Friday Favorites - Fall Style

It's been about a hundred years since I did a Friday Favorites, and this time I'm doing it a little different.  With the mornings getting cooler here in Virginia (although it's gonna be hot again in a couple of days, it's sure to cool down for good sooner or later), I'm getting super jazzed about Fall. Gator Football starts September 5, which means it's officially time to start shopping for the season! 

Spending the majority of my days at home chasing around a toddler, I'm all about comfort. These girlfriend jeans are a little slimmer and more flattering than boyfriends, which means I'll probably be living in them! 

Nothing says Fall like plaid, and this shirt seems like the perfect addition to my collection, especially with a cute puffer vest for the cooler days and nights. And these booties? So cute! I think it's about time I cute-ed up my shoe collection.

I love a nice slouchy sweatshirt and I've been eyeing this one for a while now. It comes in a bunch of colors, but this blue is perfect for watching Gator games. Those green sneaks? Just what's needed for tossing the football or playing a little corn hole in the backyard. 

Finish everything off with a cute simple necklace (those chunky statement necklaces aren't really my jam) and a comfy lightweight jacket...I'm so ready for temps to cool down and for the leaves to start changing! 

It's also been brought to my attention (thanks Sara!) that PSLs arrive in ten days! I've been kind of over them for a bit, just counting down the days till red cups and peppermint everything arrive. But now that I'll be enjoying a proper Fall, I'm really looking forward to a little pumpkin spice. 

What are you guys looking forward to this Fall? 

Weekend Snapshots

Happy Tuesday!! For those who don't know, thanks to the Hubs' work schedule, our weekends run from Sunday to Monday, although this weekend, he had an early day on Saturday, which almost made it feel like a three-day-weekend.

Like most weekends, we were pretty slammed, trying to fit it all in. To be productive and have fun at the same time. The kiddo has really been teaching us a lot about parenthood (and patience)...which is the nice way of saying that she's been testing and trying us as much as she can...with plenty of cute and wonderful mixed in. 2 ½ is the best and the worst age! 

We started the weekend with Z's half birthday celebration. Unbrushed post-nap hair, half a cake (chocolate with marshmallow frosting filling and chocolate buttercream), and this year, because her real b-day was a little pathetic,  Z got some presents...none of which were wrapped because we are total bums. But, I don't think she minded. 

bristle block set | basket of play food | basket of veggies 

Iggy Peck, Architect | Rosie Revere, Engineer

My brother is away for work, so my sweet sister-in-law came to dinner with their puppy. He's tripled in size since we last saw him, and Z is every bit as smitten. 

And since I can't have a pic of Ares without adding one of Scout...

The rest of the weekend was pretty typical...Sunday pancakes (with sprinkles for Z's half b-day, of course!), signed up for swim lessons, Home Depot, grocery, and plenty of project work and playtime. 

Checking out the rec center pool

This is what you get when you say "Make a silly face!"

Watching the neighbors' dog run off the zoomies

Hope you all had a great weekend! We've got lots going on around here, starting with some great end of summer weather! Perfect for working on some projects for Z's big girl room...but more on that later! 

Half-Way to Three

Yesterday, Z hit the big 2.5. I mean, wow. Let's just slow things down a hot minute, shall we?!

When Z was 6 months old, we started a half-birthday tradition: half a cake, a candle to blow out, and a yummy meal...just the three of us. This year will be no exception, but the Hubs is on a work trip, so the half-celebration will wait till the weekend. Yesterday before lunch, the bug and I dashed to Starbucks for a little momma/daughter celebration: chocolate milk ("mak") & cake pops ("bay bots" - not sure why she says it like this. She can say both cake and pops separately, but together, it just doesn't quite work.). It was the perfect pre-lunch appetizer!

Let's get the stats out of the way. We met with a new pediatrician a few weeks ago, so the kid was weighed and measured. (The sweet doctor couldn't do much else, though, cuz Z threw a holy screaming fit the entire time.) Z is still a petite miss: 27 lbs (35%) and 34.6 in (31%), though I'm certain she's grown since that appointment.

These days, Z is really showing off every bit of her 2 and a half-ness. The tantrums are inexplicable and amazing. We're talking Linda-Blair-call-an-exorsist level freak-outs...for no obvious reason. Thankfully, fits on that level only happen once or twice a week (though some seem to last all day), but the smaller ones show themselves much more often, like most kids her age. It's crazy how a normally easy-going kiddo can flip a switch into psycho land so quickly. And then the switch flips again and it's like it never happened. Meanwhile, her parents are left totally drained and she's running around all silly pants. Toddlers, man!

Freak outs aside, the kid amazes me every day with the things she says and does. She can count to 15 (sometimes 20) and sing the ABCs, if you are a little relaxed with pronunciation and consider half of the letters to be either B or E. She can "retell" half the books on her shelf, and knows the words to more songs than her daddy does. The kid loves stuffed animals and mommy's old CPKs, but Kiki the meerkat is still #1 in her book. And apparently Kiki is a heck of a joke teller, cuz we hear lots of giggling and "Oh Kiki. So silly." 

At two and a half, Z is sassy and smart and silly and chatty. She's loves music and dance and books and puzzles and art. She "cooks" elaborate meals in her little kitchen and carries on hilarious and dramatic convos on her play phone.

Retro Kitchen

She's also stubborn as hell, and it drives me nuts when she sasses a short and strong, "no!" And although I now see why many SAHMs are guzzling wine by the gallon (I hate wine, btw...in case you're wondering if I've reached that level of frustration), I wouldn't want it any other way. Cuz for every emphatic "no!" or "mine!", there's a super sweet "I lah yoooo!" with a fish kiss on the side. And it kills me every time!