The Wednesday Weekly - Week 2

How is it Wednesday again already?? We have seriously been living it up with life with two now and sweet Finnley has been a dream!!  

Week 2

This girl is just so chill and while she has her moments of crying they are brief! She's just busy taking it all in and will soon be thoroughly entertained by big sisters antics!!

Eats: we have ourselves an eater! We are formula feeding again with Finnley (oh how I yearn to breastfeed) and my brother gave us about 6 cans of Enfamil formula that seems to be doing the trick.  Girlfriend does spit up some...but I think that is just her; she spits up on the sensitive, regular, and gentlease.  She takes anywhere from 2-4 ounces at a feeding.  We're not as regimented this time around so I am unsure of how many bottles exactly she is consuming, at least 7/8 I'm sure.

Sleeps: not only do we have an eater but baby girl is still a sleeping machine.  She sleeps about 4.5-5 hour stretches at night with a wake up around 3:30 for a bottle!! So far she has been a good napper in many locations and we are trying to not co-sleep with her.  Also since she is so chill she doesn't need to co-sleep so that is super nice too.  She sleeps in her bassinet, crib, on the floor, in the swing, carseat and in our arms.  She also doesn't like to be swaddled so she gets to just hang out! 

Goes: no slowing down for this family of four!! I think it helps when you have a toddler who loves to get out of the house.  We got a membership at our local Zoo/Wildlife Reserve (I snapchatted it @Alifeonthefarm) and I see many more trips to check out the animals.  We also headed up to Seattle for a birthday dinner for my BIL. She also went to the Y for Ellie's gymnastics and swimming lessons.

Loves: we are loving our bassinet, Dr. Browns bottles, paci and of course I am all about my Solly Baby! We also got a double stroller and it is fantastic.  We've used it a couple of times but so far its meeting our needs.

Does:  we have been working on tummy time already and Finnley has pretty good head control and can roll onto her side and switch her head directions.

Of Note: she got her first stuffy nose last night...but it didn't seem to effect her sleep last night. Her umbilical stump fell off on Saturday night so now we get to do real baths!

Mama: I am really enjoying this time with my two girls.  Finnley has such a different personality than Ellie did at this time and she is perfect for me right now.

Sister:  Ellie is the best! She is always wanting to give hugs and kisses to her sister, wants to know where she is and is constantly asking "What Finnley said?" when she makes a noise.  And she still insists that Finnley comes with us wherever we go!  I seriously couldn't be more proud of what a great big sister she is!

♥ Ashley

you can read about previous weeks:

week 1

Ellie at 2 weeks

The Wednesday Weekly - Week 1

I have gone back and forth about whether or not I was going to do Weekly Updates for Finnley but have ultimately decided that I just have to.  They are so fun to go back and see how Ellie was at each of these ages and the weekly photos are a favorite of mine.  I'm going to try and keep them short a sweet because some weeks can get a bit repetitive. 

Week 1

This has been a whirwind of a week with our 5+ hour road trip to be at the hospital for when Finnley was born to waiting for the "okay" to head home and then the 5+ hour drive back home with TWO children in our car!! Its been an adjustment to having a newborn back in our home and we couldn't love it anymore!  One thing I did forget was how much they sleep the first week, and how hard they sleep!! 

Eats: Finnley has totally figured out the whole milk in the bottle thing.  We are feeding her Similac Sensitive since she seems to have a slight spit up issue...but we have some regular Similac that we will be trying out again.

Sleeps:  Finn is a pretty good sleeper.  We are working on getting her days/nights situated since the first 5 days were sleep all day - party all night....not okay baby girl!! Although Monday night she slept for almost 6 hours - no complaints here! Also of note, we have learned that Finnley doesn't like to have her arms swaddled.

Goes: Since Finnley girl was born on the other side of the state we road tripped for 5+ hours back home at just 3 days old and she did awesome!  We made our first stop to Target when we got discharged from the hospital, to a park, out to dinner at the Olive Garden, out for Sushi, grocery store and to visit her Great Grandma at her new retirement home.

Loves:  Still learning about what this baby girl loves...but I can say that she really enjoys her food and a clean/dry diaper. But things that I am loving: our Solly Baby Wrap, crib, nursery, Dr. Browns bottles and our SkipHop mat. 

Does: not much besides eating, sleeping, and diaper duty. She has started to look around quite a bit more the past couple of days and just seems to have a calm personality - just what I have been praying for!

Of Note: we had her 1 week appointment already on Monday and she was already above birth weight at 8lbs 1oz and grew 1/4" of course that was probably just from stretching out a bit.  She got her heel poked for the second Newborn Screening Test and just flinched a little at the poke, no crying or pulling her foot away.  She was a champ!

Mama: seriously I am just living up this new baby.  We've been waiting for her for a long time and this whole process has been so smooth and timely.  My favorite part of all of this is just watching how much Ellie loves her new sister. I am not complaining at how chill she is either, the perfect second baby!

Sister: Ellie seriously couldn't be making this transition any better! I had a feeling that it would go smoothly because she and I are around babies all the time with me being a nanny to infants and now working at our church's nursery.  Often times if Ellie doesn't see her she will get worried and ask us if we know where she is (like Finnley can just get up and walk away ;)).  She loves to pet her head, give her kisses, and help watch us with changing her diaper.  She is constantly asking if Finnley can do "x" with her or says "When Finnley gets older she can do x with me" or if we are going to go somewhere she insists that Finnley gets to come too....melt my mama heart!!

♥ Ashley

Ellie at 1 week

linking up here

Welcome to the Farm!

Just a quick stop in to let you all know that our sweet baby girl finally arrived! She was born on April 13 at 9:47 in the morning at 42 weeks!! She weighed 7lbs 14oz and was 21" long. Our birthmom chose to go all natural and delivered this bundle of sweetness without an epidural!! So brave!!

We happily introduce Finnley Ann! 

Thank you for all the prayers and well wishes. We are so happy to finally have her home!

Follow along on IG (@lifeonthefarm) and Snapchat (@alifeonthefarm)

♥ Ashley

Our Weekend - the one before baby comes

Hopefully baby girl makes her appearance this week. She has an appointment today and we're all praying that they just keep her at the hospital. 

So what have we been doing now that the babe is almost 1 1/2 weeks late? Keeping busy for sure and finishing up some last minute things in the nursery. 

But first let's take a look at Ellie's gallery wall. A project I have been designing in my head for nearly a year! And finally got all the pieces complete this week to be put up on her wall this weekend!! Her room is one step closer to being done and I cannot wait to show the whole thing off!! Check out the inspiration, my pinterest board, and how its come along so far!

I love how it turned out. And let me tell you why each of the pieces are so special. 

It actually all started with this artwork.  I won a Minted giveaway last year and this was one of the pieces I chose! I love the watercolor and the blush background.  It was actually to starting off point for her room and I just love it so much!  The frame is old (and actually originally black) and I grabbed the paper backing from the scrapbook section at Michaels.

And then back during the summer I got this quote and thought it was perfect! It came in my MOPs package for this year and I loved the colors.  I used some extra floral scrapbook paper from Michaels (that I used on her paper garland I made back when Ellie was only a couple of weeks old and the same paper I used for her 1st birthday invites)  I love the colors and how it gives that fun flirty floral girly look. Again its in an old frame that used to be black.

One of my favorite parts of this gallery wall are the glitter letters that I got at Pottery Barn several years ago. They were a bit of a challenge to get level but I love them so much.

Then I have a photo that I took of Ellie for her 1 year shoot when she was still learning how to walk!!  (frame here)

And another photo of me and my girl...I am thinking that we will switch this out with a family picture once baby girl arrives!! (frame here)

When we went to Disneyland back in September we went into one of the shops in Frontierland.  I spotted this dream catcher and knew that one would be perfect in Ellie's room.  We failed to pick one up on that trip so when we decided to head back in February we made sure to pick one up then. 

And finally this past week for MOPs we did a watercolor craft.  I went back and forth as to what I wanted to paint and finally decided on a floral watercolor.  I LOVE how it turned out and it is the finishing touch in Ellie's room.  It's super special to me and I hope in years to come that Ellie will appreciate it.  I still can't believe that I made this!!

Lets talk about what else we did this weekend.

On Friday we went to gymnastics and story time at the library. We skipped out on the craft at the library to go to the park and it was so much fun.  Once we were done at the park we headed home for a picnic. Because I just cannot get over this weather and I love making these memories with my girl!

After lunch Ellie went down for her nap and I did some cleaning around the house. When Thomas got home, and after Ellie woke up, we headed out to the farm and I got Rags ready for a ride.  I have been working with her the past week to get ready to ride, but I won't get on her unless Thomas is home - safety first y'all!  Ellie was so excited to see me get out a saddle for her that she begged and begged to get on.  Thomas gave us a pony ride and then snapped this picture.  This was also Ellie's first time on a big horse and I am so glad she loved it!!!

On Saturday we went to gymnastics in the morning and then over to my In-Laws for a quick visit. On the way home my BFF texted and asked if she could come over and do some painting - yes please!! Look at what she created!!! I have the most talented friend. 

While she was painting (and I was talking) Thomas mowed the back yard.  I hope that we get to spend a lot of time out here this summer and that it turns into our little oasis!

Looking at these pictures...I really need to weed between the pavers.... how embarrassing!

Then Ellie woke up from her nap and requested Cars. This is how she chose to watch it! Melt my heart, I love her love for her Dada!

On Sunday we went out in the morning to look for new Tennis shoes for Thomas since he wore holes in his old pair. We stopped at MOD pizza, a park and of course Target - no shopping trip is complete! We picked up these for the nursery and they're perfect!!

Back home for Ellie's nap and I got to work on some things in the nursery:

I hung up my DIY mobile (details coming soon)

Replaced the top knobs with my new acquisitions. 

And spray painted a hook with Rose Gold spray paint just like the lighting fixture.

I also finally got the gallery wall hung! I had to black out the name because we aren't quite ready to share it, but my fabulous BFF did the calligraphy on it and I cannot wait to share!!  The pictures in the frames will be replaced with photos of the babe and our family!  Plus how awesome is that mirror?? A steal at HomeGoods for $14.99!!! holy moly!  You can also see that we picked up a dream catcher for the babe while in Disneyland as well!

Then I went out to finish up some farm chores.  Keeping up with all the manure is quite the challenge but we finally did it!! We do have some weird dips in our pasture so I have been using the manure to help fill in the holes.  It's a great free resource and gives me a place for the manure.  

And Rags paddock is finally clean of all manure...except for the new ones she gifted me - just a mere 2 feet away from the compost bin....horses!!

For dinner I made spaghetti and meatballs...Toddler approved!

How was your weekend??

♥ Ashley

linking up here

{DIY} Custom Light Switch Cover

If you have been reading for a while then you know that I've been slowly turning Ellie's nursery into her "big girl room". I wanted to go with a simple grey and floral theme. 

You can check out my inspiration post here and also my Pinterest board. 

One thing that I was totally drawn to was this floria light switch cover. But that price tag!! I knew that I could come up with something much more cost effective and I did - FREE!!! 

I had all the supplies on hand and seriously this project could not have been any easier!!

Here is what you need:

Mod Podge 

Paint brush

Scrapbook paper

Light switch plate

pen/pencil

scissors 

paper cutter

Here is what you do:

First - flip your scrap book paper over and trace the outside of you switch plate. *trace it a little bigger

Second - using your paper cutter, cut out your rectangle.  I cut mine a little larger than what I traced to make sure it would wrap around. 

Third - get some Mod Podge on your paint brush and paint a thin layer on the front of your switch plate.

Fourth - once you've got a thin layer place your scrapbook paper face side up on top. Use your fingers to smooth out any bubbles.  Let dry for about 15 minutes.

Fifth - after about 15 minutes of drying time use your scissors to cut a slit in each of the corners so that the paper can wrap around the edge.

Sixth - using more Mod Podge to glue the paper around the edges.  Press and smooth with your fingers and let dry for another 15 minutes.

Seventh - after about 15 minutes of drying time use your paint brush and paint a thin layer of Mod Podge over the scapbook cover and try to smooth out any bubbles with the paint brush or your fingers.  Let dry for about 30 minutes and then apply another coat. Rinse and Repeat at least one more time.

Eighth - once the scrapbook paper is dry, flip the plate over and use a sharp knife (craft knife) cut a slit for the light toggle.  Using your fingers press and wrap the paper to go along the light toggle hole.  Then paint one last layer of Mod Podge over the front and edges and let dry for another 30 minutes (or more).

Ninth - When the cover is dry put the cover back on.  I just used the little screws to poke the holes in where they needed to go and that worked just fine.  

   Violà !! You have your very own custom light switch cover!!

This was super easy and I loved that I already had everything on hand.  The scrapbook paper was left over from when I made Ellie's first birthday invitations...which also happens to be the same paper I used on her paper garland that goes with her poms above her bed, and I used it as the backing/matting for one of the pieces of artwork in her room.  I also loved repurposing the old cover I was just going to toss anyways!!

♥ Ashley

linking up here