter and bows and cutesy girlie lovely wonderfulness. 
Except she's my child. So there's a good chance she'll be sassy and smart-assy and insistent on doing her own thang. That's fine. As long as she'll wear bows while doing it. 

GUYS. What will I do if she won't wear BOWS? I swear I'll start over. 
So the goal for the nursery was something simple and bright and girlie but not traditional cheesy pink. This surprised me a bit because I always expected to have a pink nursery. To the untrained eye, it IS pink. But, be informed, people: the color is CORAL. ;)

Up until last weekend, this room was a dungeony mess. I documented some of the madness on my #TeacherMom blog. (Click here). However, Charlie Grace stayed put in her warm, cozy uterine home (thanks, guuurl) and Beckett shipped off to Grandma & Papaw's for the weekend, so Brian and I set to work. Saturday & Sunday, we completed the wallpaper and most of the floors. The wallpaper was a HOT MESS PROJECT. After the first strip (which we tore putting up and then realized we could still see the paint shining through and therefore needed to start over with primer), Brian tried to convince me SEVERAL TIMES that we COULD just return it and buy a gallon of paint for the fraction of the cost. I reminded him that if I am going to grow a human being for 9 months, the least he could do is spend an afternoon fighting wallpaper. He conceded. 
Also, look closely because THE PAINTED WALLS HAVE GLITTER!! Gaaahhh!!! They are SO. STINKIN. FUN!! Most of the pictures don't capture it very well, but this one shows it fairly well. :)

THEN! Magic happened. My baby brother (Devin) and his AWESOME wife (Katie) decided last minute that they would come to our rescue. AH-MAY-ZING. These two flew in on Monday afternoon, worked their HINEYS off, and flew out Tuesday early evening! In the short hours between, they completed MY ENTIRE TO DO LIST. Whaaaat?!?!? Ya'll I'm STILL IN AWE.  Here's the proof:

That, my friends, is Devin. LITERALLY snoring on the floor. This happened. But he didn't sleep the whole weekend.

Sadly, I didn't take a single picture of Katie ALL weekend. Worst sister of the year award, officially earned (me, not her). SHE is a rock star. I literally sat around most of the weekend, totally playing the pregnancy card, while they finished the baseboard, built & installed the shelves (which were a FEAT), painted the dresser & crib, hauled stuff up and down the stairs,  cleaned my van, hung curtains, and so. much. more. If it weren't for them (and Brian, of course), this room would NOT BE DONE.

And now for the details. :)

The chair I reupholstered myself! Yeah. That happened. And the crib was a hand-me-down from Brittany. Katie painted it with white chalk paint. I did the monogram pillow. And that sequin pillow? THRIFT STORE. Bam.

  The curtains I originally saw on Pinterest, and then hunted down on Etsy for A MILLION DOLLARS. So, I found the fabric online and it took about 5 seconds to sew the rod hole at the top. Done!

I love this pretty tieback & the flowy cuteness. :)

The closet was also Pinterest inspired. :) The shelf situation came from Nana & Papa and then my very talented brother assembled it. After he and Brian carried it up the stairs and maneuvered it into the room, we realized it wasn't the white color we wanted!!! {Thank you Allen + Roth for messing that up}. So my fabulous team proceeded to carry it BACK. DOWN the stairs and outside for a quick spray paint. Thanks, Katie! My sexy husband sprayed the poles Champagne to go with the room and cut them to size. I mostly watched as all of this transpired. We call those pregancy perks.

I love that these shelves are clean and pretty and not hidden behind closet doors. I think it makes the fairly small room look more open. I also love that there are shelves high enough that I feel safe having glass decor :) 

We also sprayed these baskets to match the room. :) Can you see the glittery wall back there?!?! EEEE!!! :)

We put so much time and thought into the detail of this room. I'm so glad it turned out just how I'd imagined. 

And now we wait! Hoping Charlie Grace makes her appearance into this world SOON, because I'm ready to snuggle a baby (and not be pregnant anymore).