Brown + Black

shirt: Discount Fashion Warehouse (Victoria's Secret brand), denim jacket: Old Navy, skirt: thrifted, shoes: Target

I think I've crossed over from occasionally pairing brown and black together, to making it a pretty constant combination. It's likely inspired more by the fact that these shoes are a really comfortable summer favorite that live in the convenient spot of the shoe rack near the garage door rather than being inspired by any style preferences, but I'm ok with that in this season of life. Incorporating more than one item in an outfit with brown in it makes me feel like the pairing is a little more intentional instead of like I just grabbed the wrong shoes in the dark. This necklace from The Jones Market provides that balance for me in this outfit. It's been a recent favorite of mine!  It matches everything, pretty to look at, and safe for Jacob to get his hands on so it's the one piece of jewelry besides my rings that don't have to come off the second I walk in the door at the end of the day. 

Linking up with Tucker Up, Cappuccino and Fashion, Book of Leisure, Classy Yet Trendy, The Pleated Poppy...

Jacob: 8 Months

We're almost hitting the 9 month mark, but I didn't want to completely skip the 8 month update, so here we go...

Nicknames:

Mostly nugget or nug.

Weight/Height:
21.8 pounds (90th percentile) / 29 inches (95th percentile, although after a recent trip at the doctor he measured I think closer to 28.5 so we were a little off)

Things we can't live without:

It's so silly that I can't think of anything that's been a lifesaver, but we're planning a trip and it's making me realize how much harder it would be to function without a crib, a high chair, his fan and white noise machine he's used to, etc.

Things he likes: 

Now that he's so good at sitting up we don't use the Jumperoo as much, instead letting him sit on the floor with his toys. The classic stacker toy and bucket of the different shaped blocks have been his go to, just more for waving around and chewing on. The kid also loves all tags so he's always on the look out for any that are within his reach. 

Things he dislikes:

Just about when he hit the 8 month mark he went through this phase of waking up multiple times and being really tough to get back to sleep, and he went on a bottle strike at daycare and was picky with food. It was a guessing game each day at daycare to figure out what he decided he actually like that day. The only benefit this exhausted momma came up with from that whole experience is that I went from 5 ounces of frozen milk to probably closer to 50 stashed away! Also, he's not a fan of the pacifier anymore, which I'm more than ok with. 

Favorite characteristics:

Such a happy baby! He's definitely not stingy with the smiles, unless it's when I drop him off at daycare in the morning then I often get the straight faced stare. :)

Milestones:

He's so much better at sitting up on his own, there's hardly any wobbling anymore! He's also on the move, with a cute little upright bounce/scoot trick. We're also starting to try some finger foods. So far the dude loves his puffs and will go for little pieces of pasta. And teeth! The bottom two have officially made their appearance. 

Since I've Been Gone

tee: Sam's Club, pants & necklace: Target, shoes: Old Navy

I have the quiet around here to blame on the usual excuse of the demands of being a full time working momma not leaving much time or energy for this little hobby blog of mine, but after rebounding from a particularly challenging several weeks of parenthood that resulted in a lot of lost sleep I'm feeling better and wanting to reconnect with this space. In terms of outfit selection, you really haven't missed much. I'm beginning to think that if you just gave me a black tee for every day of the week I'd be completely happy just pairing them with different bottoms and accessories. But for fun, I thought I'd share some things that have happened since I last blogged:

I gave up dairy...

This actually happened back in May and I'm truthfully pretty surprised I've stuck with it for the most part. Jacob had really itchy and rashy skin and I'm still nursing him so eliminating dairy was a little bit of an experiment. His skin almost entirely cleared up so I'd say there's a good chance the dairy was the culprit. After about a month I started experimenting with eating products made out of either goat or sheeps milk and I've been able to do that with no problem. Thank goodness for Trader Joe's and their cherry chocolate chip soy ice cream for saving my summer! :)

I started running again...

I signed up for a half marathon in October and it was finally time to stop mentally blocking out that fact. It's still a bit sporadic and the distances or times are nothing impressive but the comeback feels good. Since I started back up I've had a lot more energy throughout the day which is a huge added bonus.

We committed to our first trip as a family of 3...

Plane tickets are booked and we're spending a week out in California to visit family next month. I can't decide what I'm more nervous about - how Jacob will behave on a cross country flight or about the logistics of traveling with everything needed for a baby. I'm trying to let that go and just let the excitement of taking our first vacation in almost 2 years take over instead!

These pants fit...

This feels like a really big deal so I had to include. Have you ever bought a pair of pants on clearance without trying them on because they're your size and you're sure they'll fit, and then they don't? That was what happened with the pants pictured in this post several years ago. Like so many years ago I can't remember when and my pack rat ways prevented me from ever getting rid of them. I decided to try them on again and they actually fit! Thank you nursing and thank you baby for preventing me from having the time and energy to drink my calories or snack the evening away. I had gained some weight before I got pregnant and it feels good to have that be gone, but I've got this fear that it'll one day soon very easily return. Always a struggle!

Tomorrow I have a post to talk about what Jacob has been up to in the 8 month update now that he's closer to 9 months. You know, right on time. ;)