Happy Home

Emma Claire Four Months

2012-03-05T15:29:00.000-06:00

Well better late than never! HA! I think it's funny I'm so late posting her four month post when I did her photo shoot SO early! I wanted to make sure I got it done before we left for Texas! So without further adieu, here is Miss Emma Claire's four month post!

I cannot believe my little girl is FOUR months already!!! She has grown and changed so much this past month and I love her personality.

I was telling the Hubs that this will be the last monthly photo shoot that I can lay her on her back and she won't flip over! She was moving and wiggling the whole time! Luckily Daddy was home so we got some GREAT smiles!

I could just stare at her precious smile All. Day. Long. I'm lucky enough that that's what I actually get to do most days!

Here is a little of what Emma Claire has been up to this month...

Eating: She is such a great eater! Now that she's sleeping well at night she eats about 4 times a day. She will sometimes just want to nurse and "snack" as I call it. In the afternoons we will also sometimes cuddle while she nurses and dozes a bit. It is one of my favorite times of the day.

Sleeping: No complaints here. Sleep training has changed our lives, seriously y'all. I feel like now that sleeping is under control I have so much more "me" time as well as "mommy/daddy" time. It's been wonderful. You can read about how I sleep trained her HERE. And I am happy to report she has been such a great sleeper in Texas as well! I was SO nervous! But I have kept her routine the same and I put her down at 7pm in the PNP and she will sleep sometimes until 4am here. We have had a few rough nights but I expected that with the new environment. Overall I am so proud of her and so glad we got sleeping under control before we came here!

Firsts: First airplane ride, first trip to Texas, first trip to Baylor, Emma Claire met all of her uncles for the first time, she has also started rolling to her side CONSTANTLY, I swear she says "mama"...not kidding! I need to video her saying it! I am positive there are more that I am forgetting! Trying to write this while she naps and before my chiropractor appointment! ha!

Clothes: All 0-3 months are wayyy too small so she's officially in 3 month clothing. And apparently smocked clothing runs super small because she has been wearing all of her 3 month smocked outfits this trip and they are all HUGE! Which is good...we'll get a lot of use out of them! Diapers are still a size 1!

Mommy Moments: I have just had so much fun these past two weeks "showing" Emma Claire my home and taking her to Baylor. I have also loved showing her off to friends and family and having everyone say that she is so cute "in real life"! ha! Everyone feels like they know her already from all of my pictures and video, which I LOVE. And it makes me appreciate this blog even more. It really does help friends and family in Texas feel connected to us all the way out in Virginia!

This has been my favorite month so far...it's just been so FUN! I think now that breastfeeding is literally a piece of cake, we have the dairy intolerance under control, and sleep training is completed there is more time for us to have fun together! I can't wait to see what this next month will bring!

Mommy & Me

2012-03-03T21:27:00.000-06:00

I feel like all I've done lately are short picture posts...but that's okay with me. We have been so busy on our trip that's just about all I have time for. Today Paige did snap a quick picture of Emma Claire and I right before we left to go visit my grandparents that I want to share.

Emma Claire wore a lavender smocked dress that I ADORE. I love her in this color and she just looked so sweet with her big bow, smocked dress, and little white tights!

I have some patent Mary Jane's that would have made this little ensemble complete but they are way too big still.

We have a few days left in Texas and we plan to enjoy every minute of it! However we are starting to miss that guy of ours back in Virginia. ;-)

A Hairy Situation

2012-03-02T18:42:00.001-06:00

As all of you Mommas out there know one of the perks of being pregnant is having super fast hair growth! Well...once Emma Claire was a few months old and I finally started to look at myself again I realized I needed a haircut...badly. My previous hair style had grown out and my current hair was pretty pitiful. So needless to say I was a little excited when my Mom made me a hair appointment during my Texas visit! So the other day us girls went to the salon and I got a much needed haircut!

It could have been a little shorter but I am really happy with it! I hadn't realized how stringy my hair looked before! And the before shot was right after I had DONE my hair..WOW! I love that my hair is bouncy again and as my bloggy friend Jordan predicted...I feel like a new woman!

Giddy-up Little Darlin'

2012-03-01T09:03:00.000-06:00

I think it goes without saying but...HOW CUTE IS THIS?!

We are having a blast in Texas and Emma Claire has been SUCH a great baby. She has been a trooper meeting so many people all while being toted all over the great state of Texas!

Baylor Baby!

2012-02-29T08:53:00.000-06:00

Yesterday my Mom and I loaded up this cutie and drove to Waco!

Emma Claire got to meet her Uncles for the first time!

Emma Claire and Uncle Daniel

Emma Claire and Uncle Marcus

She loved them.

Uncle Marcus' girlfriend Melissa came to visit too.

After visiting the twins we went to Schmaltz's. It's my favorite. Paige and I ate there for lunch every Friday our Senior year.

Emma Claire obviously enjoyed Schmaltz's...

After lunch we went to the library. I love the BU etched glass in the elevators. When I was a student I never used the elevators so I hadn't seen that until yesterday!

We had some good quality Aunt Paige time before we left.

We even read some books at Aunt Paige's house.

We had a great time!

As much as I wanted pictures of Emma Claire around campus, yesterday was just not the day. She was much happier in her carrier so we didn't take her out. We were mainly in Waco to visit people! I am so glad she got to meet her uncles! She was just so cute with them. They are identical so I was interested to see what she thought of two people who look and sound alike. She was great with them. This trip she has been very wary of new people but was great with the twins! Emma Claire also got to meet my friend Ellen up at the School of Education. While there Emma Claire also got to meet Jessica, my grand little in AXO. Then we walked to the library to meet up with my old roommate, Vanessa. I wish I had pictures of all of these meetings but I was worried about keeping a certain baby happy! I am also bummed that I forgot to get a picture of Emma Claire with the bears! Oh well...next visit. Now I'm looking forward to our first visit to Baylor as a family of three! We missed Daddy while we were there!

We Did It!

2012-02-26T14:18:00.003-06:00

Well y'all...we did it! :-) This little beauty and I made it to Texas!

Saying bye to Daddy at the airport!

What Emma Claire did on the plane.

She woke up right before we landed....she wasn't too sure what to think!

I. Love. This. Picture.

Her eyes are just so pretty to me! I'm also amazed that my phone can take such great pictures!

After Grammy picked us up we went right to Target, of course! ;-)

Sporting our new spring Grandma bib.

Emma Claire loves laying on Grammy's Grandma blanket!

All in all we have had a great few days in Texas! We have had lots of visitors and Emma Claire has done great sleeping in a new place. I can't wait for her to meet more friends and family and share all of the fun pictures I've been taking!

Weekday Weekend Wrap-Up

2012-02-23T19:53:00.000-06:00

After the Hubs worked two six day weeks in a row Emma Claire and I were ready for some quality Daddy/Hubby time! I've decided that I like having our "weekends" during the week! When we go to Target we're the only ones there, running errands is just so much easier in general, and we get to watch all of our favorite shows together! This weekend we spent lots of time together playing, shopping, and we did a lot of cooking. The Hubs was a grill master and grilled every night! He is a great chef and I love when he cooks. His meals are always so much fancier than mine! It was nice to be cooked for all weekend!

Everyone got some Moby time with Emma Claire this weekend!

The Hubs wore the Moby for the first time! How cute is this?

Our first trip to Target without the carrier! It was the BEST trip we had ever had! She just wanted to be out of her carrier!

I was also able to have my first glass of wine in over a year and a half! (Yes I was so excited I felt the need to document the occasion!) I am SO grateful that I decided to sleep train! It has really changed our lives! Emma Claire LOVES her crib now and goes down easily and the Hubs and I have had so much fun just having "us" time. We put most of our time into cooking this weekend...

Monday Night

The Hubs grilled chicken, we had half of the breasts marinated in Italian dressing and half were barbecue. We also did veggie pockets that cooked on the grill also. Those were AMAZING!

Tuesday

Tuesday night was all the Hubs. He got super fancy and soaked pork chops in a brine before grilling and made an apple compote to top them. He oven roasted sweet potatoes with onions and pepper as a side and also made hands down the BEST greens I have ever had. My man can COOK! He also made decaf sweet tea just for me because he knew I have been craving sweet tea something fierce lately.

Wednesday

Most people would think hamburgers on the grill aren't fancy, but then again they probably haven't met my husband. He can make anything fancy! For his first hamburger he added grilled onions and poblano pepper, and also had pepper jack cheese, tomato, and some baby greens. Then he created a salsa from the grilled pepper, onion, and tomato to top his second. I would just like to say that mine weren't near as elegant ;-) I like my burgers simple!

This weekend I also got a bunch of cute Easter and spring decorations that I'm itching to put out...but I'm making myself wait until after St. Patrick's Day! ha!

In response to my earlier iPhone Photo HELP post...

The wonderful Emily responded and said..."...I started over rotating it and saving it. Then after I did that I would rotate it back to where I wanted it and save it again. THEN upload to blogger..." So I went to my image that I wanted to upload and rotated it 180 degrees then saved it and uploaded it and what do you know, it worked!!! Thanks Emily, you are a lifesaver!!!

iPhone Photo HELP!

2012-02-23T13:17:00.000-06:00

Well y'all...I've been TRYING to post a little recap of our "weekend" however I've had a little hitch in my giddy-up. Every time I try to upload a photo it's orientation goes back to it's original state. Here's an example...

I uploaded the picture and opened it in the Microsoft Office photo editor to rotate it. I then saved it.

All should be well, right?!

However when I try to upload it in blogger...

THIS is what I get...it has flipped BACK to it's original state.

Grr...I have tried EVERYTHING to fix this.

- I saved the file as a new image.

- I flipped the image in paint and saved it as a JPEG...then when that didn't work I saved it as a PNG. Neither worked

- I rotated the file online in Picnik and saved it.

- I even tried editing the image on the iphone, emailing it to myself, and then editing it on my computer.

I tweeted about this and a few of you said you've had the same problem, so I know I'm not the only one!

What I'm hoping is that one of you has a solution so I can post about our super fun weekend! Plus I have some darling Emma Claire pictures that just won't be the same if they're sideways!

The Most Popular Bib...

2012-02-22T09:24:00.000-06:00

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Today I'm loving...

This sweet face! We did our 4 month sticker photo shoot yesterday and got some GREAT big smiles thanks to Daddy! I can't wait to share all of them!

So I'm pretty sure every bloggy mommy that reads my blog has this bib as well but I still love it!

Her little faces are just TOO cute! She is so expressive...I wonder where she get's it from ;-)

Linked up {HERE}

Monday Musings

2012-02-20T09:05:00.004-06:00

This is going to be a pretty random blog post! Just a little of what we've been up to lately!

This handsome fella is home today for a THREE day "weekend"! Don't you just love his shirt ?! ha! It's one of his High School shirts, very cute right?

Emma Claire has been getting "hands on" with Daddy's school work.

The other day was a VERY good mail day! I got my Erin Condren address book and Emma Claire got her second book from the book exchange! Also, if you have heard about the book exchange floating around in blog land I still need ONE MORE PERSON for mine. SO if you want to join just let me know!!!

I've started gathering Easter decorations! I just love this little bunny!

I bought these waffles when I first went dairy free and just tried them this week. They are SO yummy!!! They're also egg, wheat, and gluten free!

Since I have my iPhone a TON of pictures of Emma Claire are on there, as well as some pretty cute videos. iPhone photo posts are going to become necessary! I'll work on one of those soon. Until then, here are a few cute ones to tide you over. ;-)

She is SO happy after bath time...until I try and put her clothes on. Girlfriend loves to be naked!

I'm convinced that she is going to roll from front to back before back to tummy. She is SO close and will rock back and forth now! It's the cutest thing to watch. I have a few videos that I will try to get up!

I cannot get enough of this hat! Sadly it hasn't been cold enough to use it. However, it was chilly yesterday when we went to check the mail so of course we had to put on the penguin hat to check the mail!

Linking up {HERE}

St. Patty's Day Decor

2012-02-18T14:58:00.001-06:00

I've said this before but since we don't have a mantle in our main living area, I treat our TV hutch as our "mantle" and it gets decorated for each holiday. It is now all ready for St. Patrick's Day!!!

I got this printable from eighteen25. They have TONS of cute subway art.

You can find this exact one {HERE}

I LOVE my huge three leaf clover! Thank you HomeGoods!

As much as I would love to say I got all crafty and made this...I totally bought it at HomeGoods for $3! ha! Please ignore the completely unorganized bottom shelves. :-)

I know she doesn't see any of it yet but I love decorating for holidays for Emma Claire! My Mom always decorated for each holiday and made it so fun, and I can't wait to do the same for her. Even if it's just a few things it's still something new and fun for the month!

While at HomeGoods the other day I also got some darling Easter decorations. I CANNOT wait until after St. Patrick's Day to start decorating for Easter!!!

Sleep Training: How WE Did It

2012-02-17T08:51:00.001-06:00

I know sleep training is a highly controversial subject, and that everyone has a very different way of getting their baby to sleep. I am sharing our experience mainly for myself, so I will remember how I did it down the road. I also think that it might help someone who is trying to decide whether or not to sleep train their baby.

I'm going to start by explaining the circumstances that lead us to sleep train...

From the time she was born Emma Claire was spending her nights in the bassinet that was parked right by me. A few weeks ago she really began to outgrow it. She would wiggle around in her sleep, hit the side of her bassinet, and then wake up. At first I didn't know that this was happening. I just thought she was having a growth spurt and wanted to eat, so I would feed her. Then she started to eat less and was just using me as a pacifier. At this point I had pulled her into the bed and she was co-sleeping with us. I am not going to lie, yes I was THAT mom who liked having the baby in the bed. The Hubster even said he liked it too, and to be honest I think he liked having her close to us more than I did. However, she did not sleep well at ALL in the bed so that's when I decided something had to change.

I had tried putting her in the crib at night before but I couldn't take the crying and wasn't prepared. I had tweeted about wanting to sleep train and the WONDERFUL Laura May sent me the book The Baby Sleep Solution. I highly recommend this book, I'm going to outline what I took from the book and used for us.

- The biggest thing that I took from this book is that too often we let the baby be in charge. While this is appropriate for a newborn, it is not for a 3 (almost 4) month old. Babies gain security from an adult taking charge. This made me feel better about setting a strict schedule to get us started.

- Babies Emma Claire's age are able to go all night without a feeding. Before I was thinking she needed to eat whenever she woke up.

- Babies CAN sleep twelve hours at night and still nap during the daytime.

- Feeding your baby 4 times a day every 4 hours works like a charm. I adjust it a bit because we are breastfeeding and sometimes she is a lazy eater. I try my hardest to stick to a good feeding schedule. Here's an example of when I feed Emma Claire, 7am, 11am, 3pm, 6:30pm. Sometimes there is a "snack" in there if she is starving.

So here's what I did...

Night One

This night was possibly one of the hardest nights of my life. I think I cried more than Emma Claire did. It was also hard because I'm on solo parent duty at bedtime due to the Hub's work schedule. However I posted my plans on facebook/twitter and I was amazed at all of the support I received from family and friends!

My Mom was awesome and talked to me on the phone pretty much all night. Emily was also a HUGE help and I am so glad I had her to talk to. She had a lot of great suggestions that I used. She also helped me feel better about letting Emma Claire cry. I felt like I was going to scar her for life by letting her cry ;-) My cousin Katrina also talked me through the night and assured me that Emma Claire (and I) would survive this night! A great piece of advice I got was from my friend Sarah. She said, "think of it this way, by sleep training we are giving our babies the gift of sleep which is something that they need for survival."

Thinking of sleep training as something I was doing FOR her instead of something I was doing TO her helped me not go insane that first night.

One thing that really helped was anecdotal records to help me keep track of her crying and the times I went in to check on her. This really helped for the first few nights and showed the Hubs what I was doing while he was at work.

The first night I laid her down in her crib and she was content for about 8 minutes. Then the crying began. I went in every 3-5 minutes to soothe her by patting her, shushing her, and comforting her without picking her up. Well that just seemed to make her even more mad. She cried for so long that by 9pm she had worked herself into a frenzy. At this time I decided we needed to reset and start over. I took her out of her crib and noticed she had sweat so much her blankets were wet. Cue MAJOR mama guilt. So I changed her, got new swaddle blankets, and fed her. She had cried so much I knew she was hungry. This time I decided to leave her unswaddled to see if sucking on her hands would soothe her.

This worked and she soon started to fall asleep, however she would startle herself awake after only a few minutes. Then I went in and swaddled her with one hand out so she could soothe herself enough to fall asleep and then stay asleep. She finally fell asleep around midnight and woke up at 2:30am. I re-swaddled her and rocked her until she fell back asleep. She woke again at 4:30am and I repeated the process, then she slept until 7am. At 7am I turned her chandelier on the lowest setting and was really happy when I went in, saying "Good Morning!" and talking to her as I unswaddled her so she knew it was time to wake up. Then I got her and fed her "breakfast". I was never more excited to wake up and start a new day! Emma Claire was completely exhausted, she actually fell asleep in her little seat when playing with Daddy!

Night Two

Everyone kept saying that the first night was the hardest and I honestly didn't think I could take another night like that. Thankfully everyone was right! By the second night she only cried for a few minutes and then fell asleep. She woke at 2:30 again but had been asleep for about 7 hours at that time. I repeated my soothing techniques and she went back to sleep until morning.

Night Three

By this night I was petrified that she had only gone to sleep so quickly the second night because she had worn herself out the first. I was shocked when I laid her down and she fussed for 3 minutes and then slept for NINE hours! When she woke I changed her diaper and laid her back down and she went right back to sleep!

The rest of the nights kind of blend together after the first three...

Now when I lay her down she usually doesn't fuss at all. On Valentine's night she went down without a peep. She became unswaddled around midnight so I snuck in and reswaddled her while she was still sleeping and she did wake up after I left and fussed for about 30 seconds then went back to sleep until 7:30am! HALLELUJAH

I did pretty much the same process for nap time.

Before this she was taking her naps in her swing. I know, I know...TERRIBLE habit to start. Thankfully she did pretty well transitioning to all naps in her crib. We did it cold turkey and she now sleeps better and longer than she ever did in her crib. She can take anywhere from one nap to four naps a day. The book suggests two naps, a one hour morning nap and a two hour afternoon nap. We tried that but someone couldn't make it, it just wasn't enough sleep for her. We'll get there eventually. My one big nap rule is that I do not let her nap after 4pm.

Our Ideal Day

Wake- 7am

1st feeding- 7am

Morning Nap- 9am-11am

2nd feeding- 11am

Afternoon Nap- 1pm-3pm

3rd feeding-4pm

Bath time- 6pm

Last feeding- 6:30

Bedtime-7pm

We have had days like this but it's usually a variation of this schedule. If one nap is too short or long our schedule changes accordingly. I will also feed her in the late afternoon to tide her over until bath time. I sometimes feel that the hours of 3pm-6pm are the hardest of the day. My mantra becomes, "We just have to make it to bath time!" Ha!

I am SO glad I decided to do this. Yes, it was hard..but the benefits are so worth it. Emma Claire is happier because she sleeps better and longer than she ever has. And I am happier because I now have free time at the end of the day to have some quiet time.

Tiny

2012-02-16T20:20:00.000-06:00

If only her little fingers and toes would stay this tiny forever...

And if you needed further proof that my baby is a camera hog, here she is hamming it up for the camera after her bath. She really is a hoot and makes me laugh constantly.

Can you say baby blues? Her eyes are just BEAUTIFUL! I'm slightly jealous ;-) I have blue eyes but they're nothing like hers.

Emma Claire's First Valentine's Day

2012-02-15T08:43:00.001-06:00

We got up around 7am and had family cuddle time in bed. This is my FAVORITE part of the day! Now that Emma Claire sleeps in her own room I miss her during the night. Although she's usually kind enough to wake up at least once a night still ;-) So when I go get her at seven I bring her to our bed to feed her and then we hang out in bed for a little while. She is usually SO happy and talkative, it's such a special part of our day. And since Daddy doesn't work until later it's nice for him to spend time with both of his girls. Anyways, this morning we got up..did our morning routine and then headed downstairs.

First, we opened our cards and presents! I am obsessed with my cards, I made them on TinyPrints.

NEW FAVORITE PICTURE

I cannot get over how sweet this is! These two camped out on the couch and watched Monsters Inc. while I cooked our Valentine's Day breakfast.

I just love a lovey breakfast :-) Heart shaped toast is just so fun! I can't wait until Emma Claire is older and I can make her Valentine's Day breakfast!

Please ignore her teenage-eque look. I swear she's 16 already. "Uh, Mom...I do NOT want to take a picture with YOU. Where's Dad, he's way more fun." HA!

Valentine's kisses from Mommy.

My Valentine's Day present!!!! Bye-Bye blackberry, helloooo iPhone! The Hubs got one too! We're now an iPhone family!

After the little one was in bed for the night I got to cooking our dinner. I used the heart shaped pasta my Mom got me, SO FUN!

I made my famous homemade spaghetti sauce with chicken.

You know you're a parent when.....There's a baby monitor in between your Valentine's Day champagne and wine ;-) We ate relaxed and ate dinner while watching another one of my presents...the new Twilight movie!

I am pretty sure this was one of the best Valentine's Day's I've had. I LOVE having a baby on holidays, it just makes them so much more fun!

First Valentine's Day jammies.

I just love anything with a cute little elephant on it!

Sweet baby with her Baylor bear.

Let's hope she feels like this about boys for a long time...for her Daddy's sake ;-)

And Emma Claire gave us the best present of all...she went to sleep without a peep!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T20:41:00.000-06:00

Today was a day for....

I will post about our actual day tomorrow, we had a wonderful time as a family of three. Luckily today was the Hub's "Saturday" so we lots of quality family time! I have to say that today was one of the best Valentine's days I've had so far!

I hope you felt the love today!

Valentine's Day Goodies

2012-02-13T18:47:00.002-06:00

Before reading this post you need to head over to Gail's blog and see the magic she worked on Emma Claire's picture. Oh my word....I know my baby is cute but the picture's are BEAUTIFUL after being re-touched by Gail.

I love getting packages in the mail. I especially love getting packages from Grammy & G-Pop! My Mom always made Valentine's Day special when I was younger and even though I live far away and am married with my own baby now...she still makes it special!

Emma Claire got a cute little bear, an "I Love You" book of ABC's and some cute new chickie jammies!!!

The book has her picture inside!!!!...SO sweet! It also lights up and plays music, Emma Claire LOVED it!

Mine and the Hubs loot ;-)

Seriously...have you ever seen a funnier pair of tweezers!?

I can't wait to make our Valentine's dinner with this fun heart pasta! My mom knows me so well!

This is unrelated to my parent's package, but Emma Claire got a fun new flower clippie in the mail today too!!! Isn't it SO cute! Mandy, from Avery Designs, custom designed it just for Emma Claire. If you want some cute flower hair clips visit her Etsy shop {HERE} A great bonus, all of her proceeds are going towards her adoption!

Bloopers

2012-02-11T19:15:00.002-06:00

I first want to say thank you for all of the sweet and uplifting comments on my last post. It's so nice to hear that I'm not alone in the way I feel some days. It really does help to write it all down and get it off of my chest, and I am comforted in each one of your comments.

So one of my best bloggy friends, Gail, had a little contest that I won! She is going to edit a picture of Emma Claire for me and I cannot wait to see what she does with it!!! So in order to get a new picture for her we had a little photo shoot today! Here are a few of my favorites.

Each time we have a photo sesh I take around 200 pictures, and usually only end up with a few that I like. Since I always share the edited "picture perfect" images with you...here are some of the not so "perfect" pictures in all of their natural glory, completley un-edited...and yes they usually include a dog or spit-up, and you can really see the nice little scratch she currently has on her face.

I love each one of these pictures just as much as the edited ones. I am so glad that I take so many pictures, it's neat to go back and look at the little changes that have happened since the last photo session. These pictures also show her true personality. I have quite the sassafras on my hands and it comes out in all of these "imperfect" pictures.

One of Those Days...

2012-02-09T13:56:00.000-06:00

I am the type of person who tries to never complain. I hate feeling "whiny" or like I'm ungrateful for my life...but today is just one of those days. I hope that just by typing all of my "problems" I'll feel better.

I dropped my freshly frosted cupcake on the floor. The carpet to be exact. So instead of eating my cupcake I spent 15 minutes getting chocolate icing out of the white carpet.

Emma Claire wanted to be comforted only by me this morning. Seeing as we have Daddy for only a few hours in the mornings to "help" I was quite frustrated that I got ZERO Mommy time today.

She also refused to nap until about 1 o'clock this afternoon.

Our Graco swing has BRAND NEW parts that we just got and it squeaks so badly I can't even turn it on. Did I mention she'll ONLY sleep in her swing.

I get upset and stressed out just thinking about sleep training. I could probably cry right now if I continued to think about it. So moving on...

It has become almost impossible to take EC anywhere because she screams and cries the whole. entire. time. Bringing up my next point...

My lack of adult interaction during the day drives me bonkers sometimes.

I cannot remember the last time I got to shower, do my makeup, fix my hair, and put real (not leggings and a shirt) clothes on...in that order.

Okay enough of whining...here's the flip side to my little Mommy rant...

I feel lucky to have food in my house that I can prepare to feed my family.

I know that Emma Claire won't want me to hold her and rock her forever. These days will be gone before I know it. And the Hubs works hard at his job to provide for us, and we are so blessed that he has this wonderful job.

Due to Emma Claire's lack of napping we got to cuddle and play together.....even if it was amidst several meltdowns due to lack of sleep.

We are lucky to be able to provide items for our baby. I'm glad she is comforted by her swing enough to sleep in it.

She has to sleep in her own bed at some point in her life, right? I should enjoy the fact that she wants to be near me while I can. She won't be this tiny forever...

Still trying to find a positive about not being able to take her anywhere without her having a meltdown....I know, she is so comfortable and feels so safe at home she doesn't ever want to leave. ha! :-)

I am so thankful for Skype, twitter, facebook and blogging throughout the day. It keeps me sane, and feeling like I'm not alone in this Mommy business.

Even if I spend my day in tights and an old fraternity shirt I still wake up each morning feeling so completely blessed that the Hubs works so hard for our little family so that I get to stay at home with this beautiful baby.

Her "morning hair" naturally sticks up like that. I kid you not. It makes my morning :-)

Okay, complaining over. I just needed to get that off my chest. And don't you love that my cupcake woes ranked #1 on that little list. ha. Sometimes it's just the small things that seem to create an emotional meltdown.

Please tell me I'm not alone in feeling this way??? I hate feeling "down" when I'm staying home and doing what I've WANTED to do my whole life.

Wednesday Love

2012-02-08T09:31:00.000-06:00

So I'm loving that Wednesday is now our Sunday! Although today the Hubs is working overtime :-( But it's still a good day! We're just having a relaxing morning at home before he goes to work! Here's what I'm loving today!!!

Linking up {HERE}

{One}

My Thoughtful Husband

He gave this to me yesterday as a "just because" present! Back in Texas we didn't have a HomeGoods but we have one in our new town center and I am IN LOVE! If you have one near you and you haven't ever been...GO!

{Two}

Emma Claire

I mean come on...how could you NOT love this sweet face?!

{Three}

Daddy

I feel like I need a separate "love" for my Husband as "Daddy". He's so good with Emma Claire, here they are working together on his Master's program homework. She is quite insightful and really helps him write papers ;-)

{Four}

Family Play Time

This is how floor time ends up looking at our house most days. I think two furry pups miss having all of Mommy's attention!

{Five}

Bedtime Routine

I LOVE the new bedtime routine that Emma Claire and I have together. Since Daddy isn't home at bedtime she and I have some quality Mommy/Baby time together. I feed her right before bath time. Then during bath time we listen to the radio and I sing and dance around like a true performer ;-) ha! After bath time we head downstairs, I swaddle her up and then we rock while I read her the bible. I've never read the bible in its entirety (from cover to cover) and I decided that this is the perfect time in life to do so! It's a relaxing special time for the two of us and I think it will be really special when she's older to tell her that I read her the entire bible when she was a baby.

I hope you're having a happy Wednesday!

100 Days

2012-02-07T19:37:00.001-06:00

100 days ago today I was meeting this sweet face for the first time....

and here she is today, 100 days old!

Surprisingly I didn't break out the big camera today for an official photo shoot. However, these pictures make me just as happy as the "fancy" ones. They were all taken after she had woken up from a nap and we spent some just cuddling together on the couch under the heated blanket. It's memories like these that I know I will remember forever because she won't always be a baby but she will always be my baby girl.

Our Love Story

2012-02-07T08:26:00.003-06:00

I've wanted to sit down and write our love story out for a while now, but just haven't done it yet. Then I saw that From Mrs. to Mama was having a Valentine's link up for people to share their love stories and I thought it was the perfect time to sit down and write it all out. So here we go...I hope y'all enjoy! :-)

How long have you and your significant other been together?

The Hubs and I have been together for three years. Although it feels like we've been together forever...in a good way!

How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}

It all started back in the spring of 2009. All of my best friends traveled to Florida for spring break. While there they met the Hubster through some mutual guy friends of ours. I heard about him all week because my friends were constantly talking about him. "So there's this guy here from Georgia and he's so sweet...he has such a cute accent...he talks to his Mom on the phone...he's so funny" By the time my friends made it back to Texas they were all excited about their new friend.

I ended up meeting him a few days later and we somehow ended up paired up for my sorority's pledge dance.

All of the girls were Baywatch lifeguards and the guys were spring breakers! Creative, right?

The day after the dance we went to a Baylor baseball game together.

Then that afternoon after the game he called and asked me out on a date...for the next night.Ha! He said he couldn't wait for the weekend to take me out. At this point we had been together non-stop since we met.

On our date we went to see He's Just Not That Into You and ate dinner at Elite.

Ironic first date movie, right? ha!

I just have to note that while the hubs was trying to be super smooth and cool at dinner he managed to choke...on an ice cube. HA! Talk about breaking the ice ;-) After the date we went to the Baylor campus and walked around, and yes we sat on a swing as all good Baylor couples do!

The following Thursday he asked me to be his girlfriend, and as they say...the rest was history. To say we fell for each other hard and fast would be an understatement!

If married, how long have you been married?

We've been married for almost a year!

If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?

After being engaged for almost nine months we decided to elope! The Hubster was waiting to hear about his dream job that would include six months of training (half in Georgia and half in Washington, D.C.) So wedding planning had been quite difficult, to say the least.

You can read all about our wedding {HERE}

Do you have any nick-names that you call one another?

hmmm...he calls me baby, and he's the only person who calls me "Mallorie Gayle" regularly. I call him sweetie and honey..your typical pet names.

Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

He works so hard to provide for our family.

He is such a great Daddy.

We always have fun together and he can make me laugh in any situation.

The Proposal

On August 20th, 2010 all of my dreams came true when he asked me to marry him!

Before the proposal we went on a "special" date...the hubs actually recreated our first date! We went to a movie and had dinner at Elite!

Then we went on a walk around campus and sat on the same swing where we sat and talked on our first date.

He gave me a "K" James Avery charm and said, "You might need this someday soon..." At this point I thought he MIGHT be proposing but then he said we had to get back home to meet a friend of his.

But then as we were walking back to the car we started going another way and he took me to the bridge where we had our first kiss. The bridge had been decorated with rose petals and flowers.

Then he got down on one knee and proposed! I was just a little excited! I'm pretty sure I screamed!

I just thought the surprises were over! When we got back home all of our friends were there waiting to celebrate with us.

My parents also drove down for the special night!

I can't talk about our proposal without showing off my beautiful ring. I love it just as much now as I did on the day he gave it to me.

Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?

hmm...I think a little bit of both. I love getting flowers and he always gives me roses on special occasions and he will usually combine that with champagne and chocolate covered strawberries.

Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?

Totally relax on the couch. We're big homebodies, especially now that we have our little muchkin.

Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

Oh gosh...this is hard! I would LOVE to design and build our dream home together someday. I would also like to go on a true Honeymoon together. Since we eloped we had a honeymoon weekend but I would love to go somewhere and truly celebrate our marriage.

Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.

Thankfully it's the Hubs day off so we'll have all day together! We'll probabally hang out at home and enjoy a special dinner. After all, we do have a pretty cute Valentine to celebrate with this year...

Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?

Nope, not a thing.

Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.

Leave each other little notes. I always write him notes in his lunches and occasionally he'll leave me one after he's left for work. This seriously makes my day when I find a note that he's left me :-)

Show us a picture of what love means to you.

I just love how the he is looking at Emma Claire in this picture. This was about 30 seconds after she was born. You can see how much he loves her already. It's one of my favorite pictures of all time.

Well folks...that's it!!! Thanks for reading our little love story! I feel so lucky to have found my perfect match and I'm glad I got to share our story with you!

Monday, Monday

2012-02-06T13:32:00.000-06:00

While it is Monday...technically it's our "Friday"! That makes Monday's a lot more bearable ;-) Today I've just got some random things to share.

So true, love bacon on Sundays. Family circus is just the best! I love that I got to read the comics this morning! That's because....

We got a paper so I can get the "good" coupons to work on saving more money when grocery shopping! So far I am a TERRIBLE coupon-er! ha!

The dogs haven't really made it on the blog lately so I thought they could use some blog-time. Dixie LOVES the heated blanket my Mom got us. She's laying on it at my feet right now!

Doodle-bug is always camped out on her pink blanket. I love that I've trained them to sit on blankets because I can always toss them in the wash! Can't throw the leather couch in the wash ;-)

I noticed today that my scentsy shines hearts on my counters! It just makes me happy to look at!

Emma Claire's new favorite thing to do is rest her hand on me. All. The. Time. and I love it! She will put her hand on my knee, hand, arm, chest, wherever she can. It's just so sweet. It is hard to get a picture of though because she does move a LOT now! But I finally got one this morning.

Girlfriend is also starting to get some HAIR! Look at that! The hubs jokes that she's getting a mullet but she has plenty in the front as well! I just think it's so sweet :-) I put her in the sunlight this morning to play in her exersaucer and you could really see it!

Her feet don't quite touch the ground yet and so she's technically not supposed to be in it, but I just can't resist. She loves it! She will rock back and forth and make it move! She doesn't love it yet but she is entertained in it for a while.

Emma Claire is also the queen of spit-bubbles these days. She can produce them at record speed and if you don't watch out they will be all over your hand, arm, shirt, face...wherever she can put her mouth!

I'm looking forward to our "weekend". At the store the Hubs got pork chops and ground beef so we'll be doing some grilling! I'm quite excited because that means I won't be completely in charge of dinner! We also love running errands because no one is out when we are, it's wonderful!

Love Bug

2012-02-05T21:52:00.000-06:00

So since the Hubs doesn't have a "traditional" work schedule anymore the little miss and I are on our own quite a bit. We watched the superbowl together...well half watched, it was during our cuddle/sleepy time. Anyways..enough about football ;-) Today Emma Claire got to wear an outfit that my super talented friend, Bre, made her. Bre is also the genius behind our favorite hooded towel ;-)

How stinkin' cute is this!? We even pulled out our fav leg warmers to complete the ensamble.

It is COVERD in lace ruffles :-) love love love

LOVE. THAT. LIP!

This may be one of my favorite pictures of her.

The Best Valentine

2012-02-04T20:52:00.000-06:00

This year I have the BEST Valentine I could ask for!

Black & White Beauty

2012-02-03T09:23:00.000-06:00

Show Us Your SINGLES!

2012-02-02T18:19:00.000-06:00

It's that time again folks! Kelly's Korner is doing another Show Us Your Singles!!! This time I'm linking up one of the Hub's best friends, Ian! Ian is a GREAT guy and I'm so glad he let me do a little post about him, you just never know what could happen with these things!

Ian went to Baylor, Sic'em! Aggies need need not apply. Haha just kidding...not really ;-) While at Baylor he majored in Management Information Systems.

He now lives in the Dallas area and works in consulting. He has a super hectic work schedule right now and travels a lot.

Ian is on the right, for those of you who aren't familiar with my Hubs.

Ian and the Hubster met at Baylor and were in the same fraternity. The above picture is from the weekend we got engaged! Ian was such a big help in planning our after party, he even got someone to come fix a leak in our bathroom DURING the party! Talk about efficiency!

Again, Ian is on the right. The Hubs is not available ;-)

Ian is just really an all around great guy. He is a Christian, loves working out, likes animals but doesn't have a pet, he has a great sense of humor and I'm always laughing when we're with him, pretty much a true southern gentleman. Oh and I know this has nothing to do with his personality but ladies, his house is decorated SO WELL, very manly and chic. I shouldn't say "decorated" I guess....but seriously, he has a great house! ha! I just couldn't not share.

So there ya go! I figured you never know what God has in store and since Kelly has a pretty great track record I thought I'd give it a shot! I also feel like I need to put a disclaimer on this. If you message me about this and it doesn't work out then PLEASE do not get discouraged. God just has someone else in store for you!!! I thank you so much for taking the time to look and am excited to see what happens!

Stretch

2012-02-02T09:32:00.000-06:00

Beacuse sometimes you just need a good stretch...

Happy Birthday Baylor!

2012-02-01T14:28:00.000-06:00

Baylor University is 167 years old today!

To celebrate, Emma Claire donned her first Baylor onesie...and since there is absolutely nothing cuter than a Baylor baby, here are some pictures for you to drool over.

Yes...we had two bows for this little photo shoot. You can NEVER have too many bows!

Valentine's Day Book Sneak Peek

2012-01-31T21:47:00.001-06:00

Today I'm LOVING that I just finished a little book on Shutterfly for our family! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it and cannot wait for it to come in the mail! Here's a little peek at the cuteness!

It helps that I have some really cute faces to work with!

What are you loving on this Wednesday!? Link up {HERE} and join in on the fun!

Friday...I Mean Monday

2012-01-30T09:33:00.002-06:00

Linking up {HERE}

Well due to the Hubs work schedule our "Friday" is now Monday! So as everyone is getting back to the grind we are winding down and getting ready for our "weekend". His work schedule just changed so this past weekend was our last "normal" weekend. We didn't do that much. The Hubster worked on getting masters program homework done, I played with Emma Claire, we got some fun packages in the mail. Nothing too exciting.

My mom sent some super cute outfits for Emma Claire

Can't wait for summer to put her in these!

Love our new elephant jammies! They are super soft and warm! We need these up here. Even though our Target has the bathing suit section completely set up. May I point out that we have yet to have our first good snow yet!

I also got an invitation to a bridal shower with a super cute and different idea...

Inside the invitation was a recipe card for the guests to write down a favorite recipe to share with the bride and groom! Love this!

I also got Emma Claire's Remember Nguyen monogrammed romper in the mail.

I got it 60% off so the romper was $8 and the monogram was $10..not too shabby!!!

Did a bebe photoshoot with my little model.

I even got out a dress that I wore in my 3 month pictures as a baby so I could get a good comparison picture...

however someone was NOT having it once I got the dress on. Sigh. We'll try again today!

I bought some digital design packages and am planning on re-vamping my blog look...again.

It drives me NUTS when people change their blog looks constantly, I had my first design for a full year. However, I am just not a fan of the newest design that I've done. So I'm hoping that this next one will be a keeper ;-)

Valentines Decorations and Some Freebies!

2012-01-28T10:36:00.001-06:00

I love Valentine's Day! This year my decorations are just about as simple as you can get! I just decorated our TV hutch in our living room with some cutesy things.

It's not super fancy but it is festive and it works! I can't wait to add our cards that I made to the hutch! This year I used tiny prints and let me tell you...they are pretty dang cute! I'll share once we've opened them, since a certain Husband reads my blog ;-)

Now for the FREEBIES!!! :-)

Yesterday I was searching for a Valentine's Day printable to put in this frame I got at Target...

Well I couldn't find anything I liked so I just made my own!

I love it and since I made it I'm going to share it with YOU!

I also made this one...

I just haven't put it in a frame yet. I think it's going to go in our kitchen!

Stay tuned for another Valentine's Day printables post! I have made a few others that are just DARLING! :-) I can't wait to share them with y'all!

My Chatty Little Lady

2012-01-27T14:30:00.000-06:00

I already know Emma Claire is going to be a talker, hmmm I wonder where she gets that from? ;-) In the mornings she just has so much to say. She will coo and go on and on for me! I finally got a "conversation" on video. Melts my heart.

Emma Claire Three Months

2012-01-27T12:23:00.000-06:00

I just cannot believe my sweet baby is THREE months old!!!

I know I'm going to be saying this forever BUT her faces Crack. Me. Up.

Month Three Week by Week

Here's a little update on what Emma Claire has been up to this month!

Eating: Emma Claire is still going strong with breastfeeding. She has really gotten better at it and both sides are "Easy" for us now! I am so thankful for this. She hasn't had any formula in over a month. I know there's nothing wrong with her having formula, I only say this because I feel GREAT that I finally have the hang of breastfeeding and don't have to give her any formula. We worked so hard to get to this point and I'm proud of us BOTH! :-)

Sleeping: HA! Sleep...what sleep?! I swear just as she fell into a rhythm of sleeping 6-8 hours a night BAM she started waking up every 2-3 hours at night. I'm pretty sure this is her 4 month sleep regression hitting early. She is sleeping very differently now and it's just her little body growing and changing. I'm not stressing too much about it. I know it's just a phase.

Firsts: We can now do tummy time for quite a while without crying. She really is getting some great head control and loves to "plank" when she's on her tummy. She's SO close to rolling over! She now reaches for some toys. Her smiles are intentional now and the other day I made my jaw sore from making my "Happy" face for so long trying to get her to smile! HA! She has LOTS to say. She is constantly babbling and talking to us. She LOVES to talk to her daddy, already a Daddy's girl ;-) This girl can also create some serious drool. No joke. She's also the queen of spit bubbles! We also had our first visit from Aunt Paige and Granny Dawn and Granddaddy Wade. Our first complete meltdown happened in Target the other day, we had to leave without getting anything.

Clothes: A few 0-3 outfits still fit but she's mostly in 3 month clothing. She's still wearing size one diapers.

Mommy Moments: I've decided I'm going to be THAT Mom who cries whenever something big happens. I was SO sad that I had to pack up her newborn clothes. I also cried the other night when she was fussing and broke out of her swaddle and grabbed my thumb with her hand then sighed and fell right back asleep. I know that me holding her hand makes everything better right now but that won't always be the case.

Ralph and Reading

2012-01-26T15:11:00.000-06:00

Today Emma Claire wore Ralph Lauren for the first time :-)

We also did a little book photo shoot! She LOVES when I read to her and I decided to do a little photo shoot with her laying on some of our favorite books. I figured that I should do this photo shoot before she's rolling all over the place! This was also the first time she smiled for a LONG time and would smile back at me and ignore the camera! I got a TON of smile pictures, it totally made my day!

Taking pictures of her is getting more and more fun! I need to take her 3 month sticker picture...maybe when she wakes up from her nap!

Beautiful

2012-01-25T10:41:00.000-06:00

"Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful" Thich Nhat

Smocked Sweetness

2012-01-24T22:08:00.000-06:00

If only it weren't winter...I am itching to put Emma Claire in all of her sweet smocked outfits. Seriously. If only we didn't live in a place where it really is winter...Emma Claire pretty much lives in playsuits and footies right now. They're just more practical for us during this stage of life. So sadly she only has a few smocked items for 0-3 months. Don't you worry...we MORE than make up for that with our wardrobe for the spring and summer ;-) So all that to say that I pulled out one of her sweet little dresses today to literally play dress up!

We tried out a fun flower today instead of the traditional bow. (For a few pictures at least hehe)

This is my favorite picture of her I've taken so far. I LOVE her little lips! She sucks on them constantly now so I rarely get to see them! Her little bottom lip is just too darn cute.

I just love her little feet!

Different Strokes

2012-01-23T12:51:00.000-06:00

As the primary wardrobe picker-outer and changer for Emma Claire we've fallen into somewhat of a routine when I dress her. However yesterday I let the Hubs change Emma Claire's outfit and it was such a cute/funny process I had to grab the camera. I realized that this was going to be an interesting process when I looked into the pack-n-play and saw this...

She was perfectly content! When I try to put things over her head she screams like a banshee!

Daddy decided he didn't want to pull her jammies over her head so he took a "bottom to top" approach.

Her faces Crack. Me. Up!

The standard "stand to pull the jammies up" procedure...ha!

Her face! It's like she's saying.."psh, I could TOTALLY put my jammies on by myself people..it's not THAT hard."

I just love how she looks at her daddy!

Snaps on the back...almost done!

All finished!

It's just a sweet reminder that even though I have my way of doing things with Emma Claire that doesn't mean that there aren't other ways that work just as well.

Play Time

2012-01-22T12:09:00.001-06:00

From Emma Claire's point of view...

Tummy Time

2012-01-20T11:06:00.000-06:00

Well we're making small improvements with Tummy Time! :-) I figured out that Emma Claire did NOT like tummy time on her play-mat and I'm thinking it's because of the fabric. She LOVES laying on her pink and white blanket made for her by a family friend. She can really hold her head up and now she rocks back and forth on her tummy. I just know she's super close to rolling over!

Fitness Friday

2012-01-20T11:02:00.000-06:00

Well I failed to link up last week, OOPS! My in-laws were in town and it was just a crazy week! I continued to eat well but didn't get moving as much as I would've liked! This week I've done really well with eating and I'm proud to say I'm just below my pre-pregnancy weight! yay! :-) I am having a really hard time wanting to work out. I think it's because by the time I have a moment to myself to work out I've gone up and down our three flights of stairs about 103 times and have been running around our house all day. That is my goal for next week, to find the time (and energy) to do daily stretches and work out!

Join us over at The Blessed Life and link up with your fitness goals!

11 Random Things

2012-01-19T10:34:00.002-06:00

Natalie, over at Extraordinary Love, tagged me in her 11 random things survey!

Rules

1. Post these rules
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer
5. Go to their blog and tell them you've tagged them
6. Tag 11 people

11 Random Things about Me

1. I hardly ever use a recipe when I'm cooking...this may or may not be random based on how much you read my blog ;-) Almost all of my "recipes" are made up and I always change up how I cook a dish.

2. I talk to my Mom at least 3 times a day on the phone. :-)

3. Everyone says Emma Claire looks like me but I swear she looks like my husband the majority of the time. Especially when she smiles.

4. When I was younger I wanted to be a realtor when I grew up...I drove my parents crazy because I was constantly on Realtor.com looking for new houses.

5. I've never had strep throat. *knock on wood*

6. Currently I feel like I have NO cute clothes. The last time I really revamped my wardrobe was well over a year ago. It doesn't help matters that I stay home with my little one and my current daily dress is usually leggings and a large t-shirt of the hubs. Hoping to change this soon!

7. I've never dyed my hair....except the occasional use of sun in during the summer but I don't think that counts ;-)

8. The last time I had a glass of wine was November 2010. This makes me sound like a recovering alcholic....ha! I just am not a big drinker. Before I got pregnant I was in training for my half marathons so I didn't drink a lot and then I got pregnant and obviously didn't drink. Now that I'm nursing I know I could drink...I just don't want to.

9. The Hubster and I had another dog before Gracie and Dixie..his name was Forrest. We had to put him down because of some bad aggression issues :-( It makes me sad to think about it but he attacked several dogs (even broke a puppy's jaw) and I knew he could never be around babies and I couldn't give him away knowing he would most likely hurt someone.

10. I love Sarah Palin...I can even do a Sarah Palin accent. I also do a mean George Bush ;-)

11. I really miss living at home with my Mom and Dad. It's hard to believe that I'm the Mommy at our house sometimes.

Natalie's Questions

1. What is something you are only mediocre at that you would like to become great at?

Running. When I run races I see the super skinny SUPER fit ladies and I aspire to be like that. However I am content at the level of running I am at. I like to walk some when running my half marathons and when I run my full I plan on walking some too.
2. What is your favorite exercise, or way to exercise?

See above. ha! I actually don't like running...weight training is my favorite.
3. What is your most hated chore?

It's a tie between folding/putting away laundry and putting away clean dishes.
4. Who is the person you trust most in the world... besides your spouse (if you are married).

My Mom.
5. What is your favorite time of the day?

Hmmm I really like waking up in the morning (at a normal hour...not 3am! ha!) Emma Claire is always so happy and it's a great way to start my day.
6. How do you spend majority of your time? (I mean what takes up most of your time in your day, a baby, job, spouse, etc. or you can be more specific...nursing, writing papers, whatever.)

My sweet little lady :-)
7. What is your favorite date activity BESIDES the most common ones such as movie, dinner, etc.

Back when we lived in Waco the Hubs and I would go to dinner/movie and then would walk around the Baylor campus. I really miss doing that. Sometimes we would take the dogs and just stroll. Life was so much simpler then.
8. How do you most show people you love them?

I like to do nice things. I'm a note-leaver, baker, gift giver :-) I get this from my Mom. She is always putting others first and doing kind and thoughtful things for others.
9. Which website do you spend the most time on?

Toss up between facebook/blogger/twitter.
10. What is your favorite color or theme for decorating?

Oh goodness...I went through a blue/brown phase but am currently wanting to re-do our room with greys/whites/yellows.
11. What is your dream job?

What I'm doing right now :-) I'm also lucky enough to be a certified elementary school teacher so when it's time I will get to go back to my other dream job.

My Questions

1. If you could live anywhere where would that be?
2. What is your favorite board game?
3. What is your favorite season?
4. If you had to choose would you rather have a perfectly cleaned house each day OR never have to cook again?
5. If you found out that you had unlimited funds and money was no longer a problem what is the first thing you would buy?
6. Do you get a bigger rush from a big splurge or finding a great deal?
7. How do you sleep at night? Side, back, tummy?
8. What is your guilty pleasure TV show?
9. When you were younger what did you want to be when you grew up?
10. What is your favorite blog post that you've written so far?
11. Which would you rather have painted, nails or toes?

Tag, you're IT! :-)

Brittany- The Dalomba Days
Heather- Greer's Gossip
Kristen- Joyful Ramblings
Andrea Leigh- My Chihuahua Bites
Lyndsey- The Loflands
Etta- Cheerful Homemaker
Allie- Living the Adventures
Marcie- My Life as Marcie
Jeska- Living Our Love Song
Joeylee- Sweet n Sassy Girls
Laura- Moments With The Mays
Courtney- One Fine Wire

Whew!!! There ya go! :-) I hope you had fun reading! If I tagged you, I can't wait to read your survey!!!

And because I can't do a post without showing off this sweet face...

My Little Monkey

2012-01-18T17:00:00.000-06:00

Project 365 Catch Up

2012-01-17T10:37:00.000-06:00

I was looking through pictures of Emma Claire the other day and I realized that I had at least one picture from each day of her life so far. So I decided I would play 365 catch up and create weekly collages. I can't wait until I have 52 of these and can make a book! How fun will that be? I think that having a picture of each day of your life for the first year would be so neat! So here are the collages for week 1-11!

Sweet Cheeks

2012-01-16T16:03:00.000-06:00

My child has the cutest cheeks EVER! I know...I may be slightly biased ;-) Here's a little sweetness to brighten your day!

Don't you just want to kiss those sweet little cheeks?!

No Moo For You!

2012-01-15T21:16:00.004-06:00

So I've finally decided to write about my dairy exclusion experience! I knew when I started breastfeeding that some infants could have a sensitivity or allergy to cows milk they recieved through their mothers breastmilk. After seeing some of the symptoms of a dairy sensitivity in Emma Claire (about a month ago) I cut out dairy from my diet. Woah buddy...I feel like we have a different baby! I'll go over the changes in detail but she improved very quickly. A few days after eliminating dairy my husband looked at me one night while playing with her and said, "I feel like she's a completely different baby." It was then that I knew I made the right decision to cut out dairy.

In this fun little dairy-free guide I'm going to outline for you how I cut out dairy, what I eat for meals, and how Emma Claire improved. I hope I can help some of you by sharing my knowledge and experience.

So you think your baby might have a dairy sensitivity?

I first knew something was up with my little one when I noticed her normally seedy yellow diapers with low odor changed to bright green and terribly foul smelling. It was almost like sulfur or rotten eggs. Gross, I know. Before I had Emma Claire I heard that parents obsessed over baby poo, I had no idea why...until we started having green diapers! I then became obsessed with checking every poopy diaper to see if it turned back to yellow.

After a week of green diapers I also noticed that Emma Claire was extremely gassy, it was so sad. She would grunt and strain so hard for half an hour before she had a dirty diaper. It was hard to watch, I knew she was in pain. Then her sleep started getting interrupted by her gas. She would wake up screaming in the middle of the night because of it.

About a week before cutting dairy out Emma Claire also got a nasty rash on one side of her face. At first I just thought we finally had the dreaded baby acne, but it just didn't seem like it. She had it on the left side of her face, head and neck. It started to spread to her shoulder and chest as well.

The last straw for me was when I began noticing little blood specks in her poo. I was seriously freaked out. At this point I had decided to cut out all dairy but called our Pediatrician anyways. She confirmed that Emma Claire most likely had a diary sensitivity and to cut out ALL dairy and call back in a week if she hadn't improved. So my journey began...

Cutting Out Dairy

Now that you plan on cutting out diary you need to make sure you cut out ALL dairy. That means all products that have any ingredients that are a derivative of cows milk. This includes, milk, whey and casein. Make sure that when reading ingredient lists if you don't see milk you double check for whey and casein. They are both milk proteins that will upset your little one's tummy just like milk would. Since you're eliminating dairy you must take calcium supplements!

What Can I Eat?

I remember being so freaked out by cutting out dairy that I almost cried. Being a new mom is hard enough, adding on a complication that changes your entire diet is overwhelming. My husband was so supportive through this process. If you can, get your spouse on board. It will help make things so much easier. Once I decided to cut out all dairy the Hubs and I sat down and made a big grocery list and went on a "non-dairy" shopping spree.

We took our time and went down every aisle and read SO MANY ingredient lists our heads were spinning. You'll be so surprised what has dairy in it, and what doesn't. We were pretty grossed out that many butter foods have no actual butter, and equally bothered that oreos have NO dairy in them...

Meals Without Moo

I hadn't realized how much of my diet was composed of dairy. Here is an example of my daily food intake BEFORE cutting dairy.

Breakfast- Scrambled eggs made with a dash of milk and 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese. Possibly a glass of chocolate milk.
Lunch- Turkey Sandwich with cheddar cheese. If I had chips they would've been cheddar lays.
Dinner- I was VERY into casseroles when pregnant and right after having Emma Claire. So for dinner we would usually have some sort of casserole that would contain both milk and cheese.
Dessert- I CRAVED ice cream right after having Emma Claire. So we always had it in the house.

WOW. So. Much. Dairy. When I took a good hard look at my diet I felt so much Mommy guilt. I was eating a ton of diary, no wonder she had horrid gas and couldn't sleep. Her tummy just couldn't handle the milk proteins coming through my breast milk. Also I wasn't eating well AT ALL. Hardly any fruits and veggies and lots of sugary foods and simple carbs. There is also the common misconception that eating healthy takes more time. I do think that to eat healthy you have to THINK about your food more, but it takes no more time to prepare in my opinion. Here's an example of what I eat now.

Breakfast- Oatmeal with cut up apples, raisins, cinnamon and brown sugar. I always have fruit in the morning now. Lately it's been oranges and bananas.
Lunch- Grilled chicken (I love the pre-grilled Tyson's chicken), green beans, sometimes I'll have a cut up whole tomato, a handful of almonds, craisins, carrots, and fruit like strawberries. I have this pretty much every day. Sometimes I will add romaine lettuce and make a huge salad.

Dinner- I have made Chili, Taco Soup, lots of tilapia, chicken and rice with veggies, and pasta with olive oil and veggies.
Snacks- Fruit, almonds, craisins and for my junk food of choice... the "blonde oreos". I think they're called golden oreos but I prefer blonde ;-)

Some cooking tips

- Look at what you have. Find a meat, veggie, and starch and go from there. A lot of the time I will saute onions and garlic in olive oil, then toss in some chopped veggies and lemon juice, then add in some chicken, boil some pasta, then toss it all together and you've got a yummy dairy free pasta dinner!
- Think about dinner before 5 o'clock. That's when I have the hardest time cooking. If during the day I check out what's in the fridge and pantry I can cook dinner quicker and it's much less stressful.
- Olive oil will be your new BFF ;-)
- Most store bought brownie mix doesn't have diary. Go ahead, rejoice. I did!
- Have dairy free snacks on hand. Almonds are my go-to snack. A few almonds really help tide me over until meal time.
- I suggest getting as many fruits and veggies as you can! Right now we stock up on bananas, clementines, and apples for fruits and carrots, tomatoes, asparagus, and cucumbers for veggies.
- Microwave steam fresh veggies are WONDEDRFUL! I have a TON of green beans and corn in my freezer. They're perfect for lunch or dinner and I just love adding a little salt and pepper then they're good to go. I highly suggest having these in your freezer. It helps me eat more veggies because they're so quick and easy!

Eating Out

I have begun to HATE eating out. If we got to a regular sit down restaurant then I pretty much have to order chicken with veggies because I can make sure they aren't cooked in butter. I almost always have to talk to a manager and explain that I have a dairy allergy. It's easier to just say it that way instead of filling the server in on my current breastfeeding delima ;-) If I don't want to cook our go-to restaurants are Pei Wei and Chipotle. I love that I'm not restricted to grilled chicken and plain veggies. At Pei Wei I get the teriyaki chicken with white rice and extra veggies! At Chipotle the only items that have dairy are the cheese (duh!) and sour cream! It's nice to feel like I have so many choices. I always try to look for an allergen menu online before we go anywhere that way I can be prepared.

Emma Claire's Progress

Well I knew a few days after eliminating dairy that it was working. She immediately began to sleep better. Her rash started to go away almost immediately and was gone within the first week. Within two weeks she had started sleeping through the night. It took three weeks for her poop to start turning back to yellow. The blood specks left her poo within two weeks though. A few days ago I accidentally ate a granola bar that I didn't know had dairy, oops!!! (That's' why you ALWAYS read the wrapper!) And boy could you tell! She was not a happy camper! She had really bad gas and was super fussy. We're still recovering.

Whew! If you read all of that, kudos to you! ha! I had a hard time reading it all, that's the longest post I've ever written! I didn't realize just how much research and information I've digested lately. Dairy elimination was a pretty big deal in our little lives so I've been reading about it constantly since I started. I hope that this little dairy free guide helps someone! I know I would've loved a little starter guide to cutting out diary! :-) It's all worth it though.

I would cut out dairy for the rest of my life if I had to, just for this sweet face...

Prayers for Tripp

2012-01-12T23:54:00.001-06:00

I'm not sure if you've noticed but I added a little link on my right sidebar that says "Prayers for Tripp", if you click it you will be taken to the blog "EBing a Mommy". It is written by a young mother, Courtney, who is an amazingly strong and caring woman.

Courtney's son, Tripp, was born with Epidermolysis Bullosa. "EB" as it's called is a very rare skin disease. Tripp is such a little fighter and has lived longer than any doctors predicted. Courtney has been such an amazing caregiver and has given her son the best life on this earth he could have. I have often found myself crying while reading her posts and at the same time I have been inspired by their strength. Reading about Tripp and Courtney always snaps me back to reality if I think I'm having a hard day. The pain this little boy has had to endure is unimaginable, yet he still manages to smile.

Tripp is not doing well and Courtney has asked for prayers that Tripp will find peace and comfort, however God may provide that. I encourage you to visit her blog and read about Tripp. You'll be glad you did.

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4

I Thought I Knew What Love Was

2012-01-12T21:55:00.000-06:00

but I didn't have a clue...

I never found anything...

that makes me feel like I do about you.

Puppy Ears

2012-01-10T19:34:00.001-06:00

This morning I was eating my oatmeal and chatting with my little lady when I noticed that Dixie's ears were placed just perfectly behind Emma Claire's head and made it look like she had puppy ears! So I grabbed my camera and snapped this picture...

I'm LOVING this litle face! :-)

I have literally been cracking up all day long about this picture!!! I emailed it to my mom and she died laughing! It's the little things in life ;-) I just had to share, hopefully it made you smile!

Linked up {HERE}

Let It Snow

2012-01-10T09:38:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we got our first snow with accumulation! It snowed on the day of the Hubs graduation but it wasn't enough to accumulate, so I'm counting this as the first snowfall of the year! I was going to lay Emma Claire down on her play mat when I looked out on our deck and saw this...

I was shocked! The weatherman said there was a slight chance of some snow flurries, this was no flurry!!!

We tossed the pups outside...they weren't thrilled and wanted RIGHT back inside!

Emma Claire was excited about her first (of many) snowfalls!

Emma Claire's Birth Announcement

2012-01-09T09:01:00.000-06:00

I sent these out a while ago, but I wanted to share with y'all! Here is Emma Claire's birth announcement! I can't believe she's almost three months old. It seems like just yesterday she was brand new!

Our Christmas Card 2011

2012-01-09T08:59:00.000-06:00

I just realized I never posted our Christmas card from 2011!!! OOPS! Well here it is!

Merry (belated) Christmas from our family to yours!

Month Two

2012-01-08T12:57:00.001-06:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Turn your favorite photos into a photo book at Shutterfly.com.

Emma Claire's First Trip to D.C.

2012-01-07T13:45:00.000-06:00

While Paige was visiting we decided it was the perfect time to take Emma Claire into the city for the first time! We planned to go see the Natural History Museum because it's our favorite. We parked right near Air and Space so we cut through to get to the mall.

While in Air and Space we ran upstairs real quick to get a picture with the Spirit of St. Louis. My Great Grandfather helped build the plane's engine. He was also the one who warmed up the plane right before Charles Lindbergh took his legendary trip! I love fun family history!

Still all bundled up but we had to get a picture by the pretty tree at the entrance!

How Miss Emma Claire spent her time at the museum.

My view :-)

We all decided that I was very kangaroo-like with the moby.

We had a great trip into the city and I can't wait for Emma Claire to get bigger so she can enjoy the museums!

Aunt Paige's Visit

2012-01-07T09:59:00.001-06:00

We all had a great time with Aunt Paige and are so sad she had to go home. She was able to be here for a week which was wonderful. During that week she got to travel into DC, celebrate New Years Eve with us, attend the Hubster's graduation and go to Emma Claire's two month appointment with me! It was a very busy week.

Aunt Paige got to be Emma Claire's first babysitter!

They love each other :-)

New Years Eve!

The Museum of Natural History

Paige and Hubs...and Emma Claire!

We can't wait until your next visit! :-) We miss you already!

"Come back, Aunt Paige!!!"

Fitness Friday

2012-01-06T21:41:00.000-06:00

One of my lovely blog friends (and also new mommy) Cait is hosting Fitness Friday's!

I decided that it would be fun to link up each week and track what I've been doing throughout the week to become healthier. Right now my diet is pretty dang healthy due to the elimination of dairy products. I eat plenty of fruits and veggies and we really can't eat out because of my diet restrictions. When we do eat out it's Chipotle and that's also pretty healthy!

I do want to get back into running eventually and I think this will be a great way to kick-start my exercising! Next week my goal will be to take a walk with Emma Claire and the pups whenever the weather allows! I'm going to have to figure something out for when the weather gets nasty up here that doesn't require toting myself and Emma Claire to a gym!

You know you want to go link up and join us!!!

Emma Claire Two Months

2012-01-06T15:46:00.000-06:00

I'm a tad late posting this seeing as Emma Claire is two and a half months old now! The past two months have been amazing, better than I ever thought they would be.

Month two was challenging yet incredibly rewarding. This month we discovered that Emma Claire has a dairy protein sensitivity...aka no more ice cream for this Mama ;-) She is literally like a different baby. Before I cut out dairy she was fussy and cried a LOT but now she's smiley ALL the time and rarely cries. Her little poops have also changed from lime green back to yellow-ish. Gross I know...but you didn't have to change the diapers! ha!

Breastfeeding also became natural and easy this month, FINALLY! I literally almost gave up, in fact I had decided that I was going to stop and exclusively bottle-fed for one day. The following morning she was so upset and I realized that I WANTED to BF...which had not been the case for the past 6 weeks or so. Finally wanting to breastfeed and not feeling like I HAD to was refreshing. It was then that it just seemed to click and I was so much happier.

She had her two month well baby check and is doing wonderful! She took the shots like a pro. Her "shots cry" was no worse than when she gets really upset with me. Which means one of two things...sometimes she is so angry with me it's like she's getting poked with a needle, OR the shots weren't that bad ;-) haha I'd like to think it's the latter of the two.

She's growing SO quickly, I just can't believe it!

My little lady is TEN pounds already!!!

Our pediatrician couldn't believe how big she had gotten. The last time we went she was out of the office so she hadn't seen her in a while and she was shocked! I'm just having so much fun with her! I love that I am able to stay home with her. I can't wait to see what next month will bring!

New Year...New Look!

2012-01-05T09:48:00.001-06:00

Last night I decided that along with the new year I wanted a new look for my blog! I chose bright blues and yellows, very cheery! I was kind of sad to say bye to the pinks but I love how bright the new look is!

Bye bye black and pink...

I love the new look, hope you do too!!!

In other news...today is Emma Claire's two month check up. AKA the one with the shots! I'm so glad Paige is still here so she gets to come along! Wish us luck!

Proud

2012-01-04T11:00:00.000-06:00

I am so incredibly proud of my Husband

After six long months of training he graduated yesterday! While the past six months of training were long...we've been on this road for several years now. Last night, as I packed his lunch and made him muffins for breakfast I couldn't help think of everything that has brought us to this moment. In the time that we've waited for this job to begin the Hubster graduated college and got his first "real" job, we got engaged, we eloped ;-), I graduated college, we found out we were expecting our sweet Emma Claire, and during the training process we welcomed Emma Claire into the world. I was just such a proud wife yesterday and am so lucky that the Hubster chose me to spend his life with.

Here we are before leaving...at 4am. HA! It was an early morning!

I am SO grateful that my Dad worked hard to get here for graduation! He flew in last night at midnight and got a few hours of sleep before we left for graduation. Then after graduation we went to lunch and then took him to the airport. It was important for my Dad to be here today to support and recognize all of the Hubster's hard work. I know he was glad he made it, and so was I!

Grandbaby time before leaving!

The guys before the ceremony! My Dad was such a proud Father-in-Law!

It was also great that Paige was here for graduation! She was such a great help with Emma Claire and assisting me with anything I needed! It mad a loooong day much easier!

My sweet girl in her guest pass ;-) She was a rock star baby yesterday! I am just such a proud mama for how great she was!!

Emma Claire sound asleep before the ceremony...I loved that Emma Claire woke up during the ceremony and got to watch as her Daddy was recognized for all of his hard work!

Our little family! :-) Emma Claire and I are just so proud of Daddy!!!

Congratulations honey! You worked hard for this and I am so proud of you!

Cinna Puffs

2012-01-02T08:36:00.001-06:00

If you ever need a super quick and easy, but still tasty, breakfast...here ya go!

Cinna Puffs

They're so cute and simple to make!

Ingredients

Canned Crescents or Biscuits

Cinnamon Sugar

For my cinnamon sugar I usually just dump some sugar into a bowl and add cinnamon until the mixture is light brown...very technical, I know ;)

Directions

Pre-heat oven to temperature on can

Pull dough into pieces and roll into balls (Mine are typically the size of a quarter or slightly larger)

Drop balls of dough into cinnamon sugar mixture and roll around to coat evenly

Place on a greased baking pan

Bake for 10 minutes

There ya go! This is my go to breakfast if I'm tired of oatmeal and eggs and the Hubster LOVES them!

Linked up {HERE}

Highlights of 2011

2012-01-01T13:21:00.001-06:00

Wow what a year! 2011 was the most eventful year I've ever had! Graduation, marriage, moving and having a baby to boot! Here's a little review of what happened in our lives during 2011.

I think one of the best decisions I made in 2011 was to start this blog!!!

I ran my second half-marathon! My parents drove down to Waco to surprise me at the finish line! I was so surprised!

2011 was a VERY cold year in Waco! We had several snow/ice storms that turned our little town into a winter wonderland!

The Hubster taught me how to shoot.

We found out we would be moving to the nations capitol for the Hubster to start his dream job!

One of the best days of 2011...our wedding day! April 1st, 2011.

We spent a few weeks in south Georgia together.

The Hubs and I took the dogs to their first Shrimp Festival at Fernandina Beach, Florida.

I graduated from Baylor University! Sic'em!!!

We found out our family was going to grow in 2011!

During the summer we found out our newest addition was a little GIRL!!!

I was in the house party at Lindsay and Brian's wedding!

I spent some quality time with my aunts, uncles, and cousins at the beach!

I spent three weeks in June staying with my in-laws in Georgia so I could see the Hubs while he was at training! We traveled from south Georgia to the beach and to the mountains in north Georgia.

The Hubster and I celebrated 4th of July in the mountains of North Georgia with friends and family!

Paige and I drove across the country to my new home!

I spent several weeks unpacking and getting our new home ready for the Hubster's arrival!

The Hubster FINALLY arrived at our new house and it began to really feel like home! We got started preparing our house for our little girl's arrival!

We made our little girl's nursery picture perfect for her! Her nursery was a product of a lot of planning, hard work, and love.

I had fun decorating our house for fall!

On October 31st, 2011 we welcomed our daughter, Emma Claire Elizabeth, into the world!

I took Emma Claire's newborn pictures myself!

Emma Claire celebrated her first Thanksgiving!

Emma Claire met Santa for the first time!

We had our first Christmas as a family of three.

Emma Claire is a lucky girl and got lots of fun gifts from friends and family!

We closed out 2011 by celebrating the New Year with Aunt Paige!

2011 was such a fantastic year for us, we were so blessed to have the love and support of friends and family. We are so excited to see what God has in store for us in 2012!

No Time to Blog...

2011-12-31T16:19:00.002-06:00

because I've been too busy hanging out with Paige and taking pictures of her with Emma Claire :-)

Emma Claire is absolutely enthralled with her Aunt Paige.

The way she looks at her is precious! All of these pictures were taken right when we got home from picking Paige up from the airport.

It's almost like she recognized her from when she was in my tummy and Paige would talk to her!

She just laughed and giggled for the longest time, it was so sweet!

Well we're off to visit friends for a small New Year's celebration! I'm hoping to do a 2011 recap post tonight or tomorrow. 2011 was quite the year for us, it will be fun to look back on all that has happened!