Garden Tea Party Joint Baby Shower

Garden Tea Party Joint Baby Shower:

 A couple weeks ago my mom threw my sister and I the sweetest garden tea party baby shower for our sweet little girls at the San Juan Tea House on Los Rios Street. As I've mentioned in the past my sister and I are 5.5 weeks apart in our pregnancies, and this being both our second pregnancies and our first daughters we knew it would be fun to do a combined shower, with just us and our girlfriends and a couple family members.  I have always wanted both a boy and a girl, but I knew the moment I found out we were having a daughter that I would be able to go nuts with flowers, glitter, lace, and all things feminine! So a garden tea party full of flowers and dainty tea cups was exactly what we needed.  My mom did all of the floral center pieces, shes insanely gifted and so creative and insisted she do them herself.  She also brought in some cute collector tea pots to put the center pieces in, some adorable lace and patterned tea pot fabric for table runners, and some vintage vases.  The restaurant served us a 4 course high tea meal which consisted of an assortment of finger sandwiches, delicious heart shaped scones with creamed butter and jam, a selection of teas, and topped us off with a selection of desserts. YUM.  I had a couple things in mind I thought would be cute finishing touches, so I partnered with a few shops to help out in achieving the feminine shabby chic look we were going for.  See all the details below:

 

^^^ These custom invitations and registry inserts.. i mean?!! Arent they just perfect for a tea party?! I could not have asked After February to do a better job on these. They were one of my favorite parts of our shower.. I just want to box it up and hang it on my wall its so cute. Do yourself a favor and check out her custom work, shes such a doll & so so kind & does a whole lot more than just invitations^^^

 

^^^These adorable Tulle pom poms c/o Shanz Party Decorations hung from the ceiling in ivory and soft pink. They were such a cute addition to the already cute atmosphere. They just made it so girly & really vamped up the place, i will definitely be using these again in the future!^^^

 

 

^^^Pretty Palace1 made these perfect little tea party food picks which we used to put cute sayings on them like you see below "blessed", "joy", "its a girl", "something sweet", "wonderfully made" and we topped off our cute desserts with them as you can see above.  Also made by Pretty Palace1 were these adorable tea cup paper banners we had strung across the front of all of the tables! I just love details, i think party planning is one of my most favorite hobbies, can that be a hobby? well i guess it is now! vvv

 ^^^Opening gifts..whats more fun than baby girl gifts?!?^^^

^^^ GUYS.. you must go to The Bloomin Gypsy if you are local or anywhere near Orange County, shes so insanely good at all things floral, but seriously she is a Flower crown goddess! She made me one for my maternity photos as well & all i can say is her attention to detail and color combos is spot on! Shes also such a pleasure to work with and the sweetest babe ever. A huge thank you to these beautiful crowns The Bloomin Gypsy gifted us with^^^

^^^This dress was seriously sooooo comfortable, airy (a must for a hot day), and those crochet sleeved details were exactly what i wanted in a shower dress, thank you to Bump Style Box for the perfect find ^^^

 ^^^These two precious babies are my nieces and are so excited to be adding 2 more little girls to their team ^^^

 ^^^ Some of the best gals & mamas i get to do life with, our daughter will already have 2 best girlfriends in their daughters ^^^

 ^^^We truly felt like queens with these gorgeous flower crowns on ^^^

 ^^^From Left to Right: Our soon to be sista in law (5 months away!), me, my sister Kelsey 5.5 wks ahead with a baby girl, & our older sis Courtney 4 wks behind me with a baby boy!^^^

 ^^^Best friends since second grade, love this sweet bride to be! ^^^

 ^^^ some of my lovely ladies who are just too good to me, one of them flew out from Colorado to make it to my shower and her sister in laws bridal shower, can you get any more lucky than that?!^^^

 ^^^I will never forget how special this has been being able to be pregnant together with my two sisters. Thank you Jesus for this precious gift of carrying life together and having one another to lean on during those challenging/emotional times. Its going to be so fun raising 3 babies together that are all within 3 months apart! ^^^

^^^ Little tea bag & candy jar party favors my mom made ^^^

^^^So many of the ladies complimented on these cute banners, the flag bunting banner is from an adorable shop called Starlit Nest Gifts, she does custom work & has a crazy wide selection to choose from. I told her exactly what colors we needed & that we wanted vintage, floral, & shabby chic looking fabrics & she did not disappoint.  The "It's Tea Time" banner c/o  Anista Designs had the cutest little tea pots in between each word & printed in the prettiest golden floral wreath were the sweet hand stamped letters hanging on pretty vintage cream card stock (w/ distressed blush ink around the edges) which hung from pink silk ribbon .... perfection. Both banners made our gift table extra special and extra cute. I can reuse these for tea parties with the girls and holidays! ^^^

  ^^^Some of the pretty details of these vintage inspired fabric patterns..looooove!^^^

 

^^^How pretty are those details?!^^^

*sorry for the overload of photos, i have way to many to share*

Heres a list of the shops again and their additional contact info if you are interested:

Flower Crowns c/o The Bloomin Gypsy (instagram: @thebloomingypsy)

Tea Cup cutout banner & Floral foodpicks c/o Pretty Palace1  (instagram: @PrettyPalace1)

Shabby chic floral fabric print bunting banner c/o Starlit Nest Gifts  (instagram @starlitnest)

"Tea Time" gold & pink banner c/o Anista Designs

Tulle Pom Poms c/o Shanz Party Decorations

Invitations & Registry inserts c/o After February

Dress c/o Bump Style Box

XO

29 Weeks Pregnant: Update

  29 Weeks Pregnancy Update: Second Baby

How far along: 29 weeks pregnant (29.5 now)

Due date: June 11 2015

Weight Gain: 20 lbs. (I was at 17 lb with cash at this time, so i've gained 3 more, probably from less exercise than i did before without having a baby to watch all day, lol. My goal is to gain 30 or less, well see if that happens). As long as baby and i are staying healthy, bring on the pounds (;

Symptoms:  Still having lower back aches, mostly at night, i ask for a massage nightly and that seems to really help relax my back enough for me to fall asleep. I wake up in the morning and my back kills from sleeping on it (i roll onto unknowingly while im asleep, even with a pregnancy pillow). I find it so interesting that with this baby i havent really had a problem with waking up at night to use the restroom like i hear most mommies complain of and i certainly did multiple times a night with Cash.  I love feeling her move, it never gets old, even if sometimes her movements can be uncomfortable.  Im 7.5 months pregnant and feeling great still but starting to get really really tired again, no matter how much sleep i get.  My ap says baby is 3lbs this week and around 15 inches long. Its incredible to think about how big this little person is inside of me. Last night we went on a date night to the movies and i had a little sharp nerve pain in my lower back, so i know all those little aches and pains of the third trimester are creeping up on us as we approach being full term in 7.5 weeks! That looks far away but i know how quickly months go by around here so she'll be here before i know it.  I get tons of braxton hicks, which is not abnormal for me, i always had them with cash and they start around 16-18 weeks pregnant for me and continue all the way throughout.  I have a tiny bit of collostrum now, as of a week ago, which is a complete trip and made me feel the reality of how soon this little lady will be here nursing!

Cravings: Chocolate still. Chips with rock salt and lime and of course salsa. I love turkey sandwhiches (deli turkey), i have asked for a donut pretty much every couple weeks since my first trimester but have yet to cave and indulge in one. I mostly want one for dessert when its later in the afternoon or evening so its not that convenient of a craving lol. 

Wedding Rings: on and off. I can wear my engagement ring but not my bands because of this random pregnancy allergy im having to my rings.  So ive been taking them off and on.

Belly button: out, no question there!

Exercise:  Still 1-2 times a week, as much as our family schedule permits.

Sleep: sleep is ok, i wake up tired. Some nights ill wake up and cant fall back asleep for an hour.

Maternity Clothes: Yes rotating between maternity pieces and non maternity pieces.

Excited for: Finishing her room, maternity leave in 7 weeks, vacationing to Colorado in a week, and a staycation baby moon in May!

Missing: having options of clothes to wear.

 

^^^The 29 week bump at the beach this past week. We've had incredible weather here lately and im loving the sunshine on my skin and playing at the beach with our family and friends. ^^^

 

^^^And how cute is this sweet horse who was obsessed with giving my belly some love (yesterday visiting the 'horsies' with my hubs and our little man). ^^^

*this reminds me im due to post on life lately! too many things lined up to share with you all!

To view my 29 weeks pregnancy post for my first pregnancy with our little boy, See here

What We Wear: Lucky Palm Tree BOY & GIRL addition

What We Wear: Lucky Palm Tree Boy & Girl Addition

 

Hey ladies, we had QUITE the week last week as i previously mentioned in my last post and now running into this week, we had two water leaks last week and then realized Sunday evening that one of them wasnt completely fixed like we had thought. So back again came the plumber, for the third time. FUN TIMES..

We have now done all of the "fixing" for the leaks but now need to have our contractor do the repairs to the damaged dry wall, we basically have no ceiling in our downstairs bathroom and have 4-5 holes in our kitchen ceiling. It could be way worse and we are just so grateful the damage wasn't permanent or something we would've had to go through insurance with.   So hurray for being almost through with it all! On to more fun things (:

I'll be sharing our baby shower this week so keep an eye out for that and have so many posts planned for you guys. I am also due for a baby bump update, sharing a bit of life lately, and Cash is now 20 months old so i'd love to be able to get an update up for him as well because he is just too much fun right now and i want to remember every single detail! 

I had my first moment of reality hit me yesterday during nap time that im about to become a mommy to another human being. I had a flood of fear to tell you the truth. Fear that I wont be able to share myself with another person without giving Cash less of me on the daily. That just sounds like so much for him to handle, Im sure its all in my head and i am aware that I struggle with a ridiculous amount of irrational mom guilt, so im trying to keep that in mind and surrender my fear to God. I know that He chose this little girl to be Cashs sister just as much as He chose her to be my husband and I's daughter. I know once everyone adjusts all will be well in our home again and Cash will come to a place where he loves having another friend in the house every single day. I also get nervous for what life with two little people will look like. I have no idea what to expect. I have focused these past 7 months on the excitement and all the beautiful parts of being pregnant and welcoming another special little angel into our family so I think the reality of how hard it might be in the beginning is just now sinking in since we are less than 11 weeks away! I am so grateful beyond belief for a healthy baby girl, to be able to carry her to term and keep her safe. I can't thank Jesus enough for choosing me to be her & her brothers mommy. I just wanted to be honest about the other side of it, the real fear that some moms feel when adding a new baby to the home. No one knows what to expect so I guess most of us have waves of nerves when we think about the 'unkown'.  Heres to praying all is a smooth transition.

I would love tips from you ladies that have done this before! Please share in the comments!

Now on to this adorable post featuring Lucky Palm Tree organic baby and toddler clothing. We have worked along side of Lucky Palm Tree several times now since Cash was a teeny tiny baby and just cant get enough of all of their new patterns, especially those adorable girl outfits I didn't get to try out until now.  If you havent seen them before or have yet to see their new prints check them out (here)!

See previous Lucky Palm Tree posts with us here, and here.  These actually make me want to cry seeing how tiny he use to be!! Where did my little baby go??!

 

^^^CAshs new fake cry face. Kills me.  I am loving these toddler striped leggings, we have them in black and white, red and white, and see below the brown and black^^^

 

^^^He is such a ham!^^^ 

^^^This newborn outfit with that headband is too cute, i love the alligator print^^^

 

^^^Pink and white striped romper and matching headband for when shes a little older^^^

 

^^^I LOVE the vintage feel to this bow pink swaddle blankie and newborn knotted beanie, this might be one of the ones we'll have to bring in our hospital bag^^^

 

^^^I love black and white stripes, especially for little dainty baby girls. Paired with a long sleeve onesie with florals and kangaroos you cant go wrong!!^^^

 

^^^And heres my litte guy, hes ALL boy ALL day, he is such an explorer and adventure seeker. He always asks to be outside and notices the details in everything.  We love when hes in comfy clothes like these brown and black striped organic leggings by LPT^^^

Follow Lucky Palm Tree on Instagram @LuckyPalmTree

Shop here: Lucky Palm Tree

Dont forget to share your tips for welcoming a second baby into the home!!

XO

Spring Baby Boy Clothes

 Spring Baby Boy Clothes:

Hey lovelies, Sorry to be away for so many days I had my baby shower last weekend, which i cant wait to do a full post on (you can see some photos i posted on instagram @tessaarmstrong8), and then we had 2 water leaks within 5 days!!! COMPLETELY UNRELATED leaks. It was a stressful week to say the least. The silver lining is the leaks were an easy fix and there is no permanent damage or anything that is going to be too crazy to repair. I also had the opportunity this week to share my testimony in front of an incredible group of women at MOPs at my home church on Thursday, it was nerve wracking initially but once i got up on stage and started sharing i was completely at peace and knew what I was sharing was glorifying our Lord and totally worth being vulnerable and exposed. Im so grateful for the opportunity and had a good week all in all despite the unfortunate surprises. I wanted to share a quick post on some of my boy spring picks! Some of which we have and some of which I just thought were super cute and couldnt resist sharing with you all. Have fun shopping around if you're in need of any baby boy or toddler boy clothes for spring! HAPPY SPRING LADIES!!

Maternity Fashion

Maternity Fashion: With Some Non Maternity Pieces 

 Hey Ladies I hope you are having a wonderful weekend so far! We have a lot of fun things going on this weekend between a scheduled couples date night with friends of ours, a birthday party, and seeing some of high school buds in town hopefully as well. I wanted to share a few cute maternity fashion inpsired looks with you all. I love Dresses in general but there is simply nothing more comfortable on a growing waste than a dress.. so while pregnant i practically live in them during the Spring and Summer months. I also love love love kimonos, no surprise there, you guys see me in them all the time. And then I included some jean wear because thats also a comfty must have, as well as some comfortable stretchy maternity tanks, i live in these and just layer them with cute pieces. Most of these looks are non maternity, which means you can wear them AFTER baby, which i love! Because at this point, 26.5 weeks pregnant, the last thing i want to do is spend a bunch of money on clothes i might night ever wear again after these next 13.5 weeks are over. I'll probably be living in a bathing suit in a month or two here anyhow. IT IS GETTING HOT! And im loving it. So soak up the sun in some of these light weight cute pieces. Whether youre pregnant or not theyre too cute for me not to share with ya'll. ENJOY! Dont forget to subscribe and become a follower on the right hand side by entering your email ladies. MUCH LOVE TO YOU ALL!

Free People <span>Evening Dresses</span>
Free People <span>Cocktail Dresses</span>

Forever 21 <span>Longsleeve Tops</span>
Forever 21 <span>Tops</span>

Hey

Ingrid &amp; Isabel <span>Maternity Tops</span>
Paige <span>Maternity Jeans</span>

Baby Must Haves: For First & Second Babys

My baby must haves for first and second babys!

Motorola <span>Baby Monitors</span>
Target <span>Bras</span>

My baby must haves for first and second babys!

I wanted to share with you ladies my list of  "must haves" for first but especially second babys or multiples. I always love hearing other moms opinions on products, especially the big ones like strollers, before purchasing or adding to my registry.  These are items I have tried before or have done a ton of "mom to mom" research on or borrowed from friends to see if I like them.  

So lets start from the top and move our way across from left to right. When you have a toddler to chase after, especially one under two years old, you need a good baby carrier that youre baby will be comfortable in and enjoy as well as one that wont kill your back (cough, my bjorn).  The Ergo 360 gives you the option to carry an infant and a toddler, they can face you or turn outwards (which by 4 months old thats all my little guy wanted to do so i know thats a must for us), it can also be worn as a backpack with a bigger toddler or baby on your back, a must for fun hikes!   Thats on my registry and I think its one of the biggest must haves for us.  The second baby carrier is the Solly baby wrap, its the best wrap by far.  I have tried several others and wasnt too big of a fan. I love wraps for when theyre itty bitty and you just want them wrapped around you constantly while cleaning or cooking or just walking around.  Theres something about a newborn wrapped up in a tiny bit of soft fabric hanging around your front that just feels right.  

Next up we have the swing, this is the swing we used with Cash and loved it (obviously a different color). It can go different speeds, has a mobile and plays different sounds.  We have heard good and bad things about the MamaRoo so we decided not to buy one, but our good friends said we can borrow theirs if our baby is fond of it. Sometimes swings are a baby to baby preference kind of thing.  

I added some Aiden + Anais burp cloths, towel, and their bamboo swaddle blankies because theyre the best!! If you havent tried them, you must!!  I also added the cute pottery barn critter towels that have little animal heads on them for the hoodie.. i just loved these on my first and would love one for my second in a girlier version.

The first video monitor is the one we currently have, we had a Summer video monitor and it broke twice, it never had service even when we were 10 feet away.. so we returned it. The store clerk told me they get the most returns for Summer and to get a Motorola video monitor so thats what we did and we have had no problems whatsoever.  We would like to have a split camera video monitor for both kids rooms so we can see both of them on one screen. It comes with two cameras and you can link up to 4 kids on one screen i believe. I think this is essential for when we go on vacations, or you have people babysitting them that want to check up on them, or they're sick and not sleeping well, or even for when we switch Cash into a big boy bed we'll want to see him and see what hes doing in his room after we leave and close the door, for a new baby its obviously a give in to be able to see them and make sure they're breathing and you can hear them when they wake for feedings (since we alll know how exhausted parents are of a new baby, hearing the monitor right next to my head was the only way i was waking up for those night feedings).  

Lets talk strollers.  I LOVE our Britax B-Ready so we are keeping it and getting the second seat adapter. Our britax B safe infant carseat snaps right into the stroller and can face either direction. Once they're around 4-5 months they can go in the big seat and snap either direction as well. The second seat sits behind/below the original seat but doesnt impair too much of the childs view.  I also wanted a side by side option in the jogger, we LOOOOOOVE our Bob single jogger, its so light weight, easy for walks and runs and also for the beach or disneyland, you barely can tell youre pushing anything.  My only complaint about all joggers is that they are required to be at a 70% incline which means the baby is somewhat reclined and cant ever sit all the way up to see everything around them.  THis is a safety feature to keep them sturdy and safe for running.  This is one of the main reasons i wouldnt have just the jogger as my only stroller option. I would also like to be able to only have a single stroller for when Cash is a little older and wants to walk rather than be put in his stroller, so thats what the Britax offers.  I also like how the britax isnt a side by side so its easily fit through doors and can be taken to restaurants and the mall without knocking people over lol.  So we've decided to do both options. For the BOb double Jogger we also wanted the infant adapter so we could stick our britax B safe infant carseat right in there, it comes with a snack tray for the other child sitting in the other seat.  I put the Britax Bsafe infant carseat up there too, we love love love ours and have so many friends with the same carseat that adore it as well, most importantly it has great safety reviews.

For my breast Pump I added to the list what i used for my first baby, i used this ALL THE TIME, i am a working mama a couple days a week so I knew i needed a double pump that would do a good job and be efficient.  I love this pump, you have the option of plugging into an outlet or if youre on the go you can use the battery pack and pump literally anywhere, in the car, in a restaurant, at the beach etc.  It also comes with a portable cooler with an icepack that lasts up to 24 hours i believe.  And several bottles come with it as well as all of the pieces you need to pump with and several extras.  All of this fits inside this cute discrete black purse (which is the pump motor itself).  FUnny story, i took my pump with me to Aspen Colorado  when Cash was 5 months (he came too) and i put it through the bag screening at the airport and they basically thought it was a bomb or something crazy. They pulled that thing apart and inspected it for at least 15 minutes, I had to explain to them that it was a pump implanted inside of the purse for breastfeeding...finally they believed me and let me go. HA! So if you're at the airport let them know in advance before you put it through.  (;

Next up, my black leather diaper bag! I love this diaper bag, it comes with so many great pockets, a mini clutch purse inside, a changing pad for on the go usage and it doesnt look like a diaper bag! I love that. My hubby can carry it and still looks manly and it has plenty of space for 2 kiddos.

I added a couple nursing bras, one for comfort when you're around your home or for when you sleep at night those first couple months, and then a second for every day out of the house use that doesnt look funky underneath clothes.

I hope this helps any of you that had questions about second baby must haves or on any of these products. IF you want to know anything else that I may have forgotten please ask away in the comments section. Also, if you have any other great items to add for us mamas please do so in the comments! And as always be sure to subscribe on the right with your email so i know who my followers are!! 

XO