SECOND TRIMESTER UPDATE ❤ 27/28 WEEKS

While I have been very active on all my other social media platforms, I have totally neglected this blog the past six months! With the new year I want to get back to posting more regularly on here, because this blog is first and foremost a journal for me that I never want to stop using. The main thing that has been keeping me away from posting here is that I have been doing much more vlogging. Basically what I would post on my blog now done on video form on my YouTube channel. I have been posting very regularly on there if you are interested. 

Just yesterday I filmed and posted a Second Trimester Update! I haven't posted more about this pregnancy because there hasn't been much to say. I have been feeling amazing and I have hardly any symptoms to even mention. You can hear more about the things that have been changing more recently for me as I am about to start the final trimester of my pregnancy. I can't believe how fast this has flown on by and before I know it I will be a mom of two! A little BOY! AHHH haha I am getting excited :)

Marvelous Moms Club - The Business of Blogging

Over the past year I have become obsessed with listening to podcasts and audio books! It is the best for long drives, cleaning up around the house, or for when I take Ella on a walk. I was pretty flattered when Kirsten from Marvelous Mom's Club asked me to be apart of her podcast, especially since I had been listening to it for months! She has some really great interviews with woman from all walks of life with all different experiences. 

My episode aired yesterday, and I am talking all about how I got into the world of blogging and turned social media into a business. It was a lot of fun just chatting away about so many different things; motherhood, business, entrepreneurship, personal progress, you name it we probably talked about it. She even somehow called that I was pregnant which is pretty funny because I had NO CLUE that I was already expecting when we taped this. 

If you head on over to her site you can access my blogging e-book FOR FREE and a 15% OFF discount code to my shop Lunaby Baby!

Thanks again for having me Kirsten, it is always fun to chat with you! XO

GENDER REVEAL VLOG ❤ HE OR SHE? WE'RE HAVING A...

HE OR SHE? Check out our gender reveal vlog :) We are SO excited to see Ella become a big sister! These are the kinds of videos I really love having. I believe that life should be enjoyed and celebrated, and invite you to join along in the party! ❤ XO

Life Lately... He or She?

 

He or She? 🍫 What will it be? Make your guesses now because we will announce the gender tomorrow! 💙💕😝 Ella only seems to care about shoving chocolate in her face! 😂 What can I say? Haha #leftoverhalloweencandy

It appears I can only manage so many different social media platforms! haha I have been focusing a bit more on my YouTube channel lately and have totally neglected the blog. Since having Ella I have taken so much video it is crazy! I have decided to not let those go to waste and just sit on my desktop, and to essentially "blog" them, or as they say "vlog." So I have doing a lot more vlog style videos over there if you want to check them out. Just in the last week I vlogged our trip to Arizona (Part One, Part Two, Part Three) Our Halloween weekend, and more recently a little peek into our week! I will work on being better about posting them on here along with whatever pictures I have to keep things moving on this front. Don't be surprised if you see some out of order posting as I play catch up on the blog! 

Here is my latest vlog! I go to a friendsgiving, paint more cabinets in my kitchen, and prepare for our gender reveal :)

Utah State Fair

We took Ella to the Utah State Fair! Put together a little family vlog to document. It was so fun to see her experience baby animals and fair food for the first time. She also had lemonade for the first time and she became obsessed, OOPS! haha ❤

Crowley Party of FOUR ❤️

Do you follow me on Instagram? If you did you saw the news! On the first day of fall we shared a little pumpkin surprise. We are expecting baby number TWO. YES, TWO! We are so excited that our family is growing and we can't wait to see Ella with a sibling. Ella has changed our world for the better and we can't wait to expand on that. The due date is April 3, 2017. I will share more details behind the pregnancy and the last few months soon! ❤️ 

Ella's First Birthday! Lemon Themed 💛

I am so behind in updates on this blog. Life has never been busier for us, and I have been struggling to keep up on documenting everything. I will have to retroactively blog about our summer later, as well as Ella's ONE YEAR update! But I couldn't not share these beautiful photos that my good friend Roxana took at Ella's birthday party last weekend.

I had about a million different ideas for Ella's party. I love a good party and joke (although I am not joking) that I had about five totally different weddings in my head that I would have been perfectly happy with, and that Trevor and I should just have a few more so I can throw each party! haha But really, I love everything PARTY. Hence the blog title, Crowley Party! haha As I mentioned earlier, my life has been extremely hectic these days and spare time is very limited. So I turned to two of my friends who run an event and party planning business The Confetti Creative. You guys, these ladies and I are cut from the same cloth and totally trusted them to run the show. They are fun, easy going, incredibly creative, talented, the list really could go on and on. They completely spoiled me by offering to help throw Ella's party. I have always done these shin digs myself and let me just tell you, I don't know if I can ever go back to being a one man show. Having help is LIFE CHANGING! 

Ten + Eleven Months 💛

 

I am playing catch up with this update! I have been so busy with Lunaby Baby and house projects I didn't get a chance to do Ella's ten month update, so today you get an overall update on the past two months. Today Ella is eleven months old! She has grown leaps and bounds and is more toddler than baby these days!

+ Ella is obsessed with waving hi and goodbye to everyone! It is the cutest thing ever, and no matter what mood she is in if you wave, she will wave! If you say, "Say Bye!" she waves. It is adorable. 

+ Ella got her two front teeth! My perfect sleeping baby woke up in the night for a few weeks there because of these two, but once they popped through she went back to sleeping through the night. Thank goodness! We have been way too spoiled with Ella's good sleeping I wasn't prepared for that.

+ Ella is incredibly observant. One example is she loves when women have painted finger nails. She notices it instantly and very carefully examines the finger nail. Touching it, looking at it, and getting very excited. She is already proving to be into girlish things! haha 

+ Another example of Ella's paying attention is that she is starting to mimick everything. The other day she picked up a cell phone, put it up to her ear, and started chatting away on it! I couldn't believe it. It was so funny! They really are paying attention to everything. Trevor's parents were also in town and Grandma was singing a song and snapping her fingers - Ella started trying to snap her fingers also! I just can't get enough of watching her learn. 

+ Ella has been scaling the furniture for months now, and is so close to trying to stand on her own and walk. You can see the wheels turning as she tries to free-stand all by herself. I think first steps aren't too far away!

+ Ella is eating everything in sight. We are still breastfeeding all day (around five times a day) and she has breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks! She basically eats all day I have no idea how she is so small. She eats anything you put in front of her but her favorites seem to be peanut butter sandwiches, quesadillas, yogurt melts, and any scraps her daddy will give her from what he is eating! haha

+ Ella has also been "dancing" this is where she moves her head back and forth. It is so funny because she is imitating the way Trevor is when he listens to his music. I capture the funniest video of them "head banging" together to some metal. Priceless. 

+ Another funny thing Ella has started doing is putting herself to bed! Every day this past week as we do her night time routine I will be singing and cuddling her and she pulls herself out of my arms and to her crib, so I lay her down and she promptly settles down for the night without a peep. It is the craziest thing and Trevor and I are left scratching our heads as to why she has been doing this? I mean, we aren't complaining, but weird! haha I am sure it won't last, although I wouldn't mind!

Ella has the sweetest nature. She loves to cuddle, and give you kisses. She will even try and share her food with you, or her toys. She is just so happy and fun! She is quiet, but chatty at the same time, it is kind of hard to describe her personality. She really seems to be a blend of Trevor and I so far and it is fun watching her personality unfold. Our days are spent playing, eating, reading books (she is actually sitting and listening now!), cuddling, and of course end in numerous games of chase with mom and dad. Chase at the end of the day is the best for all us, Ella's permanent grin and laughter makes the whole house happy :) We just can't believe we are one month away from having had this baby girl in our lives for a whole year. Ella, we sure love you!

HOPE FOR MARTIN

I met sweet Emily (The Freckled Fox) years ago at a blogging event. I was instantly drawn to her because of her sweet demeanor and that gorgeous red hair. I was sad to hear she lived in Idaho and not Utah, but I had the pleasure of running into her as she came down for different blogging events. Last year we had been talking back and forth about both being pregnant with little girls. Only a short month later she posted about her husband, being only 34, had been diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma cancer. It was devastating, but their hope and positivity has been contagious. They have been in the trenches for over a year now, and are currently facing some extremely difficult things, as they prepare to say goodbye to Martin. They are in need of prayers more than ever at this time! I am passing along their fundraiser in hopes that others can help in any possible way. More prayers, and a community to lift this family up right now.

 

Emily really is an amazing woman. I thought this before, as I watched her juggle everything so gracefully with five children under the age of five. She was wonder woman to me! She was the example of a devoted wife, mother, and saint. So of course it was no surprise that she has dealt with these challenges with such grace and poise and I know that the Lord is going to work miracles through her. Martin and Emily have been  an example to so many.

“I could feel my heart getting heavier with every word of her explanation. Then she took a deep breath and said those words so apologetically, “I mean we’re talking a few weeks here, maybe.”  I can’t even explain what that felt like. All I know is that I was holding his warm hand, and I saw our five little babies in my mind, and I knew that no matter what happened to Marty that we would all be together. That our family was forever, and that everything would be OK, no matter what.”

Please keep the Meyers in your prayers. You can read their story on her blog at The Freckled Fox or on instagram @thefreckledfox.  If you have the means, please consider donating to her fundraiser to help with medical expenses. You can find that here, every penny counts. As my beautiful friend Abby put it, "I think most of all, just be inspired by her story. Let it motivate you to cherish your relationships, to hug those you love just a little tighter and to be grateful for all your beautiful blessings. Their story has the ability to change lives, to bring people closer to Christ and to heal broken spirits. This life is not the end, and there is a beautiful plan in place for each of us. The Lord is mindful of you and he’s mindful of me, and He is certainly mindful of sweet Emily, Martin and her five babies."

If you can, please spread their story of faith and courage on your blog, instagram, personal facebook page or share it with your family and friends. #HopeForMartin WE LOVE YOU EMILY!

Nine Months 💛

 We spent the long Memorial Weekend down in St. George! Here is Ella at the splash pad.

NINE MONTHS! Ella has officially been out as long as she was in. Ella is showing so much personality and sass right now. She is such a happy girl, and she has more energy than we can keep up with sometimes. Here are some updates on our girl...

+ Ella is crawling everywhere! We have to watch her carefully and chase her around the house to make sure she isn't getting into anything. Right when she turned 8 months it was like a magic switch went off and she started crawling everywhere, which was pretty funny because before that she had shown no signs of being interested in crawling!

+ Ella is also pulling herself up on everything. We had to lower her crib because she can pull herself completely standing. She does this on anything she can get her hands onto. I think her favorite is coming up to me and pulling up on my legs! She is even trying to do it without anything and I am sure before we know it she will be standing on her own. Just tonight as I was holding her she started putting one foot in front of the other (like walking while I held her!) because she wanted to get to something.

+ Ella has become very attached to me. I am very obviously her favorite person haha and it kind of makes me feel bad because often when Trevor is holding her she lunges for me and tries to get out of his arms! Don't get me wrong she loves her Daddy and no one can make her laugh more... but she knows who feeds her! haha She is also getting a little more cautious around people she doesn't know, some of that stranger danger that I know is normal right now. But she warms up quick!  

+ Besides breastfeeding, Ella has been getting solids for a few months now, but this past month she has been eating a lot more non pureed food. I did kind of a blend of baby led weaning, where I did purees and actual whole foods. I can do a whole blog post about that another time but on this note it has been so funny watching her eat the food we eat. She loves anything and everything and Trevor has given her some pretty spicy things and she doesn't even flinch! She has had salsa, jalapeño Cheetos (she sucked on them), very spicy cajun crawfish, and more! She loves it all. She looks like such a big girl picking it up and feeding herself. If you aren't careful she will swipe a fry from you! haha

+ Ella's nine month appointment is coming up in a few days, so I will have to come back and add her measurements, but she is still a pretty petite little thing. She can still fit into clothes as small as three months, but can also actually wear her own size at 9 months. She is still in a size 2 diaper.

+ Some little things Ella loves to do right now is clap, blow bubbles, press her lips together and make a buzzing sound, play with her ears, and suck on her lips! haha


It still just blows my mind how fast babies grow and change! It really is daily! We feel blessed to have such a happy light and spirit in our home with Ella. 💛 

 

Some Feelings...

 

 Me and my girl Jalynn.

Last night I went to an event for Collabor8 I will blog more about it later, but I just wanted to come on here and say how much fun I had last night. I felt like I was just so authentically me! It was a nice change. I haven't been posting as much as I used to on social media; or my blog for that matter. Most of my feed has been taken up with pictures of Ella, which of course was inevitable to some degree haha But being completely honest, the real reason for my lack of posts is my current lack of self-esteem. After having Ella my confidence took a dip - physically, emotionally, just all of it. Man, postpartum can be a rough transition, amiright?! 

I used to share more about what I was doing, my passions and interests. There has been a real lack of that on here and I am trying to get back to doing more of the things that I really enjoy and not be embarrassed about taking a picture of myself. Yes, I have been so hard on myself that I haven't wanted to post pictures with me in them. I know this is totally irrational. Why is being kind to ourselves the hardest sometimes? What is sad is I was that girl that oozed with confidence, I probably had some extra for you if you needed some! haha But over the years, due to several factors, I have seen it dwindle. My goal lately has been to get that back, to get back to me. To be better at taking care of myself and loving myself. So here's to making changes and creating better habits! May we all be a little kinder to ourselves - we can't afford not to be! 😘

Mother's Day

Ella around 5 months old - Xan's Eye Photography

A week ago was Mother's Day, and while we kept the day pretty low key, I relished in the fact that I am a mother. Having children is something that I have always wanted to experience in life. I love being a part of a big loving family, and I have always wanted that for myself with my own family. Actually becoming a parent was beyond anything I could have imagined. It is hard to articulate the love a parent has for their child. You have a love you have never felt before and because of that everything now scares you, it is overwhelming and so incredibly joyful.

Joy has been my word to describe parenthood... I am just so full of joy. I am so happy right now, and how could I not be? I am a mother to a lively, happy, sweet and adorable little girl. I am the luckiest, and our days are full of so much joy. I find such satisfaction in caring for her, serving her, helping her learn. It is true what they say, her happiness is my happiness. 

Life is good, God is good.

Playing catch up - Life these days!

HAT // ERGO 360 // FAVORITE LEGGINGS // SHOES

Hello? Hello? Anyone there? I know, I have been neglecting the blog. I feel like all I post about anymore is baby related content, and while that has become a huge part of my life, obviously, I am still me... ALYCIA and I need to be better about posting about my life and everything that it includes. It is funny, I thought for some reason that becoming a "stay at home" mom I would have all this extra time, but the reality is I am working more than full time from home, and have an endless list of projects that need to get done. While looking back, the structure of my day was always laid out for me; with full time jobs, and a set class schedule. I had to work my day around those priorities, and those priorities filled up my entire day.

Now that I work for myself and from home I am in charge of managing when something gets done, and when it doesn't. This of course is a great freedom, but at the same time, can show you your weaknesses and makes certain things get pushed to the side for too long. I have also found that working for myself has caused this push to always be working. The work is never done! Before, I would get off work and be done for the day. I would totally "shut off" and now I feel like my brain is constantly running. It is a side of working for myself I hadn't totally anticipated. While I still need to learn the balance of it all, I have been trying to have a life too! Why is it so easy as a new parent to just stay inside all day? I have made a goal to try and get out and do something fun with my friends weekly!

Seven/Eight Months 💛

Ella wore one of my old dresses for Easter Sunday, and she was just adorable! I love having these vintage dresses for her to wear.

I have been so busy over here with personal projects that I totally spaced on putting together Ella's seven months update! And guess what, she turned eight months old today! How does this happen?! I have decided to kind of lump these past two months together in one update to catch up. She has grown so much, so here we go...

Why I wanted an unmedicated childbirth... A FOLLOW UP

I had such a positive response to my post a few days ago about why I wanted an unmedicated childbirth. Thank you guys so much! I had several suggestions to do a scope on this topic, so I sat down and did one this morning! If you didn't catch it, here is the replay for you!

You can find me on periscope under the username @alyciagrayce

Why I wanted an unmedicated childbirth...

Not the most flattering picture I forgot how swollen my face and arms got, yikes! but a very sweet and tender moment captured. It was taken in a dark room, in the middle of a contraction. Holding onto Trevor like this was one of the only things that made me feel better and got me through contractions. He was an amazing support, even if he thought I was crazy for wanting to forgo an epidural, haha!

Just by getting pregnant I quickly learned about the world of "Mommy Wars." I had obviously heard about it, seen it, but had never really been an active participate in the world of motherhood, so it didn't really matter to me. What are Mommy Wars? Basically it is the "Us vs. Them" mentality in regards to parenting. You know, stay at home moms vs. working moms. Breastfeeding mothers vs. formula feeding mothers. Cloth diapering mothers vs. disposable diapering mothers. Homeschooling moms vs. traditional school moms. You get the idea?

I have always said that if you stand by your choices and decisions, it shouldn't matter what anybody else thinks. Yet sometimes I find that just by sharing your opinion and why you want to do something, people with a different opinion will automatically think you are judging them and their choices. Why do we do this?! It drives me insane! We don't just do this with parenting, but in a lot of aspects in life. Sometimes I find myself having to be so politically correct all the time that I really just shouldn't even have an opinion, because someone is going to get offended by it. And the most red hot button when it comes to this is parenting styles and choices, and that is probably because when discussing YOUR children, you are always going to be more protective and more sensitive. I digress...

When I would tell people I planned on having an unmedicated childbirth, I would typically get one of three responses:

1. What?! Are you crazy? (Shock.)

2. Sure, you say that now, just wait. (Sarcasm.)

3. Good for you! I could never do that. (Pat on the back.)

After actually having now gone through an unmedicated childbirth, I find that the responses are still the same, minus number two of course. Yet I still get the feeling with certain people that they feel I am judging them. That somehow me choosing to have an unmedicated child birth means I am judging the fact that they chose to have an epidural. Let me just say, after having gone through labor, I know exactly why women say yes to epidurals! haha I also don't think epidurals are necessarily "bad", and know that there is a time and a place for them. With that said, I had very specific reasons for wanting an unmedicated child birth, and I would 100% do it again. 

You might be wondering why I feel the need to share why I wanted an unmedicated childbirth. To put it simply, I am writing this blog post to help give perspective on the choice and help anyone interested in it to learn that it is not an archaic, or irrational goal, which unfortunately seems to be the perception these days. People have seemed to forgot that birthing is a natural experience that, in most cases, does not need medical intervention.

From the responses above you can tell that having an unmediated childbirth is more of an unpopular choice today. In fact I was told that out of all the natural births, only 1% of those are planned. So being in the minority here, I was more often than not made to feel crazy or stupid for wanting an unmedicated child birth. Simply because someone didn't understand my choice, they assumed I was dumb or naïve about it. I have heard it all, even people saying things like, "You wouldn't have a limb amputated with no pain relief, so why have a child that way?" No, I would absolutely NOT get my arm amputated without pain relief. Do you know why? Because there is absolutely no benefit to it. There is NO benefit except feeling pain if I am getting my arm cut off. Add the fact that I don't think the pain felt during child birth is anything close to the pain of getting your arm cut off!

Soldier Hollow Tubing!

I am so behind in posting about our life these days! Back in February my parents came into town to see the Provo City Center Temple. It is a pretty special Temple because it was originally a Tabernacle in our church built in 1883, that actually burned down a few years ago, just before Trevor and I moved to Provo actually. Shortly after they announced they would be rebuilding what was left of it into a new Temple. While we were at BYU Law School we watched over the years. At the start of the year it was open to the public for everyone to see before it will be dedicated and used for religious purposes. My parents love to go to Temple open houses, because even though we are members, it is a treat to get to walk through all of it and learn about the details and see it in the capacity. So they came up to see the new Provo City Center Temple, which was absolutely gorgeous. It is the most unique Temple I have ever seen. Every detail caught your eye, and they tried to stay true to the era the building was originally built in which made it that much better. After the Temple open house we went to a family favorite of ours, The Red Brick Oven. Best Root Beer on tap you will ever have!

We even went for a family run one of the morning they were here. We have kind of turned this into a family tradition I feel like, always going on runs together because we sign up for races together. A lot of us are doing the Wasatch Ragnar. I don't think I have announced that anywhere on my social media, but alas, I am running the Wasatch Ragnar in June! I will talk more about that another time. But also that weekend we went to Soldier Hollow to go tubing! It was so much fun! I even put together a little video of it since we had such a blast. And might I just add that Ella is pretty darn adorable in her little hat.

Ella Six Months! ❤️

Oh man, I can't believe it took me this long to sit down and finally put together Ella's six month update! We have been so busy lately, but at least I make the effort to record this stuff right?

I can't for the life of me find her measurements from six month appointment, so I will have to add the exact measurements when they reprint her growth chart for me. All I remember is that she was just a smidge under 14 pounds, and still above average for height. Basically while she isn't short, she is very petite for her age. Basically six month clothing fits her length wise but she doesn't fill out anything hahaha *Okay I found the stats: 13lbs 15oz (17th percentile) and 25.8 inches for height (57th percentile)

The Owlet Baby Monitor Review & $25 OFF Promo

I am really excited to talk about one of my all time favorite baby items, the Owlet Baby Monitor. This is not your standard baby monitor, it is the crème de la crème of monitors! The Owlet Baby Monitor uses hospital technology called pulse oximetry to monitor your child and is designed to alert you in case your baby stops breathing. Owlet acts as an extra set of eyes to monitor your baby while theyr sleep. Owlet is up all night so you don't have to be! 

As first time parents I can't tell you how many times Trevor and I were using the light on our phones to take a peak at Ella while she was sleeping. One of the biggest fears you have bringing this new little life home is something going wrong. The idea of SIDS and suffocation were keeping me up at night worried. This Infant Heart Rate and Oxygen Monitor gives you that peace of mind knowing that you will be alerted if something isn't. We tested it out and trust me, that alarm works! haha It sounds off as well as lights up. You can see how your baby is doing in real time through the app on your phone, which is available for iphones as well as android. This technology simplified for the home user is really incredible.

I am teaming up with Owlet to offer you a $25.00 OFF Promo! Just make your purchase of the Owlet Baby Monitor through THIS LINK* 

*Since this post, Owlet has expired their discount code. You can purchase the monitor on their site HERE.

Watch my YouTube review to learn even more about the monitor!

Valentine's Day & Vlog ❤️

Sunday was Valentine's Day, and it was pretty crazy thinking about how just a year ago we had shared our little secret with the world. It left us feeling pretty sentimental. Trevor and I have spent 8 Valentine's Days together, 8! I decided to take a trip down memory lane and read my blog post from that night. Yes, I have been blogging for a LONG time! haha We have come a long way from those two kids, and Sunday night we fed our baby solids for the first time! So much has changed, but for the better. We LOVE being parents! I put together a little vlog from the day, which may be boring to you, but of course was adorable to us, haha. ❤️