Seven Month Favorites

A few faves for Ella's seventh month of life!

umbrella stroller / blanket / sun shade / cart cover

1. Umbrella stroller: I caved and got an umbrella stroller for the sole purpose of bringing it to UNC games (you are allowed to bring a stroller into the stadium if it will fit under your seat....something our original stroller was not even close to being capable of!). I wish I had gotten it sooner!! It is SO lightweight and easy to maneuver, it has become my go to stroller that permanently stays in the trunk of my car! Travis wanted to know why we had to get such an expensive one, and why we didn't just "go to Walmart and pick out one with Disney characters on it"? Well, no offense if that's what you have, but I tried out a whole bunch of umbrella strollers at Buy Buy Baby and a lot of them felt super cheap and like they were about to fall apart (even the cheaper Uppababy umbrella stroller)! Plus this one reclines and is such a pretty color (which is obviously all that really matters). 

2. Blanket: This blanket is the bomb.com It was perfect for the beach...and then I fell even more in love when we took it tailgating! Ella's bf spilled mimosas all over it (he didn't have any to drink, no worries!) and it wiped off magically! Plus, it can go in the washing machine, and it folds up into a nice little package!

3. Sun shade: Ella lived in this thing when we were at the pool! I love that it is shaded too, so I don't have to worry about her being in the sun for too long. 

4. Cart cover: You've probably noticed this thing popping up in a lot of my weekly recap pictures! This particular one is great because it's big enough to fit on the ginormous Target shopping carts!

Pop up animal toy / blocks / tumble top

1. Pop up animal toy: They had one of these at the YMCA and it kept Ella from crying for about 3 minutes, so I had to get her one! She hasn't figured out how to make the animals pop up yet, but she does know how to slam them down!

2. Blocks: These are awesome because they each do something different (crinkle, rattle, etc.), plus they are soft and easy to clean. Ella loves to chew on them as well!

3. Tumble top: I didn't even know what this was until Ella grabbed it at a consignment sale. It was $1.75, and let me tell you, that was the best $1.75 I've ever spent! You just push the top and the little balls inside pop and spin around...so simple, but my child would be entertained for hours by this thing. It is also very durable and held up to Ella's bf slamming it on the ground. :)

And because it's back to school time, here are a few of our favorite books:

Goodnight Owl / The Very Hungry Caterpillar / Hug-a-Bible / The Going to Bed Book

1. Goodnight Owl: Of course I love anything owls and this is a great bedtime story!

2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar: A classic. I love pretty much anything Eric Carle, but this one takes the cake.

3. Hug-a-Bible: My grandparents gave this to Ella at her baptism, and she likes to hold it because it's cover is so soft. It has cute little poems for the more popular Bible stories (David and Goliath, Noah's ark, etc.) and makes the minister's daughter in me feel better when we can't make it to church!

4. The Going to Bed Book: I love Sandra Boynton books, and this one is especially funny and cute!

Life with Ella {week 31}

{similar top and jeggings}

Here's a look at our past week!

Monday was Labor Day, and my parents were still visiting, so naturally this happened:

{flag dress}

That evening we had our friends, including Ella's BF over for a BBQ! Things got a little racy when Ella decided to take her dress off. (I didn't want her dinner to end up on those smocked flags!)

Ella also helped her dad with his fantasy football draft!

On Tuesday, we hit up Whole Foods...

{romper}

...and then Ella had her very first modeling experience! Like, real modeling, not just for me! :) 

It was for Sweet Needle Co. and I've got to say, it was probably the funniest thing ever. 

Ella was a pro. She knew when to smile and ham it up for the camera. When the photographer told the other kids to look at each other, Ella looked at them, too! (Seen in the bottom right picture.) She follows directions so well...the teacher in me loves that! :)

I can't wait to see the professional pictures. You know I will share them on here! 

Wednesday was Ella's 7 month birthday, so we had to make the chalkboard (hey, at least it's not every week like when I was prego, that got old real quick!) and have our photo shoot!

{striped two-piece set}

On Thursday, we had planned to go to library story time, but we were running late, so by the time we got there, they were full! :( So we went shopping instead!

I think this should be an ad for Target: 

{striped bodysuit / bow}

She was so happy in there!

And to round out our day, we stopped at a consignment sale...Ella's new favorite thing is to grab clothes and "ask" me to buy them for her. I said no to this outfit.

On Friday, we went to the mall, where Gymboree was having special activities for the launch of their Eric Carle line. 

{little peanut onesie}

Then we went to Trader Joe's, where, again, Ella should do some advertising for them ;) No fewer than about 15 people came up to us and said how cute Ella was! When we got to the checkout, cashiers from other lines left their lines to see Ella! Haha...it was quite comical! 

She just loves life sitting up in that shopping cart! It's so funny to me what a little ham she is becoming! 

We were supposed to go to Chapel Hill on Saturday for the UNC game, but Ella woke up pretty congested and really cranky. After much debating, (and driving around Charlotte for 20 minutes), we decided it was probably best for her if we didn't go. For those of you who know my husband, that's saying a lot for him to miss a Carolina game!

{cheerleader outfit}

So instead, we stayed home and cheered from our couch (well Trav and I did...Ella was in bed by the time the 8:00 game started). 

I also took this opportunity to wash and lay out everything I had bought at the 3 (yes three! tis the season) consignment sales I went to this week... (this one, this one, and this one if you're really interested!)

Lots of good buys!! Ella is good to go with leggings (and clothes in general) for the winter! 

I just need to find a cute appliqué to cover up the girl's name ("Katy") on that bookshelf...but for $12, I couldn't pass it up!

I also decided that since we needed more storage for Ella's clothes, I needed to do something about her hair bows that were taking up a drawer of precious space in her dresser. So I made this:

I wish I could give you some sort of tutorial, but it was really the easiest thing ever. I got a big picture frame, fabric, and ribbon. I just hot glued the fabric onto the cardboard that came with the picture frame, and then glued the ribbons on the back as well. I used these hooks below it to hang up her ridiculous amount of headbands. 

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!

Yesterday, we had to cheer on the Panthers!

And we ended our weekend by steaming in the bathroom. 

Definitely helped out my allergies (and I think Ella's too!)...and how cute is that robe?!? $4 at a consignment sale!

Here's to hoping Ella's sniffles go away this week!

Hilton Head 2014

Two weeks ago (omg, sorry it took me so long to get this up!), Travis and I (and Ella!) loaded up our car and headed for Hilton Head! 

We got there just as the sun was setting, making for a very pretty drive in!

My friend Angela (a Hilton Head regular) helped us pick out a place to stay that was in a convenient location....we were in the Forest Beach area, right across from the beach and a block away from a bunch of shops and restaurants!

Our condo!

We dropped our bags off really quick, and then headed to Bomboras, a restaurant nearby, because we were STARVING!

Ella was so excited to be at the beach!!

I had shrimp and grits and it was amazing, of course!

The next day, both Travis and I decided to go for runs before it got too hot. BAD IDEA!

In case you were wondering what running 4 miles in extremely high humidity and a heat index of 95* looks like, here ya go:

True life, I was this emoji: 

After a freezing cold shower, we enjoyed the alligators and turtles from our balcony! Ella loved sitting out there every morning!

{whale bubble}

Then, we hit up the store for some beach essentials!

One thing we didn't need? Swim suits for Ella. 

Yes, I brought 8 swimsuits for my child. And we were there for 3 days. Would you expect anything else from me?!

Although the beach was right across the street, the walk took a little longer than expected due to our chairs, umbrella, cooler, stroller and multiple bags! Also? Our stroller does NOT move in the sand (should have gotten a BOB!) so Trav and I had to carry it across the beach. In 100*+ temps. Ugh. By the time we set up camp, Ella was asleep.....and stayed asleep for 2 hours, haha. 

So I stayed busy by dumping ice cubes on my self, and making her monogram in the sand. 

When she woke up, we had to take a picture! 

{swimsuit / hat / blanket}

She HATED the sand!

All in all, Ella didn't mind the water of the ocean, but she did not like that sand one bit. She freaked out every time her feet touched the ground. Poor thing.

That evening we decided to take a sunset dolphin cruise!

It was Ella's first time on a boat, and she loved it!

Our future home...

We saw lots of dolphins, which was insanely exciting to me, for some reason. I took no fewer than 100 pictures of them! They eventually even came pretty close to the boat, so I didn't even have to zoom in to take pictures!

The cruise ended about 8:45....Ella was such a trooper!!

The next day, I decided skipped my run (no thank you 90* before 9AM) and we took Ella down to see the animals in the pond outside our condo.

Then we got ready for the pool!

{flower swimsuit}

It wasn't hot at all...

Don't worry, we stayed nice and cool in the pool!

To say this girl loved the pool would be the understatement of the year! She could have spent all day in her little floatie thing....she is such a little water babe for sure!

{towel}

For dinner that night, we ate at A Lowcountry Backyard Restaurant. 

Trav found it online (it had gotten really good reviews) and we both agreed this one of the best meals either of us had ever eaten. Like, in our whole lives! The food was AMAZING. 

I got crab cakes, grits and mac & cheese.

Definitely recommend this place if you are in Hilton Head!

After dinner, we headed to the beach for some pictures!

{Ella's dress}

It was still insanely hot, but Ella liked the sand this time!

On Sunday, we packed up and headed home. On our way (kinda), we stopped at Palmetto Bluff, which is Angela's favorite place and where she got engaged!

It is SOOOOO pretty there!! Everywhere I turned looked like a postcard!

{Ella's dress}

We ate lunch at Buffalo's, which is in the picture below...

It kinda reminded me of Charleston a little bit. 

I got some yummy tacos for lunch...they were delish!

Then we headed back to Charlotte! 

Thanks for a great time, Hilton Head!