larkie lou turns three!

Lark turned three-years old earlier this month and we celebrated as a family with a simple breakfast birthday party before daddy had to go to work. She blew out her candles on a stack of pancakes that we all shared, and then opened her presents - a little shopping cart and a wooden cash register. This girl is obsessed with the grocery store area at any children's museum, so we knew this would be the perfect gift for her - yep, she loved it!

One of my sisters (thanks, Amy!) had given us that puppet theater/store front piece of play furniture (does it have a name? I'm not sure what to call it, ha) that Lark is pushing the cart next to in the picture above, so the night before we got it all set up as a little grocery store for her to go shopping. We already had all of the play food from the girl's play kitchen. Lark grabbed her doll and set her in the cart, found a little purse to keep her new play money and credit card in, and spent the good part of the day switching off being the shopper or the checker.

After I rang up all of her food once she said, "Thanks for checkering me out, mom!" I love this age.

And now, I present unto you the many faces of Lark...

This is what she does when confronted with a camera. We sure love this spunky little three-year old!

See her first birthday and second birthday. That hair was worth the wait! :)

10/52 + 30 weeks

This week I thought two pictures each of the girls said it better than one.

1 + 2 - LM playing pretend on her bed with some of her Littlest Pet Shop figurines she inherited from her cousin. I love listening in on her pretend play conversations, it is so entertaining.

3 + 4 - Lark is our little bookworm with her nose often found in a book. When she gets hurt or sad she will cry, "I want to read a book!" and run to her room. We snuggle on the 'comfy chair' together and I read her stories until she feels better. (This reminds me that when LM was her age she would cry, "I need a rest!" when she was hurt or sad and would get a blanket and lay down on the couch).

4 - The farther along I get the less I feel like taking pictures, ha. I know I will be glad to have them to look back on though. This little guy is starting to kick me hard enough to make me jump sometimes and he has been getting the hiccups almost every night. So far we have cleared out the room that will be his nursery so it is empty. I am looking forward to getting it ready for him over the next couple of months.

shop update: Easter pt. 1

Blue Polka Dot Dress//Floral Print Ruffle Dress

Sheer White Pinafore//Yellow Swiss Dot Romper

Bluebird Novelty Print Dress//Swiss Dot Pinafore

Nursery Rhyme Pinafore//Peter Pan Collar Dress

 Embroidered Baby Blouse//Giraffe Baby Romper

Yellow Eyelet Lace Dress//White Smocked Dress

Hi friends! I'll be updating the shop with some Easter appropriate dresses and such over the next little while and here is the first batch. I'd love for you to take a look. There are some really great pieces that would be perfect for a holiday, special occasion, or beautiful as nursery decor. 

I am thinking this year I will sew the girls some Easter dresses, but the last three years they wore vintage and it was absolutely darling!

9/52 + 29 weeks

1 - I am cheating and posting another picture of LM I love from last week. :)

2 - Lark had her third birthday this week! We had a simple family celebration in the morning and then she was completely spoiled with love from friends and family all day long. I'll post more pictures soon.

3 - In lieu of a bump picture I wanted to acknowledge hitting a sentimental milestone. One year ago this week we lost our third sweet baby during my second trimester. I am feeling extra grateful and teary for the new life inside of me now, while remembering that brief little life that touched my heart to the core and changed me in a lot of hard, good, soul stretching ways then. This paper heart in the girl's room is meaningful to me and serves as a reminder of that life. Big hugs to any of you who have been or are going through something similar now.

8/52 + 28 weeks

1 - LM lounging on the rocking chair. It doesn't seem like so long ago that those pants were too long for her and she wore them all bunched up at the bottom. Now they fit her perfectly. It's crazy how fast that happens. 

2 - Lark's favorite part of the playground is the swings. She likes to test out each one before we leave.

3 - I didn't get a bump picture this week. Maybe I will just make that picture optional since I am the one making up the rules here. ;) I took the glucose test this week which is not my favorite, but it is a milestone that is nice to hit since it is sort of like a nasty, too sweet welcome toast to the third trimester. Cheers!

At my midwife appointment afterwards while I was getting up on the table the girls went right over to the drawer where they keep the fetal heart rate doppler and took it out. My midwife was very kind and let Lark hold the machine and turn it on while LM put the wand on my belly and found the heartbeat. It was a really sweet moment seeing their excited faces while we listened to baby brother.

7/52 + 27 weeks

1 - We have the most loving and patient cat named Tiger Lily. She lets LM pick her up and carry her around the house and I often find them snuggling together on the couch. It is LM's job to feed her every morning.

2 - Lark playing with dominoes one afternoon. Sticking your tongue out helps you concentrate.

3 - I am finding the hardest part of this challenge is getting pictures of my bump since I am usually the one behind the camera. Sometimes a shot looking down is the best I get. We went out to check on the state of the garden and make plans for Spring only to discover that the spinach and broccoli plants had survived the winter snow. What a fun surprise!

be together

And here we have my children playing together on my bed one morning after I had just finished folding and putting away the laundry. Just a moment of our day-to-day life captured as I was contemplating whether or not we should sand and re-stain the eaves outside our house or perhaps paint them for a similar look to this. I wasn't totally engrossed in this moment watching my children interact, it was just a snapshot, but sometimes seemingly unexceptional photos can end up speaking to your heart. 

We spent the morning doing nothing in particular besides being together which I thought was quite lovely, so during nap time I posted this picture to Instagram (find me @stacyhartsew) to document my thoughts - 

"My favorite mornings are the ones when we stay home and don't do a whole lot other than be together."

And then I thought about it some more. And then I mulled over it all during nap time and while I was falling asleep that night, and suddenly this ordinary snapshot was absolutely beautiful to me. More than just documenting how we spent a lovely low-key morning together, but capturing life exactly how I want to live it.

Simple and uncluttered, being present with my loved ones, keeping up with the inevitable household chores with a happy attitude and a grateful heart. Watching my children play, answering their many questions, listening to them sing or cry, and kissing their bumps and bruises. Reading books, making and cleaning up creative messes, teaching love and forgiveness, and preparing nourishing food to eat - all the simple small things we did that morning could be rolled up into one big beautiful life.

Our mornings are not always this lovely, and my mind set about household chores is not always grateful, and sometimes we need our space from each other, but man, that life is there ready to be lived.

  

6/52 + 26 weeks

I haven't been feeling well all week. I am SO done being sick but I don't really feel like there is an end in sight quite yet. It seems like I always get sick more often and for longer periods of time when I am pregnant. Because of this I didn't get my big camera out much at all this week (these are iphone shots) and I don't have a picture of myself to include. That's okay though, my bump pretty much looks the same as last week ;)

1 - When we were little my mom used to dress my sisters and I in matching capelets for church (I think she crocheted them herself? I'll have to ask.). This week I looked at the girls and realized, though they aren't matching, that I am continuing the Sunday cape tradition.

2 - They fight every day, but they sure know how to love each other too. Watching their relationship grow is the best gift. 

3 - I know this shot is blurry, but there is something about Lark's expression that I love. She is almost three and is really growing up in her vocabulary, sense of humor, and contribution to the family. I think I am getting sentimental that we only have a few more months of her being the youngest and I am trying to soak in all of her remaining littleness before she looks so big next to the baby.

heart face hair clip valentines

For Valentine's Day this year I decided to give the girls a gift handmade with love. I found these felt heart shapes that we used a few years back for a Valentine's tic tac toe game and thought they could use a little more personality, so I embroidered some cute quirky faces on them and turned them into hair clips. They loved them! I had so much fun making them a little token of love l that I think a small handmade Valentine gift tradition has been started.

I am thinking about making a little different version of these for the shop, so you might see these and other quirky heart-faced characters again sometime soon. They were just too much fun, I am not done with them yet! :)

5/52 + 25 weeks

I meant to post this at the end of last week, but with a busy Valentines Day and then getting hit with a sick bug over the weekend I find myself playing catch up...

1 - I have pretty much given up any kind of control when it comes to what LM wears. She picks out her own outfits these days and on this particular day even did her hair herself. She was so proud! I didn't count, but I think there were about 5-6 clips throughout her hair. So, that is how she went to school, fancy vintage dress and all.

2 - Lark will often dress herself too. Her uniform of choice always involves one of her sister's skirts. This polka dot skirt is her favorite. It may as well just be hers because she wears it more than LM. I love that it is almost always on backwards.

3 - As far as my wardrobe goes, I am having to get creative. Layering a dress with a shorter shirt I sort of bunch up with a belt is my latest comfy outfit that still feels put together.

You're Sweet, Valentine! Free Printable

If you are like me and tend to wait until the last minute to put together Valentine's this free bag topper printable may help! 

I found these darling Japanese ice cream puzzle erasers at my local party store (you can find them online too) and knew it would be the perfect way to give LM's Kindergarten class a fun 'treat' without being a treat at all! Since they pull apart and put back together like puzzles my girls have been playing with them almost non-stop, so I think they will be a hit with the younger age group. 

I like to give candy-free Valentine's, but with this printable you can fill the bag up with any little 'sweet' thing you can think of so it's totally versatile. It is the perfect size for 3"x4" treat bags which are big enough to hold 1-3 little treats. Just print the toppers on cardstock or other heavy paper, cut them out, have your little one fill up the bags and write their name after the xoxo, then help them staple on the bag toppers. Super easy!

You can download/print the bag toppers 9 to a page here. For personal use only, please.

Have a sweet Valentine's Day!