guess what i learned how to do at a workshop today??

yup! Wordle.  Wordles are 'da bomb'. :) Momma LIKE.

The Big Switch

So - HOW, just HOW are we fitting another little creature into this skinny DC townhouse?

We had to rearrange a bit.

Those of you who've been in our house will appreciate this.  Just imagine it:

We decided to swap rooms with the girls.  Give both girls the Master Bedroom to share (it's bigger) and we'd take the teeny middle room.  I must admit, that while it was the most only logical solution... I still had my doubts at first.  Those doubts have melted completely away.

It turns out that a mens closet (2 hanging rods) is just about PERFECT for sisters.  Baby dresses up high.  Big girl stuff within reach.  I was hoping this would facilitate independence in the realm of dressing as we enter Kindergarten... well... let me tell you.  it HAS!  Indeed, our monkey princess loves that she can sift through her favorite dresses and choose for herself.  The down side is that I'm cleaning up a pile of clothes from the floor at least twice a day (do ALL little girls go through this many 'costume changes' in a day!???)

folded clothes for both girls on the right, baby blankets & crib sheets on the left, diaper stuff up top. DREAMY.

don't worry, Nana, mommy ordered wooden letters for adelaide's name too :)

The windowsill between the bedrooms displays Ainsley's special Ocracoke Mermaid, wedding and new baby statues, and her soccer trophies.  a flowered scarf hanging behind it helps soften the light from mom/dad's room at night.

It's an entire TOY CORNER 

(next 2 pictures show the right side and left side of the window nook)

easy access to DOLLHOUSE

 Changing Table:

Hanging above the changing table is a menagerie of mobiles.  They dance and sway in the movement of the ceiling fan... providing entertainment for baby during changes and eye candy from any vantage point in the room.

Big-Girl-Only toys are in bins behind the cupboard doors -- so hopefully baby won't get to them on her own.

The girls have more room to play, Addie now has a crib (BOOOYEAH!) and all of their stuff fits.  But what about momma and dada's room, you ask?  well.... it's cozy and we love it (though it is a bit tight)

Baby still takes naps in her swing in here... her favorite nap place... and Ains can then have access to all her toys during nap times.

Mom had to stuff her clothes into the linen closet (linens & Daddy's clothes are now in the girls' closet space).... it meant for 3 HUGE bags of clothes donated between mom and girls getting organized. Whew!

Hair Station & Bath Towels are now on the little table (handpainted by moi last summer) just outside the bathroom:

Since I'm on the topic of "around the house"... 

check out what we did with the living room.  We switched the furniture during maternity leave... in anticipation of needing more space for a crawling baby, and for providing a better play area for Ainsley.  Out with the BIG, in with ... IKEA. :)  I'm telling you - it's so satisfying to SIMPLIFY and clean out those nooks and crannies.

The leather couch is SUPER comfy - and easy to keep clean even with kids jumping on it.  While it was a bit sad to say farewell to the antique chaise (nursing haven turned 'daddy chair'), it was definitely time.  and this little number takes less space, is easier to clean under, and works just fine.

Moving the couch back against the wall opened up the space to allow a separate "play area" for the kids, and a good visual on baby even when I'm standing in the kitchen at the other end of the house.  Because this furniture is so much smaller (and we also got rid of some bookshelves and things), it doesn't feel as cramped as it did before when we had a couch in this position.

Art/Work corner:

A tad different than Sarah's art space... but works for us right now. 

Hopefully these little colorful latching bins will keep baby fingers out of big-kid-only art supplies.

toy shelf:

1. big girl games on top

2. board books in the middle

3. baby toys on bottom 

(she's already getting into them all by herself, little mover!)

Oh, and Jake-Bed under the TV. Movies & CDs and CD player in the corner. 

Still need to cover all those wires.  QUICKLY.

Baltimore Aquarium Day

What to do when it's too hot to play outside??

Go inside!

- to the aquarium we go -

both buildings (left & right) are the aquarium, and the bridge over the water between them as well

HELLO BALTIMORE

jellyfish artwork

 You've never seen an aquarium like this.  It's.. breathtaking.

Dolphins, sharks, jellies, rays, rivers, lakes, streams, marshes, oceans, jungles, rain forests, coral..... layer upon layer of exhibits.

most poisonous frog in the world

itty bitty seahorse

The WONDER..

tired this baby out:

LUNCH!

what else?  CRAB of course!!