26/52

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

Looking up at Dada because he is being silly

PS: RIP google reader, you've been good to us!

You  can continue to follow along on bloglovin here

Just the 3 of us

One of the greatest joys of Kandice's pregnancy this time around is that Zaden and I get to spend some extra quality time with Natalie while Kandice goes to her prenatal appointments. I really look forward to spending this time with her and watching both her and Zaden build a stronger friendship. She's extremely adorable with him and is always wanting to help me take care of Z. I seriously need to get these two on video someday.. it melts my heart. I know she's going to be such a great older sister once Liam arrives.

Cream and Black

It's been a while since I've been able to wear a maxi dress. All of my old maxi dresses don't fit my chest or aren't nursing friendly so they're out of the question. This dress made me feel very ladylike and was perfect for wearing around the house and for running errands. It was a little cooler during the evening so I threw on this light weight cardigan and finished off the look with my favorite hat and flats.

The Wallis Summer Style competition is running until Saturday evening and I would really appreciate your vote. The previous link I used didn't work on mobile devices but this one will. Click here to vote and thank you so much in advance you guys are awesome! 

Also, I was wondering how people respond to comments via email messages.. I can't seem to  figure it out for the life of me and would love to reply to your comments! 

What I wore: Dress: c/o Wallis// Cardigan: Old Navy (gift from sister)// Hat: Forever 21// Shoes: Urban Outfitters

Stripes and a Pop of Color

Here I am matching once again with this adorable little fella. When putting together our outfits I decided I wanted to work with stripes and incorporate a tiny bit of color. Zaden's salmon loafers and my green statement necklace did the trick. I kind of cheated and added a color lip too (; These outfits were both super comfortable and easy to put together. Something I really love about jersey maxi skirts is that they are so light and stretchy and way better than a pair of sweats in the summer.

What I wore: Shirt, Forever 21// Skirt, SHY Boutique// Necklace, Cheerfully Charmed// Boots, Target

What Z wore: Tank, H&M// Pants, Gap// Loafers, Gap

Tiana's High School Graduation

On June 4, 2013 my little sister graduated from high school. Even now as I type these words I can hardly believe it. I clearly remember watching her walk across the stage to receive her diploma and my dad and I screaming are lungs out (; I stood there wondering where the time had gone and watched this beautiful young lady full of smiles walk back to her seat. I'm so happy that we were able to be apart of her big day and that I was able to capture a few memorable moments on camera. 

Ti,

I'm so proud of you and the woman that you have become. You are beautiful both inside and out. I look forward to the next chapter of your life, whether it's pursuing school, working, or finding the right young man and getting married (Z needs cousins ;p ). I love you with all my heart "Tana"!

Love, Lou

Floral and Sequins

Lulu's recently sent me this lovely blouse to style, I had previously worn it with jeans and sandals but didn't really think that look was "blog worthy". I wanted to go for a more dressy look and when I found this skirt at the bottom of my drawer I instantly knew that these two articles of clothing were made for each other. The sequin lining on this pastel pink top brought just the right amount of pop to this outfit. I finished off the look with these adorable pink and white oxfords.

What I wore: Shirt, c/o Lulus// Skirt, thrifted// Shoes, Forever Young Shoes

Play date with Whit and Arlo

Summer has finally arrived and the nice warm sun is here to stay. Zaden and I have been spending a majority of our time outdoors exploring the neighborhoods around us. Going on evening walks, swinging at the park, and sitting in the shade watching the cars drive by are some of our favorite activities. We had our friends Arlo and Whitney over for a playdate a few weekends ago. It was so much fun seeing Arlo and Z communicate with each other in their secret baby language and watching them play. Zaden is so fascinated with everything Arlo does, and Arlo is the sweetest big brother Z never had (; These pictures were taken before Z could sit up on his own so I wasn't able to capture a shot of the two of them together, but there's never a dull moment with these two sweet friends.

Stripes and Polka Dots

Wallis Fashion invited me to participate in their Summer Style Contest! For those of you who haven't heard of Wallis they are a UK aspirational, premium high street brand with the most adorable clothing.  Wallis has finally branched out online to the United States and is now offering their complete selection of apparel, accessories, and shoes. 

I picked out a few items to style, one of which was this striped blazer. I chose this blazer because it's so versatile and I can mix and match it with almost all of my staple wardrobe pieces. I've been a big fan of simple white and black outfits lately and I think women of all different ages and sizes can pull of this look. 

I always feel a bit awkward asking for votes but if you could just take a minute of your time and give me your vote I would appreciate it! The contest began on Monday and I'm the loser with only one vote thus far so I'm really easy to find ;P You can vote for me HERE (once every hour until the competition is over). If you don't want to vote for me, no hard feelings! 

**This outfit is featured on Reality Blogger

What I wore: Blazer, c/o Wallis// Shirt, Rue 21 (sold out online)// Skirt, F21// Bow, F21// Shoes, c/o Lulus (similar here)

Shop My Closet Update

Just added some new items to Dearest Lou Shop! 

If you live in the SLC/Provo area and instead of paying for the shipping would like to meetup, email me at dearestlou@gmail.com (:

Fuchsia Wolf Sweater and Burnt Orange Vest

Towards the end of May there were a couple of random chilly days before the summer heat officially kicked in. I wouldn't be caught dead in a sweater in 90-100 degree heat, but for this particular breezy evening, this outfit was perfect. Would you believe me if I told you I snagged this sweater off of the clearance rack at Kohls for $2.80? Yeah that's right, $2.80 for a brand new sweater. Sometimes shopping clearance racks is just as exciting as finding a good thrift find (;

I decided to layer my sweater with a burnt orange vest, which made the outfit more colorful and fun. I haven't worn jeans in a while since my pre-pregnancy jeans still don't button up so I ended up buying some new ones and I have been wearing them practically everyday since. I highly recommend the 'rockstar' fit jeans from Old Navy for anyone who is looking for a good pair of reasonably priced jeans.

What I wore: Sweater, Kohls// Vest, Forever 21(old)// Jeans, Old Navy// Sandals, Target (sold out online)// Bangles, Vintage (belonged to my Grandma Carol)
What Z wore: Shirt, Carters (sold out online)// Jeans, OshKosh// Shoes, Vans

Z at 6 months

Z turned six months old on the 23rd of May. I can't believe how fast that half a year flew by, he will be one years old before I know it.  

Zaden loves reaching out for anything I'm eating or drinking. We decided it was time to give him his first little bit of rice cereal and boy did he like it. I haven't been very good at pumping milk for his rice cereal and nursing is so much more convenient but we will continue to try and  add a few solid foods here and there throughout the remainder of this month. I also started giving him a few ounces of water through a straw and he loves doing whatever I'm doing, he was delighted (to say the least).

We have continued to work on tummy time but he still isn't taking to it. I try putting toys in front of him hoping he will try and crawl towards them but he's a tricky little mister and decides to flip over to his back and inch worm towards them instead. However, he can sit up completely on his own as long as there is something he wants to grab in front of him. We incorporate little sitting exercises during our play time in order to help him sit up for longer periods of time on his own. I know that he is strong enough, the problem is he lacks balance and he's a wild little thing and doesn't like to sit still (;

Zaden loves to be outside. If he is ever fussy indoors and isn't hungry or tired I know that going on a walk around the block will do the trick. He loves sitting/laying on blankets with mama, evening walks, swinging at the playground, watching older children play, and watching the cars go by. However, he hates being outdoors if it is too hot or if the sun is in his face. We tend to only go outside if the weather is on the cooler side or in the evenings when the sun is going down.

Zaden has developed a real laugh. I don't know how to explain it other than that but it's the most adorable little laugh I've ever heard. He is ticklish under his armpits, neck rolls, tummy, and thighs. I spend a good majority of our playtime tickling him and making ridiculous faces and noises in order to hear his sweet laugh. However, no one makes him laugh harder than my mama. He may have found his voice last month but boy does this baby know how to be loud. Whether its laughing, screaming, crying, or having a conversation with me, this little guy is noisy. He likes to mimic those around him whether it's making silly noises, clapping, or clicking his tongue. I'm almost positive that Z knows I'm mama and that Daryl is dadda because he will only make those noises when looking at us. 

My favorite thing about Z at this age is that he is so loving and caring. He will try and stroke my face in order to wake me up in the morning and once I do I see his loving gummy grin. I love his big slobbery open mouth kisses that he randomly gives me throughout the day. Our special bond is unbreakable and I love looking into those little eyes knowing that I can comfort and unconditionally love him no matter what.

Zaden's outfit: Tank top, Nordstrom (similar here)// Shorts, OshKosh