Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Baby Faves {6-9 Months}

With C's 9 month birthday fast approaching I thought I would go ahead and share some of her and our favorite items that we've discovered over the past few months from 6 months and up. These are a few items that I've really come to love!

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These have been a lifesaver for us as it's gotten colder and colder in Virginia, and Georgia, while we've been home. C HATES to keep shoes on her feet and will rip off her socks, or crawl out of them, in about five seconds flat. These things are the only thing that will stay on her feet and keep her little tootsies nice and toasty. They are a bit pricey in my opinion but well worth it. She got a set from Santa (aka grandma) and we loved them so much that we bought her a second pair within the same week. 

Love, love, love these things. C has already had a few colds this winter and the first few rounds I attempted to just use tissues or baby wipes to get rid of those nasty boogies. In step boogie wipes, which I had registered for and received as a baby shower gift. You know, one of those things you just scan and think "What the heck?". Well, I reached for them a few weeks ago and they are fantastic. They are thinner than baby wipes but really help get that nasty gunk outta there. 

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Now that C is in her "throwing" phase and finds it absolutely hilarious to chunk her toys across the room or onto the street in her stroller, the Dropper Stopper really helps contain things. It can clip on to your stroller, high chair at a restaurant, or car seat to keep their favorite little toy close at hand and not on the ground. You can also attach a bottle or sippy cup.

I found these bibs on Instagram and waited until they were having a pre-Christmas sale to order some. I wasn't disappointed. These things are great for traveling and keeping in your diaper bag. They  are SO easy to clean, simply wipe off. The best feature though is the tough snap. C always pulls at the ones that velcro and will chunk them on the floor. These cover her all the way up to her neck and she can't pull them off. Plus they come in the cutest colors ;)

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I received these as a gift for Christmas and am already in love. I had gotten to the point where I couldn't wear any jewelry because C would always reach for it, pull it, and chew on it. In steps Mama & Little. They have an amazing line of teething friendly Mama jewelry which is actually super cute. They best part is is that it's totally safe for your little to chew on and keeps them entertained when you're holding them. It's also a great go to teething toy in a pinch. 

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I was so over the big, bulky, "cute" diaper bag phase after our trip to DC and was on the hunt for a small and practical alternative. I wanted something my husband would carry and something that I could throw the essentials in for short trips to the store or for playdates. My major criteria though was that it came in a backpack. I wear C a lot and having something that I can throw over one should and have it STAY, unlike a purse type bag, was essential. The Kanken was the best alternative. It makes for a fantastic mini diaper bag as it has tons of great hidden little pockets and is practically sized. Even better though is that when C gets older she can use it as a backpack herself for school or when we travel as they were originally designed for Swedish school children. It's also incredibly durable and waterproof, score!

{Solly Baby Wrap}
I can't rave enough about my Solly Baby Wrap. I use this thing almost daily with C when we go out and about. I waited until she was about 6 months to get one but so wish I had had it from the day we came home from the hospital. She loves this thing. I find it's way more comfortable than the Ergo and much cooler in the hotter weather. I still love our Ergo and use it often too, but I love the ease of packing the Solly and how much better it is on my back for extended periods of time. 


Monday, December 8, 2014

{8 Months}

C is 8 months old and continues to grow like a weed! She has made huge leaps this month and learned a ton!

{Some of her favorite things}
*Talking...a lot, and loudly!
*Saying "MaMa" when she is tired or hungry
*Sleeping on her belly, still!
*Walking in her walker around the kitchen.
*CRAWLING!
*Pulling up on things.
*Trying to pull down the Christmas tree.
*Eating three meals a day.

{Some of her least favorite things}
*Having her clothes and diaper changed
*Riding on the car
*Taking a bottle

As you can see from above, C learned to crawl this month and she is so excited about it! She loves finally being able to get to things that were previously out of her reach. She also started pulling up on things as well and I'm sure will be standing before we know it. She still will not take a bottle but thankfully can get by with eating real food if mom needs to get away for bit! C is also still nursing 6-7 times a day and is not sleeping through the night every night. We've had one night where she slept 11 hours but it was clearly a fluke ;) We are so excited to celebrate Christmas with family this year and to take our little girl home for the holidays!






Tuesday, November 4, 2014

{7 Months}

Our baby girl is 7 months old this week! I'll say it again, where is the time going? I remember thinking this time last year when I was pregnant with her that this time next year we would have a little munchkin and she would be partaking in all the holiday festivities that come with Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is mind blowing that that time is coming up very shortly and we will be celebrating the holiday season with our precious little girl for the first time this year!

This month she has really grown by leaps and bounds! Some new things about C now that she is 7 months old:
*In 9 month sized Pj's
*Still love sleeping on our belly
*Loves pumpkin
*Mommy is still the only one that can get me to sleep 
*No longer likes to take bottles
*Learned to "rock" on my knees but still prefer to roll everywhere instead of crawling
*Can talk like a big girl now and make consonant sounds 









Sunday, November 2, 2014

DC Trip

This weekend we ventured a few hours to visit some old friends who are living in DC. I hadn't been since I went in middle school, too many years ago to count, so it was fun to go back and explore with C and the hubs! We had the best tour guides which made the trip seamless and super fun.

We went and visited Arlington Cemetery first which was gorgeous this time of year! If you ever want to know when to travel to DC this is the best time to do it. The weather was slightly chilly but in my opinion that's much better than dealing with the awful heat and humidity of the summer. Plus the leaves were incredibly gorgeous and we weren't dealing with hundreds of crazy tourists. The cemetery though was really neat and we enjoyed walking around and taking it all in. We went and saw the changing of the guard at the unmarked soldiers tomb and then ventured up the hill to see the old home of Robert E. Lee's family. To say there was a stunning view of DC from the front steps would have been an understatement.

The Lee home.

View from The Lee house.


Waiting for the changing of the guard.



We ventured downtown a little more and visited the Air and Space Museum next. I have an odd fascination with outer space so I loved seeing all those exhibits, while of course the hubs loved all the airplanes on display as well as the Space Shuttle exhibit. 

Lastly we headed to Georgetown to grab some lunch (and cupcakes) so the boys could find somewhere to watch some football while the girls shopped. Georgetown is super swanky so it was fun to see all of the fancy shops and window shop a little. Of course a stop in Anthropology was in order!

I was shocked how well C did the entire time we were out and about. Thanks to the help of the awesome Ergo she was able to nap in there when she got fussy and tired and it also helped keep her nice and cozy despite the cold and crazy wind. 

Zane and Nichole were such awesome hosts and we really had a fantastic time! They were so gracious to take a whole Saturday to show us around DC and host us at their home! We couldn't have had a better weekend...well that's if Georgia hadn't decided to play their worst game of the season against our worst rivals. But that's still a sore topic in our household.

Ready for their day of exploring!




C loved hanging out with Zane and Nichole!


Oh and did I mention that this little nugget turned 7 MONTHS while we were away! I cannot believe it! I'll be sure and get her 7 month checkup post in soon with some cute pictures from this past month you guys haven't seen yet ;) 

Love this girl!


Wednesday, October 15, 2014

{6 Months}

Our precious baby girl is 6 months old!
She is getting bigger and bigger by the day and we can't believe how many new things she has learned just in the last 4 weeks. Some of her favorite things now are:

*Tickles from daddy
*Sleeping on her belly...still!
*Rolling on to her belly every chance she gets (tummy time isn't the worst any longer)
*Bath time! It's still her favorite thing in the world.
*Being "worn" by mom. We LOVE our Solly Baby Wrap
*EATING! Bananas are our most favorite!

C has started eating solid foods this month now that she is 6 months old, and she surprisingly loves them! Girl can eat and eat and eat! She loves to try new things, and even if she doesn't like the taste of something she will still ask for more since she loves the act of eating so much. It's fun to see her try new things and become a big girl. We are working on crawling and I'm sure she will get the hang of it before we know it! She can also sit up if we put her in an upright position and hold it for a good long while! Girls got some great core strength ;)








Sunday, October 5, 2014

Christmas In...October?

It's finally fall and you know what, I'm skipping right to winter and talking about Christmas! I figured you guys would forgive me because, who doesn't love Christmas?

I will be the first to admit that I get really wrapped up in the thought of getting and giving "things" for Christmas. I feel like the holidays are mostly spent running around looking for that perfect gift for those you love, or spent anticipating what you might be getting in return. I feel we often lose sight of the real reason of Christmas and get so caught up with the materialistic part of it. To be honest it's just down right exhausting and I'm tired of it.

This leads me to something new we are going to try out this holiday season. We will each be giving one another four gifts. Yup, four gifts total:
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I had seen this idea floating around online last fall and really really loved it! Now that C is with us, and this will be her first Christmas, I figured what better time to start a new Christmas tradition? I know it's going to be REALLY hard to stick to this four gifts thing, especially with a precious little babe I want to spoil rotten. That's the main reason I'm sharing this with you all, in the hopes that you will hold me accountable as December 25th draws closer! I want us to try and focus on the whole reason of the holidays, spending time with those you love and celebrating the birth of our savior. We can't wait to celebrate all the fun things that fall and winter bring and hopefully narrowing our gift list for one another will help us keep focused on what's most important :) 

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Treat Yo Self

So, a few weeks ago one of my Facebook friends contacted me about doing a mommy pampering post using Rodan and Fields products. Before C was born I had actually been dying to try their Unblemish line, as I had horrible horrible acne for 90% of my pregnancy. Now, acne was not something new to me. I've been battling it as long as I can remember and I HATE IT. I mean who doesn't right? Acne is one of those things that just drags your confidence level down to zero. Every time someone would look at me, all I could think was, "are they looking at my bumps"? So annoying and so embarrassing. I hated that the first thing I saw every morning when I woke up were these ugly red spots all over my face. It's hard enough feeling comfortable in your skin as a new mom too, between losing the baby weight, dealing with what feels like a head of hair thats going bald, and growing accustomed to those dark circles under your eyes from lack of sleep. The last thing you want to add on top of that is gross skin that makes you look like a pubescent teenager....

In steps Rodan and Fields. Simply put, this stuff is amazing. Really. Before and after C was born I felt like I literally tried every acne regime you can think of. I tried Proactive in the past, I had tried all the over the counter products from the store, and even tried what felt like every natural remedy there is. All that to say, this was my last ditch effort and I was pumped to try it out. The Unblemished line has worked wonders for me after being on it for one month. You start out slow with these products, only using them once a day for the first week and then slowly bumping it up until you are up to two times a day, morning and night. The best part is, is that if you notice something drying your skin out or irritating it you can back off and only use it once a day or every other day if need be. It's totally customizable which I love. I would highly recommend the Unblemish line to anyone and could not be happier with the results I've seen! Check it out y'all, it's awesome!




I also decided to take some before and after photos so you guys could see my personal results. Here's a glimpse of me totally barefaced....prepare yourself!
As you can see my forehead was atrocious
and I had this nasty bump above my lip that
was stubborn as all get out.

One week in and the bump above my
lip is almost totally gone and all the redness on
my forehead and deceased dramatically.

After week 3 the redness as almost totally gone
and my skin was super smooth!

One month in and my skin felt better than it had in years!
Love R&F products!
*If you have any questions please contact, Katie Grissom. She was the awesome representative that prompted me to do this post and she will gladly help you out with any questions you may have about any Rodan and Fields products!