Easter Basket Blog Hop!

Hazel's Easter basket turned out really cute! The bunny I ordered online ended up being really small.  I hadn't anticipated that (thought it would be a basket filler). So I ended up getting her the sweetest little mini purse too (total splurge but I couldn't resist). I thought it wouldn't be something she would want to play with until she is a bit older, but she loved it!

But the books were her absolute favorite. She would have been happy with just those! We had to prompt her to unpack the rest.

I also added in a couple of other bunny toys she already had, to make the basket more festive!

This is Hazel's last 'first' holiday (tear!), and it was fun to see how much different she is now than at Christmas. She definitely got the concept of the basket and unpacking and playing with the items.

Where Are Baby's Easter Eggs?

Easter Touch and Feel

Jellycat Ballerina Bunny

Vera Bradley Mini Satchel

Peter Rabbit Hanging Toy

Basket

I'm linking up for the Easter Basket Blog Hop!

10 Month Update!

   

This little miss has 3 teeth, 2 pigtails, and a truckload of sassy personality.
 

Age: 10 months

 

Stats: Weighed  19lb 8oz (69th percentile) and was 28" tall (46th percentile) - although these are not official doctor's visit  measurements, wears size 6-12 months in clothing, size 3 diapers & has 3 teeth (2 bottom middle and 1 top left)!

 

Favorite Foods: Same as 9 months, plus pepperoni! That is definitely her jam! On the flip side, she hates black beans. I mean hates. I gave her one when we were at Chipotle and the Epic Bean Meltdown of 2015 (said in a booming James Earl Jones voice) occurred. Whoa. You would have thought the world was going to end.

 

Words: Same as 9 months, plus she has started repeating things! I don't know if she knows what they mean, but she has said goodnight (when Daddy was reading her Goodnight Moon), shorts (when Momma was changing her clothes) and hello, all really clearly. She has also increased her really cute babbling this past month. 

 

Favorite Activities: Same as 9 months, plus clapping! About a week ago she just started clapping one morning out of nowhere. So cute! And we have also taught her to high five. I'll put my hand up and say "high five!" and she will slap me some skin and laugh like it is the funniest joke on the planet! She is also loving practicing different facial expressions. She has started doing that silly fake smile that all kids seem to end up doing in pictures at some point. It cracks us up!

 

Favorite Things: Same as 9 months, plus swinging! We had been going to the park in the past, but now she is sooo into it. We have been going every night after dinner, before bed. The higher the swinging, the happier the little chick. She gets so sad when we have to leave. Did I mention balloons before? We went into Party City and she almost didn't know what to do with herself. All of those mylar balloons lined up on the wall.. this little one went crazy! Flags too. Waving in the breeze. So funny to her!

Least Favorite Things: Same as 9 months, plus black beans, per the aforementioned meltdown scenario.

 

Signature Moves: Same as 9 months, plus she has started to grab and hold on to us when we pick her up (that sound you hear is my heart melting into a puddle). She has also become a super pro at standing with no hands. Even when she gets excited and flaps her arms, she can keep her balance. She has tried to take some steps on her own a few times, but so far not much success. Her crawling has transformed into this crazy, super fast monkey crawl (G came up with that). This girl can get around!

 

 

 

Both your Daddy and I have noticed how much more grown up you seem this month. Time sure is flying by, but we are trying to enjoy every moment of your journey.

 

 

 

Five on Friday

ONE

Just feeling so blessed to be a momma. Sometimes it is really overwhelming. Like really, really overwhelming (wine anyone?). It's a 24/7 job with no vacation and no time off. But it is by far the most rewarding experience of my life, ever. I love our little nugget with a fierceness that I never expected. I read somewhere recently that having a child, meeting them for this first time, and loving them is like finding a new room in your house - it was always there, you just didn't know it existed. It really is impossible to imagine what life was even like before Hazel, such is the expansiveness of all of the feelings. Oh Hazel, you are Momma's favorite, favorite, favorite girl.

Seriously, this kid is a ham. Anytime the
camera comes out, its ham-mer time.

TWO
Loving these shorts from Target. We've been having some warmer weather and I have been rocking them pretty much on the daily... they are super, super comfy. I bought a size larger than I normally wear because I didn't want short-short-booty-hanging-out shorts, but they'd probably be cute that way too if that's your jam!

...don't mind my mess!






























tank // sandals - Loft/old (similar-ish) // necklace - see below!





THREE
Hazel is starting swim lessons next week! We want to prep her for the pool time she'll have during our Hawaii vacation in May. I can't wait to see her in her swim suit, swim diaper and little flip flops. Carter's has a cute cover-up too. I tried the flip flops on her today and *darling*. Is there anything cuter than baby feet in shoes?! She wasn't so into keeping them on those cute feet though!











FOUR
Loft ended up having a 40% off sale this week, so I was able to get the cute sundress from last week's Friday Five along with this gorgeous necklace and this maxi dress. They haven't arrived yet, but I'm hoping they are cute on! Update: They just arrived and the sundress is so not flattering. Plus the zipper got stuck when I was trying it on and I thought I was going to be trapped forever and have to cut myself out. After about 20 minutes of jimmy-ing it I was able to escape! The maxi dress is so so cute, but I ordered the wrong size (too snug on the armpits). The necklace, however, is great (see above in #2)!

FIVE
Target has seriously been killing it lately with cute outfits for the little chick at awesome prices and great sales too (they are having a buy one get one 50% off right now)! Some of my favorites are this cute cat onesie pictured - anything with kitties, tho (matching leggings too!), this other adorbs onesie (I am such a sucker for anything that proclaims love for the momma, and the daddy version too) and this cute little lemon outfit. The babe is set for Spring! (Oh and this top, and this top too, and the matching capris!)

 

 

 

I'm linking up for Five on Friday!

 

         

 

 

 

Hazel's First Snow!

We took a little one night mini-break this weekend to the mountains and (what is left of) the snow, so that Hazel could have her first snow experience!

We had a nice sushi dinner when we arrived and then some wine and cheese on our balcony after the babe was asleep for the night. It's always nice to spend some one on one adult time with the hubs.

The next morning we took the aerial tram to see the snow on the top of the mountain. We had a really cute snow suit for Hazel, but it turned out to be about 70 degrees so we didn't get to use it. The top was at 8200' and we thought it might be colder there so we bundled up a little bit, but just ended up sweating our butts off!

Hazel was pretty serious about the whole experience but she did enjoy tasting the snow!

Here are some pics from our trip...

We got in our winter outfits at home before we left.
 

    

 

 

When we got to the resort it was time for pants off dance off!

 

 

 

 

Wine and cheese on the balcony with G.

 

 

 

 

The ski village and the trip up the mountain on the tram.

 

 

 

 

Checking out the snow with Daddy!

 

 

 

 

Touching it and tasting it too!

 

 

 

View from the tram on the way back down. See ya next year, snow!

 

 

 





Five on Friday

ONE

Kind of crushing on these jeans. I'm not sure if they'd look good on me though (with my hip-y hips)? Since I initially started this post, I went ahead and bought the jeans online. They haven't arrived yet but I'll post an update when they do! Update: It wasn't my hips that were the problem (they are quite roomy), it was my short-ness. The rise is reeeeally long and they just made me look super short legged (I bought the short size too, which usually helps). Plus they kind of have a weird smell. And apparently my husband is "not a fan of those ripped up type jeans." Who knew? :)

TWO
Loving this dress. So cute! Waiting for a good sale from Loft before I order it.... and trying to come up with another reason to get a new summer dress!


















THREE
This awesome drink dispenser for H's party (and all parties thereafter!). We are going to serve fresh blackberry limeade in it (see item 5 for blackberry simple syrup). I'm thinking of freezing lime slices and whole blackberries to keep it cold and keep it festive too.















FOUR
"Don't get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life." I saw this quote on Hello! Happiness last week and it just struck a chord with me. Ever since having Hazel work/life balance is even more important to me, and even harder to achieve. But it is so important to remember what it is that makes your life and to cherish and nurture that.



FIVE
Blackberry margaritas with homemade blackberry simple syrup. One of our favorite Mexican restaurants has the most amazing blackberry margaritas.

I crave them.

But with the little one, getting out to happy hour isn't happy-happening. When the weather was so nice last Friday I really wanted a nice cold one... and then I had a light bulb! I bet I could make those! So I googled blackberry simple syrup and found a super easy recipe from tiny farmhouse. We just added it to our normal margarita recipe and adjusted the amount of lime juice accordingly. They tasted just like the ones from the restaurant... #win! I think we will also use this simple syrup to make blackberry limeade for H's birthday party. Yum!

Blackberry Margarita Recipe

2 shots good tequila (we like Hornitos or Patrón)

1 shot orange liqueur (we like Patrón Orange Citronge)

Fresh lime juice (to your taste)

Blackberry simple syrup (to your taste)

 

Add everything to a drink shaker with ice and shake it up!

Pour into a glass with a sugared rim (if you are feeling fancy).

 

 

 

I'm linking up for Five on Friday!

 

         

 

 

 

Hazel's First Easter Basket

H's first Easter is coming up and it will be her last 'first' holiday... how is that even possible?! Since she still doesn't really have a concept of presents or holidays, I am not going too overboard this year, but still wanted to put together something small for her to unpack (pulling things out of containers is her favorite right now.. seriously, she could do it for hours).

 

ONE // TWO // THREE // FOUR

 

 

ONE: I want to get a neat basket and liner for her (probably from Pottery Barn Kids) but nothing stood out to me this year, so I am going to wait until next year or the year after.. maybe try to get something on sale! So when I saw this little and much cheaper basket on Target's website I couldn't resist. She can use it in years to come to collect her eggs on her egg hunt, so it won't go to waste.

 

TWO: My sister has a tradition of the Easter bunny giving each of her children a new and different bunny each year in their basket. I love this idea! I definitely wanted to start this tradition for Hazel too. I searched around for something cute that I thought she would love, and found this little ballerina bunny in the most gorgeous pale lilac. It comes in cream and pink too!

 

THREE: Hazel is into books right now. She loves to sit on her daddy's lap and help him turn the pages. She has just started lifting flaps and peeking underneath (weirdly enough some pages she will always skip, and does not want you to open the flap at all costs). Two of her favorites are "Where is Baby's Belly Button" and "Where is Baby's Pumpkin" so I know the Easter version will be a hit!

 

FOUR: Her other favorite books right now are the touch and feel ones. It is so sweet to see her reach her chubby little fingers out and feel the different furs and textures. I hope she will like this Easter themed one! And I love books as a gift since they can definitely be used and reused each year (and all year long too... we are still reading Halloween and Thanksgiving books right now!).

 

I'd love to hear everyone's fun finds for their littles' baskets!

 

And just for fun, here is my bunny baby!

Hazel's Outfit

 

 

9 Months Old!

So this post is late.. since H turned 9 months old on March 3.. such is life as a momma!

 

It is really hard to corral an on-the-move 9 month old to "pose" for pics!

Age: 9 months

 

Stats: Weighed 18 lbs 14 oz (65th percentile) and was 27.5 in tall (46th percentile) at her 9 month check-up, wears size 6-12 months in clothing, size 3 diapers & has 2 teeth!

 

Favorite Foods: Breastfeeding is still her main source of calories. Other foods she loves - mango, peaches, pears, prunes, broccoli, spinach, apple, yogurt, yogurt melts & puffs. She also tried French fries one time and loved them.

 

Words: Dada, Momma (although I'm not sure she has made the connection to us yet), Hi, Hi Cat, Kitty Cat (she definitely knows Renzo is the cat. She will wave at her and say "Hi cat!").

 

 

 

 

Favorite Activities: Swinging, cruising, playing peek-a-boo, waving, crawling (so fast!) and pulling herself up on everything. She loves to "kiss" everything too - she even laid one on the refrigerator! Dancing - she puts 1 finger in the air, bops her booty and shakes her head around. Her favorite jams are Uptown Funk and GDFR (obviously we are playing highly appropriate baby music over here). Loves doing anything with Daddy. She also loves when Momma lets her open and close the cover on her iPad, or lets her push a couple of buttons on the remote control. She just figured out that those buttons do things on the TV so she will push one and then look over to see if anything happened! This kid is a daredevil too - flinging herself everywhere and trying so hard to walk on her own.

 

Favorite Things: She is in love with the cat. If she could follow her around all day long, she would. Yogurt melts are really her jam. She has also gotten great at feeding herself and not gagging so much on chunks of solid food now. She loves riding in the shopping cart at Target or the grocery store, although she has started to try and climb out now (giving me a heart attack)! She loves when Momma walks away and then turns back with a jump and points at her. Cracks her up every time (the silly things we do to get a laugh!!). Nomming on anything.

Least Favorite Things: Teething. She had a few bad days as her teeth have been coming in. Realizing it is nap time is also another un-favorite of hers - she has gone from 3 naps to 2 (9 am and about 2 pm), and it really varies how long they last - sometimes 45 minutes, some times an hour and 45 minutes. New foods that aren't fruit based - she will totally gag and then stonewall us, swiping anything and everything away from her. She also has a time limit for errands (can you blame her?) and will usually be good for a stop at one store.

 

Signature Moves: Sleeping with her bum in the air and her legs underneath, doing a funny one legged crawl when she crosses over from the rug to the hardwood, shaking her head when you tell her "shake it!", standing, squatting and then standing back up (go sumo girl!), laughing and scrunching her nose up.

 

 

 

 

Hazel - your daddy and I love you so much and know that you are the most special blessing we have ever received. Now I am going to go kiss your chubby cheeks!!