Five years ago today, our sweet Isla was born. Time has truly flown by. It feels like yesterday, I was holding her for the first time at the hospital. And just then, I blinked and she was one. Soon after, she turned two, then it was three, and last year, she became our big four year old.
Sasha and I always talk about how proud we are of this not-so-little girl of ours. She constantly worries about others’ feelings and their happiness. Yesterday, she asked if she could have a piece of gum (her favorite special treat!), and asked if I wanted a piece too. I said “Yes,” but when she went to the pantry, there was only one piece left. I told her she could have it to herself, but she refused and bit it into two pieces. It’s a silly anecdote, but it’s a very real representation of how she is always thinking of others.
Last Sunday afternoon, my incredibly sweet and talented friend, Courtney, came over to photograph our newly expanded family. These are my favorite photos ever. Courtney perfectly captured all of the love Sasha and I feel towards our girls, and the doting obsession Isla and Emilia have towards their baby sister, Georgie. The sunshine was streaking in through the windows, and it was just a really happy, stress-free photo session. Courtney photographed us in our element, and I love that her work does that. I have never been more filled with joy in my whole life, and I am so grateful to have a friend there documenting these early days of Georgie’s life. She sent us over 150 images, and I had the hardest time narrowing it down to the 96 you see below. It’s totally photo overload, but I just loved them all so much. Without further ado, here are the first photos of the Petrovic family of five.
Special thanks to Megan of Megan Hermis Interiors for all of her help with this room! I truly could not have done it without her. If you’re looking for a designer in the Houston area, I highly recommend you contact Megan!
I am so excited to share photos of Georgie’s nursery on the week of her impending arrival! I was very anxious to get started on this room before we moved in, but it was hard to visualize the space and colors from the rug (which I’d fortunately ordered months earlier because it was sold out by the time we moved!) until it was setup in the room. So once we got into the house, Megan Hermis came over, and we got started very quickly! As soon as she showed me the Block & Brayer fabric to reupholster the glider that both girls had used, I knew it was a must. I adore that fabric and how it looks on our West Elm Graham Glider. We looked at a ton of gorgeous fabrics that she had picked out, then narrowed down our favorites for the crib sheet, bumper, day bed, etc. I had never ordered custom textiles or furniture for the other girls, and gosh, 2-day shipping spoils you – but it was definitely worth the wait for the curtains, sheets, glider, bed, and pillows. With the good natural light and high, wood paneled cathedral ceiling, this room is definitely a favorite of mine in the house. I cannot wait to spend hours and hours with Georgie in it very soon.
I also want to thank two ladies who helped make this room extra special – Leslie of Blue Bamboo Embroidery and Sarah of By George Baby Boutique. I met up with Leslie for the first time at a local Starbucks, and we had the best chat – then she quickly sent me mockups of the world’s sweetest monograms for a pillow on the glider. I chose the ‘G’ and couldn’t be happier with how it looks! And Sarah, where do I start? I’ve had By George Baby Boutique goods since Isla was a baby! Sarah did a custom crib sheet, Boppy cover and changing pad cover all to perfectly match the colors in the room. I adore her!
Without further ado, here are sources for the room with tons of photos below (the girls weren’t home when I took them, but Belle managed to sneak into a few!).
The first draft of this post had “Happy First Birthday, Emilia!” as the title. The photos all have file names “Emi First Birthday Photos XYZ.” I am clearly in denial that my baby (soon-to-be middle child!) is two years old. I want to freeze time to let her sing to me and tell me stories in her sweet little voice all day long.
Her favorite song is Happy Birthday to You! She also loves Twinkle Twinkle and the Finger Family (seriously…). She knows her ABCs, but her favorite part is “Now I know my ABCs, next time won’t you sing with me?” She gets to the end, yells, “YAY!” then claps for herself proudly. She can count to 20, but will most often get to about 13 then yell, “POOP!” because it makes her sister laugh, and therefore, she thinks it’s the best joke ever.
Emi is a mama’s girl through and through… exhaustingly so at times (or almost always these days!). It will be interesting to see how she adjusts to Georgie’s arrival because she adores babies (she has about 13 baby dolls, but still that’s not enough! Ha!) but is very demanding of my attention. She still wants me to hold her all day every day. By the time I get to the top of the stairs carrying her now, I feel like I’ve just run a marathon.
She loves matching her sister, which makes Isla’s hand-me-downs semi-irrelevant (but she wears them anyway!). She is not recognized around the house for her amazing ability to share (especially when the item is snatched from her from her big sis!), but if she retaliates at all, she is very quick to say, “SOWWY!”
Emi wakes up around 6:45 with a loud, “MAMA! EMI HUNGY! MAMA! EMI EAT WAFFLES!” or “MAMA! MAMEE! MAMO! WHERE ARE YOU!?” She must eat right away – and I can’t even toast the waffle because she’s that “hungy” that she needs it frozen. Strange but true!
She loves playing with baby dolls, coloring (on my furniture – it’s her specialty), riding her Strider bike, watching Umizoomi or Super Why, and playing hide and seek with her sister. She calls Isla “Iwa” unless she’s yelling for her, in which case she says, “SEESTER!”
Emi is strong-willed but gentle. She loves to snuggle more than anything. Isla was never a snuggly toddler, so it’s a big change for us. She lets me carry her like a baby, and when I do, she immediately says, “GOO GOO GA GA!” Pray for us with this next baby, y’all. Ha!
She is most often called Emi, but when she’s in trouble, it’s always Emilia. Her other nicknames are Emilia Bedilia, Emi Girl, and The Goose. When she’s on the run, it’s “THE GOOSE IS LOOSE!”
Emi loves picking out which shoes she is going to wear, which is basically why they never match her outfit. She loves all boots and tragically, these Paw Patrol Crocs that Sasha bought (and I need to hide).
I love her to pieces and kiss her cheeks all day long. Despite moments of extreme toddler-ness, she’s as sweet as they come, all huggy and kissy, and melts me every time she says, “I WUV YOU, MAMA.”
I took some photos of her this past weekend at Centennial Gardens. I love that I captured her playfulness, sense of wonder, and even her cheesy, cheesy smile. Happy second birthday to my baby!
Only now, after spending a week here, do I understand the obsession people have with 30A Rosemary Beach. If you drive around Houston and pay attention, you will see a ton of cars with the iconic 30A bumper sticker. I might be ordering one on our drive home tomorrow, ha! When I mentioned on Instagram that we were traveling to this Florida beach, I was flooded with recommendations (which I’ll share in a separate travel guide post!). The food, the shops, the houses – all amazing. But the BEACH – it’s unreal. Crystal blue, calm-as-can-be water. The first day we arrived, we went down to the house, but were all coughing and sneezing within a few minutes. It turns out, there was a red tide in the area, which made the beach unenjoyable. Fortunately, it was much less severe the next day and completely gone by our third morning. We spent some time at the pool (Barbados) and splashpad (in Alys Beach) while we were waiting for the beach to clear. Beside that, we were beach-bound morning and afternoon every day.
We were here with our best friends, Matt and Paige, and their two kiddos – Ellery (4.5) and Barrett (14 mo). They’re so similarly aged to our girls, and for the most part, everyone got along swimmingly! Ha. To be expected with four-nagers, right? We honestly had the best time, and I’m already mentally planning a trip back next year (with an 8 month old baby P in tow!).
For our stay, we rented the Amsler Cottage on VRBO. I couldn’t envision a better rental property. We loved it. I definitely want to stay in the same house next year. I am going to share more details on the rental during my travel guide post.
Last night, we snuck down to the beach right before sunset and took a few photos of each other’s families (thank you, Paige!!). We were hurrying to get ready and then were immediately covered in sweat – but so glad we took these special pictures to commemorate our friend/family trip. Those, as well as the 100+ other photos! Ha. I narrowed them down as much as I could, but am still sharing a zillion below! More details to come about 30A very soon.
