P.S.

Ok, so I missed sharing my Lyla photos.  I created a little tumblr account to post pics here and there, if you want to check up on Lyla (and I'm sure Aurora will make some appearances too!). xo Jayme
http://www.jaymeeileen.tumblr.com

(A Sort-Of Goodbye) Now find us at...

http://www.miskabelle.blogspot.com/

In the grand tradition of making changes for the better in the new year, we've decided it is time to streamline things a bit in our online lives. Miskabelly started as a fun baby-focused spin off of our original etsy shop/blog, Miskabelle Vintage.  But we've decided it makes more sense for us to combine the two shops and blogs into one--Miskabelle etsy shop will now have baby/kids and maternity sections (where we will only bring you THE best of the best, no filler pieces!) and Miskabelle blog will be more vintage fashion/lifestyle...where we share shop previews, outfit posts and bits and pieces of our family lives (again, only share-worthy stuff, no filler posts!). In other words, we are choosing to have one amazing shop and one amazing blog rather than two OK shops and two OK blogs that have worn us a bit too thin these past few months.  We would love for you to come along and keep up with our adventures as sisters, mamas and vintage shop co-owners on www.miskabelle.blogspot.com.

Thank you for reading!



xo,
Amanda and Jayme
(& Aurora and Lyla)

Happy Holidays!

Chances are things will be sparse around here the next week or so while we celebrate the holidays.  We are so excited to watch our babies play together!

Love,
Amanda & Aurora, Jayme & Lyla

Lyla Georgette is ONE.

Lyla turned ONE on Monday!  It has been a wonderful, crazy, stressful but amazing past year and like all moms say--it has flown by!!  Her birthday being so close to Christmas already has caused me enough stress to last a lifetime.  To have a party after Christmas when more family would be town?  Celebrate on her actual birthday?  Have two celebrations?  We went with the small, on-her-actual-birthday celebration.  Small and simple.  Lyla had a blast!  

I had a clothesline hanging with our Christmas cards, which I switched out for the day with photos of the birthday girl from each month.  I made her cakes (one for the guests and one for Lyla to have to herself) from a box.  And I made her a paper and markers birthday sign (something I'm sort of known for in my family--I would make birthday signs for my mom, dad and sister's birthdays each year and I try to make one for Andrew when I remember!).  

Oh, I also made a little party hat from scrapbook paper.  Lyla wasn't a huge fan so she didn't really wear it for the party.  Oh well! 

So, as in the first photo you may have noticed, when asked "How old are you?", Lyla puts up her little finger!  Little smarty.  See also below (top right corner photo), Lyla has taken to making the most awful/hilarious face when getting her picture taken!  Seems like all babies go through that phase.  It's like a scrunched up, wrinkled nose face.  Aurora was doing it at around 10 months.  Does anyone else have a baby who did this?

Oh the presents.  This baby has so many toys...and I can't even imagine what our living room will look like after Christmas.  We gave Lyla a little stuffed Elmo (she says "Melmo?!" when we watch clips from Sesame Street) and sure enough she recognized the little guy when she peeled open the wrapping paper to reveal "Melmo".  She has been carrying him around the house ever since.  

The token baby-eating-cake-on-her-first-birthday photos:

Happy first birthday to my little angel!    You are everything I could have ever hoped for and more!

xo

Jayme

What Lyla's Been Up To...

Lyla looked extra spiffy yesterday in her little outfit and I grabbed my camera, as usual, and began snapping an abundance of photos.  Looking through these pictures, versus the last batch I took (a week ago maybe?) I realized she is changing and learning at warp speed these days!  Here's what little Lyla has been up to lately:  (a couple things:  1. yep, my house is a mess.  there's no point in putting the toys away because they literally come right back out as soon as I clean them up.  2.  I realize some of these photos are out of focus..this girl is hard to capture because she is on the move so much now!)

Happy Friday!

xo

Jayme (& Lyla)

On Nursing...

As I write this it is close to 1 am, and I am awake, nursing my grumpy teething baby. Moments like this make me so thankful that I have this cure-all to offer my otherwise inconsolable baby. I love being her comfort. I love that she needs me. But I must admit, as we close in on her first year (eek!) I am hoping to see an end to breastfeeding in sight....and it is seemingly nowhere on the horizon. 

Lyla (and mama and dada) had a rough first few months. We battled colic and while I did also have a rocky start to nursing (low supply, scabbed nipples, plugged ducts...eesh.) I don't know how I would’ve survived her colic without having my breast to offer. We spent many a morning/afternoon/evening/night sitting on the couch just nursing. Because while the pain of her constant attachment to my breasts was excruciating, the relief it gave to Lyla was enough to stop her constant crying...and ultimately was the only thing that kept me sane during those first months.

Back to the present. My teething girl is now asleep, still half nursing.  This isn't unusual. Lyla still wakes a few times each night and mostly refuses to go back to sleep without the comfort of my milk. At almost a year, she still nurses every 2-4 hours. No matter how much solid food we give her, she still is insistent on nursing at the same rate she was months ago.  So obviously it is more for comfort than for nourishment (honestly, my breast is the equivalent to a pacifier for other children).

So much time is spent on that couch!  Lyla mostly nurses herself to sleep for naps....
and then I sit and hold her till she wakes up.  Wow.  Is that crazy?  I am taking attachment parenting to a new level.  

I have mixed feelings on how to go about weaning her. I don't want to upset her and I gotta admit, I am just too exhausted to fight her on it. ‘Oh you actually want to sit with mama and be still for a bit?  I can relax and simply watch TV?  FINE.'  Seriously, it’s the only real break I get.  But I’m not sure that without some real boundaries that Lyla will gradually wean…ever.  And what’s funny is that I always said I didn’t want to be that mom with kid who was walking and talking and asking for “milk” but as we stand now, it seems inevitable (because she IS walking and talking and asking for milk…).  Needless to say, I am exhausted.  I feel like our sleep situation won't change as long as Lyla is still reliant on breastfeeding and I won't be able to leave her for more than a few hours at a time (did I mention, she REFUSES my breastmilk from a bottle or sippy cup).

THAT FACE slays me.  Makes me want to nurse her forever...just to see that sweet, content face.

Moms, is there a sudden change that happens, where your nursing baby loses interest in nursing?  Does weaning happen gradually (within reason…like in a few months, not a few years) or should I be taking more initiative to turn her away sometimes when she wants to nurse?  I’m afraid if I keep just following her lead that I will be breastfeeding a teenager.  Help!

xo

Jayme

Shop Preview: Holidays and Beyond

We've had many a gray day here in Virginia, so while I've been doing a lot of shopping (thrifting and otherwise), I haven't gotten to photograph items for the shop. As usual, there's a pile developing in the studio. So, finally, on a sunny Sunday, I got some shots--these items, in the shop this week (as soon as I measure them!):

Smocked Polly Flinders Holiday Dress (Size 5), vintage Lord & Taylor Argyle Vest

Puffy Coat with Faux Fur/Hood, Belted Corduroy Shirt w/ Artwork Print

And in case you're already dreaming of spring: Neon Poodle One Piece, Buster Brown Polka Dot Dress (it has a sweet back keyhole!)

See something you like?  Let us know, and we can get your measurements/dibs! 

**Sidenote: a month or so ago, we featured some shoes on the blog. Unfortunately, my computer died and the photos died with it, so they need to be re-shot before I can post them.  If you want/need them (someone had wanted the mustard flats!), please convo us!!! **