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Isla’s First Christmas with Carter’s: Family Photos (Giveaway)

My absolute favorite time of the year is the holiday season. Halloween gives way to Thanksgiving, which means Christmas is right around the corner. I get giddy when lights start to be strung on trees in the neighborhood and when wreaths and ornaments begin to adorn shops across the city. There is so much joy in this season, and I am incredibly excited for Isla to celebrate her first Christmas.

We have many family traditions associated with Christmas, and this week, I’m going to share all of them, including our annual family photo, Christmas Eve candlelight church service, opening stockings in our PJs on Christmas morning, getting dressed up to open presents under the tree, and then lounging around after a festive lunch and playing with our gifts.

As I mentioned here, my family has taken family photos for the last 18 years (ever since we moved to Texas from Scotland). We take them every November to use for our annual Christmas card, as well as to be framed around the house. I knew that as soon as Sasha and I had babies, we would keep the tradition alive as well. We were lucky enough to have our pictures taken by the very talented Paige Budde of Awake Photography.  I am so pleased with how they turned out and highly recommend her to anyone living in Texas (she’s based in Houston, too!).

One of the most important decisions when it comes to family photos is everyone’s outfits. For this year’s photos, I chose a red French Connection dress and Sasha wore a J. Crew button-down and khakis. After picking our outfits, Isla was next. Thankfully, Carter’s offers classic styles and coordinated looks that are perfect for family photos, so I had the best selection of pretty dresses to choose from in their Holiday Collection (think lots of bright plaids and colorful patterns). I had the hardest time picking just one, but knew that too many outfit changes would result in a not-so-happy Isla. I decided on the classic Rosette and Lace dress in ivory, as it was a neutral color which was easy for Sasha and I to complement with our outfit choices. Since it was chilly outside, I put on these sweet Glitter Bow Tights and kept her feet warm in little sparkly gold shoes. Both Isla and I wore matching floral crowns by the very talented Jess Hamilton.

Carter’s has a ton of great options for siblings too – both their girl and boy selections are adorable. My favorite choices for little boy’s outfits are the Poplin Plaid Bodysuit with Jeans and the Jersey Henley Tee with Twill Pants.

In celebration of Isla’s first Christmas, I’m partnering with Carter’s to give one lucky individual a $100 Carter’s gift card, as well as one of the outfits (boy or girl) featured during the week-long series. Enter the giveaway below (so many entry options) to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Make sure to visit Snapshots and My Thoughts again tomorrow to see more sweet photos of Isla, and good luck with the giveaway! 

Awake Photography Isla Christmas Carter's Giveaway Holiday Collection Family Photo Inspiration Floral Crown BabyAwake Photography Isla Christmas Carter's Giveaway Holiday Collection Family Photo Inspiration Floral Crown BabyAwake Photography Isla Christmas Carter's Giveaway Holiday Collection Family Photo Inspiration Floral Crown BabyAwake Photography Isla Christmas Carter's Giveaway Holiday Collection Family Photo Inspiration Floral Crown Baby

Week in Review

It’s truly unbelievable that this past weekend was the last in October! Halloween is coming quickly, and Isla is totally ready to bust out her fruity costume (I am too!). The weather in Houston was low 80’s all weekend, so we were outside almost all day long on Saturday and Sunday.

Sasha and I went to my dad’s new office on Tuesday and had lunch (Ruggles Green, of course) with him and his secretary, Dottie. It was so nice to see them both, and Dad got to show Isla off to his co-workers.

Other highlights from the week include:

  • Discovering Isla’s new favorite giggle-inducer (beats peek-a-boo) – the sock monster!
  • After many failed recipes this week, making an ‘Everything Bar’ that is amazing (recipe to come soon!)
  • Isla learning to sleep on her stomach – we had three long weeks of her rolling over and crying until we flipped her back!
  • Singing one of my very favorite worship songs at church on Sunday
  • Many long walks in the beautiful weather, our favorite being a house-hunt around the neighborhood and to Memorial Park
  • Taking Isla to Catalina Coffee (best in Houston) for the first time!
  • Lunching with sweet Kevin for the second time – at Ruggles Green (photo below – isn’t adorable)
  • Running with Isla for the first time in her Baby Jogger Summit X3 Stroller (I was so nervous and fully padded the area near her head – total new mom move)
  • Tying Isla’s hair in a tiny little pony tail for the first time (photographic evidence below)
  • Trying out a new local restaurant – Fajita Pete’s, as they actually have veggie fajitas, which is surprisingly so rare for a Mexican restaurant

DSC_0271Little grins make my day

Isla Loves: Honest Co. Shampoo & Body Wash (Giveaway)

As I mentioned before in this previous ‘Isla Loves’ post, we love the Honest Co. Their diapers are absolutely adorable and getting them delivered to our doorstep is such a godsend. If you’re not using them already, I highly recommend that you sign up to get the premium diapers and wipes for less than $20 a week from Honest.com.

Not only do we use Honest Co. diapers and wipes, we also use the Shampoo and Body Wash. Sasha takes bath duties every night, and the two of them have a grand old time in her bathroom (lots and lots of giggles). Isla wriggles all over, and gets the suds in her eyes and is not bothered one bit. We love how soft it makes her hair and skin feel too – and the sweet vanilla-y smell is a plus.

The Shampoo and Body Wash only costs $9.95 for a 8.5 oz bottle, and it lasts for ages. I highly recommend you buy it, or… enter the giveaway below!

IslaHonest1

Week in Review

Whew – what a week! It ended on a rather low point – mastitis (again!). Mastitis is a breast tissue infection that, quite frankly, sucks. I had it for the first time 6 days after Isla was born (on Sasha’s birthday!). This time, I was able to identify it early, as I knew those flu-like symptoms weren’t the flu! Thankfully, we got medicine very quickly and started the antibiotics, and I’m feeling much better.

Besides mastitis, the week was wonderful. Kirby, one of my best friends, was in town for a wedding, so we got to spend most of the day together on Friday and had a quick little visit on Sunday. Sweet Lillian is just gorgeous! See photos of their last two play adventures here and here.

Other highlights include:

How was your week? Tell me about it in the comments!

islaweekThe sass.DSC_0911Ugh, over this.

Isla Loves: Dr. Brown’s (Giveaway)

One of the things an experienced mom will tell you when it comes to bottle feeding a baby is that you need to have a number of different bottle brands for your little one to try, as the silicone nipples are different shapes and sizes and you don’t know to which your baby will take. We bought three brands, and Isla would only drink from her Dr. Brown’s bottles – specifically the pink Natural Flow ones. The internal vent system works to mimic a mother’s breast production (watch this video), and the only negative thing I have to say about these bottles would be that I couldn’t figure out how to assemble it the first time (total new-mom-brain!). We were also gifted the Dr. Brown’s bottle warmer at one of my showers and love it. It’s small, easy to store in a kitchen cabinet and quick to heat up a bottle for a hungry baby.

Dr. Brown’s kindly sent me a few other products to try, and I have to genuinely tell you… I’m a serious brand lover now. Isla absolutely loved the PreVent Contour Shield Pacifier. The contoured surface makes it easy for Isla to keep the paci in her mouth. I love all of the colors and designs that the pacifiers come in too.dr. brown's bottle pacifiers gia pillow nursing breastfeeding wipes review baby girl