Citrus Lane Box for September!

I'm back! And with my first Citrus Lane box opening! I was (impatiently) waiting for this box to arrive, as it was my first, and I was SO excited when it finally got here. 

I had done a lot of research before signing up to receive this box, so I was pretty sure I wouldn't be disappointed...and I was right. 

Let me tell you, Citrus Lane is a wonderful company! They only include the best products in their boxes and they truly care about making baby and mommy happy.

I registered Ava for Citrus Lane and entered her birthday and they sent her a box for her age for this month (four months). She received items that she can actually use, which is really awesome! I'm really looking forward to her next boxes to see what awesome products she gets! 

So, I won't make you wait any longer...here are the pictures!

Yay! I knew I was going to love this company right away because the box was so cute! 

We opened the box to find it neatly packaged and something fuzzy peeking out...and a note!

This note contains a list and description of each item included in the box.

Here's what we got!

The first item I noticed was this super cute Skip Hop Hug & Hide Lamb Chime Ball. Ava LOVES this toy! It is so soft, the perfect size for her, and makes a chime every time she hugs it. She smiles at it each time she sees it. This product retails for about $19.

The next item I pulled out of the box was "123s" by Charley Harper. This book is very different from other children's books I've seen, because the artwork is modern and the animals included are not the typical dog, cat, alligator. Ava also really enjoys this product and it retails for about $8.

The next item I saw was Babytime! Playful Wash which is a shampoo and body cleanser with calendula and tangerine oil. This is safe for babies to use and doesn't sting if it gets in the eyes. This wash smells SO GOOD! I've been tempted to use it on myself! I believe this is a sample size of the product because I couldn't find the price.  

The next things I saw were these trial size tubes of Dr. Smith's Zinc Oxide Diaper Rash Ointment. These are great to put in the diaper bag! 

The last item in the box was a gift for me! It's a Julep nail color. Julep seems like a great company, just like Citrus Lane, because they strive to create awesome shades of polish that do not contain harmful chemicals. The polish I received is full size and is in the color "Coco," which is a deep reddish brown. This product retails for $14.

So, in all, my box's value was $41! I paid around $13 for my first month of Citrus Lane since I used the code TAKEHALF when I checked out, so I would say that's a steal! Boxes are normally $25 per month. 

I really enjoyed this box and cannot wait for next months box to get here!

Ava's First Three Months

Every month, I will be posting an update on Ava that will include some milestones she has reached, as well as our favorite things she uses each month!

This post will include her first three months! I cannot believe three months have passed, and a lot has happened within those months. She has grown like crazy and has started getting her own personality.

When Ava was born:
On May 31st, 2013
She weighed...9 lbs 12 oz
She measured...21 in long

Weight: about 12 lbs
Height: about 22 in
Milestones reached: Can hold up her head for long periods of time
Favorite Products: Ella Bella Elephant Wubbanub, aden + anais Swaddle Wraps from Target , Graco 2-in-1 Glider 

Weight: about 14 lbs
Height: about 25 in
Milestones reached: Smiles, plays, follows with eyes, eats every 2-3 hours, swats at toys
Favorite Products: Ella Bella Elephant Wubbanub, aden + anais Swaddle Wraps from Target , Graco 2-in-1 Glider , Fisher Price Discover 'N Grow Kick & Play Piano Gym

Weight: about 15 lbs
Height: about 26 in
Milestones reached: Laughs, can almost hold her bottle, almost sleeping through the night (yesssss!!!), loves to play with toys, babbles all the time, squeals and squeaks
Favorite Products: Ella Bella Elephant Wubbanub, aden + anais Swaddle Wraps from Target , Graco 2-in-1 Glider , Fisher Price Discover 'N Grow Kick & Play Piano Gym

At three months, Ava is starting to get a little attitude! If I don't make her a bottle fast enough (which is right when she first makes her first peep) then she gets MAD! Then, once I put the bottle in her mouth, she makes the funniest noise like she was starving to death. It's pretty cute. She LOVES to be talked to and will smile the whole time. Usually, she will try to talk back. Now, I can pretty much tell what her cries mean. They all sound a little different. Her hungry cry has pauses in between each cry and her tired cry is long and is followed by a super sad face. Also, she kicks all. the. time. Seriously, if she isn't sleeping, she is kicking. And being kicked in the ribs by tiny feet is not fun, let me tell you.

Check back next month for her Four Month update! Thanks for reading!

Five on Friday!

Yeah! Today is Friday! You know what that means...

1. I'm going to be creating a post, sometime soon, for Ava about her milestones for the first three months she's been alive! I will continue to make these posts every month so I can keep track of all the awesome things she does as she grows. She just keeps growing like crazy and it's hard to keep track, so these posts will help!

latishalyn.com

She was just so small, in this picture, and now she's already three months old and smiling and laughing...what!?

2. Darci from The Good Life recently posted about all these cute Halloween pajamas for kids and I HAD to get Ava a pair of these pink skeleton PJs from Old Navy....so. cute. I LOVE pajamas, as it is, and I cannot pass up cute holiday pajamas...especially if they are for tiny humans. Also, they glow in the dark!

3. My parents are coming into town today for the weekend to celebrate my birthday! My actual birthday isn't until the 20th, but this is the only weekend they can visit. I'm so excited because we always have a lot of fun! We will probably go shopping, go to Sam's Club because they are obsessed and don't have one where they live, and go out to eat. I wish they lived closer, though. Three hours away isn't very far, but it would be nice to have them near by so we could see them more often. Here's the first picture of my mom with Ava...

4. It is so crazy that it is already September! It means Fall is coming, my birthday is soon, pumpkin spice EVERYTHING, and the State Fair! In New Mexico, we always have the State Fair during the month of September, and it's been our tradition for a while now to go to the fair for my birthday. It's usually pretty hot but a lot of fun! I've never been to the fair with a baby though...not sure how that will go. 

5. I made this R for a friend to give to her for her bridal shower, and I think it turned out really cute! I used gray yarn to wrap around a cardboard R I got from Hobby Lobby and then I made the flower out of lace. It was pretty easy to make and it was free! I already had all the materials laying around. If anyone is interested in a tutorial, let me know! I would be happy to make one!

Have a great Friday, everyone!

Liebster Award!

Thank you so much, Rychelly from Foltz Family Life, for nominating me for the Liebster Award! It is an award given by peers to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. The Liebster Award is a great way for bloggers to become more active in the blogging world and to meet more people! This all sounds awesome to me and I am so touched that Rychelly nominated me.

The Rules:

1. Link back to the person that nominated you.

2. Answer the 11 questions asked by the nominator.

3. Choose 11 bloggers, each under 200 followers an nominate them for the award.

4. Come up with 11 questions for your nominees to answer.

5. Contact your nominees and notify them of your nomination.

Rychelly asked...

1. If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?

If I could travel anywhere, I would want to travel to Germany. I was born in Germany, because my dad was in the Air Force, and we left when I was still a baby so I don't remember any of it! Fortunately, Travis is planning on going into the Air Force, so we may have a chance to move overseas at some point!

2. What is your greatest accomplishment thus far?

My greatest accomplishment is graduating from college this past May. I had been in school since I was four and I was SO burnt out! But, I trucked on, and now I have a Bachelors in Elementary Education with an endorsement in Language Arts. I had Ava two-ish weeks after I graduated, so I didn't apply for any jobs. I plan on applying for jobs next year. 

3. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

In five years, I hope to be teaching, having another baby/trying for another baby, living in a house and not another apartment, and hopefully living in Europe (where living in an apartment would be ok)!

4. Who has been the greatest role model in your life?

My greatest role model is my mommy! She is a super strong woman who can do anything she puts her mind to do. She can weld, do carpentry, sew, cook, garden, etc. She is a pretty awesome mom and an even more awesome grandma!

5. If you could meet anyone, who would it be and why?

If I could meet anyone, I would want to meet my great grandma. She died, before my mom was born, from breast cancer. My grandma always talks about her and tells me how wonderful and loving she was and how she would have loved to meet my mom, me, and Ava. I would love to talk to her about our family history!

6. If you were stranded on a deserted island, what is the one thing you must have?

Oh man, this question is always really hard for me to answer because it is nearly impossible to think of one thing that would be the most useful on a deserted island. Can I say my family? I really don't like being alone and I think having my family there would help keep me at least a little sane. 

7. What is your favorite book?

My favorite book(s), at the moment are the Divergent books by Veronica Roth. I LOVE Dystopian Literature and the Divergent series is FANTASTIC! If you haven't read them, check them out! The female protagonist is awesome!

8. What is your favorite blog post? Link to it so we can all read!

My favorite blog post is Ava's birth story!

9. What has been the greatest moment in your life?

The greatest moment in my life, hands down, was giving birth to Ava. It is still surreal to think that she was actually inside of me and came out of me. So. Weird. Seriously, I still can't believe it. Ha! It's a pretty crazy story, so check it out at the link above!

10. What is your favorite hobby?

My favorite hobby is photography. I know, I know...everyone and their grandma do photography, but I've always been into photography. Ever since I can remember, my dad has done photography. So, naturally, I started wanting to get in on it too! It's really fun and is my creative outlet. 

11. Who is your favorite blogger?

Well, Rychelly, of course! Seriously though, she is pretty awesome and I really love reading her posts and looking at pictures of her sweet baby girl!

I nominate...

Glori at Glori Online

Sylvie at The Chronicles of Motherhood

Lindsay at Life With the Rashid's

Cortney at Our Fishy Family

Carrie at Huggies and Heels

Seanna at This Happy Home

Megan at Heartbeats and Little Feet

Ashleigh at Life With the O's

Christi at The Chapters of Our Lives

Kathryn at The Burton Family

Jen at Down With The Dearmore's

Questions for my nominees...

1. If you could be a Disney princess, which one would you be and why?

2. What/who are you most thankful for, today?

3. What is something that is on your bucket list?

4. What is something that happened to you, in the past, that still makes you laugh when thinking about it?

5. What is your greatest accomplishment thus far?

6. What is your greatest moment in your life?

7. What is your favorite blog post? Link to it so we can all read!

8. Who is your favorite blogger?

9. What does a perfect day look like, to you?

10. Besides blogging, what is your favorite pastime?

11. What is your favorite childhood memory?

Nominees:

Sorry if you have already been nominated! I would love for you to leave a comment here, when you are done answering these questions, so I can read them! Or course, you are not obligated to do any of this, but it would be awesome if you have the time!