I Like Big Trucks {A Book Review}

Little G is currently into anything that moves. She loves trains, fire engines, and trucks. It's cute to see my little girly-girl princess also get so excited when she hears the trains go through our town or sees a big truck working on the new houses in our neighborhood. I thought this book would be a fun one for her, and likely baby J will enjoy it when he gets older too. The book is a sweet little story with lots of fun trucks to look at-- and feel! Touch and feel books are a lot of fun for her at this age. My favorite part of the book is the last page, after the trucks have done their jobs for the day, because it says "Goodnight and God bless." Just a sweet reminder of why even non-religious stories can bring the Lord into everyday life when they're from a Christian publisher. I appreciate that. The only negative to the book was that it seems a little more cheaply-made than some we've had from this publisher. The pages a slightly thinner than a normal board book so I'm hoping they don't bend. The touch and feels could be a bit more raised as well. Other than that, it's a cute addition to our shelf.

4 out of 5 stars.

[Thank you to BookLook Bloggers for my review copy! This contains my honest and original thoughts.]

Quick Takes // Vacations, Babies, and Life Lessons

1. Our homeless house guest is no longer homeless! He will be moving into an apartment this weekend. There is just so much I could say but I might instead write a post about some things I've learned in the last six weeks...when J came into our home, I was a woman recently diagnosed with postpartum depression with a transitioning toddler and a non-sleeping reflux newborn. We were probably crazy for doing what we did, but maybe sometimes God calls us to the crazy, you know?  And there's always grace in the crazy. God provided in many incredibly tangible ways. We also had some powerful and beautiful moments with J when it came to sharing our faith in Jesus and His plans for us. But to keep it real, there were also many moments when I realized I am definitely not Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side. ;)

2. We are having a very hot summer, but are enjoying it nonetheless. G still takes a decent nap in the afternoon, so I tend to avoid the hottest time anyway. Our mornings and evenings are pretty pleasant and I've loved seeing G explore and play outdoors. Her favorite things right now are chalk, bike rides, and playing basketball with daddy. We also enjoyed this fun moon sand recipe.

3. Y'all know my love for garage sales. There are three neighborhoods around here that have such great, family-friendly garage sales each year and I always mark my calendar like it's a holiday. It makes it easy for me to clothe our babes and find toys/gifts to put away for birthdays or Christmas. My hubby laughs at me for making it such a big event and says he never sees me happier than when I'm going garage-saling, haha! I do love a good deal and it's so fun to see the random finds! This year I found adorable trick-or-treat costumes for the kids (see pics below), lots of clothes for our little boy, a Bumbo seat that I've been wanting, and some cute wall decor...um, and more, haha!

4. So real life. I started this on Friday during naptime and am now finishing up on Sunday after the kids are sleeping (one of them on me right now, of course...).

5. We had a great time this weekend with my family's second annual "river vacation." My parents live on a river and my siblings and their families all came and spent the night. It was our first time taking the little man on an overnight trip and for the most part, both kids did really well but I had a few unseemly moments of letting the stress get to me. (why do I always feel the need to confess on this blog to you all??) Despite my weak moments, we so enjoyed the rest of the trip, especially a boat ride with sweet G (she looooved 'driving' with Grandpa) and the public splash pad near their house. G cracked me up by carrying around a plastic watering can the whole time, barely wanting to get wet, and with a very intense look on her face as she filled and emptied the can over and over and over.

6. My husband and I had been talking about doing a small mini family vacation this month (we're pretty satisfied with just the fun of a night or two in a hotel and something nearby touristy...or maybe that's just because about all we can afford! ha!) but JP is not a fan of his carseat lately. As in screams and screams anytime we put him in the car and only occasionally calms down if we have the AC on the can't-hear-myself-think-its-so-loud-level and put his window down slightly...so we're rethinking the timing of a trip until he's a little older and (hopefully!!) outgrows this anti-carseat phase. Hubby (a history major) wants to go to Gettysburg and I (just general history buff) am totally up for it if said little man gets better with car trips. Until then, it might just be a staycation around here...

7. Here comes the photo dump. Hope you had a fabulous weekend, friends! Get your coffee ready for tomorrow...we can do this, Monday!

Thankfully my parents are only an hour away...

He just wants to eat the monkey up...I just want to eat him up.

The Pinterest play sand. 

My little zoo. Love these two so much. Motherhood is so hard some days,
but these babies just have my whole heart.

Perfect way to end the day. Water can be so peaceful.

And there's me, hanging out in the bow. This weekend of sun and swimsuits
made me realize how much baby weight is hanging on me for dear life!!