eShakti {I'm a fan}

Let me tell you something.... dressing my new mommy body has been quite the adjustment. I remember thinking I couldn't WAIT to get rid of my baby belly so that it would be easier for me to pick outfits and get dressed. HA! I wasn't prepared for the baby squish, wider hips, spread out ribs, etc that came after a baby. Some days it's really hard for me to feel comfortable in my own skin and pretty when I get ready for the day.... but I'm working on it! (Thank goodness for a loving husband who thinks I'm hot no matter what.... or should I say thank goodness for a smart husband who tells me I'm hot no matter what ;) ha ha)
One company I am loving right now is eShakti! They have a big variety of dresses, skirts, tops, jackets and more! And my favorite part is they do custom altering! You can pick the type of sleeves you'd like, the neckline, the length of your dress, add/take away pockets.... the amount of possibilities are just unreal! I went with a pretty safe design for my dress, but give me a break, I'm still learning how to dress myself, ha ha! I don't have enough red in my closet so I thought this would be the perfect staple to add to my wardrobe! But more importantly, this dress makes me feel pretty, which is huge right now :) I'm already planning my next dress from eShakti and I promise I'll be more adventurous with the print and design! The thing I love most about this company is that I will most likely end up with a one of a kind... we all have different tastes and eShakti can cater to them all!

hair talk

So, I really want to start a series of hair talk! I LOVE being a hairstylist and I want to share my knowledge, fun hair styles and anything else you'd like me to touch on! And now that I've finally figured out a routine at home, I feel like now is the perfect time to start these posts!
I need you to tell me what you're interested in seeing! Any questions? I think it would be fun to do some giveaways with my favorite products as well :) But only if you're interested! So please, let me know!
Now enjoy this video while you're thinking of what you'd like to ask me :)


 Enter the sweepstakes here! Good luck!!
Prizes & Promotions page on Blogher.com.
Sweeps Rules (3/27-4/2)

just some randoms {3}

Milk coma??

Mia rolled from her back to her belly for the FIRST time March 20 (3 months old) while Eric was getting her ready for bath time! Eric called me into the kitchen and she was grunting and flopping around trying to figure out how to get that arm out from under her :)

 

Mia loves to snuggle her bear at nap time :)

 Tummy time = sleepy time. Baby girl has got it figured out, ha ha!

I was missing Mia pretty bad one day at work, so Eric sent me this picture of our love bug all snuggled up for her nap. My heart melted..... and then I realized this outfit was the same outfit that she threw up on the day before. And then after her bath she had spit up and some of it landed on the floor so I grabbed this outfit (because I had changed her into a nightgown) and dropped it on the spit up and used my foot to wipe it all up. I picked it up and set it on top of her towel to throw in the dirty clothes bin. Welllll... I forgot to throw it in the bin, and Eric must have thought I left this outfit for him to dress her in. HA HA! Major mommy fail!

I just have to say, she really does have more outfits than these comfy sleepers :) And she really doesn't sleep all the time, ha ha! Mia is so active, smiley and talkative. She makes each day SO much fun! We are so grateful for our love bug!

weekend review

Eric worked allllll weekend long, so I packed Mia up and took a quick trip to northern Utah. Despite the snow (it snowed a foot... and I'm only exaggerating a little bit :) It was a shock to go from 90 degrees last weekend to freezing cold/snow this weekend!) I had a great time!
We got to hangout with my brother (who has given Mia permanent nightmares.... such a good uncle to scare the crap out of his precious niece, HA!) and sister in law, which is always a good time! I wish I didn't live so far from Alycia! And my best friend had her sweet baby, Aspyn, 1 week ago. I loved being able to see her! I can't believe Mia was ever that tiny!! We went to lunch, shopping, and I did my friends hair the rest of the weekend. It was so fun to see the roles reversed and watch my friends love on my baby, since it was always me loving on their babies! And as you can see... Mia has no shortage of friends! I love my friends SO much and I am so happy that our kids are so close in age. We are going to have a lot of fun watching our babies grow up together!
Mia was an angel baby the whole time! I was nervous to be making this trip all by myself, but she made it so easy! I can't wait to go up and visit again, I'm blessed to have the BEST friends to miss in between visits :)

P.S. I was thinking it would be super fun to have a little get together with my blogging friends the next time I'm up! Would any of my northern Utah bloggers be interested?!

weekend review {Vegas}

Gotta love him :)

I wish there was a Rachel's Kitchen in Utah.... sooooo GOOD!

Shop together. Stay together.

You guys, I finally got to try Panera! I was so curious after seeing this all over blog land and instagram! Yum :)

We seriously had the BEST weekend in Vegas!! It was so fun to go with Ashley and Austin because their little Chandler is only a week and a half younger than Mia = BFF's! :) 

We took our babies swimming and soaked up the sun. I LOVED that it was warm enough to spend the weekend outside. Mia definitely loved it too. We shopped til we dropped and ate waaaay too much! Sunshine, good food, best friends and shopping are the ingredients for a perfect weekend, though. I wish every weekend could be like this! Then again, I'd be fat and broke if they were. But at least I'd have a tan ;)

P.S. Are you following me on Bloglovin? Leave me your link in the comments so that I can follow back!!

happy 3 months to my love bug

My angel baby is 3 months old today!! Where does the time go?

Thank you, Kendra, for this amazing hat! I still can't get over how talented you are!!

- Mia has discovered her fists and she can't keep them out of her mouth! It is hilarious and annoying at the same time to hear her lips smakin' away on her hands :)
- She talks all the time now! You know you're a crazy parent when you lay on the bed and have a conversation with your 3 month old ;) It's so fun to watch her discover her voice! When she gets really excited she basically squawks at the top of her lungs, ha ha. When she is relaxed she coos. And when Eric sings to her, she sings back! Mia has also figured out how to imitate sounds that we make. I swear, we have the smartest baby in the world!
- Mia has figured out how to turn onto her left side! She doesn't roll all the way over yet, but it's comin' any day now!
- Tummy time is not a favorite in our home. Eric can't handle her cries so he just puts her on her back instead (someone is whipped!) And when I try tummy time with Mia, she just goes limp and sucks on her fist, ha!
- Mia was blessed on March 3, 2013. Such a special day!
-  Our baby is so strong! She will be laying on her back, grab our fingers, and with a tiny bit of help from us she will pull herself into the sitting position, and she stands up! She basically pulls herself up by herself!
- "Blowout" is a common term in our house now (gosh dang it) I'm not sure if it's because we have the wrong diapers for her body or what, but we definitely aren't fans!
- Mia is figuring out how to grab things and immediately tries to put them in her mouth. Our fingers, a wash cloth, her binky, any light object!
- We learned that while Mia loves bath time, she absolutely HATES the shower. We better never forget her tub when we go on a trip again, ha ha!
- Mia had her first stuffy nose. It lasted about a week and I was a nervous wreck that it was going to turn into something serious! Thankfully it never turned into anything.
-  She gave me a kiss on Saturday, March 16th!! We have a teddy bear she loves to play with, and she always opens her mouth as wide as it can go and plants it right on the bear's nose. She doesn't suck on it or anything, I totally think she's giving it a kiss! Well, on Saturday I had her standing on my lap when she opened her mouth as wide as possible, and planted one right on my nose :) I smother her in kisses all day, every day, so I think she's learning how to do it back! Melted my heart that I'm the first one she's done this to, besides her bear of course

Poor photo quality because this was taken with my phone :)

Mia makes life SO fun! We fall more in love with our sweet girl every. single. day. She is the BEST part of our lives!  

swimming in Vegas {Mia's 1st time}

Getting these two besties to cooperate for a picture was just too much to ask!

"Oh hey babe, why don't you take a pic for instagram at the same time!" #bffsmeetvegas2013 HA HA!

sleepy hubby's

We enjoyed an amazing weekend in Vegas with Austin, Ashley and Chandler! Our babies are a week and a half apart, which means they were meant to be besties! I'll be posting more about our get away later, but just know that we had the best time!

Friday was a gorgeous day! 90 degrees and sunny. I mean seriously.... it was snowing 6 days before this in our neck of the woods (yuck)! We were so excited to take our babies swimming for the first time! Mia loves bath time so I couldn't wait to see her reaction to swimming! BUT we couldn't find swim diapers small enough for our girls. (Question for all my momma friends, what do you do for swim diapers? Not take your baby swimming until they fit? Mia may not fit all summer long :( Help!) The pool ended up being pretty chilly so we just stuck Mia's feet in the water. And as you can tell from the pictures.... we didn't get a reaction at all. Mia acted as if nothing just happened, ha ha!

But that's okay! We soaked up the sun, enjoyed being lazy, and LOVED spending the day outside together! I need more days like this in my life! 

And we still can't wait to really take Mia swimming :)

reality

I've been meaning to write this post for a couple months now. It's not going to be a "happy, life is so perfect" kind of post, it's something I went through that I don't want to forget. It was real life for me. Actually, I'm just putting these thoughts down because you truly do forget... and I want to be reminded in case I ever have the urge to get knocked up again. Ha, I'm totally kidding..... sorta ;)
In all seriousness, Mia is the best part of Eric and I. We are in awe that she took a little something from each of us and grew into a perfect baby girl. I pray to my Heavenly Father a thousand times a day thanking Him for my angel baby. But those first 2 (or more, probably more) weeks of Mia's life were the hardest weeks of my life!
I don't really know how to describe what I went through without sounding like a crazy.... but here goes! I thought my world ended when we took Mia home from the hospital. I could hardly even use the bathroom without Eric's help, let alone take care of this perfect little baby who needed to be taken care of 24/7. Yes, my body had just been through major trauma, but I didn't feel like the recovery was very difficult. But I did struggled physically, mentally and emotionally with nursing. (You can read my story here.) My struggle with nursing those first 2 weeks was so draining. Looking back, I'm not really sure how my sanity, my daughter and my marriage survived that, ha ha!
A week after Mia was born, Eric was told he needed to work the night shift for the next month. The news was a huge surprise/shock to us and I kind of went postal on Eric. I didn't mean to, and it certainly wasn't his fault... but hello?! I was a brand new mom who needed her husband! Instead he was going to work all night (12 hour shifts) and sleep during the day. The stress I let myself feel over that situation definitely rubbed off on everyone around me. I wish I would have handled that better, but I was a struggling, sleep deprived new mom. I was terrified to figure out that journey "alone" and I felt awful that Eric wouldn't be able to spend the time with our brand new baby that he deserved. I'm still bitter about that situation, but this is one reason I thought my world had ended :)
I remember thinking I wasn't ever going to be able to leave the house with my baby. I was distraught (sounds dramatic but I'll just blame it on the hormones) that we weren't going to be able to get together with friends, go on trips, or function outside of the home.  I had always said that we weren't going to stop living life just because we had a baby.... but I could barely make it out the door for a doctor appointment.
A little over a week after Mia was born, I was dying to get out of the house, breath in some fresh air and get a little exercise. I ended up at the gym (because it was negative degrees outside, much too cold to go on a walk) while Eric watched Mia. My walk on the treadmill only lasted 10 minutes, but it made me see a light at the end of the tunnel. Everyone who normally went to the gym was there working out (I'm a major people watcher, and I spent a lot of time walking on the treadmills my last couple weeks of pregnancy, ha ha!) The world hadn't ended, it was just going to take some time for me to learn how to live my new life! At the time, I felt like it took forever for me to learn. But Mia isn't even 3 months old yet and I've already taken her on a trip without Eric! I'd say I've made major progress and have learned a lot. And I know I'll continue to learn more each day :)
One of my blog friends described it perfectly.... she said the first couple of weeks are a mix of ecstasy and despair. I couldn't agree more! I believe most of the despair comes from being sleep deprived and the nasty hormone change. And of course the ecstasy comes from the precious newborn :) Those were the hardest weeks of my life but they were so worth it. I love my baby girl SO much, and that love grows every single day. I love my new life of being a mom to Mia! I wouldn't change it for the world. And it will be helpful to have this reminder when we have our next baby.... it takes a minute to get the hang of this huge life change, but it will come!! The light at the end of the tunnel is very real, and comes sooner than we expect it to :)

 Sharley Cotter Photography

little letters

Dear Mia, this is one of my favorite pictures of you! It shows off everything you are... beautiful, sweet and perfect in every way. Daddy and mommy will NEVER stop reminding you how much we adore our sweet baby :)
Dear weekend, I'm so glad that you are finally here! We have the FUNNEST plans and I'm looking forward to enjoying the sunshine with my little family! (Follow along on instagram if you want to see what we are up to :))
Dear Husband, you're hot.
Dear Mia, I made you laugh yesterday (03-14-13) for the first time and I literally thought my heart was going to burst! You make me SO happy!!
Dear hair, I feel like I'm stuck in a rut with you. I love that you have finally grown out, but now I'm getting antsy for a change. Do I keep you long, or chop it all off?! Decisions, decisions!
Dear bed, I miss the nights when I used to sleep in you for a solid 8 hours! Nursing/pumping is quite the sacrifice when it comes to sleep. But it's all worth it! Someday, someday you and I will have our precious uninterrupted time together again!
Dear Husband, watching you and Mia sing back and forth to each other is the sweetest sight! You are the best dad ever. I love you :)
P.S. I promise not to tell anyone that you are one BIG teddy bear when it comes to Mia. We both know you are wrapped around her fingers.... But no one else needs to know ;)
Dear Bloglovin, I have no idea how to use you! All I know is that google reader is disappearing and everyone is switching to you. Who am I to not jump on the band wagon ;) Now if someone could just give me some pointers.... Follow my blog with Bloglovin??
Linking up with Ashley.

weekend review {Colorado}

4 generations

Mia and her great grandma

Mia is carrying on the tradition of playing canasta! And she doesn't seem very satisfied with her hand... ;)

Beautiful sunset in Colorado.

 Beautiful baby sleeping on the drive home. Those lips....

Eric and I have been planning a trip to Colorado so that Mia and my grandma could meet! But with his work schedule the way it is right now, we just can't make a trip out for another month or two. So when my parents told me they were going to visit, Mia and I hitched a ride! (My grandma is 97 years old! It has been so important to me that Mia got to meet her, because grandma thought she'd never live to see my dad have kids, let alone see him become a grandad! I wish my grandad could have been here to hold her, but I know he was there in spirit!)

When I first walked into my grandma's home, I set Mia's car seat on the counter and lifted up the cover. Grandma started talking to Mia and both of their faces lit up :) It was love at first sight, such a sweet moment!!

Despite spending 7 hours in the car both ways, missing daddy, and not really sleeping through the night... Mia had a great trip! She was SO good in the car and slept for most of the drive. She usually sleeps from 9-5 and we both neeeeeed that sleep, but she was up every couple hours. I'm just hoping it was a growth spurt, not a new habit :) And Mia LOVED all the attention she got from my parents (who wouldn't stop fighting over who got to hold her longer, ha ha!) and her great grandma. It was a quick trip but I'm so grateful we were able to go!

my trendy baby

 

headband: gift from Alison/dress and cardigan: gift from grandma and grandpa Brinkerhoff/boots: gift from Pamela

When we found out we were having a girl I could NOT wait to dress her up! But when Mia was born I realized how much work it was to take care of this baby. She'd pee or poop on her outfit at least once a day those first couple of weeks :) And it was so much work to take off little pants to change her diaper! And you could just forget about bows or flowers on her sweet head.... and I was SO SAD! I wanted to dress her to the nines, but it was so much easier to just throw on a night gown and stay as cozy as possible. Soon enough it got easier to change her diapers, she stopped peeing each time a diaper came off, and it wasn't a pain to dress her in darling little outfits.

Now Mia has finally grown out of the newborn size and we are starting to get into the fun outfits! We haven't had to buy any clothes for her yet, but it's so fun to pick through the clothes and accessories we were gifted and put together cute outfits for her! This girl is definitely going to be the one that is best dressed in our family (obviously, since I'm looking so put together in these pictures, ha ha!) I'm so excited to shop and play dress up with my baby girl! And you better believe there will be some mommy/daughter matching outfits in the future, ha ha!

P.S. My father in law picked out this dress and cardigan, isn't that the cutest?!

Linking up with Megan

currently...

Loving: my little family of 3. I still find myself in awe over the fact that I have a baby!!!

Reading: City of Lost Souls. I can't help it, those teenage novels suck me in every. time. But I do need some new books... suggestions?!

Waiting for: my hubs to get home from work. Something I look forward to each time he works :)

Using: my iPhone 5. And I barely know how to use it...but it's safe to say I've got instagram, facebook, pinterest and twitter figured out. Gotta keep up with that social media crap ;)

Excited about: Our little weekend get aways that are coming up! I'm definitely ready to get out of this town and have a break from the "real world" Spending time with my friends and family is just what the doctor ordered ;) And I'm so excited to take Mia on our adventures!

Source: makemommygosomethingsomething.com via Jean on Pinterest

 hahaha! But seriously.

Trying to: get back into blogging. It's amazing how much of my day goes into this tiny human, and I wouldn't have it any other way! But I love blogging and have made the most amazing online/real life friendships because of it! I want to continue making friends and finding love, support and understanding through blog land.

Working on: toning up my squish :) Jillian Michaels haaaaaates me!

Wearing: my husbands sweat pants and a comfy shirt.... duh. You won't see me wearing my clothes when we are at home.... ha ha! There's just something about men's clothing that is so much comfier!

Planning: what to pack for our little trips. I'm the type that waits til the last minute to throw everything in a duffel bag. If I start packing days in advance I over think it and get nothing accomplished! Unfortunately, that doesn't work so well when packing for a little baby. Basically.... everything PLUS the bathroom sink gets packed ;)

Learning: to stop nagging Eric so much. He is an amazing husband, father, provider, friend, blah blah blah. You name it- he's good at it. I need to hand over the "reigns" and stop trying to be in control all the time!

Listening to: Baby music. Gotta stimulate that brain because we have thee smartest baby in the world ;) ha ha! But seriously, I need some new music for working out! What are your favorites??

Singing: I don't sing. Mia cries when I sing, but she smiles when Eric sings. Someone has a favorite....

Needing: answers. I feel like our life is in limbo right now and I hate not knowing what is coming next! I like to be in control and plan my every move.... so maybe the answer should be patience :) ha ha!

Doing: typing this post with one hand while I snuggle my sleeping baby :)
  

 Mia is 4 days old in this picture

Enjoying: my sweet angel baby. I don't want to take one second for granted because time is passing too fast!

Dreaming of: our future. I can't wait to see what life has in store for us!

insta-life

We are really good at dressing up for the Superbowl... wearing baseball and basketball attire and all ;)

Is it summer yet?? Can't WAIT to take Mia swimming!

Our strong girl was sitting up in her bumbo seat before 7 weeks! (Why does she have to grow so fast?)

Church is the BEST excuse to play dress up with Mia :)

Our love bug on Valentines Day! (headband from Little Miss Millie's Boutique)

Beautiful day for a family outing! 

How do YOU eat Valentine chocolates??

Me and my love.

This little girl makes our world go 'round. She reminds us to forget about all the bull crap in this world.... the most important thing is to be happy and LOVE (which is totally easier said than done, that's why we are so thankful for the reminder our angel baby give us each time we look at her)!

Follow along at courtbrink

Mia's special day

Sunday, March 3rd was Mia's blessing day!

It truly was a perfect day.

Mia looked gorgeous in her dress (I searched high and low for the perfect dress, and I think I nailed it with this mini "wedding" dress. I'm just lucky she can't tell me no, yet.... ha ha!)

And she wore the little booties that my great great grandma crochet for my blessing!

 The food at the luncheon was amazing, and there was plenty of it! (I was stressed that our guests would leave hungry, ha ha!)

 Proud parents, grandparents and great grandparents :)

There were about 50 guests that traveled from across the state to make Mia's special day even more special :)

We are so thankful for our family and close friends!

We are even more thankful for our little love bug who helps bring everyone together!

Mia is a special little girl... you can't help but recognize that fact the first moment you lay eyes on her. 

I still find myself in awe over the fact that she is mine forever!

We are so in love with our daughter!! 

I'll post pictures of just Mia in her pretty little dress soon!