Vivian Kate | 3 months

My precious Vivian, I cannot believe you are already 3 months old (as of yesterday)! You are our world! I love watching you change and grow every single day and I can't imagine life without you! I love you baby girl!

Weight

Not exactly sure how much she weighs because she hasn't been to the doctor since her 2 month appointment. Her next appointment is at 4 months and I will be so interested to see because she is getting super chunky!

Sleep

She is still waking up once a night (and twice a night on rare occasions). We put her in her crib around 8pm and she goes straight to sleep. She usually wakes up around 3am for a bottle then goes right back to sleep until 6:30am or so. We have made huge improvements in the napping department! She is a pro napper now. She usually wakes up around 6:30am and goes down for a nap around 8:00am in her crib and will sleep for an hour or so. She is usually awake for an hour then sleeps for an hour. She loves sleeping on her stomach in her crib so I let her nap on her belly but she sleeps on her back at night. I can definitely tell that she is happier and less fussy when she gets her naps in her crib versus just taking cat naps in her carseat.

Eat

Yesterday I just increased her to 5oz from 4oz. She usually eats about every 3 hours but was starting to get hungry every 2 hours so I knew it was time to bump her up.

Clothes

In mostly 3-6 month clothes but is also wearing some 6 month. I was so sad when she no longer fit in 0-3 month clothes :( She is growing like a weed!

Likes

She still loves bathtime! She loves going on walks in her stroller, sleeping on her belly, napping in her crib, sitting up and practicing holding her head up. Also, she is totally a morning person like her parents! She is her happiest of the entire day at 6:30am.

Dislikes
Being hungry, being sleepy and not in her crib, pacis, being swaddled.

Milestones
We celebrated our first Mother's day which was the greatest! She got to hang out with all her cousins on Garrett's side. This picture of our Nana with all her great grandkids is priceless and I will cherish it forever! We are heading to the beach this weekend for her first Memorial Day weekend and I can't wait!

A personalized Mother's Day (or any occasion) gift!

I knew I wanted to get my mom and MIL a special, personalized gift for Mother's Day this year. Having a new baby in the family makes gift giving much easier because hello, grandmas can never have too many framed pictures am I right?! I decided to go a different route for Mother's Day and use Vivi's sweet footprints to make a personalized gift for them.

We headed to our local Painted Peacock with images in my head of paint flying everywhere, a screaming baby and a less than ideal experience and I could not have been more wrong. The staff was SO helpful and clearly they had done baby footprints on pottery before. The way it works is you choose your pottery, pay a small studio fee to use all the paint and supplies, then go to work. We decided on a large serving plate so they could both display it and use it for serving food.

 I am thrilled with the way it turned out and both my mom and MIL loved it, duh! How could you not love something with tiny baby footprints on it?! My only regret is not making one for myself :(

Scenes from our weekend: my first Mother's day!

We had the very best weekend! Friday my in-laws were in town so we grabbed dinner with them then headed home to put the baby to bed and watch Dateline before crashing. 

Saturday we were up bright and early to head 2 hours west to meet our best friends halfway between their hometown and ours. We met at a mall so we could eat lunch and shop some. It was their first time meeting Vivi! She was an angel the entire day... I was so proud [and relieved]! They were a groomsman and bridesmaid in our wedding and we were the same in theirs and now they have a baby girl due in September. It has been so fun to be at the same stages of life as them and we are so excited for Vivian's bff Elliott to make her debut ;)

Sunday I woke up bright and early (5am to be exact, thank you Vivi) to the sweetest gifts and delicious breakfast cooked by hubs. We had eggs, bacon and banana pancakes. And about 3 cups of coffee haha! 

Major props to my amazing husband for the unique and beautiful gift of a watercolor painting of Vivi and I and the sweetest card that made me tear up. I will cherish it forever!

Don't let that sweet smile fool you. We only lasted 20 minutes in church before baby girl cut loose. Cue the racing pulse and sweats. We got out of there quick! Luckily Jesus forgives her ;) We headed to brunch earlier than expected where she proceeded to fuss the entire time, resulting in inhaling our meal and heading home. Garrett and I looked at each other and laughed, because we were totally loving every minute of the chaos. We will look back on my first Mother's Day and remember her less-than-ideal behavior and smile because these are memories you can't make up!

Sunday evening my mom and my in-laws came over for a cookout. It was so great to be able to spend Mother's Day with both my mom and my MIL. My mom is hands down the best mom in the world. She is selfless, caring, loving, and sacrifices everything for me and my sisters. Vivi is so lucky to have her as a Kee Kee :)

I could not have asked for a better weekend. It still feels surreal that I am a mommy to my precious baby girl. I will never take for granted the gift of motherhood that God has given me. To those that had a hard weekend due to infertility, pregnancy loss, or missing their own mom, I prayed for you and will continue praying for you.

Fof

Happy Friday! This weekend is bittersweet for me... my first Mother's Day and my last weekend before I go back to work next week. I am going to soak up alllll the baby snuggles this weekend!

[O N E]

Last week I got four adorable bubbles for Vivian at Old Navy for a whopping total of $40! Now that is a good deal!

[T W O]

I have been on the hunt for a new devotional and I saw this one on an Insta story and scooped it up immediately! I am only a few days in but so far I am loving it.

[T H R E E]

Totally random but I got our carpets professionally cleaned this week and I feel so accomplished! I had a long to-do list for my maternity leave and I finally checked that one off the list in the knick of time. Just knowing they are clean makes our house feel so much better. How often do you get your carpets cleaned?

[F O U R]

I saw this adorable beach bag on Natasha's blog and fell in love! We will be at the beach almost every weekend this summer and the beach with a baby= a lot more crap to haul onto the beach. I was way overdue for a new bag and this one is perfect!

[F I V E]

I never shared Vivi's birth announcements on my blog but we sent them out a few weeks ago and I just love them. Once again, Minted did not disappoint. I cannot believe how much she has grown since these pictures were taken. Makes me so sad!

Linking up with April and Amanda

Weekending a few days late

This past weekend was a great but busy one!! Thursday we headed to the beach despite the fact that it was supposed to storm all day Friday, and the weather men were right. It was pretty scary being right on the ocean... our power even went out a few times. It was the perfect excuse to be lazy and snuggle all day though. We did venture out to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with plenty of margs, chips and salsa  ;)

Saturday we stopped by the local farmers market in Beaufort, NC which is the cutest coastal NC town. We had coffee in hand and baby bundled up in her stroller and it really hit me how much I love this season of our lives. We used to dream about pushing a baby around in a stroller and it is everything I imagined it would be! Later that day we bundled Vivi in her Solly wrap and took Bella onto the beach to run some energy out. It was windy and chilly, definitely not the ideal beach day. Saturday afternoon we headed to a local bar for happy hour drinks then headdd home to cook dinner and watch the Kentucky Derby.

Sunday we were up bright and early to head home for an engagement party for my best friend of 25 years! She got engaged Friday night and I could not be more excited for her. I cannot wait for all the showers, bachelorette festivities and her wedding later this year!

Fof

Happy Friday you guys! I am slowly trying to get back into the swing of blogging semi-regularly. Maternity leave has been much busier than I imagined it would be... amazingly busy but hasn't left me with all the free time in the world to blog, watch Netflix, and read lots of trashy novels like I imagined. Tiny humans require a LOT of your time, believe it or not :) Anyways, on to my random five of the week!

[O N E]

Last week I had a dermatology appointment for a total body skin check. A few years ago I had a severely dysplastic skin cancer removed from my back that left me with a pretty big scar and a permanent reminder to lather on that sunscreen, wear a hat and sit under an umbrella at the beach. And the thing is, I have never laid in a tanning bed a day in my life! Proof that preventative skin checks are super important! I love that my friend Emily just posted about this same thing last week. Call a dermatologist and schedule your skin check today!!

[T W O]

A few weeks ago I posted a picture of my new espadrilles on my Insta story and had SO many questions about where they were from. Target for the win (duh). I have linked them here... they are super comfortable and only $25! I also scored these adorable heels that I cannot wait to wear on repeat this summer.

[T H R E E]

I just love supporting small businesses and hardworking mamas and when I find a shop I love I want to pass it along. One of my favorite shops since having Vivi is Willow Crowns. All of Vivi's gold headbands from her newborn shoot were from Willow Crowns and she also has a lot of their gorgeous bows.

[F O U R]

I had a lot of questions about my distressed white jeans. They are from Old Navy and only $36. They are super comfortable and I've linked them here.

[F I V E]

It is so amazing what a woman's body goes through to carry and deliver a baby. I am almost fully recovered from my C section and have started to ease back into the gym. I got cleared to begin exercising at 6 weeks but was told that I can't do abdominal/core exercises until 10 weeks postpartum. From the IVF process to pregnancy to a major surgery, my body has gone through so much in the past year so I am truly giving myself grace when I can barely lift 10 lbs or do 5 squats without being sore haha! Baby steps people ;)

Linking up with April

National Infertility Awareness Week

This week is National Infertility Awareness Week, a week that is so important to those of us who have battled that awful disease. Last year during this week I was in the middle of the IVF process, taking multiple shots every day and gearing up for an egg retrieval. This year we have come full circle and I am holding our IVF miracle baby as I type this.

Did you know that 1 in 8 couples will face infertility? Someone you know is likely experiencing the heartache of not being able to have a baby. There is nothing more gut wrenching than failing at something that should come so naturally. There were so many nights spent crying myself to sleep. So many dark days, tears, anger, jealously. Having people ask, "when are y'all going to have kids?" felt like a knife in the chest. If I could have just shown myself a glimpse of what life would look like on the other side, it would have made those days so much easier. I never could have imagined how much joy this little human would bring to my life. She made the struggle 100% worth it.

++

Last week we took the all too familiar 2 hour drive back to our fertility clinic but this time it was so different. This time I had my miracle baby in the back seat. It was such a dream to show her off to our doctor who made her and our nurse that walked us through every step. These people will always hold such a special place in our hearts... they gave us our world, our greatest desire.

Is someone you know struggling with infertility? Let this week be the week that you reach out and say something. Don't know what to say? Just say something. Read my post about how you can support someone struggling with infertility. If you have any questions about the IVF process or infertility in general, don't hesitate to email me! I'd love to chat!

Linking up with Annie