5 easy steps to create an adorable first birthday cake smash

5 easy steps to create the perfect first birthday cake smash photo shoot
I blinked, and my squishy, newborn baby turned one. How did that happen?

Ever since she was really little, I saw all of these adorable pictures of first birthday cake smashes on Pinterest, and I knew I wanted to do something like that for Kate's

18 books you absolutely have to read with your 2 year old

We LOVE to read around here. We've been reading to Emma ever since she was born. When Emma was one, we read hundreds of books with her, and created this list of the top 100 books to read with your one year old.

But sometimes it's hard to guess

Create your own coffee bar in 5 easy steps


Create your own coffee station in 5 easy steps
Good coffee is a pleasure. Good friends are a treasure. 

When my husband and I bought our house, we knew that we wanted it to be filled often with family and friends. We love having guests over, and we love to 
make everyone feel welcome.

Best one year old gift ideas for a girl: our personal favorites!

Best one year old gift ideas for a girl: our personal favorites
When my daughter, Emma, turned one, a lot of people asked me for gift ideas for her. And one month later, at Christmas, everyone wanted even more ideas.

Back then, I had some ideas, but now that she's 2, I feel like I can do a better job of looking back at

What happened when I gave my 2 year old a digital camera


Last week my husband and I went camping with our baby and toddler. For backup, we also brought my parents, my brother and my sister. ;)

Before the trip, I was cleaning some shelves in our basement, and I found an old digital camera that my husband

10 tips to turn a nursery into a big kid bedroom

10 tips that will help you turn a nursery into a big kid bedroom, along with a printable planning worksheet to help you keep track of your ideas and form a plan for your new toddler room.

"All children, except one, grow up." -J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

Well, Emma hasn't grown up quite yet, but the time is certainly flying by. I can't believe she's already 2!

And, as a 2 year old, we decided it was time to redesign her bedroom,

Pantry organization: 7 people who are absolutely killing it!

Pantry organization ideas: 7 pantry remodels from people who are killing it! Ideas and tips for organizing your own pantry.
People who visit our house sometimes ask us, "Are you preparing for some kind of nuclear war?"

They are referring to the large amount of food we keep stockpiled in our pantry.

Postpartum essentials: Which postpartum supplies I stocked up on for a healthy recovery


When I came home from the hospital after having my first baby, I had no idea what I would need afterwards for a healthy recovery. I bought things that I didn't need to because the hospital stocked me up on samples before I came home, and I

20 books you absolutely have to read with your 1 year old

When my daughter, Emma, was one year old, I put together a list of over 200 books that I wanted to read with her before she turned 2. And then we read them. All of them. And then some more. It was awesome.

A few weeks ago, I shared our favorite
100 of those books in a post

8 beautiful, functional laundry rooms

Up until a few months ago, our laundry room had no walls.

It also had no ceiling and a cement floor with a hole in the middle that used to be a drain.

Essential breastfeeding supplies: How I organized my nighttime nursing station

If you choose to breastfeed, you will be spending many, many hours of the day and night doing so. Why not make it comfortable and convenient? Today, I'm so excited to share with you how I organized the corner of my bedroom to make it a comfy, convenient nursing station, and which supplies I always keep on hand to make nighttime

The 100 best books for 1 year olds

When my daughter, Emma, turned one, I started asking my friends and searching the Internet for the best book recommendations for toddlers. I compiled a list of over 200 books, and we steadily read through that list all year long. As we went, we added new books that we found and loved, and removed the ones we weren't crazy

Kate's pink and gray nursery reveal

I can't believe Kate has already been home with us for 3 weeks. And I'm just now sharing the pictures of her nursery. If you read my Welcome, Kate! post (or if you follow me on Instagram) then you know that we waited around for this baby to come for quite some time. I had so much fun getting her nursery ready, partially because it made all that

Welcome, Baby Kate!

She's finally here!!! Welcome, Baby Kate. We couldn't be more thrilled to finally be able to hold you in our arms.

Take me out to the ball game. . . Our baseball gender reveal

It's a . . .

BOY?? GIRL??

We've been making our family wait to find out whether we were having a boy or a girl so we could do a fun little gender reveal with them. We found an etsy shop that sells breakable baseballs

An organized art station for kids

If you saw my post 2 weeks ago on beautifully organized art stations for kids, then you know that I've had art supply organization on the brain.

Even as a one-year-old, Emma has accumulated quite the art supply

10 classy pregnancy announcement ideas

Most of you already saw my exciting baby news last week... so today I decided to share some of the great baby announcement photo ideas that inspired my own photo announcement. These are all classy and (fairly) simple ideas, so feel free to take one or two of

An exciting announcement!

I am so excited to share with you guys that Kevin, Emma and I are expecting a BABY this December!!!

Your cloth diapering questions answered by real moms: What would you say to a new mom who is trying to decide between cloth and disposable diapers?

Today's post is the last one in my cloth diaper series, and it's for anyone who is trying to decide whether to use cloth diapers or disposables for their next baby.

You probably already know that I'm a