Aven's 3rd Birthday

July 2nd is Aven's birthday and was Baby VG 3's due date.  Since the baby decided not to arrive, we celebrated Aven's day to the max!

Started out with making cupcakes the night before with Oma.

Then ate the cupcakes for breakfast.  Of course there were candles and singing happy birthday and a few little Frozen themed presents.

The pest control guy came and found a turtle in our bushes, so we had a pet for about an hour.  Then we took said "pet" to a local hiking spot and released him.

We attempted to go for a hike, but it started to rain, so we left.

My big present/surprise was to take Aven for her first mani/pedi.  I have to admit, I thought she would like it, but her complete joy the entire time was beyond what I anticipated.  She smiled from ear to ear the whole time and kept waving over to Emrie (who had a very fun day too doing everything Aven got to do).  I was hoping that the foot massage would send me into labor.  No such luck.

Naps were in order after our big morning.  Then we waited for dad to get home and we went to dinner.  After the waiters sang to her with her stylish sombrero, Aven asked where they all went.  I guess she loved the lime light so much she was sad when they weren't singing to her any longer.  Uh oh, we have a diva on our hands.  At least she was super distracted and excited about the hat.

Then after dinner was Oma's big present/surprise.  We went to Chuck E Cheese.  I hadn't been to a Chuck E Cheese in probably 20 years so I wasn't expecting too much.  However, we ended up having a total blast; way more fun than I ever expected, and the girls loved it!

We definitely celebrated this big girl with a bang!

Monthly Bump Pictures of Baby VG #3

I took a weekly picture of my pregnancy with both Emrie and Aven (You can see those here: 1st Trimester, 2nd Trimester, 3rd Trimester) AND I took a monthly picture including Emrie in it when I was pregnant with Aven (You can see those here).  This baby has gotten some weekly pictures and all her monthly pictures, although the months are not always right on time:)  That's what happens when it's the third kid, I guess!

ONE MONTH - 5 WEEKS

TWO MONTHS - 10 WEEKS

THREE MONTHS - 15 WEEKS

 

FOUR MONTHS - 18 WEEKS

FIVE MONTHS - 24 WEEKS

SIX MONTHS - 27 WEEKS

SEVEN MONTHS - 32 WEEKS

EIGHT MONTHS - 35 WEEKS

NINE MONTHS - 39 WEEKS

Alright little girl, time to get here!!!

Emrie's Room Makeover

This really is the FINAL project I will do before the baby is born...and this time I mean it:)

Emrie's room doesn't get much sunlight because it has this big, beautiful tree right outside of her window.  It makes for a fun treehouse feel, especially with the window seat, but with the dark walls, yellow ceiling, heavy blinds and cream trim, it felt very cavernous.  So we painted the ceiling, hung a new fan with brighter lights, painted the trim and walls and took down the blinds.  Painting the closet and changing out the light in there made a HUGE difference too, just to have a clean, fresh feel through the whole room.

I was happy to keep all of her old bedding, but Phil felt that she needed a fresh start and she had been asking for a desk in her room, so we decided to kind of gave her a more 'grown up' feel.  I picked navy with fuchsia accents because I feel like these can easily transition with her as she gets older, but still look youthful (I mean, come on, she is only four). 

You would not believe the way her face lit up when she got her big girl desk, and I have to say, I am loving all the little notes she has been writing me lately (they are mostly drawings of our family with all of our names on them since those are pretty much the only words she knows how to spell).

BEFORE:

 

 

AFTER: 

 

 

 

Walls: Sherwin Williams Duration Matte in Grey Clouds SW7658
Ceiling: Glidden Bright White Flat
Trim: BEHR Semi-gloss in Polar Bear White
Ceiling Fan: Home Depot
Duvet: Pottery Barn Teen
Bed Skirt: Target
Sheets: Target (and I monogramed them)
Nightstand: Target
Lamp: Target
Desk: Target
Chair: Home Goods
Pillows: Target and Pottery Barn Teen
Curtains: Target

Aven's Room Makeover

After the powder room was finished, I said NO more projects until after the baby was born.  But, my very sweet husband changed my mind, and for good reason.  We had noticed that the girls did NOT like going to their rooms here.  It wasn't just that they would try to avoid their rooms, but they would actually complain about their rooms.  Emrie especially made comments about not liking her room, or the color of her walls, and she often asked when we could go back to her old room.

This was really hard for Phil and I to hear because both of the girls used to LOVE their rooms in Indiana.  They would play in their rooms happily and often times Emrie would ask if she could go to her room where I would find her reading or coloring.  We wanted the girls to feel at home here and Phil especially wanted them to have their own special space before the baby was born.

I can't really say that I blame them for not liking their rooms.  They were pretty dingy and not very welcoming.  So we spent a couple of weekends painting everything from the ceilings to the trim to the closets.  Then we replaced the ceiling fans and removed the old blinds.

Aven had been asking for pink everything in her room, so I gave in and let her have pink bedding.  And PINK bedding did she get!  I have to say, while I am not a huge fan of pink, to see the pure joy on her face when we 'revealed' the room to her was priceless.  She has been thanking us for her bedroom for almost a week now and it makes all the hours spent in there totally worth it!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Monogramming her sheets was a fun little detail that made the room a little more personalized

Walls: Sherwin Williams Duration Matte in Grey Clouds SW7658

Ceiling: Glidden Bright White Flat

Trim: BEHR Semi-gloss in Polar Bear White

Ceiling fan: Home Depot

Curtains: Target and I added the pink ribbon around the edge

Sheets: Target

Bedding: Target

Bed, nightstands and dresser: Pier 1