Guys, I just went down memory lane so hard with these photos! Look at this little sweet treat I've got in my arms here! She has already grown SO MUCH since these photos were taken back in October. 

I haven't really done much blogging about this whole Baby thing. It's pretty hard to express in words. I now have a huge appreciation for those mom-bloggers out there who seem able to do it so eloquently (Megan and Erin come to mind). But if you know me, you know how obsessed I am with taking photos to document life - and this is why. If in the future I ever wonder how I felt, or how life looked back in fall 2016 when Rowen was 4 months old...these photos will remind me in an instant. In our faces I see elation, exhaustion, pride, effort, cluelessness, and overwhelming gratitude. You may not see it, but believe me, it's in there ;). 

Many thanks to Michelle Feileacan for taking these beautiful shots of our little family!

All photos by Michelle Feileacan.

What do you buy a Tiny House baby for Christmas??

People love to ask us how on earth we are handling the baby in the tiny house. And the answer is...pretty much the same as everyone else with a baby (i.e. we're exhausted, happy, insanely busy, in love, exhausted...)! But clearly, we have a few extra challenges to deal with...and clearly one of those challenges is space. So as we a approach a holiday that exaggerates the need for things, I thought a bit about what a tiny-house-baby (or any minimalist baby!) might appreciate for Christmas :).

Tiny-House Baby Holiday Wish List

chatbooks / baby beads wood rattle / green toys elephant / jungle rumble bath book / the lorax / pixie hat / sippy cups / zig zag bunting / wave pants / bowls / rainbow fish / booties / artifact uprising

Memories
There are so many cute services for printing photos and memory books these days! I've heard great things about Chatbooks - can't wait to try them. Shutterfly, Snapfish and Artifact Uprising are some of my favorite photo services. Prints, frames, photo books (or gift certs for these things) will end up being valued so much by lil babes in the long term!

Small Toys
Toys for kiddos are important for fun and development (and distraction, so Mama can get something done from time to time). But too many toys is just not an option in our house! So, just keep it simple - even tiny-house babes need the good toys!

Experiences
The gift that keeps on giving! This is by far my favorite tiny house gift (for babies or anyone) because it takes up NO room and our lives become so enriched by the excursions and experiences we have. Museums, meals, camping, shows - there are so many experiences you can give at the holidays and they mean so much more than accumulated stuff!

Necessities
There is a time and place for adorable dresses and cutiesie tootsie accessories, but for tiny housers it's best to keep it pretty minimalistic. That said, a girl's gotta get dressed, so you'll never go wrong with high-quality basics and necessities.

Books
There will always be room for books! Rowen got so many great board books at my baby showers, and we read them all the time. I'm so excited to expand our collection as she grows older (and I love the idea of incorporating books that inspire simplicity and gratitude).

Something for Mom and Dad
Happy parents, happy child ;). Experiences and support for the parents like a gift certificate to a local restaurant or tickets to a show will always go over well.

And to conclude I have to say...as far as I can tell, babies really don't need anything at all for Christmas. A dishrag, a silly voice and a nice walk is about all Rowen could ever ask for ;).  I hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season!!

Tiny House Details

My lovely friend Alexa is wonderful at capturing photos that are as beautiful as life really is! She helped us snag these shots (plus more I'll share soon) of the tiny house recently, and I just love each and every one of them. This is where we live, in a nutshell! 

Tiny Links

Photo from Small House Bliss

Hi from the Tiny House! We've been hard at work preparing this little abode for baby girl. It's coming together! Helps that my wardrobe has shrunken down immensely (whether I like it or not) as my belly grows. 6 weeks left and counting!

I thought it would be fun to check in with some links I've found around the web recently....

Tiny Homes 

I'm obsessed with this tiny cottage in Sweden.

Live small without moving into a tiny house.

There's room for pets in tiny homes too.

It's so fun that we've met some local tiny house friends! Check @nosenseofproportion and @tinyhousefamily out on Instagram :).

Minimalism

The connection between clutter and finances.

Creative ways to declutter your home.

A case for eliminating most of your wardrobe!

I enjoyed this article. Favorite quote: "When minimalism and the pursuit of simple turns into a weird competition of who can want the least, the point has been missed."

Tiny House Tour

Lately, with the addition of a little deck and with the sunshiney weather allowing for wide open windows and evenings outdoors, I'm falling more and more in love with our home. I think I'm still partly surprised at how comfortable we are here, and at how spacious and "enough" it feels. I'm surprised I never feel cramped, or like I'm bumping into Jim, or like I need a big ol' bathtub. What I'm not surprised about is my contentment with the simplicity of this place. At any given moment I know exactly where all of my things are! It's all right here. We have four plates, two wine glasses, and just one spatula. (So, doing the dishes is constantly necessary, and takes all of thirty seconds). My wardrobe is shrinking every week, partially due to my need for maternity wear and partially due to my new found addiction to purging. My books and camera and all of my favorite things are within arms reach. I look outside each day at shimmering green hills and valley oak trees. It's all much, much more than enough. 

I recently got around to taking some photos of our home. Enjoy!

Tiny Living Update

This tiny-living thing is working for me.

It's been about four months since we transitioned into living in a 275-square-foot box-on-wheels. There were a lot more kinks to work out than you might think! We leveled it, then ended up moving it 15 feet over and leveling it again. We figured out how to get the best use of our solar energy, after quite a few evenings of snuggling up by camp lantern and candlelight. We realized that the solar situation we have now can't support the washer/dryer combo we'd purchased, so we moved it out and have been doing our laundry by rolling it down the hill in a wagon. It also can't really support the refrigerator when it's cloudy for 3+ days, so awhile there we lived off campus dining and pantry food. There's been a lot of tweaking and moving and fixing and organizing. Composting and gray water situating. And a lot of thingamabob purchasing (thank you Amazon Prime!).

I can't say it's been without trials but we've had so much fun piecing together this little puzzle of ours. Whether we planned to or not, we have been "nesting" since the day we found out about little figgy. It's been the perfect project to keep us focused on the present, encouraging us to put our energy into our home and ourselves. We're brought closer together each day, by the shared challenges, happy moments, and tight quarters. A productive weekend to us right now means accomplishing a tiny house project or two, and catching up fully on sleep (which makes my pregnant self incredibly happy). In this space that still feels new, we find adventure just by hiking in the nearby hills, watching hummingbirds outside our window, and sitting in our chairs outside the front door watching the deer and owls come out for the evening. We fit so well in this small space, made just for us, like a dreamed up treehouse or childhood fort. It's our teeny tiny home.

I can't wait to continue tracking our tiny home progression with figgy's growth. Found out the gender - got the tiny house wifi situated. Felt the first movements - set up our projector and screen. Maybe next week it'll be: size of a carrot - built the deck!

Thank you, tiny house, for growing with us! I'm so grateful for this season.

A Tiny Adventure is Coming...

I've got a little announcement to make.......

Jimmy and I are expecting our first bambino this coming July!

We are over the moon excited. 

And I cannot believe I'm over 19 weeks already - whaaatt? Where does time go? It seems like just yesterday that we found out. Jimmy was working on the house and I had gone back to the cottage (our previous home) to pick up a few things. I decided to grab a pregnancy test on the way (I was about a week late). It was literally the WEEK that the tiny-house rolled onto the property (talk about a big week in the Rowe-Ladio household!!) and Jim was working on leveling and raising the house. I took the test on my own in the quiet cottage, and I will never forget seeing those two bright pink lines. The drive and then walk to the tiny-house were the longest of my life as I waited to share the news with Jim. I was kind of freaking out -- a huge ball of nerves! When I got to him he started talking to me about tiny-house logistics but I must have had some crazy look on my face because he stopped mid-sentence and said "what's wrong?". I looked at him with my wide-eyes and somehow he saw the truth on my face, I didn't even have to say a word (he knew I was planning to take a test sometime soon but didn't know exactly when). He just said "REALLY!?" and I nodded and immediately burst into big happy/shocked/omg tears. He hugged me tight and told me about how wonderful it was going to be.

Here are some fuzzy iphone selfies we snapped right after I broke the news:

We have been overwhelmed with all of the happiness and support our family and community has shown.

People have also shown a lot of curiosity about how we're going to fit a baby into our 275 sq-foot house on wheels! We're definitely going to have to get creative about that but we're excited to make it work. We'll be sure to share as we go along!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!


P.S. Gender reveal photos to come SOON.

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Photo creds go to my beautiful friend Alexa.

Weekend Tiny Links

Happy weekend, everyone! I'm up in beautiful Tahoe enjoying some relaxing girl time in the snow. Lots of reading, journaling, yoga-ing, skiing and girl-chatting going on 'round here. And maybe a little bit of wedding planning on my part :). I hope you East Coasters are staying safe and warm! Here are some links I enjoyed from around the web this week - hope you enjoy too. 

p.s. the pic above is of our teeny tiny kitchen -- full tour to come soon! :)

Links on Tiny Living

Many tiny-housers eventually go big.

The nearby city of Fresno recently passed groundbreaking Tiny House rules!

Some thoughts on how to live in a small-house without killing your spouse.

Tiny house on water *heart eyes*.

Links on Minimalism

Benefits of simple living. 

Notes on building habits. 

Rules for getting decluttered.