A Weekend Wedding, Camping, and Hiking

This past weekend we spent in Central Mass. My friend, Becca, got married in Amherst and we decided to make a weekend of it and go camping. Of course, with an infant, tenting wasn't really the best option this time of year, so we ended up renting a trailer at a KOA for the weekend.

Anne got to experience her first campfire and roasting of marshmallows for s'mores.


Instead of bringing the pack-in-play, I thought maybe the changing table pad would make a good bed. It actually fit perfectly in this spot in the bedroom of the trailer. Good thing she's not rolling yet. Made bedding arrangements easy.


Anne has so many super-cute outfits from her cousin, Reagan. We are so thankful to have these clothes and think Anne looked pretty spiffy at the wedding.

Anne was a big hit at the wedding. Jeff and I were out on the dance floor with Anne for a while. A woman came up and offered to hold Anne while we danced. I was actually enjoying dancing with our baby, but she had her arms held out for her, I couldn't refuse. We found out later it was the groom's aunt. Don't worry, they didn't go too far with her and it wasn't a super big wedding where they could have wandered off. She's just so darn cute, we love to share her (hence this blog!)


Is this not the cutest picture, or what? On the Sunday morning, Jeffer took Annie out to the living room after her first feeding so the Mommy could get some more sleep. So no, I didn't kick Jeff and Anne out of the bedroom! Well, guess I did, but not in a bad sort of way.

On Sunday morning we met up with our friend Anne, who lives in Northamptom for brunch and some hiking to follow. This was Anne's first hiking trip. We turned her face out for the first time in the bjorn as well. She loves to look around. We climbed Mount Holyoke.

HOLY COW! After hiking we stopped by Flavors for some ice cream, straight from the cow...I guess.

A view from the summit house at the top of Mount Holyoke. This place will be even more beautiful in a few weeks when the leaves start changing.

A Visit with Grandma

Anne had a great 2 weeks with Grandma Reifenberger while I went back to work. I didn't do too bad either. I was fine saying goodbye to Anne, Ellen and Jeff. Drove all the way to work, got to my office and saw one of the nurses I work with, Janet, and burst into tears. I had my cry, felt better and then went about my day. I definitely missed spending the whole day with Anne, but really do love my job and am happy to be back. It's great to see everyone and so encouraging when my co-workers and patients tell me how happy they are to see me back. It makes it a lot easier mentally for me too, knowing that we'll still get to spend all day Thursday and Friday, just the two of us.

A big shout out "thank you" to Ellen for taking care of our little one. We so appreciate all the help you were and all the dishes and laundry you saved us from.

On Thursday, we all went to the sing-a-long at our local library. Anne was one of the youngest babies there, but she definitely had a good time and so did Ellen and I. We'll definitely be going back and hoping to invite more friends in the future.

We have a picture of Reagan in this sweater that we gave out as favors at her baby shower. We'll have to do some comparisons, though most people say she looks like Jeff. A random woman at the Cheesecake Factory told Jeff that she looks just like him! I think Jeff's cute and all, just not baby cute. Anne definitely takes the cake!

Stimulation

I babysat for some friends this week. Katherine is 5 and Daniel is 3. Anne absolutely loved having them over and slept like a champ both of the nights. There was just so much activity and stimulation for her, makes me feel that daycare is going to be really good for her. One of the nights she slept 10 hours! Amazing.

Anne has been doing better and better during tummy-time. She's holding her head up so well and cooing more and more all the time. It's just so amazing to watch her grow and change from day to day.


Jeff's mom Ellen is here for 10 days. I'm hoping to get some painting done while she's here. I'm finding, most obviously that I'm not able to accomplish as much as I used to in the same amount of time. I'm not complaining, mind you, just coming to this new realization that all parents are well aware of. I wouldn't trade it for anything, it just an adjustment for this taskmaster to realize that the list for the day needs to be shorter and might not even be gotten to on some days.

I'm excited to get some color in this place though and have been getting many consults on paint chips as time goes by. I intend to "practice" in the office and then branch out into the living and dining rooms.

We had our Turkish friends from Illinois over for dinner last night. It was a very enjoyable evening. Always good company! Jeff even got Burak and Comert to play guitar hero. Apparently they're familiar with Metallica.

Last Week of Pure Fun

On Sunday, Anne and I ventured down to the Big Apple on the Bolt Bus to visit Jen while she was in town for 4 days before her next trip abroad. Anne did so great on the bus. I was so proud of her. Only bad part about the trip was that there was no changing station in the bus bathroom so I ended up changing her diaper on the the lid of the toilet with one arm holding onto her leg the entire time so she wouldn't slip away.

Thankfully, on the way back, the seat next to me was free and I just did a quick change-a-roo right there in the seat next to me. I figured if there were empty seats on the bus, mine would be one of them. Who wants to sit by a baby on a 4 hour bus ride. Apparently, no one, but they were the ones definitely missing out as she was a complete cherub and did great in both directions.

We had a great time in the city, just hanging out, doing some shopping and took a long walk in Central Park.

Jeff's mom will be coming into town this weekend to stay for my first 2 weeks back at work. I start back on the Tuesday after Labor Day. I'm not dreading it, by any means, but can't say I'm exactly looking forward to it either. I'm sure things will be fine once I get back into the swing of things. I just feel so far removed from my job right now and we've just been having so much fun having visitors and playing.

Anne riding the subway with Adam. He was so great with her and she just loved him!

Coal-fired pizza at Lombardi's. Yummy!

Anne loves to sit up and especially loves her bumb-o chair.

Jen told me I didn't need to bring a stroller and that she would just hold Anne the whole time. She was true to her word.

Anne "walking" in her new shoes from Thailand.

Uncle David gave Anne this outfit. I think it's super cute!

Anne striking a contemplative pose in her bum-bo seat.

She's finally starting to like her swing more which is great when I'm trying to make dinner. She especially likes swinging while listening to U2.

Dad gives great bathes. Seems she's always peeing in the bath water though...