Five on Friday + PinkBlush Maternity Winner Announced

{ ONE }

John has been in Belize since Saturday on his annual dive trip (aww, poor guy) so Emery and I headed to my hometown to spend the week with my parents. I love living so close to my family - just a quick two hour trip! We visited Aunt Kippy (my little sister) at her school during lunch. It was pretty overwhelming for E, but she loved checking out the 300+ middle schoolers. On Tuesday night, I headed over to my best friend, Courtney's house for some girl time with her and Natalie to watch the Bachelor. We lived together in Charlotte, NC and it was our Monday night ritual - wine, spaghetti and the Bachelor. Those were the days!    

{ TWO } 

Speaking of the Bachelor, I totally read the spoiler for the season on realitysteve.com. I have only done this one other time and swore that I would never do it again because it ruins the season. Well, this would be true if I liked the season and didn't think that it was already ruined. I just don't like Juan Pablo as the bachelor or really any of the girls on it. What a disappointing season? I honestly feel like Chris Harrison even knows its bad based on his questions for Juan Pablo.

{ THREE }

I asked my older sister, Dena, to be on the look out for a wooden highchair (one like we had when we were small). And guess what? She found one the very next day. I want to use it for E's first birthday. Here are some pins that I am currently loving:

 
Clearly, I lean toward shades of blues.

{ FOUR }

I received three different questions/emails about E's nap/eat schedule so I figured that I would post it in case it would be helpful for others.
 
7:30am - Wake up & nurses
9:00am - Eats a solid (typically a fruit)
10:00am - Nurses & nap
2:00pm - Nurses & nap
5:00pm - Nurses
6:00pm - Eats a solid (typically a vegetable)
7:00pm - 7:30pm - Nurses and bedtime
 
E has been on this schedule since she was 3.5 months old. All the credit for this schedule goes to my mom...thanks mom/nana!

Weird note: I actually hate the word nurses and I just used it a bazillion times.

{ FIVE }

Thank you to everyone who entered the PinkBlush Maternity giveaway. You all made it a great success. The winner of the $25 gift card is.....
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway   
Congratulations Marthaia! Send me a quick email (everydaylovelinessblog at gmail dot com) and I will get you set up with your gift card.

 



 a. liz adventures, carolina charm, hello! happiness and the good life blog) 

Eight Months

Eat & Sleep

Emery drinks milk five times a day plus has two meals of solids, once in the morning and once at night.

As far as solids, Emery pretty much loves everything except for peas. She didn't like them the first time she had them and she still doesn't too much care for them. Feeding them to her even though she really doesn't like them definitely makes me feel like a mean mama. You can pretty much guess her favorite veggies based on the color (she loves all fruits) - orange = favorites (carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash), green = (green beans, brocolli and peas) and all others she likes.

I make most of her food except when we are traveling then she will have the organic squeeze pouches. She loves the pouches and they are gone within a few short minutes. I have found that making her food is so easy. In the morning, I typically give her whatever fruit we have steamed or smushed and then at dinner I will give her some of whatever side I made (sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, green beans, etc). I actually enjoy making her food which is surprising to say the least. I do mix them sometimes too. (apples + blueberries).

We are still on the two naps a day schedule - one around 10 am and the other around 2 pm. The naps typically last anywhere from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours (with a few 2 hour ones).

What's new?

This little girl doesn't stop. She is in constant motion and it is hard to even get a cuddle in because she wants to be down playing. She has learned to "travel" along the couch, the coffee table or anything else she can hold onto while standing up. She also can stand unassisted for a good 5 seconds before leaning back towards the couch. She has no idea she is standing by herself. It just happens unintentionally.

She has also continued to add to her vocabulary (Papa, Nana and Baby). We are working on Grandma (John's mom), but that may take awhile until she either can say grandma or she comes up with a special name for her. 

She now has two teeth (the two bottom ones). Wow, who knew teeth could be so cute?

Random Note

This month, I was asked by three different people if I cut her hair. The third person that asked actually had a daughter about E's age. She said. "Awww, did you just get your haircut?" And when I told her that I have been asked that multiple times, she told me that it was just too perfect across the front.

Sweet Emery - Your hair just happens to grow this way!

***These updates are for the month leading up to Emery Kate turning 8 months old.***

PinkBlush Maternity {Review & $25 Giveaway}

First, let me start off by saying that this is NOT a pregnancy announcement. I just had a baby! Now for the review and giveaway.

I recently was given the opportunity to review items from PinkBlush Maternity. I, of course, jumped at the opportunity because I know how hard it can be to find trendy maternity clothes. After spending hours browsing their site, I finally chose two items - a multi-colored tank and a pair of black pants (shown below) - that I knew would look good together and also mixed with other items that I own.

Coral Multi Colored Maternity Tank via

The coral multi-colored maternity tank is a perfect piece to add to any maternity collection. It is something that you could wear your entire pregnancy - tank and shorts/capris in the summer months and tank, cardigan and pants in the winter months. One of my favorite things about the tank is that is is longer in the front and the back. This is key when you are pregnant so that it won't become too short over your cute (and expanding) baby bump.

Black Maternity Pants via

When I was pregnant, I lived in various types of black pants - leggings, capris and black dress pants for work (both skinny and bootcut)  - so I knew that these were the pants for me. And...boy do I love them. They have a little sheen to them so they are perfect for dressing up or down. They fit like leggings but are thicker so that you don't have to worry about any see through areas. The best part - they have the full band to cover the entire bump.

PinkBlush Maternity has a lot of maternity clothes to help you look stylish during during your pregnancy; and the best part, they won't break the bank.

Here are some other maternity clothing must-haves:

A maxi skirt

Mint Green Navy Striped Maxi Maternity Skirt

A pair of jeans

Royal Blue Maternity Skinny Pants

Leggings

Black Maternity Leggings

Lots of tops 

Navy Blue Beige Striped 3/4 Sleeve Maternity Top

Pink Lace Front Maternity Top

Burgundy Sash Tie Maternity Top 

Now for the fun part. One lucky Everyday Loveliness reader will win a $25 gift card from PinkBlush Maternity. Just enter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
If you have hosted a giveaway or won a gift card from PinkBlush Maternity within the last 6 months, you are not eligible.




Thank you to PinkBlush Maternity for their product for review and for providing a $25 gift card for the giveaway. The winner will be sent the gift card directly from PinkBlush Maternity. 

Disclosure: This product was given for review for my honest opinion. No other compensation was given.

Five on Friday

{ ONE }

www.twotara.com

I came across twotara while browsing around in search for the perfect baby gift for a pregnant friend. They make reversible baby clothes. You may be wondering, "What is so special about that?" Well their version of reversible is blue on one side and pink on the other. This is perfect for those who choose not to find out the gender, but also don't want to dress their child in only yellow and green. It would also be good for those who may have another child so it can be used twice no matter the gender.

Bottom Line: I wish that I had known about them when I was pregnant since we didn't find out whether E was a boy or girl until birth. I purchased two separate outfits and washed them both in preparation. twotara, you are genius.

Shop

*The above images are from the twotara website.

** I was NOT compensated to mention twotara or given product. I just thought it was too good of a company not to share with my readers. However, twotara if you are listening, a future Baby K may need some gear! **

{ TWO } 

Buying a house is a pain! Whoa at the paperwork and all of the things that everyone involved needs from you. It is constantly something. You would think everyone involved would have a checklist of everything they need or will need from you instead of one day they need this and the next day that. People who buy one house and live in it their whole life have the right idea. Okay, end of soapbox....

The plus side: We close on it at the end of March pending everything continues to go smoothly! 

{ THREE }

I have added a new page "Atlanta: 14 in 2014". Be sure to check it out. It is a list of all the things that we would like to do and places that we would like to visit as we make Atlanta home. There will be posts about them as we check them off the list. I foresee lots of posts related to the house and decorating - a favorite topic of mine!

Next up: Update my other pages and add an About Me page. 

{ FOUR }

Have you ever received something in the mail that you were so excited about that you squealed as you opened it? Well, that happened to me yesterday. I received Emery's Easter basket and I am in love with it. There will be more to come on it in early March, but in the meantime check out Vinyl-E Yours on Etsy.

{ FIVE }

And lastly, I am hosting my first giveaway on Monday and you won't want to miss it. Just a little hint....think a gift card for shopping! Be sure to stop by to enter. 

 a. liz adventures, carolina charm, hello! happiness and the good life blog) 

Six & Seven Months

{Six Months}

Eat & Sleep

We have FINALLY started on rice cereal and she loves it. She ate rice cereal for a solid two weeks before we added in pears, peas, apples and some other first foods. She hated peas. In fact, she spits them out and it is so messy. There is a picture below from her first pea experience. For each new food that I introduced, the doctor suggested to try them for three days and then move onto the next one so that's what I did.

We are still on the two naps a day schedule - one around 10 am and the other around 2 pm. The naps typically last anywhere from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours (with a few 2 hour ones). She still wakes up once during the night at either 3am or 5 am. 

What's new?

Emery can sit up now without tumbling over and is now a crawler. It is no more than three or four moves forward with correct form. She still tends to revert back to her other methods of getting places. She has also learned to pull up so the crib has been lowered. She has started taking baths in the big girl tub with me (the water makes her too unstable and I always sit her on a washcloth because the mats won't stick to our tub).

The above sequence shows just how much she moves. Monthly pictures aren't so easy anymore. I thought they were funny so I wanted to add more.

***These updates are for the month leading up to Emery Kate turning 6 months old.***

{Seven Months}

Eat & Sleep

Emery drinks milk five to six times a day plus has one meal of solids, typically at night. At this point, we have tried most fruits and veggies that are listed as appropriate for this age. I typically look at what the organic food companies use as their level one and two foods and then make that for her.

We are still on the two naps a day schedule - one around 10 am and the other around 2 pm. The naps typically last anywhere from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours (with a few 2 hour ones). She sleeps through the night (most nights).

What's new?

We are now crawling and pulling up of everything in sight - couch, coffee tables, jumperoo or anyone standing in front of her that she wants to pick her up. We are working on moving or "traveling" down the couch. She will move a step or two, but mostly it is just leaning to grab the toy that I am trying to entice her with.

She also now says mama and dada. She may look like her daddy, but her first word was mama (12/8/13). It is so cute to hear mama and it really is the sweetest word I have ever heard. In the morning when she wakes up, she cries mama and I just love it. Dada did come a few days later (12/12/13).

Bath time is a favorite activity and she takes all of them in the big girl tub by herself.

***These updates are for the month leading up to Emery Kate turning 7 months old.***

Valentine's Gift Guide

Valentine's Gift Guide by everydaylovelinessblog featuring Kate Spade

Five on Friday

 a. liz adventures, carolina charm, hello! happiness and the good life blog)

It's time for another 5 of Friday link-up (posting a day late...oops).

{ ONE }

Atlanta Snowpocalypse

I know you have seen the images of the one to two inches of snow that shut down the city of Atlanta. Luckily, John (because he was sick after Boston) and I were both at home and not in the traffic disaster that caused people to be stuck on highways/interstates overnight (and others abandoning their cars and walking home).

To most, this many seem insane that a couple of inches would shut down the city and bring traffic to a halt. But, if you lived here then you could see how easily this could happen. The amount of traffic in Atlanta is more than anywhere I have ever lived or visited (probably most comparable to LA traffic). The roads are at a standstill on most days anyways. Even without rush hour, it takes 30 minutes to go a few miles in the city (it is sort of the rule here). So add some snow, a ridiculous amount of cars on the road, tractor trailers and you have one big mess.

Anyways, thank you to all of our friends and family who called, texted or messaged to make sure that we were safe.

{ TWO } 

The snow and cold weather has me dreaming about a vacation with sun, sand and clear water. Any of those will do....Hint, Hint!  

{ THREE }

When we moved to Atlanta, we decided to forego getting cable (at least until we purchased a house) because it seemed like a hassle for a few short months. I must say...not missing it one little itty bitty bit. However, we do have Apple TV and are loving it.

Here is what I am watching: 

Where do I even start with my love for this series and why did I choose not to watch it for so long? OBSESSED! I watched all three seasons in about as many weeks, mainly when E is napping or asleep for the night. It definitely is a show that you must pay 100% attention to or you will miss something. It's hard to keep up and I find myself asking a million questions in my head as it goes along or trying to figure out what a certain statement may mean for the future.

My favorite characters (in this order): Daenerys Targaryen, Tyrion Lannister, Ayra Stark, Jon Snow and Sansa Stark.

And this:

I am really enjoying it this season. I think they finally got the combination of judges right. If you stopped watching it like I had, I would say to give it another chance this season.

And lastly this:

I watch the Bachelor/Bachelorette every season. To be honest, I am not really loving it this season (and have fallen asleep before the last two rose ceremonies) so we will see how the rest of the season goes.

{ FOUR }

Speaking of buying a house, we put an offer on a house and the inspection is on Sunday (rescheduled due to the snowpocalypse). So as long as everything goes well, it is ours.

More to come on this later.....including some pictures.

    

{ FIVE }

And lastly, I am co-hosting a Monograms and Mimosas shower for my little sister and soon to be bride. The invites are going out this week and I am excited about how everything is coming together.

Sneak peek of the invite (except customized of course): 

via

I will post a full recap after the shower. 

Until next post my lovely readers