Some dough.

We're loving Arizona...family, the space, the lack of traffic, and the temperate weather!!! For lunch today we went to an Italian restaurant I've heard so much about for eight years but never visited.

They give kids a ball of pizza dough to play with and our little one was thrilled. We kept her pacifier in so that she wouldn't eat the stuff. Roasted brussels sprouts, pizza, and salad made for a great meal together and Hanna even tried her very first pizza - a new favorite.
xoxo, natty ♥

So so proud!

To cap off an amazing visit with Rebecca, we spent the first part of today cheering on my sweet husband through 26.2 miles.

Look at that cool jacket he snagged post-race!

Despite being sick he rocked this marathon and our daughter and I {& a bunch of other people} are immensely proud of this tough man; we love you sweetie/daddy!
xoxo, natty ♥

Leisurely caffeine.

Baby, grandma, and I spent the morning at a coffee shop in DC. It was leisurely, delicious {black forest ham and cheddar croissant for the win}, and relaxing; exactly what I look for in a weekend when I'm back at work {yes, a bit early for it, but it's glorious to have summers to look forward to}.

We ♥ Tryst's animal crackers.

Then we had a nice afternoon visiting, trying rice cereal for the first time, and ordering pizza for dinner {PETE'S!!}.
Have a great week ahead folks!
xoxo, natty ♥

Pretty pretty.

After dinner with an aunt and uncle last night we enjoyed this beautiful desert sunset.

Then someone {not I!} cried the whole way home.

Here's to the weekend!
xoxo, natty ♥

Taking in some tunes.

We enjoyed our baby's first outdoor concert tonight.

And so did she!

Here's to summer's first full weekend, if only calendarically-speaking.

xoxo, natty

Greenery and sky.

xoxo, natty ♥

Green trees and hills.

We had a wonderful first day here today. We're staying in a cabin about 30 minutes out of the national park {Shenandoah} and it's gorgeous. After a leisurely morning we drove in for a hike. 

The park is 100 miles north-south and the main road that drives through it is built on a ridge so that the trails that go off the main road all seem to go downhill. Which means we get to go uphill on out way back. I actually find the downhill harder {"oh my aching knees and calves!" say the new mom who hasn't really exercised since last August} than the uphill but no matter which direction is more painful, a nice flat trail would be nice.

But I'm not complaining by any means! The hike was beautiful and we saw some waterfalls at the end. Hanna Lu slept her way through her first hike which was OK since she'llhave plenty more in the years ahead.

An Italian potluck feast for dinner, some time in the hot tub and around the fire , and s'mores made for a lovely end of the day.

Here's to the rest of our time here being just as enjoyable!

xoxo, natty 

Cabin!

We're off on a mountain adventure!

Happy weekend to you all!

xoxo, natty

To the graduate.

We are so very proud of you and the fearless {dedicated, HARD, committed...I could go on...} work you've put in since July 2012.

Your daughter and I love you so much!

What a week!

Today I'll look ahead at what's shaping up for us this week...

1. More family coming in! Hanna Lu gets to meet a great aunt and uncle and great grandparents as well.

2. My husband graduating from his graduate program with the highest GPA he's had over the two years; WAY TO GO SWEETIE!! I'm so proud of this man for all of the extremely hard work he's put in paired with putting up with a wife who had a hard time moving across the country and having a baby in his last semester; this was a crazy experience and he's been stalwart and successful through it all. 

3. Some warm beautiful weather...which means nice walks!

4. A family trip to a cabin in Shenandoah...this has been on our "we can't wait" list for quite some time. We'll head down later this week and then return next week!

5. This goes with numbers 1 and 4; time spent with family...


How's your week reader? Can you believe June is creeping up on us?!
xoxo, natty ♥

Hey there Saturday!

Some apartment hunting, a graduation party for a pal, welcoming back grandma and zaide, pizza making, baby crying...all in a good Saturday. 

Let's hope Sunday is just as good!

xoxo, natty

Happy.

Today I'm {so} grateful for the wee one who has made me a mother. She snuck out this morning and whipped up a brunch of bagels and lox {& very importantly coffee} and then we drove to Annapolis to walk around and check out the sights. It was a beautiful day and I was so full and happy.

We are also so thankful for our mothers, in all senses of the word. They help, love, and support us so wholeheartedly; we are very fortunate.

Happy Mother's Day.

xoxo, natty 

Helping.

We said adiós to my mom today. We have been so fortunate to have the family help since the little one came along, considering that the majority of this family lives on the other side of the country {I'm not forgetting a certain uncle our daughter has right here in DC!}.

We are ao thankful for your time here abuela and the help you gave us {and the food you cooked us}.

xoxo, natty

His voice.

I'm still taking full advantage of my amazing stepmom and grabbing moments here and there. A big thing I need to work on as a new mom is relaxation and some self-care...if I can't take care of myself then poor baby! And today's incarnation is the Tom Petty P@ndora station and some headphones. Ugh, I love Tom Petty.

In other news, our hot water heater is officially replaced; woo hoo! The poor thing had been struggling for several months now and what with being at the end of my pregnancy/having family in town/having a baby/getting horribly ill/having a  newborn to care for, it didn't get the attention it deserved until just now. Our dishes hadn't been as clean and showers were nowhere near as long as they could be. In fact, a big plan of mine for my labor {before it took an entire weekend plus a day and wasn't progressing...} was to do so in a hot shower here at home before transitioning to the birth center. Our hot water lasted about ten minutes up until last night so that plan went out the window. We can also start cloth diapering {because I need something else with which to preoccupy myself these days} since prior the washer wouldn't have been hot enough to do the job well enough.

Do you feel wonderful when you get household things taken care of Reader? I {acceptingly} imagine this feeling won't be coming too often for yours truly these days, what with some far more important {& adorable!} work taking precedence.

Happy weekend!
xoxo, natty ♥

More thankful than we can express.

Our daughter has a nightly "witching hour" which is a misnomer since it lasts from about 7 PM to midnight. She will fuss a bit, wants to be held and walked around, danced with, etc., and she won't stay asleep even if she dozes off. It's sad because she's obviously very tired. 

On top of some possible acid reflux it's not the best time of day for us all and my step-mom is an angel on earth for happily holding Hanna Lu and swaying with her/doing things the baby likes while we eat dinner and get some rest.

How can we ever ever ever thank her?

And, though I know we'll make do and be fine, how will we ever ever ever manage without this support?
xoxo, natty ♥

Free time, when I can get it.

I"m very much so still taking things very easy around here, mentally and physically. But there are still highlihgts of the day!!

1. Despite trying to be low-key, I made it to Target today; I had been wanting/"needing" to go for weeks and finally made it thanks to our wonderful and selfless Lola {my step-mom}/babysitter.

2. I finally started watching the new season of Call the Midwife. I feel as though some people get in a lot of TV watching when they're on maternity leave; maybe because I have way too much on my mind health-wise {EVERYTHING means something to me now} but I also feel like I get maybe 30 minutes maximum of time in which to do nothing.

Look at sister Monica Joan!

I started recording the season after the first episode aired so I watched it on my computer in several parts/naps...

3. Speaking of, my step-mom has really been making our lives so much easier. She takes the best care of us and though we would have been OK without her, my most recent health issues and ER visit would've been much more challenging than they were. Thank you Lola, we adore you.

4. We saw THIS on a commercial for the circus.

Those are three poodles, in case you can't tell. I'm having a hard time figuring out how small the white one must be because dogs cannot be as massive as the black ones appear to be.

5. We knew this before s%$# went down for the first time several weeks ago but after this past weekend it's just been so much more in the forefront of our minds that our family and friends are simply the best. We feel so loved and cared for and the warmth and thoughtfulness of everyone helps to buoy our spirits and get us through the days and nights. We are extremely blessed.

I hope your health is good, my dear friends, and that it's a beautiful spring week wherever you're at!

xoxo, natty

Urban herding.

It's a rainy Monday here that will hopefully be turning into a sunny Tuesday that will also hopefully segue into some cherry blossoms later this week so that is a Good Thing...and some more:

1. I don't do F@cebook but I will browse it every once in a while. 

This morning I came across this ad; please note "urban herding"

 

This makes me so happy on so many dog-loving levels but, really, seriously, what is urban herding? 

Any enlightenment from the universe would be appreciated.

2. My step-mom is coming back to DC to help us tomorrow; sweet mercy thank you so much step-mom!

3. An extremely sweet and thoughtful friend brought us lunch, dinner, flowers, and a gift for baby girl today; we are so loved and we appreciate it all more than we can communicate.

4. Speaking of that child of ours, who's currently on nap # bajillion of the day so hopefully she sleeps some tonight, she received her very own social security card today. Now she has an official identity. And can retire.

5. We also received a summary of what the hospital is charging for our stays there; we are BEYOND grateful for our health insurance.

What's nice about your day today reader? At least something small I hope.

xoxo, natty

2 weeks.

So we’re officially on our own; my mother-in-law left us this morning. We are so, so grateful for her time and help here and hopefully we can pull this off just the three of us now. Let’s look at some statistics!

Looking concerned.

How old: 2 weeks old

Weight: Hanna Lu has been in kind of a weird eating pattern the past few days. On Friday she weighed 10 pounds even and then this morning she was about 10 pounds two or three ounces. Her doctor said that’s OK but to keep an eye on her eating in the next few days. Hopefully she just had a weird patch.

Likes:

·      Being held.

·      Staring at me and other people who are holding her.

·      Arm exercises, though she doesn’t love them for long, they certainly keep her entertained for about 10 minutes; we open her arms slowly and then close them – very strenuous!

Dislikes:

·      Eating? She’s eating a bit less frequently and for not as long which worries me but I know the best course of action is to relax and let her figure out things.

·      Despite the first point, she doesn't like being hungry.

·      Being cold.

·      Not being held.

·      The time period between 9 PM and 1:30 AM…this is definitely her witching hour and requires a lot of holding/bouncing/walking/soothing.

Milestones:

·      Little girl is wearing size 1 diapers…when we get our hot water heater fixed and we’re feeling up to constant laundry, then we’ll start with cloth diapers but for now it’s size 1!

Sleep and eat:

·      As I mentioned, HL is seeming to not eat as much during feedings and will go a bit longer in between them…maybe she’s over stimulated? Hopefully this will resolve itself because we need our good eater to come back.

·      She’ll sleep for several hours at a time, which is glorious. But I feel like each stage is tenuous so who knows?

Miscellaneous:

·      This little girl is a noisy sleeper! She grunts and fusses while she’s sawing zzzs and it’s very cute but also kind of hard to ignore.

·      What color will her eyes be? They’re still that newborn-could-be-anything color.

·      Also, what color will her hair be? I’m guessing, according to what she has, it will be light brown but I see some very light undertones here and there.

·      Wish us continued luck as we go down this parenting road!

 
xoxo, natty ♥

Pretty little things.

It's been a few weeks since I've ruminated on the positive going-ons in my life so I'm raring to go, though I can't promise eloquence since I only have a few minutes to get this down so let's get going!

1. My mother-in-law has been with us helping since last Wednesday and we are SO grateful. It would've been a long and really challenging week without her...thank you more than we can really say dear mother-in-law!

2. There are some beautiful daffodils in my apartment.

 

And there had been a yummy fruit arrangement in that green thing prior to the posies.

3. There was a beautifully wrapped gift outside our door tonight...hurrah for surprise baby gifts in pretty colors!

 

4. There's a baby up in hurr. She might scream a bit and require 120% of our time and attention but we're smitten. And we're learning things, boy are we ever. Learning is a really good thing and when she's going through a fussy time of day it's hard to remember just how great it is to be picking up all these new skills but we are, whether we realize it or not, and it's wonderful. Plus she's cute.

5. I'm not in the hospital. A week ago I was. That is certainly marvelous/stupendous/momentous/fabulous...

I hope that you're doing well wherever you are dear Reader, muddling through as we are, hunkering down, soaring through obstacles - wherever you may be.

xoxo, natty ♥

My dear husband.

Funfetti is a food group in our household.

We ushered in Michael's birthday last weekend in the Emergency Room. 

So we're celebrating today! He's been such an amazing support the past two weeks and I can't say enough good stuff about this man of mine. Suffice it to say he's just the best and we wish him a very happy {& a bit belated} birthday. 

Happy Birthday sweetie; we love you so much!!

xoxo, natty