Personal – Page 36 – Snapshots & My Thoughts by Ailee Petrovic

Personal March 6, 2017

Week in Review

Rain, rain, go away! It has been very damp in Houston the last few days, and I’m ready for some sunshine. The benefit of all the rain is definitely that flowers are blooming all around us, and it definitely is feeling more and more like spring – my favorite season of the year! I cannot believe that it’s March already! People keep talking about Spring Break, and although this holiday means nothing to us just yet, I can’t believe it’s right around the corner.

Every Sunday, I am faced with the realization that my brain is currently working at 10% capacity, because I used to sit down and, in reflecting over the week’s highlights, say, “Oh, lunch with so-and-so was lots of fun!” and “I loved getting ice cream with so-and-so!” but alas, I can no longer recall what I ate for dinner last night! Ha. Newborn brain.

I do know that we spent quality time with Emi and Isla’s grandmas, aunts and uncle this week – having pizza and movie night with Bob, taking them milk bath photos with Mimi, and Isla spending Sunday morning and afternoon with her Baba and Dida (Sasha’s stepdad). Sasha had to travel for work but came home on Wednesday, and we were so grateful for him being back! We made many, many trips to Starbucks last week!

I got cleared for working out at my 4 week postpartum appointment on Monday, but unfortunately, got hit with another bout of mastitis at the end of the week which wiped me out for the weekend. My milk ducts clearly clog very easily, as I’ve already had it with Emi and had it five times while nursing Isla! It’s not fun!

Below are some photos that I captured over the past seven days! Happy, happy Monday. xo

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!

Personal March 1, 2017

Emi at One Month

Oh my goodness, I almost started crying when I read Isla’s one month post because it legitimately feels like yesterday that I was taking those photos, yet it has been more than 2.5 years! Miss Emilia is now a month old (celebrating on February 28th/March 1st, since it’s not a leap year!).

I said to myself in my last few days of pregnancy, “I will not commiserate constantly about how fast time is going. I will enjoy every day and be okay with the passage of time.” Ahem, easier said than done! Ha. So yes, the days are flying by, but we have loved every single one with Emi. She slept day and night for the first week and a bit, then slowly has been more and more awake as each day passes (pros and cons to this!). As I’ve heard most second babies are, she is way more chill than Isla ever was. She cries only when she’s hungry (which, I’ll say seems to be often!), and sometimes between the hours of 7-9pm, right after her big sis has gone to sleep, and I’m craving some peace and quiet!

She was born at 7 lbs 9 oz, but Sasha put her on the scale with him four days ago and swears she’s 10 lbs now! Which would explain why she’s grown out of newborn clothing (she was sausaged into the onesie for these photos!). I absolutely adore seeing her in the clothes that Isla used to wear – it brings back so many memories.

In the past few weeks, she has made two trips to Target, a dozen to the grocery store, too many to count to Starbucks, gone to a baby shower, gone on two runs (or jogs, let’s be real), lots of walks around Memorial Park, and visited her future bestie, Tatum. She went from hating the bath to loving it. She constantly spits out her paci, much to my dismay (working on this!). She loves being swaddled, way more than Isla ever did!

We cannot wait to see her grow more in the coming months. The next four weeks should bring smiles, which I’m dying to see! We’ve gotten sneak peeks when she’s sleeping, and they melt my heart.

Personal February 27, 2017

Week in Review

Okay, I feel like all everyone is talking about today is the Oscar winner mixup, but can we please talk about how absolutely amazing (times a zillion) Justin Timberlake’s performance was last night? He is truly perfect.

Anyway, I digress. last week was definitely my most productive since sweet Emi was born, and it feels really good to be back in the swing-of-things (a least sort of!). I took Destiny’s newborn photos last Friday, and I’m gushing over them as I edit (much slower than normal) – those four are so beautiful, they make my job so easy. Tatum is perfect and also seemed so insanely tiny compared to my chunker. It’s insane how much of a difference two weeks can make when it comes to baby sizes too!

Meredith also came over on Friday – with a bag full of candy, which was to be used for a brand collaboration she’s doing… but Isla basically ate half of it. As I’ve said before, that sweet girl LOVES her sweet Sugar Mama! We had a lot of fun (and some legit laughter at how Lucy and Ethel we were) taking the photos for a short video you’ll see soon.

I also co-hosted (I should use this term lightly, as I was a weak contributor given that I have a newborn!) a baby shower for my good friend, Erin. It was held at Amanda’s house (which looked amazing), and I loved getting to catch up with some of my favorites.

We also had a few sweet guests stop by, including Megan and Esther, and I loved getting to catch up with them and hear about their recent/upcoming launches. They are truly such inspirational business women (i.e. bosses!).

We did family dinner last night with my family. Everyone came over, then we walked to Peli Peli, which is a big fan favorite. I genuinely think I have newborn exhaustion, because I truly cannot think of what else we did during the week, so if I saw you and am not mentioning it as a highlight, please don’t be offended! Ha. Mom life.

I hope you have the best week ever! We’ve had some glorious weather in Houston lately – sunny with a breeze. Ugh, I hope it lasts! xo

Personal February 20, 2017

Week in Review

Happy President’s Day! I actually typed “President’s Day” into Google to find out the history behind this holiday, and the first thing that came up was this CNN article. So, happy “Not My President’s Day” as well? Ha. In case you didn’t know (like me!), the holiday is a remembrance to George Washington’s birthday, which is on Wednesday, February 22nd and a celebration of all our past presidents. Fortunately, Google observes this holiday, so Sasha had the day off, which will be his last day of paternity leave before returning to work. It has been the rainiest day, but we went swimming and watched a movie (ahem, Sasha and Isla did… Emi and I napped on the couch!).

This past week, we celebrated Valentine’s Day, my birthday, and the birth of Destiny’s gorgeous baby girl, Tatum. I cannot wait to meet her in a few days! The week flew by, of course, as they do with newborns. We’re beginning to get into a new routine, but for some reason, the last two days I’ve felt extremely tired, which is probably what happens after three weeks of waking up once or twice in the middle of the night to nurse a baby! We have a Starbucks that is less than a mile from our house, and we’ve changed up our morning Belle walks to include a few trips for coffee!

My little sister, Jill, planned on taking Isla on a Valentine’s donut date on Tuesday, but it was so, so rainy that she ended up getting donuts and coming to the house. Isla had the best time with her – they locked themselves into the playroom and ate their pink sprinkled donuts together. Sisters are the best! Jill was back over at the house early on Thursday to help us get ready for Emi’s newborn photos. We took them with Courtney Leigh Brown, who is not only the most amazing photographer, but also now a dear friend (who is expecting a baby boy this summer!). I am so excited to see the photos!

On Tuesday, Sasha surprised Isla and I with Valentine’s cards, and he gave me a gorgeous garnet and diamond necklace in honor of Emi’s birth (it’s her birth stone). He gave me pearl earrings for Isla’s birth, and I love having a piece of jewelry as symbols of both my daughters.

We celebrated my birthday by eating brunch at Hungry’s in Rice Village and then had Meredith, Trent, Ivana, Bob and Karine over for game night that evening. We used Favor to get Himalayan food delivered, and Meredith spoiled us, not only with gifts for me, Emi and Isla, but also by bringing cupcakes for everyone. We played Monikers, which is seriously one of my favorite games ever.

We also went and walked the Memorial Park loop with Ivana, and strategized on her new house remodel. I can’t believe that it’s all finalized and that they’ll start work soon! We will end up living only four streets apart once we move into our new house (which, based on the progress, may be never!).

The definite low point of the week was my dad ending up in ICU. He is now in outpatient care and is feeling much better, which is fantastic news. I appreciated all of the texts and calls about his health, and we’re excited that he’ll be back home tomorrow!

I hope you had a wonderful Valentine’s Day and that your week has started off on a good note. xo