VA is for Lovers.

Tomorrow will be the first time I fly with my husband. Crazy right?

We are taking our baby Maxham to visit her Grandparents over Easter weekend and staying until the third. We'll also spend some time with Chip's sister and her family. We're really excited for Felix to meet her cousins! My mother-in-law bought Felix and cousin Nora (who is three) matching Easter dresses.  :)

So excited to be with family in a beautiful part of the country. I really miss living in Virginia. I'm crossing my fingers that it rains while we're there. Oh how I've missed the rain.

See you when I get back xoxo

(photos taken on a disposable camera while we lived in Lynchburg)

Toys of my childhood.

Now that I have a daughter, I'm always in search of toys of my childhood. How I wish we hadn't moved around a lot when we were younger (our dad was in the Air Force) because we probably would have kept all of our toys. Along with my Jem, She-Ra, Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears and Poochie (ooh and the water ring toss game!) toys, I wish so much I could pass along these childhood favorites to Felix:

Marianne and I had all the Rainbow Brite dolls 

Lite Brite 

Remember the stickers that came with the My Little Pony Dream Castle? And all the different kind of My Little Ponies like the twinkle eyed pony and the petite pony collection.

The original Polly Pocket

Fashion Plates 

Remember these? Its symbol and nails disappear with water. 

Cupcake dolls! Didn't they smell good? 

Wow. Seeing these, brought back so many memories! 

What were some of your favorites? 

A Pretty You & Me bracelet for Felix.

My really good friend Sarah makes beautiful bracelets for her jewelry line, Pretty You & Me. The other day while on a lunch date at our favorite brick oven pizza place, my heart exploded when she handed me a little PY&M bracelet she made just for Felix. 

Just to give you an idea of the mini cuteness, Fe's bracelet is on the left and one of mine is on the right. Sarah even put a sweet deer charm on Felix's. Swoon!

(The sandals she's wearing? How we announced we were having a girl!)

I asked Fe to pose for me and she went Blue Steel. Oh Felix Zoolander, you crack me up.

Sarah, thank-you for the cutest bracelet ever! We are in love with it. I'm thinking you need to definitely start a Pretty You & Me tot line. Felix is already a fan. XO 

12/52.

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

When Felix and I are out and about, perfect strangers stop to sweetly comment that she looks just like a doll. I can't get over it either.

Felix, 27 weeks.

My Last Five.

If you asked me to take down the last five books I've read, these are the ones I'd grab for you from my bookshelf. 

Made me love her even more. I love what she wrote about marriage and being on the same team. 

I've had this one sitting on my shelf for awhile and finally picked it up. This exchange from the beginning sunk me in:

You looked as if you didn't need anyone, she said. 

But those are the ones who need the most, he said. Don't you know that? 

The book is so much better than the movie (though it's beautifully cast). 

I want to hug Anne Lamott. She got me through the trenches of the first weeks of motherhood with her honesty and tenderness. I just passed this one along to a dear friend who might need her now for different reasons, and I hope she feels as I do about this book. 

Hands down, one of my absolute favorites. I could not put this book down. I read it while nursing Felix and I actually looked forward to nursing her because of this book. If you haven't read it yet, READ IT NOW. I will send you my dog eared copy. 

(This is one of those rare gems where the movie is actually as great as the book. They couldn't have picked a better Charlie or Patrick. Please do yourself a favor and read the book, see the movie. I wish I could watch it with you)

“And if the man who once upon a time had been a boy who promised he'd never fall in love with another girl as long as he lived kept his promise, it wasn't because he was stubborn or even loyal. He couldn't help it.”
― Nicole Krauss, The History of Love

I have wanted to read this for so long and finally decided to as a Valentine's treat to myself. I wanted to love it because I waited so long and because I love her husband's novels. And yet. If you've read this, I would love to discuss it with you (because I hate spoilers and fear I would give too much away saying what I didn't like about this book). 

I'm in need of a new read. Any suggestions? What were the last five books you've read?

(another last five post)

11/52.

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

My baby girl is six months today! To celebrate her half birthday, we had Dunkin' Donuts and had her photos taken.

I am still pinching myself that this perfect little tiny being is mine, all mine. How did I get so lucky?

Someone please figure out how to bottle up this sweet baby smell because I want to remember it always. And those big giggles! gosh those giggles.

This evening as we Maxham girls were cuddling before bedtime, I played our song and remembered that magical (and let's be honest, sweetly terrifying!) night we met. I had no idea what I was doing, holding this tiny beautiful baby to my heart. Felix, thank-you for trusting me because I think we're pretty amazing together, you and i.


Dear God, I am so thankful for her. For her laugh. That she is healthy and happy. Thank-you for choosing me as her Mama. I feel so blessed! I am sorry if I don't tell you that enough. Or that I love you.  Love, Micaela xo

I do too.

This mug by The Pot Bank made me giggle. I'm one of those that really wants to like tea. And the first time I ever felt Felix kick--I mean really knew that it was her kicking me with her foot or little hand--was while reading Fifty Shades in a bathtub of bubbles. I'll never forget it or how it made me laugh because it happened while I was reading about sexy BDSM and lusting over a fictional character.

Happy New Week, Lovies! and thank-you everyone for the sweet birthday messages here, FB, IG and Twitter.

Speaking of Twitter, Marianne, this mug is so you!

Claire and Christina, am I right or what? ha

10/52.

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

My family and close friends call me Mickey. You can imagine how excited I was when I found these Mickey Mouse overalls on our last thrifting adventure. 

Look at those pointed feet! 

Felix, 25 weeks. I can't believe we have a half year old baby. 

Happy Birthday Twinkie Soul!

Happy Birthday to my twin sister Marianne who turned 29 five minutes after me. TWENTY-NINE. Our last year in our 20's. 

Since I can't be next to my wombmate for this year's celebration, I can't think of a better way to celebrate than eating Indian food (my favorite) with my little family. I will tell my daughter that when I blow out my birthday candles--I believe in those wishes--this year I won't have to wish for a sweet baby to love. 

I might throw in how I will never forget the joy and utter surprise on her Grandma's face when I placed Fe's sonogram photo in my Momma's hands. Now that was an unforgettable birthday. 

Of course Fe wanted to say Happy Birthday to her favorite Auntie herself, wearing her Angels onesie just for the occasion. 

*Mama Two is what the Nurses called Marianne at the hospital when Felix was born. 

Happiest Birthday Twinkie Soul! We love you so very much xo

Why go anywhere else than Etsy?

Etsy really is my go-to place for any occasion that calls for a gift. I thought I would share my last couple of purchases that went out to sweet friends. 

To me, nothing is better than handmade. I believe in sharing Etsy shops where I wanted to hug the shop owners in person. I love when they go that extra mile-- like when you tell them it's a gift going directly to the recipient and ask if they could include your note. Not only will they gladly do that, but they'll put it on pretty paper. Things like that make me want to recognize these shops (and again, hug their owners!) and always want to buy from Etsy. 

For Christmas, I sent Lauren a plush Narwhal (two things she loves) from Pink Chocolate. Chanel makes her plushies by hand and without a pattern. Because of that, I couldn't believe how reasonable the prices were for great handmade quality. 

For our friend Phoenix's birthday, my twin sister Marianne and I purchased this beautiful embroidered pillow from Sincerely Micah. Phoenix's husband calls her bunny so we thought this pretty would be perfect for their home. 

Remember my ornament swap? (the one I swore I would post a showcase about and then motherhood happened? I promise to showcase them in November during sign-ups. Ugh forgive me!) Christine was so understanding when her swap partner had something come up and wasn't able to send her something in time. I wanted to surprise Christine, just like when she made these ornaments for me. I sent her this cute vintage Santa ornament from Sweetgyrl and Pops.

I asked Anne (the shop owner) if she would include a note for me and look at the notecard Anne sweetly printed it on. 

For our future sister-in-law's birthday in January, Marianne and I played detective and surprised Christina with this open back yoga top that was in her Etsy favorites. Sexy for her 30th birthday and practical since she's a yogi. It's from Lychee Grove where you can find handmade, hand dyed fitness/loungewear apparel.  

Another Etsy and shop owner to love is Maria of Minimalista Clothing. Marianne and I sent this Frida Kahlo onesie to our friend Jessy, who just had her first baby, a beautiful girl named Frida. Maria included our note on her pretty stationary. 

It's these little touches that make me want to shop handmade always. 

Don't get me wrong, I love me some Target. But when it comes to getting something for a one of a kind friend, they deserve something one of a kind.

What was your last purchase(s) from Etsy? (even if it was a gift for yourself, I wanna know!) I'm always on the lookout for new Etsy shops to love. 

I love my new glasses (thank-you Firmoo!)

I have horrible eyes. I remember being in fourth grade and trying my hardest to squint to read the chalkboard, embarrassed to put on the round speckled glasses in my back pack. I wish I could hug my panicked fourth grade self and tell her one day all the cool kids will be wearing glasses (some, even, with perfect eye sight!) so why not start the fashion trend now? Alas.

Having horrible eyes now means I have quite the collection of glasses. My latest pair? I am in love! and wanted to share all about the company I got them from--incase you're like me and are blind blind blind, want fashionable glasses but don't want to pay hundreds. Lovies, Firmoo. They had me at "F-Designer Glasses" on the homepage. 

What's neat about Firmoo is its virtual try-on system. I have always wanted a pair of black full frame glasses but wasn't sure if I could pull off that look. Since I was able to upload a photo of myself through the virtual try-on system, it helped me decide on this pair. 

I was so excited when they found their way into my mailbox! I love them. As a first time Mama, some days I just don't feel like getting out of my pjs before noon-- let alone mess with contacts. I haven't stopped wearing these Firmoo glasses since I got them in the mail last Wednesday. Even Felix approves of them!

The frames are light weight but sturdy (well made) and Firmoo has given me my dream of owning a pair of nerdy oversized frames. Need glasses? Firmoo has launched a First Pair Free program-- all you do is pay shipping.

You will fall in love with Firmoo's fashionable designs (so many to choose from!), quality, fast delivery/excellent customer service, and most importantly to me-- affordable prices for prescription and non-prescription lenses. 

Thank-you Firmoo for giving me this pair free to review (all opinions expressed are my own).

I truly love my new pair of glasses and would recommend this particular pair to anyone. Even if this style is out of your comfort zone, it's risk free so why not give it a try? Plus, we can be glasses twins!

9/52.

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

As your Mama I may be biased, but gosh Felix Maxham you sure are pretty. I must have done something right in my life for you to be mine forever.

The other day my husband was watching our daughter while I showered. When I was getting ready to nurse her, I came into the room where he was holding her and her face just lit up. Best yet, she flapped her arms when I came near to pick her up (which I translated to the beginnings of her reaching up for me). You guys, it was such a joyful moment for me that I will never forget.

Felix, you are my biggest fan and it's the loveliest feeling in the world. Always reach for me sweet baby because I will always be there. 

Felix, 24 weeks.