Little Hatter.

My littest man is growing up so fast. He's already crawling, saying "Mama" and "Dada," and eating baby food. It's been 8 wonderful months since he entered the world. We've loved him tremendously.

Someday he'll actually fit into his Daddy's baseball cap.

Until then, I'm going to enjoy each and every sweet day. Babyhood. It passes so quickly. But brings more joy than I can put into words.

Happy growing, little one!

The Big Easy.

 The big easy.

Or rather, not-so-easy-when-you-have-two-small-children.

This past week, my hubby and I made our first airplane trip with BOTH kiddos. When we booked the flights, we were a little intimidated. He wasn't too keen on dragging two screaming babies through airport security. I wasn't too keen on breastfeeding 30,000 feet in the air.

But security was a breeze (I just carried our four-month-old right through the metal detector). Breastfeeding in public - and in mid-flight - was inconvenient, but not nearly as tough as I thought it would be. Most people just ignored me - especially when they realized what was going on under my blanket...the kicking baby feet gave it away.

The main reason for our journey was to participate in my brother-in-law's steamboat wedding. It took place aboard the Natchez. It was sweet and simple and outside on the deck. My hubby was the best man. My oldest child was the ring bearer. We ate cake and watched the water and met new family members. We saw the areas most devastated by Katrina - and left feeling a bit more thankful than we were when we arrived.

Somehow, in some way, this trip brought us together as a family unit. Maybe it was out of survival. Maybe it's just something that happens on vacations. But when I came home, I really appreciated things a little more...

 Cafe du Monde. Yummy!

 Wedding cake.

 French Quarter wandering...

Fancy hotel - thanks to my hubby's hotel points. He travels a lot for his job. Although it's inconvenient, it does have occasional perks!

Overall, it was a good trip.

Our new addition.

Mommyhood has been so good to my life. To my blog, not so much.

It's been months since I've sat at my computer and done something non-Etsy related. But here I finally sit, surrounded by toys and clutter, coffee cup rings stamped across the surface of my desk. It's a miracle!

As you can see, our baby boy has arrived! His name is Tristan. He's snuggly. And chunky. And smiley. We love him so. He was born a few weeks early on December 9th (6 pounds, 8 ounces / 19.5 inches long), and it's been a wonderful whirlwind since.

The house is a mess. There are burp rags everywhere. I can't remember anything. But I must admit, it's simply perfect to be this chaotic. These days will never be again, and when my children are grown, I will miss the chaos.

That said, big brother Cailean has adjusted pretty well. The jealousy finally kicked in when Tristan was a month old - and I really couldn't blame Cailean. The little guy had Mommy and Daddy's full attention for nearly three years of life. Although he doesn't understand everything now, I truly believe we gave him the greatest gift. He'll always have a brother. A companion. A best friend. It will be so much fun to watch them grow up together.

Well, Cailean just tumbled into my office and asked me to see his "sand castle" in the living room (everything he builds at the moment is a castle), so that's my cue. I promise I will update as soon as I can.

Until next time, I'll be here. Embracing the chaos :)

Preggo Thoughts.

27 weeks along.

Lately I've been reflecting a lot on how my life has been for the past 2 1/2 years - adding our little boy to our family, traveling to a few more exciting places, and moving to a new town. The big change that's upon us now (the arrival of Baby #2) seems to (strangely) be the biggest and scariest of all.

You see, the arrival of little C was scary and fun and exciting and, well, wonderful. I had no idea what to expect or how it would truly affect my day-to-day life. From the moment he arrived, he blessed us in ways we could not have imagined. Although I know our second little one will be a precious gift just like his big brother, I can't help but wonder how I'm going to juggle everything I already juggle now. A part of me keeps reminding myself, at least you won't be pregnant anymore. 

I suppose there's an element of excitement to the unknown. I don't know what this little guy will look like, what his personality will be, or which baby foods he'll prefer. The nursery is alllmost ready (can't wait to post pictures), but we're still kind of going back and forth on a name. Everything seems a bit chaotic and rough around the edges. I guess I thought my Type A personality would be a tad more Type A this time around!

I know these next 3 months will fly by very quickly (it seems like just yesterday I was taking the pregnancy test - GAH!). And then this season of my life will be over. At least until we decide to try for a third baby - if that time comes. So I'm trying to enjoy it. This could be my last time incubating a tiny blessing.

But the best part is - a precious newborn will be arriving soon. I love newborns. It's been so long since we've had one in our home.

And I can't wait! Bring on the sleep deprivation :)

The new office.

I've been missing a lot lately...my poor blog has accumulated quite the layer of dust...

You see, being preggo while chasing a toddler (and running an Etsy business AND designing a new office AND nursery) can be pretty time consuming.

But the results have been well worth the wait! Three months ago, my husband and I started what we thought would be a simple addition off the back of our home - we enclosed our small and cozy porch. We decided that baby #2 needed his own room, so my little office space was moved to the porch. It's definitely been a much longer project than we anticipated. To tile the porch meant we had to re-tile the entire kitchen, which meant we had a lot more to do than just build walls. The new travertine stone we chose is absolutely stunning, but it definitely affected our work pace. And I can't even count how many pieces of trim I painted!

Here's the light and sunny result:

I'm so pleased! It's been a long journey, but we made it!

And C loved watching Daddy clean up the mess in the backyard...

Can't wait to get our house and yard back to normal. And by Christmas, a newborn will be here to make things even more interesting :)

These Days.

 Baby boy is enjoying the hot summer weather. And it's only early June.

 Studly new button-down with cargo shorts. Love.

 Sugar Babe taking over the bed, as usual.

Little man already wants to help Dada mow!

12 weeks preggo with baby #2.

Happy Mother's Day.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you who are moms or moms-to-be!

Things have been a bit hectic lately in the Coleman house...which is why it's been ages since my last post. Morning sickness and extreme exhaustion have kicked in because...

We're having another baby!

Excited? Definitely.

Nervous? Absolutely.

Blessed? Without a doubt.

Our little bundle of joy will be arriving just in time for Christmas - my due date is the 26th, so maybe he or she will show up early! Can't wait.

I'm only about 8 weeks along, so it will be a long, tedious wait. But for now, I'm trying to enjoy each minute of what could be my last pregnancy. I'm already loading up on big, flowy tops and khaki shorts that have stretchy waistbands. It's going to be a hot Oklahoma summer, and this preggo is going to be prepared!

Grow baby, grow!