january bliss.

60s & sunny and hammock swinging and bike riding and sidewalk chalking and lots of laughing. such a happy day.

IMAGINE.

i have been envisioning this project in my mind for awhile. i wanted to make the word IMAGINE across the big wall in the playroom. originally, i was going to decoupage all of the letters but when they arrived that looked like way too much work and i decided i wanted some variety in the style of the letters. i ended up loving how it turned out and the sweet little affirmation that pulls your attention when you walk in the room. i don't know if anyone cares but when i was looking for tutorials, i found it hard to find any with the styles i was looking to create. so, i'm gonna go through the letters and let you know how i did it. and let me be the first to tell you, it may not be the "right" way -- but it worked for me. beginning with the cardboard letters -- i got them online at joann's. they are $4.99 each so with a coupon i found online and shipping for the whole thing it was under $35. i thought that was pretty good for how big the piece of art in its entirety is. for the I's and the E, i decoupaged them. i looked through my favorite magazines (better homes and gardens and southern living, mostly) and cut out colors and prints and textures that appealed to me and that matched the color scheme in the playroom. i tried, for the most part, to cut them into triangle shapes. then, just took some mod podge and started piecing it together until all of the cardboard was covered. this probably took 30 minutes-ish a letter (not including the cutting) and after i let it dry for a few minutes i did one more coat of mod podge (glossy finish) over the entire thing and painted the sides with the color i felt was most dominant. i ended up using yellow, red, and blue on the mod podged letters. for the M -- i painted it first with chalk paint that i had left over (color was provence) and then wrapped some twine around it. tried to be a little bit random and imperfect with this one.

the A was probably the most time consuming one. i looked up a tutorial specifically for yarn wrapping an A so i didn't mess it up. it probably took about an hour and a half or so. i did it in bed on a friday night because i'm THAT cool. the G was another quick and easy one, and i ended up loving the way it turned out. i painted it with a mustard yellow color and then just randomly wrapped the entire thing with twine. it took probably 20 minutes all together and may be my favorite. the N is actually not done completely. i ran out of glitter before i could do the sides but i just used mod podge to cover the entire front and then sprinkled the glitter all over it. super easy. also super messy if you're like me and end up accidentally dumping mod podge all over your deck and ruining one of your favorite sweaters in the process. patience. patience. patience. i'll finish that one some time this week.

so, that's it! it was a fun little project and i love the way it turned out. when the playroom doesn't look like a tornado hit it (and we're done with the last couple things we're putting up) i'll post a photo of the whole thing. we've been spending a TON of time in there and zoe's imagination is so incredible right now -- it fits really well. but, i don't think we should ever stop imagining, so it's the perfect affirmation for all of us!

plans.

zoe will walk up to me and lift my shirt to talk to my belly and kiss her brother and sing made up songs to him. every time it happens i almost have to pinch myself. i never could understand the timing, often wondering why it took so long for us to have another baby, but now i do. now it all makes perfect sense.



i said then, that when i met the next child we had, i would probably understand it all when i got to hold them and know them and love them. but it's happened even sooner than i expected. we already love him. he already has a few names, and we all stare in amazement while we watch his tiny body parts move across my growing belly. we smile really big and teary-eyed when we hear his heartbeat and we imagine what he looks like in there when we feel his little hiccups. we wonder if he'll look like zoe did as a baby. we wonder if he'll be wild because he never stops moving. we also wonder why i HAVE to eat 7 oreo's and chug a glass of milk every night after dinner. but mostly, we anticipate his arrival and talk about him and love him like he's already a part of our family. and he is.

i always imagined having kids about two years apart. i figured that'd be a perfect age gap. they could be friends and play together. they could have that super close sibling bond that i'd seen between so many of my friends and extended family. when it didn't happen like that i was admittedly a little bit sad about it. but the way that she understands what's happening and how our family will change in the spring, the love that she has for someone she's never even met, and the eager energy she has to be involved in everything about him makes my heart swell in a different way.



[zoe's outfit was epic this particular day. tie dye, leopard print, plaid, polka dots, stripes, and patent leather. girl knows how to brighten winter days, i tell you.]

another reminder that these things in life you can't control - that there is a reason bigger than you and your plans. and i have no doubt that the bond that they share will be more special than i could ever imagine. i can't wait to see.



[all photos by jesse. he rules.]

[27 weeks and some days here. every website says the third trimester starts on a different week, but when i divide the total pregnancy by three, i'm in the third part. so i have officially declared -- i'm in the home stretch!]

dancing with daddy.

when zoe was a brand new baby, we were on a blues kick. we'd put the blues channel on our tv and when jesse would get home from work he'd dance around the house with her for hours. over the years, they've danced -- to randomly requested songs or to songs that strike at some particular sweet moment. tonight zoe requested a song and i walked back into the room to find he'd scooped her up and they were dancing, exactly like when she was a tiny baby. something about the way her arms and legs just hang... rush of nostalgia. she looked so comfortable and at peace in his arms.

their love is just the sweetest thing.