Goodbye Summer

Fall is here - and we're bringing out all the decorations in our house. I love this time of year. Coats, boots, scarves and football. But it's hard to say goodbye to summer when the weather reads upper eighty's this weekend. I guess I'll enjoy it while I can. 

With summer ending, I am happy to say goodbye to everything that came with it. We had a record of eight weddings over the past few months. Most of which we had to travel out of town for. It's been an exhausting (and expensive) few months - but we enjoyed every minute of it.

Toronto, Canada | San Diego, CA | Monterey, CA | Boston, MA | Rutland, VT

Many memories were created since we took Jordan on most of these trips. I will admit that on two of the flights, I sat there and cried. Any parent that has flown with a child knows what I'm talking about. Especially when they learn how to walk. Attempting to sit on a plane with a child who wants to get down and walk everywhere is hard. And thirty minutes of screaming feels like three hours. Now that I look back, it doesn't seem that bad - but at the time I wanted to crawl under a rock. Needless to say, we are done traveling for a while. We put Jordan on a plane three times in two months. I don't blame him for screaming. 

Because I took way too many pictures over the course of our summer trips...I will leave you with a mini summer Instagram photo dump...

One Year

I was on my laptop the other night, putting together albums of pictures that don't have a home. I came across all the pictures and videos of Jordan's birth. I sat there and cried - realizing that my baby is now a toddler. A year old. How did this year go by so fast?

What an amazing little boy he is turning out to be. Such a wonderful personality and so full of love and life. It's fun to watch his eyes light up over the smallest thing; a water bottle, or a leaf. His curiosity is so interesting, yet funny at the same time. The kid can do laps around the living room like no other - over and over, and doesn't get bored. The 'Energizer Bunny' has nothing on my son.

One Year.
Jordan stands at 31 inches tall and weighing in at 20lbs. He has eight teeth (with molars coming in!) and is a running machine. I am excited to scream to the world that we are officially done with formula. Such an awful expense that I'm glad to be over with. Jordan surprisingly took to cows milk easily....now we just have to master switching him from a bottle to a sippy cup. So far, the bottle wins.

Jordan's first birthday was an event in the making. It felt like wedding planning; you plan to the extreme - leading up to this one day. And then it's over. As stressful as it was, the party was perfect. Sure, there were tons of people there, but it was great to celebrate with our friends and family. But in the words of my husband, "never again".

The best decision I made about the party? Hiring a friend-of-a-friend to capture his birthday memories. Money well spent. Tara is an amazing photographer and I'm so pleased with our pictures. Best part is, I got more than just pictures - a new friendship grew. Check out her blog here.

A few pictures to end with....

Life as a Mom

Good grief. I literally haven't blogged since I gave birth. I've obviously been so busy, but honestly haven't had the desire to write. I have about six post drafts (some with only a few sentences), but never finish them.

Since having Jordan, my life has been a whirlwind. I'm pretty sure I have perfected the ability to multitask and change my clothes with one hand and baby in the other. Meals are quick (and often cold) and the nights of getting at least four hours of straight sleep brings a moment of rejoice. Spit up, poop explosions and getting peed on are all things I'm used to now. But all of that doesn't compare to the perfection of this little boy we call our son.

I would be writing you a book if I sat here and caught you up on the past eight months. So I won't. I will however tell you that the past eight months have been the best months of my life. Being a mother is the most rewarding job I have, and will ever experience. It doesn't even begin to come close to what I thought it was like. I was born to be a mother. Don't get me wrong -- I have my days where I'm so tired I could fall asleep while standing up; or I'm so emotionally exhausted, I could cry. Funny thing is, this is just the beginning. I can't wait to look back on this day and think 'girl, you had no idea'.

Jordan is growing up fast. Too fast. He started crawling around six months and has lately proven that he's on a mission to walk. He's eight months old and is the most determined kid I've ever seen. I think he's trying to keep up with the other kids at daycare. Yep, he's in daycare...and it was hard for me to do. Luckily our lady came highly recommended, as she babysat my current and old boss's children. Both of which had nothing but nice things to say about her, which made things so much easier on me. Although it's never easy to leave your baby. picking him up every day makes my heart melt. Seeing his face light up when I walk in the door is the best part of my day.

It's hard to believe that I'm starting to think about the planning stages of my son's first birthday party. Um...how the heck did any of us plan party's before Pinterest!? If you're not obsessed with it, then you live under a rock. I find the best ideas on there and I only wish it were as popular as it is when I got married a few years ago.

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I went back to work full time in early December and it was such a huge adjustment. I was fortunate to have five months off of work for maternity leave...so going back wasn't easy. I was also still nursing -- so for all you working mom's, you know how much fun it is to pump at work. Totally kidding. First of all, I applaud those of you who were/are able to continue and stick with it. I unfortunately had a hard time keeping up with it. I only lasted for about two months before my supply had drastically decreased. When I first went back to work, I was able to pump 16-20oz in a day; but towards the end I was working hard to pump 4oz. I was sad and felt defeated, but I knew I was done. My ultimate goal was to nurse for six months...and I did just that. Once I got over it, I patted myself on the back and moved on.

I'm pretty used to my routine now and every day when I leave work, I go home to start my second job. And that "job" is the best job. Cooking dinner and having family time with my husband and son is what I look forward to. I am the happiest I have ever been.

And yes...a birth story is still in the works. I've been incredibly lazy with that...soon, I promise.

Without further ado, here are a couple updated pictures of my pride and joy....

(Baby in a Box!! Christmas 2012)

(Looking WAY too much like his daddy!)



(Happy 8 Months, little boy!)