Our Holiday Home

Right in the nick of time, I'm sharing a few snaps from our home during the most wonderful time of the year.  I didn't go all out this year, #newbornlife and all, but here it is!

Wreaths on the windows, my favorite look.  I didn't buy enough so I ended up putting them between the windows, I still think it's so pretty!  Seeing this I really wish I had a big one for the door.

Rudolph doorknob cover in our hall bath: 

Living room view, I pulled out the Tartan blanket that matches our tree skirt.  I also displayed our Christmas cards throughout the years on our curio cabinet. 

 View from the couch: 

Oh my gosh, Scrooge-in-the-box fits perfect in our little telephone nook!

The small tree is in our den and holds some of our most sentimental ornaments:

Two favorites, the knit ice skates made by K's great grandmother (the blades are paperclips!!) and the felt gingerbread man, made by a best friend's late mother. 

 Dining room scene, Could this doll eventually be our Elf on the Shelf?  This was my favorite holiday decoration growing up and now I get to have it in my own home. 

I found this nutcracker garland/banner years ago and now I finally have the perfect place for it, in our girl's room! 

Annnd the Christmas Angel who makes our house home.

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I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas with the ones you love!!

Second Month Reflections

EB is now two and a half months old and I wanted to back up and post my "Second Month Reflections".

Away we go!

EBN at Two Months

Two months has brought with it so much joy and laughter, and a sense of a new normal.  My girl is as sweet as it gets, and I'm feeling so lucky that I'm her mom.  As is obvious from the photo above, she began smiling right around the 8 week mark.  Hallelujah!! It's like a light went off and now I swear I see her winking and blowing me kisses all the time. ;)  She loves it when I stick out my tongue at her and her imitation is to die for.  She is a gift from above, I swear.  So let's see...We have moved into size one diapers, sweet thing is around 10 lbs.  She is wearing NB and 0-3 month clothes and starting to fill them out perfectly.  We have gotten ourselves into a nice routine where we spend our mornings hanging out at home and we get out of the house daily around noon for errands or a nice walk.  As far as favorite things/toys/activities, we are still a little young for that.  She has enjoyed laying on her play mat, kick kick kicking away.  Little girl wants to be held and walked around to look at things all the time.  I give her a tour of our house daily, pointing out the projects we finished just in time for her arrival.  We have started daily bathtimes which are hit or miss, but we are sticking with them as it's something to fill a bit of the witching hour.  And gf loves to eat, and I absolutely love the sweet sounds as she drinks her bottles.  EBN, you are our pride and joy and your dad and I love you more than we can even say!

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And now a few postpartum updates:
Physical Recovery
I am finally feeling back to normal physically.  I haven't been to the gym yet but plan to return after the New Year, it's been so long!  My stomach is still relatively bloated looking, but I think that is to be expected when you're not working out/watching what you eat.  Oh, I wanted to mention that my food aversions disappeared immediately after birth.  I forgot to include that in my One Month Update.  

Exhaustion
I am still tired as all hell, but I've adjusted.  We have a nice routine where K gives EB her last bottle of the night so that I am "off duty" for at least a six hour stretch and I'm able to relax and get some extra sleep.  She is not sleeping through the night consistently yet, so I take what I can get.

Breastfeeding
I am still exclusively pumping, but only 3 times a day.  I am planning to drop one pump session and introduce formula at the 3 month mark.

Emotional State

I am feeling much steadier on my feet, gaining confidence in my new role daily.  I feel like I have learned SO MUCH in the past two months and I'm not nearly as nervous or anxious. Word to yo momma.

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Some photos:

An outtake from the 2 month photo session:

Her favorite place, Daddy's warm arms:

 

We are so excited about our baby's First Christmas and all that her THIRD month of life brings!

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All Baby Posts here.

2016 Christmas Card

I managed to get our Christmas Cards/Birth Announcements out in the mail this week.  Here's a peek:

And here's a snap of our cards throughout the years.  

2011 in top left, counterclockwise '12, '13, '14, '15, all the way to this year!

 I am trying to get organized with all I have left to do before Santa comes.  

I hope you are enjoying the season!

Caramel Toffee Cream Cheese Dip

Do you need a quick little something to bring to a Christmas gathering this week?

Seriously, this couldn't be easier!

Just pick up the ingredients pictured above.

Pour the caramel sauce over the cream cheese brick.  And then sprinkle with toffee.

I serve this on a festive platter with waffle square pretzels.

You can also pair with apple slices, but I prefer the salty pretzels to cut the sweetness.

Literally, grab these items on your way to the party and assemble once you arrive!

Merry Christmas!

'Tis The Season...

...For time to just slip right on by.  I did not mean to let nearly two weeks slip by without a peep!  Let me catch you up since my last post.

Lots going on!

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Our Thanksgiving was fantastic!  This was our first year ever hosting and it was amazing to be able to stay put all day.  We loved it so much that we will be hosting Christmas Day as well.  I absolutely can not wait!

I am so so disappointed that I did not capture any photos from our daughter's first Thanksgiving.  Well, except this one:

This turkey was lookin' so cute, y'all.  I kept calling her my Diva all day, something about the leopard and the head wrap was just a little too fabulous.

Yep, that's the only picture from the day.  I did take a couple pictures on black Friday...The aftermath of my tablescape:

We ended up eating on our patio so these are the remnants of the place settings.  The only perk of our massive pine tree?  Decorating with pine cones!

Also snapped a pic of the leftover plate:

Everything was SO delicious, we will certainly be recreating the exact same menu next year.

For my own future reference, we had:

Appetizers

Parmesan Plum Tomatoes

(I have to add that my brother marinated the tomatoes and used smoked gouda in lieu of parm, GAME CHANGER)

Caramel Toffee Cream Cheese Dip with pretzels. 

(Easiest, tastiest treat.  I will post the "recipe" here soon.)

Dinner

Smoked Turkey

Rice and Gravy

Squash Casserole

Sausage Pecan Dressing

Lima Beans

Macaroni and Cheese

Crescent Rolls

Cranberry Sauce

Dessert

My Award Winning Pumpkin Crisp and vanilla ice cream

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We did not get to see my in laws for the holiday so we visited them over the long weekend.  This picture has me dying, EB is just basking in it:

Her outfit here is quite possibly my favorite I have put her in yet. Seriously, she knows she's the cutest:

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Also, on the weekend after Thanksgiving, we got our Christmas Tree!

We cheated this year and had it delivered from the church on our street.  I'll be honest, I didn't really miss the "tree search", but nothing will ever compare to the perfect one we found at Hyams last year (Behold!). I still think one is pretty, too.

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Ok, so let's bring it around to this past weekend.  My sister in law got married!

The whole celebration was so gorgeous and sweet, starting with the rehearsal dinner at Charleston Distilling Company on King Street.  We love this venue!  Sidenote: First post baby date night and my birthday, hey hey!

And the wedding reception was out at The Boone Hall Cotton Dock.  It was a beautiful evening.

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I think that about catches us up...We had our 2 month Doctors Visit today and EB did fantastic.  Even with the vaccines, she was such a pleasant little lady:

I am planning a post with my Second Month of Motherhood Reflections soon.

And I want to share our Christmas cards and some snaps of our holiday home.  

I hope y'all are having a great week!

Fa la la <3