and then the smile.

This sweet little face will be tattooed to my heart forever. Bald little head and all. Somewhere in the madness that was last week {packing for the trip, getting ready for the parties, and just plain keeping up with this boy} he smiled. Yes, his first true smile. Those curious blue eyes just lit up and his lips curled into this unmistakable, purposeful expression.

I don't think my heart has ever burst with so much unexpected joy in my entire life.

And that's when I knew it was all worthwhile: the acid reflux and shrinking jeans of pregnancy, the exhaustion of labor, the stretch marks and squishy belly that followed, and the insane sleep deprivation and frustration in our early days together...

I never knew I had so much to give. And that there could be so much more in return. Seriously, this little man is pure bliss. An unimaginable gift.

Although, I have to admit, he has been fussier in the last month--and it's sometimes tough. But I know it's just a phase that he'll hopefully be outgrowing soon. I am thankful for those healthy lungs and praying for a little more patience for the times he is completely inconsolable, crying his face off. We've been going for walks on the coast in the evenings. The baby front pack and sling are my saviors. He falls peacefully asleep almost instantly and gives me quiet time to breathe a little fresh air, listen to the waves, and just reflect. And that warm, sleepy little head curls into my chest and melts my heart all over again.

kellie's shower

On Sunday 2 of my girlfriends and I threw a baby shower for our lifelong friend Kellie. {She's about to pop any day--so glad her babe waited for us to throw the shower before making its debut!} It's tricky to shop and throw showers when the gender is a surprise...but we were up for the creative challenge! We whipped up a diaper cake with paper coordinating with the invites, hung a clothesline of either/or baby layette and even found an awesome tissue paper flower banner to pull it all together.

We lined up small potted flowers in the kitchen window. They doubled as decorations and favors for everyone to take home when the shower was over! To drink--cute bottles of Izze soda. Sarah made some amazing artichoke dip, almond bars, and a heavenly trifle. So yummy!
The hostesses--Sarah, me, and Kayt with cute prego Kellie! She will make the best mama!

jenny's shower

Last Friday, I got to help throw a bridal shower luncheon for my sil Jenny. Keeping things simple, we stuck with a yellow + gold theme with an around the clock twist. Each guest was assigned a different time of day and brought gifts that Jenny might use at that time.Invites: were very basic, straight out of my printer and tucked into curry-colored A2 envelopes Paper Source, jazzed up with yellow+gold paper liners. I enclosed a time tag with gold satin ribbon {not shown}.
Decorations: A little hard to see in the picture, but I whipped up a fabric banner and added gold stickers that read "Happily Ever After." We wrapped potted yellow daisies with extra yellow+gold paper from envelope liners and yellow satin ribbon. To reiterate the around-the-clock theme, a pretty wooden clock served both as the centerpiece and a door prize.Entertainment: We pinned a mini daisy clothespin to each guest's shirt...And told them they weren't allowed to cross legs or ankles for the entire shower. If you spied someone with legs crossed, you could steal her clothespin! The lady with the most clothespins at the end of the shower won the clock centerpiece. It was highly entertaining...It's so easy to cross your legs without even realizing it! We also tucked a little card at each guest's place setting where they could offer up some advice for the bride-to-be. After everyone jotted down a few pearls of wisdom, some of Jenny's favorites were read aloud.
Food: Giant croissants stuffed with delicious chicken salad, fresh fruit, sweet lemon bars sprinkled with powdered sugar, and the most amazing lemon-layer ice cream dessert!Favors: We sent each lovely lady home with a square of yellow pineapple scented soap, wrapped in coordinating paper and satin ribbon.

taking flight

We are back in action. Little Graham took his first flight back to the Midwest for an action-packed adventure over Memorial Day weekend. He did about as well as could be expected when you are 6 weeks old and flying across the country. He fussed just enough to draw cold glares from an entire aircraft of passengers and for me to feel like the worst, most embarrassed parent in the history of the world. Why did we think it was a good idea to fly late in the evening with a layover? Live and learn. But in between crying bouts, he had a blast playing baby airplane {on the airplane} with daddy. And for all of the cold glares, there were just as many adoring stares at the cute brand new baby in tote. Truly, the kid did well with all of the ups and downs. He's earned his wings.
First on the agenda was meeting more aunties and uncles! Mr. G was passed and passed and passed. Kinda like hot potato, we joked, but this time whenever the baby rumbled in his dipe, the person holding him had to change him! ;)We spent Friday night + Saturday visiting friends:Saturday at my little brother Mikey's graduation:
Sunday my whole entire family was reunited. That's us plus 5 bros, {almost) 2 s-i-ls, and one adorable nephew. That makes for one pretty rare and exciting occasion these days...My mom was one happy lady:Graham was also blessed to meet all 4 of my grandparents!We are home now. Catching up on sleep (if that's possible), sorting laundry, digging through a pile of mail, and searching for our new groove...

happy day moms!

1 month!

Look who's {already} 1 month old today!? And what a whirlwind Graham's little life has been so far. These last few weeks have been action-packed with adjusting to life as 3; squeezing in a little sleep every now and then and marveling over how much laundry one little man can create. And on top of that, we've been spending some hard-core family time with our many visitors and have even gone on quite a few outings! I've barely been able to keep up with all of the pictures and experiences, let alone have time to blog it all. We're finally settling in to a bit of a routine and it feels wonderful to be piecing my life back together. Best of all, I am feeling 100% again, although my old jeans will disagree...I know that looking good again will take some patience!

Needless to say, we are hopelessly in love with this boy. I can't believe how much he's filled out already. He's definitely added some chunk to those cheeks--now he's working on some arm+leg rolls. And I swear those feet have grown an inch! He's a great sleeper. But it's so fun to see him spending more time alert+awake. He's a fan of his mobile, staring at faces, and looking oh-so-adorable. We're just enjoying every minute. Like every parent says, I sometimes wish I could bottle him up and keep him this tiny and precious forever. But at the same time, I know we'll cherish the adventures in each stage as they come. Right now I am getting sooo antsy for him to learn to smile back!