AUBREY KINCH

Oh, my sweet angel girl. I look at these pictures and it blows my mind on how big my BABY is now. She started crawling the day we took these pictures and I've loved watching her adjust to that milestone and enjoy being mobile. It's keeping me on my toes, that's for sure!

You've seen here, we started with a Lily Jade diaper bag back when Emery was a newborn and since adjusting to what I really need when being out with her while also being functional, we've added another Lily jade diaper bag (the Madeline) into the rotation with our beloved Jujube one. I've found it's key for me to have one that can be worn as a backpack and over the shoulder because it's so simple to convert and use based on what we're out doing.

I have to say, when we started leaving her in the church nursery or at the gym child care, I was struggling figuring out how to send necessities with her but also only bringing one bag with me so I have my "purse" items. I wasn't able to do that with my Jujube bag and this Lily Jade bag offers that perfectly with the removable insert. I simply fill it with all Emery's goodies, pull that out when dropping her off and then use the bag for my purse... simple and easy. A mom's favorite method!

And because I can't leave you hanging on crawling goodness, scroll down to see a video of Emery doll getting used to her new, moving hands and feet! It's such sweetness!

top- Nobella Grace | jeans- Paige Denim | extensions- Hidden Crown | diaper bag- Lily Jade | romper- Villa & Londyn | headband- Elle Bowtique

image via

We are a water family over here and it's been a blast watching Emery get comfortable in the water this summer. It's now our routine after her afternoon nap to grab some fruit smoothies and enjoy an hour or so in the pool before dinner time. Quite honestly, it helps us get through the dreaded "witching hour" and sets her up for loving the pool even more! 

Being in the pool and Arizona in general, it's so important to keep your kiddos safe and protected from the sun as their skin is so new and precious! I've been trying a few sunscreen products for Emery (Honest, Neutrogena) and I haven't really found one I love until Mustela. The others I felt were going on so thick and pasty which in turns gives them more chance to rub off faster and then she was gaining color even when I reapplied every 30 minutes. Not exactly what I'm going for because I'd like to see zero color at this point on her sweet, fair skin.

The Mustela line I've been using for about a month now really is all around, great! They offer a sunscreen that we apply about 15 minutes before going outside so it can soak into her skin and we reapply while in the sun every 30 minutes. I love how the packaging says it's water resistant for 40 minutes so it gives us mama's a reminder to keep it lathered on our Littles! When we're all done swimming, we add the after sun spray that soothes and moisturizes the skin even more so if there was a little too much sun or just dry skin from being in the water for the day, this is perfect to make it nice and juicy and kissable again! A lot of the time we're swimming, it's with family members or friends and all of them have commented on how delicious this stuff smells!

I wanted to share a couple tips for staying safe in the sun this summer, and year around:

ALWAYS WEAR SUNSCREEN

*apply in advance so you have time for it to soak into the skin and reapply the duration of being outside

DRINK PLENTY OF WATER

*we have hoards on hand but make sure you have enough! it's hard to realize how much you'll drink if you're becoming dehydrated so I always say bring double the amount you think you'll drink.

WEAR A SWIM SHIRT

*because babies skin is so fragile, it's important they wear a swim shirt while swimming until 12 months old. the only time emery isn't in one is when we're applying her sunscreen and when she's out of the pool and it's wet so we take it off.

PROTECTIVE WEAR

*sunglasses, bonnets, towels, light blankets for draping... you name it! she wasn't a fan of her shades early on but now she wears them every time we're in the pool because I made her get used to them on her face.

HAVE FUN but BE SAFE!

*it's so easy for babies or toddlers or even young kids to underestimate the distance from the grass, back door, chair... to the edge of that pool. watch your angels like a hawk around water, friends!

swim diaper | bonnet | sunnies | sun product

Mustela is offering $5 off a new purchase on their website for my readers from June 22-July 22, 2015! That's a such a blessing for some and I know you will love the product so you can browse around here. Use code "AUBREY5" when checking out!

In no way am I an expert at raising kids and I don't want to come across like I am but over the last year or two, we've really been learning (both us and Drake's mom) that we have a dude that thrives off lists. He definitely takes after his dad with some OCD tendencies and it's exciting and rewarding for him to have a list to be able to check off to know he's on track or to write down details he wants to do... really anything, he just loves it!

I did some digging a week or so ago and found some awesome printables to download to create binders for Drake this summer. It's a great collection of things he wants to do with activities, baking, special treats. It also tracks his reading log and provides fun "busy work" for him to do whether it be drawing or writing letters to family members or even math or geography worksheets. Such a win in my book because it keeps him busy!

We also started a new Accountability binder where we're tracking his chores, the family chores we expect him to be helping with, his allowance (we expect him to tithe, save and then has extra for whatever he wants) as well as a homework chart/reading log. It's been perfect for us and he's loving the time he spends keeping it updated! I just wanted to share to you mama's who might like something like this for your littles as well!

You can find the downloads, here and here for the binders we created!

Parenthood is something funny isn't it? Some days you're just struggling to soak up each and every precious moment with your littles and other days bedtime can't come soon enough. I think during summer, the struggle of the two is even more predominant and it's a balance of really spending the quality time with your kids as well as finding time for yourself to refresh and regroup so you can be your best self for you kids.

We're on the journey of trusting God with our family again and if He chooses to expand it further, we would be so blessed! It's been such a beautiful experience seeing Drake become Mr. Mom to Emery and to watch her as she's grown so much in her short 8 months already. We pray we can have that experience one more time before closing the "growing family" chapter and it just warms my heart knowing I can watch two babies eventually love on a new sibling of theirs.

It's the greatest gift God can bless one with, parenthood.

romper- American Eagle | jacket- Old Navy

DRAKE: tank- Loved by Hannah and Eli, shorts- Target | jordan's- Amazon

EMERY: romper- Villa & Londyn | headband- Elle Bowtique

PHOTO CREDIT

Leah Hope Photography

When packing for our move and being without a lot of our belongings for 6+ months, I didn't anticipate all the items I'd miss adding to Emery's baby book that I was making. It's really been bothering me I haven't been able to spend time working on it while she's developing and changing so I recently got hold of a Lucy Darling baby book and I'm so happy to be filling it in now!

There are so many little "firsts" you don't think of when working on a baby book and this one prompts you with all the perfect details. One of my favorite pages included is one that shares what cost was of things when baby was born, who was president...etc. What a fun thing to look back on!

When I did post it on instagram a couple weeks ago, I got so many questions on the pictures I'm using and where I had them printed... they're all from my instagram feed and I used Foxgram to get them done. I chose 3x3 inches with a simple white border and they're working great for my project with this baby book. Some fit in the boxes provided perfectly and others are too small so I recommend jotting down which pictures you may want bigger so when ordering you can specify but I went a little printing crazy and got 200+ at once. I'm thinking I'll do an overflow photo album with those of Emery's first year to gift her when she's a teen.

I'm so excited to share this lovely dress with you today from Fancy Free! You might recognize it from back here but I love it so much it needed it's own styled post and not simple "mom attire"- although it works so well for that too! It really was the pockets that sold me and I'm really trying to get out of my comfort zone with hats more so it was the perfect excuse to pair them together.

Make sure to swing by my instagram today for a giveaway with Fancy Free!

dress- Fancy Free | wrap- Kiki LaRue | hat- Windsor | sandals- Marshall's | extensions (color: 60/8P)- Hidden Crown 

P H O T O   C R E D I T

Brealyn Nenes Photography