if you are like me, you may be someone that is really hard to buy for. i am not one who likes “stuff.” it ultimately ends up being donated or clutters the house and, i think it is safe to say, we could all do with a little less stuff. gifts should be meaningful and authentic, but this can be really hard to think of, when it comes to ideas. my husband is always asking me for gift ideas, and i from him, because we are equally hard to buy for. this year, i was intentional about thinking of items that would really matter to me. and if you are scrambling for ideas, here is the best gift for mom that is bound to make her cry, happy tears.
this post was written as part of a collaboration with a family print shop and this locket was made for me at a discounted price. go check out their beautiful shop, it’s insanely beautiful.
i stumbled upon a family print shop over the summer this year and instantly told my husband about their silhouette lockets. being someone who is passionate about family and photos, this locket was the perfect idea for me. and it means more than any other necklace because it is contains something so special, my child. and soon, my second child will be on the other side.
the best thing about this locket, besides the stunning silhouette of my daughter, is that it can grow with our family. a family print shop can add children to the locket, as children are born, and that is so special to me. this locket will literally grow as our family grows, which means it will always be current and worn.
i love that this is something that will always be cherished and will be a keepsake. many gifts come and go, but this is something that truly means something and honestly is the best gift for mom. when the holidays came around growing up, my dad always reminded us, “don’t spend money just to spent money, think of what the person truly needs or would enjoy.” it’s been something that i always remember when gift giving, and sometimes that means simply asking the person what they truly need or would enjoy. for me, i enjoy nostalgia, making this silhouette locket simply the perfect gift idea.
The Best Gift For Mom – The Silhouette Locket
.jpg "The Best Gift For Mom - The Silhouette Locket | Bethadilly Photography")
Letters To My Children | 18 Months + 26 Weeks (In My Belly)
.jpg "Letters To My Children | 18 Months + 26 Weeks (In My Belly) | Bethadilly Photography")
friday, october 13, 2018
dear babies,
it seems like everything is changing so fast around our house, from mama’s growing belly to a toddler who is now walking! and while i wish time to slow down, i am also super excited that our family will grow by one more in just 14 weeks! it seems like time is going to speed up from here, as we enter the holiday season and prepare for a new year and another baby!
to my oldest:
today is your half birthday!! you are officially 18 months and it’s so hard to believe that you are already a year and a half. 8 days ago, you learned to walk all by yourself. we went to the library to get some halloween books to read at bedtime and all of a sudden you walked across the room! your daddy (who was sadly away on a business trip, but brought you home an awesome present!) was so excited when i told him and said, “no wonder her first steps were at the library, since she is in love with books like her mama is!” is all makes perfect sense! and once you started walking, you never looked back. the librarian gave you a special sticker for your baby book to mark the milestone!
after a week of walking, you look as though you have been walking forever. you are getting more and more confident each day and easily walk around the house being a little busy body. you love to climb up the stairs (with us close by you), and you love climbing up and down off of the couch. everything just got real busy in our house but we are so excited that you are walking and love the happy look on your face when you are zooming around the house.
at 18 months, your appetite has slowed way down and you only like to feed yourself. “no thanks, mama. i do it.” you are learning to feed yourself with a spoon and we are slowly making progress on drinking from a cup without a lid. although, one time you spilled water all over yourself and wanted nothing more to do with the cup. 🙂
you have become such a smartie pants and are doing things that are at a three year old level! you love to stack blocks, can easily do puzzles, match patterns, and put together your girly legos. you are also very helpful during diaper changes and hand us a new diaper, and have fits of giggles when mama tickles you. you still love reading books and bring us your favorite books from your shelf to read. i swear, we have read “big, little,” 1643820974 times but you love, love, love it. you know almost all of your body parts and love to dance! grandpa even taught you how to nod “yes!” and you do it with the funniest expression on your face!
while you are still so little, you prove to be so big. you like to lift mama’s shirt up to see my baby belly and, sometimes, poke at it. 🙂 the other day you were laying on my belly and felt the baby kick on your cheek. you looked at me with a quizzical look, wondering what could have done that! even though you are too little to really understand getting a new brother or sister, your caring, sweet and loving nature makes you more than ready to have a little sibling in the next few months.
to my littlest:
you are kicking up a storm, these days! especially first thing in the morning when mama is trying to get just one more hour of sleep or at the very end of the day when i lay down in bed. we are at the point where we can see you kicking through my belly and its always so fascinating to watch my belly bounce with your bumps.
we had a quick check up last week and you are still doing great! nothing new to report, you are growing just as you should despite mama’s tiny belly. waiting for january sometimes seems like it takes forever, but the weeks sure go by fast so we know that you will be here in no time at all! your little room is ready and waiting for you and our family is ready to spoil you to pieces! it’s so much fun to see so many people loving you so much already and we can’t wait to introduce you to our wonderful family!
mama is still feeling mostly great! i threw out my back twice in the past week, so i am under strict orders from the doctor to not lift a single thing and to rest, rest, rest. it’s been hard for me to put my feet up, because i feel that there is always so much to do but slowing down is also really nice sometimes too. your only job is to keep growing as best you can so we can meet you soon! you have a big sister waiting for you who loves giving kisses and saying “baby!”
love, mama
when it comes to packing your hospital bag, everyone will tell you what must haves you will need to bring. at first, it seems a little overwhelming because you feel that you are going to wheel six suitcases into the hospital with you, but really it’s simple. for me, this is my second baby and i will be delivering at the same hospital only 20 months apart. i say this to say…i know my hospital and i feel really prepared this time. which means, this mama will not be overpacking. there are definitely some essentials that i will be taking with me for nostalgia and comfort, but for the most part i will also be realistic and know that the hospital pretty much has everything i will need. honestly, that’s their job.
when packing your hospital bag, think of items that will make you comfortable and will make things easier for you. diapers, wipes, mama pads, and bedding are all provided for you (or at least they should be), so try not to overthink and overpack. my hospital supplies all the diapers and post birth supplies for mama, so i am not going to run out and buy a bunch of that stuff to take with me. instead, i am focusing on what is going to help me and baby the most during our stay and during our travel home.
as i worked towards beginning to build my hospital bag, i collaborated with a lot of beautiful companies to bring this bag together and am grateful to the shops that sent items to be featured within this post. at the end of this post, you will find a list of all the shops that sent things for my hospital bag so definitely go check out their beautiful products!
this post contains some affiliate links, which means i get a commission for items purchased through the link. thank you in advance for supporting my blog.
Packing Your Hospital Bag : A List of Must Have Items
Hospital Bag Source List
some of these shops sent items for free to be featured within our hospital bag. a huge thank you to these shops!
mama bundle courtesy of Tubby Todd
lace nursing bra purchased from Motherhood Maternity
lactation bars courtesy of Oat Mama
multi-use cover courtesy of Copper Pearl
leather changing mat courtesy of Gathre
pacifier clip courtesy of Ryan and Rose
lace trimmed swaddle courtesy of Charley Charles
going home outfit purchased locally
Other Recommended Items To Pack
lip balm
essential oils
overnight items for parents
going home clothing for parents
spare clothes parents
bathrobe
slip on shoes (or walking slippers)
your own pillow
camera/memory cards/batteries
snacks
car seat
diaper bag prepped for ride home
don’t feel like you need to bring your entire home to the hospital. once your baby is born, you will be so focused on him or her that those one or two items that you forgot won’t be a big deal. and more than likely, the hospital has everything you need during your stay. focus on what unique items will make you to most comfortable, what items you want your baby to have during the first hours/days, and what items will get you comfortably home. and by golly, don’t forget the carseat. in fact, just put it in your car around 35 weeks pregnant…you will be happy that you did.
well, it is only october 2nd and we have already enjoyed two really good apple pies this season…and the leaves haven’t even changed yet. i mean, there is just something about pie after september that is totally necessary. we went apple picking about a month ago and came home with lots of yummy apples that begged to be put into either a pie or crisp. i am not much of a cook (because i just don’t enjoy it much) but when it comes to baking, i honestly can impress you. just ask my husband…he was way too happy with these apple pies. and to surprise you even more, the recipe i used was from a children’s picture book! not lying. because our little one is about a year and a half, i knew i wanted a kid friendly apple pie recipe that could involve her in some way. and surprisingly, it turned out the be the best pie recipe i have found!
this post contains some affiliate links, which means i get a commission for items purchased through the link. thank you in advance for supporting my blog.
Kid Friendly Apple Pie Recipe
.jpg "Kid Friendly Apple Pie Recipe | Bethadilly Photography")
the night before we went apple picking, we read amelia bedelia’s first apple pie to our little girl. it is honestly one of our favorite fall books because it is really cute and has a lot of fun humor (which can totally be appreciated by us adults who have to read the same book over and over and over again!). since this was our daughter’s first apple pie, this book was totally meant to be! and to make it even better, there is a recipe at the very end of the book for an apple pie and it is dang perfect!
to be completely honest, i made the pie and she munched on apples. and a year and a half, our little one isn’t walking yet so it wasn’t easy for me (and a pregnant belly) to hoist her up the entire time to help me. next year, this girl will have flour in her hair and we will have a lot of fun. but we still had fun eating apples while i did the baking.
of course, one of the best things about being pregnant (for me anyways) is styling the new nursery. i am not a lover of themes. no really though, themes are just not my thing. i think themes are all little overwhelming and i don’t like walking into rooms and seeing 100 bunnies on the walls, blankets, clothes, etc. i didn’t base our first baby’s room around a theme and for the second baby, i didn’t either. instead, i went for a style. the style of this room is simply classic, with a little farmhouse feel. i am a lover of classic things, wooden toys, knit dolls, and simplicity. if my grandmother were to buy it for her new baby years ago, it is something that is definitely my style. i am a picky vintage lover. (definition: lover of vintage, but really choosy). 🙂 furthermore, we aren’t finding out the gender our little one so our nursery was designed to be a classic gender neutral nursery. but if you know me in real life, i have an aversion to color so even if we knew the gender, i would have still gone neutral…it’s just calm and soft. not to mention, it’s the perfect recipe for white balance perfection.
as i worked towards creating the classic look i was going for, i collaborated with a lot of beautiful baby companies to bring this nursery together and was humbled with the number of shops who sent items for our new baby-to-be to be featured within this post. at the end of this post, you will find a list of all the shops that sent things for our nursery so definitely go check out their beautiful products!
this post contains some affiliate links, which means i get a commission for items purchased through the link. thank you in advance for supporting my blog.
A Classic Gender Neutral Nursery – Baby No. 2’s Room!
Nursery Collaboration Shops
*the following shops sent items for free to be featured in our new nursery. a huge thank you!
juniper bonnet courtesy of June Isle Clothier
classic baby rattle courtesy of Bannor Toys
lux oxford shoes courtesy of Honey and Hide
sign over crib courtesy of House Off Ninety Six
nettle overalls courtesy of Little Cottonwood
leather baby changing mat courtesy of Gathre
sebastian the lamb (20”) courtesy of Cuddle and Kind
pom pom swaddle and lace swaddle courtesy of Charley Charles
coffee teether and braided clip courtesy of Little Sapling Toys
striped swaddle and burps cloths courtesy of Copper Pearl
kimono coverall courtesy of Tane Organics
bebe embroidered hoop courtesy of Oh Dear Clothes
little nursling onesie courtesy of Milo’s Corner
baby brush set courtesy of Natemia
nature jumpsuit and bandana bib courtesy of Lenny Lemons
baby milestone cards courtesy of Blossom and Pear
Additional Nursery Source List
brushed brass dresser knobs purchased on Amazon
piggy bank purchased locally but can be found here
gold round mirror purchased at Target
crib purchased on Amazon
sophie giraffe purchased locally but can be found here
rectangular shelves purchased locally but can be found here
whale bookends purchased on Amazon
moses basket purchased on Amazon
crib sheet purchased on Amazon
changing pad cover purchased on Amazon
crib skirt purchased on Amazon
giant plush giraffe purchased on Amazon
9 months book purchased on Amazon
a is for atom book purchased on Amazon
and now the countdown to baby begins. all the clothes are washed and hung. big sister is saying “baby” and brushing up on her nursery rhymes. mama and dada and banking sleep and preparing for two under two. and all we do is wait!