part 2

and the pictures continue!

over the past three months...

 it was finally warm enough in CT to bust out the croquet set 

& assemble "team dominate" which consists of me & my little brother

 i got to see my gnomie unexpectedly & she got to meet and hold the little bear

 i celebrated my 27th birthday with friends, family, & an ice cream sandwich cake

 i spent quality time with my cousin who is due with a baby girl in july. 

we are two peas in a pod & i already miss her so much!

i soaked in what connecticut looks like in the spring 

 trees in full bloom. simply gorgeous.

 one of my oldest friends got married & i was totally obsessed with her necklace

 the reception was held overlooking the exact place pete proposed to me

& i got to sit next to my old gymnastics coach who i've known since i was two...

 & luke's mushroom rattles finally came in the mail!

(they've been back ordered at Land of Nod for months... such a travesty, i know.)

& mr. sleepy seahorse is BY FAR the greatest thing ever invented. luke loves it and it sings him to sleep in the car, on flights, and every night after the 2am and 6am bottles. it is available here & comes in pink for girls. i HIGHLY recommend. five stars.

my birth story

i took a bit of time off from blogging to settle into life with a newborn, but i am back! pete was fortunate enough to be here for the first week of Luke's life and he is flying in again this weekend, but the last week has been an adjustment to say the least! i feel like every new mom goes through the "can i leave my baby for five seconds to wash my face real quick?" stage, and i am finally getting myself & the baby out the door in an hour instead of two! progress. 

i have taken a million and one pics of Luke in the first 2 1/2 weeks of his life and i feel like... a mom. and organizing them is beyond me at this point, so i'm just going to start with the earliest pics, his birth, and go from there! 

my official due date was March 18th, making my c-section scheduled for March 11th. On March 6th, at around 4am, i went to the bathroom for the millionth time that night and knew without a doubt that my water had broken. within five minutes i started having contractions. i called the nurse at the hospital and she told me to take a hot shower, drink lots of water, and give it an hour or two to see if it was just a false alarm. i knew it wasn't, but figured hey, i'll shower and at least my hair will look nice if i deliver today! it was not an easy task getting ready while having wave after wave of nice strong pain, but i convinced the nurse around 6am that i was indeed in labor, and she told me to come on down to the hospital.

talk about the worst car ride ever. i felt every single bump, the heat was too hot, then i was too cold, the radio was annoying, and i didn't want my parents to say a word to me... mind you, i was only 2cm dilated. i am no wimp, but i was not having it. labor was just not my cup of tea. during this same time, my husband was trying to get on any flight he could to get from california to CT in record time, and i was just furious knowing he wasn't going to be there for the birth. 

i got to the hospital about 25min later and there was a woman there scheduled for a c-section at 9:30am. i looked at her, she looked at me. there was a moment where i said with my face "i am in labor, i'm so sorry to trump you in the c-section time department, but i want this baby out of me" and a look from her that said "go right ahead!" ...and i was off to get prepped. i met my surgeon, who turned out to have a daughter who did gymnastics at the same gym i trained at, we did the whole "nice to meet you, lets do this"... and i walked into the operating room. everything was happening so quickly, and i was in a good amount of pain, so i didn't have time (or really care) to have any sort of freak out session. and to be perfectly honest, nothing can be more terrifying than the surgery i had last year where i was awake, bleeding out, and asking my mom if i was going to die. i pulled my shit together, slumped down, and in went the spinal. 

i immediately felt a nice numbness fall over my body and they relaxed me onto the table and started putting up the sheet. all i could think about was how i was going to meet Luke soon, and praying he would be a healthy baby. my mom came into the room wearing scrubs and sat down beside me while they pricked me until they were confident i was completely numb. and then it was go time. it took about 20min of lots of pulling and tugging. at one point they put something up on the sheet to rest and i asked my mom if that was one of my organs or something just hanging out outside of my body............. yikes.

then there was a TON of pulling and tugging and i strained to hear that cry that you just wait for and it came! my mom took a video of my face when we heard the first scream and my smile tells it all. they yelled out "7lbs 12oz and a head full of hair!" ...it was 10am on the dot... and both of those announcements made my jaw drop. where the heck was this big baby in my belly? and a head full of hair? i braced myself to see a miniature version of pete and boy was i right! they placed him on my chest while they took another half hour to sew me back up. i wish i stopped biting my nails before these pics were taken, but they are so special. the first moments with Luke are below...

after i was stitched back up, they brought me to a recovery room and i got to hold a nice & cleaned up baby Luke. pete was in the air at this point but i was sending him pics regardless. i couldn't believe he was finally here.

late that night, pete arrived at JFK and drove to the hospital to meet our son. to say he was smitten at first sight is an understatement. the pics i have of him holding Luke melt my heart and i'm so lucky to have so many great pictures from that day.

it has been a very long pregnancy for me, a very very long 10 months spent on opposite sides of the country, and an extremely emotional time in our lives and in the lives of both our families. it has been a rough first three years of our marriage, but i can speak for the both of us when i say that Luke is worth it all and i can't wait to see what the future holds as a family of three.

next up: my c-section recovery & more of little man!

over the past week...

i turned 26!!!!!

 i went & watched my little brother's soccer game with his girlfriend 

& busted out the saltwaters.

husband celebrated his last day at coast guard station sandy hook!

& celebrated in nyc while i saw my college roomies in poughkeepsie.

(anddddd kept the sun off my face with some Utah love!)

i fell in love with this new essie color "go ginza"

 & snagged this gnomie candle for california to remind me of my gnomie roomies!

and i found the prettiest soaps that come in the cutest reusable tins 

& started re-reading outlander... cuz it's that good!

the past week started with the best roomie reunion. it was much needed time spent with two people who i love dearly: miss mary & minna. my birthday followed two days later & then pete celebrated his last day in the coast guard on wednesday. i just have to do this right quick:

AHHHHH HUSBAND IS DONE WITH THE COAST GUARD!!!!!!! 

HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE EVERRRRRR!!!!!!!

ok i'm good. 

i seriously can't believe he is done. well not totally done, he is going to stay in the reserves for a little bit, but the ridiculous crap we have both put up with for the past 4 years of him being stationed in nj has come to an end. an END! i don't even know how to react i am so excited. it is sunday night & i keep thinking pete has to go to work tomorrow but he DOESN'T. it's so crazy! only military wives can understand what i'm talking about. it is so hard to wrap my head around the fact that i get to see my husband everyday from now on. it's so exciting i can hardly contain myself.

and then, on friday, pete and my best guy friends brett & keith planned a little surprise going away party for us & that was just the best. talk about flip cup, salt 'n peppa pandora station, & mixing dunkin donuts fruit coolada's with vodka (my greatest idea ever!), mixed with my favorite people... it was just a great night with great people & i am so thankful. so thankful i have a husband who has become friends with all of my friends because he knows how happy that makes me, & just genuinely loves seeing me smile. i don't know how i got so lucky.

and sooo... happy sunday everyone!! we are getting ready for some serious game of thrones action... can't wait :)

see ya tomorrow!

26.

woo baby. 26 years old! 
& i have a feeling this year will be the best one ever! 

photos from this weekend's birthday celebrations with my college roommates

taken with iphone vsco cam app

and so, i am laying outside on this beautiful birthday. not a cloud in the sky. 
my dad came home early from work to take me out for coffee & donuts and i am looking forward to spending quality time with the family tonight! sadly, pete is at work... but it is one of his LAST days in the coast guard and that is like the best birthday gift in the history of birthday gifts that i could ever ask for... so it's all good.

thank you for letting me take a much needed break from blogging. i am doing wonderful health wise & it has just been crazy busy around here with packing, planning, & getting ready for our move to San Francisco next week! crazy i know. but i am back & ready as ever to continue this journey with you all. i won't share with you what i am wishing for when i blow out the candles on my cake (strawberry shortcake that is) because i want it to come true! but to give you a hint, it will have something to do along the lines of going on more adventures & making up for lost time ;)

over the past week...

 they sure love their cats in Switzerland: they have their own kitty ladders to second floor windows!

 (pictures taken by my mother in law)

 we played even more domino train (it has become a nightly tradition) + crocs does advertising right!

husband & i took lots of cat naps... with lots of cats,

 blizzard nemo hit us with full force... 

that is our driveway under there & our back door!

 i felt like an archaeologist uncovering my poor jeep + hobbes made his own tracks,

& this was the chocolate bear cake i made my mom for her birthday. 

complete with a chocolate frosting, chocolate chip, & chopped up hershey bar filling!