Stripes and Chucks....

 This is what our mornings look like... lots of smiles, giggles, an occasional fuss, and playing with our new shoes! 

  

American Apparel romper- thrifted, Converse- thrifted

7 Month Favorites....

Time for another wrap up of my monthly favorite items! Not to many new ones this month... Just this week I started to pack away baby items that Asher has already outgrown. Here are this months favorite must have items. 

1. Books- We love love love to read! And "Goodnight Moon" is a bedtime favorite in our household.
2. The Children's Place PJ's- I may have mentioned these before, but these are BY FAR my favorite pj's for little boo. And you can usually get them on sale as well. 
3. Quilt- This is a necessity! We like to walk to the park when the weather is nice and it's always handy to have a quilt packed. Asher received quite a few beautiful quilts before he was born from friends and family. We love each and every one of them!
4. Happy Family Happy Puffs- I've started to give Asher a few of these here and there per the doctors "okay" of them and he loves them. Jacob and I get a kick out of watching him pick them up with his little hands and find his mouth. These dissolve quickly so they are safe and easy for baby to eat. 
5. Table Toppers- These are great to take along when we go out to eat. They are an easy clean up for Asher and I can set puffs on the table without being freaked out by germs...
6. Vtech Move and Crawl Ball- Excellent toy! It rolls around and makes cute little nosies that Asher loves. 

Be sure to follow me on Instagram, Bloglovin, or Pinterest to keep up with updates about the blog and pictures of the little man. 

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to my best friend, my Mom, and all the other Mamas out there! Being a Mama is unlike anything I could have ever imagined and my dear Mama has taught me everything I know! I gave her a little hell in my younger years, but now that I am an adult we are truly the best of friends. I have no idea what I would do without her! She cheers me up when I'm sad, listens to me when I need to vent, is an EXCELLENT shopping pal, and most of all loves me unconditionally. She is such a great Mimi to little boo and spoils the kid rotten! She's always doing nice little things to help Jacob and I out and I cannot thank her enough! 

I appreciate all that you do Mom and love ya to the moon and back! 

Wish I could spend this day with you!

xx,

Em

Asher's 1st Trip to the Aquarium...

With just a little over a month left until we move to California, I've been crazy busy trying to get last minute things done. I still feel like I have a million things to do... Asher and I are taking a little vacation a the end of this week, that is much needed! In the craziness of everything going on a little week break will be perfect before our big move across the country.  This past weekend we took little man to the aquarium in Charleston. We were a little skeptical to what Asher would think but he absolutely loved the it! While looking at all the neat exhibits he would kick his little feet and jump up and down while we were holding him. He even squealed at the river otters! We had a great time and it was nice to get away from our busy lives for the day.

 (I apologize for the terrible picture quality... it was dark in the aquarium)

We finish the day with a late lunch at little sushi place Jacob seen on "Man vs. Food" and wanted to try. Asher set in a big boy highchair at the restaurant for the first time and did so well. He is seriously growing so fast I could cry... These little getaways (even if its just an hour up the road) as a family are memories we will cherish forever!

Happy Thursday!

How to Prevent Hair Loss After Pregnancy...

Before Asher came along I had some pretty good hairs. While I was pregnant my locks were even better! My curls were very bouncy and my hair had tons of body. After I had Asher, around the time he was 3 months old, I noticed my hair starting to fall out.... and I mean seriously fall out... like clumps of it in the shower that nearly had me in tears! And it was everywhere... I was convienced that something was seriously wrong with me until I talked to my OB. She assured me that hair loss after pregnancy is VERY common and a good majority of women will experience it.... So my next question was how do I stop it? She told me there wasn't much I could do to stop it other than to keep taking my prenatal vitamins. 

I had been taking my prenatal vitamins almost a year and continued, since I was still breastfeeding, so I wasn't sure how much they were helping with the hair loss. After doing a ton of research I found a great solution to help my poor hair. All of these products (pictured) are a part of my everyday hair routine. Once I started using them I noticed a HUGE difference in the amount of hair I was losing. 

1. Nioxin Shampoo- (you can buy the shampoo, conditioner, and scalp treatment as a set on amazon, be sure to read carefully so you buy the appropriate one for your hair) I use the #1 and am very happy with it. The shampoo is very minty and isn't heavy on my curls. I find that a lot of shampoos make my curls heavy... this one does not!
2. Nioxin Conditioner- Not your average conditioner. You apply it from scalp to ends, (not just your ends like most conditioners) leave it on for a few minutes, and wash. After I wash this out of my hair my scalp feels amazing. Very tingly and clean! 
3. Nioxin Scalp Treatment- After getting out of the shower I spray this directly on my scalp and let my hair air dry. It also makes my scalp feel wonderful!  
4. Prenatal Vitamins- I take these daily because Im still breastfeeding, but will continue once I am done. Prenatal vitamins are full of Biotin and other great hair helpers. 
5. Phyto Anti Hair Loss Dietary Supplement- These little pills do wonders for my hair, are easy to swallow, and don't leave a nasty aftertaste in your mouth like some dietary supplements do. The one thing I have noticed with these are that they do make my skin a little oily, so instead of taking two tablets a day, I just take one. You can purchase these from Sephora if you have one close by or order them off eBay, like I did. 

A few other things that has seemed to help with post prego hair loss has been drinking plenty of water, not brushing my hair as frequently, and avoiding blowdryers which can be hard to do on days that I am running late. I also throw in some extensions every now a then to give my hair a little extra volume help.

What are some things you do? I hope you all enjoyed this post!
Happy Friday! 

Cloth Diapering...

Happy Earth Day Friends!!

I figured today would be the perfect day to express my thoughts on cloth diapering. We started cloth diapering a few weeks ago. After talking to a few of my friends who are cloth diaper pros, I figured I would give it a try. Also Asher kept getting this nasty diaper rash (I buy sensitive diapers too) so I figured maybe they would help. 

I bought 6 Alva brand pocket diapers to start off with from a Facebook diaper selling group. The diapers I bought were brand new, came with 1 microfiber insert, and cost around $5 a diaper. I read great reviews on cloth diaper brands like Bumgenius and G Diaper, but my friend suggested that before I spend $20 a diaper I get these to see if cloth diapering was for me first. With the diapers and inserts I also bought 6 more bamboo inserts (they absorb better than a microfiber insert) at $2.00 an insert. I figured I could cloth diaper throughout the day and still disposable diaper at night just until I figured out how many inserts I needed to use through the night to prevent Asher from leaking out. 

So far I am very pleased with cloth diapering. Within the first day I noticed Asher's diaper rash starting to disappear... by day 2 it was gone. I was also super pleased with how absorbent these diapers were. I changed Asher about every 2-3 hours depending on how wet he was and was very surprised to find the diapers very dry when I pulled them off of him. When I pulled the inserts out and felt them they were damp so I knew he was peeing. My favorite thing about the diapers is how stinking cute they look on Asher! His fluffy little bottom in these makes me melt!

My worst fear before starting cloth diapering was dealing with the poo. I don't have a diaper sprayer or disposable liners so when Asher pooped in them the other day I was a little hesitant to open the diaper. Once I did it wasn't bad at all and the poo literally just fell off the diaper into the toilet... (I feel gross telling you guys this haha) I plan to order more diapers this week. Im so pleased with them and wish I would have started sooner!

Here are a few reasons why I decided to give cloth diapering a try!

• It's friendly on my wallet! We spend a little over $50 a month on diapers (with coupons and rebates!). Say Asher was in diapers for 2.5 years that would be a total of $1500.00 we would spend on diapers. I don't cloth diaper at the sitters so if I can just cut that down a little bit on disposable diaper expenses I will be happy! 
• It's eco friendly!
• They are adorable on!
• They help with little boo's diaper rash!

I hope you all enjoyed my little CD post! Im still new to the whole thing and still learning. Do you cloth diaper? Any tips I should know? 

6 Month Favorites...

Quite a few favorites this past month... We started solids and little man loves them! Here are our favorite must have items from this past month.

1. Baby Food Pouches- Ella's Kitchen, Earth's Best, Happy Family, and Plum Organics are my favorites. These pouches are great to take along and easy to clean up. These are what I pack when Asher goes to the daycare/sitter. 
2. Munchkin Baby Bowls-  These are the best. ever. and only like $3 at Target.
3. Freshly Picked Baby Moccs- By far my favorites pair of shoes Asher owns. They stay on his little feet so well and are super stylish! Asher loves to chew on them too! We have the suede blue ones and love them! I HIGHLY recommend these!
4. Baby Bullet- I snatched one of these off of a local yardsale website for hardly nothing and love it. The cookbook, storage containers, and switchable blades make it super easy for me to whip up a batch a baby food in no time. 
5. Nuk Learner Sippy Cup- Let me just say after trying 4 different kinds of sippy cups this one is by FAR my favorite. Asher had no problem using it as well! 
6. Fisher Price Laugh Learn Love to Play Puppy- Excellent toy and has lots of features! Asher loves to chew on his ears haha! 
7. Baby Bibs- A must! 
8. Highchair- We love the Fisher Price Space Saver Highchair. It's perfect for our little house and it reclines in 3 different positions which is nice! It's very easy to clean as well!

What are some of your baby must have items? I've been looking for some good interactive toys for a 6 month old.. Any recommendations? I love hearing from you all!