Cute Babies in Animal Hats.
You’re welcome ;)
Love,
M
This is officially my favorite way to highlight fashion on my blog because there are no rules. There is no set deadline for getting them up and no must-dos about what to feature. As long as I remember to snap a shot of what I wore, it’s fair game (including a few outfits I’m not even crazy about). Without further adieu, here’s some stuff I threw on in the past month:
Play Clothes. Comfortable and easy - and I’ve said it before, but these little booties from BC Footwear feel like wearing bedroom slippers. Here’s a story unrelated to this outfit - I was on the BC Footwear website the other day admiring their pretty collection when, oh….who is that I see on their Hey Girl Hey section but my KATE! Pretty sure she’s on track to be the most famous farmer since Old McDonald.
Jacket: Forever21
Striped top: Target
Jeans: Big Star Denim
Booties: BC Footwear
Work Clothes. It was a hair in a ponytail day because the cold & rainy weather we’ve had lately was making it do something weird. I purposefully cropped my shoes out of this outfit shot because I decided about 5 minutes after leaving the house that I absolutely hated them. They were just regular black mary janes but I convinced myself I looked like a witch. A pink skirted witch. The only thing I love about this outfit is the dozen or more times that Dovie told me “Pretty pink tutu mommy!” Her compliments make me feel like a million bucks.
Top (It’s actually a dress I tucked in): H&M
Skirt: Asos
Tights: Target
Play clothes. Or should I say… work from home clothes! This outfit is the epitome of my style through and through. Comfy with a feminine vibe (the pretty lace top) and a teensy bit of sparkle (those fun oxfords!) Also, a little story about my sunglasses. I bought the first pair of these retro style raybans in the Castro right before I found out I was pregnant with Everly. I wore them EVERYWHERE - and then I lost them earlier this year. Brent bought me another pair for mother’s day (after some serious online searching- we found one little sunglass shop in the UK that sold them) and when we moved, we found the originals! Now I have two pairs, although some days I can’t locate either of them. This story is random and I’m not sure where it’s going but… yay! Two pairs of my favorite sunglasses ever.
Top: c/o Francesca’s Collections, Lovely in Lace
Metal stretch Belt: Vintage
Jeans: UO skinny
Sparkle Oxfords: c/o Francesca’s Collections, Glitz Oxfords
Work Clothes. Can I be honest - I hate this outfit. It’s equal parts matronly and safari tour guide plus 4 inch heels - so yeah, basically, it’s all over the place. But these shoes are great, aren’t they? They were my one splurge off Gilt a while back.
Blouse: c/o Francesca’s Collections
Crochet Vest: Forever21
Belt: Vintage
Jeans: Levi’s Skinny
Clog heels: Jeffrey Campbell
Work Clothes. OHHH! That chevron dress! A fun little package arrived from Francesca’s and inside was this dress and this cardigan. I had plans of pairing the dress with a different wrap, but when I saw them together I thought… hmmm.. I kind of like this. Chevron stripes and horizontal stripes is A LOT going on, but somehow, I think it works. It felt really fun and playful to wear. Also, I’ll let you borrow my second pair of sunglasses to shade your eyes from my pale legs.
Cardigan: c/o Francesca’s Collections Uptown Cardi
Dress: c/o Francesca’s Collections High Points Dress
Belt: Vintage
Clog heels: Jeffrey Campbell
One last thing - Today’s the last day to take advantage of the 30% off plus free shipping on any one, regularly priced item promo that Francesca’s Collections is offering to Dear Baby Readers - just use the promo code: JORDAN at checkout.
Love,
M
Here’s what I’m talking about on Baby’s First Year this week:
1. How important is a father’s role in childbirth? Did your own partner help or hinder your labor? Mom’s weighed in with their personal experiences here.
2. I’ve shared before my struggle with losing too much weight since Arlo was born. I went to the doctor this week and learned I weigh 116 pounds (well below my normal weight). At 5’ 7” that is really concerning as I haven’t been that small since my sophomore year of highschool. They took blood samples to ensure it’s not a thyroid issue (common in women who have recently given birth) but most likely, I’m just not eating enough calories to sustain both my weight and Arlo’s breastmilk needs. I’ve started to try to eat a lot of healthy fats & proteins like avocados and eggs to up my calorie intake. I sharedmy concerns and hear from others who have experienced a similar occurance in this post.
3. One formula bottle a day, that’s all I need to stay on top of Arlo’s milk consumption. Even with the endless pumping, I’m just barely keeping up… the problem, Arlo refuses to drink formula! I asked for help and heard from lots of moms on what worked to introduce formula to their little ones.
4. Have you heard about this amazing IVF success story? A couple was able to have a healthy baby girl after only one viable sperm was found in the father’s biopsy sample. Talk about a miracle baby!
5. The low down on teething - the average age for baby’s first teeth, when to expect molars, and more.
6. Yesterday we were taken aback by some unexpected news from Arlo’s cardiologist. He is going to require a heart procedure to fix his heart much sooner than we anticipated. Details on what’s going on are here. We would really appreciate if you would lift our little boy (and his surgeon) up in prayer.
Love,
Melissa
Songs to be Alive To.
Morningbird by Forest Sun.
And this… this is Arlo’s song. I put it on my birth playlist along with a couple dozen other beautiful songs, but when I met him, this one resonated most with me. It feels like it was written from my heart to his. We dance to this together around our living room. And I have every intention of taking that spin with him as often as I possibly can before he decides one day he’s too cool to do so. A song for Arlo. My darling boy. My Morningbird.
Love,
M
Songs to be Alive to.
Sweetness by Pearl and The Beard.
I thought tonight I’d share the two songs that represent my children best. One of the raddest girls out there, Kirby, sent us this record for Everly in the early spring of last year. Her darling little Georgiah liked rocking out to it, and she thought Everly might too. She was on to something because this song IS Everly. We put this album on and her little hips start to sway and she stops whatever she is doing to dance along. She knows all of the key changes and when the music stops or changes melody. It’s inside her, this song… and it may officially be called Sweetness, but in this house, this is the Everly song through and through. Sweetness, indeed.
Love,
M
The very best thing about work from home days is that instead of taking a break by walking down the hall to grab a snack from the break room, I get to take a break by laying in the grass with my eight month old and husband.
They’re only small moments in my day, but a welcome respite from hour long conference calls and writing email after email. Nothing relieves the stress of a busy work day like taking a little time to examine the treasures of our front yard, up close, with my favorite little boy.
Love,
M
(Arlo fresh from a bath & Everly having just been caught attempting to give her balloon puppy a “baf”.)
Stats:
Everly: You are riding that 25 percentile curve all the way through your second year of life. At your 2 year check up, you were 24 lbs 8 ounces and 34 3/4 inches tall. You’ve got a closet full of size 5 shoes and you’ve got a serious opinion on the ones you like best. Your crazy, wispy hair is starting to grow in thicker and you still sport the most radical bedhead the world has ever seen most days (despite my attempts to tame it).
Arlo: My long and lean boy continues the same growth pattern too - 17.9 pounds and 28 1/2 inches long. You are wearing 9month clothes like a champ although some of the pants can be a little baggy in the waist. You are wearing a 2.5 shoe (when you wear shoes).
Teeth:
Everly: Your pediatrician confirmed that all of your second year molars are in! Now that all your major teeth are in, can I just tell you that you have always handled teething like a champ. From the first tooth to the last molar, it never seemed like a big deal to you.
Arlo: After months of sporting two little bunny teeth, you’re about to get some new ones! Your 4 front teeth are just beginning to break through the surface of your gums. You’ve done really well with teething, fussing only here and there. You love chomping on a cold teether when they really bother you.
Feeding:
Everly: Your appetite rocks! It hasn’t always been this way, but you are turning into a great little eater! While you’re still not a huge fan of some green veggies, you’ll pretty much try everything and when you love something, you’ll clean your plate and ask for seconds! Among your favorites right now: shrimp, cheese tortellini, peas, pizza (of course), blackberries, chicken legs, & baked sweet potato fries.
Arlo: You were 6.5 months old when we introduced you to solids and it’s been a slow climb as we introduced each new food to you. I’ve been a little more cautious in giving you new foods since you’ve had some bad reactions to dairy and soy in the past. The good news is that you’ve done great with everything so far and we’ve even had success re-introducing dairy to your diet! You went from loving purees to hating them pretty quickly, so now you mainly eat small pieces of soft foods that you can pick up and feed to yourself. Among your favorites: nitrate free deli turkey, avocado (your favorite!), blue berries, cheese slices, banana, & little pieces of whole grain bread. You still love to nurse and we’re just going to keep going with that as long as you’d like!
Talking:
Everly: Uh, little lady, you pretty much say it all. Like full on complete thoughts, sentences, ideas. It’s incredible to be able to openly communicate with such a tiny individual. You tell us when you are happy, sad, and tired. You ask us if we are happy, sad or tired. You say things like “Look mama, I made something!” or “You got a booboo? You need to go see Dr. ‘Nan?” (your pediatrician’s name). You tell me about your days at preschool “Sadie Wren was sad. Sadie Wren’s mommy gone” “I play on slide!” and you come home singing songs like The Farmer in the Dell but change the words to things like “Arlo takes the cheese!” (Oh, it makes us laugh!) We are astounded by what you know and what you observe and how well you articulate your wants and needs to us.
Arlo: One day, out of the blue, you just decided you were going to start making real, serious vocal sounds. You went from baby goo goos to “da da” “bop bop” and “ma ma” now you say them all the time. You’re not quite old enough yet to really associate those words as our names, but you sure do love saying them.
Look how cute Mylah and Everly were in the invite we sent out before their party. My favorite is the second shot where we asked them how many fingers was “2”. Such sweet munchkins!
Love,
M
Songs to Be Alive To.
Good Friday by Elvis Perkins
Do you ever put your earphones in at public places and pretend that the music is your own soundtrack? I used to do that on the mornings I took the train from San Francisco to Mountain View. This song always reminds me of those moments, pretending to live in a slow motion long shot of my own morning commute. I put it on my birth playlist because there’s a calming memory associated with this song. It fills me up every time.
Love,
M
It’s fun to online window shop, isn’t it? I think I currently have 10 or more “virtual” shopping carts loaded down with things I wish I could buy. Sometimes it feels really therapeutic to fill them up and then close out the screen - all the fun of shopping without the buyers remorse! But sometimes I happen upon a good deal that’s hard to pass up if the price is right - Here are a few I’ve been eye-ballin’ on the world wide web today:
Something for Baby Girl:
A Jelly & The Pug sundress on Zulily today for $21.99! I love this playful print and Everly has several pieces from this line in her wardrobe.
Something for Baby Boy:
A playful Naked Decor wall mount Rhino on Joss & Main for his bedroom wall for $29.99. Too cool!!
Something for Daddy:
A gorgeous pair of wingtips on sale at Urban Outfitters for $59.99 + Free Shipping. There is just something about a man in a nice pair of shoes - even though Brent isn’t much for dressing up fancy, he’s always game for throwing on a pair of brogues with his favorite grandpa sweater and jeans for a night out. Instantly dapper!
Something for Mama:
I love this chevron striped dress in a pretty rust and cream combo. It’s already on the way to my front door and I plan to pair it with a bright blue cardigan, a braided waist belt & some fun wedge heels. You can snag it for $30.80 when you use promo code: JORDAN at check-out (or 30% off any single, regular priced item on the Francesca’s Collections website)
Are you Oooohing over anything oh-so-pretty on the internet this morning? Anyone else out there guilty of pretend-shopping?
Love,
M
Letters to Everly
Letters to Arlo
Everly Veda's Birth Story
Arlo Redding's Birth Story
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