2016 / The Wallace House

Styling our new Freshly Picked moccs!

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

I can't even wrap my mind around the fact that Baby Boy Wallace is due to arrive in NINE WEEKS. How did that happen!? It is seriously going to fly! Even crazier is if he is anything like Zoe, he could be here in just 5.5 weeks! Now that is seriously INSANE. Even though delivering at 36.4 was pretty nice (skipping almost a whole month of pregnancy?! Yes, please!!), I'm kind of desperately hoping baby boy stays nice and comfy in there until close to his due date because I'm pretty sure I will not be fully ready in just a little over 5 weeks, eek!

When I realized we were pretty dang close to D-Day I decided I'd better start thinking about what I wanted to pack in my hospital bag (I was TOTALLY unprepared when I went into labor with Zoe and ran through the house in a huge frenzy - stopping every 3 minutes to get through a major contraction haha - trying to pack up our hospital bags so I don't want a repeat of that, thank you). I especially wanted to lay out what I wanted to bring Baby Boy home in because a going-home outfit is kind of a big deal!!

I'm not 100% set on this outfit yet just because I have so many cute outfit/hat/blanket options BUT one thing I'm totally sold on is the Freshly Picked moccs! Normally, I don't like to put my babies in really any shoes (just socks & booties for my winter babe and bare feet for my summer ones!) just because they are usually so stiff for little baby feet and don't seem at all comfortable! But when I got these FP moccs in the mail I knew I wouldn't at all mind putting them on baby boy straight out of the womb! They are seriously BUTTER soft (I am not kidding!!) and super flexible/breathable. They basically seem the same as socks or booties!

Swaddle/Binky Clip/Beanie/Moccs

I chose the weathered brown soft-sole moccs because they are so neutral and will seriously go with everything! Because he's going to be a fall/winter baby he will likely always have socks & these moccs on every time we go out so I wanted something that would be really transitional! These are seriously PERFECT.

It has been a couple years since I've had a tiny baby BOY around here so I'm just dying to put him in all these little outfits I've been collecting! Seriously can't wait for another cold-weather babe! I love my summer babies but there is just something about dressing a tiny baby in warm little one-pieces and bundling them in hats & blankets!

Edited to add: I just read on FP's Instagram that they have just lowered the price of some of their classic moccs to just $49!! RUN!

xoxo

Friday, June 10, 2016

I'm not generally a photo studio photoshoot kind of girl but JC Penney always sends us a really good coupon for the kids' birthdays and so free photos - why not?

Zoe was so funny in this shoot and refused to stay in the photo area unless she had her bowl of bracelets. I brought them because I try to bring something along that represents them at their current stage and the ONLY thing I could think of that Zoe just loves is her bracelets! Haha! So I thought maybe we would capture 1-2 pictures of her with her beloved bracelets/bracelet bowl. In the end, we ended up almost exclusively with pictures including the bracelet bowl ;)

Monday, April 18, 2016

I was so excited when Pinkblush contacted me to collaborate! I've heard so many things about Pinkblush but just never had a chance to try them out! I jumped on the opportunity and it took me forever to choose which piece I wanted from their site, everything is so darling!! I finally settled on this super cute striped/lace top/tunic. I'm a sucker for all things black & white and striped so this was a win-win for me! One thing I love about this top is it's cute & flowy with a small bump (I'm just 10 weeks right now) but definitely has room for growth and I think I can easily wear it through week 40!

Today I'm showing you three ways I styled this top. I made it super simple and kept the same jeans on and just changed out accessories to change my look.

My go-to look is my typical "momiform" - dark wash skinny jeans, a cute but comfy top (preferably loose/flowy to cover the pregnancy love handles, thanks), a simple necklace and sandals!

Oh, and guys...did I mention this top has POCKETS?! I didn't even know until I put it on and that just sealed the deal for real. #poetry

I transitioned this top to a date night outfit but changing out my sandals for heels, replacing my simple bar necklace with a statement necklace and adding a bracelet. If we're being completely honest, I actually almost never change out of my momiform for date night BUT when I'm feeling extra fancy I will throw on some heels to dress it up a bit ;)

My last outfit is perfect for going to your little one's tee ball games! PS totally dying for the day that Jack is old enough for tee ball! I will definitely be repeating this outfit for our next day out, especially if we'll be walking a lot because...tennies! I switched out my fancier statement necklace for a more subtle piece (still a statement necklace, I just love them you guys!...and always have to have a touch of girly!), threw on a chic baseball cap, and traded in my heels for way more comfy tennies. Then I tied up the end of the top in a little knot to make it a little more form-fitting. I actually surprised myself with how much I loved this look. I love the idea of baseball caps but am always so hesitant to actually wear them! Is it not weird to wear them inside?? I always feel awkward running errands with a baseball cap if I'm going to be inside...help! Is that totally fine?!

Outfit details || Top: c/o PinkBlush // Jeans: American Eagle // Bar Necklace: Charming Charlie // Statement necklace: similar // Sandals: Gap Outlet (similar) // Heels: similar // Tennies: Target

Want to win this top or something equally darling from PinkBlush? Head over to my insta (@marciwallace) to enter to win a $75 PinkBlush Maternity gift card!! What would you choose if you won? I'm dying over this zipper-front top and I could definitely use this kimono to hide some pregnancy love handles ;)

PS It's a good thing I'm not a fashion blogger because taking outfit photos is so awkward for me! If I look uncomfortable in any of these it's because I totally was haha! I don't know how fashion bloggers do it! The pictures with Zoe were so much easier for me to pose for because I'm in my element being a mom ha, not so much being a fashion model! Also, yep, sidewalk chalk on the driveway. That's probably not super acceptable in the real fashion-blogging world haha! Just roll with it, guys.

Sunday, April 3, 2016

We had such a good Easter with our sweet littles! On Saturday night we decorated eggs with a new method we learned from a friend - just use crayons on hot, straight from the pot, hard-boiled eggs.

It seriously was so much fun (even I loved it!) and it was not messy at all which was definitely the best part :) The boys loved coloring the eggs and I love how fast it was and there is no waiting! We've never colored eggs before because I've been so terrified of how messy dye would be with toddlers (and how well they'd even handle having to wait 3 minutes each dip ha) but doing it this way was a huge success and we'll definitely be doing it for lots of years to come! Until they learn their friends use dye and then maybe I'll be forced to switch haha!

On Sunday we went to church and I taught the nursery lesson which was the sweetest ever. It's so much fun seeing the little tiny ones getting so excited to see pictures of Jesus and learning about His resurrection. They loved rolling the stone from the tomb with the little cutouts I had and we made them repeat the word "resurrection" like 15 times haha.

I'm sad that you can't totally see the boys' matching ties with Zoe's hair bow but just trust me that her bow matches and it was so cute! Probably one of my favorite things to do is making them matching ties & hair bows! The fabric I ordered this year was so perfect, I'm obsessed with it!

We were able to snag Daddy from meetings for just a minute to take a quick family picture!

And we couldn't miss the opportunity for an Easter picture with Grandma Wallace!

Too bad I got zero pictures of it but I hosted my first ever Easter (or first ever holiday for that matter haha!), cooked my very first ham (turned out great, thank goodness!) and had so much fun. I actually love hosting and my mom is probably so glad that I do and is probably hoping I will host every year from here on out haha! Next time I'll just make sure to keep the funeral potatoes in the oven a little longer so we aren't eating them cold...oops.

And let's talk about how cute Zoe was on her first ever Easter! I think this is her last first big holiday, how has almost a year flown by so FAST?

I had actually bought her a different dress in a similar color but then I saw this one at Target the night before Easter and it was just so perfect that I snagged it and had her wear it instead haha! Too bad I already washed/dried the other one in preparation for wearing it on Easter so we'll just have to keep it as an extra dress...BUMMER ;)

LOOK AT HER YOU GUYS. So many heart eyes, I'm dying!!

I am so grateful for the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful that He Lives and He made it possible for us to live again too and be with our families forever. By far the biggest blessing in my life is knowing I get to have these little ones and my sweetest husband as mine forever.

I hope you had the happiest Easter too!

xoxo

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Day 2 Phillip woke up looking a little better! He even ate some breakfast and watched some movies and snacked on fruit snacks & popsicles all day. My mother-in-law flew in early that morning and came straight to the hospital. She took over for me there while I went home to shower/feed Zoe/try to get some sleep!

On the way to Phillip's room when we were admitted we passed the pediatric playroom and, sick as he was, Phillip noticed it and did. not. forget. He wasn't allowed to leave his room because he was really contagious (any hospital employees who entered his room had to wear gloves/masks/robes to prevent the spread). He was SO mad when we let him get out of bed to walk around his room (good for his lungs!) but wouldn't let him leave the room. He had apparently seen a basketball hoop in the playroom and just kept crying for basketball! The child life specialist team is amazing and they found him his own personal little hoop and basketball to play in his room and you should have seen his face light up! Basketball for a few minutes wore him out and he slept a lot on day 2.

When I headed back to the hospital at night, Kelli joined me for some Bachelor-watching (thanks for getting me hooked again ha!) and some Philly-snuggling.

We were finally cracking smiles from Philly and were starting to see his little happy self come back a little bit!

Dr. Beverly came back in that night and was amazed at how well Phillip was doing. He told me several times that he did not expect him to be doing so well. He told me that his chest x-ray was so trashed and he thought for sure he would have been doing much worse tonight and would need to be put on high flow oxygen before he started to get better. He thought we would be staying 4-5 nights and was so surprised that he was telling us we might get to go home the next morning! I hadn't even realized it was such a miracle that he was doing so much better so quickly! Dr. Beverly kept saying "this really is just so remarkable. Really quite remarkable. I can't even believe it."

Night two was another long night. With how well Phillip had done during the day on low-flow oxygen they wanted to test him overnight without it. He had been pulling it out a lot so they just took it off altogether but he was constantly dipping below 90 through the night. Eventually the nurses needed to put his oxygen back on. I thought for sure this would mean we'd have to stay another night since we were originally told in order for him to go home he needed to be off oxygen for 24 hours, at least 5 of those during night sleep.

However! The next morning when the doctors did rounds they told us he could go home! I was so surprised and asked about him needing oxygen the night before but they said he'd been doing well otherwise and we don't really know if normally kids' oxygen levels dip during deep sleep so since it never went really low and since he didn't have any contractions while breathing he could go home! PARTY.

Look how much better he looks and also...no oxygen!