Tuesday Funday

The days after Christmas were spent being sad that Christmas was over. With kids it gets better every year! Juliana got so many awesome gifts from her even more awesome aunts and uncles. She's still playing with, reading, pretend drinking, carrying around all her presents every day. 

Hello Kitty Tea set, Ikea LATT table & chairs

Melissa & Doug letters & numbers magnets

But sad note, she got sick again immediately after Christmas. We're not sure if it's because of possible teething, from spending 20 minutes outside for the first time on a sunny but slightly chilly day or getting it from somebody over the Christmas festivities. Probably a combo of all 3. Yay. Not. But! She's on the mend, Praise God! I can tell she's getting better because she requested green beans with garlic (!) one of her fav dishes. Before that she was barely eating anything. 

Today we've been hanging out at home because 1. it's still too early to take Juliana out 2. the temperature is hovering above 0. I love Minnesota. No sarcasm. I like to sing "the cold never bothered me anyway" My name is Anna but I'm definitely an Elsa. So we painted nails, watched some cartoons, ate green beans with garlic at Juliana's request (!) 

before: pink and gold. matched my Christmas present perfectly

after: hot pink for new years eve?

and one swipe on each little finger for Juju to match :)

I did venture out with Lucy to get a much needed haircut. I left her with my sister because there is no way she would've sat in the carseat while I was in the chair. A carseat lover she is not. The salon and my stylist were highly questionable but I managed to walk out with a pretty decent haircut. I probably shouldn't admit the picture I showed the stylist was one of Kim Kardashian that I pinned...

The bunny lovey was a gift for Lucy from her uncle :)

I have to take more pictures of all the stuff the girls got so we can remember what they got and from who. Hopefully sometime this week :)

Recent Purchases

These posts kind of make me feel like a shopaholic but the truth is everything here (except for the A Anthropologie mug-early Christmas present!) cost me around $20 after coupons and discounts. Plus I love buying for Juju and don't feel guilty because I know Lucy will get to wear it in the future. All of this is from Old Navy because 1. I love that place 2. They have awesome sales.

Exhibit A: these plaid pajama pants are the perfect Christmas morning pjs. The print is exactly what I was looking for and they are so comfy! They were on sale last week for a mere $6. A new tradition I want to start with my family is Christmas morning breakfast in our jolly jammies while exchanging gifts and reading Luke 2 from the Bible. 

B: this shearling vest was a steal on clearance. I bought it for Lucy for next year because it's 12-18 months but when I tried it on Juju (she's 22 months) it fit like a glove. Only problem is she doesn't want to wear it! 15 seconds after zipping it up "mama, take it off ok?" (I love how she started saying "ok?" It's the best. "One candy, ok?" So cute I almost give in.) 

C: Quilted knees. Rose gold ankle zippers. Love. I got 2t. They're a little loose but I plan on squeezing Juliana in these for many years to come. 

D: I'm always on the look out for adorable shirts with red head little cuties or anything red head in general. Since having Juju I've become a little bit obsessed. I don't know if I just notice it now but it seems like there are more and more red heads in the media, ads, etc. Its awesome. I got this in 3T because the difference between 2T was slightly longer sleeves and I just roll those up so Juju can wear it longer. 

That's it for my O.N. finds. Last week I think I shopped every single day. But I got all presents purchased & wrapped. So this week I've just been relaxing with my family, going out to eat, baking, having friends over and just enjoying the few and too little number of days before the magical month of December is over. 

Juliana's Gift List (Five on Friday)

Juliana's Gift List on Polyvore

*not sure why the apostrophe didn't show up...

I thought it would be fun to put together a gift guide of things we got and are planning to get our Juju for Christmas to look back on later. She's a little to young to understand the whole present concept but I think it'll still be awesome to watch her unwrap a new toy or two.

1. Doodle Pro: we love teaching Juju numbers, letters and shapes by writing them and she's a quick learner that girl. This makes it a little more fun than the usual crayon & paper. This toy I'm actually going to wrap for her and save for Christmas

2. IKEA LATT Table Set: I'm most excited for this one because I know she's going to love having her own little table and chairs (the second chair is of course reserved for Lucy once she's older) This sounds weird but Juju loves "lounging" around. She'll tuck herself under her blanket multiple times a day or open a cabinet and just sit there. I plan on painting it white and adding gold stripes to the seats once we assemble it. And by we I mean my husband.

3. H&M Mouse Slippers: I still have to run out and get these or there are cute orange fox ones at Target. Either way Juj is getting slippers. We don't have carpet in our main living area where she spends most of her time so I hope she'll wear these so her tootsies stay warm and they're more fun than socks.

4. Contigo Kids Bottle: I bought this on sale at Target for less than $8 and they're originally like $13. I called it a score and gave it to her right away only because she was sick last week and not really eating or drinking. But she would drink anything from this bottle, including chamomile tea <insert wide eyed emoji> She loves closing it and opening it. Somehow she's always surprised when it pops open and says "Ow!" it's cute :)

5. Ikea Play Tea Set: I have also yet to get this and might wait until her birthday because I don't know if I'll have time to get to Ikea with Christmas being less than a week away but not that it matters for Juju ;) I know she'll love this because she loves pretend feeding her doll babies and real feeding myself and her daddy. She's just a natural care taker :)


Linking with Darci :)

I love Lucy.

That title was bound to happen sooner or later ;)

Sometimes I'll have Lucy in my lap while I sit and read blogs, or Instagram or on super rare occasion a book and I'll look down and see that she's smiling a big, toothless smile at me and it'll make my heart skip! So I'll lean down and kiss her on her little lips or her chubby cheek because I'm her mom and she's my baby and I'll do it as much as she'll let me (a certain almost 2 year old in the house is already above those kisses). To most people and almost most of the time Lucy is such a serious little baby. It's a real job getting that girl to crack a smile. But not to me. She's all smiles for mama. It really makes every single day worth it. It's so cliche but those smiles and precious snuggle times really make life better than a dream. I'm so in love with my girls that I don't even have the words to describe it and I can't thank God enough!

P.s. She's cool like dad but 100% mama's girl ;)

P.p.s while I was writing this she went #2. Yep, total dream life, ha! 

Juliana 22 Months

Yesterday Juliana turned 22 months. Thank you Baby Center for reminding me!

My Shirt

Bow

Juliana woke up super sick in the middle of the night on Monday and it's been rough ever 
since. It's been a weird on and off cold. First she was just raspy, than coughing, than on and off fever and now she's just so tired and hasn't eaten much. There is nothing worse than a sick child and I wish I could take her place so she wouldn't have to suffer. She's been a trooper but I so miss my silly little girl. I hope she heals as soon as possible so we can get out and play and do some Christmas stuff like see the lit up tree in St. Paul's Rice Park or decorations at Mall of America. 

I've been looking at pictures of her from this past summer and am amazed how much she has changed! For starters she seems so tall and her hair has grown inches and somewhat lost the curls it used to have. She can put together 3-4 words sentences and counts up to 10. She knows colors and correctly identifies them most of the time. She remembers what things are named from being only told once or twice. That part amazes me the most! Like the other day she asked for a watermelon (we speak to her in Russian so she said arbuz) and I don't know how she remembered that at all. She follows instructions really well and is overall just an awesome little girl. She's the perfect older child. She's obedient yet determined, independent yet plays well with others, she's stubborn but sweet, she's a caring sister and a helper to her mama. I could go on and on about my Juju :)

Red Headed Dolly

And as you can see, she'll make an awesome mommy one day ;) 

Shop: Old Navy

It's not really a secret that Old Navy is one of my top favorite stores (naturally Target is first). It has cute stuff, it's affordable and there are stores all over the place. I love it for myself, I love it for Juliana, I love it for Lucy. I don't necessarily love it for my husband because he wears size Tall in shirts and O.N. doesn't carry it in store. For that we go to Kohl's. 

On Black Friday O.N. had 50% of everything and I ran in really quickly (Lucy wasn't letting me shop that day) and got some cute things for the girls and one home item. 

1. Leopard vest. Another love confession, I love vests. I got Juju leopard because in my world leopard is a neutral and will go with everything. I got size 3T even though the girl has 2 months until she reaches her 2nd birthday. But it fits pretty well and it's longer so it covers more of her back. She looks so cute in it, I die. 

2. Leopard long sleeve bodysuit. I guess I was on a roll with the leopard. I got 6-12 months for Lucy but only realized when I got home that it would be summer when she's that age so this might go to a different home. It's so cute though.

3. White long sleeve bodysuit. This I got in 3-6 months and Lucy has already worn it several times and after several washes the fabric still looks good. I love the fit and the cotton is very soft. Plus, you can't go wrong with white. I love anything I can bleach. Love confession #3 I love bleach.

4. Buffalo Plaid fleece blanket. One of my favorite purchases recently. This was a steal for $5 but the reason I love it is because we had a super similar blanket growing up at home. My mom still has it and it must be at least 15 years old. When I saw it on O.N.'s website it instantly reminded me of being cozy under that blanket watching TV in our freezing basement. It's cheesy but I feel like I'm carrying on a tradition by getting one for my own little family.

And speaking of fleece blankets from Old Navy, I bought these last year to give as gifts but didn't end up giving them to anybody or using them. Than I saw the church I used to go to was having a blanket drive so there they went. I'm happy they're going somewhere where they are needed. Everyone should be warm during winter. 

Juliana These Days

This little girl has quite the big personality lately. She's always just walking around the house doing her own thing, getting into things she shouldn't be getting into. She loves lotions and anything that can be smeared on her cute little face. I always know when she's up to no good because I'll call out her name and get a "No!" in reply. Than I'll come find her and see that she got into the pink paint or glitter. She is a girly girl, I can tell you that. But none of it is the end of the world. It somehow makes my day brighter. Does that even make sense? What I'm trying to say is I want her to explore the world around her and find things that interest her even if it means making a small mess or two along the way. Plus, she knows how to win my heart after being naughty. She'll come up to me grab my face with her little hands and give me a kiss and say "luh you" or if I'm laying down she'll pat my back and say "message, message" though it sounds more like "majaj, majaj" She is my darling, goofy little girl and I wouldn't change a mole or a freckle about her! 

Silver Linings

The other morning I woke up not feeling like myself, Lucy vomited all over her shirt and down my shoulder, my husband was already gone at work even though it was Saturday and Juju would cry like crazy every time I would blow my nose which was severely stuffed. But after cleaning ourselves up, getting Juju breakfast and sitting down with a cup of coffee, I realized how much I have to be thankful for. Maybe it's because Thanksgiving is less than a week away (crazy!) but sometimes the bad things in life make you so grateful for the good. Being sick made me thankful that 99% of the time I am healthy as can be and so is my family. My husband being gone at work made me thankful that he has a job that supports us and allows me to be home with my babies everyday. It also made me appreciate the mornings he is home and we get to have breakfast together. My girls giving me a little bit of a hard time made me thankful that God gave me children because I know so many families struggle with that, including some very dear friends of ours. There are so many blessings in my life that I could sit around all day and still won't have enough time to count them all. Sometimes there are rough moments in my day but if I let them get to me I would miss out on the thousands of sweet ones that melt my heart. 

p.s. I'm also thankful for coordinating outfits for my little ladies ;)

Mom Brain

Hi, I'm Anna and I'm a mom therefore I have mom brain.  It's a common disorder that consists of loss of common sense and logic, misplacement of objects and inability to form coherent sentences. It's fun. 

• I tried to put leggings on over the jeans I was already wearing. 
• Instead of refilling the sugar bowl while making morning coffee, I poured it straight into my cup. 
• I put a brand new tub of sour cream in the freezer and pulled it out for today's enchiladas all nice and frozen. This was after looking for it all over the place. 
• I put my keys in the fridge.  
• While showering I grabbed my razor thinking it was my Clarisonic brush and almost shaved my face off. Thankfully I'm here today scar free! 
• I tried to put a size 1 baby diaper on my toddler. 

Those are just some highlights from this week. My oldest is only 20 months so I have many more years of mom brain ahead of me. 

The Weekend

 

I started this Saturday morning by marveling at how big my little Lucy is getting! The whole, pregnancy, labor and recovery went so fast that I still can't believe I have a 2 month old! She's such sweetie and a total mama's girl. She's either serious or shy but will smile at me all day :) She's slept with me from day one at the hospital. I quickly learned she was a snuggle bug when she would wake up the minute I put her down. Night and day difference from Juliana who did not even want to be touched. The girl likes her space, it's cool. 

Next up on the list is magic erasing all this beautiful art Juliana picasso'd all over the walls in the hall and her bedroom. I remember so clearly buying Jumbo Crayolas at Target thinking (stupidly) "Juju is such a smart girl. She would never draw on the walls. She's not one of those kids." Ha! 

And lastly, I started watching Food, Inc on Netflix last night after putting it off for years. I honestly did not want to know the truth (because ignorance is bliss) but now that I've seen half I found out it's even worse than I imagined! I'm not one of those super organic people when it comes to food but this made a strong case. I fell asleep in the middle of it so today I plan on finishing it and making my hubby watch so we can make a plan for our family to be healthier. 

Mama & Juju

These pictures were taken at a park behind our house when I was 8 months pregnant. I wanted to remember how it felt to just have one child and enjoy her fully because I knew my attention would be divided once the new baby came. Juliana is the light of my life. She is so smart and funny and sweet and obedient (most of the time) and all those good things that daughters are! 

she is exactly a year & a half in these.

• the other day I smelled something suspicious and asked if she went poopy and she answered "very no." I guess teaching her that things are "very hot" or "very cold" paid off.
• we've been reading her children's bible daily and she's grown so fond of the characters in the pictures that I overheard her on her play phone talking to "Noah" 
• my iPhone lock screen is a picture of my husband and whenever she turns it on she says "Papa cute!" 
• Juliana loves numbers and will point out 5 from a mile away (it's her favorite) and today she drew a stick and said "one" than I swear to you she drew a figure 8 and said "eight" my eyes popped out of my head. 
• she sometimes refers to herself in 3rd person "Juju fell" "Juju crying"
• her nickname has been Juju since she was 1 week old. I remember jokingly declaring we will call her Juju Bug and it stuck. I now tell people that's her name just to see their funny reactions.

*pictures, hair & makeup done by my lovely sister Katie 

Snow days.

It snowed in our area for the first time on Monday. I was actually shocked to see the ground under a white blanket when I woke up. I'm not one to follow weather so most often it's a surprise to me. Even though I love winter and especially the Christmas season, I immediately missed the convenience of warmer weather. Bundling up your precious babies for below zero weather and waiting for your car to warm up 20 min before you can go anywhere is not fun. 

So most days are spent cuddling and reading books. And that I don't mind ;) 

Fun Fact: though Monday was Lucy's first snowfall, it was obviously not the first for Juliana. The night Juliana was born mid February of last year, I remember laying in the hospital bed after labor talking to my husband about how happy we were to become parents when suddenly the biggest, fluffiest snow flakes began to slowly fall from the sky. I remember it was so beautiful and I've never felt more peaceful in my life.

Welcome!

Hi, I'm Anna & this is my blog!

I wanted a place to document my sweet and simple life with my handsome husband Eugene and two beautiful daughters, Juliana (Juju) and Lucy.

Juliana-21 months

Lucy-2 months

I love my life more than words could describe but I'll try anyway :)