Catching Up/WILW

Well, hello! How about a nearly four month blogging hiatus? Why, yes, I think I will!

Anyway, in all seriousness, my break from blogging was not intended. Life has gotten busy and I have gotten lazy about blogging! Emmie is now over 11 months old, Christmas is next week and somehow 2012 is nearly over. I think it goes without saying, but this year has absolutely flown by. I need to get back into blogging regularly. Not only do I miss it, but I know that I'll regret not journaling all the memories we are making.

What better way to get back into it than a WILW post?!

1) L'Oreal Youth Code BB Cream

This stuff absolutely rocks. My old makeup routine looked like this: wash face, apply moisturizer, apply concealer, apply Bare Minerals foundation, then apply Bare Minerals Mineral Veil. Well, due to this magic stuff, now, I have completely eliminated the moisturizer, foundation and some days, even the concealer. The BB cream goes on smoothly, makes my skin tone so much more even and even has anti-aging products in it. Love.

2) Homeland

I know I'm a little late on this, but this show is amazing. We just started watching Season 1 a few nights ago and have blazed through 11 episodes already. We are die-hard Dexter fans in this house, but Homeland is giving Dexter a run for the money, big time. 

3) Pura Vida Bracelets

I picked up a couple of these last month on a whim and haven't taken them off since. I got a white one with a circle and a tan one with a cross and I love how they layer well with other bracelets, or just look cute on their own. They're also waterproof and super light, so they are super versatile. And the proceeds go to a great cause! www.puravidabracelets.com

4) Christmas

Between decorating, shopping, baking, etc., I am in the full on Christmas spirit this year. I've always been Christmas crazy, but I think this year is even more exciting since it will be Emmie's first Christmas. What's more, we leave tomorrow for the Blue Ridge Mountains in GA for a mountain Christmas with my family. I think it's going to be so much fun to have everyone together and to create some new memories!

What are you loving today?? 

Emmie - 7 Months

Emmie-

Happy 7 months! And what an exciting month it was! We were actually in Atlanta on your 7 month birthday, thus the delay. You have grown and changed so much in the past month that I can barely believe it. You are SO mobile now and are constantly on the move. Every day, you become less of a "baby" and more of a "person". It is so much fun to watch! Here is what has been going on with you lately:

Loves: Going on walks, swinging at the park, meeting new people and having them talk to you, eating, feeding yourself, being tickled, being tossed in the air, being held upside down

Eating: Nursing 4-5 times per day and eating solids twice per day. I'm pretty sure you're ready to drop to 4 nursing sessions and will be dropping the fifth session this week. You have been eating solids like a champ lately. You absolutely LOVE feeding yourself puffs and yogurt melts and are taking down those plus 4 oz of baby food at breakfast, then puffs/yogurt melts plus 8 oz of baby food at dinner. I can't wait to start making the transition to "real food" in the next couple of months. 

Sleeping:  You still sleep so well! 11-12 hours at night (lately 12 -- ever since we put the blinds in your room back up...it must have been the early morning light waking you up) and taking two naps per day. Your morning nap is usually around 9-10:30 and afternoon nap is 2:30-4 or so.

Clothes: 6-9 month/6-12 month. Size 2 diapers. 

Firsts: Lots of firsts this month! First time eating "real" solids (non-purees), first time flying on a plane (you did great, as expected!), first time pulling up (and now you do it all the time...uh oh!), first time waving "bye-bye", first time swinging at the park, first time visiting the mountains, first time meeting your cousin Baylor and Aunt Jenni.

Here's what happens when we try to change your diaper. You immediately turn over and try to crawl away!

And our photoshoot was a bit of a challenge this month. 

 Smiling and posing...

Oh, let me grab that camera!

What?! The camera is not for me? Alright, see ya later!

So we move to the floor to try to get you to cooperate! 

 And that lasts for a minute or so.

 Hiking in Gatlinburg. The Smoky Mountains!

So excited to be with family in ATL.

Swinging at the park for the first time. 

What a fun month! As much as I hate watching time fly by and you grow up, I love the sweet little girl you are becoming!  

Emmie - 6 Months

Emmie-

This post is a little belated, as you are now approaching SEVEN months, but better late than never, right? I can't believe your 6 month birthday has come and gone. You continue to be such a joyful, happy baby and we are so thankful for that! This month has brought a major increase in mobility, as you are trying very, very hard to crawl and a little more independence with that. Here's what's been happening with you:

Loves: The dogs (ANY dogs for that matter), playing peek-a-boo, being sung to, playing with keys or sunglasses, being tickled, taking baths.

Eating: Nursing 5 times per day and eating solids twice per day. You are finicky with your solids, as you lose interest in eating about halfway through each meal, but we keep at it, since your doctor told us we need to up your intake of solids!

Sleeping:  Sleeping great! Bedtime is at 7:30 and you typically wake up at 7 the next morning. At your 6 month mark, you were still taking 3 naps per day (one long one in the morning, usually 9-11, then two afternoon catnaps). 

Clothes: some 3-6/6 month, some 6-9 month/9 month. Size 2 diapers. 

Firsts: First tooth! You handled it like a champ. One morning I was feeling your gums as I thought you might be teething and was shocked to find a tooth that had broken through! First time spending the night away from home (Papa G and Gigi kept you and you did great!). First time drinking water (you love water!). First time sitting up on your own.

Here are some photos of you!  (Yes, that is blue painter's tape on the wall. Still trying to find the time to paint the trim!)

Looking forward to month 7!!

Wednesday Love!

Good morning! I hope everyone is having a great week! It's been H-O-T here lately and I am ready for a break from this weather. Here's what I'm loving this week!

1) Emi Jay hair ties. I've heard about these and seen them around, but didn't understand the appeal until recently. They don't dent your hair, look sophisticated and cute (in your hair or on your wrist) and come in a plethora of colors! I'll definitely be ordering some more.

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2) This recipe. I made it Sunday night for the first time and it was a huge hit. I subbed out ground turkey and broccoli for the ham and zucchini and made them bigger, as I didn't have a mini muffin tin and they were great! Michael and I both happily ate the leftovers for lunch on Monday, too!

3)  The Fifty Shades of Grey books. I know, I know. I got sucked in because I wanted to know what all the fuss was about and while the writing is terrible and there are an awful lot of sex scenes, I was intrigued by the storyline and finished the first book in less than two days. I am now shamefully reading  book two. 

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What are you loving this week? Have you read Fifty Shades yet? Go link up with Jamie and let everyone know!

Emmie - 5 Months

Emmie-

Somehow you are 5 months old now. I cannot believe how quickly this is going by! I've said it before, but each month, I think, "This is my favorite age," so I'm sure it will continue to be that way. It is such a joy to watch you grow and discover the world around you and I'm so thankful that I have the opportunity to be home with you while you do so. 

You continue to be the happiest, sweetest girl. If I had a dollar for every time someone told me that you are "the happiest baby," I'd be very rich! You LOVE seeing new people and places and having others talk to you. I can already tell that you are going to have the best personality and I love watching it develop!

Here are some highlights from this month:

Loves: The dogs (My goodness, you LOVE those puppies! You could be crying your eyes out and the minute you see them, you start to smile and laugh!), eating, Sophie the Giraffe, going on walks/runs, grabbing your feet & toes, being outside.

Eating: Still nursing 5 times per day and now eating solids 2 times per day, once in the morning and once in the evening. So far, you've tried bananas, avocado, apples, pears, sweet potatoes and squash. You're still wary of anything that's not mixed with breastmilk & cereal, but I would like to start Baby Led Weaning at 6 months, so hopefully that will change!

Sleeping:  We are back to sleeping well! You are sleeping about 11 hours per night (going to bed at 7:30 and getting up at 6:30-7:00) and taking 3 naps per day. I think the sunlight streaming into your room in the mornings is contributing to your early wake up time, though, so I hope to remedy that soon with some blackout curtains!

Clothes: All 3-6 month/6 month clothing and now size 2 diapers! 

Firsts: First time eating real food,  first time rolling from back to tummy (you've been rolling from tummy to back since month 2),  first time drinking from a sippy cup, first time staying in the nursery at the gym, first time swimming.

Some recent pictures:

Now, on to month 6. I can't believe it!!

WILW

Happy Wednesday, everyone! How about another round of What I'm Loving Wednesday? Why not! Here's what's been making me smile this week!

1) Target dresses! I got these two recently and just love, love, love them.

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2) This book. It's our most recent book club pick and it's really good. I find myself avoiding finishing it because I don't want it to be over!

3) Upcoming travels. My stepmom and I just booked our flights this evening to go visit my sister-in-law and nephew in Atlanta in August and I'm so excited. It's been way too long and I'm looking forward to a relaxing trip! It will also be Emmie's first time flying!

4) Pedicures! I got my first one since Emmie was born the other day, and I had forgotten how relaxing they are. My feet feel (and look) so much better!

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I wound up going with this color-Essie's Dive Bar, but it's a little darker than I expected. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to go back and get another pedicure soon, right?!

What are you loving this week? 

Mexican Food, Cookouts and Father's Day

Mexican food, cookouts and Father's Day...those about sum up our weekend. Well, not entirely, but close. We had a wonderful, relaxing weekend and I'm sad that it went by so quickly.

Friday night we stayed in and had some friends over to grill out. We had burgers, salad and oven roasted potatoes...yum! Saturday, we got up, did some things around the house and then went to lunch at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Deli Mexicana. It was so good! I got their red snapper salad (pictured below) and it was incredible. Light, fresh and delicious (and I didn't even have to leave feeling guilty for eating heavy Mexican food)!

Saturday afternoon, we attended a "Stock the Pool" party hosted by some good friends of ours. They just moved to a fabulous new house and invited everyone over to break in/stock the pool. It was a little overcast, so the water was too chilly for Emmie to enjoy it, but it was loads of fun nonetheless! I made my own version of Emily's vegetable quinoa salad (I subbed out edamame for the peas) and it was a huge hit! It was my first experience cooking with miso. Now I have a whole tub of white miso that I'm going to have to figure out a use for, but I think I'm up to the challenge.

(I forgot to take a photo of the finished product, but here are the veggies sauteeing for the salad)

Sunday was Michael's first Father's Day and it was perfect! Emmie got up early, but wound up taking a 2.5 hour morning nap (I think the pool partying wore her out!), which means Mom and Dad also took a 2.5 hour morning nap! What a perfect Father's Day gift! After she woke up and ate, we headed to brunch at Celtic Crossing. We have fallen in love with their omelets (veggie for me, Irish for Michael) and the live music they have each Sunday. 

(We entertained ourselves while we waited on our food by having a mini photo shoot with Emmie. I am obsessed with her outfit!) 

After lunch, we ran to Target, Garden Ridge and Home Depot so we could wrap up our latest house project...the sunroom (post on that to come this week!). 

(This photo is actually from Friday, but look who's sitting up in the basket like a big girl. Jeez. Where is the time going??)

We headed home to do some work and let Emmie nap, then headed back out for our second Father's Day meal of the day and second Mexican meal of weekend. El Porton on Sunday evenings is quickly becoming a weekly tradition for us. They have a huge patio, it's super kid friendly and it's pretty inexpensive. Oh, and the margaritas are awesome. While we enjoyed our food/drink, we let Emmie experiment with a sippy cup. She liked it!

We wrapped up the weekend by relaxing on the couch and getting in bed early. Not a bad weekend if you ask me!

How was everyone else's weekend?

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone's week is going well. It's been a while, so I've decided to link up with Jamie to share what I'm loving this lately.

1) Our new Tervis Tumblers! We've always had a couple of Memphis Tigers ones, but I've always wanted a set of monogrammed ones. I love them! They really are the best "glasses" for everyday, casual use.

Here's a crappy iPhone photo of one of them. 

2) This pinterest recipe. I've been subbing out laughing cow cheese for the cream cheese and have had it for lunch nearly every day for the past week. It is delicious, filling and pretty healthy! 

3) Running! I've finally gotten back into the swing of things since Emmie was born and have been running a lot. We did the Harbortown 5K a couple of weeks ago, the Gibson this weekend and are signed up for LuvMud, which is in a week and a half. I had forgotten how much I enjoy running and races! 

Our little family after the Gibson 5K.

4) My new iPhone! I'd been using the 3 for a couple of years and was due for an upgrade, so I got the 4. The upgrades are nice and the camera is great. I love that the face is white, too! 

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What are you loving lately? 

West Elm Love

As I mentioned in my previous post, we recently moved to a new house. With the new house comes new rooms to decorate, so I've been picking up a few things here and there in an attempt to slowly furnish the additional rooms we've acquired, and have been loving some West Elm lately. We have an outlet here in Memphis that is connected to the Pottery Barn outlet, so it's like a little piece of decorating heaven! Here are a few of the things I've picked up lately (all at awesome prices, too!):

These silk pillows match our den perfectly. I love the pattern!

Curtains for the den. I got these for only $24.99 per panel.

A new dining table! It has a small scratch on the underside of it, so it was marked to half off. 

And finally...a new living room rug. I wasn't planning on buying it the day I went in there, but it was the only one they had and on clearance for 60% off. 

I'm thinking I am going to paint the walls a soft, muted yellow to add a pop of color to the room. They are currently a light grey, and while I like it, I think the grey walls plus grey rug plus cream couch are a little too monochromatic. What do you think about yellow walls? I'm leaning toward something like 

this:

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Emmie - 4 Months

Well, somehow another month has gone by and you are now over four months old. A third of a year already! Here's what's been going on with you in the past month.

We moved to a new house (more on that soon), you spent the whole day away from me (while moving), you attended your first BBQ Festival and we went to the doctor for your four month checkup. We found out you weigh 11 lbs, 11.5 ounces and are 24 inches long. Tall and thin, just like your daddy! Your doctor said he was "very impressed" with your muscular tone and strength!

Loves: Going new places, being tickled, eating, shaking your rattle, sitting in your high chair, "talking" (attempting to repeat syllables and sounds). 

Eating: We've now graduated to nursing every three hours and it's great. It's amazing how much more free time we have now that you only nurse for 20 minutes (and not 45 like a couple of months ago!). You also started eating rice cereal a couple of weeks ago and you LOVE it. You grab the spoon from my hand and try to feed yourself, then cry if you think someone is trying to take it away. You've also begun to hold your own bottle when we give you one!

Sleeping:  You still sleep well, but we've hit a little bit of the "4 month sleep regression". For a few days a couple of weeks ago, you started waking up in the middle of the night. Not hungry, not fussy. Just wanting to be awake. Luckily, it only lasted a few days. Now, you wake up about an hour after we put you down and cry for a little bit, but we've started to let you self soothe and you fall right back asleep after 5 minutes and then sleep the rest of the night. 

Clothes: In some 0-3 month, some 3-6 month clothes. 

Firsts: First time eating rice cereal, first belly laughs, first time holding your own bottle, first time attempting to army crawl, first time riding in your stroller without the carseat adapter. 

Some recent pictures:

Emmie - 3 Months

Emmie-

I can't believe you are three months old already! I've been wanting to document each month, but time has been slipping away from me, so we'll start with month three.

You are the happiest girl lately! Everywhere we go, everyone comments on your content demeanor and how observant you are. You love being around new places and faces (as long as you are being held by a familiar one, that is!). All day, you are full of smiles and coos and I just love it! You've grown and changed so much in this past month, and I can't wait to see what this next one brings.

Loves: Going new places, "flying" (being held high up in the air), laying on your changing mat, sitting in your Bumbo, being sung to.

Eating: Still exclusively breast feeding and it's going great! We still give you one bottle (of pumped breast milk) per day to make sure you'll still take bottles. We recently had to switch to the Tommee Tippee bottles, as you started to reject the Avent ones. You eat every 2 1/2-3 hours and eat about 4 oz (from what I can guess) at each feeding.

Sleeping: You are the best sleeper! We put you down at 7:30 and you wake up the next morning at 7:30. Babywise worked great for us, as you started sleeping through the night at week 5!

Clothes: All 0-3 month/3 month clothes. Some of the 0-3 month clothes are getting a little short in the torso, so I think you might start switching to 3-6 in the next month or so, but we'll see!

Firsts: We went on your first trip (to visit your Papa G and GiGi at the condo in Florida, then Mommy & Daddy took you to New Orleans!), you had your first Easter, you laughed for the first time (on Easter at the dogs!) and you had your first shots (you did NOT like those one bit).

Some pictures from the past month:

On the beach!

On the boat with Daddy!

At brunch on Easter Sunday.

3 months old!