Happy Birthday Aunt Mary

Mary's 29th birthday was yesterday and Lydia gave her some pictures.  I had to share since they were just too cute.

This post is dedicated to my amazing husband, Blair

It’s taken me many months to draft this up just because I want to express the right emotions. I can’t even begin to explain how wonderful he is as a husband and now a father.


Even before we were married, he loved and cared for Harley as if she were his own dog. He was so excited to adopt her when we got married and Harley was ecstatic to have a Daddy too. Now I think she even likes him more than me…ha ha.

We’ve gone through such a transformation in our lives of becoming parents. As many people know, it’s very challenging to be a new parent. He has been my “rock” through it all and keeps me grounded. His attitude is always so positive and optimistic that we can make it through anything together. When I was in labor and found out that I had to have a c-section, needless to say I was pretty upset about that news. I’ll never forget how he grabbed my hand, knelt down beside me, looked me in the eyes and calmed me down with his carefully chosen sweet words. It was one of those moments where I knew I was so grateful to have someone like Blair.

He takes such good care of Lydia and we work as a team to raise her. Together we give her baths, put her down for the night, play with her and even change diapers. I love that we get to do these things together and work together.

He’s very encouraging of my career and what I want to do in my life as a woman and now a mother. He supports me through hard decisions, whether it’s professional or personal decisions and always gives me realistic feedback.

I’m very fortunate he is the man I always envisioned myself being with forever, in fact, he’s more than I ever could have envisioned. He is very committed to giving his family the best the world has to offer. I’m extremely lucky to just know him in my lifetime, let alone have him as a husband and a father to my child. He is truly amazing and I thank God many times a day for him and that he recognized me from High School in the bar that night. He is my best friend, my soul mate, my love.

I love you Blair!!

Lydia got accepted into school...

Yea!  We submitted her application in January to start Child's Day Out in August 2011.  After many tests and pictures, they decided that she is the cutest and smartest baby and really want her to attend.  Just kidding, we just had to submit an application and it was a lottery if she would get in or not.  So she starts next August at Westminster and will be going 2 days a week (Wed. and Fri) from 9am-2pm.  The teacher to child ratio is 1:3 in her class.  Her class is called the "Teddy Bear" class - isn't that cute.  We're really excited because her cousins Caroline and Charlotte will attend too, so I hope Lydia and Charlotte are in the same class.  They are 3 months apart exactly.
Who wouldn't want this Chunky Monkey at their school?

Happy Valentine's Day

Monday was a great day for us.  I had the day off and Lydia was a really happy throughout day.  We even tried out some new things - the outdoor swing from the tree, longer tummy time activities and took a walk around the neighborhood in the bjorn instead of the stroller.  We ate lunch with Daddy and gave him a framed picture of his beautiful daughter for his office.
I even cooked dinner, which I haven't done in a long time.  I made lemon chicken and steamed broccoli, very healthy.  I had fresh raspberries for dessert and some hot chocolate for Blair.
And the most exciting thing for me is that I can now button some of my pants and one pair of jeans!  They are all really tight and the button is hanging on for dear life, but I did it!  And my wedding band can come off and on now.  I use to not be able to get it off.  That means I'll be able to start wearing my engagement ring very soon.  I've lost 10 lbs. in 3 weeks and am so excited.  It's a great start and hopefully I'll keep losing.  Yeah!

How Cute is She?

Answer: Way Too Cute!!!
Blair and I are finally getting the hang of taking good pictures of Lydia.  She's smiling more and laughing.  Sometimes you can even get a chuckle out of her if you try really hard to make her laugh.  If we say "Hola Lydia, Como Esta!!!", she'll start smiling big.  Could be because one of our nannies is Mexican and sings to her in Spanish.  It gets her going.

Little do you see in these pictures that she still has a lot of hair.

Back at Work...

I haven't had time to post anything but pictures since Lydia came into our lives, so here's a real post:
I went back to work last Thursday.  I really enjoyed my first day back and the next day, which was Friday and I was able to leave at 1:15pm.  I didn't go into work yesterday, but today I did for the entire day.  Today was a REAL work day.  It has been challenging (not in a good way) and I'm remembering how happy I was when I went on FMLA. I realize last week was time when I went through all 2,000 of my emails and got caught up with what was going on, so people left me alone to do that.  Not this week.  This week I'm seeing what all didn't get done while I was out and I'm already ready to get out of here for the day. 
It was nice having yesterday off to spend time with Lydia.  We met up with Blair for lunch and had a play date.  Harley even had a play date too!  It was a great day.
I really do want to keep working and don't want to pause my career while Lydia is young.  In a perfect world I would work 3 days a week so I can get that balance of being a new Mom and being in a professional environment. 
So tonight when we get home and after we play, feed, bath and put Lydia to bed - after I shower, eat dinner and we clean up after dinner - after we wash all the bottles and get ready for the nanny tomorrow - and after I figure out what I can fit in for work tomorrow; I'll pour myself a big glass of wine and pray I find "perfect" work/life balance.  Wish me luck!