It's a Boy!

It's a boy!

We welcomed Cooper Owen into the world!  He almost arrived on our fourth anniversary after a fairly quick labor, but ultimately decided he wanted his own special day!  Cooper weighed in at 9 pounds 7 ounces!  We are home now as a family of four, enjoying our newborn snuggles and cuddles, and so in love!

Dinner Last Night: Eggplant Parmesan

Call it an old wives tale, but they claim that eggplant parmesan can stimulate labor.  While I know this isn't the famous recipe that boasts this claim to fame, it's simple and easy to prepare, and made for a delicious dinner.  My husband - who is a reluctant eggplant eater at best - even cleaned his plate!

I'll keep you posted if it works…

image/designerbags&dirtydiapers

1st Birthday Party

How is it that my baby is already ONE?!  We celebrated her first birthday last weekend amidst family and a few close friends.  Here are some details from her party!

Originally I was going for a giraffe theme, since she LOVES giraffes, however that morphed into a jungle theme once I discovered these jungle invites by Tiny Prints.

She sported this darling birthday t-shirt, paired with this polka dotted head band.  Doesn't she look adorable?  With her polka-dotted jeans, knotted tee, and headband, she really rocked her "hipster" look.

We did a smash cake, but this was the reaction we got when she sampled the frosting…

Guests dined on lunch, followed by giraffe topped cupcakes

All in all, it was a spectacular party!  The sun came out just in time for cake and singing.  Happy birthday baby girl, we love you to the moon and back!

invitations c/o tiny prints

10 Reasons I Love You: 8 Months

{8 Months}

1. You waved bye bye to me at day care!  It was more of an elongated flick of your fingertips, “Miss America” wave, but nonetheless, wave it was!  Just as the door was about to close you lifted up your tiny hand, tipped your fingers upward and shrieked your sweet baby squeal.  Made my day!

2. Perhaps you are preparing for new teeth, but you’ve started this new habit of sucking on your gums.  Every so often we hear this slurping sound, which I assume is anything but you, sucking on the inside of your cheek or gums.  Self discovery, I tell ya!

3. You have inherited a trait of your grandpa Bud - the point.  Bud is famous for his point, thrusting it across many a family member in order to ensure that they don’t miss a thing!  Lately, you are pointing at everything; airplanes, birds, kids, helicopters, leaves even.  You often accompany an enthusiastic point with the word “dair” which Nana swears once came out as “airplane” plain as day.  

4. We took you in the ultimate bath tub - the pool!  Daddy and I took you to your first swim “lesson,” more of a water babies class, but you loved it.  The pool was a touch cooler than I’d anticipated, but you handled the temperature like a champ.  You kicked your feet, and splashed around, and even floated on your back with your ears underwater.  At the end, you were kicking with such gusto, it was obvious you weren’t ready to get out!  Yet, you didn’t seem to mind the relaxing dunk in the hot tub shortly thereafter.  You are a born swimmer girl!

5. We took you on your first zoo outing.  It was a beautiful sunny day, the stroller wheels newly inflated with air, it was quite an adventure!  Now, mom and dad might have enjoyed the animal experience a tad more than you did, however, you were smitten by the duck sighting in the giraffe, lion, and zebra habitat.  Yes, it was those common Northwest bird ducks, not those wild safari animals that captivated your attention as you gleefully cried, “Du!”  “Du!”.  Just another reason why we love you.

6. A big girl you are, as you’ve decided sippy cups are for babies.  After experimenting with several sippy cups, I just tried the cup sans lid, and voila!  You loved it.  I hold the cup up to your lips and you eagerly lean forward opening up your mouth to drink.  You always seem thirsty and Mommy is perfecting the art of tipping the water ever so slightly as to not douse you with cold water (since that’s happened a time or two).

7. You’ve started to enjoy peek-a-boo played around the corner of the bathroom mirror.  Here’s how it goes: we stand at the edge of the wall separating the bathroom and the hallway.  I lean into the bathroom, and look at myself in the mirror and you slyly follow with your eyes, delighting when you see your reflection.  It’s a game of cat and mouse, hide and seek, as I hold you intentionally away so you have to slowly lean to peer around the corner. You love it and giggle endlessly every single time.

8. You are all over your crib these days, flipping on your tummy, propping your feet up against the rails, I think we’ve reached the end of the predictable back sleeping era.  Oh boy!

9. Your love of airplanes has only increased exponentially!  We often go to the park, lay down a blanket, and watch for the path of airplanes crossing the sky. Turns out, we might be living right underneath a popular route, as you’ve now picked up on the sound of the airplane from inside our home, and you often gesture towards the window when a passing airplane passes overhead.  Do I see a future pilot in our midst?

10. You are so anxious to crawl!  Daddy crawls around the floor, and you excitedly slap the ground and rock forward, as if to take off after him.  I can see the wheels turning in your head, as you carefully observe, and mentally make note of all the steps to complete the process.  I think it will only be a short while before you’re ready to move!

10 Reasons Why I Love You: 7 Months

{7 months old}

1. You have discovered that your tongue is quite the object of amusement.  Sticking it out while blowing raspberries makes for quite a wet kiss, but you love doing this on repeat!  On our flight to LA, I was afraid our neighboring seatmates might get an unwelcome spray from your noiseblowing antics! But instead they smiled and played along and even let you catch a glimpse of Frozen on their laptop.

2. You ride in the stroller like a big girl now, no more of this backward facing carseat strolling, you are facing outward and taking in your world!  Of course, in typical fashion, you kick your feet throughout the entire ride, occasionally getting a squeak or two out of Sophie (or Sophie #2 since we lost one at Greenlake).  It’s amazing to see how interested you are in the world around you, you are in awe of everything; from kids running to loud noises, everything is bright, shiny, new, and exciting...it’s truly amazing to watch.

3. Speaking of strollers, you’ve now recognized how the stroller and carseats work, unhooking equals your release.  Now you gladly outstretch your arms, inviting us to pick you up the second that button releases.  It is so cute, your whole body leans forward as your arms outstretch, elbow locked, eager to get out of the seat and climb our body for a better view.

4. You’re such a happy girl, you’ve discovered the magic of clapping your hands!  It was such a delight to see you clap your hands for the first time.  You clap out of happiness, to simply make noise, and in appreciation of your grateful parents :)

5. Babbling up a storm, dadada, mamamama, babababa, we love to hear you talk!  You babble and squeal.  Sometimes you seem so calm and mellow and then you let out these squeals, talking in your own little language.  I so wish I knew what you were saying!

6. You’re latest new toy - a stuffed sea turtle compliments of my godmother Judy.  This turtle is rotund, round with soft fuzzy flippers.  While I’m getting dressed in the morning, you nestle in the middle of our bed, and reach enthusiastically for the turtle, grasping, reaching, leaning, and eventually plop...faceplant.  You’re much more eager to risk the chance of falling on the soft bed, but it’s a great place to learn. Your latest trick is to nibble the poor guy, if we swim turtle in for a kiss, you open your mouth and playfully gnaw on his fuzzy fins.

7. Drum, drum, drumming!  Daddy will lay on the mat with you and slap his hands against the floor mat tiles, and you willingly join in the musical charade.  Pretty soon you are tapping and slapping together to a beautiful beat.

8. I guess you’ve decided back sleeping is boring, and felt necessary to mix it up in the crib.  First, you somehow rotated 180 in crib, making your body perpendicular to the length of the crib.  How you did this exactly is still a mystery, though I’m confident some was fueled by kicking your feet high up on the crib sides and pushing off, which simultaneously landed you wedged in the width of the crib, somewhat stuck.  Oh dear!

9. Our adventures in solid food have continued: kale, spinach, butternut squash, cottage cheese, carrots, peas, asparagus, among others.  Sometimes, mid-meal you decide to pop your thumb into your mouth, which we affectionately call “squash...with a side of thumb.”  

10. You had your first experience with a babysitter that wasn’t a family member for Aunt Katie and Uncle Greg's wedding - and for two nights in a row at that!  Mom was a little nervous (not gonna lie), but the sitter took good care of you and your pal Myles.  Truth be told, Mom ended up enjoying herself a little too much on her night off…  And as always, you were a lovely little peach.  

10 Reasons Why I Love You: 6 Months

{6 months}

1. Sitting up - I don’t know when this happened exactly, it feels like it was literally overnight.  One minute you were content laying down, the next, you were sitting up, unassisted, happy as a clam playing with your blocks or activity ball.  Occasionally we still put the boppy or a smattering of pillows behind you, just in case, but girlfriend, you’ve got great balance!  

2. Your latest trick is waving at yourself. You turn wrists out, and delicately close and open your fingers in on your palm, admiring this fascinating motion all the while. You do this with such finesse, it’s almost a fanning motion, as if you’re too hot and you’re cooling yourself down for the day.  

3. You have your first two teeth!  The shadow of your two bottom teeth appeared just a few days ago, and then all of a sudden, they were real teeth that broke through!  No more gummy smile!  Whenever we ask you to show us your teeth, you almost immediately stick out your tongue to cover your little chompers.  It’s our own little game of hide and seek teeth.

4. You are a raspberry blowing machine!  You love making noises with your mouth, blowing noises and spit all over the place!

5. How have I not written about this earlier!  Every since you were a tiny babe, you’ve loved to kick your feet.  Whether it be nursing, on the changing pad, dangling off the edge of our lap, or laying back in your stroller, you kick those little toes like it’s your J.O.B. It’s something I’ve come to expect when holding you, or cuddling you.  Kick, kick, kick, we’ve even worked those three little words into some of our silly songs we sing together, mommy’s ever inventive lyrics. :)

6. One of our new favorite games is having you sit up on our bed, and mommy intentionally falls onto the covers around you, sending you into fits of sweet, baby giggles.  You laugh and smile and giggle like it is the most fun you’ve ever had.  It’s the sweetest music, I could listen to you giggle all night long.

7. You’ve went on your first swing!  The bucket swings are quite the ticket at our local park, at peak hours there’s even a line for swings, if you can believe that.  Doting parents that we are, we patiently wait in said lines, and indulge in pure giddiness as you gently swing back and forth, offering up a few smirky smiles, even baring those teeth buds a time or too in enjoyment.  

8. Our solid food journey continues.  You've dabbled with rice cereal, bananas, sweet potatoes, apples, and pears at 5 months.  Ultimately we tried oatmeal and you've never looked back, kid.  Oatmeal makes everything taste better in your eyes, mama might beg to disagree...  

9. I brought you in to school for my “Star of the Week” presentation for my first grade class.  You sat in my lap and cooed and babbled so sweetly, the kids sat there in awe of your little feet kicking, hands waving, and sweet gummy smile.  One of my students even asked so sweetly, “How does she do her hair like that?” referring to how your hair sweeps to one side. I chuckled and smiled, explaining that I brush her hair every night after her bath, but it tends to sweep to the right on its own.  So sweet.

10. Daddy loves to encourage you to crawl.  You sit up with gusto, but you’re not quite ready to turn tummy time into crawling, though you love to watch him crawl around all the furniture, kicking your feet in delight.  Sometimes, he puts you on a blanket and drags you alongside him across the hardwood floors, so you’re “crawling” together.  You love it!

10 Reasons Why I Love You: 5 Months

Two months late, but better late than never…right?

{5 Months}

1. You rolled over, back to front, for the first time unassisted!  February 15, 2014.  We were in Big Sky, Montana on a family ski trip, and you casually rolled back to front like it was no big deal.  Dad led us in a rousing cheer, and you smiled your sweet gummy smile in silent pride.  We’re so proud of you!  You then continued to show off your mad roll skills a handful of times later that day.

2. You are such a calm, mellow baby.  Many people have commented on your relaxed, easy going, and calm demeanor.  And they’re completely right, you are a pretty “chill” baby, your dad says you definitely get that from him and not me.  He’s probably right...  

3. You’ve become much more skilled at finding your thumb while sitting up. In the car seat, seated on the airplane, leaning on mom’s shoulder, you’ve improved your aim at engaging that left thumb with a comfortable suck.  It’s the sweetest.

4. We’ve discovered your infatuation / fear of bubbles.  It is hysterical!  You are awed by the soapy bubbles floating through the air, but often terrified as they pop before your eyes, throwing your hands back with a sharp gasp.  It provides endless entertainment.

5. Since you mastered thumb sucking at a mere 6 weeks, I guess it was only a matter of time before you discovered it is also possible to suck your toes.  This is your latest endeavor on the beloved changing table, grabbing your feet and pulling them up to your face, with an occasional  toe meeting lips.  Oh, my flexible daughter!

6. I love your deep, contented sigh.  Sometimes, after a gaze that takes it all in, you exhale this deep breathe and shrug your shoulders a tiny bit.  It’s the most adorable thing.

7. You’ve discovered how to sit up in the bath tub, reaching your little fingers forward to grip the opposite edge of the bathtub, reaching for the little rubber ducky and frog.  It makes mommy a little nervous, but you’re always eager to explore, and I don’t want to stand in your way.

8. Every day you become more aware of your environment.  The lights glowing on the ceiling, the clouds in the sky, a car started behind you.  You look, stare, survey, and gaze at everything, knowingly taking it all in. I wish I knew what you were thinking as your big blue eyes gaze around at this big world we live in.

9. You’re a ticklish little one.  I hold my fingers high above your head and slowly wiggle my fingers creeping closer and closer to you. You usually giggle in anticipation as my fingers come closer and closer, and you definitely burst into a fit of giggles when my fingers meet your skin.  It’s so much fun to play with you.

10. Every night we tell you what we’re thankful for.  You, of course!  We share specifics, thankful for a family member, a good day at work, but usually our thanks are everything to do with sweet, wonderufl you, the latest giggle, a new milestone, we are thankful for you every day.

10 Reasons Why I Love You

I'm falling behind on my posts...

{3 months}

1. You’ve discovered your hands!  While you’ve already been captivated by your thumb, you’ve made the recent discovery of your hands.  You hold one over the other, knitting them together in your grasp as if to say a tiny prayer.   This hand holding alternates pretty steadily with tucking them in your mouth, your whole fist sometimes!

2. You still adore your changing pad, especially around the bewitching hours of 5-6 o’clock.  We place you on there, lock eyes with us, and there’s this spark in your pupils as you begin your kicking, reaching, “flailing” routine, it’s like an above water swim or something.  Both Daddy and I can recognize that spark in your eyes, it’s as if you’re showing off your mad skills.  We look forward to this every night.

3. You’ve begun to grasp at everything!  The toys hanging from your play mat, the tassles on mommy’s hoodie, my hair, and may I say you’ve got quite a grip!  It’s amazing how the world is coming alive to you, things you used to just look at are now becoming objects you can touch and connect with.  It’s amazing to see you grow and interact with your world.

4. Since about 6 or 7 weeks, you’ve been quite the talker, but you save your true personality for mom and dad.  It’s funny, because others will try to cajole a smile out of you, and while you often oblige, it’s as if you’re saving your true colors for us.  Your laugh, giggles, sweet smile, and wiggles, we love to make you smile, it melts our hearts every time.

5. You’ve almost rolled over!  You’re more interested in rolling back to front than front to pack.  Your latest move: lay on your back, arch your back and twist, thus propelling your body on its side.  Just one little elbow tucked underneath stands in your way from a full body roll over.  It’s bound to happen soon!

6. You’re such a happy girl!  You light up whenever your dad comes home.  When we hear the keys turn in the door, and his footsteps in the hall, you look up and around, and reward him with a big gummy smile when he walks in the room. It’s priceless!

7. Your noises have multiplied!  From cries to “cat calls” to chirps and gargles, your range of sounds and vocals has quadrupled.  We love hearing you talk, babble, and communicate with us.

8. You’re a copy cat!  One of your favorite things to mimic is sticking out your tongue!  We stick our tongue out at you, and instantly you’re mesmerized; intently studying and watching, before you try this “trick” yourself.  Another move you enjoy mimicking is when we roll our “R’s” and you gargle back, that and blowing raspberries…you love to copy us blowing your lips together to make us laugh.  

9. Sitting up!  The Bumbo is your new best friend, although it’s a tight squeeze with a cloth diaper on (haha).  You enjoy sitting up on the counter, giving you the best vantage point in town as we make dinner.  

10. You have the cutest way of crossing your feet as you lay on your back.  You rest one foot atop the other, and often switching back and forth as you wiggle and play.  At night, in you snooze in your crib, we can see the two little feet, nestled across each other in the bottom of your sleep sack.  

Cloth Diapering: How It's Going

You may remember way back when, my husband and I were considering doing cloth diapering. Well...we bit the bullet and jumped on the cloth diaper bandwagon, and I figured it was high time to report back on how it's going! Since our daughter's birth, we've been doing cloth diapers almost exclusively, and with great success! Our current stash is a hodgepode of cloth diapers.  Some I registered for on Amazon, others I picked up via zulily deals, and many I bought on consignment through local moms groups and craigslist, and finally the rest I purchased new.

For the first month to 6 weeks, we exclusively diapered using size 1 cotton prefolds, held on with a Snappi, underneath Thirsties Duo Wrap waterproof covers.  At this point, she was starting to outgrow size 1 prefold diapers, so we began using size 2 prefolds with the same waterproof covers, and started using some AIO (all in one) diapers. For you cloth diaper newbies, AIOs are basically a diaper cover that's fleece lined that you stuff with an insert (which resembles a cotton maxi pad).  These are designed to wick away the moisture from the baby, so when she pees, the wetness goes through the fleece layer, and soaks the cotton insert, keeping the baby feeling dry.  Then, you can reuse the cover if the baby just pees (just restuffing it with a new insert),  and if they poop,  you have to wash the whole thing.  

At about 6 weeks, we began adding in the following diapers - a combination of AIO’s (all-in-ones), waterproof covers, and cloth inserts.

- 7 Bum Genius 4.0 AIO diapers with inserts

- 4 Lotus Bumz diapers with inserts

- 1 Little Monsters cloth diapers

- 2 Flip diapers covers with inserts

- 6 GroVia shells with 6 Stay Dry Soaker pads

My favorites so far are BumGenius 4.0 and GroVia diapers.  I enjoy GroVia’s, (though the most expensive of our lot) because they have a convenient snap-in system, inserts snap into place, and can be easily removed and replaced. These diapers are extremely absorbent and suitable for nighttime wear.  BumGenius 4.0 I also really like, the fleece lining is soft, and wicks moisture away easily, keeping baby happy and dry.  We've had several wet leaks with the few Lotus Bumz and Little Monsters diapers we have, so those are always the last ones I use before doing laundry.  To date, we’ve had zero blow outs.  Zero!  And I'm told that's something to be proud of! There’s something to be said about a diaper cover, it holds all the mess in!

Once she has dirtied a diaper, we place said diaper in a waterproof wet bag.  These wetbags are our brilliant, by far my favorite kind! They zip closed and contain not only the messy diaper, but the smell as well!  Luckily, we haven’t had any problems with diaper odors infiltrating her nursery.  Once the wet bag is full of dirty diapers, it’s time to do laundry!  We keep 2-3 wetbags on hand (one extra is intended for day care), and alternate, so when one is being laundered, there are typically 1-2 others to contain any new dirty diapers.

Many people are discouraged from this form of cloth diapering due to the fact that you must launder the diapers yourselves. And while I’m only about 3 months in, I can say, it’s really not that bad.  Honestly!  We do laundry roughly every other day, sometimes every 3 days.  At this stage, she’s exclusively breastfeeding, and breastfed poo is more liquidy to begin with.  Translation, it washes off fairly easily.  We had been washing her diapers in our utility sink in our basement, where we pre-wash the diapers, rinsing off any solids, before a hot rinse in the washing machine, followed by a wash cycle using this cloth diaper detergent (cloth diaper detergents are recommended to preserve the life of the diapers and prevent any detergent residue build up).

For the skeptics, I'm here to tell you it can work. Will you spend more money upfront? Yes. Will you do more laundry? Yes. But is it worth it? In my opinion, a thousand times yes. We have bought maybe 5 packages of disposable diapers in 3 months. And at $9.99 - $24.99 a pop, those boxes aren't cheap! We still use disposables when traveling, to avoid doing laundry on the road, but I'm sure if you were really committed you could easily continue the cloth habit while on the move. So while our investment into cloth diapering was up front, I'm confident we will save hundreds, even thousands of dollars as our daughter grows, and ideally be able to use the diapers again when we decide to have more kids.

I'm a big advocate of this system, and believe it can work for your family, with a little research, preparation, and the stamina to follow through. If you have any queries, I'd be happy to answer questions or provide any insight from my own experience; email me at lovelylittlethingsblog {at} gmail {dot} com.

image/cottonbabieswholesale

10 Reasons Why I Love You

1. I love how when you're sleeping in our arms or lap, your hands fold gently across your chest, one atop the other.  It's the sweetest thing to watch when you sleep, you look so peaceful and content.  The soft folds of your hands, the smoothness of your sweet skin, I could stare at little baby hands all day long and be wholeheartedly content.

2. You've found your thumb!  After we put you to bed one night, but before we retired ourselves, we heard this loud sucking sound coming from your crib.  I tiptoed in to check on you, and there you were, sucking your little left thumb with gusto.  I hissed at your dad to come in and see, and together we quietly leaned over the edge of your crib, watching you in awe, so proud of your feat.  It's truly amazing how you're already learning and discovering new things for yourself.  Now, a few weeks later, as you're getting more skilled at consistently finding your thumb, you had this adorable habit of sucking your thumb with one hand, and twirling your hair with the other.  It's the sweetest!

3. You've become such a talker, you coo, and smile, and flirt.  It's as if we're having a secret conversation that no one else understands.  Your dad and I have been trying to capture this magic on video for a few weeks now, and I finally got it.  You cooed, smiled, and babbled up a storm.  I've watched that clip on repeat.

4. Oh, how I love your snuggle!  At our mommy and me movie, after I burped you, you curled up on my shoulder, and nuzzled into the soft fabric of my shirt, burrowing your head around until you found that sweet, comfy spot.  With one arm curled around my back, the other resting across my chest, your eyelids grew heavy, your head grew heavy on my shoulder, and you snuggled in for a good nap.  I love  these moments, the closeness of your heartbeat against mine, your warm breath against my neck, our heads nestled against each other in pure bliss.  You can nap on me anywhere, anytime sweet girl.

5. I love your smile, you are such a happy baby!  When we tickle and smile at you, your gummy grin lights up right back at us.  You also love to smile in your sleep, it makes me wonder what you're thinking and dreaming about.

6. You have the cutest little rolls on your wrists, it's the perfect little fold of skin, right where your arm and hand meet.  It's as if you have a rubber band or hair tie right folded right at the crease of this joint.   It's such a small detail, but I love it.

7. You are soo long! At your two month check up this week, the doctor exclaimed, "She's so long!" You are topping the charts at 24 1/4 inches!  Officially in the 95th percentile for your age, you're going to be a tall girl just like your mom!  You're a long and lean little baby, growing more everyday.

8. Turns out, the love for the Detroit Tigers pacifier was short lived, your dad and I joke that you're a fair weather fan, as you gave up your fondness for it shortly after they lost to the Red Sox.  Your latest interest, your lamb Wubbanub, affectionately known as "Lambie."  If we're out and you're feeling fussy, you can bet mom and dad are scrambling going, "Where's Lambie, do you have Lambie?"  However, Lambie does play second fiddle to the built in soother known as your thumb, occasionally we'll find Lambie (who we left on your chest, mid suckle), thrown across your crib in the middle of the night.  Guess there's no substitute for the real thing!

9. You're an active little one.  Lately, the changing table has become center stage for windmill arm and leg acrobatics, kick, kick, kickin' and flailing all around.  It's a mini workout on your back.  We love watching you play.

10. You think mommy is hilarious!  One of our new morning routines is for you to gently rock in the swing, while I playfully dance around the room in faux ballet poses and stretches.  It's a sight to see, let me tell you :)  You smile and crinkle your eyes when I goofily dance around, while you wave and kick and coo happily, amused and entertained by my silly antics.
Mommy appreciates this vote of confidence, by the way.  Love having you by my side. :)

Day at the Movies

Yesterday, Riley and I ventured out to a "Mommy and Me" movie!  A local movie theater offers three movie options to moms and babes every Thursday.  There was about 10-12 other moms there, a few fussy moments, but a pleasant experience overall. The best part - when they take your ticket, you're handed a menu to order concessions from your seat!  Isn't that brilliant?  Needless to say, we enjoyed ourselves and it was a fun activity for mommy, although Riley was definitely intrigued by the screen.

We saw the movie "About Time," with Rachel McAdams, one of my favorite actresses.  When I heard this movie had the same director as Notting Hill and Love Actually, I knew I'd like it.  I do love me a British dramedy!  It's a sweet movie, and a perfect first movie out for a new mom, there's a few sentimental anecdotes about parenting that hit home for me.

Good Things

1. Ocean air is good for the soul.  It was so nice to get away with my little family.  We spent the weekend walking the shores of Cannon Beach (with baby in Ergo), breathing in the salty sea air, and soaking up the gorgeous sunshine on a beautiful fall weekend.

2. Riley has started to coo!  It is the sweetest thing!  She gurgles and giggles and makes all kinds of adorable baby noises, but one of her "favorite" sounds is awfully reminiscent of "Hi," which she sometimes echoes when we say hello back to her.  Therefore we've decided it is her first word :)

3. Came home to fresh flowers on my doorstep last week from the huz to celebrate our anniversary.  We opted out of getting each other gifts this year to save money but I was pleasantly surprised by a blushing bouquet of magenta roses and white gerber daisies to say "I love you." The gesture was greatly appreciated.  In turn, I bought him a cannoli (his favorite) at Whole Foods. That's love :)

4. Fall is alive in Seattle, and made even more beautiful by being pleasantly accompanied by crisp blue skies.  Our wonderfully sunny summer has blessed us with an especially colorful fall, everywhere I look the trees are bursting with vibrant red, orange, and golden leaves.  Love this season!

5. Friends who bring food to new parents with a baby.  I can't tell you how lovely this is.  I never appreciated the true gift of a home cooked meal until I was on the receiving end.  It's glorious!  For those moments when you're tired and starving and you've had one too many frozen pizzas...  Thank you dear friends!

6. New (to us) episodes of How I Met Your Mother on Netflix. My husband and I LOVE this show and are slowly making our way through the final season via Netflix.  Oh how we've missed the inside jokes, the blind side high-5 of Marshall and Lily, and the will-they, won't-they dance of Robin and Barney.  To us, the resurgence of HIMYM after bedtime is Legen (wait for it) -dary!

7. Last Friday night was my first workout post baby.  I figured I'd dive in head first and attend my favorite spin class.  Dark lights, pumping music, sweat flowing, these workouts are intense, and yes, it was challenging, but I did it!  Gave myself a hearty pat on the back!

8. Receiving my new teaching certificate in the mail.  I'm "officially" legit for another 6 years! Woot, woot!

9. Halloween party at my PEPS (moms) group.  What a sight to see!  Try taking a picture of 4 ladybugs, a dinosaur, Princess Leia, an old fashioned girl, Superman, a monkey, and a pirate all wriggling around on the floor in a circle.  Priceless!

10. My little bug is 8 weeks on Thursday!  I sure love being her mommy.

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Road Trip!

This weekend my little family and I are off to Cannon Beach, Oregon to celebrate our 2-year wedding anniversary!  It's our baby's first road trip!  I'm excited to cruise the beach, enjoy some (hopefully) fog-free sunsets, and relax with my lovies. 

Have a sweet weekend!

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Newborn Photos

It's hard to believe our sweet girl is 6 (almost 7) weeks already!  Here are some of our favorites from her newborn photo shoot.  We can't get enough of her!

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10 Reasons Why I Love You

1. You are such a sweet and curious baby, always turning your side to side to soak up your surroundings, I always wonder, what are you thinking about?  You are usually wide eyed and alert when awake, pensively staring as you take it all in.

2. You love to stretch!  When you wake, you arch your back, slowly shrug your shoulders, and move your head gently from side to side.  This is followed by clenched fists as you reach your arms upward into the air, shoulders twisting from side to side.  Your stretching is often accompanied by a great big yawn, and you are most definitely your momma's daughter, not easy to rouse after a restful sleep.

3. You love sleeping with your arms above your head; arms up, elbows bent, head tilted to the side, as if you're a referee calling a touchdown.  While you enjoy your swaddle time, you almost always find a way to wrangle those arms free of that swaddle blanket to resume this comfy position.

4. You have the best facial expressions!  From sleepy to happy to quizzical to amused, we're doing our best to capture each and every expression in photographs.  We can already tell you're growing so big, we look back at pictures of you as a newborn and you look so tiny!

5. You have been a rockstar baby for visitors. When friends and family come over, you either coo sweetly or lounge contentedly in their lap, snoozing as they ooh and ahh over your sweet face.  It's as if you're saving your louder personality just for mom and dad :)

6. You are a snugglebug, we love how you're so eager to curl up and nestle your head into our shoulder or snuggle into your daddy's chest.  I love peeking down at you, as you rest your gentle head on my shoulder, and seeing your wide open mouth; content and fed, and happily asleep.

7. You love your changing pad - it's so funny, I would have never thought the diaper station would be a preferred location for a baby, but you're always happy and content to wiggle and lay there while we're rummaging through drawers or clamoring for wipes.  I think you like the vantage point, being able to lay comfortably and stare up, as you'd much prefer laying here your crib :)

8. Of all the pacifiers in the bunch, you much prefer your Detroit Tiger's pacifier to them all.  No Soothies, Nuks, or Wubbanubs for this baby - at least not yet.  Your dad thinks this is a good omen for his beloved sports team.

9. You have the cutest sleepy just-after-eating smile.  Your forehead crinkles up as you raise your eyebrows, and a slow sleepy smile spreads across your face.

10. You have changed our life forever.  We love you so much already Riley, and our hearts are growing with love for you every single day.

Back to Blogging

{Riley, 2 days old}

Thanks to Lea, Ashlee, Julie, Teresa, Erinn, Amira, and Claire for their fantastic guest posts on motherhood while I've been away adjusting to life at home with a newborn.  I hoped you enjoyed reading their sweet wishes and wise words as much as I did.  

We are settling into life at home with our sweet Riley, and I hope to be back to blogging more regularly soon (I consider my 3 posts since her birth a HUGE accomplishment!).  I do hope to pick back up sooner than later, as I love having this avenue to help document our new life with our little one as she grows.  Even rereading my pregnancy posts inspires emotion and nostalgia, and makes me thankful I wrote down how I feeling during that time.

Until then, a friend reminded me of this quote, "The days are long, but the years are short," - Gretchen Rubin...I can feel the truth in this already as we're creeping up on 1 month of having a daughter!  

Making a Memory

During these first few days home, I've found myself trying to soak up every sweet moment and savor the smallness of our baby, and her sweet baby scent before she grows up and changes in a flurry.

As I rock in our glider, Riley nuzzled under my chin, I find myself replaying the scene from the original Parent Trap over and over in my head.   Hayley Mills' character, Sharon McKendrick, upon meeting her grandfather for the first time, buries her nose into her grandfather's lapel, and sniffs heartily, much to his bewilderment.  "What are you doing?" he inquires, laughing at her eager smelling. "I'm making a memory," she replies candidly.  "Years from now, when I'm all grown up, I'll remember my grandfather, and how he always smelled of...tobacco and peppermint!"

This is the only way I've been able to describe what I find myself doing these past few weeks...making a memory.  I find myself burying my nose into the soft, downy hair of our little girl's head, inhaling her sweet baby smell, trying to lock this precious scent into the folds of my memory.  Capturing the softness of her skin against mine, the way she fits in crook of my arm, the heaviness of her head on my shoulder...all these moments together, making a memory.

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