feeling the post holiday blues?

with all the joy that came with Everly's first christmas

[I promise I'll get through all those pictures soon]

there also has been some post holiday blues too [at least for mama]

never will we have another "first christmas"

and as the weeks go by I am trying to soak up every minute with her

I look at photos from even just a couple of weeks ago

and she is such a different baby than the one I am looking at today

so I think all this means is I will continue to be camera crazy

and will stare at her for as long as I humanly can

and realize that with every change and every day that goes by

there are so many more exciting moments with Everly

and even though she will not always be so little

she is always going to be our daughter

and the fun is just beginning

and seriously, check out that pouty face

it is just too much cuteness, and man, does she know when to break it out

I think we are going to be in trouble when she gets bigger

oh hey, I'm seven weeks old

seven weeks brought me my first christmas

it also meant mom was dressing me in nothing but

reds, greens, santa hats, and ridiculous accessories

not to mention all these christmas outfits got me confused as a boy

too many times to count

but I don't mind

because my girlie christmas outfits included this little number:

so the times I was dressed more like a boy wasn't a bad thing

if you ask me

this week I have decided that I really only like daddy 

giving me my nightly bottle

and while we are talking about bottles, I'm down to only having one a day

which makes my mom a happy mommy

and I make sure to make lots of noises while eating to let them know

how good my food is

I had my first little cold this week

but after a day of rest with my mom I was pretty much back to normal

[too bad it took my parents a few more days to feel the same]

I'm smiling at almost anything these days

here's just a short list of my favorites:

sneezes

sneezes that disappear

getting my diaper changed 

boobie snacks

when mommy touches my nose 

my dreams

my daddy's funny noises he makes just for me

looking out the windows when I wake up

the almighty awesome ceiling fan [my favorite thing these days]

I've also figured out that smiling can turn into laughing

and it is pretty fun because I shake my whole body while doing it

this seems to make my parents [and everyone else for that fact]

pretty happy

well, time for me to go take a bath

-Everly Mae

getting miss everly on the road

before the mr. and I had everly

we had grand plans to try to keep our lives as "normal" as possible

and sure, with E you need to be flexible when it comes to timing

and normal tasks always take an extra minute, or two, or three

but for the most part I am very thankful to have a daughter

who still allows us to have our "normal" life

but exponentially better now that she is in it

today we took our first trip to visit auntie meg in oakland

and I have lots of pictures to share

but for now, it's time to snuggle with my baby

who just was out and about from 9 am until after 10 this evening

you rock everly mae, you rock

christmas eve [photo booth]

now that all the "kids" in the family are in their teens and twenties

and with the new addition to the family - miss everly

I wanted to find a new fun tradition for us to start on Christmas Eve

so that's just what we did

I made a simple backdrop out of black felt and some large ribbon

bought some fun $1 props at Joann's

downloaded the Incredibooth app to my iPad 

[which I already had played around with on my phone as you can see here]

and had fun

I think I will be breaking this out for New Year's Eve too!

Merry Christmas!

we'll be off christmas-ing for a while

I promise that I will have my camera in tow over the next couple of days

to catch all of Everly's first Christmas moments

but for now I'm wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas

and as you can see above

we already started celebrating last night with our first Christmas

and I cannot wait to have so many first Christmas moments with our little E

birthday celebration

today miss everly mae helped me celebrate 

miss jessica mae's birthday

and yes, my little E does share a name with this awesome lady on purpose

we had a simple lunch and a short shopping trip

but it was really a great way to spend the day

it is crazy to think about how grown up we have become

we are no longer the 18 year old college freshman just looking for someone to 

eat dinner with at the dining commons

now we spend our days chatting it up at cafes 

and trying to nurse everly in public with no "oops" moments

and shopping at stores our mom's would love

and holding babies, kissing babies, 

and protecting our favorite baby from crazy strangers

and changing diapers in cars

and you get the picture

and just so we don't take turning twenty-nine too seriously

here is how we used to spend birthday celebrations, maybe six years ago or so

happy birthday miss jessica mae

oh hey, I'm six weeks old

I'm six weeks old now

and life is really getting interesting

mom brings me pretty much anywhere 

and now that I'm bigger I get to ride around in her Baby Bjorn

and I get some of my best sleep in that thing

I now weigh 9 pounds 3 ounces 

even though nobody seems to think I'm that big

apparently I carry my weight well ;)

and I'm finding some newborn outfits to be a bit snug

however, some onesies are still swimming on me, so go figure

my mom is loving my new weight gain

she keeps squeezing my thighs when she's wearing me

and it seems to make her pretty happy

and as you can see from above

I am very happy when I wake up in the morning

and so is mom because I now sleep through the night

I also have decided that blowing bubbles is fun

I think that's all for now

-Everly Mae

not many words these past couple of days

since friday morning with the events that took place in Connecticut

I have been without much to say here

so today I want to just say this -

I am so thankful for my beautiful daughter that has completed my life

in more ways than I could imagine

I am so blessed to have a husband who is my perfect match 

and partner for all that comes our way

I have the most amazing family and friends who keeps me close to home

and I wouldn't have it any other way

and finally, I am so proud to be a part of a profession that has shown such heroism

the teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary did the unimaginable

and are proof of the dedication and love that teachers have for their students

oh hey, I'm five weeks old

well, after I turned one month old

I started acting pretty old, I figured it was time

now I like getting most of my sleeping in at night

and only waste a few hours during the day with that whole napping business

this week I spent a little time hanging out in my crib during the day

and man, those awesome black and white flowers that go around 

the crib are so fun to stare at

I can do that for about twenty minutes with no fussing

I'm still working on making about a thousand different faces per day

and I am no longer liking that bottle that my people are trying to give me as much

this week I also took my first mini-road trip to my grandparents house

and even though we were in the car for over three hours

it felt like a blink of an eye for me

this week I also decided that standing up with a little help from the parents is fun

and kicking is the best

I also got to be held by my great grandma betty for the first time this week

I'm glad I put on a little weight so she wasn't afraid to hold me anymore!

and yes, christmas decorations are still rockin' my world

there is just so much to see

we went to look at a whole neighborhood covered in christmas lights

and as soon as my parents realized that I couldn't see the lights while in the baby carrier

they took me out to see everything and I was a much happier camper

all in all five weeks was pretty busy for me

-Everly Mae

ten on ten [december]

Everly and I are trying to enjoy the most of every day

and sometimes that means going on lots of walks

and I mean, multiple walks in one day

and that was the type of day we had today

1. just one reason why I love co-sleeping 2. mommy needs a snack too 3. thankful for swings so I can still shower like a grown-up 4. time to finish a christmas craft I started at least a week ago 5. finished product, the birth child of two different pins [here and here] 6. tummy time toes 7. just a bow 8. perfect picket fence 9. our winter garden [planted by our neighbor of course, my domestic inabilities also go into the outdoors] 10. elf & sophie

happy ten on ten

everly mae is one month old

my everly turned one month old yesterday

so we used it as an excuse to get all dressed up and girly

so that's just what we did

everyday her personality becomes more and more defined

and we just fall even more in love with her

and as a little birthday gift to me

last night everly decided to sleep for six hours straight

we woke up, had a little snack, and then slept for three more hours

we are well rested and ready for yet another busy mommy/daughter day
happy first month baby girl

retro menagerie holiday prints are back

well, it is pretty much my favorite time of year

and my favorite etsy shop, Retro Menagerie has brought back their holiday prints

when decking the halls I like to change out some of the art on my walls as well

it is nice to fill those frames you have been looking at all year with something new

and the prints designed by Jaymee Srp are an excellent way to do that

my home currently has the Stacked Gifts print hanging up

and, a great feature of Retro Menagerie is each print can be designed to order if you wish

so if you do not have a red and green color scheme for the holidays

these prints can be changed to fit your home

go check out the whole holiday print collection here

I promise, you will like them

oh hey, I'm four weeks old today

well, four weeks ago today I was born

which I suppose makes me a month old

but I think today I will celebrate being four weeks old

and on the 5th of December I'll celebrate being one month old

because that just sounds like more fun

and eventually I won't know how many weeks old I am

so while I do, I'm going to party it up

so here's what I did today to celebrate this milestone:

-took a bath, and yes, they are still amazing

-dressed in head to toe christmas gear

-took my first trip to costco where many friendly people said hi to me

[even though I was busy sleeping]

-went to sushi with the parentals where mom was actually able to eat "real" sushi again now that she isn't busy growing me, and she seemed really happy about it

-got my social security card today in the mail, so mom said I'm now a real person

[that's good to know]

-and I had such a good day I decided to stay awake for it for almost four hours at one point, a true record for me so far

unfortunately, today is also the last day that my dad is home full time

so they say he is back to work tomorrow

and we will just have to see how that all pans out for mom and I this week

-Everly Mae

everly's newborn photos

there is nothing better than getting a very exciting email

on a sunday afternoon when you have been in class all weekend

missing your baby

and watching the clock a little too much

so when I saw we had E's newborn pictures 

from the amazing Sarah Maren of Sarah Maren Photographers

ready to go

it pretty much made my day

here are just a few of my favorites

and yes, normally newborn pictures are filled with very sleepy babies

but not our Everly

considering she is a baby that is a great sleeper

she only has her eyes closed in one of these photos!

she was just too excited to be hanging out with Sarah

and getting her picture taken

clearly she has a mama that won't ever put her own camera down

putting things into perspective

today I got restless

I wanted to go do something

but the rain and Everly made getting out and about a little tricky

and the fact that I had a to-do list that needed my attention

we did get a walk in before things got too stormy

but other than that we've been house-bound

at one point I was feeling a tad stressed with the masters homework I 

had to finish before this weekend

and still frustrated that I am still needing to supplement E with a good amount

of formula to not starve her

and even though I had dishes to unload and laundry to put away

and thank you cards to write, I was feeling bored

and that was when the mr. reminded me of what is most important

Everly was sleeping next to me while I was working

and he said

"just look at her, we cannot be stressed about anything when we have her.  just look at that little bundle of joy, it will all be fine."

and that is so true

because right now she is sleeping on me while I type with one hand

and that could never be a bad thing

so even though every day might not be jam packed with

outings and adventures

and some days we will just need to stay home and get things done

we are lucky to have our Everly

oh hey, I'm three weeks old today

well, technically I'm three weeks and one day old today
this week I have been very busy with the following:
-I rolled over from my tummy to my back while laying on the sofa with daddy
[apparently that is pretty cool for someone my age]

-used my pinky fingers to hold my own bottle
[my mom was so impressed by this she was snapping photos of me like mad]
-my mom finally figured out I wasn't getting enough food and she started giving me extra goodness in a bottle and I gained a whole pound in one week
[now I don't have to go back to the dr. until January!]
-I accidentally petted our kitty Luna while doing one of my many daily stretches, I liked it, she liked it, I think I'll do it again soon
-I had my first shopping trip to the mall where mom left very happy because she found some dresses she said she can feed me in, so that sounds like good news for me
-I had two thanksgivings where I met so many family members, I think holidays are going to be some good times for me in the future
-we found grammy her christmas tree and decorated it
[the whole thing exhausted me so I slept through it all]

time for me to get back to my napping
it is pretty much my favorite thing to do right now
-Everly Mae

hunting for the perfect christmas tree

today the mr. and I helped pick out the family christmas tree for my mom's house

it is something we have done ever since we were dating

and this year we got to bring our little Everly

so we decided we should also bring the camera for yet another first for E

my family has been buying our tree from the same man since I was about seven

so getting to bring our little one with us just seemed pretty special

this is just one of many traditions I am so excited to continue with our little family

happy turkey day

I hope that everyone celebrating today had an amazing Thanksgiving

I know that the start of the holiday season could not have been any better for us

because this little one pretty much could brighten up any day

especially those days that are all about being thankful for what we have 

so no matter how big or small your holiday was today

or whether you celebrated with friends or family

I hope you too found much to be thankful for

blooming bath bliss

a while back when I was on the baby boards of pinterest non-stop

I stumbled upon the Blooming Bath

I instantly thought it looked like a little piece of bath time heaven

before it had arrived we tried a couple of sponge baths while we waited 

for E's tummy to heal

and she was not having it, not one bit

not to mention that bath time was something I was very nervous about

Everly is tiny, and throwing water on her just seemed to be a little scary for me

as soon as we got our Blooming Bath getting our little lady clean

became on of my favorite times of the day

and E absolutely loves her bath time too

the only time she gets sad now is when I take her out 

of her big comfy flowery cute bath 

and the best part, you can just use it in the kitchen sink

hang it to dry or toss it in the dryer for a few minutes

so there's my mommy approved product 

if you have a little one, or one on the way, I highly suggest the awesomeness

of the Blooming Bath