For keeps.

I was only six months pregnant at the time, but I couldn't resist buying Felix a Who's Your Daddy doll from Duke & June. I actually got it for for husband for Father's Day. 

Seeing her with her doll now makes me smile. It's one I hope she'll always have. 

(Duke & June now has a blog! Mandi posted about a custom couple order. I'm thinking Felix needs a Who's Your Mama dolly) 

What you should watch + Why I love Twitter.

Last night (with a sleeping baby on my lap) I managed to watch a whole movie with limited interruptions. I just loved Hit & Run! It was hilarious, sweet, and had such a great cast.

I am such a fan of Dax Shepard. Not only is he my favorite Braverman, but I fell in love with him in this movie. And I love him and Kristen Bell together. side note: how cute will their baby be?

My favorite part in Hit & Run was right at the beginning when he tells her to take three deep breaths. I love how they shot that. The close-up of her eyes... swoon.

I enjoyed the movie so much, of course I had to tweet about it. Lovies, you know I adore a good celeb tweet. But this, this was crazy awesome! (even that is a weak description) A reply from DAX SHEPARD this morning:

I immediately called Marianne & Christina to scream about it and I was shaking ha I don't want to gloat (or sound crazy) but it's a pretty sweet tweet right? 

Seriously though, Hit & Run is a fun movie worth your watch. 

Thank-you Dax Shepard for making my whole month xo

8/52

"A portrait of my child once a week, every week, in 2013."

Lately Felix's smiles have been big open mouth ones. I'm going to miss her gummy smile when her teeth come in.

Felix, 23 weeks.


This isn't a baby fashion post by any means, I have to share a little about her outfit details:

As if Fe needed another headband (my Momma makes all of hers) but I couldn't resist buying this one from Little Blue Olive on Etsy. Mustard yellow, a vintage fawn, and glitter? Had my name--and therefore Felix's--all over it! she makes them in adult sizes too and new facebook fans get 15% off.

My blog header onesie is from the ever thoughtful Faiza, Felix bracelet made by my friend Miranda's 9-year-old daughter, and gold shoes from my girl Claire.

The perfect way to celebrate five months.

Lovies, I can't believe I'm a Mama of a five month old. 

Surviving five months means celebrating with french toast, hash browns, and copious amounts of coffee. Coffee that started at 7 a.m. after I nursed Felix in bed. I told my husband I wanted to make coffee so to watch her (at this time he was facing us in bed). I come back to the room to this: 

I had to snap a photo and send it to Claire saying, "This is what my husband calls 'watching' our baby."

It's so nice to go out as a family of three now that Felix is more aware of things. She really wanted a piece of the pecan pie we ordered in her honor (only five months and such attitude! also, she held a fork only for a photo op-- and it was Papa who gave it to her. You shouldn't be surprised... you saw the first photo on this post ha!) 

I love that photo of my husband and Felix's profile. From when she was just a newborn, I could always see my husband's mouth and chin when I looked at Felix. It still takes my breath away when I really think about how amazing it is to give birth to this tiny human who is half you, half your partner. It is a lucky gift for sure. 

She is so much fun at five months. She loves to laugh and smile and she's so curious. Always full of wonder (even when she's staring at the fan like in the above photo).

Felix, I wish I could keep you this age forever!

thrifted for baby.

A little girl can never have too many sailor dresses (and I couldn't resist those wooden hangers)

Sheets for picnics and fort making.

I'm always on the lookout for vintage toys. The squeaky bear was actually a thrifted gift from Auntie Marianne ♥

Floral jacket for when she's a toddler.

Books, always books. The Very Lonely Firefly is one of my favorites.

I wanted a girl so bad, I couldn't resist the bottle candle who sits perfectly next to the fawn candle Erin sent me and vintage blocks from Phoenix.

7/52

"A portrait of my child once a week, every week, in 2013."

I always smile when we get an envelope addressed to Felix Maxham.

"She gets more letters than me," my husband joked as he handed me Saturday's mail.

It's true how lucky she is to be so loved and how I have the best friends.

Felix at 22 weeks with a collage valentine made by this sweet (and always thoughtful) friend. 

Happy Five Months my little Dream Girl! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Since my Baby Valentine woke me up at 2 a.m. and then again at 6 a.m. (Felix hasn't done that in awhile so I was extra sleepy) it was nice to sleep in on our first Valentine's Day as a family of three. 

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have my husband and Felix as my forever Valentines. 

Hope you feel extra loved today lovies!

(also, Happy Birthday to my Ezgi! + how cute is this valentine post ? I'm going to have to print out Reeve's photo with Felix's name for her baby book)

Happy Birthday Robbie Williams!

If you know me, then you know I have loved British singer Robbie Williams since I was 10 and he was in a boyband called Take That. When Felix was born, my sweet friend Faiza sent me the sweetest onesies. She made them after things I loved so naturally there was one of Robbie Williams. I literally gasped when I saw this "itty bitty Robbie Williams fan" onesie. Seriously, I have the best friends!* 

I couldn't wait for this one in particular to fit Fe. What better day to wear it (with a pink tutu & gold shoes of course) than Robbie's birthday?

Felix usually smiles for me but naturally, when I want to be a teeny bopper and tweet a photo to RW, she's like this frog. 

You guys. Look at the image of the cake Robbie posted on his instagram feed. Out of the 1,000 of photos of him, this is the image. I know I sound pretty crazy, but I thought it was kinda neat ;)

 Happy Birthday RW!


*gold shoes from Claire / tutu from Ezgi (headband made by my Momma) Felix is lucky to be so loved!

We Maxham girls are easily entertained.

felix girl from micaela maxham on Vimeo.

What I wouldn't mind getting from my Valentine + THE PERFECT GIFT

(you know, along with a heart-shaped box of  my favorite ferrero rocher chocolates)

The History of Love novel by Nicole Krauss 

NARS Orgasm blush

Pyrite Heart bracelet made by my friend Danielle of Dinosaur Toes

A lacy bra (it's hard to feel sexy when you're forced to wear nursing bras but if I opened a box from my husband and found that pretty? it just might be how I get my groove back) 

This Shanna Murray illustrated decal

A personalized iPhone case with a photo of my baby Valentine from Tiny Prints

(I recently made the switch to iPhone and was searching for the perfect case)

Hello, perfection. This one stands alone because it's actually what my husband ordered for me!!! (I know it's not Valentine's Day yet but we suck at keeping secrets)

I couldn't think of a better gift on our first Valentine's Day as a family of three.  Thank-you Husband. I love you! ♥ 

6/52

"A portrait of my child once a week, every week, in 2013."

Felix at 21 weeks. 

This is how I spent my Friday night.

And I'm okay with it. As I've found out, when you're a Mama you definitely have less time to enjoy reading. This was a hard adjustment because when I love a book, I don't want to put it down. I may be exhausted tomorrow when Felix wakes up at 7 a.m. (or shudder, earlier) but it was worth it to get to read--and finish-- Mindy's book. It is no surprise I loved it.

Because thanks to her show (I know, I didn't watch The Office though I really wanted to), I love her. I want to be her best friend. Even more so now after reading the chapter Best Friend Rights and Responsibilities.

There's a part in her book about marriage that I dog eared. It's kind of sad to share it now because Mindy was talking about Amy Poehler and Will Arnett who have since divorced. Yet, the idea/message (hope) is still one that's powerful:

"I remember at the Parks and Recreation premiere four years ago, Amy was looking for her husband toward the end of the night. She stopped by me and a couple other Office writers who had scammed invites to the party.

Amy: Hey guys. Have you seen Arnett? I can't find him.

We didn't know where he was, and she shook her head good-naturedly, like "That guy," and went on looking for him. I had never heard a woman call her husband by his last name, like she was a player on the same sports team Will was on. You could tell from that small moment that Will and Amy are total pals." 


Made me smile and want to be a better pal to my husband because I love being on the same team. 

Mindy, I love you even more now. You were exactly my kind of Friday night. 

A Portrait A Week.

As if I don't post enough photos of my Felix girl already, I've decided to catch up on this amazing project created by Jodi of Che and Fidel. The idea is simple: 

"A portrait of my child once a week, every week, in 2013." 

1-5 of 52 portraits.

Our Four Month Favorites.

Lovies, I can't believe that on the 17th of this month, I will be the Mama of a five month old. Where has the time gone?! 

A friend of mine just had their first baby, a precious boy named Aiden. I've always loved baby shower shopping but Aiden was the first baby I've shopped for since having Felix. I made sure to get a lot of things that were life savers for Felix and I. I thought I would share some of them here on my dolce vita: 

Anyone else a fan of Infantino's Go Ga Ga line at Target? I love this stroller toy that chimes. Not only is it cute and entertaining, but Felix has already discovered that wooden teething ring.

Felix loves this crinkle book! (case and  point : this photo)

I love these Baby Hand and Face Wipes. I use them all the time now that Felix has discovered her hands, touches everything and puts them in her mouth. Another tip--I also use them on me before nursing.

Besides the swing, I think every parent needs this. While I was in town visiting my parents for Christmas, my friend Ashleigh let us borrow a lot of her son Chase's toys (I don't even want to think about how much harder life would have been without her generous help). One of those items was this play gym. Before Felix learned to grab things on this, she loved kicking and playing the piano. What I love about this play gym is you can adjust the parts three ways. 

This Take Along Carrier Toy Bar was another suggestion Ashleigh gave me that Chase loved. It's only $10 and will keep your baby entertained while in their carseat (the tiger's nose lights up and it plays music). 

This little guy was a Christmas gift from my in-laws. I'll put Felix in her bumbo chair (another favorite this month) and the puppy in front of her. The buttons are really sensitive so she's able to make him sing with her little hands. I can't even tell you how many times you'll hear, "It's learning time!" at our house. 

If you're a Mama, what are some of your favorites/life savers? I'm always looking for tips! 

(our first month favorites here)

Roscoe & Felix.

Kitty is a blog friend that I hope I get to meet someday. I just love her and her adorable son Roscoe (who just turned 1! How cute was his circus themed birthday?). We've exchanged care packages before but it's even more fun now that we are Mamas. Here's a little exchange between our baby pen pals. 

For Christmas, Kitty and Roscoe sent Felix our favorite gifts to get. I mean Madeline on vinyl? Two things I love. Before Felix was born, Kitty sent us the sweet handmade dolly above. She is so beautifully made. As you can see from the photo below, dolly is Felix's PBS watching buddy. 

We found Roscoe's gifts on one of mine and Felix's thrifting dates. I'm always telling Kitty she should have a What Roscoe Wore series because he really is the best dressed little boy I know. I especially love when her blue eyed babe is in a sailor collar. You can imagine how happy I was when I came across this yellow lined one. Yellow is such a happy color so it was perfect for Baby Coco. 

Here he is wearing it during a weekend jam session. LOVE. 

We have the best of friends. We love you Kitty & Roscoe! xo Micaela & Felix