Ailee Petrovic

Mom Talk September 10, 2017

Nest Cameras as Kid Monitors

We recently installed Nest cameras in both of the girls’ rooms, and it’s pretty crazy for us to now think about not having a way to watch Isla once her bedroom door is closed (we haven’t since she was about 12 months old!). It’s free entertainment! I will read her stories, say our prayers, kiss her goodnight, then leave the room. And then the magic begins. Ha. Pajama changes, headbands on, new books, more stuffed animals in bed, etc. I feel like we’ve been missing out for ages. But the best part about the Nest cameras are the playback. Isla has had some sweet moments, which I’ve loved listening to over and over and over again (like her prayer I wrote about here), and also some of sheer terror. The other night, I told her that she had to share her Elsa character with Emi, and she started sobbing, told me she didn’t love me anymore, then grabbed her ‘star chart’ and tore it up… which caused even more tears, as she asked me to glue it back together and told me she was so sorry and wanted me to be her mommy again. I laughed and cried re-watching that!

Mom Talk September 9, 2017

Our New Newborn Favorites: Lulla Doll

If you follow me on Instagram (@snapshotsandmythoughts), you will be very familiar with Emi’s Lulla Doll. If Emi ever starts to cry, you’ll here Isla running around the house looking for Lulla, then once she’s found her, “Don’t cry, Boo Boo, I’m bringing you Looooooola!” In short: she’s obsessed. I don’t know if it’s how soft Lulla is, her perfect-to-hold size, how she tastes (kidding, but Emi is always chewing on her), or her soothing heart beat sound, but she helps Emi fall asleep for all of her naps and at bedtime. We bring her everywhere.

Before Emi had her Lulla, she was sleeping with a blanket, typically pulled up close to her face and it made me so nervous. With her doll snuggled next to her, there is so much space for her to breathe, I don’t worry. They are the cutest little sleeping buddies. Also, there is a velcro attachment that tucks into the back pouch in case you want to use it to attach to the crib vs. having her in the crib.

So when my sweet contact at Roro offered to sponsor a post, I said no, because I don’t want to get paid to tell you how much we love her, but… I did want a second Lulla! Ha. We’ve struggled to wash her, since Miss Emilia wants to hold her all day long. I’ve spoken to others who saw Lulla on my Instagram then bought her, and the consensus is in: she is loved by all babies. You can read other stories of babies loving their dolls on their website here.

The Lulla doll costs $69, with $5 shipping in the US. Her heart beat sound is activated by pushing down on the button for 2 seconds. The calming sounds play for eight hours – so I usually go and reset it right before I go to sleep, so that she can hear it all night long. Since we constantly have it on, I found that the batteries didn’t last very long, so I bought this 4-pack of rechargeable AAA batteries and charger. That way two batteries are always in Lulla, and another two are charging.

Others in the ‘new newborn favorites’ series are the Solly Wrap, Owlet Monitor, DockATot and 4Moms Infant Tub.

Personal September 7, 2017

100 Random Facts About Me

I have always struggled with the ‘About’ page of my blog and website or with even writing a short blurb describing myself. I remember when I was interviewing for a job at Accenture in college, and I’d cringe overtime the standard question was asked: “Tell me about yourself.” I mean, where does one start?! Of course, I had my canned answer, but it would seem disingenuous to share something similar here. Although I post lots of details about our lives here on the blog, I don’t really get too, too personal. I always love reading people’s ‘fun/random fact’ posts, so I set off to come up with some things about me that you might not know (hopefully a few that even my closest friends are surprised by!). I kept going, and going, and going (this has been a note in my iPhone for ages!) – I finally made it to 100 with the help of my sister-in-law, who suggested the final fact (thanks, Ivana).

So, here’s a little light reading for you! Ha. And then a request from me. If you’ve been reading for awhile but we’ve never been in contact, I would love to hear from you (truly). Even just an email with a ‘Hi’ – I love connecting with people. Some of my sweetest friendships have started as online ones, but blossomed into much more.

Personal September 4, 2017

Week in Review

First of all, happy Labor Day! It does not at all feel like a holiday weekend, so a bit odd to be saying that. The last week has felt surreal, to say the least. As I mentioned in my last blog post, my parent’s house took on tons of water as a result of the hurricane, and once they returned home from Colorado, the emotions were high and the amount of work that needed to take place was intense. Their neighborhood still had to be accessed by boat (as of yesterday), so getting things out of the house right now is difficult. They had a group of amazing volunteers help yesterday, and my parents are so appreciative for that! They hope to get in today (without water) to move more dry items out. My mom and dad also were in a mad dash to rent a house, since 100,000 homes were flooded as part of the flood – places are flying off the market. Fortunately, they signed a lease for a home at 7:30pm on Saturday. It was a huge relief to have that secured.

We did very little this past week, so I wanted to take the girls out of the house to do something fun on Saturday. We went to Levy Park, then had lunch with Meredith at Bebidas afterwards. It felt good to do something ‘normal’ after a crazy week. We have been trying to help as much as possible with the evacuees – it’s been interesting trying to explain to a three year old what we’re doing, but sweet to see her compassionate side come out when picking lightly worn clothing and toys to donate.

Although there were fewer than most weeks, some of the highlights from the past seven days included:

Aforementioned park and lunch date with Meredith
Multiple visits from my sister-in-law, Ivana, and sweet Milly Moo! Ah, I might steal her.
Taking Brittany’s son’s 2 month photos – George is a doll! I am obsessed with him.
Getting my eye brows done at The Brow Studio – I loved Sara so much! I am on a brow journey, as mine are sort of a mess right now (as is my face – hello stress breakout… I need tips!). I can’t wait to see them in a few months!
Having a Buff Burger lunch date with my sister, Jill, and future brother-in-law, Kevin, then having dinner with my older sister, Karine, on Sunday! Lots of family time when the ‘rents live with you! It’s been nice having them with us, despite high stress situation, because we’ve never had the opportunity to host them before.

I hope that you are enjoying your Labor Day, and if you’re busy cutting out dry wall in yours or someone else’s house, then God bless you, seriously. So, so grateful for all that people have already done for our family.

Personal August 30, 2017

Emi at Seven Months

Sweet Emilia is now seven months old – just five short months away from her first birthday (oh heavens). We celebrated her yesterday despite heavy hearts, as Sasha went to my parent’s house (they are in Colorado) to assess the damage from the flood and found 4+ feet of water covering their entire first floor. It was devastating to see (lots of tears shed), but fortunately, he was able to get into the house the day before and move some valuables up to higher shelves/cabinets or to the second floor. So grateful for my brave husband.

One of my most-favorite people replied to a photo I sent yesterday, saying, “Those pictures make me so sad BUT it’s just things and a house!!! Just thankful everyone’s okay.” I had been told similar things throughout the day, but when I read it from her, I let it sink in. It really is true. Lots of memories tied up in the house and valuables ruined, but so long as nobody is hurt, that’s all that matters. And must I say, praise the Lord for the rays of sunshine he sent yesterday, just hours after Sasha left the house. The damage across the city is so overwhelming, but the response from Houstonians (and those who have traveled here to help) is absolutely amazing.

Anyway, I digress. Seven month old Emi Girl. Well, I may be a tad biased, but she is the sweetest little thing. Her crawling has picked up speed since last month (now going forward! ha), and her new thing is to pull herself up on any and everything to stand. More often than not, she ends up face-planting after being up for a minute or two, so we’ve had quite a lot of tears lately. Hopefully she becomes better at getting herself back down (very, very) soon.