Baby Lyons | Nursery Decor

Be Happy Print 

I hat to admit it, but Miss Annalee's nursery is still "in progress" as I type this... and yes, she is almost 8 weeks old. I am just terrible at making decisions because there are so many things I love!  I am happy to report that we did finally purchase a few of the items below and today I am off to Roanoke for some shopping! But, I wanted to share some of my inspiration for decorating. 

Gold Pouf

Etsy Prints

Paper Tassel Mobile

Round Mirror 

Circle Garland

Nursery Rhymes

Antlers

Gold Bamboo Frame

Hopefully I will be able to share some pictures of a fully-decorated nursery soon!

The Sofa | Life with Baby

Today was spent like most days, lounging from the sofa with the babe... feeding, burping, eating, online browsing, blogging, emailing, etc. I realized how funny it would be to look at our sofa now and a look at our sofa pre-baby. So I thought that would be fun to share on this beautiful Friday!

Pre-baby = pillows and a blanket

Post-baby = newborn lounger, baby blanket, burp cloth, Wubbanub, Boppy, breast pump, pumping bra and at arms reach: water, chap-stick and a hair clip. With lots of baby cards posted on the wall behind us.

Amazing how things tend to multiply for someone so tiny. 

We have a fun weekend planned in Lex with a few outings to Friday's Alive and two house-warming parties, a visit with the Hastings twins and lots of house cleaning and work. Looking forward to it after a busy week. 

Cheers to the weekend my friends! 

Traveling with A Newborn

We are back from a fabulous trip to the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess... with out little princess in tow. She traveled like a rock-star, {ok - I think actual rock stars travel in first class, so this was a little different, but she was so good}!  We did a little research before the trip to gather some tips for successful infant travel and I thought it would be helpful for others to share.

Traveling Tips

• The easiest way for me to carry little bit was in my Ergobaby 360. It allowed my hands to be free and was comfy. It also kept her away from any wondering hands wanting to see the baby. I purchased the infant insert just in case, but actually didn't need it. She is probably about 10 lbs. now and 23 inches long and was fine without it.

Ergobaby 360 Bundle - $179.00

• Most airlines will let you check a stroller, car seat and bassinet for free. You can choose to gate check them or check them through to your final destination. We had a connection in ATL, and I didn't want to be dragging both a stroller and car seat through the airport, so we checked them through to our final destination. 
• We purchased bags for the car seat and stroller so they wouldn't get beat up on the trip. You can choose to leave them out of bags, or place them in a clear plastic bag provided by the airlines, but we decided the investment would be worth it since we'll be traveling again with her soon. I did a little research on what travel bags held up the best for their price, and these are the two we decided upon: 

Britax Stroller Bag - $36.99

Jeep Car Seat Bag - $18.99

• I purchased a paci clip to be sure we always had a paci on hand and off the floor. Just in case. This one from Bella Tunno is cute and seems to hold up well.

 
Bella Tunno Paci Clip - $8.00

• Traveling with milk or formula is easy. I am breastfeeding, so I used my Medela cooler pack and packed two 3 oz bottles of breast milk and kept two empty for pumping. They tell you to only bring on what you will use during your travel day, but on the way home I traveled with four full bottles {since I didn't want to dump any} and it was just fine too. I was lucky to not have any issues. But they do open the bottles and swab them - so you just have to be ok with that. I ended up feeding her most of the time, because it was just easier. A couple if the airports actually had lactation stations too - so nice and private if you're not comfy with nursing in public. I actually found that it was easier to feed her in my seat on the plane rather than the airport. I was also traveling with my husband, so I knew the person next to me. That would be the hardest part of feeding on the plane. I would pick a window seat to give you a little more privacy just in case. A tip to keep your ice pack frozen for the trip home, pack an extra ziplock bag and pack ice around your frozen ice pack every day to keep it frozen. 

• Traveling with formula? They make those great travel packs already measured out for you or a formula dispenser so you can have it pre-measured and ready to go. 
• Be sure your ticket has "infant in arms" listed on your reservation. You don't have to purchase a ticket for them until they are 2 years old, so take advantage mommas!! 
• Finally, a very helpful site from Delta on traveling with children. 

What to Pack

• Feeding. I packed our bottle brush, a small travel grass for drying and a mini bottle of dish soap to bring along. This was probably the most used items on our trip and pretty light to travel with. I traveled with 4 regular bottles and 6 Medela storage bottles, just in case. This was plenty. You could probably make due with 2 regular and 4 for storage, and just wash them. I'm not sure we ever actually had all of them in use. 

• Diapering. I packed 75 diapers and 2 packs for wipes for a 5 day trip. This was the perfect amount. I came home with maybe 5 diapers and plenty of extra wipes... but actually left a pack on one of our flights, so the back-up pack was nice to have. I carried just what I needed for the day in my diaper bag (10 diapers and 25 wipes) and J carried extra in his carry-on, just in case! We love the munchkin changing pads and couldn't survive without them. I keep one in my diaper bag, rolled up in my changing pad and also use them at home on our changing pad. They are a life savor! We also had plenty of arm-n-hammer diaper sacks and Desitin on hand!
• We set up a nice little changing station in the room - which leads me to another tip - ask for two queens instead of a king bed. We used the other bed for a changing station, a pumping station and a place to sit and feed. It's also where we had the newborn lounger, for little bit to chill.  Yes, we brought along our Boppy Newborn Lounger, and I'm so glad we did. We were able to fit it in the bag with her car seat, so it was checked for free too. 

Change station on the bed.

• Sleep. We called ahead and were able to reserve a crib for the room for free, the even included sheets and a baby blanket, so sweet! We brought our own blanket, but used their sheets and it was great. I didn't have to worry about size and fit, or packing them up for the trip home. We were also able to ask for a fridge for the room - free of charge - to keep breast milk. 
• Spills. Oxi-clean has been our go-to for stain removal, so for the trip I orders a small travel size stick and packed it with a toothbrush to clean any stains we encountered on the trip. We also packed lots of gallon and quart ziploc bags for dirty clothes while out and about. A few came in handy for sure! 
• Bath Time. We just packed one baby towel and enough wash cloths for one a day. I also packed a travel size baby soap from the honest company, along with laundry detergent, lotion and hand soap. 

Honest Essentials Travel Kit- $13.95

• Mom. I found a small freezer bag/pack that we got free and packed it with my Brest Pump and accessories. Also packed lots of lanolin cream and breast pads. The essentials for momma's! 
• Other Essentials. First Aid Kit, Sleep Sacks, Muslin Blankets, Onesies, Burp Cloths, Bathing Suits, Hats, Socks, and enough outfits for 3 a day. 

We had a great trip and honestly, had exactly what we needed for the trip. It felt like a lot - of course, but having it all made the trip really easy. She traveled like an old pro and we are excited for our next trip soon!

At the Scottsdale Princess

We made it to Arizona!! Miss Annalee was a wonderful travel buddy yesterday and took her first flight like a champ! I'm so happy to get her used to traveling early because Mommy and Daddy love to take trips.... we have lots of friends to visit.

I'll be posting about traveling with an infant soon, but let's just say that some good research before-hand was very helpful. Made things a breeze!

This morning Miss Annalee and I took a stroll around the property, since the weather was a cool 85 degrees. Not too shabby for Arizona! We snapped a few pics along the way... The Fairmont Princess is a beautiful property with wonderful staff!!

A little photo shoot after getting dressed this morning! 

Enjoying a little Starbucks in the "fragrance garden."

A snap of the rooms and balcony's. We have a great view of the lagoon from our room. 

Cactus Garden

A quick view of the entry-way to the Fairmont Princess

Miss Annalee loves strolling around the property. Excited to get out and about and enjoy some of the pools later today, more pics of those to come. It's beautiful! 

Summer Meals & Steals on Entertaining

I love summertime for many reasons, but outdoor dining is certainly at the top of the list! We always seem to do much better job of trying out new healthy recipes during the summer too - which is a win-win for me!  Today, I wanted to share a couple delicious recipes we enjoyed on Sunday night.

Grilled Maple Dijon Pork Chops

Loaded Baked Potato Salad

Grilled Corn Salad

Also important for summer meals, are some great outdoor dining essentials. World Market is one of my favorites for outdoor dining necessities and right now they are hosting their "Great Outdoor Sale" - lucky you! These are some of my favorites. 

Ethel Napkins - $7.96 for a set of 4

Acrylic Pacific Tumblers - $5.98 for a set of 2

Melamine Serving Tray - $8.49

Pandan Tray - $11.49

Casablanca Outdoor Pillow - $9.99

Happy Outdoor Dining! 

Star Spangled Baby 4th!

We had a wonderful fourth of July weekend celebrating with our little family of three! Friday afternoon we held our annual Celebation party at Moore street. It was much tamer this year, with the addition of a few babies, but still great fun with good friends. We cooked beer can chickens, loaded baked potato salad and grilled corn on the cob - with lots of side dishes from friends - we had a feast!

Miss Hadley and Miss Annalee at their first Celebation!

Saturday we were expecting 80% chance of storms, but were pleasantly surprised to wake up to beautiful blue skies and 80 degree weather. The perfect day for the 30th Annual Lexington Bike Parade, so we decided to decorate the stroller and head down to the Main Street with Miss Annalee for her very first fourth of July. Our good friends participated with their 3 month old, Miss Hadley, along with hundreds of other kids and families. It was really fun to be a part of this year!

After the parade we ventured over to the Balloon Rally for some hot dogs and BBQ and a little festival fun. The hot air balloons are always a highlight of the day, we just missed them at the parade grounds, but I stole this pic below from Lauren who got their early enough to see them!  It was still fun to get out and enjoy the festival atmosphere for the afternoon. We found a little shade under a tree and let the girls play {stretch out and sleep for Miss Annalee} on a blanket and take in the sites.

After the parade grounds we ventured home and enjoyed some tasty beverages while letting the gals nap and taking cover from a few afternoon showers and heat. Then we popped over to a friends house for a little July 4th cookout and some fun.

That evening we enjoyed dinner at TAPS and watched the fireworks from our neighborhood. It was the perfect end to a great first fourth of July for Miss Annalee. Needless to say, we took it easy on Sunday and rested up for our big week ahead. Lots of packing our big family trip to Arizona on Wednesday!

All tuckered out from a long day of fun!

Hope everyone had a wonderful fourth of July weekend!

Happy July!

Happy July friends! Just some random thoughts on this happy July 1.

One. I finally got Miss Annalee's announcements ordered today. Many thanks to Karli who helped me design them and did a fabulous job! If you need an invitation or announcement, shoot her a note, she does a fabulous job! ...and if you're looking for a great deal on printing, Zazzle is offering an awesome Groupon right now. I can't wait to share them with everyone soon.

Zazzle.

Two. The Hastings twins arrived yesterday!! Mom and babies are doing well and I can not wait to visit!

Three. We are getting excited for the holiday weekend ahead. We're having a small party on Friday night and I'm excited to do some baking and cooking over the next couple days. These are a few items on my to bake/make list!

via Rumbly in my Tumbly.

via Taste of Home.

via Punchbowl.

via Two Peas and Their Pod.

Four. Next week, J is heading to Arizona for a work/play trip. Typically the wives and families are invited to tag along. Well, once we found out we were pregnant, we knew Arizona 3/4 weeks post-delivery was out of the question. So, we really didn't think much about it. Until last weekend. We started talking about it - and realized that she would be 6 weeks vs. 3/4 weeks old when J leaves.  So.... after lots of discussion, we decided that Annalee and I should tag along too! Eeekk!!! Let the crazy mom packing begin. Any travel tips with newborns? I'm open to suggestions!

Off to enjoy this beautiful day with little bit. Hope you are doing the same!