We've got ourselves a Fifteen Weeker!

Indeed!

He's still a dreambaby.

Misser Hux loves Mama, Daddy, people, singing, dancing, clapping, bathtime, tummytime, nakietime...he pretty much is happy all of the time.

Huxley's only dislikes seem to be getting his nails trimmed, the boogie-sucker ball, and when his hat accidentally falls over his eyes while we're in the car driving..that really pisses him off.

Since he's been teething lately Huxley's super snuggly, and clingy. I feel horrible that I kind of sort of really enjoy it because I don't know how much longer he will let me cuddle him up!

Hopefully he is a perma-snuggler.

xo

teetherbaby.

Yes, that's right. Huxley is officially riding the teething-train.

Drool mouth...check.
Putting everything he can grasp into said mouth...check.
Low-Mid Grade fever not reaching 101...yep, he's been running 100.6

(insert a freaking out Mama 'cause he has a high temperature here, and add a trip to his Pediatrician too.)

Red eyes from rubbing them...Dr. said this is a sign of teething so, check!
Diarrhea...another thing Dr. said was a side affect since of the excessive saliva..no fun, but, check.

We have ourselves are real live slobberbaby, but he has remained just the sweetest little bundle.
Oh, and Huxley was showing off during the entire exam which led his Pediatrician to say that him rolling over & blowing raspberries is way advanced for being just only 15 weeks.

[Can we say Scholarship?]

xo

mmmRazzleberries!

Huxley is seriously the best.thing.ever.

Especially in the mornings, he always has us in stitches.

For days now he's been trying to copy Mama when I blow raspberries, & this morning he finally got it!

xo

P.S. somebunny loves you!

(I totally forgot to post photos from this adorable photoshoot we did. Whoops! Better late than never, eh? Enjoy!)

oh yea &..

Guess what the Huxman can do now?!

back to the grind.

The long holiday weekend that the mister had simply spoiled us! It's hard to accept that it is Monday already, but we enjoyed our first Easter together as a family so so much.

We started the day with a yummy breakie hash made with yams, spinach, tomato, eggs, black beans, and turkey bacon. The Daddy play chef, and even made some interesting fruit smoothies! Afterwards, the little Bunner was snoozin' so we loaded him up and headed to church. Mind you, this was our first trip with baby in tote, but he was an absolute angel--organs blaring and all!

We didn't have enough time to make it to our family's Easter Dinner, because sadly I had to work, so we found ourselves having Sonic instead...

(yep...this is going to be one of those looking back with laughter holidays.)

All & all our Easter was special and full of love and laughter.

(Huxley made out like a Bandit! He especially liked the shaker egg, taggie blanket & teething ring.)

xo

wishing you all a...

HAPPY EASTER, YALL.

XOXO

my little Easter Eggie.

All dressed in pastels & cuteness.

I could stare at him 24/7. Truly. He always has the sweetest expression on his face. Even sleeping..

We wish you all a very blessed holiday weekend, & pray you spend it with those nearest and dearest to your heart.

xo

(ps: stop by tomorrow for our Easter treat to you!)

do you like my hat?

Yes, yes I do like your hat!

xo

a little Mama rant.

We were gifted a LOT of clothes including a Philadelphia Flyers onesie. Albeit super cute and a perfect fit Huxmonster during playoff season I just can't help but question how far I will wander away from how I originally wanted to raise him.

Who knows if Hux even likes the Flyers, or even hockey for that matter?

In three short months I've done quite a few things as a parent that I'd sworn never to do...
heck, even before Huxley was born I was eating my words.

From taking an epidural to supplementing with formula, we've had to make decisions that have left me feeling slightly less than, but we made them with confidence that Huxley's health and safety was priority.

Clothes are clothes, I know, and we are thankful we have plenty to doll him up in, but I never wanted my child to wear things with cheesy sayings & I'm still on the fence about sports teams (& since I'm from Michigan we'd have to double our gear!)

Becoming a Mama is humbling.

I never wanted to take an epidural, let alone have a hospital birth. When we first found out we were pregnant (almost a year ago!) I dreamed of having a water birth at home, having everything surrounding my child organic, eco-friendly, and sterile. Cloth diapering from day one. NEVER toting my child around in their car seat and ALWAYS baby-wearing. I swore up and down and sideways that my child would not know the taste of formula. Even things as minute as washing all of Huxley's clothes separately on delicate cycle have gone out the window.

Maybe I'm lazy, or not being as resourceful as I could be, but organic's expensive. The laundromat is too. And cloth diapering? SO EXPENSIVE. I am saving pennies in hopes to begin when Huxley is 6 months old, until then we are trying this thing called Elimination Communication, which basically means he goes with out a diaper and I try to watch for his cues. It does save us diapers, and I have gotten the hang of dealing with accidents which happen all the time.

Take all those things and throw in breastfeeding, which hasn't gotten easier for me, and I am as humble as pie.

But in the end, our success as parents is not measured in ideals, but in the way our child smiles, is healthy, has a dry diaper, a full belly, and a well rested soul.


xo

good mornin' sunshine!

or snow if you live in the Great Northern Michigan like Grandma & Grandpa who got SEVEN INCHES overnight!

We can't wait to visit them! Only two weeks from today we are scheduled to fly into Traverse City, and spend a week in Leelanau County.

Sadly, the mister won't be joining us due to his fancy new 'grown-up' job so I will be flying with Huxley all on my own.

I am definitely excited for our first Mama-Son adventure, and have been formulating a master plan on how to make our travels seamless. I'll be posting a Pack List as we get closer to our departure date. Any suggestions, or wisdom is welcomed!

(clearly, the Huxman is stoked too!)

xo

whoa, Mama?

I finally got around to uploading a small portion of our Maternity photo shoot. There are so many beautiful photos that my lovely and super super SUPER talented friend Carie Thompson took, most of which are nude & therefore will not be seen by pretty much anyone but the mister!

Years back when I was living in Nashville I did a 2-day shoot with Ms. Thompson in the Smokey Mountains. I will never ever forget how much fun it was & how I accomplished one of my life goals:

'Be a Model for a Week'.

(my friend Carie & I)

To contact Carie for booking info click here.

xo

blessed to call them my men

I count myself blessed each & every day for so many things, but at the very top of the list are these two beautiful men in my life, well, three counting my amazing father, but he's unfortunately hundreds of miles away in Michigan.

They make up my heart.

xo

i could just eat him up!

someone is getting very determined to roll over/crawl/run a marathon!

xo

Christmas shopping in April??

You and pretty much everyone else out there may argue that it is way too early to be thinking about Christmas, let alone shop for gifts, but I wanted to give you some food for thought.

I recently received Huxley's 'Baby's First Christmas' Ornament in the mail from ChristmasOrnaments.com.

It was packaged beautifully, perfect for storing until it's time to hang it on the tree, and the ornament itself was darling!!


They had an article posted on their website which really convinced me of why it's better to start early, I mean, you did just get a nice little tax refund didn't you???

If you are stuck on a baby shower or wedding/anniversary gift they have tons of beautiful ornaments to choose from, so go, scope, read that article I mentioned & be convinced yourself.

it's crazy to say,

...our three month old.
Seems like yesterday Huxley Otis was our newborn.

Huxley is now very aware of himself. His hands, his feet, his voice, and he even seems to be trying to sit up! Hux hasn't rolled over yet, but I have a feeling that will be any day now. Our sleep schedule seems to be changing, and the long day time naps are shortening & balancing out in the nighttime. Hux's appetite is changing too wanting more at one sitting and going longer in-between meals. All this change is definitely showing as he's grown out of his 0-3 month clothes and moving into 3-6, my gosh, he is just a weed!

We love him to the moon & back.

(my eyes are dry from trying not to blink, trying not to miss one single moment of him.)

xo

win sweet goods

Looking for a chance to win some awesome baby swag including a Fuji Finepix Camera Pack?

Enter your sweet baby's photo here, and while you are visiting their site check out their yummy natural Preggie & Nursing Mama safe Bee Pollen products.

drool baby part duex

Seriously, this kid is trying to fit both feet, both hands, the entire Sophie giraffe, ANYTHING and EVERYTHING into his mouth.

Bibs are now a must.

xo

don't let their Easter basket be lacking..

Have you ordered your sweet Hazel Village friend for your little one's Easter Basket?
Do it today and get FREE SHIPPING*!!

To see all of the adorable Hazel Villagers click here!

*Enter Promotional Code: HUXLEY at checkout

weekend with the sickies

Yep, the flu bug is going around alright & we were the unlucky recipients of it this weekend.
Insult to injury: I'm scheduled to work every weekend so it was a lose-lose situation, and I am still not feeling good.

Despite running a high temperature, Huxley has been the sweetest ever. He spent pretty much all of Saturday with Daddy since I was racked with fever chills, aches, and not holding anything down. I tried nursing him later in the evening, but I was just too uncomfortable & didn't want him being exposed (even more). So I pumped whenever I could muster the energy, because I worked to dang hard to get my supply up & I refused to let this nasty flu get the best of me! Sunday Huxley and Daddy started feeling icky so our tribe pretty much lazed about in bed all day & just tried to give our bodies some rest.

Highlights of the weekend? Ice-cube popsicles made by the mister who just happens to be the best caregiver in the world (hands down).

& of course my sweet little snuggler Bunny, who is obviously the highlight of my life.

xo

Flashback Friday slash Happy Week Twelve, Huxley Otis!

Can't believe 12 weeks have gone by.
Sometimes it feels like a lifetime ago, but mostly it seems like just yesterday I was waddling around looking like this:

Darling Huxley, Mama is so glad you came to this world. You have brought happiness to everyone you greet & I feel so blessed I can call you my son.

xo

ps: thank you Grandma K for Sophie the Giraffe, you have saved me from being a glorified pacifier!

creepy but cute and Huxley LOVES it

Okay, so this video pretty much works miracles on fussy babies.

Thank you Jessica over at IROCKSOWHAT for sharing this video, you are a doll.

xo

What the Frig?! Wednesday

Since becoming a Mama I have been an avid collector of little unknown facts.

It's my goal to share as many of these as possible to all you unsuspecting Mama-to-Bes/new-Mamas & hey, I am all about equal opportunity, so this is for all of you Daddy-to-Bes or new Daddies as well (some of this however, you will not experience 1st hand that's all).

Here's something I was not expecting becoming a breast-feeding Mama:

Milk leakage when Huxley started to cry

After reading up on this I can assure you it's totally normal. Your body goes through a stage of adjustment when you first begin nursing, and it begins to tailor your supply to the needs of your bundle of amazing.

The main culprit causing this spontaneous let-down is Oxytocin. Hearing your baby or another baby crying, thinking about your baby, smelling your baby, or sitting in the chair where you usually nurse your baby might be enough to trigger your body to release the hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin causes the cells in the milk-making lobes of your breasts to contract and eject the milk toward the nipple, where your baby can pump it out.

So, if your baby isn't close at hand, prepare for leakage, & always keep some breast-pads handy. I prefer organic cotton reusable breast-pads, and yes, I am proudly sporting my Super-Mama cape today, thank you!


xo

budget friendly lunch of the dairy-less

Easy Peasy Mexi Hash

One about to be too ripe avocado, halved (optional)
Boil-In-A-Bag Brown Rice
Black Beans
Salsa
Corn
Leftover Grilled Chicken (to make this completely vegan you could substitute Fake-Chicken, my favorite brand is Quorn)

Prepare the rice as directed on box, and throw the remaining ingredients all together in a saucepan until it's thoroughly heated.

Layer, season as you please & enjoy!! I used the avocado as my sour cream replacement. It was yummohlicious.

xo

a very productive morning!

So far Huxley has puked, pooed & peed all during his morning 'Naked Time'.

You see, Hux has been a fan of nakedness for quite some time. He hates a draft, mind you, but there is something about a bum sans diapie that makes him the happiest little critter you've ever seen!

So we've made a habit of giving him plenty of time in the buff. Trust me, there have been plenty of errors to our trials, but the end result is totally worth it & his heiny hasn't had a spot of redness to it!

We usually have him laid out on something protective, like a towel, a few cloth diapers, or one of those blue plastic cotton covered mats you put down when you potty train puppies.
(Those work the best since you can just toss them away after any accidents. I know, not very green of me to say, but I seem to have misplaced my Super-Mama cape.)

This morning, however, Mama forgot to put something underneath the little mister and before I knew it our mattress was soaked so I then put a towel under him, which in a matter of no time was covered in poo.

All in all we saved two diapers, yall.

I'd call that success!

xo

an early Easter treat to you from Huxley & his Woodland friends in Hazel Village

Since the moment they first met, Huxley has been in love with Ms. Catalina Mouse from Hazel Village. He loves her so much that he wants all of you to be able to adopt a friend from Hazel Village too!

Huxley & his friends are giving you an early Easter present of FREE SHIPPING on all Hazel Village orders!

Just use the Promotional Code: HUXLEY when ordering your new lovie.
(this code will be good for 3 months from today)

These sweeter-than-Peeps are perfect for an adorable Easter Basket surprise.
Order yours by April 15th (domestic shipping) to receive your new friend in time for the holiday!

Order yours here or on Etsy!

They cannot wait to go to their new homes, so hurry up already & adopt one today!

xo

Hux loves telling stories

Since I only have one free hand right now and no down-time here is a video of our little squacker to enjoy on your Saturday afternoon.


xo

at 7:37 am Huxley entered his Eleventh Week!

Our alarm went off at 7:37 this morning, which was odd because it wasn't set to go off at that time.

At that moment eleven weeks ago we were meeting Huxley Otis for the very first time, & it's been a magical wonderful crazy beautiful dream ever since our beings met face to face.
[...]
& to make this morning just that much more special, it even decided to snow!

xo