Travel – Page 6 – Snapshots & My Thoughts by Ailee Petrovic

Personal August 5, 2014

Life in Durango & Isla’s Two Month Anniversary

Our first week in Durango was very go-go-go. We’ve gotten into more of a routine by the point, which helps this feel more like home. We’ve established local restaurant favorites – Himalayan Kitchen, Grassburger, Durango Coffee Company, and Cream Bean Berry – and had a schedule for exercise, feeding, sleeping, “working,” etc. Isla is growing by the second – I wish we knew her exact weight, because I feel like she’s doubled in size in the last 8 weeks. She celebrated her two month anniversary on Monday, August 4. I cannot believe it. She is super smiley, gurgles all day long, wants to be “standing” all the time, still spits up everywhere after eating (see bottom photo), does not enjoy tummy time except for the first 1-2 minutes, and is very used to having a camera in her face. Isla’s gassiness is much better now that I’ve cut out all dairy (i.e. become a vegan – ohmygosh I miss cheese!). Her (okay, my) favorite books are Snuggle Puppy and Oh Baby, Go Baby. She is finally getting used to taking a bottle, but I am not a huge fan of pumping! Isla went on her first hike and slept through the entire adventure (typical!). She loves, and I mean loves, sleeping in the BabyBjorn carrier. We are doing CIO (ah!) and had her fall asleep without a peep the last two nights (praying it stays that way!). We’re still learning lots and lots every day. We love her to pieces.

I put together two short videos: here and here

Lastly, the Trumpette giveaway winner is Caron B! Congratulations!

Sasha’s special feeding time // Bloomers by Baby Grace // Happy little Isla

Mesmerized by the sun – I need to get her in some shades quickly

It’s hard to tell, but that onesie was covered in spit up minutes before these photos were taken

Finally taking a bottle – this is a huge accomplishment and relief to me after much resistance

Sleepy girl in my favorite J. Crew onesie // Working on tummy time // Her signature Zoolander look

Our first baby is loving Colorado (perhaps the most!)

After every feeding, Sasha tries to teach Isla to stand – he seems to think this is a requirement at 2 months… crazy man

If Sasha wakes up first, Isla will be wearing her UT onesie

Sasha’s dad drove from Texas (16 hours) for TWO days!

Getting ready for a MAM pacifier giveaway (coming soon!)

I love Baby Gap so much – this dress is one of my favorites

Two months already? How is this happening?

This face is a regular

I couldn’t get enough as you can tell!

Little Miss-chievous Isla

Working hard on that tummy time

Some iPhone snapshots

Braving dinners out on the town with this little unpredictable one – Grassburger is our favorite

Sasha’s hardcore strength training is beginning to work // And that is his repayment // My favorite face in the world

Personal July 25, 2014

Highlights of Week One in Durango

We’ve been in Durango for just over a week now, and we are loving it. Sasha said to me yesterday, “You realize the most important and stressful decision we make all day is what we’re going to eat for dinner.” I laughed – but it’s true. We go on about four to five walks a day, as my parents live within 5 minutes of the grocery store, Main Street where all of the restaurants and shops are, Animas River, and mountain trails. My Nike Fuel Band is back in action! I wrote a Durango Travel Guide post last year, but I definitely have to update it after trying many new restaurants, juice bars and ice cream shops. I’ve put together an assortment of photos from our first week – as you can tell, I’ve been very trigger happy as of late.

What are your summer plans?

PS Happy birthday, Mum and Karine!

Isla flew from Houston to Denver to Durango and slept through every second of it (thank you, Lord!)

Walking to Durango Joe’s for morning coffee with the whole Petrovic family

Hiking and biking (while the grandparents were here to babysit!)

I finally found a bow that is semi-appropriately sized for a newborn – and a tutu dress from my sweet co-workers!

Celebrating our one year anniversary — with dinner and on a raft!

My favorite bow romper from Paola (I love Janie and Jack!) and our romantic rooftop anniversary dinner

Staring at that face all day and praying she always wants to hold my hand

Geared up for a day on the water (another Paola gift!) and a wet pup from lots of Animas River swimming

Isla’s new nap place – the BabyBjorn – and a tired tanner in her Baby Gap swimsuit from Erin

Navajo State Park adventures with the whole family (Isla slept through the entire experience)

A sneak peak of Isla’s newborn photos from Taylor Lord and I’ve finally sent all of the birth announcements!

Father-daughter bonding moments that make me heart melt

Hamming it up – and wearing her UT apparel! Girl’s gonna be a Longhorn fan, for sure

Baby July 1, 2014

Carter’s Footed Onesies

Isla has mixed feelings about bath time. We bathe her around 5:45pm, then feed her from 6-6:45 every night. She’s typically pretty fussy leading up to the bath, but when that diaper comes off, it’s wail time. Once she’s physically in the warm water, she’s happy as can be, but when she leaves the heat and is back in the air conditioned bathroom, she loses her marbles. I’ve learned that the fastest way to soothe her is to put her immediately in a warm, footed onesie – something we didn’t have many of when she was born. Her entire newborn-sized wardrobe went from about 4 onesies to nearly 14 outfits, and is expanding this week by a number of Carter’s “pjs,” as we’ll need them when we head to Durango in a few weeks (still cool at night!). She is growing quickly, and I imagine she won’t be in the newborn clothing for many more weeks, so I ordered some 0-3 month sizes too. I love Carter’s clothing – almost as much as Baby Gap! Her new outfits are below – my favorite is the floral footed onesie on the bottom left. Which do you like the most?

Top Row: 1 // 2 // 3

Middle Row: 1 // 2 // 3

Bottom Row: 1 // 2 // 3

International June 12, 2014

Bucket List: Famous Landmarks

If you’ve been following Snapshots and My Thoughts for any length of time now, you’ll now that I love to travel. I have an extensive list of places I’m dying to go and visit – Sasha tells me that I “need to pump my breaks,” because I’m already planning an international trip for us three in December, and he thinks it’s a bad idea to take a 6 month old out of the country. We’ll see! I am not a list-checker when I travel, but there are some iconic landmarks I’m dying to see – see below. Have you been to any of these? If so, I will be asking for advice on what to do and see. Machu Picchu is probably at the top of that list! I’ve been very fortunate and have ticked-off quite a few of my ‘to-sees’ in the last few years (pictures below). Of all these places, Sydney, Istanbul and Paris were definitely my favorites.

As the adage goes, ‘not all who wander are lost…‘

Great Wall of China

Beijing, China

Machu Picchu

Peru

Cristo Redentor

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Giza Pyramid and Great Sphinx

Cairo, Egypt

St. Basil’s Cathedral

Moscow, Russia

Taj Mahal

Agra, India

The Colosseum

Rome, Italy

Stonehenge

Wiltshire, England

Petra

Jordan

Milford Sound

New Zealand

Newgrange

Dublin, Ireland

Some iconic landmarks that I have visited – and would love to see again! These travels have taken place mainly over the past 6 years – I don’t have many older pictures on my computer. I would love to give suggestions on any of these places if you’re traveling there!

Table Mountain

Cape Town, South Africa

Sydney Opera House

Sydney, Australia

Eiffel Tower

Paris, France

Mont St. Michel

France

Tirta Empul Temple

Bali, Indonesia

Statue of Liberty

New York, New York

Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco, California

Grand Canyon

Arizona

Iguazu Falls

Argentina/Brazil Border

The Parthenon/Acropolis

Athens, Greece

The Blue Mosque

Istanbul, Turkey

Devrent Valley (or Imagination Valley)

Cappadocia, Turkey

El Obelisco

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Big Ben

London, England

Want to track your worldly travels? Try Wolpy – it’s free and I love it!

Décor June 3, 2014

The Most Beautiful Wall Paper Collection

It’s time to redo the entire house. Okay, so there’s no way Sasha would buy that, given that we freshly painted every room 12 months ago, but the Rifle Paper Co. wall paper collection for Hygge & West just launched, and I’m utterly obsessed. I truly thought about how each print would fit in one room or another in The Manor – I love the safari print for Isla’s room? Maybe an accent wall? And we could totally redo one of the bathrooms with the pineapples! How fun is that print? And I need the peonies in our laundry room. What do you think of the collection?