Eleven Months Old!

So H is 14 months now, and this is her 11 month update. I know. I have been a blogger slacker for the past 4 months because... craziness. Life has been crazy, work has been crazy, mommahood has been crazy. I have so many post ideas in my head but I always end up being so exhausted they never get transferred from my head to the computer. Thanks for sticking with me!! And now only 3 months overdue...   

Age: 11 months

Stats: Weighs about 19 lb oz and was about 28.5 " tall - although these are not official doctor's visit  measurements, wears size 6-12 months in clothing, size 3 diapers & has 5 teeth (2 bottom middle, 2 top middle and 1 upper left)!

Favorite Foods: Same as 10 months, plus fish! She loved it!

Words: Same as 10 months, plus she is loving to repeat things back to us (does best with 1 syllable words). We can go back and forth saying "uh yeah" for hours!

Favorite Activities: Same as 10 months, plus this girl has become a walking machine. It's all walking, all the time!

Favorite Things: Same as 10 months, plus she is even more into books than before. She loves to sit down and flip through the pages. And she always makes sure the book is right side up!

Least Favorite Things: Same as 10 months, and now we can add diaper changes to the list. Girl does not want to be pinned down!

Signature Moves: Same as 10 months, plus kissy faces! It cracks me up every time! She is a pro walker and has already tried to run and jump (cue momma heart attack).

I tell you every day how ridiculously sweet and cute you are!!

Five on Friday!

ONE

Can't Live Without...
my new nifty fifty lens! I wrote about ordering it the other week. Well it arrived and it is amazing! It takes in so much light that it is really helpful in taking pics around my house (which doesn't have enough natural light to eliminate the need for a flash - which I won't use). I've used it outside too and the images just come out so much better. Awesome purchase!! The pic on the left is one of the first I took with the new lens, and I just love how it came out!

TWO

So that a two piece bathing suit (top//bottom) from J Crew that I bought? Total no go. I thought the waist band would be forgiving... it totally wasn't. So back it goes. BUT I was able to find a really cute two piece with a mid rise bottom from Aerie (top//bottom)! Way more flattering and I have actually tried it on so I know it will work!

 

 

 

 

 

THREE

We are flying for the first time with our little one coming up soon. I am nervous! I have read a lot of other momma's blogs for tips on traveling and have gotten some great ideas. Wish us luck!! An send on over any ideas you have! My last purchase for this trip is a travel Boppy. I am still nursing and hope to do so on the plane. I really can't live without my Boppy (guess that should have been my #1 item!) but trying to imagine lugging that thing around the airport and onto a plane while wrangling our little daredevil almost makes me have a nervous breakdown. My husband thought that they must make an inflatable one, and so I researched and found this travel one that zips into a little carrying case. Hoping it fits the bill! And I am looking forward to keeping it in the car and using it when I have to nurse in there too.






 

FOUR

Any tips for baby nap time? I feel like we can never get it right. Like right now I am listening to H in her crib fussing up a storm, but it is her normal nap time and she usually falls asleep within 10 minutes or so. But some days she doesn't... but then some days she does. I've tried changing timing, and also cutting out a nap, and that never seems to work either. Mommahood is a constant evolution, isn't it? Once you think you have something mastered, doesn't it always seem to change?! And sometimes it seems like you can never master anything! But I always try to tell myself I am being the best momma I can be and that's what matters the most.
 

 

FIVE

Tracy Anderson has new workout clothes available on her website. I'm digging them!
 

 

 

I'm linking up for Five on Friday!

 

         

 

 

And also linking up for Can't Live Without It!

 

 

Five on Friday!

ONE

Can't Live Without...
my new HP Stream laptop! I kicked our laptop (insert sobbing emoji here). I ruined it. Something with the display came apart inside and only some of the colors were coming through. I didn't want to tell my husband after I did it either. He is a computer genius and he opened it up and looked inside but alas, nothing to be done. So we needed a new laptop, and cheap, since we weren't budgeting for one right now. I had remembered seeing a commercial for a cute little pink one around Christmas time, so I did a bit of research and found it! And it came! And it is amazing and so, so pretty. G thinks it looks like a candy bar. It runs way better than what we had previously and is less than half the cost. Win, win in my book. It comes in blue and pink and is only $199!

TWO

I bought a two piece bathing suit (top//bottom) from J Crew for our Hawaii trip coming up. Bikinis post baby are an interesting concept, to say the least. But this one looks promising as it is a little higher waisted (it's supposed to reach just a tad under the belly button) and doesn't have a hard elastic band around the waist (to pinch that lovely extra skin). It hasn't gotten here yet but I'll let you know how it fits when it does!

 

 

 

 

THREE

I've started decorating our house for H's birthday party (it's about 3 weeks away). Trying to stretch out all of the things that will need to be done so I can hopefully alleviate some of the stress. And since I can really only accomplish about one thing a day lately, I needed to start early! We also hung some poms from the ceiling and H is just loving them. She waves hi to them every time we walk by.










 



madison ave-hue

FOUR

I bought a new Essie nail polish at Target the other day. I love all things Essie and like to buy a new one or two each year from their seasonal lines. This one looks perfect for Hawaii and has a bit of shimmer in it.
 

 

 

FIVE

Our little one is growing up so fast. Today we switched around the seat of her stroller to face out. She was getting bored of our ugly mugs, and she was so excited to be seeing everything! She did look up at me with a cute little smile a few times to make sure I was still there... love that.

 

 

I'm linking up for Five on Friday!

 

         

 

 

And also linking up for Can't Live Without It!

 

 

Simple Momma Makeup Routine

I have never been one to wear much makeup, even pre-child. Now that I have the babe, I would hazard to say that many days the most I can muster up is just washing and moisturizing my face. But on the days when I do have the time/energy to get a little more put together, these are the things I have been using and loving.. my goal is a pretty, glowing (ha!), natural looking face. And it can only take me 5-10 minutes max. And pretty much everything must be inexpensive. I am willing to pay a little more for some things that tend to last longer. And I have started spending a little more on the face products for anti-aging, since I entering my mid-thirties... yikes!

Daily Prep:
(ONE) Washing: Yes to Grapefruit Correct & Repair Brightening face wash wipes. Since starting to use these I have noticed that the red patches on my face are less red and my skin tone more even.
(TWO) Moisturizing: Meaningful Beauty Anti-aging Night Crème I have been using Cindy Crawford's Meaningful beauty products for about 4 years. I love them. I stretch my shipments out very far apart and only get what I need. My main loves are the Night Crème (which I use during the day), the clay mask, the toner, the Crème d Serum and the Glowing Serum.

Makeup Routine:
(THREE) Base: I have been using Bobbi Brown CC Cream in Blushed Nude. It has a slight coverage, SPF included and a little bit of light reflection.
(FOUR) Under Eyes: Maybelline Instant Age Rewind in Brightener. It was my last week's Can't Live Without It!
(FIVE) Forehead, Nose, Cheeks, Chin: Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser. Love, love, love this!
(SIX) All Over: Bobbi Brown Illuminating Bronzing Powder in Antigua. Gives a really gorgeous, healthy looking, all over glow.
(SEVEN) Eyes: Cover Girl Clump Crusher Mascara in waterproof black/brown. I love it! No clumps and nice separated lashes. This is really the only product I use on my eyes unless it's date night and then I will go wild and use eyeliner and shadow too!
(EIGHT) Cheeks: Bobbi Brown Blush in Tawny. I do a light application after using the bronzing powder.
(NINE) Lips: Mark Lip Gloss in Peek-A-Boo. I mostly just wear chapstick/lip balm, but when I'm feeling crazy, I'll throw on a nude gloss.

Five on Friday!

ONE

Can't Live Without...
Maybelline Instant Age Rewind in Brightener. I am going to do another post about my (very) simple momma makeup routine, but I just had to mention this item as my can't live without for this week. It is amazing. It transforms me from dead zombie to at least partially alive looking. Especially this week after being sick (see #3). It has helped me look human again when I had to leave the house. I mainly use it under my eyes, but I have also used it as a highlighter and in the corners of my eyes as well. Amazing.

TWO

Guys, I bought the nifty fifty lens. After all the rave reviews, especially this last week, I just pulled the trigger. I told myself I had to get it now so I would have it for our trip and H's first birthday. I am so good at convincing myself of things! It hasn't arrived yet, but I'll let you know how I love it once it does!



 

 

 

 

 

THREE

I had food poisoning this week (thus the lack of posts). 'Nuff said. I prayed that it wasn't norovirus or some other stomach bug and that my little one would be spared. Well, prayers were answered and she hasn't gotten sick. You know you are a mom when you care so, so, so much more about your baby than you do about anything else at all.






 

FOUR

Starting to think about what to get little H for her birthday. We don't want to go overboard, but want to give her a couple of neat things she will enjoy playing with. We are thinking about maybe a play kitchen with a set of food (these cute desserts - little macarons! what?!) and maybe a cart to push around too? Too cute! And also a book or two. Where is Baby's Birthday Cake is high on the list!
 

 

 
FIVE

This week... baby with a little backpack! I like that she has a little bit of 'tude in this picture with her hip out. In the past few weeks she has definitely started asserting her personality!!

 

 

I'm linking up for Five on Friday!

 

         

 

 

And also linking up for Can't Live Without It!

 

 

Five on Friday!

ONE

Can't Live Without...
Tracy Anderson. Okay, I know that I am starting to sound obsessed... because I am. I am a die hard Tracy fan. She truly changed my body and my exercise-life. I started doing her method about 7 months before I got pregnant and it changed my body like nothing else ever has. Her main program, Metamorphosis, has several different variations depending on your body type (hipcentric, glutecentric, abcentric or omnicentric - sometimes you can also find them at Costco or Bed, Bath and Beyond for super cheap) and the muscular structure routines specifically target your imbalances (along with everything else too). There is a description on her site that can help you figure out which one you are. I was hipcentric, and I completed the first 90 days (my hips shrunk 3 inches, along with inches lost everywhere else too!) and then I switched over to glutecentric (as that imbalance was more pronounced then) until I got pregnant. The routines change every 10 days so you never plateau (hallelujah)! The changing content also helped me get into a better routine of working out 6 days a week... I wasn't getting bored, and I always had her new cute workout clothes to look forward to.

I have always been an exerciser, but I LOVE FOOD (and wine!) so I think I was in pretty good shape, but there was padding, especially in my hips and thighs (I also pretty much always follow a modified weight watchers amount of points daily, but I get cravings, and did I mention wine?). Once I started her system the padding started falling away and I was still indulging (moderately) in some of the things I love (including the wine!). Then I got pregnant and I switched over to her Pregnancy Project (one of my Bun in the Oven Momma Faves). Each month has a workout routine tailored to that point in your pregnancy, and doing this helped me gain the appropriate amount of weight and feel better. When I was morning sick, I would motivate myself to get to it and I would always feel better afterwards. About 8 weeks postpartum I (slowly) started working out again using her Post Pregnancy 1 and Post Pregnancy 2 workouts. Working out again after having Hazel was so hard. So hard. Probably one of the harder things I've done (this warrants a separate post). But I started slowly and built on it and now I am almost back to where I was pre-preg (10 months postpartum). I also suffered from some postpartum anxiety, and I will say that exercising really helped with that too. I've switched over from Tracy's Metamorphosis program to her streaming workouts and they. are. amazing. Have I gushed enough?! Bottom line, this woman is a life-changer.

She is also super cute (total girl crush!) and on the cover of Health magazine this month and you can read the article here.

 

TWO

After a few online shopping sesh's (with 40 and 50% off!) here is what I ended up with from Loft:

Teal Stone Multi Strand Necklace - so cute and I really think this color is going to be a major trend for Spring/Summer
Pleated V-Neck Dress in Summer Navy (the color in person is somewhat lighter and grayer - so pretty! Also a great dress for nursing!)
Short Sleeve Lace Shift Dress in Mint Cream (makes me think of going to tea or a garden party, or great for a wedding!)
Floral Bloom Maxi Dress in Perfect Teal (this one is a saga. I ordered it in petite initially - I'm short - but the arm holes were way up in my pits - super uncomfortable. So I ordered a size larger in petite and also my normal size in the regular length dress. The larger petite was still made for doll arms, and the regular dress is way too long... but I love the dress, so I'm keeping the regular and I will be attempting to hem it myself.)

What I returned (and why):
Eyelet Striped Dress (zipper got stuck when I was trying it on and I honestly thought I would have to cut myself out, also fit was not great around waist)
Pleated V-Neck Dress in Vivid Teal (the color is gorgeous but is a little see through)
Colorblock Racerback Maxi Dress in Pale Tea Rose (loved the dress but the pink made me look pasty)
Modern Flip Flops (not comfortable)

I went to the store to do my returns and ended up leaving with another super cute bead & tassel necklace in candy coral (they are having 40% off again!). Tassels... they're so hot right now, tassels.

 

 

 

 

THREE

Finishing up getting the last items for little H's birthday party (I'm planning so far ahead because we have a vacation coming up right before her party).

I bought the cutest drink buckets from target. Oh, and I bought the booze - little mini bottles of pink champagne (and some larger ones too, for when the minis run out), because what first birthday party would be complete without some whine/wine!

I have also been working on making a gold and glittery banner using my Cricut machine! I got that thing almost 10 years ago (it was my first anniversary gift from G... what a sweet and thoughtful man) during the peak of scrapbooking mania. The last time I used it was probably about 4 years ago to make a banner for a bridal shower. It still is a pretty neat machine and did an awesome job making cute, uniform letters.

  




FOUR

Prepping for the plane trip of said vacation. We have purchased a few new books and a cute toy to introduce to H on the plane, so hopefully she will stay occupied (at least for a little bit). We are also going to bring a few small things she loves as well. And we got her a kid's Kindle already (we don't let her use it much yet, but she does like to play a few minutes of fruit ninja!). Fingers crossed for those five and a half hours. Any must haves/must do tips? Let me know!

We are going to Maui, so I themed the new

toy/books appropriately...

Where is Baby's Beach Ball?

Baby Loves Summer

Deep Sea Dive Lift-the-Flap

You Are My Baby: Ocean

Flutter Fly (Indestructible)

Little Ocean Books

My Beach House

 

FIVE

Baby in a romper with little baby leg rolls! Need I say more?!

 

 

 

I'm linking up for Five on Friday!

 

         

 

 

And also linking up for Can't Live Without It!

 

 

 

 

New Momma Nursing Favorites

My number one suggestion, if breastfeeding is your goal, is to take a breastfeeding class and read a good breastfeeding book (I really liked Breastfeeding Made Simple). Being armed with that little bit of knowledge helped me so much when starting out on the breastfeeding journey. Because even with that little bit of knowledge it was a huge learning experience. I remember in the middle of the night in the hospital calling the nurse in because H and I just had no idea what we were doing. I was so afraid to position her because her neck was so fragile. But the two of us soldiered on and figured this thing out... we are now going on 10+ months!

Besides getting some good info, support is so key. Look up lactation consultants in your area. If you took a birthing class, see if they have any recommendations. A local lactation consultant may even offer a breastfeeding class you can take (that's what we did). That way, once you are home and you feel like you need some help, you have someone to call. We used a lactation consultant when I ran into some issues a few months in and their help was vital. They came to the house, they were sweet and understanding, they assessed everything and even gave me extra advice about fussy babies, burping, postpartum counseling, etc. Amazing! And having a husband who supports your breastfeeding goals is also such a blessing. G is great that way.

Now the best part! The products that made the journey so much easier. Below are my new momma nursing favorites.

 

ONE // TWO // THREE // FOUR // FIVE // SIX

 

 

ONE: If you are going to be pumping/need to sterilize anything, USE THESE! You just pop them in the micro for 90 seconds with a little bit of water and presto. All clean.

 

TWO: Also if you plan to pump and do some bottles, the Kiinde system is great. You pump straight into the storage bags, heat those same storage bags up and pop them directly into a bottle system. No wasted liquid gold.

 

THREE: Nursing tanks are still what I wear on a daily basis around the house and at night. Comfy, and makes it oh so easy to nurse.

 

FOUR: These Therapearl doodads are awesome. If you get a plugged duct, just microwave them and put them in your bra. When you are engorged, put them in the fridge and then wear them around once they are cold. If you pump, heat them up and put them around the pump piece and it helps your milk let down faster and makes your pumping session shorter.

 

FIVE: This one is my absolute favorite and a must have! During the first week or two of breastfeeding, it's not the most comfortable of experiences, even if your baby has a good latch. This balm will save you from getting cracks and other painful issues. You don't have to use it forever - I went through one tube and then was good. But oh man was it a savior!

 

SIX: I really like disposable nursing pads, especially at the beginning when leakage is at its peak. These are great and you don't have to think about washing them, you can just toss them. They are also soft and comfortable and absorb a lot.