This little piggy...

Went to Prada, of course!

Source: amazon.com via Linda on Pinterest

Lainey and I have been reading this adorable book before bed.  She got it from her buddy, Hadley, for Christmas and we absolutely love it!!

It's full of traditional nursery rhymes that have been rewritten for your favorite little fashionista! Every night she giggles as we read some of the silly stories, as if she is personal friends with Louis Vuitton and Laurence Graff!

Silly girl.... Momma likes to spoil you, but I can assure you, you will not have a Louis bag with your initials all over any time soon! 

xoxo,
Linda

Taking a minute to look back

Last August, I wrote a post about what I was looking forward to; I went through {the nuthouse} archives and read that post again this afternoon.

Some of the things I am looking forward to, I am still looking forward to and others are milestones that we have crossed and are moving on to the next ones!

Things Lainey has accomplished or is working reeeaalllly hard on:

• We have mastered giggling.
• We have said our first word - it's "Momma" !!! That's right - for a daddy's girl, she sure does love her Momma! Every morning when I go into her room, I love walking over to the crib seeing her smile up at me. And now mornings are even sweeter because as I peak over the crib, she smiles and says, "Momma!"
• We are eating solids and trying new stuff all the time.  So far so good - knock on wood - Lainey hasn't been a picky eater!
• My daughter has turned into a drooling monster.  I hope that tooth pops through sometime soon!
• One of the things I said I was looking forward to was photo shoots, and we have had a lot fun on different shoots with some great local photographers! Definitely looking forward to more in the future!
• We are bouncing! In fact, I think our bouncer may  secretly  be a baby catapult! She has so much fun in that thing! We are still using our Momaroo, but are quickly outgrowing our regular bouncy seat.  It may be time to retire that one!
• Trying to sit up on her own.  She wants so badly to sit up, but isn't quite there yet.  This also makes for interesting bath times - since she no longer wants to lounge in the infant tub, but isn't sitting up yet to use the other side of the tub or her new bath seat.

Some stuff we are looking forward to:

• Jeffrey coming home! Fingers crossed "Uncle" Jeffrey will be home late Spring/early Summer.  I absolutely can NOT wait to see Lainey's face when she sees him. 
• Family vacay!
• Rolling over... I am beginning to think, though, that maybe Lainey does this in her sleep and I just don't know it.  I might just have to use that "record" feature on our monitor...
• Play dates! 
• Lainey sitting up on her own - Philip and I decided not to move Lainey into her convertible car seat until she could sit up on her own so that she can sit in buggies at stores, in high chairs at restaurants, and sit comfortably in a stroller.  But I gotta' say... this baby carrier is getting pretty heavy!  This mom has got some arm muscles now!

I'm definitely enjoying life as a mom and I wouldn't have it any other way!

xoxo,
Linda

Right now

Right now I am avoiding putting the laundry away. Instead, I am sitting on the bed in the bedroom enjoying a rare, quiet moment while baby and daddy are in the other room. I am catching up on my google reader and refusing to open pinterest.  I know if I do, I will be stuck in this spot until my eyes glaze over.

But what do I hear?

Giggles. Lots and lots of giggles.

I hear Philip talking to Lainey and her "talk" back, followed by more giggles.

I love it.

xoxo,
Linda

Planning a birthday party... already?!

Holy hell! Is it already time to start thinking about Lainey's *first* birthday already?! Ahhhh! Where is time going?! I can't believe it! There were a lot of us pregnant around the same time and it seems like just yesterday were all complaining about how fat we had gotten, how we couldn't see our feet any more, and how heartburn would possibly be the death of each one of us!  Now instead of facebook statuses that once read, "I am so over this pregnancy thing." They read, "Time for a play date!" or "Happy Half Birthday to my little one!" Absolute craziness, I tell you!

But yes.... the time has come. It is time to start planning the big event.  I think I am more excited to plan this party than I was to plan my own wedding.  Maybe I need to submit a video to one of those outlandish shows about kid parties? No? Okay, then I won't. But I will admit, I want this party to be exciting and fun and wonderful! So maybe I will go a little overboard, but you only turn *one* once! Yes... yes... I know, you only turn any age once, but come one. This is the big ONE!!

My initial thought was something sparkly like a Tiffany & Co. party, but then the all mighty pinterest threw me a curve ball.

So the party theme has been decided - it's a mix between pink lemonade and a good ol' Southern state fair!  No royal blue ribbons here though - we are using a more girly pallet of pinks and yellows. (Hence the pink lemonade vibe.) I am also throwing in some light/bright blue - just for good measure! And mason jars all around!!!

I have been pinning like crazy and 

can't wait to start ordering some things! 

Source: cakeeventsblog.com via Linda on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Linda on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Linda on Pinterest

xoxo,
Linda

Christmas at the {nuthouse}

We're back and ready to start the new year!  Sorry I missed last week, but I was spending my vacation days hanging with Miss Lainey! You would think being on vacation, I would have more time to write an update, which was totally my intent, but in reality... I barely even got on my computer.  Did some shopping, some facebooking, and some pinning on pinterest, but nothing major.

Christmas is always a hectic holiday for us, and this year was no different.  But this year, we got to run our Christmas marathon from one family's house to the next with a baby in tow! Shew! What a busy day it was, but it was so worth it to see everyone in our families and get to see how much fun Lainey had eating tissue paper.... errrr opening gifts!  

Santa took it light at our house but was still very good to baby girl this year!  Of course she made it to the good list!

Christmas at the {nuthouse}

We've enjoyed our time off, but I must say, I am a little glad to get our schedule back too.  Hope all of ya'll enjoyed your holidays are ready for the fun times that await us in 2012!

xoxo,

Linda