Overheard: before bed convo

Me: Do you know who Jenna Dewan-Tatum is?

J: (dead serious) Is that a facebook friend or a famous person?


{Sigh. Guess I should be glad the hubby has no clue who she is. Does he not read US weekly??}

snow.

And on Christmas Eve, it snowed. Sienna's first snowfall as we walked in from church. Perfection.

PS sparkly skirt with tulle overlay hiding under my jacket is from TARGET! Can you believe it?

Emerging

I spent the first Christmas of my little girl sick in bed. Stomach flu hit me so hard and kept me down a few days.

Just as I got back on my feet, J took a leap to the sick side.

S is also under the weather.

So we packed up our gear, and hightailed it out of family time to save the others from our fate.

Two days of hibernation in our (completely lysol cleaned) home and we are finally getting back to normal.

Chicken and rice in this house for dinner. Plain Jane but safe. That's our style right now.

Christmas updates and photos of S soon!

Xoxo.

New Life

Today in facebook/blog world three of my friends posted that they had their babies (you know, of the 17, or 18, or however many I know who are pregnant).

After a terribly somber week and feeling like my heart was constantly heavy, I felt pure joy in seeing those sweet newborn pictures and knowing that some of my friends are getting the best gift of all this christmas. I felt a bittersweet wave of emotion sweep over me, knowing they will be in the thick of the indescribable love and of course fatigue that comes with a sweet little bundle. There is so much love in the world and new babies are the best reminder of all.

Welcome to parenthood, friends!

PS An especially big congrats to one of my fav fellow bloggers, Sarah (+Lee). Baby Morgan is gorgeous... and we know I'm quite partial to the name too!

For Connecticut, you have my heart.

{In honor of Charlotte, Daniel, Olivia, Josephine, Ana, Dylan, Madeleine, Catherine, Chase, Jesse, James, Grace, Emilie, Jack, Noah, Caroline, Jessica, Avielle, Benjamin, Alliso}

My heart hurts this Sunday evening. We were ironically en route to Connecticut this weekend when we heard the horrible news. I am glad we weren't near a computer when tragedy struck on Friday. I fear I would have been too quick with my words, not careful enough with my thoughts. I write this post not as a professional, not as a political activist (though I can't fight the thoughts that come with those identities of mine- I'll save them for another time), but as a mom. And as the daughter of a teacher.

The cheeks of the nation are tear stained and I know I am not alone in being a parent who envisioned what it was like to get the news that your sweet child has been killed. I know I am not alone in my sheer horror, sadness, anger, and fear. I know I am not alone in my wishes that this was just a bad dream.  I know I am not alone in grasping to whatever I can that allows me to continue to believe I can protect my child in this world. And I know for sure, with most certainty, I am not alone in thanking God for my baby, for letting me have another day to hug her, another day to watch her grow.

This is not fair, not ever. No six year old should know the terror that accompanies that kind of death; no six year old survivor should have to carry this scary memory with them for their entire life. It's too young. They were just babies. Beautiful innocent babies. No teacher should have to throw themselves in the line of fire to protect their young and eager students, knowing it was their last moment but willing to do it to save their kids. But they do, they did.

So with that, I say...  My heart is broken and hurting and my soul is crying the tears of every parent across the country. I'm sending every thought and on my knees prayers and small pieces of hope to those families, to the parents and siblings who are suffering a loss that is unbearable and unthinkable. I am holding my sweet, sweet baby girl a little tighter this weekend and breathing in her babyness, with the extra reminder to be patient and kind as a parent- to treasure our moments.

Sending our love to you, Newtown, Connecticut. We surely cannot totally understand your pain, but you are not alone. We grieve with you.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/15/3143534/names-and-ages-of-those-killed.html#storylink=cpy

Overheard: on our couch

Les Mis commercial comes on.

Me: have you ever seen les Mis?
J: No- what's it about anyway?
Me: Well it takes place... (insert 3 minute rambling explanation).
J: it means the miserable right?
Me: yeah.
J: Yep not interested.

We need a little christmas....

Christmas season is one of my favorite times. There's nothing like walking into my parents house and seeing the direct line to their freshly cut specifically chosen real Christmas tree, complete this year with only bells and felt ornaments on the bottom so the babies can touch them.

Of course, during our trip to visit my parents this weekend/beginning of this week while the hubs traveled, much time was spent picking pine needles off her hands. That's the thing about real trees- they shed. I am not fast enough or observant enough to do that 24.7.

So we decided that for this year, while S is on the move for REAL with her crawling, standing, cruising, we needed a plan. We put up our 4 foot tree in our bay window- and instead of letting her pull it down (which I am 99.9% would have happened- this baby is STRONG), we just hold her up to it and sit with her to see the ornaments and the lights. Good solution. We also nixed most of the low laying decor this year for the hanging and top of shelving items.

Our house is just so warm at Christmas. Even with a faux tree, the yankee candle white christmas smell fills the house and it feels perfect. S is mesmerized by it all and that's really the best part.  Here's a look at what we threw together this year.

Outside I went with simple. Red ornament wreath, greens, and gold bows.

Oh yes, the burlap-ish ribbon is my fav this year. Gold and greens are our "general theme" but there are reds and other Christmasy things included. These wreathes were $3 at AC Moore. Sold.

Note to self: put on the lights before taking photos next year! Womp Womp....

Speaking of burlap and twine, and other such things... these are our presents this year. A spin off of a pinterest project I saw... but all the presents have different wrapping paper, tied with some string I had in my craft supplies, and a big initial tag. I sort of love them.  Sienna has unwrapped (tore pieces of paper and threw them in the air) any gift I leave on the ground, so these are all placed up high as well now.

In sticking with our theme, here is our card holder this year. I had some of these mini clothes pins in the craft box, so I put them to use. I actually found them in the same bag as the paper for the gift tags. I love them! Props to those first few Christmas cards- we got them in early December. This is actually totally full now and another one is going to be placed on the other side of the doorway.

This is S' handprint at 9 months old. I mean, come on... Don't you just melt? But here's my advice for these things- don't do it yourself. Don't let your husband do it by himself. It seems simple but is a joint effort. S kept digging her fingers into this, creating more of a "I am destroying the city of ornament town" look instead of a cute first Christmas handprint. Thanks to my fantastic girlfriends Jen & Beth- this was a shower gift, you two were so on top of it!

So there we have it, Christmas simplicity in the Walls house this year.
Can't wait to see Sienna's face light up Christmas morning when tearing up wrapping paper and playing with boxes is not only allowed but enouraged.

Merry Merry!

xoxo

true religion... and i'm not talking about God or Church.

This morning, I could put my designer jeans back on my body. Yes, it's been nine months. Yes, they are the stretchiest ones. But I'll take it. Hallelujah, Merry Christmas to me.

Pump It Up. The working BF Mama.

[If you're not a mom, mom to be, thinking about becoming a mom one day, or a person who likes knowing and learning really bizarre things, you can stop reading. For real. But if you are any of those people, this is for you. You may want this one day]

We are almost 10 months in over here. Into mamahood and into breastfeeding. And when you're a working mom, that comes with pumping...I am now confident that I know what I'm doing, that I can get enough milk to feed S, that I can stop being a milk nazi because our freezer is stashed. Now, if no one tells you about the difficulty of the early days of breastfeeding, then no one MINUS one person told you about pumping and the trials and tribulations. I've worked my ass off to make this work for S and for me, and not miss a beat at work. So far, so good. This post is long, beware, but if it helps one new mama know what to expect, it's worth it.

When S was 6 weeks old (SIX WEEKS- WAS I AN INSANE PERSON?!) I went back to work. Prior to that, around 3 weeks old, me and my trusty pump became friends. I got the Medela Pump in Style Advanced.

 

 

So here's a few things to start with. First of all, the settings are confusing. It says turn on and it will switch to "let down" mode after a few minutes unless you know you let down already and then just flip it. WHAT THE?! As a three week mom I had no clue what this meant. I had not been "feeling a let down". Just let the pump do it's thing is what I learned. But but but (!!!) unlike breastfeeding where you push through the pain in the first days, just turn the pump's setting down a bit if it hurts. Also, this bag looks infinitely cleaner than mine, which despite BEING cleaned weekly has milk spots on it now. A sign of it being very well loved.  But let's talk about how this working mom thing works, okay?

 

Pre-1. Before you go out on maternity leave, figure out where you will pump when you return and see if you can block some time to do so, about 20 minutes 3x/day if at all possible. After awhile I dropped to twice a day for 10 minutes.

 

1. Practice. I prepared before I went back to work. I practiced. I stashed milk. I had enough to get through three entire days of work before I went back. Let this be heard: As long as you stay about two days ahead (for the days you get stuck at work late and need extra), you will probably be fine. Also, practice giving baby a bottle. The world of BF pros will tell you not to give baby a bottle early in life as to not give babe nipple confusion, but I had six weeks- seriously I was nuts- so I had to introduce sooner than later. One of my SAHM friends actually gave a bottle by two weeks and her little dude is a nursing champ. Listen to your gut- and your baby.

 

2. Don't expect the first days to go well. The first day you go back to work and you are crying in your car on the way there, don't expect pumping to go easy or well. I got less milk than usual the first week back. I was stressed, I was tired. I learned quickly though, and settling into the routine took about two weeks or so. I did what people said too. I brought pictures of S (and my awesome work hung a framed one of her in the room along with the other babies of new mamas), I listened to music, I browsed the internet. I did not "concentrate" on pumping enough. Oh also, I felt horrible nausea the first month or so when I pumped. I think it was a mix of dehydration and hormones. It passed eventually. [Oh, by the way, some people swear by the hands free pumping bras but I just figured out a way to rig my own... so not worth the $$ to me]

 

3. But do arm yourself! Mother's milk tea (I downed this!), TONS of waterade (half water, half gatorade), granola bars. Fenugreek pills-6 per day if you do it right. Make sure to eat. Especially early on when I was pumping 3x/day, I had to majorly up my calories. I know ladies, sad face when you want to lose those baby lbs, but worth it if you are commited to bf (and I was/am). I have a huge cup at work and a CASE of granola bars in my car so I can grab one on my way in each morning.

 

 

 

4.  Have the supplies you need. I thought I'd use those medela tubes to freeze milk, but they are bulky and harder to fit in the freezer. I quickly switched to milk freezer bags. I've used Medela, Nuk, and Lansinoh. To be honest, I don't think it matters and now buy what's on sale. Anything we've defrosted has been good, so I assume they all do their double duty (two ziplocks) job.

 



What else? Let's see I usually just pump directly into the medela bottles with the screw on caps. I carry a small cooler (that came with my pump), a freezer pack, and throw the bottles in there once I'm finished.  Oh also I combine the two bottles from each pump. Easier to carry. And, I have two sets of pump parts as well. Totally helps for washing each every night and having a second set ready to go! I suggest just getting this Medela accessory kit, which gives you the extras you need PLUS the quick clean microwave bags I'll mention in my cleaning routine.

 

 

 

I have extra medela bottle caps, too.

 

 

 

There are a lot more "things" I have, but for actually taking to the office with me, the medela bottles and caps, the bags in case you need extra storage, and the little medela freezer bag are all I really stash in my pumping bag (oh and the food and water too).

 



5. Have an easy routine. In the early days, exhaustion followed me into the house. And usually the number one thing I did was nurse. But after that, I put away my milk. If I was going to use it the next day, I just popped the bottles into the fridge. Our nanny/mymom/Jamie was able to just take it out, and put the whole bottle in warm water to heat it. They just had to pour into the bottles when S was ready to eat.

 

If it was a Friday (or these days when I work part time) and the milk wouldn't be used for a few days, into the Lansinoh Freezer Milk Storage Bags it goes. I date the bags and put the number of ounces first. Then I open the bags and put the entire top of the medela bottle into it to pour so I don't lose any. Because let's be honest, this stuff is LIQUID GOLD. J and my mom can attest to the fact that if you spill it I become a fire breathing dragon with spikes on it that could take out a whole town. IT'S THAT IMPORTANT to me.

 

 

Bags go in the freezer, oldest in the front, newest in the back.

 



 

Once I store the milk, I clean my pump parts and the bottles. Like I said before, I highly recommend two sets of pump parts (besides the tubing, just one set of those). It makes life easier. So right after I put my milk away, I rinse my pump parts and bottles with water and dish soap (just rinse, not wash well).

 

Then I toss all the parts into a medela steam clean bag. Add two ounces of water, microwave 90 seconds. Pour out extra water. Done. On days when our dishwasher is about to be run, I chose the "heavy" cycle and throw the bottles in there on santize.

 

 

After they are done, I toss them onto our Boon Grass drying rack. I suggest getting the lawn actually, it's a lot bigger. But ours works for this age since we are doing less bottles than in the newborn days.

 



 

Since I have two sets of pump parts (this is the third time I'm saying this... totally worth it) I just leave these to try and grab the other set from the cabinet. I throw them,medela bottles,and caps in my pumping bag the night before.

 

In the morning, all I do is throw the ice pack and freezer pack into my bag. Voila. Sounds like a ton of work, but total this routine takes under 10 minutes (I can usually put S in her high chair while doing this. When she was younger I asked my mom or the nanny to stick around for "just 5 minutes" allll the time so I could do this).

 

6. Organization. We have an entire shelf in our cabinet for my breastfeeding/pumping stuff. It is now a little out of control that we have so many bottles, caps, pump parts, etc. But it makes life easy because I know where to find things and am never searching for them.

 

 

There's the bowl of caps. Next to it is a mini tupperware container that holds pacifiers. We barely ever give them to S anymore, but in the first few months, these were a total key player, so they got their own home. I reach up, grab what I need, and we are good to go.

 

7. A word on freezer storage. First of all, print this out. It's Kelly Mom's guidelines on breastmilk storage and is super helpful. I was given a magnet of this at thehospital too. So... we do a few things to ensure my milk stays frozen and good. Our freezer goes below zero- and I often set it below zero. Sure, it takes longer to defrost other foods-but my milk is solid. We have lost our power for 24 hours and not had a single bit of milk start to melt. So you can store at that temp for up to a year- but we've tried to stick to the 6 month rule since technically we do open and close the freezer for other things. We keep it in the back of the freezer and in a separate area from everything else.

 

That being said, last week I think J gave S some milk from May (oh hello, 7 month old milk) and it smelled fine, she ate it, and she is totally fine. I guess you can be flexible.  I mean, at this point, it's either use it or lose it anyway I think.

 

 

 

 

I lost count awhile ago of how many ounces are in there, but as you can see there is some from dates like May 9. Oops. I may have been to stringent on milk collection in thebeginning,but I am quite confident now we will make it to a year of breastfeeding, which has always been my goal for little S.

8. Extra things- bottles and manual pumps.  We see tommee tippee bottles. They are the only ones that S really likes. But our niece loved the Comotomo natural bottle. And a lot of our friends also like the Playtex Drop Ins. It's worth it to try a few if baby doesn't seem to like one.

Also, I highly recommend getting a manual pump. I bought this Medela Harmony. It saved my life many days at 2 am after nursing S and still being full. I'd pump a few more ounces and throw in the fridge quickly in order to bulk up my stash. It was also great for things like pumping while playing with the baby post work, or on days when we were in the car and I didn't want to lug my big pump but knew S may nap through nursing time on a drive and we could give her a bottle when she woke up. I even pumped at three weddings with my manual pump. 

So here we are, two point five months away from the one-year goal we set for breastfeeding. To be honest, I love nursing S now. She cuddles and is sweet and wonderful. But if I could stop pumping tomorrow, I'd be the happiest woman on earth. So who knows what lies ahead for our nursing relationship, but for pumping...the countdown is on. 

P.S. Thus far, if I estimate how much time I have spent pumping over the past year it adds up to about 6,000-7,000 minutes, or 100 hours. That's just pumping and not breastfeeding! That is about two and a half weeks of full time work to get to where we are. I'll give myself a pat on the back for that.

Difficult, stressful and challenging? Yes. Time consuming? YES. But did it get easier everyday? Also a big resounding yes. Did I sometimes enjoy a 10 minute quiet break in my day to check facebook? Yes. And all this to say, it was worth every.single.second for my little one. And some days, some days I think... it is possible to work and be a mom and breastfeed. Go me.

adventures in mamahood

It's 9:02 pm.

I think I smell poop.

I'm having a brief moment where I'm hoping it was the cat and not the baby. The cat won't wake up at 1am crying to have a new diaper.

Sigh.

saturday night memoirs.

I was making Christmas presents this evening, going through the photos from this year... and oh my goodness...


I already forgot how tiny she was already.

I forgot how tired we looked.

I forgot how emotional it all was.

Oh Sienna, I love you more each day, and I gotta tell you, I totally love this whole sleeping 11-13 hour stretches.  But your littleness in these photos has me swooning. Sigh. New babies. Can't wait to get my hands on some of my friends' little ones on their way this winter/spring.

Happy Weekend Evening (on my couch, blogging, Christmas shopping, wouldn't have it any other way.... I'm.so.old)

nine months

Sienna turned N I N E !!! months last week. It blows my mind to think that means she's been part of our life for a year and a half since she also spent nine months growing inside! Sometimes I can't believe how fast this is all going by. In three more months my tiny baby will be a year old. It sometimes seems like yesterday I brought a tiny 7 pound newborn through our doors, and now we have a spirited, funny, cute baby who is curious and wonderful.

Let's see... the months are started to blur together but here are our new discoveries:

• Crawling for real (as opposed to the army crawl or dragging)
• Pulling up to standing in her crib and on the couch.
• Laughs to get us to laugh at her.
• Eating real people food with mama and dada!
• Babbling constantly
• Crawling after us when we leave the room to find us.
• Deciding when you want something and screaming at us for it (h i l a r i o u s)
• Loving restaurants and new people.
• Celebrating first thanksgiving!
• Celebrating grammy's birthday.
• (Knock on wood) you are finally an amazing sleeper.
• On the downside: first ear infection and cough.

She's pretty much the best, but I think everyone already knows that. We love love love you little bear.

xoxo,
Mama

Uh Oh...

 

Now you're all in big BIG trouble.

(name that movie)

Random Ramblings of Sunday

I love that our family all lives within 1.5 hours of us.

It means Sunday brunch with my brother, sister in law, and baby Stella.

Sienna wanted to eat all of Stella's snacks.

Typical.

Sienna also stole a sweet potato fry off my plate.

Havre de Grace on a 65 degree day = great for an afternoon walk.

And of course some instagram pics.

 

 

In other baby news, S stood up in her crib today.

Time to lower the mattress.

I pumped on the way to lunch.

Because my child is too distracted to nurse lately.

I almost spilled milk in the car.

I felt like this.

 

 

House wise, we've been neglectful lately.

Time to get back to business.

I started painting the kitchen this weekend.

I was supposed to paint it circa last January.

Oops.

The greyish blue is a big win over the green.

The photo below is way darker than what it looks like.

Goal is to finish coat #1 by end of tonight.

 

 

 

 

Sigh, don't you just love weekends?

 

 

Saturday Morning.

 

Fav foods. Fav drinks. Fav baby. Yes, yes, yes.

New fav recipes.

Lately we've had some downtime in our house, mostly due to Hurricane Sandy. Combine that with a few other life events that have had us more grounded than usual, and it leaves me with a few extra cooking and baking adventures. I've gotten back to using pinterest lately and trying to actually do or use the things I pin. These two recipes are tweaked from things I found there.

Number One: Stuffing Bread Peach French Toast Casserole
*The real recipe used texas toast but when I saw a bag of "stuffing bread" in the grocery store for $1, I figured it was the perfect thing to use. Especially since I planned on freezing this.

Ingredients

Bread (any kind really as long as it's slightly stale)

6 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

butter for bread

Peach or Apricot Marmalade (I used peach butter from our natural food store)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 1/2 cups milk  (I used soy)

 

 

1. Butter bottom of casserole dish

2. Layer of bread (buttered on one side)

3. Layer of peach/apricot marmalade

4. Lay of buttered bread

5. Whisk milk, nutmeg, eggs in a bowl.

6. Pour mixture over bread

7. Fridge for 8-24 hours, then remove

8. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar

9. Bake for 40-50 mins at 375 degrees

 

PS I always let S help me bake. I give her spoons, measuring cups, bowls, and stick her in her high chair right next to the counter. I sometimes let her measure (aka play with) some flour or something that won't harm her if she gets a bit in her mouth. She LOVES this and watches intently when I turn on the mixer and push buttons on the oven. Great baby activity.

Prepared at night; Baked in the morning.

Mmm delicious! This was so much food. We ate about 1/4 of it. Froze the rest. Saving for a rainy morning! So so good.

 

Number Two: Salmon with home made teriyaki and sriracha sauce stuffed with cream cheese

[topped with green onions]

 

Ingredients:
Teriyaki Sauce:

1/4 cup corn starch

1/4 cup cold water

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 cup cold water

2 tablespoons honey

5 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

sprinkle of garlic powder

 

Salmon:
Salmon filets

cream cheese (to your liking)

Sesame Seeds

Green onion

 

Sriracha Spicy Dressing:

1/4 cup Sriracha sauce

3/4 cup mayo

3 tablespoons condensed sweetened milk

 

To make teriyaki sauce:

mix corn starch + water in bowl, set aside

mix rest of ingredients into sauce pan, simmer (make sure brown sugar is melted)

add in corn starch mixture and mix until thickens (about 1 minute)

 

Salmon Filet Prep:

Prepare salmon by slicing knife in lengthwise to create pocket 

Place salmon filets in dish

Cover with teriyaki mixture

Refridgerate 30 mins-8 hours

 

Remove salmon from fridge

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Stuff cream cheese in pockets

Sprinkle sesame seeds

Place in baking dish that is lined with tin foil, cover with foil

Bake at 400 for 20-25 mins

Uncover, bake 5 mins (you can broil if you want crispy)

 

While baking, mix Sriracha sauce ingredients

Cut green onions.

Top once Salmon is finished.

 

The hubby went back for seconds. So good, so Easy!

 

Happy Eating!

 

 

 

men who respect women. more specifically, moms.

Have you guys ever read howtobeadad.com? It's hilarious. But the premise is that the hilarity is wrapped in the fact that these dudes praise and respect their wives for being moms- and their kids for being kids. I was browsing the past postings and camem across a post about the whole breastfeeding debate. And at the end, it had this quote:

You are mom enough.

Because there's a little person in this world who calls you mom.

-Andy


Well said.

Read the full article here.

PS- Speaking of a little person calling you mom... S is now looking at me in the eye and saying "mom!" or "ma ma ma ma" while crawling to me. Call me crazy, but I think my girl knows who I am. Success.

Even RAPPERS make more money than the president... that's what I don't understand

This cracked me up.

Aside from the title, my other favorite comment was probably this:
"The white house party and the black house party"

[taken from the daily what.]

three quarters of a year.

Oh. my. goodness. How did my teeny tiny baby get to be a moving, babbling, functioning 8 month old? I know, I know, everyone tells you it moves fast. But, It moves fast. Each day is so amazing because so many things are new to you. Discovery is your thing. This month, so much has happened developmentally. I can't keep track of it all.

Little bear,  in the past month you started to clap, to crawl [army style and now sort of half crawl], to wave, and got two teeth! You are also infinitely attached to me which I have to admit, is really cute. Sometimes tiring, but always cute. And you crawl to me and wrap your arm around me for a hug when you need one (you are so my daughter, mama always loves hugs). You love food. All food. I even shared a piece of my quesadilla with you on our road trip to New York. You have tried all kinds of things and I've yet to see you turn something down. You squeal with delight when daddy gets home from work. Mama returned to work part time and you act like you just won the lottery when I walk through the door. Best thing ever. You love water, both drinking and playing in it, but unlike a few months ago when you wanted to take a long evening bath, now when you are finished you reach to us and put your arms up. You're babbling up a storm and ma ma ma ma is your fav thing to say (duh, we are BFF). You are communicating with us in all these new ways. You went from a helpless newborn to a determined baby. You're my little buddy now; always exploring something new together.

Best of all baby girl, you are just such a cool little person. You're laid back yet curious. You're observant but vocal. So far, you most certainly have the best of both me and daddy combined. I couldn't love you more. I couldn't be more thankful for you.  When I close my eyes at night, the last thing I picture in my head is your smile. Life is certainly more of a challenge since you got here, but it's also so much more fun. I can't help but wonder what new adventures will come in the last 1/4 of year one.

Happy 8 months, S!

PS I wonder how long you will smell like a "baby" and if it ever goes away or if when it's your kid they always smell like a baby. I could drink you in all day long.

Saratoga Springs

Long weekend trip to upstate New York.
Survived (2) six hour car trips with a 7 month old.
Wedding number... five of the season.
Gorgeous venue, delish food.
Another couple ties the knot.
Brunch & naps.
Hiked Saratoga National Park
Explored downtown Saratoga Springs parks.
Enjoyed Saratoga gorgeous lake views.
Family time.
Tons of photography.
Lunches out with the babies.
Celebrated anniversary.
Best anniversary dinner at an 8 table, menu on the wall place, Mio Posto.
Amazing fall foliage.
Sweet, sweet vacation.
Next up: Florida in November.

hanging on the deck at sunset.

lunch on the go.

Let me touch that water, mama!