Skinny Jeans

First, I hope all of ya'll had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families! I hope you filled your bellies with yummy food, your ears with laughter and your hearts with joy!

While I didn't do any major shopping over Black Friday, Lainey found some stuff and said "ooooh! pretty!" as I clicked through the Nordstrom website.  Luckily, we were only shopping the sale section.

Little Miss picked out...

North Face Oso hoodie

Joes Jeans pink skinnies

Joes Jeans dark jeggings

The denim snobs in our life are probably saying, "Really?" And the fashionistas are probably saying, "Wow - her jeans are nicer than mine."  To that say... Yes, really.  And I am right there with you! Her jeans are seemingly nicer than my AE jeans. 

BUT

Joes Jeans are literally the only jeans I have found to fit her. 

The problem with having a string bean for a child is this...

Her legs are long and her waist in tiny. (Lainey, start praying now that you keep that figure and don't end up with your momma's body!!)  So the solution? Seems simple enough - find jeans with adjustable waistbands.

Ridiculously easier said than done!

I found one pair at Target from Genuine Kids and, of course, they aren't available anymore. Not even online!  Those were our saving grace of denim.  Lainey has worn the heck out of them; so much so, the knees are starting to get faded. So I had a new mission: find denim for Lainey.

Joes are, honestly, the only jeans I have found in an infant size with that glorious invention of a waistband! So - I took the plunge. Splurged a little, but still found them on sale, and got one pair from Nordstrom.  They were perfect.  I tightened that elastic as much I could and they look adorable on her little legs!  A girl can not live in one pair of jeans, hence the Black Friday purchases. 

A little bit more expensive than getting jeans at Carter's or the Children's Place. Yes.  But if the jeans don't fit, then is it really worth it to buy them?

Perfect fit!

These jeans are the first pair of Joes we got; they're the lighter version of the jeggings.

But what can I say?  The girl's got style!

You may have noticed a pattern here - skinny jeans. Lainey usually only wears skinny jeans.  Why, you ask? I have tried all sorts of styles of jeans on her - from skinny/jeggings to regular bootcut and everything in between, including straight, trouser, and flares!  The skinny styles just look better on her! To me, bootcut and flared bottoms make her look so out of proportion it's crazy! She's petite and those other styles tend to make her look stumpy.  Overly critical mother here? Perhaps...but she seems comfy to me! And oh, so cute!!

So, tell me, what are some of your favorite things to dress your little one in?


xoxo,
Linda

World Prematurity Day

I didn't even know this day existed until I became the mom to a preemie princess.

It is no secret that my daughter is a preemie. It is not something that I keep a secret. My scar from her c-section is a battle wound from her incredible journey into this world. Her time in utero was cut short by 7 weeks as she graced the world with her presence 7 weeks early.

When she was born, she weighed 2 pounds 13 ounces and barely fit in our arms.

Thank God she was luckier than a lot of premature babies and was fully developed - lungs and all.

But she did have her own battles to fight... It was not just a walk in the park, I promise. It was hard on her little body; it was hard on her momma and her daddy; and it was hard on her grandparents and it was hard on her entire family, all of the extended aunts and uncles and "big cousins" included.

Being extremely underweight, she needed to pack on the pounds before she could come home. She lived in the NICU at our local hospital for 5 weeks, with every pound and milestone we rejoiced. During her first weeks, her biggest troubles came with eating; she could only digest breast milk and her poor tummy had quite the battle with Colitis. One of the hardest things, as her mother, was to accept that withholding feedings was the correct "prescription" for her during those moments. How could I agree that not feeding this tiny little girl was the right thing to do?! Yes, I knew she was getting her nutrients through her IVs, but just the thought of her having to skip that meal was a little tough for me to digest. {pun intended}

But if we fast forward...

Now, to see her, as she turns 17 months old TODAY, it's hard to even think about her as a preemie in that fancy "condo." Yes, she is petite and I have a feeling she always will be. {She may not look Asian, but she has got short Asian lady genes!} Some say she is still catching up and maybe that's true.

Lainey has crossed that 20 pound mark and is as smart as can be. She has experienced no real "preemie things" as she is growing up and is, developmentally, a perfect toddler.

Now, I understand our story is not like others and some premature babies have a much harder time than we did. Some stories don't have a happy ending like ours. It's incredibly hard to even type that sentence. Our story isn't ending, it is just beginning.

I wrote this post to help in raising awareness for a very serious topic - for a critical problem in our lives. I am not looking for donations to any of the several non-profs that are working for advancements in medical science to give these babies the best possible odds. It's been my experience that statistics tend to mean more when there is a real-life emotion attached to it. So please know, this post could not be more heartfelt.

Everyday we say our prayers and count our blessings. God walked us through this journey and gave us the strength He knew we needed. He chose us to be Lainey's parents for reasons only He knows. But I thank him everyday for my preemie princess.

xoxo,

Linda

Becky or Beckett...

Regardless of what she calls this dog, she loves him. She loves the real-life version and she loves this version just as much.

It has happened. We have our first major attachment to something that isn't my hip.

The story of adopting another Beckett

As soon as Lainey and I walked into Target last week, she kept saying "Book... book. Book..." So I told her that if she sat still in the buggy, we could certainly get a new book. I mean... let's be real. If you are going to get your child a prize, at least get a book instead of another toy. At least that is my take on it...

So we made our way through the store. Wound up in the books section and picked out a book. It's a pretty awesome Pantone color book designed for children.  She picked it all on her own... she is her mother's child.

Onward to the cash registers, right?

Of course, in order to get the cash registers, we had to pass the toy section. {Well played, Target... well played.}

Lainey looks up and yells "BECKETTTT!" It was all down hill from there. She had spotted him. A stuffed little guy that looked just like her little buddy from home - my pug, Beckett.

Well she began to carry on and reach for this little stuffed dog. And so, accepting the cuteness that is my child and her excitement for this Beckett, I caved. I handed him to her and she squealed in delight and hugged him and wouldn't let him go.  She even rode home holding him.

Now, Beckett goes where Lainey goes. Car rides, Nana's house, dinner, bed time, everywhere.

They are best friends.

xoxo,
Linda

Party Time!

That's right, you heard me.... it's time for a party!

No, it's not a political party.  

Although, Lainey did get her vote on yesterday! 

It is time for.... *drum roll please*

A TWENTY POUND PARTY!!!!

Can you see the number on that scale?! Because I can.

 And it says two-zero point zero!!!!!

It has taken nearly a year and a half to get to this milestone.  

While this may not be an official weigh-in but it is totally good enough for me!

xoxo,

Linda

Trick or Treat

It's been a crazy couple of weeks in {the nuthouse}  Hence my MIA hiatus last week.  Work is busy, life is busy, and I am just trying to enjoy the moments as they come!  October has come to end, thank goodness! We have survived a roadtrip to the OBX for one wedding, our first weekend sans bebe, and now have officially survived Halloween! 

Hope everyone enjoyed their trick or treating! I'd call our first trick or treating adventure a huge success! We had a wonderful time going trick or treating with Lainey's big cousins. {Who needs to have more kids when you have such great cousins to love on and spoil?!} 

Our house visits went kind of like this...

Boys race to door to ring the doorbell.

*ding dong*

Dylan: Trick or treat!!
Tyler: Can I have some more?

*nice person gives out candy*

Boys start to run away

Lainey: eeeeeeez

*nice person smiles and asks if she can have some candy*

Me: Lainey, says thank you!

Lainey: Welcome... bye byeeee *waves*

-- on to the next one --

I will say this, though, being a working mom on Halloween may be one of the most stressful things I have done lately! Of course, our boots were too small so this mom had to dart out of the office, hit the mall to get replacements (thank goodness for being intuitive enough to call ahead and have them put on hold) then it was the race to pick up Lainey, grab dinner for her and my 2 buddies, get dinner served and then get 2 out of 3 children dressed! phew - I am tired just reliving that 2 hour span in my head! 

Then it was off to Granny Minetree's house to go trick or treating with Dylan and Tyler! We hit a few houses with them then we surprised Nana and Grandpap with a visit and headed home.

Here are a couple of shots from the night's
{motocross} adventures!

xoxo,
Linda