Baby – Snapshots & My Thoughts by Ailee Petrovic

Baby November 14, 2017

Ready for Baby Charlotte

I am so bad about posting my work on the blog, but my goal is to do more of it next year! I will do a round-up of family photos at the end of the season, but for now, I wanted to share some photos I took on Sunday of one of my nearest-and-dearest friends, Amanda. We are so in love with her sweet daughter, Charlotte, already! I’m anxious to meet her. Amanda has always been so tiny and petite, and fortunately for her, this carried over into her pregnancy. Hello, hot mama-to-be! Scott is one lucky man. Amanda didn’t want to take photos, but I convinced her to come over and snap a couple in an empty lot directly across from our house. It took five minutes ,and she already thanked me for talking her into it. I mean, how could I not document how stunning she looks!

Countdown is on, Baby CC!

Baby October 20, 2017

Meredith’s Otomi Baby Shower

Last Sunday, five other hostesses and I threw an Otomi-themed baby shower for our best friend, Meredith (alter ego: Cake & Confetti, or ‘Cupcakes & Confetti’ according to my brother-in-law). If you are thinking to yourself: “What the heck is Otomi?” well, scroll down, because you will see an Otomi print cake, runners, invitation, macarons, vinyl backdrop, party favor bags, and detailing on the food signs. It would not be a Meredith-shower if it was not colorful, so we brought in every color of the rainbow! The photos are bright and happy, just like Mere is.

I will save you all of the sap, but Meredith is truly going to be the best mom ever. She is already my girls’ sugar mama (well, mainly just Isla right now) – they just love her. Piper is one lucky girl. I am so anxious to meet her. Doesn’t Meredith look AMAZING?! There was some back-and-forth on dress choices before the shower, and I’m so glad she chose the pink one (mainly to match me, but also to show off those rockin’ mama-to-be curves!).

It quite literally took a village to put together this shower, and all of the vendors/sources of paper goodies are linked below. The five other hostesses – Joy, Brittany, Allyson, Michelle and Amy – were the best! I also have to mention the MVP of the whole shower – Monica of Paper Flour Ink, who custom designed the invitation that had everyone talking, then outdid herself (and literally anyone on the internet/Pinterest) with that jaw-dropping cake. The detail on it was amazing. The balloons and arch from Big Ass Balloons were the perfect final punch of color, the florals from Blush & Vine were better than I could have imagined (Hello, tiny peppers in the arrangements! How creative!!). Nancy of Natalie Gene Creative took “Hey, could you do some calligraphy for the shower?” to the next level with those insanely gorgeous wooden signs, tabletop frames and margarita/mockgarita pitchers. The macarons baked by Erica of Wink by Erica and illustrated by Amy Mei of 6120 Creative were so gorgeous and intricate – I wish I ate eggs just so I could have tried one!

Many, many thanks to the amazing vendors for their help!

Sources and Vendors

Thank you cards from Minted, IG: @minted // Macarons by Wink by Erica and Amy Mei, IG: @winkbyerica and @6120creative // Vinyl backdrop designed by Monica of Paper Flour Ink, Printed by Signs.com, IG: @paperflourink // Calligraphy by Nancy of Natalie Gene Creative, IG: @nataliegenecreative // Table/chair and linen rentals by Aztec Party Rentals, IG: @aztecusa // Balloons by Big Ass Balloons, IG: @bigassballoons // Venue – The West Studios, IG: @theweststudios // Invitations, cake, topper, bingo cards by Monica of Paper Flour Ink, IG: @paperflourink // Flowers by Blush & Vine, IG: @blushandvine // Custom napkins from The Monogram Shop, IG: @themonogramshop // Photo booth props & margarita glasses from Party City, IG: @partycity // Bible from Hosanna Revival, IG: @hosannarevival // Custom jigsaw puzzle from CreateJigsawPuzzles.com @createjigsawpuzzles // Dip bowls from Re-Play, IG: @replayrecycled // Chip bowls and white tables from IKEA, IG: @ikeausa // Favor Bags made by my mom with fabric from Spoonflower, IG: @spoonflower // Food baskets, straws, and dessert plates from Shop Sweet Lulu, IG: @shopsweetlulu // Pitchers from World Market, IG: @worldmarket

Baby July 10, 2017

Baby Registry Guide: Newborn to 5 Month Essentials

I published a baby registry guide post (here) almost two-and-a-half years ago, and I’ve been sharing it with friends ever since. I recently read through it again and realized a lot of links were broken, and that I needed to add new ‘Emi favorites.’

When I first compiled this list, I thought to myself, ‘I need to make a concise list of all essential items for a baby’s first five months.’ Then I listed all of the products we use on a day-to-day basis, and oh-my-gosh – it is quite the opposite of concise. Babies require lots and lots of stuff.

Baby March 14, 2017

Ivana’s Baby Shower

On Saturday, we celebrated my sister-in-law and her little baby girl, Milly Rose, who is due to arrive mid-April. After bugging Ivana and Bob for months and months, they finally confirmed a name just two weeks prior to the shower, so we were in a mad dash to get at least one thing personalized for the shower. Monica of Paper Flour Ink laser cut that sweet girl’s name out of wood and we hung it on the backdrop – I think it was the perfect monogrammed touch. We held the shower at The Grove (in the Green Room, for anyone considering it as a venue option!) – the food was seriously delicious! It’s one of my favorite restaurants in the city.

Baby March 2, 2017

Our Little Family of Five

On January 29, we became a family of five with the birth of Miss Emilia (can’t forget Belle, our pup!). This sweet girl’s life has been well documented so far (evidenced here in her ‘one month’ update post), but we didn’t have a single photo of the four or five of us! My sweet and insanely talented friend, Courtney (of Courtney Leigh Photography) came over two weeks ago, when Emi was 2.5 weeks old, and took family photos for us, and I couldn’t be happier to have these! Unsurprisingly, Emi slept through the entire thing, but woke at the very end, desperate for milk (side note: nursing in a car in a dress is an interesting feat!).

Below you’ll find a million photos, and believe me, I did my best to narrow them down! She sent a ton, and it took me ages to narrow down my favorite 50-or-so. So without further adieu, here are the updated Petrovic family photos!