Phil and Teds Review!

As a new mom I definitely made the mistake of thinking that I needed to get everything that was advertised for my baby... you know, that's what good moms do! This included getting my Chicco travel system (car seat and stroller in one). I loved that the car seat snapped into the stroller and for the first few months it worked great. The dowsides- it was bulky, cheaply made and wouldn't grow with our family. Honeslty, after about 5 months we rarely every used the Chicco again! I would definitely buy a Chicco car seat again- it had the best safetly rating at the time, I loved the pattern and it was the lightest car seat on the market when we bought it.

When we first got the stroller in January! Trying it out and falling in love step by step! (The handle bar fold down in the lock position)..

Once we started TTC I started researching double strollers and was pretty disappointed with what I was finding... I wanted something I could push around a store in the mall without knocking things over, or not fitting through the door! So, I found the Phil and Teds Dash stroller. It's a single stroller that converts to a double with a couple clever adaptations. The biggest selling point to this stroller was that it was a single stroller! A double stroller is something that has a very short season, but in the end you're gonna want a dependable single stroller that you love! I also love that it's a stream-line double- meaning that when you add the second seat it doesn't add any length or width to the stroller! LOVE LOVE LOVE this!

I found the Dash on Zulily for $360 (after tax and shipping) including the doubles kit and a bassinet (both sold seperately). You can find it on Amazon right now for $499 including the doubles kit (ya, i got a prettyfantastic deal on this stroller!). I have seen it on Zulily a couple times after I bought it, so keep you eyes out for it! Or maybe search on Ebay or Craigslist? I had to buy a car seat adapter for our Chico car seat ($30 on amazon) and a cup holder.

What I LOVE about the stroller-
-It was very easy to put together, the instructions were clear and there was a video on the Phil and Teds website that was very helpful.
-The stroller is very easy to maneuver- I can steer it with one hand.
-The tires are like bike tires so they can handle un-even sidewalk (which there is a lot in our neighborhood!) like a champ.
-After getting the hang out it, the stroller folds and unfolds very easily- the Chicco definitely takes the cake on folding easily!
-I have used the second seat a handful of times (when out at the mall or on walks with friends) and I love it. The stroller doesn't fold with the second seat on, but it's super easy to attach. Maddie loves the second seat too. I was thinking she wouldn't because you can't see forwards in the second seat, but she always climbs into it when I have it on the stroller and has never complained about riding in it. The second seat is smaller than the front seat, so I will probably put little brother or sister in the back, unless MK pitches a fit! :)
-The stroller seems very comfortable for MK. Unlike the Chicco which didn't have a ton of padding, the Phil and Teds has a very thick cushion seat that also detaches for easy washing (super awesome with a baby!). My Chicco was a pain in the butt to wash.
-It is very sturdy. There's no plastic on it, except the handle bar... my Chicco was riddled with plastic that got scratched easily and was not super durable.
-The basket at the bottom of the stroller is huge,and even with a kid in the back, can fit a lot... although I have to make sure MK can't get to my bag since she'll take her snacks out of it! :)
-Now, I haven't used the stroller consistently with two kids yet, but I love that I have a couple options to tote around two babies.

Option 1- add the second seat.

Option two- put second set on front, recline front seat and put baby in bassiness laying down under the second seat.

Option 3- car seat on top, MK in the back in the second seat.

What I don't love about the stroller-
-The cost! Although, if we had gotten this from the very beginning we would have saved ourselves $180 on the Chicco stroller! I guess I would much rather spend a little bit upfront (especially when mom and dad were both working!) on a stroller that grows with your family.
-There's no cup holder that comes with the stroller. You can buy several accessories for the stroller (the cup holder and car seat adapter are the only ones I've gotten) on Amazon and they aren't super expensive, but I hate that they didn't include it originally. Which mama doesn't have a drink with her when she's out and about with the kiddos?
-It is heaver than my Chicco, but I'm ok with that, it serves a better purpose than my Chicco and is much sturdier!
-Mike says sometimes he hits his shins on the second seat- but remember, he is a GIANT (6ft 6in tall)! I haven't ever had a problem with that, and I consider myself pretty average height for a girl (5ft 6in). He has just adapted his stride and it isn't much of a problem now.


In summary, I pretty much am kicking myself for not getting this stroller in the beginning- especially seeing how easy the car seat adapter is! But, we live and we learn! It's a rookie mistake. Want to know another rookie mistake? Paying more for the Chicco car seat that can hold a 30lb baby! See picture for why this is hilarious!

my 28 lb toddler in the car seat that can fit 30lb! :)

This was a super long post- let me know if you have any questions about the stroller I can answer for you!

Love,
K Vog

p.s: I wasn't compensated for my review! It's just my honest opinion of a product I've grown to love!

13 weeks!

Today I am 13 weeks! Only 27 weeks left! :) Some websites say I'm in the second trimester, some say it's not till next week... whatever, I'm celebrating today!

Big sister was in a terrible mood this morning.

How Big is Baby? the size of a peach!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: still only +2lb... reached my goal of gaining between 1 and 3 lb in the first trimester!

Sleep: Waking up at least once to pee, but can go right back to sleep. Still having to take a nap during MK's nap, but feeling much less fatigued during the day.

Movement: I swear I felt something last night, like a little flutter... I know second time mommies feel babe's kicks earlier, but I think this might be too early. It's so hard to distinguish those little flutters from digestion.

Symptoms: Still feeling nauseated when I haven't eaten protien in a couple hours. My go to nausea busters are PB sandwiches and crackers and cheese. Round ligament pain when I sneeze, a little bit of fatigue, peeing all the time still.

Food Cravings/Aversions: WATERMELON!!! I used to never like it, but now I love it! Can't get enough, diet caffine free coke (which Chick-fil-a always carries by the way!)... oh and hamburgers- my body needs iron i guess!

Diet caffine free coke! :)

Gender: We find out in 7 weeks! :) Can't wait. We've got our names pretty much picked out... but we'll keep them a secret until we know what belly bean is for sure.

Belly Button in or out? In, not a big enough bump yet!

What I miss? Having enough energy to get everything done on my to-do list during the day, margaritas :)... that's pretty much it!

What I am looking forward to? The second trimester!! The first flew by, hoping this one slows down. It's such a joy to be pregnant and I don't want to take any of it for granted.

Milestones: Making it to the second trimester! Wahoo!  

Big Sister: Loves to lift up my shirt when I ask her where the baby is, but still thinks she has a baby in her belly too. I can't believe she will be two soon... she's growing up way too fast.

12 weeks

Finally getting to do these fun pregnancy posts! :) The 9 month weight was SO worth it.

Today I am 12 weeks... 3 months!!!

No picture with MK and the chalk board today... Mike's out of town for a couple days so I don't have anyone to take it! :)

How Big is Baby? the size of a lime or a plumb- over 2 inches long and weighs half an ounce

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +2lb... my goal is to gain less than the 40lb I gained with MK...but that came off super easy (thanks breastfeeding and the White Rock Relay!) so I'm not stressing about it!

Sleep: Sleeping like a rock, tired ALL the time and those crazy preggo dreams have started. Must take a nap while MK naps or I'm a wreck the rest of the day.

Movement: Not feeling anything yet... saw baby last week on a sono kicking and waving, I can't wait to feel those flutters!

Symptoms: Nausea when I don't eat but definitely better than a few weeks ago (don't have to take Zofran every morning now!!), headaches, fatigue, sore and growing boobs, super sensitive to smells (mike, Mike's deodorant...poor Mike!), kinda irritable (again, poor Mike!).

Food Cravings/Aversions:First craving came this week: a juicy 5 guys hamburger! No food aversions thankfully!

Gender: ?? Can't wait to find out in 8 weeks! We call baby "Belly Bean." We are sticking with "M" and "K" names (So that our kiddos initails will be our married initails "MKV" or "KMV"). Having a hard time coming up with ones we love... suggestions welcome! Top boy names: Knox and Kole. Top girl names: Khole, Kiley, Kaleigh, Kinsley. We are going to probably make baby's middle name "Michael" either the traditional spelling or "Michal" (King Saul's daughter and King David's first wife from the bible) for a girl after thier dad!
Belly Button in or out? Still in, it definitely popped out with MK though so looking forward to that!

What I miss? A yummy margarita, working out- especially yoga, and "working out" with Mike (doctors orders due to some early complications!), having the energy to get stuff done while MK naps.

What I am looking forward to? Feeling baby move, getting more of a bump, visiting my parents in England in July!

Milestones: Making it to 12 weeks! Making the official facebook/blog annoucement. Excited to be done with the first trimester in the next few weeks.

Big Sister: Loves kissing my belly, says that she has a belly bean in her belly too! "Mammie belly bean too, mama" She loves changing her baby doll's diaper... big sister training!

Happy Fathers Day!

Our family is celebrating double blessings this fathers day- MK and Belly Bean (due Jan 2nd 2013!!).

A more detailed Belly Bean post coming soon... I finally get to do weekly preggo posts! :)

Happy Fathers day to my wonderful daddy- you are such a fabulous example of a Christ follower, I always know I am covered in prayer by you. Thanks for showing me what love looks like in how you adore mom and your girls.

To Mike, you are an awesome daddy to MK and Belly Bean. They are so blessed to call you Dad! Love you hb!


Happy Fathers day!
Love,
The Expecting Vogs!

lessons learned...

A few of the lessons the Vogs have learned/ re-learned this week:

1. A mama who gets to sew is a happy mama. I haven't been feeling up to sewing lately (explanation to come later), but I finally got back to the old machine the other day and finished off a long awaited pillow project for our couch. The green tree pillow is from Pier One from 3 years ago, but the red and green one is one I just made! I got the fabric several months ago at a warehouse sale... I got 1.5 yards for $3! Quite a steal for high quality upholstery fabric.

 2. MK doesn't always learn by example... nope, I never put her to bed in the microwave. When I walked in to her play room to check on the independent playing she said "Shhh mama, baby seeping." She's a really good mommy... we've just got to get her baby a bed!

 3. There is nothing sweeter than watching your man love on your little girl. I heard giggles over the monitor on saturday morning and this is what I saw... they laughed and played in her bed for 20 minutes! Melt my heart you two!

 4. Slow and steady...that's how MK's hair grows! We FINALLY have enough to make a tiny pony tail! There's hope that she might have long hair before middle school!

 5. Don't ever forget... Dominos, although it tastes yummy, HATES your stomach Katy!  

6. Remember, if you ever get chemo at Baylor and you're feeling nauseated, don't look at the TV! Every TV in the infusion room had the Food Network on it. There's just something strange about that to me... if I was getting chemo, the last thing I'd want to look at is food! Seriously though, it was such an honor to watch my sweet friend endure another round of chemo. She brightens up that cancer hospital with her radiant joy... and you could tell that everyone there just loved her! Selfishly I loved having a couple hours with her all to myself... usually we've got our girls in tow and it makes having an uniterrupted conversation hard!

Hope you're learning some fun lessons this week!

Love,

The Vogs

Baby showers, sunshine and bears... oh my!

We've had a busy busy weekend!

It all started with a baby shower that I hosted with 7 other wonderful girls for my sweet friend and community group girl Jessica. I was so excited to celebrate her little boy Jude who is due to arrive in late July! There were several challenges to this shower that the hostesses creatively overcame... a 100+ invite list, a large room in our church that was severerly lacking in decoration, and a tight budget! I think we pulled it off wonderfully and I know that Jessica, James and Jude felt very blessed. I'll do a more detailed post on the shower once I get some pictures! :)

After the shower in the morning, Mike, Maddie and I drove down to Waco to watch our beloved Bears play in the NCAA Super Regionals against Arkansas. There are several reasons why I love living in Dallas, but getting to drive down to Waco (less than 2 hours away) to watch our Bears play definitely tops the list! After picking up our tickets at will call with an hour until first pitch, we checked out the bookstore (and bought a BU blanket since we totally forgot one and we had general admission seats, which means we were stuck out on the grassy knoll along the first base foul line!), went to say hi to the bears, and walked around campus.

One of the bears was out! Maddie loved saying "hi bear!"

It was super hot (upper 90s), but with some creative shade (thanks Shawn for your car shades!), slushies, sweat, and sun screen we cheered the Bears on to an 8-1 victory over the Razorbacks.

our view from the sun-drenched grassy knoll! :) (I'm eating a slushie to keep cool!)

Maddie had a blast! She loved saying "sic em" and cheered and clapped whenever the crowd did. This was her first Baylor sporting event and I'm so excited to take her to more! :)

Our Baylor Bear family! Hello squinty eyes, but Mike and Maddie look cute, so here ya go! :)

Afterwards we had dinner at the Elite Circle Grill.... can you say "Veggie Sandwhich?" It's one of my all time favorites in Waco and it was just as delicious as I remembered in college. MK had a bit of a meltdown in the restaurant, but for an almost two year old out past her bedtime who had been in the sun for 3 hours, it was understandable! C'est la vie as a parent of a toddler!

After getting home at 10pm, we got up early for chuch to watch the babies in the nursery. Mike and I were in the newborn room (3-6 month olds) and we were totally shocked at how much we had forgotten about little babies! They just kinda sit around and either sleep or cry! I remember thinking about how hard it was to have a 3 month old... now, looking back, it was a walk in the park compared to having an active, boundary testing toddler! It was so sweet to cuddle these sweet babies so thier parents could go enjoy church. Because Mike and I served in the nursery for 2 years before we had MK, we felt super comfortable leaving MK in the nursery at Watermark when she was 2-3 months old... and we felt so blessed that people loved on MK so that we could go worship and get filled up! The other volunteers in the newborn room were all different stages of pregnant, so poor Mike was stuck in a small room with a bunch of preggos and 10 newborns! :)

We have a busy week ahead of us... swimming lessons, doctors appointments, Merge, lunch with friends, pool play dates, and something mom's really excited about- Mom's Night Out! :)

How was your weekend?

Love,


The very tired Vogs!

MWW- sometimes, the thought is worse than the reality!

Here's a MWW I've been working on for a while...

I love change, always have. I loved moving as a child, meeting new people, I love new adventures. I re-arrange the furniture in our house every other month- seriously, ask my friends they always comment on it! The title of my blog is "A Baby Changes Everything"... and boy does it! Even if you are a change-a-holic, the constant routine busting changes that a baby/toddler brings can be daunting!

Bye bye crib... now what to do with that space... sound like a re-arrange is in order for MK's room! :)

One of those changes I was dreading was the crib to bed transition. If you've been tracking with us for a while, y'all know that I was transitioning her slowly, letting her nap in the bed and sleep at night in the crib. I was so nervous that she would get out of bed at night or in the morning that I was very hesitant to make the switch at night. When we visited my parents back in April, my mom had set up my little sisters trundle with a toddler rail all ready for MK and we decided to pull the plug and make the switch that week. And to my surprise (although maybe I shouldn't be because MK is a "go with the flow" kinda girl and handles change very well!) she did fantastic! She hasn't gotten our of her bed before we come into get her, which we praise and reward her for everytime! I know that one day she'll realize the huge amount of freedom she has in her big girl bed... and we'll have to deal with it when it comes!

MK loves hiding in her bed!

I've only done this with one kid, and like I said before, MK has always been very easy going and handles change well.... So I can't say if the slow transition would be good for every baby, but it certainly worked well for us! I also didn't push MK into her big girl bed, I let her sleep in it if she wanted to at first, which I also think helped with the smooth transition. Oh, and if you're a mom who doesn't have a video monitor yet for your baby... get one! I don't know what I'd do without it, especially during this transition phase. That's a post for another day... baby gear I couldn't live without! :)

MK sleeping in her big girl bed for the first time at night at Gigi and Poppy's house!

Any experienced mom's have any suggestions for my readers who have babes that might have a rougher time with the transition?

Love,
K. Vog

Finally...

We got a new laptop! Now I can get back to keeping all of my loyal readers updated.

This update will be short and sweet, but I promise that this week will filled with many more detailed posts... how's that for a cliff hanger?

We are splashing into summer in style... with a new car (yay mommy car... blog post on that coming soon too!), lots of swimming with our favorite Widemans and even a trip to the Ft. Worth Zoo sprinkled in there! I'll do a review of the zoo soon, but we LOVED it... so worth the trip to Ft. Worth.

A make shift water slide in the back yard= hours of fun in the sun and mommy getting a base tan!

How are you kicking off the summer?

Excited to get back to blogging again,
Love,
K. Vog