Maxwell is Three Months

Well, Maxwell was three months March 30th and now it's April 17th, but all of these pictures are from his Three Month session.  I'm just a little behind on blogging.  It might have to do with the 4 month sleep regression hitting us a little early and the transition to the crib and getting back into photography and life...just life.  Blogging isn't at the top of my list these days, but since nugget is sleeping on my chest, Jared is outside playing with friends, Ryan is golfing, and Lira is snoring next to me, and I am wide awake, I have a little time to catch up on blogging!  

A lot has changed since his two month mark and we love him more and more every day!   

Three Month Memories

His neck control is so much better and he doesn't hate tummy time anymore.  He doesn't love it for a long time, but he enjoys it when you get down and talk to him!  

He smiles and laughs and coos all the time and responds to you!  It's the best!  He has the sweetest little voice!  Waking up to his coos puts me in a wonderful mood even with limited broken sleep. God knew what he was doing when he created babies and mommies.  I have a bond with this little guy like no other and am so blessed to be his mommy!

He rolled from tummy to back!!!

He loves being on his back, kicking his piano, and being read to!  His favorite books at the moment are "Giraffes Can't Dance" and "Rainbow Fish." Mommy happens to like reading them too!

We celebrated St. Patty's Day with a "Kiss Me I'm Irish-ish" onesie and shamrock leg warmers!

He met his Uncle Ross and his Grammy Peggy in March! 

We celebrated Easter at my parents' house with my brothers and sisters and right after that Maxwell started sleeping in his crib in the nursery.  He took the transition better than I did at first, but now I am completely adjusted to it and enjoy having alone time with Ryan again!  I forgot what it was like to be in our bedroom and not have to whisper.  We can actually have conversations!  Thanks for the push babe!  

He sucked his thumb for the first time and actually self soothed himself while we were driving!  HUGE milestone for this mama. This picture is from the second time he sucked his thumb.

A little photoshoot with Brother during his spring break was mandatory before the rain rolled in. This was the first time he wore shorts!  Baby legs look funny in shorts!

Our monthly Mommy & Me photos were taken at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens!  

I Chose You.

"I Chose You" is a very simple phrase that was said to me by my husband last night and will stay with my for a lifetime.  The timing was perfect without even knowing it. Feeling "chosen" is am amazing feeling and while I know wholeheartedly that we chose each other to share our lives with, there are moments that are made much easier when you are gently and innocently reminded of that. An entire weekend of no sessions, no golf, sleeping in until 10am, working together on the nursery, and lots of family time was what this heart of mine needed more than anything! And hearing "I Chose You" Sunday evening while walking our pup in the crazy wind was the cherry on top.  

Since I will be very pregnant, this Christmas will be the first holiday (aside from Thanksgiving when I was studying abroad in Ireland and one Christmas that we stayed in California and spent with Ryan's family) since I was born, that I am not headed home and celebrating with immediate and extended family. It was a logical, safe, and doctor recommended decision, but it was also a very hard one.  What does a child of 6 do on Christmas Eve without her gramma, parents, siblings, cousins, nieces, and nephews around her do?!?!  I like...ok, I love traditions and breaking this one has been weighing on my mind.  Luckily my parents are the most understanding and loving parents I could ask for and while I am sure they are upset to not have the three of us there on Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning with their other children, they understand 100% and cannot wait to meet their grandson! Thanksgiving will be extra special for me this year, so family, you all better be there! I understand if you can't be there, but please try your hardest!   

This Christmas we are staying in our home and making memories of our own with our little family. I have grand plans of matching PJs, Hot Cocoa & Beer (for Ryan), Christmas treats, a Christmas Movie and hopefully a little Grinch performance by my main squeeze!  He's really really good at it and I cry happy tears thinking of kids gathered on his lap giggling in years to come while he imitates the Grinch voice!  Other traditions will be started this year, but we will decide them as a family over the next month or so!  Hearing "I Chose You" made staying home for Christmas and making our own memories a good thing, a happy thing, an exciting thing.  It's a change for sure and no doubt we will be calling and facetiming/skyping with family and I am sure there will be some tears shed by yours truly, but we will be making memories, surrounded by love, and we will have our first Christmas in Virginia Beach as a family of three...maybe four.  Who knows when our little New Years Bundle will decide to debut?!    

Ryan has no idea how much that meant and means to me (well until he reads this blog post), but baby, it means the world!!  I love you and am so glad we chose each other to make memories, share hardships and joys, create a family, and brave this crazy world!  You are my best friend and my lover, my shoulder to cry on and the one I run to with an insane amount of excitement.  You are my rock. Let's make some memorable and super awesome traditions to share with our kidlets for years to come!

Oh and Baby, I still Choose you!!!

"I Choose You" by Sarah Bareilles

Much love. 

Spoiled Already & Thank You!

Our baby boy is spoiled already!  I was looking through new clothing and gifts today and couldn't help but feel an overwhelming amount of love from family and friends.  We have amazing people in our lives and our baby boy is already so loved and anticipated!  I just want to say 

Lil Dude is going to be one stylin boy with all these awesome and super adorable clothes!  I am pretty much obsessed with cute animals and that just seems to be the style these days, so I am a happy camper!  Give me some foxes and wolves and puppy dogs!! 

Jared is super stoked to have a little brother and he has gladly given up some of his baby stuffed animals for his brother's nursery!  I am really happy that we have some stuff from when Jared was a baby to incorporate into the nursery and have the boys share!  Be still my sentimental heart!

Ryan and I...well pretty much just me...have purchased some little things for our baby boy!  Ryan definitely helped with the Nirvana tee and the bow tie onesie! 

Giraffes are becoming a theme too!  I love it!!  More animals makes me happy!  And they are so soft!

When mom's and friends give you the gift that saved them during the first couple months or has saved friends the first couple of months, you know you have some winners!  These gifts fit into the "must have" category and I am so excited about them!

The gifts seem endless, absolutely endless, and I love each and every single one!!  All these books are the start to our baby boy's collection that will only grow!  We are a family a readers and this baby has already been read to!  I can't wait to see what his favorite books are and to listen to Ryan read to his baby boy and Jared read to his little brother!  

Oh and how can I forget about homemade gifts!!  They are some of my favorites!  I love giving and receiving homemade gifts!  I have fabric out at the moment to make some burp clothes and bow ties.  I just need to finish up some other things before the crafting can begin, but I can't wait!!

Thank you all so much for your love, support, and generosity!  We are extremely appreciative and so very lucky to have you in our lives!  Stay tuned for our nursery reveal next week!  My dad aka Poppop Joe is painting this weekend!!!  The lavender room will be no more and I am stoked!!  Let the nesting begin!!!  

Much love. 

17 months & we have a positive

Back in November of 2013, Ryan and I went to Jamaica thinking it would be our last trip without kiddos, well it was, but that's only because we didn't plan one the next year, silly us.  We wrote in our Christmas letter that we were officially trying for a baby and believe me, I was bombarded by my aunts that Christmas!  We were excited, but looking back on that letter, I really wish we would never have said anything because it took a lot longer than expected.  After a year of trying and having fun of course, we decided to look into infertility.  Ryan was totally fine and I had a fibroid that was discovered during an internal ultrasound.  The doctors wanted to make sure it wasn't blocking anything, so I had an Saline Induced Sonogram (SIS) performed.  They basically put a teaspoon of saline into my uterus to make sure that the fibroid wasn't protruding into it at all and preventing implantation.  I actually cried as I watched it happen on the ultrasound screen. Every ultrasound throughout this process I cried.  There's something about ultrasounds and the possibility of seeing a little baby growing inside of you that makes me tear up.  It turned out that we are both completely healthy which was s huge relief, but also scary because the doctors basically told us that the next step was for me to take clomid, be given a trigger shot to ovulate and to have timed intercourse.  If you know me, you know I am a very natural person.  I don't take meds for really anything and I like it that way, so I freaked out.  

I picked up the prescription, never used it, and God blessed us with a positive pregnancy test that month! When I missed my period, I waited two days to take the test because I was  so scared to have a negative.  When it was positive and then positive again, I ran out to tell Ryan, but he was pulling away on his way to work.  Ahh!!!  I couldn't wait to tell him, but I knew I couldn't tell him over the phone or a text message.  It had to be in person, so I had to keep this little secret to myself all day long.

I actually had a newborn session that morning, went to it, loved on that little baby boy, and didn't say a word.  I got home, put a little package together of a onesie and the positive pregnancy tests, and then I waited.  Ryan came home and was really worked up about something; I can't really remember because I wasn't listening. Yes darling, I normally remember everything, but I simply didn't care at that moment because I had the best surprise ever for you and I knew whatever you were complaining about didn't matter as much as the news I had to tell you.  Once Ryan was done venting, I told him I had a present for him.  He looked at me funny, opened it, looked at me with a huge smile on his face, picked me up and spun me around!  It was heavenly!  I just remember crying and smiling and hugging and Ryan touching my belly!  **This is August 28th 2016

Ryan thinks that the extreme lack of stress from quitting my corporate job for real in March is what did the trick and I can't really blame him.  I think that coupled with the SIS, having more time for family, friends, working out, reading, etc. did the trick!  We definitely had our ups and downs during the 17 months both emotionally and physically, and I definitely tracked everything for a couple months, got discouraged and stopped tracking everything for a couple of months, read lots of books and blogs, cried, got frustrated and the list goes on.  We had discussed the possibility of never having children together and knew we would be ok because we love our life together and we could embrace that life and love together.  Taking the stress of "we need to have a child together" out of the equation was huge for us.  I know that in the grand scheme, we had it easy compared to a lot of couples and I am truly grateful for that. I pray for everyone facing infertility and challenging pregnancies.  

In early May, before extended family and the social world knew a thing, Ryan and I took a trip to The Players Tournament  in St. Augustine, Florida!  It was a wonderful golf trip and I felt pretty good the entire time aside from the 9 hour drive and the random nausea and constipation.  Seeing Tiger and Rory and DJ and all the guys up close and in person was absolutely amazing!  We walked an average of 8 miles per day and made sure to stay super hydrated!  It was a really really nice babymoon that wasn't originally planned as one.

We kept it our little secret, for the most part, until our 7w1d ultrasound on May 20th where we heard our little baby's heartbeat for the first time and saw our peanut wiggling around!  I cried all over again!  It was heavenly!

Our precious baby's first gifts were from Gramma and PopPop, my parents, and they are super cute! I cannot wait to cuddle and read to our bundle of joy this January!  That blanket is so soft and will definitely be used a lot!

Much love.

I Love Weekends!

I love weekends! Driving home from work on Friday makes me giddy because I know I have three nights and two days that I can fill with things that I want to do!  On Friday, Ryan and I made a spur of the moment decision to go out to dinner, hit up the local Target and find some live music!  All were accomplished and were a great success!  We went to Mexican because that is our go to comfort food and after the week we had both just had, comfort food was on the menu.  Gorging ourselves in chips and salsa was heavenly!  I think I gained 5 lbs in one sitting.  Ugh. Sometimes it’s nice to get out of the house, be served and just sit back and talk.  Don’t get me wrong, we talk at home, but when we are out to dinner, we don’t have the distractions at home.  We are forced to stay seated and focus on one another.  It’s good. 

 

After dinner we went to Target to find a bathing suit, white T-shirts and Christmas lights for our bedroom.  We left with white T-shirts and two decorative Christmas pillows.  No lights, no bathing suit…wrong season for the latter. It was after Target that our night really started!  We hit up this bar/restaurant called Grumpys for a local band that we had heard good things about, but had never seen.  Well, let me tell you, those 15-17 year old boys rockin out on the stage were freakin awesome!  If you are in the Virginia Beach area and are in the mood for some good 90’s music with a few originals thrown in there, look up the band MOCEAN.  They were great!  Their families were there because they are under the age of 21, heck they are under the age of 18, but Lord Oh Lord, they were good!  The bass player was insane and the vocals were clear.  It was a great show and no cover…tips appreciated. 

MOCEAN Band

 

Saturday morning I slept in with my puppy and didn’t do much of anything until 10 when I decided to walk Lira, rake the yard, mow the yard, dust, vacuum, clean the bathrooms, scrub the kitchen, put away my weekend bags and clear my dresser.  Basically I went from super lazy to insanely busy in a matter of seconds.  Oh and in the middle of all that I took pictures of my friend’s pups!  They are a hoot! 

She was born to sniff and she rocks it!

Fruit and peanut butter is my favorite!

Hubby got home toward the end of my madness and joined right in!  He changed the oil in my car, added some wiper fluid because I go through that stuff like it’s my job…it’s because I have a small car that sits nice and low to the ground, big trucks like to splash me, birds love to poop of it and bugs can’t avoid my windshield.  He also started the laundry, took out the trash and recycling and then we ran errands.  It was a productive days.  Productive days make the weekends feel longer because I can look back and see what we accomplished. 

We bought wine and sparkling cider for Thanksgiving!  It's our contribution since we travel.

That evening we took it easy, had breakfast for dinner and watched Skyfall.  It was a good one in my humble movie opinion.  Basically I didn’t fall asleep and I didn’t cover my eyes, so it was a winner in my book. 

Martini and potato pancakes for dinner!

Sunday was a good day too!  Ryan got up early to golf and I headed to Church by myself.  I’m glad I am back in the swing of going to Church.  I feel more at peace when I do.  After Mass I walked Lira and headed to the beach to take some pictures of my friend, her husband and their adorable 39 week old little boy!  He was adorable as always and I was able to get some great candid shots! 

After spending an hour at the beach in the 70 degree and sunny weather, Ryan and I headed to Williamsburg for a little shopping.  We went to Golden Horseshoe Golf Course to spend some money he won this summer and then we went to Yankee Candle!!  Ahh!  Holiday Heaven right about now!  We got some lovely scented candles!  My home now smells of peppermint or The North Pole as Yankee Candle would suggest!  We also got Mistletoe which is evergreen heaven!  Oh my Lord! We are in love!

That evening we had a nice little dinner in, watched some football, edited some pictures, drank some wine and went to bed at a decent hour…only to be woken by a barking puppy and high winds.  I basically got 3 hours of sleep last night and I am dying today.  Yikes!  Mondays are rough as they are.  Mondays with little to no sleep are brutal. Here’s to hoping I sleep better tonight!

 

Oh and I made banana bread from these frozen bad boys.  Tip: If your bananas go brown and you don't have time to make banana bread or the like, put the bananas in your freezer.  They are easy to peel and are easy to bake with weeks later.

How was your weekend?!  Fabulous I hope!

Much love.

Green Jeans Lead to Awesomeness

A strong desire to go on a fun date, no idea as to what fun things are happening, no babysitter in place and some killer green jeans that need to make their debut leads to one determined lady! 

Thursday afternoon our awesome neighbors and great friends said they were free and would love to babysit J-man!  Hannah and Willie, you rock! 

I slipped in my killer green jeans, black slinky shirt, black wedges and funky New Orleans earrings with no set in stone plans, but a strong desire to dance, dance, dance! 

To start the night off, we went to a guest dance party at Arthur Murray on Friday night with a feature dance by the wonderful Katie & Taras. It was a blast! Ryan and I are starting to get the hang of dancing to a variety of song, with different tempos. We aren't great by any means, but we are waaaay better than we were in January. 

 Now that you have had not one, but two sneak peaks at the green jeans, what do you think?  Too much?  Just right?  I receive a ton of compliments on them which only made me love them even more! 

After our dance party, we went to a local bar that normally has live music.  Well, we were in luck because not only was their live music, but it was live 80's music!  I looked like I planned my outfit!  It was so much fun!  I sang my heart out, danced in place and absolutely loved every minute of it! 

She was the best female vocalist and this Billy Idol impersonator was amazing!  I think he sang every song to me and it was glorious!  Ryan was like...jeez dude.

It was a spur of the moment date night gone extremely right!  Ahh...I love nights that turn out to insanely and unexpectedly fun!  Mission accomplished.

Much love.