baby boy essentials with Carter's

• this post is sponsored by Carter’s; however, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
  

  
  my absolute favorite go-to when dressing my girls in their first year (and beyond) has been Carter's.  when Parker and Jolie were born, there wasn't a whole lot that fit them outside of Carter's brand- they were so teeny tiny at just 4 pounds and 5 pounds! they wore their babysoft sets, sleep and plays, and the original bodysuit well through their first year of life, and Baker followed suit with the sweetest hand-me-downs fitting her like a glove.

  during a baby's first year, its all about the baby essentials, fit for any occasion, and Carter's always has what I'm looking for.  I appreciate the one-stop-shop, and no one does the coordinating outfits better than Carter's.. even with the newest addition being a baby boy!
  
  when we found out we were pregnant with Brady I was clueless on how I wanted to dress him.  there were so many options and styles.. and ya'll, I was really good at dressing three girls.  what was I going to do with a boy??  building a collection of baby boy clothes was totally new for me!  but I knew, without a doubt, that my first go-to would be Carter's.
  it has been SO FUN.  so, so fun!  

I stocked up on all the adorable newborn clothes to fill Brady's empty drawers with visions of him wearing them soon.. and here we are with an 8 week old Brady in our arms and I cannot get enough of how precious he looks wearing these comfy clothes!  he's changing by the day and his most recent milestone is learning to play and interact with all of us- his little voice is just the sweetest! and he's growing like a weed- I mean.. where did those cheeks come from?!  time if flying and snapping these memories of my fourth baby's first play time on a quilt under his little play gym will be something I won't forget.  I have pictures of all four of my kiddos playing like this and wearing a Carter's sleep and play or onesie..
Carter's has been along for the ride since the very beginning.

the warm weather is here, so whether we are playing in the coolness of the house or at the park, dousing ourselves in bubbles, or going on family dates to Costco- which always turns into 2 hour expeditions and scarfing slices of pizza while loading the groceries and wrangling babies into car seats, I really focus on dressing my kids for comfort.  side note: Costco pizza is WAY delicious.  

I'm so hungry.. getting back on track here.. of course I want them all to look super cute, but lightweight and breathable is key.  I also need to make things easy on me. with four kids under my feet, it is a lot to worry about when it comes to getting dressed let alone making decisions on what all four of them will wear.. just to the make a trip to the store or post office.. or Starbucks!  it can be a bit overwhelming..which is why there are (many) days they don't get out of their jammies!

I think, as mom's, we all go through seasons of change.  walking into this stage of motherhood, welcoming a fourth baby, is absolutely the most crazy its ever felt for me as a mom.  I feel like I'm in survival mode and going through the motions to get through the day. it is true that our life is more like controlled chaos and less like the rainbows and unicorns it might seem to be, but I am counting every single day as part of something that I wouldn't change for the world, will never forget, and I never ever want to take these moments for granted.  these babies are the lead characters in 4 years worth of the most colorful memories one can imagine and I couldn't be more thankful for the woman I have evolved to since becoming a mother.  these days I find myself seeking grace, patience, and joy in all these little moments that I would have never noticed before having kids. 

I don't even remember what life was like without them!

these little faces that bring so much happiness into this house and its hard to say that I don't want 4 more.. Jordan may loose his mind, but a girl can dream, right?

one of the best parts about shopping Carter's are the affordable prices.. and even more so when there is a coupon code involved!  ya'll, I appreciate coupons and discounts because.. FOUR kids! holla!

Click HERE for 20% off your entire purchase online and in stores:)

in the meantime I'll be over here sobbing in my third cup of coffee because Brady has grown out of his newborn size clothes and is fittingly way too well in size 3 months.  babies don't keep!
thats the truth!

photos by b faith photography

peaceful sleep with owlet baby care

I am so excited to be teaming up with Owlet Baby Care to share about our experience with this amazing monitor and explain a little more about how it works!  it has seriously changed the way we (all) sleep at night! of course, with a new baby come sleepless nights, and the middle of the night cluster feedings is not what I’m talking about.. it’s the worrying through the night if my baby is okay.  in Jordan’s line of work he has seen many unfortunate situations and he is on high alert through the first several months with a new little one- he wakes at the smallest sound or grunt or movement that the baby makes!  when I was pregnant with Brady I discovered the Owlet Smart Sock 2 and I shared with him the technology of this amazing product and he and I both were SO excited about it!  

I thought that maybe since Brady was baby number four that I (and Jordan, too) wouldn’t experience that same worry that filled my brain during the night in our first few weeks (and even months) home with the twins and even more so with Baker. well I was wrong, it was for sure still there and with each child it seemed like I was getting more and more anxious.  

with Brady, this anxiety started while we were still in the hospital.  he had a few drops in his oxygen levels because of silent reflux episodes.  he woke me one night, at 2 days old, hitting the side of the hospital bassinet with his little arms as he was gasping for air.. talk about terrifying.  since we have been home I constantly check him during the night and luckily we haven't had any episodes, but my peace of mind comes from the Owlet. its completely changed our sleeping game.

this tiny sock fits perfectly around little man’s foot while he sleeps. it’s very soft and he doesn’t seem to notice at all when he's wearing it- even fits easily under his footie pajamas! after using it the first night, both Jordan and myself were able to confidently fall asleep between feedings and sleep with ease. we will take what we can get to be as well rested as possible for another day of crazy with four babies, ya know?!

this magic sock it is definitely a MUST HAVE for every new mama.. as well as second and third time and in my case, fourth time mamas! while Brady sleeps, the Owlet Smart Sock 2 tracks his heart rate and oxygen levels with pulse oximetry- its the same technology as the little red light they clip on your finger at the doctor's office.  the Smart Sock 2 is designed to notify you if your baby’s levels fall out of the preset zones and sends the information to the Owlet app on my phone and to the base station sitting close to where we sleep.  if something outside of the present zone is ever detected the color of the base changes and it plays a loud song to notify you. 

there has been a couple nights the sock has lost connection when I’ve gotten up to change Brady’s diaper and Jordan has even gotten the notification on his phone while he's been at the fire station. the app is really amazing because we can see a live feed of Brady's readings that are being tracked, even when Jordan isn't home!

I’ve gotten a lot of questions about our experience with the Owlet Smart Sock 2 and if you are on the fence I strongly suggest you climb right over:). if your anything like me and worry about your baby when they sleep this would be the one thing I would invest in.  I don’t think you can every put a price tag on something valuable like this. 

photos by bfaith photography/ thank you Owlet for collaborating on this post 

mother's day weekend at the lake

this weekend we kicked off our summer with the best possible way I could ever think of! 

the Tapella's bought the most beautiful lake house on Cedar Creek Lake and we spent the last four days living the lazy life with some of my most favorite people and their babies on the planet.  

at our Christmas Supper Club celebration they announced they had bought a lake house.. I thought FOR SURE they were announcing their fourth baby, but I'll take the lake house announcement to be just as great! ha! we planned that very night over wine and whiskey our first official weekend at the lake.

it was SO fun! 

I took about 400 photos over this weekend and I'll spare you to just a sliver in comparison for the blog!  our babies have been besties since birth, Landon is the oldest at age 6, then the twins and Jacob about two weeks behind them are four.. Juliette is three and Baker and Grayson are two days apart and turn two in July.  Sarah is about 10 months old now and Brady.. and then baby Carter will be here in just a few more weeks!

we've sprinkled ten babies into our group over the last 6 years and I can't believe that its been 5 years since we went on our very first trip to Cedar Creek.. Jordan and I announced the gender and names of Parker and Jolie as I was carrying two babies in my belly!

we loaded up the kids on Thursday night and headed out about and hour and a half to the lake and met Jacqueline and the kiddos before everyone else got there on Friday afternoon.  four babies and all the STUFF that goes along with them just takes a lot to do anything..and it literally took four hours of Jordan and I moving NON-stop to get loaded and out the door.  I was thankful to be able to wake up on Friday morning and already be there.. enjoying my coffee and the quiet on the lake.

 ..and lets talk about this house!!  its amazing and so perfect for our gigantic crew.  it sleeps 14, so basically we fill every crevice of this house:). 

they are already renting it to the public and you can find out more details HERE!

I brought the dockatot with us and Brady slept like a little champ, just as he does at home:)

we got this bounce house from Sam's two summers ago on clearance and it was the BEST purchase we ever made for these babies!  they love it!

 the big kids took several boat rides- they were having the time of their little lives!  I love having these memorable experiences with such close friends and their kids.

 miss Baker hung close to the house with me and Brady

 the babies always got the chairs and the adults just ate standing up, ha!

 omg how come they look SO OLD??

 porch hangs

..and water fights!

 little buddy just hung out with the rest of us all weekend- LOVE him!  he's so happy!

 Parker was determined to catch a fish.  she and Chris sat on the dock all morning on Saturday patiently waiting to catch something..

 ..and FINALLY!  I ran from the house just in time to see her reel it in! 

 a little catfish:)

 the best we could get of this girl and her fish!

 I got lots of questions about this float when I posted this picture to my IG stories (@masseya)

its from Costco!

 giant jenga before dinner!

 this is one of my most favorite things Jordan makes- grilled chicken with sautéed mushrooms, onions, bacon, and BBQ sauce.. topped with monterrey jack cheese and broiled until melted. 

oh MUH gosh 

served with mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus!  

 baths + brownies all around and snuggled in close to watch a movie before bed

 sunday morning we took the boat out one more time for a cruise

snapped a couple pictures of my favorite girls before we loaded up to come home

this mothers day weekend was super special shared with great friends and covered in all these babies. 

its Monday and we are already talking about making another trip!