Thursday, May 22, 2014

Baby Sister Graduates!

We went to Minnesota last weekend to celebrate my little sister's college graduation. Joe and I were pretty nervous about traveling with Elise, but the trip really went well overall! It's not easy to travel with a newborn, but she was her easygoing self on the trip. I did discover that we didn't get to spend quite as much time with my family as I would have liked, when we factored in nap time and early bedtime. It was still great to see everyone, though. And it was my brother, sister, and brother in law's first time meeting Elise! It's always fun to introduce her to people, and of course it was extra special to introduce her to her aunts and uncles.

Elise's first hotel stay
Wisconsin Dells 

She's pretty popular!

Hanging with Uncle Brendan

My baby sister is not so little anymore!

The whole gang
(minus brother in law Dan, aka the photographer)

My siblings are special...

Colleen was our tour guide around campus




Elise is adorable with her grandpa. She loves him!


Graduation Dinner

Toasting to no more college tuition!


Oldest and youngest siblings

This precious angel slept almost the whole way home!

Friday, May 9, 2014

Life Lately

So I'm not sure what to blog about besides Elise. Right now she's consuming pretty much every waking moment of my life. And too many of the (should be) sleeping moments, too :) This newborn phase is special, but also challenging. Her daytime naps are pretty solid, but she's inconsistent at night. She is so sweet and snuggly, though, and has the best temperament. She rarely cries, and has started smiling and cooing a bunch. Even when I'm exhausted, I look at her and feel nothing but love. She's a pretty amazing little girl! I'm looking forward to the schedule and sleep that will come as she gets a little older, but I'm also savoring the sweet newborn moments, because I know it will go too fast!

Seriously, could she be any cuter?!?!
I'm starting to work a bit on getting back into shape. I was cleared to work out as of Monday, and went for a short, slow run that night. We've taken a couple decent walks this week, too. I was hoping to go to a mom and baby yoga class yesterday, but Elise was still napping when it started, and I hate to wake her up if I don't need to. Thankfully, I've lost just about all of the baby weight, so now the battle is just firming up and getting rid of the belly that has hung around. I'd love to have all my regular pants fit again!

Elise and I are getting into a pretty good groove during the week. We love lazy mornings, and I'm usually in pajamas until she goes down for her morning nap around 9 or 10 am. We are working on making some mom friends, and have been regularly attending a couple of mom groups. The one at the hospital is great, because there are some slightly older babies there with their more experienced moms. I love comparing notes with them, and seeing where Elise is going to be in a few months. A number of these moms are stay at home moms, too, so I will be able to continue to hang out with them in the future. I also found a nice group of moms that live in my neighborhood. We've been meeting weekly, and their babies are all within a few weeks of Elise's age. They are a great group, but most are planning to go back to work full time. Once that happens, I'm going to try to form a new neighborhood group with stay at home moms, because it's during the week that I need people so socialize with.



I'm also so excited to know that so many of my local friends are starting families. I know of five friends who are currently pregnant, with babies due this fall. When Joe and I found out I was pregnant, it felt like we were the only ones in that stage of life, but all these people have quickly caught up with us.  This time next year there are going to be babies everywhere!

Time to get ready to face the day. Elise is napping, and I have to make use of this precious time!