Laia Baby is an accessory shop full of so much organic goodness including headbands, bandana bibs, socks, swaddles, and pillows. Everything is dainty and gorgeous, with a slight vintage feel.
And, what makes the products even more beautiful, is the mission behind them. Laia Baby empowers mothers in South Korea through work creation, including resettled North Korean refugees, enabling them to dream again and provide for their family. You can read more about their mission here. Every purchase made directly impacts these mothers, so you can buy with confidence knowing your money is not only buying something of great quality, but that it's going to the good of another mama.
Love Winnie James is an online boutique carrying women and children's apparel. They carry the cutest and trendiest styles, including this amazing floral dress. When I saw this dress it reminded me of gloomy beach days, so naturally we had to take some photos on the beach. I love the floral pattern, the low neck for easy nursing, and that it's so flow and flattering. It's also easy to dress up or dress down. I also got Ever these little oxfords, and they're our new favorite shoes.
I gained 37 pounds during pregnancy. Which, I understand, is not a ton, but it was 37 pounds that my body was not used to. I felt huge. I felt tired. I felt slow. And most of all, I felt ugly. And then the stretch marks came because of that extra weight (plus my uterus apparently is suuuuper forward. I was huge. And had a 6lb baby), and I was devastated. All over my belly, my inner thighs, hips, boobs, you name it. I honestly thought I would never be happy with my body ever again. I looked up pictures online of women's bellies with stretch marks postpartum and cried thinking of what mine would look like. Then I looked up pictures of women with stretch marks that had six packs and felt even more discouraged because I have too much of a sweet tooth to ever look like that. So I thought my bikini wearing days were over.
A mutual day off for all of us, including our friend Angel, aka Uncle Angel, and what do we do? Go to LA of course.
We love LA. It's only an hour drive from Orange County (where we live), and there's so much to explore. You'll literally never see it all.
This time we decided to explore the Arts District. There's a cool new "museum" that we saw the last time we were here, but didn't have time to check it out.
Of course, picturesque walls galore. What I didn't take any pictures off however, were alllll the walls with super cool abstract murals. But, you can never go wrong with a white brick wall.
Second stop: The Line Hotel. This hotel is home to The Comissary restaurant (you've probably seen it on Instagram. The restaurant that looks like a green house). We've eaten here before so thought we would go again because we loved it. But, we were a little early for dinner, and decided nothing on the dinner menu looked good so we took pictures and walked (because we thought we wouldn't be able to find parking but when we got there the restaurant had its own parking. Whoops.) 15 minutes to Beer Belly. Definitely a good choice.
Saturday morning loungin' with some watermelon water that tasted of summer (that Ever desperately wanted to try).
Another thing that has me so ready for summer is this dress from Pink Blush. Pink Blush is an online women's boutique. They're known for their maternity wear, but they have non maternity items too, and this dress happens to double as both. It's also nursing friendly, despite the high neck, because the arm holes are stretchy enough to pull open for easy access.
Our adventure today got off to a slow start. Of course, we had to wait to get out of the house until Ever woke up from her morning nap. Then, we originally planned to drive north to Santa Monica, and traffic was horrible, and after driving an hour we turned around and drove another hour in the opposite direction. To San Juan Capistrano. There was no parking because everyone and their mom (literally) was there for Prom to take pictures. What we gathered from eavesdropping is that it was a planned event for everyone to take pictures there. So we got to see all the cute dresses and slightly annoying high schoolers. Can't believe we used to be annoying high schoolers. Now we're cool parents.
Adventuring is hard with a baby. We used to drop everything and drive somewhere spontaneously without a second thought. But now, Ever's needs come first, and it can be a little frustrating when she slows us down or puts a damper on our plans for the day. But a tired baby is not a fun baby, so that takes priority. Thankfully, today Ever was is a great mood, even though she only slept for 30 minutes of the 2 hour car ride.
After walking around a little bit, we went to dinner where Ever attracted all the stares with her happy screams.
She's just starting to roll over from her back to belly. I came into our bedroom one nap time to find her awake on her belly (she was on her back) and I was horrified because if she rolled the opposite way she would have fallen off the bed. She's grabbing anything and everything she can reach. She's watching us while we eat and moving her mouth as if she wants what we're eating. It makes me feel really bad. She's pushing up on her hands while on her tummy, as well as on her knees, and rolling easily from her belly to back. She's fascinated by faces, and smiles at (most) everyone who smiles at her. But don't you dare hold her, she only likes to be held by mom or dad. She likes the color blue, she'll choose something blue over other colors. Daddy is the only one who can make her laugh. And she's a whopping 17 pounds!
Okay, maybe not a daycation, we drove to Temecula for the wedding of a friend from Bible College. Neither of us had been back since my last semester there. The wedding was near these gorgeous vineyards so, of course, we had to trespass for some pictures.
Not really into oranges...
Would rather look at mama.
After we left the wedding, we were so close to our old stomping grounds, the bible college (where Jesse and I met), so we made a quick stop to reminisce.
Rumor has it, if you walk around the lake with someone 3 times, you're going to get married. Jesse and I went for jogs around the lake, so...
I'm probablyyyy a little too obsessed with Jean & June. The witty sayings, the minimalist design, the fact that I can twin my baby, it's just too much goodness.
My shirt says "stay golden" and Ever's onesie says "golden child". So cute and clever!
First of all, my outfit is from Blanqi. They have the best maternity and post partum leggings and tees around.
AND if you click here you can get 20% off your order (praise hands emoji)!
Recently, I've been utilizing Ever's nap time and the millions of bounces I have to do to rock her to sleep, to get a mini workout in. No, it's not going to burn a thousand calories, but it will definitely build some muscle. Try it!
In a second position (heels in, toes out, legs wide), I plié (lower down) and lift. That usually doesn't put her to sleep, so I pulse it down. These tiny pulses trigger the small muscle fibers in your quadriceps, giving a long lean look instead of a bulky.
I also pulse and rock at the same time.
Staying in a low plie, pulse to the left straightening the right leg, and then pulse to the right straightening the left leg. Repeat.
Most of the time, she falls asleep after this one, but sometimes I move on to some different moves because my thighs can't handle it anymore.
Like, calf raises in first position (heels together, toes out), parallel (feet parallel, hip distance), and toes in heels out.
I'll also try out some lunges.
Lunge and lift. Then pulse it down in a lunge.
If she's still not asleep at this point, I go back to my plie pulses and rocks in second position (which you can also do in first position, but second has a greater range of motion).
Jesse's day off again, and we planned to go to Santa Barbara. But halfway there decided we'd rather go somewhere closer so stopped in LA for some good eats, museum hopping, and good old traffic jams.
We both really hope Ever has an adventurous spirit like the two of us. So we've gotta teach her young, right? The older she gets, the better she is with all day outings. She was a champ this time around going in and out of her car seat. And we even managed to get her naps and feeding right on schedule. She's like super baby. And I'm like super mom (kidding).
LA always reminds me of when Jesse and I were first dating. Our first date was to Hollywood and around that area. And we've always loved daycationing to tried and true but also new places.
don't mind the bathrooms in the background...
Ate: The Commisary, Salt and Straw, and some pizza place.
Saw: LACMA, the tar pits, the ghetto, and Griffith Observatory.
Ever's outfit: Old Navy overalls, June Park tee, Mon Petite shoes, Little Prickly Pear headband
these pictures don't have the best lighting, they were taken with a self timer on my husband's camera that happened to be laying next to me, and they aren't staged whatsoever.
but these are the simple moments that collect dust in our busy minds, that pile and pile up like old photos in a shoebox on a shelf. these are the fleeting moments that pass by unnoticed until they make up a life.
this evening I nursed Ever as she was still dreaming (of milk, apparently, because I was holding her as she was looking for it) in her last nap of the day. she woke up when we finished nursing and was acting fussy, falling in and out of sleep as I burped her. I tried to entertain her for a while and eventually decided to nurse her again when she wasn't havin' it anymore.
she finished, and we didn't move. we just lay there, perfectly content staring deeply into each other's eyes. studying each other's faces as if we were seeing something new. as if we were the only souls in the world. this girl who is usually flailing her arms and legs like a madwoman, was completely still.
I pat her back and tickled it a little as she continued to gaze at her mama. and I was tempted to grab my phone to take a picture of her cute face, so I would never forget the way she was looking at me. but no photo could capture the beauty and the stillness and the bond and the love in that moment. sometimes I have to remind myself to just be there, not obsessively trying to document everything.
after a few minutes, her blinks got longer and her eyelids heavier, and as we lay there staring at each other, she fell asleep. something in my eyes told her she was safe.
I took these pictures after she fell asleep, because even though a photo couldn't capture any of it, I never want to forget. I don't want this one to be another photo in a shoebox on a shelf.
