DIY: Christmas Book Advent Calendar

I have spent way longer than most people should, trying to figure out what advent calendar tradition I wanted to start with Olivia. I always had an advent calendar growing up where you would take plush ornaments out of their numbered pockets and place them on a velcro tree. It was alway so exciting to countdown to my favorite day of the year. I tried to find something similar, but nothing was really to my liking. I found several ideas where you get a gift or candy each day, but with an (almost) 10 month old, she doesn’t really need (or care about) trinkets or sugar.

Then I thought about what she does enjoy: BOOKS! So I started making .a list of my favorite Christmas / holiday / winter themed books, and then researched some recommendations from friends and other bloggers. I wanted all of the books to follow suit with the rest of her library in which they all have a thoughtful message and are beautifully illustrated.

Obviously there are 100 versions of The Twelve Days of Christmas, but I was very particular about which version I ended up choosing based on the illustrations. Or with The Mitten, I chose the version that I remember reading as a child.

The Nutcracker | The Polar Express | The Little Drummer Boy | The Twelve Days of Christmas  | White Snow Bright Snow | The ABCs of Christmas | Merry Christmas Ernest and Celestine | The Very First Christmas | Olive the Other Reindeer | Kangaroo for Christmas | The Mitten | Red and Lulu | The Night Before Christmas** | Mice Skating | Madeline’s Christmas | S is for Santa | The Little Reindeer | Olivia Helps with Christmas | When Santa Was a Baby | How the Grinch Stole Christmas | A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree | Last Stop on the Reindeer Express | Pick a Pine Tree | If You Take a Mouse to the Movies | Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

** Fun fact: I had this exact 1988 version of The Night Before Christmas growing up, and had been searching all over Amazon and Ebay for it, but it was a zillion dollars. When one day I was perusing a random Christmas book cart at Half Price Books and there it was! For a whopping $4. All of the pop ups are completely intact. I couldn’t believe it.

I used white paper to wrap each book as I wanted to keep them all simple and uniform. Then I printed out numbers on label paper and stuck them to each wrapped book. Pretty simple stuff. I didn’t wrap these in any particular order, and plan to mix them up each year which I’m hoping will build the anticipation to unwrap her favorites. However, I did make sure that The Twelve Days of Christmas is opened on the 12th day of December, that The Night Before Christmas is opened on Christmas Eve, and The Little Drummer Boy is opened on Christmas Day. Other than that, totally random.

Obviously there are more than 25 amazing Christmas books, so I also have a backup list I can choose from when I start to rotate out some of the younger titles. Also, as she gets older I plan to include the actual Nutcracker and A Christmas Carol, but I personally feel like they are a little to scary for her. Did anyone else have nightmares about sword fighting mice? Just me? Cool.

I am so excited to start this tradition with Olivia, and share in the magic of the season. What type of advent calendar do you like to use?

Olivia West | Nine Months

Wow I can’t believe Olivia has been on the outside of my body just as long as she was on the inside. But definitely MUCH larger ha. This poor girl has been sick for the past week which explains her little rosey nose.

| STATS |

Olivia had her first appointment with her new pediatrician for her nine month checkup. She didn’t love his booming voice, but other than that she did great in a new environment. They also have a really big fish tank which she was super into. She currently weighs in 16lb 13oz (25th percentile), she is 27.25" long (35th), and her head is 17.5” (70th).

| EATING |

Our pediatrician gave us the go ahead to start table feeding Olivia. However, since she is still working through her “individual foods” to rule our allergies or aversions we’re not quite there yet. But it definitely gave me the motivation to get her onto thicker solids and varying textures. So far I’ve added broccoli, split peas, cauliflower, and cucumber to her repertoire, and she still hasn’t met a food she doesn’t like. Our goal is to have her ready for table food by Thanksgiving. She is still nursing regularly and for some reason has officially decided that her old bestie (the right side) is no longer her jam after eight months of blatant favoritism. Too funny. I honestly think it happened because of the long weekend girls trip I went on, at the beginning of the month, where I had to pump regularly. Shout out to all of you mamas who EP. It is a LOT of work, and I’m still trying to regulate my supply even a month later. Maybe she felt bad for leftie after all this time. Who knows.

| SLEEPING |

Olivia’s sleeping has still been going strong now that her learning leap is over. She sleeps from about 6pm - 7:30 or 8am everyday and then naps for about 40min - 2.5 hours depending on the day. Although sometimes I’ll put her down and she just wants to chat away so I’m like okay let’s go do something haha. Toward the end of the month she started to get much fussier when we put her down for naps or for the night and we realized she had cut her first tooth!

| DOING |

Out of the blue as we approached her nine month mark Olivia was all of a sudden on all fours slowly crawling her way across the room. Like “look guys I’m going to crawl before I hit 9m okay?” Her best motivation is her baby sign language book (which we haven’t started yet oops). She is obsessed with the baby on the cover of it and will crawl to it over and over again. Even if she is crying, I can get that book out and prop it up and she instantly smiles and crawls to it. Her crawl still isn’t 100% a crawl, she will either move each arm or each leg and then drop onto her tummy, but she is SO close. Its sort of like right arm, left arm, splat, right knee, left knee, splat, etc. And she constantly rocks back and forth when she’s on all fours. It’s like her knees are too slippery or something. We celebrated her daddy’s birthday and visited her first (urban) pumpkin patch! She loves to sit in her high chair and play with her toys while I cook, and jam out to the #throwbackthursday playlists on Spotify. Sometimes I have to turn the music off when she’s eating because she will hula dance so hard that I get veggies all over her face.

| MILESTONES |

She has become extremely vocal and will instantly repeat sounds you make or movements you make. Right now she loves to click her tongue on the roof of her mouth all day everyday. She had her first daddy only weekend while I was away and had the best time running errands and soaking up time with her daddy. I do think its so sweet though that every morning she woke up she would look for me. Ugh. She cut her first tooth the day we decided to take photos of her in her Halloween costume and the photos are both the cutest thing ever but also so pathetic. She celebrated her very first Halloween and was dressed as a turtle (since we’ve called her turtle from day one). It was pouring rain out so we decided to take her sticker-treating at Northpark Mall and she loved seeing all of the other kids in their fun costumes. I’ve been trying to teach her how to clap, and while she isn’t really clapping yet she always brings both of her hands together to her mouth over and over so she’s associating that with clapping and it’s just really cute. We’re getting there! She is still wearing size 3 diapers 6-9m clothing.  

| FAVORITE MOMENTS |

Making her Halloween costume was pretty much the highlight of the month. I had this vision from the beginning of the year and I was so excited to have her wear it even though we really didn’t trick-or-treat. She was just so cute as a little turtle. We also early voted together as a family and were able to show her how her voice matters in her community.

Our Favorite Baby Books

The moment I found out I was pregnant I began to compile a list of books I wanted our future baby to have in their library. At first I was automatically adding all of my childhood favorites, only to soon find out that some of the stories were pretty messed up (I see you Beatrix Potter). So I started to seek out some new books along with some old harmless favorites (Go Dog Go, Brown Bear Brown Bear, etc.) to create the perfect collection for our little one. Once I found out that she was a girl I started to add some empowering books for young girls, so that she would learn at a young age her value, and be inspired by other women who came before her. I remember people looking at our baby registry and saying “wow that’s a lot of books” haha.

I want Olivia to have a love of reading and a fierce imagination like I did as a child (only child perks). So I have carefully curated her library to include books that are both educational and beautifully illustrated. If a book has less than stellar illustrations it better have a really good message, or if a book is kind of silly and pointless it better be so beautiful to look at haha. But honestly, there are so many wonderful books out there for children these days, and I’ve had so much fun adding to her collection.

board books + flap books

These are your everyday (durable) books that I’ve let Olivia play with and turn the pages from the get go. I didn’t realize this but a lot of books come in both hardback and board book, so when board books were an option I’d get those. I would hate for her to tear any of the pages just yet.

— from left to right top to bottom —

Are You My Mother? this is a classic and one of my favorite books, and its story still holds up generation after generation

Dear Zoo I actually didn’t grow up with this book, but it came highly recommended, it’s a very cute story on finding the perfect pet

Olivia’s ABCs obviously we had to get all of the Olivia books, this one is fun because it refers back to illustrations and scenarios from the entire series

Guess How Much I Love You this is a cult classic, although I wish I didn’t have to say “little/big nutbrown hair” 1,000 times haha it’s a lot

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom I had this growing up and I just love “rapping” it to Olivia haha everytime Derek reads it I get frustrated because he doesn’t do it right

Doggies: A Counting and Barking Book this actually wasn’t on our list but was a favorite of one of my co-workers and it is SO cute. It’s a counting book based on different dog barks. Love it.

Olivia Counts another clever homage to all of the Olivia books

Dot Town - Where Are You Blue? I randomly stumbled upon this one, but the illustrations are really pretty and the story is a fun game of telephone. Olivia loves when I do the voices for each person. Then tend to either be southern or British. It’s all I have up my sleeve.

Fairy Friends Counting we have this whole series and it was an off-registry gift from a friend and I am SO in love with them. The illustrations are made with pressed flowers and other items found in nature and they are just so beautiful and meaningful

Moo, Baa, La La La! this is just such a funny little animal sounds book

Olivia we had to get the OG version obviously

Oh No George! this is Olivia’s favorite book. She laughs and laughs when you say “oh no George!” a funny story about a dog who just can’t help but get into trouble. So cute.

The Three Little Pigs I had issues with this story because in most versions the pigs get eaten and the wolf like stalks the last pig and then the pig eats the wolf (?!) its all very weird. This is the vegetarian version haha where the little pigs run to the next pigs house and the wolf doesn’t eat any of them, and he burns his butt on the pot of turnips and runs away. Also the illustrations remind me of The Stinky Cheese Man (remember that one?)

Brown Bear Brown Bear I had to throw in some Eric Carl classics, and this one is a fan favorite with Olivia. We have a bunch of his books on rotation.

Spot Goes to the Farm I had all of the spot books growing up and I just love the hidden elements, as does Olivia

Your Baby’s First Word Will Be Dada this book is so cute and obviously we have the Mama version too

Olivia’s Opposites super cute and dramatic just like Olivia (the pig not the baby)

Spot Goes to School another Spot classic

Olivia Saves the Circus we love how witty and sarcastic the Olivia series is and this one is no exception

for the baby with designers as parents

Obviously when your dad is an Architect and your mom is an Interior Designer, you’re going to get a lot of graphically pleasing or nerdy punny designer books. Which honestly these are some of her faves. Who can blame her?

Art For Baby so this is a fun alternative to black and white abstract cards to stimulate your baby in the early months, but in the form of famous black and white art pieces

Pantone: Box of Color this is such a cute little set where each book represents a different color with cut outs of objects in that color. I have these spread out on the shelves and didn’t feel like linking each one ha but you get the idea

Romeo & Juliet we have several of these Babylit books and just love them, they are all primers (counting, colors, seasons, animals, camping, weather, etc) but are adapted to be an over simplified version of the actual book. So creative.

Charley Harper’s Animal Alphabet these books are full of his beautiful abstract geometric animals, and it rhymes which I always love in an alphabet book

Counting With Frida this was a fun off registry gift and bilingual counting book, and the illustrations are really dynamic which I love

Fairy Friends Seasons this is my favorite of the series, I just love how each season is depicted

Charley Harper’s Book of Colors another beautiful charley harper book

Alice in Wonderland this one is a colors primer with really punchy illustrations

Pantone Colors this just goes beyond nerdy for any color lover or graphic designer

Dwell Studio: What’s Inside? Neighborhood this is a really fun and modern book that names items in each area of your city: post office, fire station, etc.

My Very First Book of Shapes another Eric Carl favorite, and I just love how simple it is and she has fun matching the shapes to the pictures (or trying to)

Baby’s First Eames: The ABCs of Modern Architecture and Design this is my all time favorite book for babies of design loving parents. It goes through the ABCs of modern architecture and furniture and even has a little kitty hidden on every page. This book was so well done. I can’t say enough about it.

Eating the Alphabet I love this alphabet book from the 80s, the illustrations are gorgeous watercolors and it introduces her to so many new fruits and veggies. We can even go through it and talk about what she has already eaten.

beautiful picture books

These books are my absolute favorites. While she is a little to young to turn the paper pages on her own, she just loves the beautiful illustrations they all have. All of her picture books are either beautiful and inspiring in the message or just inspiring to look at. Picture books tend to be more expensive than board books so I usually find these second hand or whenever I can get a good deal.

I Want My Hat Back so this one has sort of a dark ending, but the illustrations are so beautiful that I sort of just gloss over the fact that the bear eats the bunny for stealing his hat. I just love Jon Klassen’s illustrations. There is a whole series of these hat books and they are so pretty.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie another cult classic. We have this along with If You Give a Moose a Muffin, and she just loves them. They are just so funny and elaborate.

Little People Big Dreams: Audrey Hepburn I love love this series. It’s a bunch of books focusing on women throughout history. I was surprised to learn some of the back stories of some of these women, it’s a fun and beautiful way to learn more about the empowering women in our world.

Home this is such a gorgeous book that talks about the different types of homes you can live in from a house in the suburbs to an apartment in the city to an igloo or a hole in a tree. Again stunning illustrations.

Olivia Forms a Band this one is probably at the top of our Olivia series list (along with Olivia and the Fairy Princesses — which is anti-princesses) because of the sound effects of Olivia’s band. She just loves it! And her musician daddy loves reading it to her.

Penguin Problems This book is hilarious, there is a whole series of them. They teach you to appreciate the world around you and not complain so much.

Mother Bruce This was a gift and it is SO clever. I just love it and would recommend it to anyone. Bruce the bear is a victim of mistaken identity when some baby goslings think he is their mother. Shenanigans ensue.

Triangle I just love this series (Circle and Square too). The story is silly and clever, but it had me at the illustrations. They are just stunning!

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild This book is all about being yourself in a world full of conformity, and again the illustrations are a show stopper. Are you sensing a pattern here?

Little Owl Lost This book is so cute and a part of the same series as Oh No George and Shh! We Have a Plan. A little owl is trying to find his mommy by describing her to a squirrel and it’s just too funny.

Last Stop on Market Street This is a great book about diversity, inner-city living, and giving back to your community. Its such a beautiful story.

A Greyhound A Groundhog This book has absolutely no point other than being a big fat tongue twister, but the illustrations are amazing and it’s fun to read haha

The Day the Crayons Quit This book was always recommended to me and it’s so funny! Each color of crayon has written a letter to their owner expressing their concerns about his coloring style. Very clever.

Little People Big Dreams: Coco Chanel Another favorite from this series. I had no idea that Coco Chanel is the reason we don’t have to wear corsets anymore, did you?

So clearly books are very important to our family, and not just any book. Thoughtful books. We have made it a point to tell family and friends that rather than blinky annoying toys as gifts, I rather her receive books that can grow with her over the years. I constantly have a running Amazon list to send anyone who is looking to give her something. I love to shop small and support local businesses or even buy our books gently used at Half Price, Thrift Books, or yard sales. Whenever i’m out and about I’m always keeping an eye out for more books to add to her collection. I’m so excited that December is around the corner so that I can start her Twelve Books of Christmas (more on that later). What are some of your favorite children’s books?

Olivia West | Eight Months

Eight months! I feel like her eighth month just flew by with our big move. I mean where on earth did September go? This is my absolute favorite time of year and I am so excited to soak it up with Olivia and do all of the fall and wintery things.

| STATS |

Since there isn't a pediatrician appointment until the nine month mark we took our own measurements ha. She currently weighs in 17lb, she is 27.5" long, and we have no idea how to measure her head. 

| EATING |

Olivia is still going strong with her speed nursing. The only time she seems to have issues is during her learning leaps (right now) where she just can’t eat enough or fast enough for her liking. When this happens we tend to supplement with a bottle just to top her off and it works pretty well, and hasn’t lowered my supply at all. Win win! She still loves to eat her solid foods. We had to take a bit of a break during our move because it was just too hectic to also worry about frozen purees thawing and spoiling, etc. but now we’re back on track. She has since added carrots and sweet peas to her repertoire and LOVES them both. We’re still slowly working our way through vegetable introductions before we start on fruits, but we’re getting there.

| SLEEPING |

We were a little nervous about Olivia adjusting to her new room and new surroundings but it hasn’t seemed to affect her one bit. I tried to make her room look and feel just like her other room, and I think that has really helped. It’s also nice being in a newer home with modern construction because the AC doesn’t have to blast constantly and the space feels conditioned which I think has been helping her sleep better and longer. The other night she slept from 6pm - 9am. What. This current learning leap though includes a massive sleep regression though at least for naps. She usually takes 60-90min naps and lately has been only taking a 40min nap maybe twice a day and then is just fussy the rest of the day. I think we’re finally on the other side of the hill though because she’s now taking a medley of 40min naps and 2.5 hour naps. Go figure.

| DOING |

Olivia has become such a chatty girl, especially in her carseat. We can be in the car for hours and she is just having the time of her life back there. She also loves talking to the photos of babies on her play gym. She’ll lay in bed and talk up a storm and then fall asleep haha. She still isn’t crawling yet but has mastered the barrel roll. She does it so fast now she may as well be crawling. I’ll turn away for a second and she’s already across the room and facing the opposite way. Girl has skills. Lately she hasn’t been a fan of her beloved activity center and I honestly think its because she rather move around and explore. She is so much better at sitting up and only topples over every now and then if she shifts her weight too quickly.

| MILESTONES |

She has said her first words (or at least associates sounds with certain things). Mamamama = me, Dadadadada = anything exciting but also her dad, Ooooh = Geoffrey, and Mum Mums = boobs (she wants to nurse). We took her to the mall for the first time (SA’s only good mall is outside and that just wasn’t an option in the summer) and she was SUCH a hit with everyone. I feel like she should wear a sign that says “warning: may cause baby fever”. She’s also slowly learning how to high five strangers. She made her first trip to Ikea and would “ooooh” at all of the different vignettes upstairs. She also went to the State Fair which is pretty impressive because I’m pretty sure I didn’t go until I was like 4. We also tried out her front facing “toddler” stroller attachment and she LOVED facing forward and people watching. She had her legs up on the bar and was just chillin. She is still wearing size 3 diapers 6-9m clothing.  

| FAVORITE MOMENTS |

Taking her to the State Fair was such a special moment. I grew up going every year and I’m so excited that she will too. Watching her meet new people is also at the top of my list. She loves being held by anyone and is such a social butterfly, which I was really worried about since she isn’t in daycare, but she is just so friendly. Except for Derek’s new co-worker Trent. She hates his guts.

The Kitchen Reveal: Before & Afters

In case you missed Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, and Part IX of our kitchen renovation saga be sure and check them out before we dive into the moment you've all been waiting for: THE BIG REVEAL!

And now for some pretty shocking before and afters (my favorite).

 So there you have it, our full kitchen renovation. And yes, I’m super sad that I only got to enjoy it for a month before we moved to Dallas. But it just makes me even more excited for our next renovation. If you have any questions about our kitchen or renovation process feel free to leave a comment below. Or if you are looking to hire someone to tackle your next project, I’m taking on a couple more new clients this fall.

| S O U R C E S |

Flooring | Lower Cabinets (via Habitat Restore) | Hardware | Countertops | Tile Backsplash | Faucet | Floating Shelves (custom) | Vent Hood Insert and Liner | Vent Hood Wrap (custom) | Upper Cabinets (custom) | Steel Backsplash (custom) | Barn Light Sconce | Pendant Lights | Can Lights | Island (vintage) | Fridge | Range | Dishwasher | Sink | Bowls + Dishes | Glasses | Tea Glasses | Stainless Steel Bowls | Cutting Board | Straight Canisters | Tapered Canisters | Utensil Holder

Here are all of the posts in case you missed any:

Part I: A Brief History

Part II: Our Design Plan

Part III: Lighting Up the Joint

Part IV: #demoday

Part V: Our Not So Custom Cabinets

Part VI: Countertops + Hardware

Part VII: Installing Our Steel Backsplash

Part VIII: The Oven Wall

Part IX: The Sink Wall