#nsale for the little ones

The Nordstrom anniversary sale upon us, they have some pretty fabulous things for the whole family. I spotted a few things for myself but realistically I spend most of my time shopping for M. Here are a few things we have and LOVE. 

I have a chew beads necklace and absolutely love it! It is so cute and M loves soothing her gums by chomping on it! :)

I bought M the cutest Babiators. They are adorable and super durable, they also come with a lifetime warranty! 

The Beaba food processor is absolutely amazing! I make all of Maggie's food with this and it has been such a good purchase. Stay tuned for some of my baby food recipes on the blog soon :)

This skip hop play may is awesome! We started using it very early on for tummy time and it has continued to be a staple toy for M. I love that you can change around the toys to keep it exciting and fun!

6 Months into Motherhood

I truly can't believe it has been 6 whole months since M was born! Life has changed a lot since then, but I can honestly say having M is the best thing we've ever done! (I know it's soo cliche, but absolutely the truth)

Going back to work proved to be a bigger challenge than I realized. I was overwhelmed and felt forever guilty, it is a tough balance and a constant battle to feel like you are giving both your career and your family 100%. I have since realized that in order to do that I need to ask for help and learn to be flexible about things like having a perfectly clean house, laundry done, and clean hair (thank God for dry shampoo!). It doesn't hurt that we have the best in home chef, laundry folder, dog walker, bedtime story reader, snuggler, Dada in all the land! :)

When I first started thinking about how we would raise M there were lots of questions and choices to be made. Some of which didn't feel like so much of an "option", which leads me to the expectations of our generation - You must have a completely natural childbirth in a field, return to work 48 hours later in size 0 clothing, breastfeed exclusively for 3 years, grow and make organic food for your baby, never let your baby cry, EVER, oh and did I forget that you need
to never let a single chemical touch your child's skin?


While I can recognize that is a bit of an exaggeration it sure does feel that way sometimes! Oliver had to literally drag me away from the online forums for new moms to prevent a full scale meltdown. Since then I have learned to trust my instincts, cut myself some slack, and surround myself with supportive and loving Mamas who pass zero judgment on my parenting choices.

So here's to all the Moms out there doing the best they can, making the best choices for their family. We support you!

And we're back!

Welcome back to Pass the Bubbly! After a long hiatus I am back to blogging with lots of new content including party planning, style, and my new obsession with essential oils.

My blogger break stemmed mainly from the fact that I felt like I had so little free time but when I really looked around I realized that I had time I just wasn't using it very wisely (aka binge- watching Bravo). I came across this quote and it really resonated with me, "If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you'll find an excuse." I am still learning the balance of life with a baby, full-time job, friends, family and blogging but I do think that I am getting better day by day.

There's no doubt that in order to "find a way" some of my priorities have changed but I really feel it is for the better. More to come on that topic in my "6 Months into Motherhood" post!

So, welcome back, thank you for your patience and I hope you are ready to jump back in head first to some fun upcoming posts!

XO, Katelyn 

First Trimester Recap

I swear I will try NOT to turn this into a mommy blog! I swear I will try NOT to turn this into a mommy blog! I swear I will try NOT turn this into a mommy blog! 

That was to convince you as much as it was to remind myself! I do want to share this journey with you all but I promise to maintain all of the style, home decor, and entertaining posts that the blog was founded on!

In the mean time here are some updates about my first trimester now that I am smooth sailing into the second!

The ultrasound on the left is from our 9 week scan, the one on the right is at 12w. It was amazing to see how much had changed in such a short period of time. That little hand, seriously?! The cutest! :)

Symptoms: Tired beyond belief, the kind of tired where it hurts to think about getting out of bed in the morning. I was so fortunate to not get morning sickness, not even once! (I know every woman wants to slap me for admitting to this....) My Mother and Grandmother never did either so it must be in the family? Just a side note my Grandmother had twelve children so I don't exactly consider her the "typical" woman but she coasted through all ten pregnancies (she had twins, TWICE!) 

Cravings: I ate my normal foods throughout the first trimester, other than the restricted ones. I still wanted coffee, I know many women who were totally averse while pregnant, but I was not one of those. I did however switch to half caff, cut out all soda and minimized chocolate so I could safely enjoy my one cup a day. I will say with the warmer weather and my DC visit I really wanted a cold glass of Rose'... However, that will have to wait till December (although not exactly Rose' season!) 

Sleep: I think this goes without saying but I slept ALL the time given how tired I was, and with the lack of my afternoon cup of Java! I napped when I got home from work, then showered and went to bed by 9pm every.single.night. I did however wake up nightly from week 7 onward to pee, what a pain in the A$$ that was, and will likely continue to be. 

Best moment: Seeing our little one on the ultrasound screen and hearing her little heartbeat! 

Worst moment: I can't think of anything... except maybe having to keep it a secret?- Not my forte - ask anyone who knows me!

Starting to show?: Just looking bloated. To the point where people will stare but never say anything, talk about uncomfortable! The picture below is at 12w 3 days, I was off to a bridal shower and was hoping no one would notice, luckily they didn't! Don't mind the dog crate in the background, if I wasn't so tired all the time I'd probably have moved it ;)

Gender prediction: According to the Chinese gender chart and Ramzi's we were having a little boy. I then was convinced it was a boy.  Clearly from my previous post you now know we are having a baby GIRL according to our genetics testing.

Speaking of nursery planning, do I have ideas! I will make sure to share that with you all after I have posted about a few parties with fun cocktails (for the guests of course) and my summer style inspiration and anything non- mommy related! 

THANK YOU FOR READING!! XOXO

Three year Anniversary!

It is hard to believe it has been three years since we stood in this cute little Chapel and said "I do". SO much has happened since that day, so humor me while I take a little trip down memory lane! 

We were married on June 24th 2012, it was a beautiful summer day! We had the most amazing time celebrating with our loved ones who literally traveled from around the world to be there with us. Even as I write this I am overwhelmed with the love we felt that day, not only for each other, but for everyone in our lives!

 

Three days after our wedding we headed to our brand new apartment in DC which was also our first home together. It was one hell of a ride, I remember waking up after the first night and being so overwhelmed with happiness and utter fear. I had never lived that far from home, I knew absolutely no one besides Oliver and I was not working for two months. It turned out to be the best two years! We made friends and memories we will have for a lifetime. We made lots of mistakes, and learned big lessons. Most importantly it solidified the foundation of our marriage. I can honestly say we walked away from that experience better people and partners to one another.

Oliver graduated from his PhD, which was easily one of my proudest moments! In true Rick fashion after any big life event we packed up our stuff and moved. Back to Boston we went. We both started new jobs, and then started new jobs again. We got Clovis, our sweet pup who I can't imagine life without. Then things just settled down for a while which was quite refreshing for us!


























 And then came our biggest adventure yet...after lots of trials, tribulations and tears we are ecstatic to be adding to our family! We will be having our first child in December! I am still overwhelmed with emotions about it all (and I am not sure I can totally blame it on the hormones!). It was not the easiest road to get here, so I count my blessings and consider myself blessed to join the club of Motherhood to a sweet baby...

GIRL! :)

Thank you for reading and following along on our journey! 

XO