Kid organization

I have recently done some organizing and decorating of some of my girl's stuff.  As any mom knows, toys and clutter all add up.  It is so hard to keep things organized and clean!  Hopefully someone can get an idea or two from my photos below!

I LOVE this book case from the Land of Nod.  It shows the fronts of the books which makes it easier for the kids to pick out the book they want to read.  I hung this cork rail above the book case and I hang Ella's art work from it.  She loves finishing a project and being able to go and hang it up.

I got these bins from Meijer.  They came with chalk boards on the front of them.  You can then label them with what you fill in them.  They were pretty cheap, maybe $9 or so per bin. 

I put our bins on top of the kid's toy box.  This toy box is also from the Land of Nod.  We've had this for a while now.  I love that you can see the toys that are in each bin and there is no lid to close (or smash on tiny fingers)!  The Land of Nod is more expensive than I generally spend on things, but I love the quality and look of their furniture!  Luckily my mom likes this stuff too, as this was a gift for the girls.

I (well, Paul) FINALLY hung these numbers that I got from a Uppercase Living party over two years ago.  Literally, I think Ella was just born when I went to this party.  We do have numbers 6-10 too.  They are super cute and playful for the kid's toy room.

I got this idea from Pinterest: hang bibs on the inside of a cupboard.  I used a simple 3M hook that I bought for about $1.  It sticks right to the cupboard and now I hang the girl's bibs on there once they are dry so they are easily accessible and not laying all over the counters like they used to be.

This is Ella's craft basket. I put everything together and it goes in the top of the hall closet.  This way she doesn't want to do crafts ALL the time like she would if the stuff was sitting around everywhere.  When I go and get the basket out, she gets SO excited!  It makes it more special for her.  Also, a lot of the things in her craft basket are not Hannah and Hailee age friendly.  So, this keeps the stuff out of their reach too!

I think I saw this idea on Pinterest too.  Put only the snacks you want your child to snack on in a separate basket.  That way when they ask for a snack, you bring out that basket and they can choose something from there only.  A lot of times when Ella wants a snack, she wants a yogurt or cheese but when she is pointing to the "snack" cupboard I can just take out this basket.  This would work well for kids after school snack.

I recently got these gallery wraps of Hannah and Hailee to put over each of their cribs in their room.  Gallery wraps are: a method of stretching a canvas so that the canvas wraps around the sides and is secured to the back of a wooden frame.  It doesn't have a regular frame and part of the photo is actually on the side of the wrap.  These are the first gallery wraps I have gotten in my home.  These are 16x20 and you can see they don't even look very big.  Gallery wraps have recently gotten very popular. They are a bit pricey, but look great!

I found these toothbrush holders at Babies R Us.  Aren't they cute?  They stick right to the mirror in the bathroom.  Ella likes that she can get her own toothbrush down from the elephant!

This is our ottoman that sits in front of our couch in the living room.  We've had this for a while now, but it is my very favorite piece of furniture.  It's soft and cushy, unlike a regular coffee table would be and it holds a TON of stuff!  As you can see, ours holds movies, coloring books, kid's books, diapers, wipes, and blankets. 
We got this at Value City Furniture for about $200 or so.

The ottoman opens on both sides.  This is just to show it with one side down.

Lifelong Friends

I have a couple friends that I have had for over 10 years, some more like 15.  Many of us have taken different paths along the way, but a few of us have remained close along the way. 

I have this one friend that if anyone would've told us 10 years ago that we would have 5 kids between the two of us before turning 30, we would've thought they were crazy!  This friend and I would spend countless high school and college evenings doing so many things together...eating, drinking, driving around, shopping (and driving hours away to get to a good mall!), scrap booking, talking, I could literally go on and on.  Not to mention the four Spring break vacations that I went on with this friend and others.  You could always count on her for a fun, and unforgettable time.  I have so many hilarious stories with this friend that just laugh to myself when I think about them.

My, how times have changed.  My friend Bethany and I now have 5 babies between the two of us.  Yes, 5 babies and Ella is the oldest at just 2.5 years old.  Bethany is a full time nurse and mommy.  She is an incredibly strong woman.  She loves and adores her children more than anything.

Bethany is one of those friends that I can go a month without talking to (which rarely happens) and still pick up right where we left off.  When we get together with the kiddos, she treats mine just like she treats hers.  She's generally bouncing one of mine on her one knee, while holding one of hers in her other arm...or chasing after one of our toddlers.  I never feel bad if my kids are fussy around Bethany.  She takes us as we are.  I love this dear friend of mine <3

My kids and I went last week to visit Bethany, her one year old, and her newborn.  The day was hectic (to say the least :), but I always enjoy getting everyone together. 

Snack time!

Snack time for Ella too!  Bethany had homemade cupcakes...need I say more?

Brand new baby Camden

I think Hailee was a bit envious :)

Ella LOVES Bethany's birds.  She plays with, well bangs on, the cage every time we're there.

Colton and Ella

Looks like they are playing nice, right?

Guess again!  Finally someone to fight Hailee back!  Little Hannah needs to learn something from Colton :)

Walk time!

Ella was not happy about us making her get into the wagon and not pull it the entire walk.

Hailee.  Hannah was behind her.  We used Bethany's front/back double stroller.  Hannah couldn't see much :)

Sweet baby.

Bubbles!

Ella and Camden

This was Ella and Colton when we visited when he was first born.  Ella was about 14 months here.

Ella's new friend: the Guinea Pig

What is it with little kids loving rodents?  Hampsters, Guinea pigs, gerbils, etc.  They love them all.  Well, my sister got a Guinea pig the other week.  My girls and I visited my parent's house one day earlier this week.  Ella LOVED the new animal.  She was jumping up and down, screaming "guin pig, guin pig, guin pig!!"  My original plan was to not let her hold him, but she wanted to so badly that I caved.  She was truly in her glory day in the photos below.

Ella and Bentley (that's his name)

As much as I do not like these little creatures, this is really cute!

Hailee had fun banging on his cage.  Poor little guy!

I'm pretty sure he was scared for his life at this point.

I say now that we will never get a animal like this.  However, with three little girls that will probably all love these furry friends, we will probably be talked in to it one time or another!

Recreating the look

I love when Hailee and Hannah wear clothes that were once Ella's.  I thought it would be fun to take photos to try to recreate the look of the photos that were once Ella.  Both photos of Ella were when she was about 11 months old.  All of the ones of Hannah and Hailee are recent, so they are about 14 months old.  With the way the clothes fit the girls, Ella was wearing 12-18 month during the end of summer and the twins just started in that size.  I notice that Ella had more hair than Hannah or Hailee, even at an older age.  I wonder what the twin's hair will look like at 2 years old...

Ella, 11 months.  I have no idea why I had Ella in a Bumbo at 11 months old.  Maybe I had just finished feeding her??

 

Hannah, 14 months. One thing I notice is Hannah's ears stick out a bit more ;)

Ella, 10 months

Hailee, 14 months.  I had the same doll for Hailee to play with, but she wanted nothing to do with it.  She just wanted to jump off the couch.  I was showing her a paci and that is how I even got this angle photo. 
Getting her to just sit there like Ella was not happening. 

While going through these old photos, I figured I would post a few cute and funny ones from when Ella was a baby.  She was just so adorable!

Ella Grace

We started swaddling right away.  She was instantly our favorite little burrito....a jaundiced little burrito ;)

Berry sweet, and berry tiny!

Little bunny :)

Where did I get these outfits??

Ella's first time swimming, at a hotel.  This swim diaper was the smallest size and went up half her body!

Such a happy baby!

I think most babies like to eat their feet at one time or another..

Ella, about 5 months old.

Happy 1st Easter little one! 
This is the hat that I just blogged about that Ella was wearing two sizes too small!

First time at the beach!

I always wondered where she got smooshy face from. 

Ella, about 8 months.

Why I tried putting this bow clip in her hair when she didn't even have any?  Wishful thinking I guess!

Some of these toys are still the babies favorites!  Leap and Lilly, the pop up toy, and the radio.

Learning to walk!

Ella and two of her best friends that she's had since they were born, Adelynn and Morgan! 

Just found out mommy will be having two babies soon!  Better start practicing!

Loved and still loves ice cream!

Ella and her BFF at the time, Chloe!

Peek-a-boo!

Ella loved crawling into this cupboard.  She would bring toys in there and play.  Silly girl!

Her love for technology started at an early age.  That, she got from her daddy.

Visiting mommy in the hospital.  The rest is history!

With WAY more photos posted than originally intended, I hope you enjoyed them!