We have gotten some nice fall like weather here in Houston lately which has inspired me to get Sophia's fall wardrobe ready. If you remember from last year, I put together a mini fall capsule wardrobe for her as a baby girl and you may notice a few of those pieces will reappear here in her toddler fall capsule wardrobe. Again, most of the pieces were found at second hand stores with an exception of a few that were given as gifts at her birthday (I made sure to request the next size up from our guests). I did try to find as many exact or similar options for you all in case you want to create a similar look for your toddler girl.






If you are wanting to hear more about how I thrift shop for baby and toddler clothing, let me know and I can prepare a tips and tricks posts later on (UPDATE: see Tips for Thrifting Children's Clothes here). I am also in the works of creating a new baby capsule wardrobe (UPDATE: see Infant Wardrobe here) so be sure to stay tuned for that!

With a new baby coming, it was extremely important for me to still have a dedicated place for Sophia to have one on one cuddle time with mommy or daddy. Therefore, we wanted to be sure to have a cozy corner in Sophia's room for story time, nap time and bedtime cuddles and whenever else she may need or want extra cuddles.

There were a few elements we needed to make this little corner in Sophia's room more cozier which included:

Seating 

Having a comfortable seating area is probably the most important aspect of creating a cozy corner whether it be floor seating or an actual chair. This particular rocking chair is the one we bought when Sophia was a newborn. We have debated on reusing it for the new baby but again I felt it was just as important for Sophia to have a comfy chair to curl into mommy's lap so it will remain in her room.

Blankets

Of course adding layers can make any space more cozier and I am a sucker for throw blankets plus we were fortunate enough to get a ton of handmade knit blankets for Sophia and this corner is the perfect place to display them and use them to warm up with.

Pillows

Again, the more layers you add, the cozier. We originally bought this pillow for our master bedroom but Sophia loved the black and white print as a newborn so I thought it was the perfect addition to her cozy corner.

Side Table

Because a lot of story times happen in this area, a table is a must have to place our books on that we are currently reading as well as to hold our cups or bottles.

Rug

A rug really helps ground this little area and not to mention this particular rug is extremely soft on our feet. I just love rubbing and digging my feet into this rug. Would you believe that it is machine washable? I also love the fact that it is made with all natural dyes, handmade, eco and contain no VOCs like most carpeting and rugs making it the perfect addition to any toddler room as it is truly family friendly. This design is my favorite for a child's room or play area because when we are playing on the floor, Sophia will point to the letters which gives us the opportunity to encourage her to learn the alphabet. Who knew a rug could be so much more than a rug? I highly recommend you check out Lorena Canals Rugs as they have rugs not just for children spaces but for sophisticated adult spaces as well.




This corner is one of my favorite spaces throughout our entire house especially as it allows that extra cuddle time with my sweet girl who is normally running all over the place exploring everything within sight and reach.



How do you create special one on one moments with your oldest?

I decided to document our pregnancy as a way to get all my feelings and emotions out and to later look and remember this beautiful time in our lives while noticing the differences and similarities with our first pregnancy. I hope you enjoy if you decide to follow along on this life changing journey.


Well, I didn't get nearly as much accomplished this week as I planned. I still need to register for the hospital and pack our hospital bag although I do have my packing checklist ready. We were able to score an awesome deal on a second hand rocking chair so I can have one in my room for once the baby arrives as I did not want to take Sophia's out of her room. It's not the prettiest or even my first choice but when you are on an extremely tight budget like we currently are, you make do with what you can and hopefully we can upgrade later on. So I spent the last few days deep cleaning the cushions and wiping down the actual chair.

On a pregnancy related note, sleep has been very scarce this week. I have a hard time falling asleep as I cannot get comfortable at all and end up tossing and turning so much that baby boy pushes against my bladder that I then get up a million and one times to use the restroom. Very much the same thing that happened around this exact timing with my pregnancy with Sophia. When it is bad enough, I end up getting out of bed and work on blog stuff late until early morning when my eyes are so heavy that I can no longer concentrate. That seems to be the only thing that works to get me to sleep otherwise I would stay up tossing and turning and never falling asleep.

Baby boys movements are still fairly active, not as much as he use to be but still enough that I feel him move throughout the day. If for whatever reason, I can't remember the last time I felt him move I will give him a few nudges to wake him up just to be certain. He definitely loves the left size just as Sophia did as he loves to curl right into my rib and then stretch out to the point of feeling pressure in all directions. I tell Anthony I really think he is trying to break out already but little guy still has a lot more growing and development to get done.

Although it has been a challenging week, I know it will all be worth once baby boy is safely in my arms and I know I will long for the days of this growing bump feeling all the kicks and movements.