our nashville trip

sleepy and heading to pick up deidre (i got us to the airport with oodles of time to spare).

resting with aunt deidre . . . still in san diego.

flight #1 done! here we are hanging out in the dallas airport.

getting some love from aunt emily.

more lovin' from aunt tracy


what a great weekend!

it's nice having lots of friends around to take pictures of us together.

anabelle & knox

he's a handsome little man (6 weeks)

great cuddles with aunt stacy.

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our trip to nashville this past weekend was so great! with deidre's help we did just fine on the airplane (she barely fussed at all). it's always energizing for your soul to be around girlfriends that know you & your heart . . . bonus when they can make you laugh & cook amazing meals!

we all stayed at a lake house together with anabelle and knox (this is the first time babies were at our reunion). the plan is to do the same next september up in delaware. not sure which babies will be attending that one. two more babies are on their way, one due in november and the other in march. cheers to adge & rachael!

more pics

enjoying an evening together

playing a little dress up

all set for yoga class

at curt & jamie's wedding

keeping busy

it's a little cooler today (phew!) so i pulled out anabelle's gym and let her do her thing.

i moved the mirror so she could check out her baby friend.

taking it easy

just relaxing at home, trying to stay cool (it was over 100 degrees today!), and thinking about my daddy.

-anabelle

just chatting with her friends

anabelle enjoys hanging out with her rainforest friends for a little bit each day

baby in the mirror

a quick video of anabelle watching the baby in the mirror

p.s. - definitely going to clean the mirrors tomorrow, yikes!

oh, what a cup i have!

my cup is so full!

no, i'm not talking about the cups in my bra (even though those are quite full since this whole breastfeeding thing, ha!).

i find myself lost everyday in the sweetness of our tiny anabelle. i so wish chris could be here right now with us and sometimes feel bad that my days are filled with so much joy and he's over there working hard, fightin' the good fight. i know he loves what he does, he's great at it, and he is so proud to be a marine. december is going to be quite an amazing month for the three of us though! we're not counting down yet, but before i know it he's going to be home and i'll be lost in the sweetness of watching him learn his new role as daddy. can't wait!

anabelle and i had a busy week last week:
*bradley class reunion (we got a chance to catch up with my doula and the other mommy & baby aubrey from out birthing class)
*dinner downtown at a friend's new loft
*trip to the hair salon
*a birthday brinner date for amy (brinner = breakfast for dinner)
*vmfa 121's homecoming at mcas miramar
*dinner out with the vmfa 232 wives
*another friday dinner with baby mason
*our second yoga class (so far, anabelle is the only girl)
*a wedding up in temecula

i continue to recruit friends to go with us to trader joe's every now & then and have my friend amy coming over tomorrow for dinner and to watch anabelle while i venture out to target on my first solo excursion. this is a really good step for me & for anabelle . . . but i think i miss her already.

i'm so thankful for all of the love & support we receive from all directions. there were a couple times i needed a little help while we were out and about last week and i just happened to be around the perfect people to gently encourage us and help us stay nice & calm (thanks sarah! thanks micki!).

i just joined a gym that has childcare so starting next weekend i am hoping to get on a regular workout schedule. i figure if this was something i really wanted to happen then i need to make it as easy as possible and having a place where i can peek in on anabelle whenever i need seems to be the right thing for me right now. watch out homecoming body, here i come!

before that, though, anabelle and i are headed to nashville this weekend to see a bunch of my amazing sorority sisters. we're all just relaxing at a lake house together, catching up and loving on each other. baby knox will (about 1 month old) be there too! it's going to be a great trip and a nice adventure traveling on a plane with baby for the first time. (thank you, deidre, ahead of time for all of your help)

anabelle is still sleeping right here next to me as i type (just took the picture above). she'll be up soon and we'll get to stare at each other some more, i'll tell her some random stories, maybe make up a new song, play her daddy's recording a few times, and just enjoy the evening together. lucky me!

proud new mommy + new camera lens = tons of new pics

i heart our little anabelle!

why, hello there!

she's making new sounds & faces everyday!

busy sleeper

i went in to get anabelle this morning after hearing a few sleepy cries. it was time for her to eat anyway. once i got to her crib, this is what i found. oh my! she must have been so busy in her sleep. no wonder she was making noises. she had moved from the middle all the way up to the top with her head against the bumper.

(and yes, all of her monkeys have now been retired to the closet)

go anabelle go!

she's not rolling over but she sure is moving!

anabelle met someone

this morning anabelle met a new friend in the mirror.

i think they just might turn out to have a lot in common.

welcome to the world of mommy

looks like i've definitely joined the 'new mommy' club. this picture cracks me up . . . visible nursing pad in my top, baby with only one sock, ha!





we're looking a little better here and at least we know that one of us is clean. my sweet belle fell asleep for a bit after a bath. notice i have on the same pants in both pics!

yoga

saturday was our first time at mommy & me yoga. it's at the same studio where i took my prenatal classes and with the same instructor (who is due in january!). i really enjoyed the class. there were only two of us, but that was a nice way to get back into it. the first half was more focused on the mommies (the babies were asleep) and then the second half was more of baby interaction. ends up you can do some serious ab exercises incorporating baby! anabelle did great and i'm really glad we went.

thanks for the new workout outfit, muggy.

anabelle was pooped after class.

it was a good nap.

anabelle is 2 months old!

it's september 10th, that means anabelle is 2 months old.


here is a slideshow of her second month

chris' room

this morning we got a chance to skype with chris. still couldn't see him but he could see us alright. it was a a great visit (when is it not?) and he sounds like he's doing well. he is keeping busy as usual, flying, teaching some of the younger pilots, and he saw his brother for a bit as he passed through just getting started on his own deployment. chris is running a half marathon next sunday and has signed up for one here in january. i am planning on running the turkey trot 10k here on thanksgiving with anabelle - a mommy goal i set for myself early on.

i recently asked chris if he could send a couple pictures of his living space overseas. four adult men to one room in the desert = request from chris for more vanilla candles. i knew the guys had christmas lights up and posters of 80's rock bands and hot girls, but one picture he sent caught my eye. looks like anabelle and i made the wall too!

daddy time

for chris' birthday i sent him a digital voice recorder so he could make recordings that i can play for anabelle (ok, so it was sort of a gift to me too). we're trying to think of everything we can do to make sure she 'knows' him when he gets home. this weekend chris sent us a recording of 'guess how much i love you.'

i had never read the book before bringing anabelle home and it took me a few readings before i didn't get choked up on the last line . . . "i love you right up to the moon - and back." i was doing fine until i heard chris reading it. the whole thing is just so sweet and anabelle definitely is listening when i play it for her. i've figured out how to loop it now and i make sure she has her 'daddy time' everyday.

chris left behind a shirt he had worn in the evenings for a couple weeks. i pulled it out today and laid it on anabelle when she was trying to take a nap. her pacifier kept falling out and it would wake her up, but as soon as i put the shirt on her i heard a peep or two and then she was out! (yes, the shirt he left was a neil diamond concert shirt)

it happened again for a nap later this afternoon.

anabelle has officially moved up to the next size of diapers and thanks to a huge diaper cake i received at my baby shower, we're pretty stocked for a little while. i've been looking back through some of the pictures of when she was first born (which i have a ton!) and she really has grown . . even her hair has grown!

here is one of my favs of anabelle with her aunt suzie. she was so tiny!

sweet face

i could just watch her all day . . wait, i pretty much do!

(and i love it!)

adventures of napping

anabelle fell asleep after nursing this afternoon. this was the first time i've let her nap on our bed so i went in to check on her quite often and she put on a bit of a show. here are pics from each time i went to spy . .